• On June 20th, 2013 Catholic Church Reform launched our website forming a worldwide network of reform-minded individuals and organizations.
• A September 4, 2013 teleconference call [click on and scroll to bottom of page] where 60 plus individuals agreed that joining together had value, were able to concur on a primary issue that all shared, and nominated global representatives to serve on the letter drafting committee.
• A letter for Pope Francis' October 2013 meeting was drafted, underwent several revisions in a discernment process, then posted for feedback from both individuals and reform group representatives, and ultimately signed by over a hundred church organizations and over 6000 individuals.
• Press conferences were held on September 25, 2013 in cities around the world. Press releases appeared in countless global newspapers both secular and Catholic. Some representatives of organizations were interviewed on radio and TV, and several online and paper news articles reported on this worldwide initiative.
• Father Lombardi reported that a frequently discussed topic at the October meeting was “concern for the role of the laity in the Church and the world.” Based on this together with the announcement of the Synod being called next October to discuss families, we believe our letter to the pope is helping trigger the pope's actions. It appears we were heard.
• Co-sponsoring with Catholic Organizations for Renewal a revision of the questionnaire released by the synod of bishops, Vatican survey on family life, in preparation for the Extraordinary Synod of bishops scheduled in October 2014. Sixteen thousand people completed the U.S. survey. Click here to see the results of this survey.
• A letter to Bishops was mailed to the office of every bishop in the United States, November 2013.
• A letter for Pope Francis' December 2013 meeting was hand-delivered to the Pope.
• A letter for Pope Francis' February 2014 meeting was delivered to the Pope.
• A press release was sent out February 2014 expressing our disappointment at so few laity being apppointed to the Pontifical Council for the Laity and those who were appear to hold pre-Vatican II views.
• A letter to the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops requesting, in a spirit of openness and transparency, that they make public all reports on the Vatican Survey taken by the faithful was sent February 2014.
• Letter from Sean Patrick Cardinal O'Malley's Office acknowledging appreciation for the time and effort we've given to preparing the documents for the February meeting of Pope Francis with his Council.
• An event in Rome, Forum on the Family - LIstening to the Faithful, scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3, 2014 just prior to the start of the Extraordinary Synod called by Pope Francis.

Our Primary Focus for 2015 is to effect reform of the governance of the Catholic Church. To this end we have laid out a Strategy Plan for this year put forward by our Strategic Team and supported by our Advisory Group who develop our actions and strategies and guides our direction.

In line with our overall objective to gain a voice for the baptized in the governance of our Church our Focus is:

1. to gain representation of a diverse group of 21st century families at the October 2015 Synod.
2. to act as responsible members of our Church by taking proactive steps to speak out on matters that concern the good of our Church.
3. to be respectful and objective, rather than confrontational or rebellious, as we communicate with church hierarchy in preparing for the 2015 Synod.
4. to explore ways to creatively contribute valuable input to the Synod of 2015, whether or not the lay faithful are invited to participate.
5. to communicate with particular offices within the hierarchy.

Our overall focus relates to:

• Transformational return to the Gospel message of Jesus
• Selection and election of bishops
• Decentralization and co-responsibility
• Accountability, transparency and inclusiveness
• Gender equality in every aspect of mission, ministry, and decision making
• Listening to the voice of the People of God, the sensus fidelium
• Support formation of Small Christian Communities
• Encourage Synodal gatherings of the People of God globally
• Ensure that the People are adequately represented at the 2023 Synod in Rome

These groups have gradually come together as individuals with an eclectic base of professional or religious expertise and a deep commitment to reform of our Church. The countries represented by these members are: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Director

Rene Reid, co-founder and author, U.S.

Special Advisor

Joan Chittister, author, lecturer, U.S.

Strategy Team

The people making the ultimate decisions for CCRI

CCRI Advisors

The people who advise the Strategic Team to make the ongoing decisions for CCR Int'l

Ad Hoc Advisors

The people who advise CCR Int'l on special issues

Organizations to keep in loop of communication

These people believe in the profound importance of the reform of our Church and have given their support and lent their name and credibility to our movement.

Christine Anderson:
Director Faith and Praxis FCJ, Organizational Analyst.

