We Are Church/USA
Referendum

The movement for renewal of the Catholic Church is spreading like the fire of Pentecost across the globe. More than 2.3 million Austrian and German Catholics have signed referenda calling for widespread reforms. Similar initiatives have been undertaken in Italy, France, Belgium and Australia.

In union with our Austrian and German sisters and brothers, and those in other lands, we U.S. Catholics urge support from all sectors of our church for long overdue reforms. We seek genuine dialogue in the whole church on these issues and gradual, but steady, implementation of the referendum's goals. These changes are necessary for the gospel message to be heard by the whole People of God as we enter the new millennium.

1. We believe in a loving church where the equality of all the faithful is respected, the gulf between clergy and laity is bridged and the People of God participate in the process of selecting their bishops and pastors.

2. We believe in a church with equal rights for women, where women are full participants in all official decision-making and are welcomed in all ministries, including the diaconate and the ministerial priesthood.

3. We believe in a church where priests may choose either a celibate or non-celibate way of life, where the right of a congregation to the Eucharist and pastoral care is more important than a rule of canon law.

4. We believe in a church which affirms:

• the goodness of sexuality,
• the primacy of conscience in deciding issues of sexual morality (for example: birth control),
• the human rights of all persons regardless of sexual orientation, and
• the importance and urgency of issues other than sexual morality (for example: peace and non-violence, social justice, preservation of the environment).

5. We believe in a church which:

• affirms people rather than condemns them,
• respects primacy of conscience in all moral decision-making,
• embraces and welcomes those who are divorced and remarried, married priests, theologians and others who exercise freedom of speech.

We sign this with prayerful hope for a new movement of the Spirit in our church!

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