James has created 'Praying Eucharistically', a website enabling celebration of the Eucharist in these times of isolation. He says
Many Christians of all denominations are not going to be able to attend Church services over the next weeks, and maybe even months.
Rather than film myself celebrating Mass for my friends, and sharing the video, which seemed, to me at least, bizarrely clerical and pointless; or simply preparing video or audio of a homily for the Sunday readings, and posting that; I felt that it may be time to try something a little bolder.
He explains:
Praying Eucharistically
You can divide religions into those that are most at home in the large public space and those which are most at home in the domestic space. For most Christians the choice has never been visible: they own many big buildings – and that is where religion takes place. If it takes place elsewhere, that is really just ‘a follow up.’ Christians seem to like big public statements.
But it is startling to recall that the original eucharistic meals – where the followers of Jesus wanted to be distinctive from their fellow Jews – took place in their homes.
‘Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke the loaf at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts’ (Acts 2:46).
In this domestic scale, they were in tune with their Jewish roots. Every meal was to be an occasion at which those gathered blessed God (Dt 8:10); the weekly meal with which the Sabbath began was a special act of praise, and the most special night of the year is Passover meal when God’s liberating deeds are recalled around the table. This year – in most places – Christians are going to have to rediscover this domestic liturgical space.
Read more: Praying at Home during this Coronavirus Holy Week
If you have a garden and can get some greenery, then get enough to give a piece to each person in isolation with you.
If you cannot cut some greenery but have a potted plant, place that on the table – it will remind you and anyone with you of the strange year we are in.
Sit down around the table you are normally at for meals. If you do not have such a common table, then sit around where you normally eat.
Sisters and brothers, this Sunday we gather as individual households or alone in our homes. In all instances God is with us, the Christ is among us, and the Church is at prayer. This prayer resource is for you this Sunday.
This collection of Table Liturgies is intended for those who wish to use a Grace before meals that recalls the meals Jesus celebrated with his followers. Some will regard them as Agapes; others will understand them as Eucharists. When we eat bread and drink wine in memory of Jesus, we are doing what he asked us to do. These liturgies have all been used by small groups of Catholics in the UK over the years and modified as necessary.
Some are very brief and ancient, such as FROM THE PSALTER and THE JEWISH BLESSINGS. Others belong to the first century of the Christian era, such as COME JESUS SAVIOUR and BROKEN BREAD. The liturgy AT TABLE, comes from the 1984 Vatican De Benedictionibus [Book of Blessings, ET 1987] and others have been written by modern-day Christians.
These liturgies therefore make heavy use of the work of others, ancient and modern, and some of these are listed in the bibliography at the end of this booklet in OTHER RESOURCES.
A summary by Christian Weisner:
The Synodal Path is a joint project of the German Bishops’ Conference and the official lay organisation “Central Committee of German Catholics“.
It is influenced by the so-called MHG study, a research project initiated by the German bishops on sexual abuse in the German Church since WW2, published in September 2018.
It is not a Synod according to Canon Law. But after intense discussions with the Vatican there are now Statutes of the Synodal Path for a process of discussions and resolutions of clerics and lay people scheduled for about two years on the following topics:
All over the world public worship is ceasing due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We Are Church members are praying and celebrating their union with Jesus in their homes or making videos so others, who may be in isolation, may join them.
Austria
The Netherlands
L’exhortation apostolique du pape François “Chère Amazonie”
[ English ]
La CCBF prend acte de l’encouragement que contient cette exhortation apostolique pour les catholiques. Elle les invite à être inventifs en matière de ministères, de célébrations et de rites, dans la conformité au génie du christianisme, afin qu’ils se sentent totalement responsables de l’annonce de l’Évangile, sans attendre une approbation de la hiérarchie.
L’exhortation apostolique « Chère Amazonie » qui vient de paraître se recentre sur la question amazonienne qu’elle explore dans toutes ses dimensions, économique, politique, écologique, culturelle et ecclésiale. Ce faisant, elle ignore, sans les approuver ni les annuler, les propositions des évêques réunis en synode qui s’étaient, à une large majorité, prononcés en faveur de l’ordination d’hommes mariés, pour pallier non seulement la pénurie de prêtres, la dispersion des communautés mais aussi leurs différences culturelles, en particulier linguistiques. Certains en espéraient une décision du Magistère pour un libre choix des ministres ordonnés entre célibat et mariage.
12 February 2020.
Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis’ official response to the Amazon Synod, demonstrates that the Roman Catholic hierarchy lacks the courage and vision needed to address the real needs of the world and its people, says We Are Church International, a leading advocate for structural change in the largest Christian denomination.
