Catholic church accused of out-of-touch women's campaign

A Catholic radio station has challenged its female listeners to take up a "31 days without trousers" challenge which would see them wearing only "dresses and skirts" for the month of May.

The challenge is in honour of Jesus' mother Mary ahead of Mother's Day which falls on May 26 in Poland and May 14 in Australia.

A promotion which ran on church radio station Radio Niepokalanów announced: "Take the challenge: 31 days without trousers," according to the publication Notes From Poland.

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"Dear Ladies, May is an extraordinary month in which we can honour the Mother of God, including through our clothing," they explained. "We encourage you to take up the challenge and wear only dresses and skirts for the Immaculate [Mary]."

The campaign is being run in collaboration with Only4Women, a Catholic women's organisation, and Marian Skirts and Dresses, an online community.

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Women are advised to check their wardrobes and plan ahead for the challenge which begins on May 1.

"Let's also prepare appropriate shoes, tights and blouses so that no small thing will prevent us from putting on a skirt," Only4Women write.

"Let's make sure that in the month dedicated to the Immaculate [Mary], our outfit is also a form of worship of the Mother of God, that it is beautiful, feminine and dignified."

Trousers are referred to as "men's clothing" and are actively discouraged.

Locals have been quick to criticise the campaign. One commented on social media: "Do you really reduce feminine piety to dresses? Do you think God cares about clothes?"

She continued: "The church is shooting itself in the foot with such actions. Fewer and fewer people go to church, young people are withdrawing from religion classes in schools, more and more people commit apostasy, and all this is not without reason."

One man labelled the campaign as "pathetic" and "embarrassing".

"I hope that women, out of retaliation, will stubbornly walk around only in trousers for the whole month of May," they added.

Others were supportive of the campaign.

"The dress embodies the fullness of femininity. As a mature woman, I often wear dresses, especially to church. This is about the depth of discerning our faith," they said.

There are fears the campaign is yet another sign the Catholic church and more widely Christianity is out of touch with modern life and in particular with the lives of modern women.

The latest Census figures released in June by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed a decline in the number of Australians identifying as Christians, from 52.1 per cent in 2016 to 43.9 per cent in 2021.