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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We Are Church International, which represents Catholics from around the world committed to a just and inclusive Church, is expressing concern about plans for the Synod of Bishops in 2018, which will focus on youth, faith, and vocations.

“We agree with Pope Francis that it is vitally important for the Catholic Church to better understand the needs and perspectives of youth globally,” said Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair of We Are Church International. “They are, of course, the future of the Church, and they will be the ones addressing the complex issues facing our world. However, too many young people feel alienated from the Church, or believe it to be irrelevant or even destructive to the things they care about.

“For this Synod to have any impact, it will need to be very different from Synods of the past,” Grabmeier continued. “It will not be effective if the bishops are the only participants, and respond to input from questionnaires they and their colleagues answer. This must be a whole Church event. Young people, their parents, grandparents, teachers, and mentors must have a voice in the preparation, and they must be part of the Synod itself. It just will not work for a group of old, celibate men to make decisions on their own.”

We Are Church International calls on the Vatican to restructure the Synod so that lay people who are or who work with youth are part of the discussion and decision-making process. “This is the only way that what happens at the upcoming Synod will truly address the needs and potential of our Church,” concluded Grabmeier.

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We Are Church International (IMWAC) 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.

Contact:  Marianne Duddy-Burke, Media Coordinator, +1 617.669-7810, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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November 14, 2016. We Are Church International, which represents Catholics from around the world committed to Church reform, recently concluded its meeting in Rome, Italy. Highlights of the meeting included:

• A mixed assessment of the Papacy of Francis. The delegates expressed support for Pope Francis’ ongoing attempts to make the Catholic church more consultative, and for his vision for an “inverted pyramid” model of Church. In such a model, the Pope and bishops are at the narrow bottom of the pyramid, looking up to the people of the Church for direction. The delegates expressed disappointment with the Pope’s recent statements in which he failed to move beyond Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching that women could never be ordained in the Catholic Church.
• Solidarity with Popular Movements. Two-thirds of the delegates to the We Are Church International gathering accepted an invitation to join the closing sessions of the Third World Meeting of Popular Movements, which included an audience with Pope Francis. The two groups share a commitment to social justice, and support the ongoing application of the Church’s social justice principles in service of human dignity and liberation.
• Reports from Council 50 and the Global Council Networks. Following a global meeting of Catholics to mark the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of Vatican Council II, We Are Church International is supporting a series of Global Forums of Catholics to continue to work for a just and inclusive Church. The group met with organizers of the next Forum, to be held in Brazil November 2018.
• Review of representation at major Church events. We Are Church International reviewed the work done by members at the Synod on the Family, the World Meeting of Families, and the Asian Youth Academy/Asian Theology Forum. Each  event provided opportunities for We Are Church to meet with other members of the Church, and to increase awareness of its work.

The next formal meeting of We Are Church International will be in Rome in March 2018.

Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, Media Coordinator, +1 617 669 7810, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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We Are Church International (IMWAC) 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.

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Never say never.

In the past, our popes told us:

1. women are inferior to men

2. women must obey their husbands

3. women become unclean through child birth

And now Pope Francis has said that the teaching of Saint Pope John Paul II that women can never be ordained as Catholic priests is “the last word” and that it is “clear.” This is another belief that will fall away in time.

Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair of We Are Church International, said, “Our popes find it very hard to understand God’s call to women because they spend most of their time discussing the role of women with celibate men.  A renewed church is growing where all will be priests and prophets. This will better enable our church to live out the Gospel of Jesus. “

We Are Church International Council meeting in Rome
6 November 2016

Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, We Are Church media, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +1 617-669-7810

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We Are Church International, 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.

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International Catholic Church Reform Group Affirms Pope Francis’ Call for New Church Structure

Contacts: Marianne Duddy-Burke, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +1 617 669 7810
Christian Weisner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +49 172 5184082

We Are Church International (IMWAC), representing Church reform organizations from around the world, opened its 2016 meeting in Rome with a public witness at Caius Cestius Pyramid. The prayer vigil expressed support for the concept of an “inverted pyramid” model of Church, as expressed by Pope Francis in an October 2015 speech.

Colm Holmes of We Are Church Ireland, who coordinated the vigil said, “It is very exciting to hear Pope Francis talking about the kind of Church that We Are Church has long envisioned. The Pope and the Bishops should act as the servants of the people of God, rather than their superiors. We believe that reflects the Gospel, especially how Jesus modeled service to one another by the washing of the feet at the Last Supper.”

