Silent Obedience and Pragmatic Negotiation: Asymmetric Power Relations between Catholic Prelates and Consecrated Women in Contemporary Peru

• Autores: Lecaros, Véronique, Piccone Camere, Carlos
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2025
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/31218
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/31218
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Women Religious Life; Catholic Church in Peru; Abuse of Power; Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes; Religious Anthropology; Vida religiosa femenina; Iglesia Católica en el Perú; Abuso de poder; San José de Tarbes; Antropología religiosa

This article examines the relationship between the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes and diocesan bishops in three Peruvian ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Through the cases of Piura, an unnamed diocese, and Chiclayo, the study analyzes dynamics of silent subordination and pragmatic negotiation, highlighting how women’s religious life exercises forms of empowerment within institutional tensions. Drawing from a perspective of religious anthropology, it addresses issues such as clericalism, legal vulnerability, ecclesial obedience, and the conditions for shared pastoral responsibility. These cases expose both the structural limitations faced by female religious communities and their capacity for resilience and ministerial adaptation amid synodal reforms and evolving episcopal leadership. Based on these experiences, the article proposes analytical tools to rethink the relationship between authority, charism, and women’s agency in the contemporary Catholic Church.