Bob Betterton: (now deceased)
Founder of Accelerating Catholic Church Reform

Eugene Bianchi:
Professor emeritus of theology, Emory University.

Tony Biviano:
Media producer for the For Christ's Sake petition, Australia.

Roy Bourgeois:
Founder of School of Americas Watch and advocate for the Ordination of Women.

Bill Burrows:
Publisher

Brendan Butler:
Spokesperson, We are Church Ireland, and Coordinator NGO peace Alliance.

James Coriden:
Former president Canon Law Society of America

Brian Coyne:
Editor, Catholica.au

Donald Cozzens: (now deceased)
Writer-in-residence, John Carroll University

William V. D'Antonio:
Professor of sociology, Catholic Univ of America

Mark Day:
Former Franciscan, news producer, San Diego, California

John A. Dick:
Historical theologian, Louvain Univ; VP Assoc. for the Rights of Catholics in the Church

Bill Ditewig:
Theologian and deacon

Terry Dosh:
Retired Benedictine, founding member of CORPUS

Patrick B. Edgar:
President, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church

Ivan Fernandes:
Catholic journalist, former managing editor ucanews.com in Bangkok-Thailand, Former member of the Society of Jesus, Calcutta Jesuit Province

Paul Gray:
Retired parish administrator, Memphis Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Paul Hansen:
Redemptorist priest and advocate for Biblical justice living.

Rea Howarth:
Freelance writer and consultant; former director of Catholics Speak Out

William Coughlin Hunt:
Peritus (expert) of Vatican II, former professor of theology

Eugene Kennedy: (now deceased)
Psychologist, author

James Kottoor:
Author, former priest, and journalist with Catholic reformation Society of Kerala, Palai in India

Hans Kung: (now deceased)
Priest, theologian, and author; president of the Foundation for a Global Ethic

Raquel Mallavibarrena:
Member of the Spanish Movements: Corriente Somos Iglesia and Redes Cristianas.

Mary John Mananzan:
Executive Director of the Institute of Women's Studies; member of the Admin. Council of Generals and Prioresses of the Benedictine Order, Philippines

Charles McMahon:
Emeritus professor earth sciences, Univ. of Pennsylvania

David O'Brien:
Professor of theology emeritus at College of the Holy Cross and Univ. of Dayton

Joseph O'Callaghan:
Author of Elect our Bishops; emeritus professor theology, Fordham Univ

Anthony Padovano:
Married priest, college professor and author

Therese Padovano:
Former nun, co-founded the northern New Jersey chapter of Voice of the Faithful

Joanne Parrilli:
Retired judge, First Appellate District in San Francisco; an early member Voice of the Faithful

Frank Purcell:
Doctor in theology, member of the Living Faiths Commission of the Victorian Council of Churches, President of the Goulburn Valley Regional Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, co-founder of Catholics for Ministry, Australia.

Sonya Quitslund:
Professor emerita of Bible and Religious Thought; Commander, US Coast Guard

Gaston Roberge, S.J.:
Theologian, film scholar, and author, founder of Chitrabani, the only independent film library in Kolkata, India.

Dr. Karl Rodig:
Bishop, the International Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ.

Michael Saso:
Priest, educator in China

Ted Schmidt:
Canadian educator and writer; author of Journeys to the Heart of Catholicism

Ingrid H. Shafer:
Professor emerita of philosophy and religion, Univ. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

Richard Sipe: (now deceased)
Former Benedictine monk-priest; author of Celibacy, Sex, & Catholic Church

William Slavick:
Coordinator, Pax Christi in Maine

Leonard Swidler:
Professor of theology, Temple Univ; founder Assoc. for the Rights of Catholics in the Church

José María Vigil:
CMF, a Spanish liberation theologian from Panama, member of the Association of Third World Theologians, member of the Congregation of Claretian Missionaries.

Special Advisor

Joan Chittister:
Benedictine Sister, author and lecturer; co-chair Global Peace Initiative of Women

Directors

Filo Hirota:
Council for Justice and Peace, rep for Japan

Rene Reid:
Author & lecturer; former nun and Religious Ed Director; M.A. in theology; talk show host