Canadian Lebanese woman pleads with Vatican authorities to intervene in Marriage adjudication
Christina*, a Catholic single mother and a Canadian citizen of Lebanese origin, has been subjected to an abuse of power by the Catholic Church for 20 years. Read on to learn about her story and help her get justice.
In Lebanon, religious authorities, not the state, decide on all marriage issues, including alimony and custody. When Christina's husband left her, she had no choice but to appeal to a bishop in Lebanon for her rightful alimony. The bishop, however, had a conflict of interest (related to Christina's husband) and illegally stopped enforcement. She appealed her case to the marriage tribunals at the Vatican, hoping for an impartial judgement. (At the same time, her ex-husband was also appealing to the Vatican to have the marriage annulled so that he wouldn't have to pay alimony.)
Below you will find a link to the full story and petition. We are hoping that by signing this petition you can amplify her voice so that she will finally be heard, and justice will be done. If you can forward it on to your contacts and post to social media, that would be great too!
The organizers of the petition are hoping to gather as many signatures as possible from around the globe and then present this petition to Vatican authorities. Please take a moment to read Christina’s* story.
*We are protecting the privacy and safety of this woman by not publishing her real name, but when it is sent to the Vatican, it will be made clear who this woman is.) If you know the actual name of this woman, it is very important that you do not include it in any emails, or social media posts.
Please take a few minutes to read, sign and pass on the petition. This link will take you to the petition website: https://chng.it/LWsfwnykMw You may receive one email from the host to confirm your signature. You can unsubscribe from any further emails if needed. You also have the option of not showing your name on the petition, and either way, it will never show your email. Thanks!
(Catholic Network for Women’s Equality)