16 October 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church joins in congratulating Pope John Paul II on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his pontificate. We acknowledge the Pope's achievements, some of which are:

• his example as a person of prayer;

• his part in the collapse of the Soviet empire; 

• his public forgiving of his would-be assassin; 

• his championing of human rights in the secular arena; 

• his reaching out to youth; 

• his apologizing in the name of the Church for the wrongs inflicted by the Church in the past; 

• his work for ecumenism, 

• and especially his sincere and lifelong friendship for the Jewish people.

However, ARCC regrets some aspects of this papacy, which have caused grave harm to the Church. 

The most serious of these is the "Eucharistic famine," brought about by John Paul II's refusal to consider optional celibacy for priests or to discuss further the ordination of women. 

Catholics are being hurt by 

• the Pope's insistence on upholding the Church's ban on artificial birth control, 

• his refusal to reconsider the admission to the sacraments of the divorced and remarried, 

• his resistance to increased involvement of lay men and women in Church governance, 

• and his pattern of protecting prelates who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse or of shielding abusers among their clergy. 

ARCC regrets his continuous appointment of bishops who do not embrace the vision of collegiality of the Second Vatican Council. 

Finally, it is regrettable that he has chosen to pursue a witch-hunt against dissenting theologians.

ARCC hopes that these latter parts of John Paul II's legacy will not survive.

Please check our web site at http://arcc-catholic-rights.net