Colm Holmes of Ireland, Chair of We Are Church International praised the Pope for his “wonderful dreams for social, cultural and ecological issues in the Amazon.” Holmes said, “We agree with the Pope that our church has significant responsibility for promoting immediate and significant changes in how the earth’s resources and the lives and cultures of indigenous people are protected. We urge all people to live in ways that reflect good stewardship of our planet, and the fact we are all one human family.”
Read more: Pope’s Response to Amazon Synod Fails to Respond to Church Members Needs
Women's rights in the Church - in the context of sex abuse
by Virginia Saldanha
Abstract:
Towards the end of the 20th century the increased awareness of women’s rights has resulted in the critique of culture, tradition and practices responsible for depriving women of their rightful place in the family and society. The creation of international instruments, laws and protections for women have given women the opportunity to take their place in all spheres of life like politics, business, law enforcement, etc. However, in the Catholic Church women are still kept submissive to patriarchal authority. The nature of religious leadership that compels women to go to men for spiritual guidance and most of all for confession has created a number of problems for women in their working relationship with the clergy, especially sex abuse. Looking at this problem from the framework of universally accepted women’s rights and protections, it is important for the Church to take steps to address this grave issue.
With many voices, but one vision - Catholic women set out on a pilgrimage towards Rome for dignity and equality in the Roman Catholic Church
Rome - 23-25 January, 2020
Catholics from 5 continents and different areas such as universities, religious orders, associations, initiatives, journalism as well as theologians, volunteers, reform activists and pastoral workers in church service, came together last week in Rome to bring together decades of commitment to equal dignity and equal rights for women in the Catholic Church worldwide.
[ English ]
Die Reformbewegung "Wir sind Kirche" wirft dem emeritierten Papst Benedikt einen Beitrag zur Spaltung der katholischen Kirche vor. Seine jüngsten Äußerungen zum Zölibat seien "ungeheuerlich", sagte der Sprecher der Bewegung, Christian Weisner, am Montag in München.
Joseph Ratzinger habe nach seinem Rücktritt als Papst gesagt, "dass er schweigen und sich nicht mehr in die Kirchenpolitik einmischen will". Jetzt tue er sich aber mit einem dezidierten Kritiker seines Nachfolgers Papst Franziskus zusammen. "Das ist eine Kirchenspaltung, zu der er ganz entschieden und in ganz unverantwortlicher Weise beiträgt", sagte Weisner. "Das ist ein ganz ungutes Zeichen."
Weisner rief die katholischen Bischöfe auf, sich deutlich zu distanzieren und ihm zu sagen: "Lieber Joseph Ratzinger, jetzt ist es mal genug."
Auch inhaltlich ist das Festhalten am Zölibat, das Ratzinger laut Vorab-Abdrucken in der französischen Zeitung "Le Figaro" in einem neuen Buch gemeinsam mit dem konservativen Kardinal Robert Sarah fordert, aus Sicht von "Wir sind Kirche" der völlig falsche Weg. Die Kirche könne in Zeiten des weltweiten Priestermangels "eine Missionstätigkeit und die Aufrechthaltung der Gemeinden bei uns anders gar nicht leisten", sagte Weisner.
"In der ganzen Kirchengeschichte gab es lange Phasen, wo der Zölibat nicht verpflichtend gewesen ist", betonte er. "Die katholische Kirche hat sich in der Vergangenheit viel mehr gewandelt als man es uns heute weißmachen will."
AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION WITH DEEPL:
"We are Church" accuses Pope Benedict of church division The reform movement "We are Church" accuses the emeritus Pope Benedict of contributing to the division of the Catholic Church. His recent statements on celibacy are "outrageous", said the movement's spokesman, Christian Weisner, on Monday in Munich.
After his resignation as Pope, Joseph Ratzinger had said "that he would keep silent and no longer interfere in church politics". Now, however, he was joining forces with a determined critic of his successor Pope Francis. "This is a schism in the Church to which he is contributing in a very decisive and irresponsible way," Weisner said. "This is a very bad sign."
Weisner called on the Catholic bishops to distance themselves clearly and tell him: "Dear Joseph Ratzinger, enough is enough."
Also in terms of content, the adherence to celibacy, which Ratzinger demands together with the conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah in a new book, according to advance reprints in the French newspaper "Le Figaro", is from the point of view of "We are Church" the completely wrong way. In times of a worldwide lack of priests, the church could not otherwise "perform missionary work and keep the congregations upright in our country", Weisner said.