Sigrid Grabmeier of Germany, Chair of We Are Church International, added, “We Are Church fully endorses the inverted pyramid model of Church. We will work and pray every day for a Church that is service-oriented rather than focused on enforced compliance.”

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We Are Church International (IMWAC) 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.

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– Unterstützung des Reformkurses von Papst Franziskus – Weiterhin Einsatz für volle Gleichberechtigung der Frau und für die Frauenordination – Zweites Globales Forum des Gottesvolkes in 2018 Aparecida /Brasilien vorbereitet

Pressemitteilung Rom / München / Innsbruck, im November 2016

Die auf allen Kontinenten vertretene katholische Reformbewegung Wir sind Kirche hat auf Einladung des Vatikans erstmals an einer Audienz mit Papst Franziskus teilgenommen, mit einer Mahnwache in Rom den Reformkurs von Papst Franziskus unterstützt, sich aber auch kritisch zur jüngsten Aussage des Papstes auf die Frage nach der Öffnung des Priesteramts für Frauen geäußert. An den Treffen vom 4. bis 7. November 2016 in Rom haben Vertreterinnen und Vertreter aus insgesamt 13 Ländern aus Europa, Afrika, Nord- und Südamerika teilgenommen; aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum waren dies Dr. Martha Heizer (Österreich) sowie Sigrid Grabmeier und Christian Weisner (Deutschland). 

Mit einer Mahnwache zur Unterstützung des Reformkurses von Papst Franziskus begann das Jahrestreffen der Internationalen Bewegung Wir sind Kirche (IMWAC) am 4. November 2016 an der Caius Cestius Pyramide in Rom. Die Mahnwache griff in anschaulicher Weise ein Zitat von Papst Franziskus bei seiner Rede am 17. Oktober 2015 zur 50-Jahr-Feier der Errichtung der Bischofssynode auf: „Doch in dieser Kirche befindet sich der Gipfel wie bei einer auf den Kopf gestellten Pyramide unterhalb der Basis“.

Auf ausdrückliche Einladung des Vatikans hat eine Delegation der internationalen Bewegung Wir sind Kirche an der Abschlussveranstaltung des Dritten Welttreffens der Sozialen Bewegungen und der Audienz mit Papst Franziskus am 5. November 2016 in der Aula Paul VI. teilgenommen. Bei dem von Papst Franziskus erstmals 2014 einberufenen Welttreffen kamen zahlreiche Gruppen und Initiativen zusammen, die sich mit und für Menschen an den Rändern der Gesellschaft organisieren. Neben den eindrucksvollen Statements von Vertretern und Vertreterinnen verschiedenen Gruppen aus aller Welt setzte auch die Ansprache von Papst Franziskus sehr klare Zeichen. 

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A delegation from the We Are Church Council, meeting in Rome 4 to 6 November, were delighted to accept an invitation to attend this event.

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Media Advisory

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From Friday 21. to Sunday 23.of October, one week before „Reformation Day“, a meeting of three catholic reform groups, ITP - Institute for Theology and Politics Muenster, Readers Initative Public Forum and We are Church, took place in Lutherstadt Wittenberg:

"Do it like God - become man“, to talk about the continual renewal of churches, faith and the image of God.

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Pubblicato il 4 ottobre 2016

[English]

Le aperture pastorali di papa Francesco….

Non c’è dubbio che Papa Francesco stia cercando di dare una svolta al tradizionale atteggiamento di diffidenza (e anche di demonizzazione) di vaste aree del mondo cattolico nei confronti delle diversità sessuali. Tutti ormai conosciamo bene le sue parole, magari estemporanee ma eloquenti, conosciamo i suoi gesti. In particolare in questo campo i tempi di papa Benedetto sembrano veramente lontani, teniamolo presente. Gli omosessuali credenti si sono ben accorti di ciò e cercano di intensificare la loro presenza organizzata nella Chiesa perché si accorgono che è ora possibile uscire dal ghetto. Anche gli interventi a braccio di papa Francesco sull’aereo, di ritorno dal viaggio in Azerbaigian e Georgia (vedi di seguito il testo), dimostrano la sua attenzione alle situazioni, ai casi concreti di fronte ai quali: “questo farebbe Gesù”. Queste aperture sono però in contraddizione con la linea generale emersa nei due sinodi , di cui la “Amoris Laetitia” ha dovuto tenere conto. In quella sede una apertura in avanti alla realtà omosessuale è stata bloccata.

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Report on my participation, as invited delegate from IMWAC, to the AYA/ATF (Asian Youth Academy/ Asian Theology Forum) held in Suratthani (South Thailand) on August 17 to 27, 2016.

