Agreed Open Letter to Pope Francis following Limerick International Catholic Reform Conference held April 2015

May 13, 2015 | 0 comments

Radisson Hotel Limerick

Press release 
12 May 2015
 
After a recent significant international meeting in Limerick of  Catholic priests’ associations and Catholic reform groups from ten  countries  it was agreed to forward an agreed letter to Pope Francis (see below).
 
The agreed statement calls on Pope Francis to support priests , deacons, ministers  and church citizens, women and men who wish to create new forms of parish life , ministry and management.
 
The new forms of pastoral ministry would allow all parishioners to participate in the life of their parishes including opening the priestly office to all who have the charism.
 
Such new models of parish life would be built on a new culture of co-responsibility and joint decision making in all structures of our Church.
 
Finally all participants say to Pope Francis that ‘they stand ready to share our experiences and ideas and actively support you and the Bishops in realising your vision at the base’.
 
Further information from the Irish associations involved in signing this letter to Pope Francis :
 
Association of Catholic Priests (ACP)
Fr. Brendan Hoban and Fr. Seán McDonagh, Leadership Team
Fr. Tony Flannery, Host of Limerick Conference 2015
Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI)
Noel McCann, Steering Group Chair
Dr. Patricia Fitzsimons, Steering Group Member
We are Church Ireland
Brendan Butler, joint Co-Ordinator
Seeds of Hope
Kathleen McDonnell, Rita O’Brien, Margaret Lee,
Core Group Members
 
 
 

Vienna/Limerick, May 2015

AN OPEN LETTER TO POPE FRANCIS

Pope Francis, you need vibrant parishes and the parishes need you!

Pope Francis, your vision of the Church moves us: a Church following the path and the spirit of Jesus; united in respect and candor, as equals, as true fellow travelers – squarely facing those who are marginalized and most in need of solidarity. Instead of deepening rifts, you bring us together. Instead of judging, you seek to understand. Instead of closing doors, you open hearts. Here, the original model of the Church, as Jesus has shown us through his own life, is finally perceived again.

Countless people throughout the world cheer you on because they share this vision, very much in line with the Second Vatican Council. Even more, they live up to it as well as they can – at home, in the local parishes at the grassroots basis of the Church. Here, in the everyday life of the people, Church exists – or not. Here, and only here, the Church experiences its day-to-day raison d’être.

Pope Francis, you need the parishes to bring your vision of the Church to life. Without active parishes, your vision lacks the foundation and the necessary strength to overcome opposition. Our parishes are the future of Jesus’ Church; but it is exactly the future of these parishes that is massively threatened.

Around the world, our bishops increasingly respond to the priest shortage by merging active and vibrant parishes into anonymous and unmanageable superstructures. Merging seems to be the formula of the hour. But in the new mega-parishes, personal contact between people and ministers is lost. The sacraments and the priests are removed ever further from the everyday life of church citizens. And where the wellspring of the community, the celebration of the Eucharist, is celebrated less and less often, communio falls by the wayside. Instead of caring for souls, priests are busy with coordination and administration. While they are supposed to be everywhere, they find themselves nowhere fully at home. In such parishes, the living breath of Jesus cannot be found; instead, God’s people feel alienated, unsettled and insecure. Here, the Church is no longer close to the people, but consciously removes itself from its base.

We, concerned priests and deacons, ministers and committed Church citizens in the parishes of this world are no longer willing to walk this path. Together, we seek new paths to a future of our Church with vibrant parishes; parishes where everyone is welcome – without exception. And such ways exist! Many parishes have long shown by example how things can be done differently.

There are women and men, married couples, divorced and remarried, homosexual and heterosexual partners, young and old, those in the center and those who have been pushed to the side – there are dedicated people who want to put an end to the merger of their parishes into ever larger units. By their personal dedication, by the strength of their baptismal calling, they assist in relieving the priests of their increasing responsibilities in order to continue offering vital services to the people. In parishes that no longer have priests, they are developing creative solutions to ensure the cohesion and the day-to-day management of their parishes. In many cases, this has resulted in sustainable structures and models for the future from which we can learn. There is still much motivation at the base to strive for a renewed Church in the spirit of Jesus.

Pope Francis, we – priests and deacons, ministers and Church citizens, women and men – need you! We appeal to you to clear the way for new forms of parish life, their ministry and management. Let us open the priestly office to everyone who has the charism. Let us develop new management models and forms of pastoral ministry so that parishioners can participate according to their charisms. Let us establish a new culture of co-responsibility and joint decision-making in all structures of our Church. Let us remember how Jesus understood and lived community. God’s spirit compels us. Let us be courageous and tackle this together!

Pope Francis, you need vibrant parishes for your vision of Church to come to life. And the parishes need you. We – the priests and deacons, ministers and many engaged Church citizens in parishes around the world – stand ready to share our experiences and ideas and actively support you and the bishops in realizing your vision at the base.

 

Signed

AUSTRIA

Pfarrer-Initiative Österreich

Fr. Helmut Schüller, Spokesman

 

Wir sind Kirche Österreich

Dr. Martha Heizer, Chair

 

AUSTRALIA

Australian Catholic Coalition for Church Renewal

Marilyn Hatton, Convenor

 

Catholics for Ministry

Paul Collins, Convenor

 

Catholics for Renewal

Peter Johnstone, President

 

Cyber Christian Community

Helen Oxenburgh-Lowe, Convenor

 

Women and the Australian Church

Bernice Moore, Convenor

 

ENGLAND

ACTA – A Call to Action

Eileen Fitzpatrick, Chair

Jean Riordan, Delegate

 

GERMANY

Deutsche Pfarrer-Initiative

Fr. Christian Ammersbach, Spokesman

 

Wir sind Kirche Deutschland

Christian Weisner, Steering Committee

 

INDIA

Fr. Shaji George Kochuthara

Moral Theologian and Priest, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate

 

Satyashodhak, Mumbai

Dr. Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, Theologian, Co-ordinator

 

IRELAND

Assocation of Catholic Priests (ACP)

Fr. Brendan Hoban and Fr. Seán McDonagh, Leadership Team

Fr. Tony Flannery, Host of Limerick Conference 2015

 

Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI)

Noel McCann, Steering Group Chair

Dr. Patricia Fitzsimons, Steering Group Member

 

We are Church Ireland

Brendan Butler, joint Co-Ordinator

 

Seeds of Hope

Kathleen McDonnell, Rita O’Brien, Margaret Lee,

Core Group Members

 

ITALY

Noi Siamo Chiesa Italia

Vittorio Bellavite, Spokesman

Fr. Carmine Miccoli, Priest

 

SLOVAKIA

ok21 Society for Open Christianity for the 21st Century

Peter Križan, Chairman

 

SWITZERLAND

Pfarrei-Initiative Schweiz

Dr. Markus Heil, Deacon, Chairman

Susanne A. Birke, Leadership team

 

USA

National Coalition of American Nuns

Sr. Jeannine Gramick S.L., National Coordinator

 

New Ways Ministry

Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director

FutureChurch

Deborah Rose-Milavec, Executive Director

 

Women’s Ordination Conference

Kate McElwee, Co-Executive Director

 

INTERNATIONAL

International Movement We are Church (IMWAC)

Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair

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