While most of CR celebrates new Pope, one lawmaker boycotts, calls Church “misogynist”

March 14^th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) While most of Costa Rica celebrated the arrival of the new Pope yesterday, one PAC lawmaker was not interested in voicing her congratulations to the new Pope.

Representative Maria Eugenia Venegas remained seated while 37 of her colleagues approved a vote offering congratulations to the new Pope, who was elected in Rome yesterday.

Venegas said, minutes later, that she couldn’t congratulate the leader of a church that does not provide opportunities for women to participate equally.

Venegas added, “We don’t pass motions to congratulate presidents of countries every time a new one is elected.”

Venegas was the only representative who voted against congratulating Pope Francisco.

Afterwards, Venegas told local newspaper, El Pais that the church structure was misogynist, and has been in direct opposition to human, sexual, and reproductive rights.

In the Pope’s home country of Argentina, there were media reports that the new Pope, previously the Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, said in 2007 while President Cristina Fernandez was still a candidate, that “women are naturally unfit for political office,” and that “the natural order and facts teach us that man is an excellent politician; Scripture shows us that woman always supports the man who is the thinker and doer, but nothing more than that.”