The last AYA/ATF meetings took place:

In 2013 in Changmai (northern Thailand) Didier Vanhoutte participated as IMWAC representative

In 2014 in Manila (Philippines)

In 2015 in Kerala (South India)

In 2016 in Suratthani, the specific themes were the following :

Youth Forum (AYA): “Solidarity with Migrants suffering poverty and inhumane living conditions.

Asian Theology Forum (ATF): “Sustainable development and integral ecology for peace on Asia”

General purpose of AYA/ATF as defined by Paul Hwang, main responsible of event organization.

Paul Hwang is director of the Center for Asia Peace and Solidarity under Woori Theology Institute, Chairperson of Theological Committee of Pax Romana- ICMICA, co-creator of ALL (Asian Lay Leader Forum)

Young lay activists in Asia are being called to strengthen their Christian identity as they embrace their local, traditional cultures, histories and religions. Although it is a complex work, it is necessary work. For Catholics to succeed in justice activities they need to cooperate with other religions similarly seeking a more just world order. This is yet another reason Asian lay Catholics need solid formation. Inter-religious work begins with solid Catholic formation. It is why AYA/ATF program put much emphasis on “Triple Dialogue” of FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops Conference) namely dialogue with the poor, diverse religious and cultural traditions in Asia, as well as Christian spirituality. Unfortunately, because of a lack of resources, they don’t get adequate support from their Church. In some cases they have been largely abandoned by some ones in the Church hierarchy who do not understand or do not agree with the idea of “the People of God” from Vatican II and Pope Francis’ vision of the “synodal church”. While our Church eagerly provides support for seminarians who want to enter the priesthood, it does very little for young lay leaders in great need of Catholic formation.

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'A re-thinking of the church’s official position is long overdue. The progressive Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, recently issued a lengthy and detailed rebuttal to Humanae Vitae, which has done so much harm in the fifty years since it was issued — harm not only to women, but to the church itself. To date, the statement has been signed by more than 80 scholars, ethicists and scientists.' (Huffington Post)

'Former Irish president Mary McAleese is supporting a campaign by a Catholic think tank to persuade the Vatican to revoke its 48-year-old ban on contraception.' (The Times)

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Thomas P. Doyle, J.C.D., C.A.D.C. ANNUAL SNAP CONFERENCE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS June 24 to 26, 2016 Revised August 16, 2016 (Reproduced with permission)

In the original presentation I followed the basic format suggested for speakers at Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve Step meetings: What is was like before. What Happened. What it is like now. I have revised the original and expanded it to article length and have retained to this format.

WHAT IT WAS LIKE BEFORE

The present era of awareness of sexual violation by Catholic clerics began in 1983 in two Catholic dioceses: the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. This was not the start date of the problem of sexual violation but the beginning of widespread public awareness.

The reality of sexually dysfunctional clerics preying on minors and adults goes back through the centuries. In our lifetime it had been covered with a thick blanket of secrecy. It was unknown to the vast majority of lay persons and clerics as well. Many bishops knew about it but when they had to confront real cases they did so in secret with only a very small number of their closest advisors, all clerics, involved. Although they knew about sexual violation of minors in general, they were incapable of comprehending both its deeply pathological nature and its disastrous effects on victims.

Few knew about such abuse in the Church and even fewer believed it existed and this was due to the nature of the Catholic Church at the time. Back in the forties and fifties there was only one Catholic Church and it was the visible monarchical structure, a stratified society with a clerical aristocracy that was made up of celibate men and the vast ocean of lay commoners. The wall between the clerical caste and the “faithful” as the commoners are known, was steep and almost totally impenetrable.

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(Vatican Radio) In the course of a dialogue during a meeting with the participants in the Plenary Assembly of Superiors General, which took place in May, Pope Francis expressed his intention to “establish an official commission that could study the question” of the diaconate of women, “especially with regard to the first ages of the Church.”

After intense prayer and mature reflection, Pope Francis has decided to institute the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women. As president of the Commission, Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, SJ. In addition to Archbishop Ladaria, the commission is composed of six women and six men from academic institutions around the world.

Below, please find the complete list of the members of the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women:

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On 100th German Katholikentag  from 25 to 29 May 2016 Leipzig with the motto, "Behold the man " the Church People's Movement We Are Church was  again intensively involved under the headline: "Future. For church. For all humans."