"In the whole history of the church there were long phases where celibacy was not obligatory," he stressed. "The Catholic Church has changed much more in the past than we are told today.
Best wishes
C h r i s t i a n W e i s n e r WE ARE CHURCH GERMANY
ALSO
Ratzinger, contro papa Francesco, diventa portavoce di tutta la destra presente in Curia e fuori
I know the plans I have for you, plans for your well-being and not for your evil, in order to give you a hopeful future. I, the Lord, affirm it (Jeremiah 29, 11).
A year ago, following the impulse of the Spirit, we began a self-convened and self-managed lay synodal time that, in its First Assembly, concluded, among other aspects, that the existence of structures in which the evil exercise of power is enclosed, by its asymmetry in the exercise of it, generates abuses that imply suffering to all the people of God. During 2019, we found that the abuse of power transcended the walls of the Church. It is a normalized practice that transcends the entire Chilean society, coming from political and economic structures that express an abusive system that contrasts with the dignity that everyone has for the fact, first, of being a person, and then for their condition of sons and daughters of God. The social outbreak of October 2019 made it evident.
Read more: SECOND DECLARATION ASSEMBLY SELF-CONVOCATED LAY SYNOD
Catholic women's network in German-speaking countries: "That's the only way forward!"
Catholic women of women's associations, initiatives, women religious orders and church bodies from Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland came together over the weekend to network for the very first time.
The global initiative Voices of Faith had invited the key figures to Stuttgart from 1 to 3 November 2019.
The women's network agreed that in view of the catastrophic church crisis, urgently needed reforms must now be tackled.
The network agrees with Doris Wagner's statement that we women urgently need to stop supporting violent structures. The effective participation of women is needed now, so that vulnerable and wounded people and the mortally threatened creation can once again be at the centre of church commitment. "We women no longer have time to wait. We stand up together and do our utmost to ensure that the church has a future: life-friendly and women-friendly. We call on all women: Use your positive power for change!" said Chantal Götz, Managing Director of Voices of Faith.
At this first meeting, the network identified key issues and gave working groups authority and confidence to work on these issues to overcome internal church blockages. Some of these issues discussed were: Sacrament theology and office structure, criteria and transparency in episcopal ordinations and appointments, symbolic order and vulnerability.
The network also agreed: We urgently need an international meeting at world church level. The participants empower Voices of Faith, with the support of the networks mentioned below, to take the organisation of this meeting into their own hands.
We Are Church Sees Hope for the World and the Catholic Church in Final Report of Amazon Synod;
But the perpetuation of women’s lower-class status in our Church remains a grave injustice
Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, +1 617-669-7810, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
October 27, 2019. We Are Church International sees reason for hope in the final document issued at the conclusion of the Amazon Synod. We Are Church International (WAC-International) stands in solidarity with all the people of the Amazon whose representatives have so bravely and passionately articulated the urgent crisis facing all of humanity due to the ecological destruction that has been underway in the region for decades. We stand with the indigenous leaders who spoke so passionately about the threats to their peoples and cultures and who stood firm against the economic imperialism that has led to the deaths of so many in the area.
Read more: Hope for the World and the Catholic Church from the Amazon Synod
September 26, 2019
For Immediate Release
[ German ]
International Catholic Reform Network (ICRN) supports the ongoing work in parishes that are calling women and men to prepare them to preside over the Eucharist. This includes being responsible for the pastoral care and sacramental life of their parish community as was practiced in the early Church before the institution of the ordained priesthood.
ICRN calls on the Polish Bishops to comply with Church teaching regarding LGBT people that calls all to respect the intrinsic dignity of each person in word, action, and law. Attached below is our Warsaw Statement on LGBT.
ICRN voted unanimously to support the charter on the Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of all Catholics worldwide which obligates the entire church to respect the primacy of conscience; the equality of all Catholics in the church; freedom of expression, including the freedom to dissent; the right and responsibility to participate in a Eucharistic community and to receive responsible pastoral care; genuine participation in decision making, including the selection of their leaders; due and just process when accusations are made; protection of children, and others.
PRESS RELEASE
NSAE (Nous sommes aussi l’Église - We also are Church) has been informed of very disturbing news from India, concerning rape cases of nuns.
In early 2018, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of Jalandhar, was accused by a Missionary sister of Jesus of having raped her repeatedly between 2014 and 2016. The bishop always denied it, under the well-known argument that it would be a conspiracy against the Church. For several months no one paid attention to the nun's complaint. But in September 2018, five of her sisters organized a sit-in to support her, with the participation of several nuns from different congregations and members of laity.
