Bishop Vincent Long of Parramatta, NSW, spoke recently about how we are now ‘living in a watershed and a privileged moment in the history of the Church.’ It is a time with demands and challenges for us.
He said that in church ‘It is not “business as usual”. There needs to be an attitudinal change at every level, a conversion of mind and heart that conforms us to the spirit of the Gospel, a new wine into new wineskins, not a superficial change or, worse, a retreat into restorationism.
Gaudium et Spes, the guiding document of the Council, presented a new paradigm: the church is not an enclosure which protects its members against the sinful world. It is a fellow pilgrim with the men and women of our age. It is a church incarnate in the world. Therefore, it is time not of fearful retreat, disengagement and self-referential pomp, but of accompaniment and engagement.
The church will be less than what Christ intends it to be when issues of inclusion and equality are not fully addressed. That is why you heard me say that I am guided by the radical vision of Christ. I am committed to make the church in Parramatta the house for all peoples, a church where there is less an experience of exclusion but more an encounter of radical love, inclusiveness and solidarity.
We cannot be a strong moral force and an effective prophetic voice in society if we are simply defensive, inconsistent and divisive with regards to certain social issues. We cannot talk about the integrity of creation, the universal and inclusive love of God, while at the same time colluding with the forces of oppression in the ill-treatment of racial minorities, women and homosexual persons.”
It is a long but worthwhile read and can be downloaded in Pdf format
When the Association was first founded, I wrote to one member saying I thought there would be a need for TWO Associations – one to defend falsely accused priests and another to promote the “liberal” agenda. I am pleased to see that I was very much wrong – in relation to Fr Reynolds anyway. However I have recently noted the contrast between your numerous articles AND comments on the Vatican censures etc and your minimal coverage of the Reynolds case. The Association now seems to be devoting less attention to it than are the anti-clerical media that created the atmosphere of hysteria which made “Mission to Prey” possible in the first place! No comments yet on THIS particular article but several supporting Fintan O’Toole – who is noted for his support of falsely accused priests??
The RTE decision-making process reminds me of Mr Bush and Iraq. Obviously the bottom line was at the top of the page. Note the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/colin-powell-book_n_1503592.html