Prof. Thomas O’Loughlin, in a version of a piece published last week in La Croix International, tells us that “If we believe that the Spirit is moving in the community of the baptised, then a ‘vocations crisis’ is nonsense. It is only a crisis of us failing to look, train, and empower.”
ACP Submission on Synodality – Synthesis – 29 May 2022 (See links below also for Association of Catholics in Ireland, We Are Church, DIocese of Elphin, Archdiocese of Dublin.) As…
Western People 12.3.2024 As the RTÉ cameras scanned the crowd at the State funeral of the former Taoiseach, John Bruton, it lingered on faces of the great and the good…
PLENTIFUL VOCATIONS – THANK GOD Many are called by GOD, but few are chosen by THE LADS (Joe 10:20!) An editorial by Michael Kelly in The Irish Catholic (October 1,…
In a country that seems to focus on negative news it is good to come across the story of three young sisters who despite huge personal tragedy and challenge are acting positively to help others.
Floating thoughts after reading from Brian Devlin’s book – ‘Cardinal Sin.’ I read ‘Cardinal Sin’ by Brian Devlin over the past few days. (Columba Books. 2021). Andrew Greeley’s novel:…
An interesting article from Robert Mickens in La Croix (link below):
Catholic women are still relegated to second class Musings on the pope’s “motu proprio” on female readers and altar servers
Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/letter-from-rome/catholic-women-are-still-relegated-to-second-class/13639
The People of God lead – and Pope follows belatedly
13 January 2021 We welcome the recent announcement by Pope Francis that women will now officially be allowed to act as Acolytes and Lectors.
For more than 50 years women have been carrying out these roles. Now rather belatedly Pope Francis makes it official. Real change comes from the People of God at the grassroots and not from the curia in the Vatican.
Women remain officially excluded from:
• Reading the gospel at mass
• Preaching at mass
• Presiding at the Eucharist
• All ordained ministries
• Decision making at all levels
For centuries women have been treated as inferior to men by the patriarchal leaders in the Catholic Church. The full equality of women in the Catholic Church is still officially being denied, but the People of God know it is a reality in our church all around the world.
Sadly, the announcement by Pope Francis did not include any apology to women for having officially been denied these roles for decades.
Colm Holmes
Chair, We Are Church International
E colmholmes2020@gmail.com
M +353 86 606 3636
W http://www.we-are-church.org
We Are Church International (WAC) founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.