They were asking for the bishop's arrest, which they finally got : he was charged with rape and released on bail.
One of the sisters who supported her, Sr Lucy Kalappura, belonging to another congregation, the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, is currently the subject of vexations and sanctions, and has just been expelled from her community. Such a decision is extremely serious, as it denies the commitment a nun has made for the entire life, and that she intends to continue to assume. These sanctions are directly linked to her support for the raped sister. Sr. Lucy is known for her effective involvement with the poor and vulnerable people.
Summary of the conference
We Are Church has been sending a delegate to the Asian Youth Academy (AYA) and Asian Theology Forum (ATF) since 2013 (Didier van Houtte; Jean Pierre Schmitz; Martha Heizer and myself). It is organised by the Asian Lay Leaders (ALL) Forum which is managed by Paul Hwang. ALL invites young leaders (aged 25 – 35) from 12 – 15 different Asian countries to spend 10 days together learning about each others countries especially regarding Indigenous Peoples (IP), the environment, climate change, community building, cultures and faith development. In 2019 the meeting was in ChiangMai in Thailand, based in the CLUMP Centre in Doi Thong.
The program started with a Welcoming Ceremony lead by tribal chiefs. We were divided into 5 groups to visit and live in small remote villages of the Karen people. My group was based in Mae Aeb, a village of 150 people, 7 km off the main road along a bumpy twisting road. We tried planting rice, which was a wonderful experience to remove socks and shoes and squelch in the muddy 
water. We visited the weaving operations and had a long Question & Answer session with the village chief via interpreters and facilitators as the Karen people have their own language, which is very different to the Thai language; we had meals in our host families who looked after their guests first before eating themselves. We helped the village repair their access road with stone chippings, which we helped distribute to fill in holes and repair the road. Our village has now got many links with the outside world; 30 years ago they were totally agriculture based and self sufficient; today many of the young work in the city; and today the village has several pick up trucks, motor bikes, water & electricity supply, Satellite TV and mobile phone network coverage. They are mostly Catholic with a good number of Buddhists who cooperate well together.
Read more: Report on AYA/ATF in ChiangMai 1 – 11 August 2019
[ German ]
The German Bishops have announced a "binding synodal path" which will address (1) "Power, participation and separation of powers", (2) "Sexual morality" and (3) "Priestly life form". Pressure from Maria 2.0 and WAC Germany made the bishops add a 4th point: (4) "Women in the offices and ministries of the Church"
Synodal route in Germany: Third attempt
In response to the shocking results of the so-called abuse study published at the end of September 2018 ("MHG study"), the German bishops announced at their spring meeting in March 2019 a "binding synodal path" (see April issue CHURCH IN). Christian Weisner analyzes the opportunities and possibilities.
Read more: The German Bishops have announced a "binding synodal path"
Ora i viri probati dovranno celebrare l’Eucaristia.A ottobre il Sinodo.
[ English ]
Il documento preparatorio per il Sinodo sull’Amazzonia (6-27 ottobre), il cd Instrumentum Laboris, è, al solito, troppo lungo ma ottimo sia nelle analisi socioeconomicheambientali sia nelle proposte pastorali. Pensiamo che questa sua insolita ricchezza sia una conseguenza della vastissima consultazione di base che l’ha preceduto. Abbiamo notizie che il processo di ascolto ha coinvolto circa centomila persone, tra cui 170 etnie originali (quasi la metà di quelle censite) mediante assemblee nelle 103 chiese locali e molti forum tematici. Il Popolo di Dio ha parlato, il Sinodo dovrebbe andare su questa strada. Possiamo dire che in gran parte il “lavoro” dovrebbe essere già stato fatto. Indichiamo i punti principali che si susseguono e si ripetono nel documento e le questioni aperte. Il documento vale una lettura integrale.
[ Swedish ]
On the 25th Anniversary of ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS (22 May 1994) we see even more clearly that equality for women is the Christian way forward for the Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul ll reacted to the ordination of women in the Church of England in March 1994 by declaring that only men could be ordained as priests and that his judgment should be definitively held.
The argument was based on:
- The church not having the authority to ordain women
- That Mary the mother of Jesus was never ordained a priest
- Tradition
None of these arguments stands up:
- The church has the authority to ordain women and stop treating them as second class
- Jesus did not ordain anyone
- Women were leaders in the church for many centuries
The Church must constantly reform itself to remain faithful to Christ’s message to love another and to understand the signs of the times. In the world today we see more clearly than ever that women and men are fully equal in Christ. They must also be fully equal in our Church.