• - With events within the program of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK)
• - With the "talks at Jacob's Well" on the We Are Church stand on the church mile
• - And with the Catholic plus together with the Reader´s Initiative Publik-Forum at the "Alte Börse".

Also  Eva-Maria Kiklas has been called for We Are Church from ZdK in the preparatory group -  "local Church - Church with the people".

What are „Katholikentage“?

The first German Catholic Congress was held from October 3 to 6 October 1848 in Mainz as "General Assembly of the Catholic Association of Germany", thrilled by the bourgeois-democratic revolution in March 1848 and as a reaction to the suppression of the Catholic population by the Protestant governments since the Congress of Vienna from 1814 to 1815, which resulted later in the Kulturkampf. At that time, the Katholikentag was purely a delegates meeting, for men only, to the 87 Club Members and around 100 other clergy and lay participants came.

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Pubblicato il 14 giugno 2016

Riforma della Curia senza riforma. Non siamo sulla strada giusta.

Tra i propositi ben noti e largamente condivisi fin dall’inizio del pontificato di papa Francesco vi è la riforma della Curia vaticana. Di ciò si parla poco. La forte immagine e la linea pastorale di questo papa nascondono o lasciano in secondo piano il funzionamento della struttura centrale della Chiesa e il problema urgente di come modificarla. Per ragionare sulla questione bisogna essere informati sugli organi centrali, cosa non difficile almeno in prima approssimazione. Notizie si trovano online e sull’Annuario Pontificio. Nell’opinione cattolica spesso non si ha consapevolezza delle dimensioni della Curia. Le Congregazioni sono nove, i Pontifici Consigli sono dodici, le Pontificie Commissioni sono sei, le Accademie pontificie sono undici, i Tribunali sono tre oltre alle istituzioni collegate che sono quattordici (tra le quali tutto il sistema della comunicazione). Poi c’è il Sinodo dei vescovi e la Segreteria di Stato, dalla quale dipendono le rappresentanze pontificie presso gli stati che sono 178 mentre 35 sono le organizzazioni internazionale nelle quali la S. Sede è presente a vario titolo.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Local bishops have an obligation to welcome new movements and communities and guide them, while the groups have an obligation to obey the local bishop and avoid the appearance of setting up a parallel church, said a new Vatican document.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's letter to bishops around the world on "the relationship between hierarchical and charismatic gifts in the life and mission of the church" was released June 14.

The hierarchical gifts -- teaching, sanctifying and governing -- are those conferred with ordination. The charismatic gifts refer to those given by the Holy Spirit to groups or individuals to help them live the faith more intensely and to share the faith with others through missionary activity and acts of charity.

Read the article

Read Iuvenescit Ecclesia

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Mons. Capovilla: un protagonista del Concilio. Il cordoglio di Noi Siamo Chiesa e dell’International Movement We Are Church

[ English ]

Il coordinatore nazionale di Noi Siamo Chiesa Vittorio Bellavite ha rilasciato la seguente dichiarazione:

“Ho partecipato questa mattina a Sotto Il Monte ai funerali di Mons. Loris Capovilla, il segretario di papa Giovanni. Vi ho rappresentato il sincero cordoglio di tutte e di tutti di Noi Siamo Chiesa , dell’International Movement We Are Church(IMWAC), oltre che quello mio personale, avendolo ben conosciuto negli ultimi anni.

Dire “Capovilla” voleva dire “Concilio”, voleva dire “papa Giovanni”, per lunghi difficili anni nella vita della Chiesa. Mons. Loris è stato un vescovo che ha sempre ascoltato, e con vero interesse, quanto pensavamo e quanto scrivevamo. Per quanto tendesse a difendere comunque l’istituzione ecclesiastica e a vederne soprattutto gli aspetti positivi, posso dire che egli guardava con grande attenzione e disponibilità alle nostre analisi e alle nostre proposte. Con lui si era stabilito un rapporto fondato su un dialogo vero.

Le sue posizioni erano esplicitamente e senza riserve per il Concilio e per lo spirito del Concilio di cui era stato uno dei protagonisti nascosti; si capiva bene, conversando con lui, la sua sofferenza, anche se mai esplicitata in modo diretto, per i freni che ne hanno bloccato per decenni l’attuazione. A lui chiedevano consiglio e con lui si sfogavano esponenti della struttura ecclesiale insofferenti per la situazione nella Chiesa. Di qui la sua evidente gioia per l’elezione di papa Francesco che egli considerava un nuovo papa Giovanni e che gli concesse quella porpora cardinalizia che gli era sempre stata negata per ciò che egli rappresentava nell’immaginario di una vasta area del mondo cattolico”.

