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Catholic Church Reform International is a global network of committed Catholic organizations and individuals seeking a deeply-rooted reform of our Church. It is crucial that we all stay involved in the synodal process!
News and Updates
Pope institutes commission to study the diaconate of women
(Vatican Radio) In the course of a dialogue during a meeting with the participants in the Plenary Assembly of Superiors General, which took place in May, Pope Francis expressed his intention to “establish an official commission that could study the question” of the diaconate of women, “especially with regard to the first ages of the Church.”
After intense prayer and mature reflection, Pope Francis has decided to institute the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women. As president of the Commission, Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, SJ. In addition to Archbishop Ladaria, the commission is composed of six women and six men from academic institutions around the world.
Below, please find the complete list of the members of the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women:
We need to continue the conversation – Brian Coyne
Dear Rene and other co-signatories,
These are important questions you raise (Newsletter, 12 July 2016) that I’ve been trying to get my head around for perhaps a decade or more, even discussing them quite a number of times with Bob Kaiser. In our country (Australia), and in new statistics released today for Germany [LINK], 90% of the adult baptized have ceased participating and listening. They don’t write letters of protest to bishops, or the pope, as they see that exercise as a complete waste of time, energy, even the cost of a postage stamp. It is seen as absolutely futile as they appear to have learned a long time ago that the hierarchy are only listening to a small “remnant element” who want to undo completely the insights of Vatican II. The recent Life-Site video which you may have seen which has been sent to Pope Francis and the 218 active cardinals in the world are the sort of people the rest of us are competing against. If you haven’t seen the video we’ve uploaded a copy of it on catholica
Newsletter – 12 July 2016
To representatives of Church Reform Organizations:
We’d like to explore ways that we might work together to bring about the reform that we are all striving to create. Even though each of our groups have differing missions focused on specific issues, there are certain basic principles that are universal to all of us:
- The People of God should have a deliberative voice in the governance of our Church;
- Too many Catholics simply go along with the institutional Church unaware that their voice could make a difference;
- These people could be guided and taught that they have the right and the duty to speak up for the good of the Church.
Is there something we could all do to move the People who are the Church out of their pews and into a place where they would begin to speak up?
A Response to Pope Francis’s Commission on Women Deacons
by Ann Gilroy RSJ Women Religious welcome any development in Church that responds to women’s repeated call to have an equal share in the decision-making. Pope Francis’s proposal to set up a Commission to study the possibility of having women deacons, while not yet a...
Choosing the next Archbishop of Melbourne:
how it should occur, and why this is important by Peter Wilkinson The Diocese of Melbourne was established in 1847. It became an archdiocese in 1874. To date, it has had 8 archbishops. The first three were Irish: James Goold (1848-1886), Thomas Carr (1886-1917),...
Why the delays in appointing Australia’s Bishops?
Bishops for the Australian mission
From 1788, when the First Fleet sailed into Botany Bay, until 31 March 2016, seventeen popes have entrusted the pastoral care of Australia’s Catholics to 214 bishops. Until 1976 the popes had also designated Australia a ‘mission’ territory and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide which largely determined the selection of its bishops.
The first five bishops never set foot on Australian soil. All English, they shepherded from afar, three from London, and two from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa where, from 1820 to 1832, they tendered their flock in distant New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land via priest delegates.
The selection and appointment in 1832 of Australia’s first resident bishop, English Benedictine John Bede Polding, as Vicar Apostolic of New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land, was the result of long and delicate political and ecclesiastical negotiations between Propaganda, the British Home Secretary, the Vicars Apostolic of the London District and Cape of Good Hope, the English Benedictines, and the senior Catholic clerics in NSW. The process was repeated until English candidates were no longer available and the majority Irish Catholic laity in Australia had made it clear that they wanted Irish bishops.
Opening Prayer – Strategy Team – 15 June 2016
Mary Beth Stein shared this prayer with the team: Holy One, for the longest time we have prayed, "Your kingdom come,"and often we have wanted it to come in a supernatural way that did not ask too much of us. We have longed for your reign but imagined it elsewhere,...
Doctrinal text looks at increasing harmony among church groups
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Local bishops have an obligation to welcome new movements and communities and guide them, while the groups have an obligation to obey the local bishop and avoid the appearance of setting up a parallel church, said a new Vatican document. The...
There is something you can do to bring about reform in our Church
To all who support Church reform:
We stand in solidarity with the victims of the Orlando, Florida massacre along with their families and loved ones who are grieving their loss. As the shooter declared himself a “soldier of ISIS,” so we declare ourselves followers of Jesus Christ. Consequently, let us look into our hearts and ask ourselves what more we can do to counter the hatred and violence that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our world. Perhaps one step is the proposal that we are bringing forward to you today.
Invite friends to a small gathering in your community
Francis has been our pope for just over three years now and, while he has brought a fresh spirit of openness to the Church, he is still meeting with resistance in many parts of the world to get bishops to open dialogue with the grassroots. Not waiting for the initiative of the bishops, Francis is also encouraging the People of God to speak up, to “make some noise” and “bother our pastors!”
Commemoration of St. Mary Magdalene raised to a Feast
(Vatican Radio) It was announced on Friday Pope Francis has decided to raise the celebration of the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to the dignity of a liturgical Feast.
In the modern Church calendar, saints may be commemorated with a memorial (optional or obligatory), feast, or solemnity.
The decree was signed on 3 June 2016, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.
In a letter announcing the change, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Arthur Roche, writes the decision means one “should reflect more deeply on the dignity of women, the New Evangelization, and the greatness of the mystery of Divine Mercy.”
Archbishop Roche drew attention to the fact Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the Resurrection, and is the one who announced the event to the Apostles.
“Saint Mary Magdalene is an example of true and authentic evangelization; she is an evangelist who announces the joyful central message of Easter,” he writes.
Selecting new bishops – a proposal involving the faithful
Peter Johnstone, President of Catholics for Renewal Inc, outlines a proposal for selecting the nine new bishops Australia will need soon as outlined in the article by Peter Wilkinson This year, nine new Australian diocesan bishops could be appointed – NINE! –...
Suggested letter to your bishop
CCRI has been asked to design a template letter for individuals and groups to send to their bishop of national Bishops' Conference. You will need to adapt it as appropriate to your particular concerns, issues and needs locally. Dear Bishop [name] For the first time...
The Synod on Synodality
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Reforms We Are Seeking
Online Young Adult Seekers Small Christian Communities
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Young Adult Seekers Articles
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