#######
We Are Church International (WAC-I) 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.
|
Colm Holmes Chair, We Are Church International E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. M: +353 86 606 3636 |
Marianne Duddy-Burke, USA Media, We Are Church International E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. M: +1 617 669 7810 |
25 Jahre "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis"
ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS oder die Absurdität der Unfehlbarkeit
Wir sind Kirche zum 25. Jahrestag der „endgültigen“ Feststellung der Weiheunfähigkeit von Frauen in der römisch-katholischen Kirche am 22. Mai 1994
Pressemitteilung, München und Innsbruck, 16. Mai 2019
Die deutsche KirchenVolksBewegung und die österreichische Plattform Wir sind Kirche protestieren nach wie vor energisch gegen das Apostolische Schreiben ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS von Papst Johannes Paul II über die nur Männern vorbehaltene Priesterweihe. Die Erklärung des Papstes, dass die Kirche keine Vollmacht habe, Frauen zu Diakoninnen und Priesterinnen zu weihen, steht in einer Reihe von Verlautbarungen aus Rom, in denen die Verkünder endgültiger Entscheidungen weder die Erkenntnisse eigener Expert*innen innerhalb und außerhalb der Hierarchie noch die Zeichen der Zeit erkannt haben.
Read more: ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS oder die Absurdität der Unfehlbarkeit
Wir sind Kirche zur Aussage von Papst Franziskus zum Frauen-Diakonat
Pressemitteilung Innsbruck, 8. Mai 2019
Im Hinblick auf die ausweichende Antwort von Papst Franziskus auf die am Rückflug von Nord-Mazedonien durch einen Journalisten gestellte Frage nach Diakoninnen fordert „Wir sind Kirche“ einmal mehr, sämtliche Ämter der Katholischen Kirche für Frauen zu öffnen.
Dass die von Franziskus eingesetzte Kommission zur Frage von Diakoninnen in der frühen Kirche offensichtlich zu keinem einheitlichen Ergebnis gekommen ist, mag kirchengeschichtlich interessant sein und zu weiteren Forschungen durch Historikerinnen und Historiker führen. Die Kirche aber wird niemals nur um ihre Vergangenheit kreisen dürfen, sondern wird Geschichte immer auch fortschreiben müssen. Eine Kirche des 21. Jahrhunderts kommt nicht umhin, Frauen und Männern unterschiedslos die gleiche Würde und die gleichen Rechte zuzusprechen, will sie in einer aufgeklärten Gesellschaft, die die Menschenrechte ernst nimmt, eine Rolle übernehmen.
Il testo di papa Ratzinger è un vero e proprio Manifesto per una Chiesa preconciliare ed anticonciliare, con molte caricature della realtà e tutto chiuso nell’identità cattolica. Ma non si tornerà indietro.
Vittorio Bellavite, coordinatore nazionale di Noi Siamo Chiesa
[ English ]
Il testo di papa Ratzinger diffuso ieri su una rivista tedesca è importante. E’ la prima volta che in modo pubblico dopo le sue dimissioni egli mette i piedi nel piatto delle grandi questioni che travagliano la Chiesa e lo fa in un momento delicato con papa Francesco sotto pressione da due versanti opposti sulla questione della pedofilia del clero, c’è chi lo accusa di essere troppo prudente e c’è chi si aspetta invece altri rinvii o insabbiamenti (anche senza dirlo esplicitamente). La posizione del papa emerito in questo testo si capisce che ha alle spalle una posizione critica più generale sul pontificato di Francesco, che però non viene esplicitata. Forse ha qualche suggeritore all’interno della Curia. Il parlare della pedofilia serve per un confronto/scontro più generale di tipo teologico e pastorale in cui da una parte c’è l’opposizione al “mondo” (che è il male) e dall’altra il dialogo e l’arricchimento reciproco con quanto è esterno alla Chiesa (è la linea del Concilio). Questa uscita di Ratzinger offusca la decisione evangelica (ed esemplare sotto il profilo dei problemi di governo della Chiesa) che egli prese con le sue dimissioni. Il suo testo, aldilà delle sue debolezze evidenti e della povertà del suo contenuto, ci sembra di una gravità eccezionale perché esso servirà come punto di riferimento nei prossimi tempi per gli insofferenti del magistero attuale considerato non dottrinale, troppo terzomondista, troppo ecumenico. Papa Bergoglio e il Card. Parolin sono stati informati del documento. Sicuramente non l’hanno gradito e dovranno fare buon viso a cattivo gioco. L’imbarazzo traspare anche da come il documento è stato presentato sull’Osservatore Romano e sull’Avvenire.
Reformation 500
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