Letter to Pope Leo from Be The Change…
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8 July 2026 Pope Leo XIV Secretariat Of The Pope 00120 Vatican City Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Members Level 1 Piazza Pio XII 10 00120 Vatican City Dear Pope Leo & Members of the Dicastery, It is with great disappointment that we read that the Vatican has once again denied women and lay people full equality, as gifted to us by virtue of our Baptism, by excluding us from giving sermons at a Catholic Mass. A fundamental principle of becoming a synodal church, as discerned by the Synod on Synodality, is the primacy of Baptism, and equality of us all. Encapsulated in this principle is the belief that the Spirit speaks to and through us all, and therefore, it behoves us as church, to be listening to all, “todos todos, todos”, not just to the ordained. There are many lay people qualified in theology and biblical studies who also have extensive pastoral experience, all of which gives them the ability to break open the word for their communities. Also, given the difference in life styles, lay people are closer to the reality and challenges of the lives of communities than their celibate clergy. The feast day of Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, and the first to witness Christ’s resurrection, is coming up. It took centuries before she was finally recognised for who she really was. We shudder to think that her witness could not have been proclaimed in this day and age, just because she was a woman! We urge you to open your hearts and minds to the voice of the Spirit as proclaimed by the 99% of the faithful who are not ordained, to go as Christ did to the margins and hear the voice of the voiceless, the marginalized. In the Spirit of Synodality, Yours sincerely, Christina Reymer Fiona McLean Jo Ayers Louise Shanly Mary Thorne And members of Be The Change, Catholic Church, Aotearoa bethechange.aotearoa@gmail.com |
Website: https://bethechangecatholicchurchaotearoa.wordpress.com/ |
After 50 years as a Priest, Roger Haight S.J. says “I think that Priesthood in US culture has become less an ontological condition mediated by a Sacrament and more of a practical and functional way of church leadership and representation.”
Would those attracted to the Priesthood in the future, whether male or female, need to possess the pastoral skills required for this new type of Priest?
MGB, I am wondering if you have read the late Donald Cozzens wonderful book — recognised by many as the modern day classic on our priesthood — The Changing Face of the Priesthood?
His other classic is Freeing Celibacy.