Roma, 30 maggio 2016

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Women's Ordination Conference USA have issued the following Press Release

Rome, Italy:  The Women's Ordination Conference (WOC) applauds the women religious of the International Union Superior Generals (UISG) for brazenly dialoguing with Pope Francis on leadership and ministerial roles for women in the Church, including the opening of the diaconate to women.  In response to the sisters' questions, Pope Francis agreed to launch a Vatican Commission to study the diaconate to include women, stating: "It would be good to clarify this."

Opening a commission to study the diaconate for women would be a great step for the Vatican in recognizing its own history.  Decades of research on this topic has already been published by renowned feminist voices. WOC recommends that the Vatican's commission include the following scholars: Gary Macy, Dorothy Irving, Ida Raming, Sr. Christine Schenk, John Wijngaards, and Phyllis Zagano.

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Fr. Hans Kung says Francis responded to request for free discussion on infallibility dogma

Radio Vatican report:

Nach Aussage von Hans Küng selbst hat Papst Franziskus auf sein Schreiben geantwortet, mit dem der Tübinger Theologe eine freie Diskussion über das päpstliche Unfehlbarkeitsdogma gefordert hatte. Wie der Onlinenachrichtendienst National Catholic Reporter (NCR) berichtet, habe Papst Franziskus ihm über die Berliner Nuntiatur einen Brief zukommen lassen, in dem die Anrede „Lieber Mitbruder“ handschriftlich verfasst sei und in dem er sich offen für eine Diskussion zum erst seit 1870 geltenden Unfehlbarkeitsanspruch ex cathedra zeige.

Den Brief selbst wolle Küng aus Gründen der Vertraulichkeit nicht herzeigen, doch er sei begeistert über die Öffnung, die Papst Franziskus bereits mit der Veröffentlichung seiner apostolischen Exhortation Amoris Laetitia und nun auch mit der Antwort auf seinen Aufruf zur Diskussion gezeigt habe. „Das ist der neue Geist, den ich mir stets vom Magisterium erwartet habe“, zitiert NCR Küng. „Diesen neuen Freiraum, so meine Folgerung, gilt es zu nutzen, um die Klärung der in der katholischen Kirche und Ökumene umstrittenen dogmatischen Festlegung voranzutreiben“, betont Küng. Dem Papst gelte für diese neue Denkfreiheit „mein tief empfundener Dank“, berichtet auch die Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) unter Berufung auf den Theologen.

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Tuesday that the clergy should serve lay people and not make use of them and spoke out against clericalism, calling it one of the greatest distortions affecting the Church in Latin America. His comments came in a wide-ranging letter reflecting on the role of the laity that was addressed to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.  The Pope’s letter was a follow-up to the commission’s recent Plenary Assembly whose theme was “the indispensable role of the lay faithful in the public life of Latin American countries.” In his letter, Pope Francis explained that he wished to follow-up the discussions and reflections that emerged during the Plenary Assembly in order to prevent them "from not bearing fruit." 

He urged the clergy to look closely at the people and lives of the lay faithful and avoid falling into the trap of adopting certain slogans on their behalf that seem well-meaning but in practice don't succeed in supporting the lives of our communities. Pointing to the example of a famous phrase “it’s time for the laity,” he noted that in this particular case, that clock has ground to a halt.

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Catholics decry modern-day inquisition

An international group of Catholic sisters, priests and lay people, all of whom have been ‘delated’ (i.e. reported) and subjected to ‘examination’ by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), formerly known as the Holy Office of the Roman Inquisition, have said that this body “doesn’t reflect the gospel values of justice, truth, integrity and mercy that the Catholic Church professes to uphold” and that are called for by Pope Francis. They also say that the CDF “acts in ways that are out of keeping with contemporary concepts of human rights, accountability and transparency that the world expects from the Christian community and which the Catholic Church demands from secular organizations.”

“Can you get justice from a body that acts as investigator, accuser, judge and jury and then imposes the penalty?” spokesman for the group, church historian Paul Collins asks. “And then, if an appeal is made, it is heard by the same people,” Collins adds. The accused have to deal with secrecy and anonymity, often having to negotiate with the CDF at third or fourth hand via a network of superiors and bishops. “People are not informed as to who accused them,” Collins says, “there is no presumption of innocence, the accused don’t know who is judging them with prosecutors acting as judges; they don’t even know who their defense counsel is. They are usually never given a chance to defend themselves verbally and in person. Letters go unanswered for months, or are “lost”.