Today is the first of two of the major Spirit Unbounded days with presentations coming in from Bristol and Rome. The welcome and Introductions came from Maggie Conway and Penelope Middelboe from Bristol. Dr. Claudia Nothelle gave a presentation called Passing on the fire: Catholics in Germany and the Synodal Path.
She indicated that about a third of the German bishops were now in the process of implementing the outcomes of what was decided at their gatherings. Germany is moving forward to actually do what they had agreed upon as a whole body.
During the lunch break, I sat at Mary McAleese’s table and enjoyed a heavy theological discussion. Mary’s depth of knowledge – in particular on canon law – came through as we discussed the flaws in canon law as it exists now and what it’s going to take to change it. She had met Myriam Wijlens and we shared hope of what she might accomplish with her work at the Synod office.
Our first speaker after lunch was Luca Badini Confalonieri. We’re proud to have him working closely with our CCRI strategy team. He did an outstanding job as he spoke about Papal Natural Law and Sex pointing out the flaws in Church thinking behind these laws and what must change if this is to become accepted by the People of God.
The buildup of the day was moving toward the two final speakers.
My friend, Kathleen, signaled me that Joan was waiting just outside the door. In the ten plus years that Joan has served as our Special Advisor, we had never met in person. As I walked out into the hallway, my heart was pounding. There she stood. I walked up to her and she took my hands in hers as she asked who I was. When I said my name, she took me in her arms and we embraced. We had both waited ten years for this moment.
First came Joan Chittister speaking on “Living the Discipleship of Equals.” Joan opened her talk with a story of God the Father speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit saying that He felt it was time for them to return to earth and he was thinking it might be good to go to Jerusalem. What did they think? Jesus said “You can go if you want to but the last time I was there, they didn’t want me there.” God the Father listened, thought it over, and said: “Well, I guess we’ll just go back to Rome. The Holy Spirit spoke up excitedly: “I’d love to go back to Rome. After all, it’s been sixty years since I’ve been there! Laughter followed.
Joan said the ultimate question that should be raised at the Synod is: What do the people need? And the answer is simple. They don’t need clerical authoritarianism telling them what to do. They want community – simply to feel a sense of belonging in a community.
Christian discipleship is not simply in danger of being stifled. Women are beginning to wonder if it has anything to do with them at all. What does tradition mean in the modern Church? What does discipleship mean in the modern Church? When tradition become
synonymous with the system and when the system becomes more important than
maintaining the spirit of the tradition, discipleship shrivels and becomes at best a value of the past but not a deep-down commitment to the presence of the living Christ here and now attending to the leprosies of this age. As followers of Jesus, we are called to continue today what he did when he walked this earth. This is what it means to be His disciple.
Mary McAleese followed her speaking on “Being denied the Discipleship of Equals.
What has been an extraordinary show of strength of the laity so for in this synodal journey was inspired by the Root & Branch Synod in 2021. But it’s going to take continued lay pressure to keep this process moving forward. Such pressure led to Francis almost reversing a very hardline message approved and signed by him written by then Congregation for the Development of Faith in 2021 which denied church blessings in perpetuity for gay married couples and diffused the language that said such members were incapable of receiving or expressing God’s grace. It was only two days later that gay blessings were being given in churches all over the country.
That same outrage and pressure led Pope Francis to allow a token number of lay women and men to participate for the first time in this synod with full voting rights. This has been a resounding demand right across the Church worldwide for equality of women. Had this synod opened this month without that mainstream majority voice, it might as well have closed the doors on day one. Equality is a right. It is not a favor.
It’s still not too late to hear Mary McAleese and Joan Chittister along with more than a hundred presentations. Just join virtually in the Spirit Unbounded events
All of us working with Root & Branch are thrilled that Dr. Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland and Canon Lawyer, Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister, one of the world’s foremost spiritual speakers and writers, and Steven Newcomb, Shawnee-Lenape author of ‘Pagans in the Promised Land’ and scholar of the Doctrine of Discovery/Domination will headline live for us in Rome and Bristol.
SR JOAN CHITTISTER
Sr Joan Chittister, OSB, is one of the most influential religious and social leaders of our time. For over 50 years she has passionately advocated on behalf of peace, human rights, women’s issues, and monastic and church renewal.
A Benedictine sister of Erie Pennsylvania, she is an international lecturer and award-winning author of 60 books. An articulate social analyst and influential religious leader, she is courageous, passionate, and a much sought-after speaker, commentator, counsellor and clear voice across all religions.
DR MARY MCALEESE
Dr Mary McAleese was two term President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. The theme of her presidency was Building Bridges and working for peace and reconciliation. She is a leading critic of Catholic Church teaching on among other things, women, homosexuality, Church members’ human rights, children’s rights, corporal punishment, church governance and episcopal accountability. Broadcaster and academic lawyer, she has a licentiate and doctorate in Canon Law.
STEVEN NEWCOMB
Steven T. Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape) is a scholar, educator, author and film producer focusing on inter-generational trauma, cultural survival. Newcomb is co-founder and director of the Indigenous Law Institute and director of Original Nations Advocates. He is internationally recognized for his more than three decades of research and writing on the Vatican papal bulls of the fifteenth century. His primary focus is the theological doctrine now commonly known as the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Domination.
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