At the Synod on Synodality, the Western media focused on a limited number of hot-button issues — women’s ordination, married priests and blessing of gay couples. But hidden in the synod participants’ 40-page synthesis are some surprising gems that could lead to significant reform in the church. The hidden gems The first is a new Read more
Lay people, especially women, will benefit from the Pope’s decision to expand those allowed to vote in the Synod on Synodality’s concluding discussions to include women, say leading Asian theologians. They agree the decision will compel Asia’s national churches to widen male and female lay Catholics’ participation in Church activities. The ruling means “the universal Read more
Catholics in Dublin are facing a new era where lay members of the community will be leading liturgies formerly conducted by priests. It’s just a matter of time before they’ll be conducting funerals, marriages and baptisms in the Dublin archdiocese and elsewhere, a diocesan spokesman says. They’ll be doing everything but celebrating the Mass and Read more
A call from Germany’s “synodal way” to give lay Catholics a clearly defined role in choosing bishops has run into problems. The Southern German Archdiocese of Bamberg says the decision seems incompatible with a concordat governing the appointment of bishops. In their document “Involvement of the faithful in the appointment of the diocesan bishop,” synodal Read more
Lay Catholics’ exclusion from the Church’s decision making processes is leading nowhere good, says Ireland’s former president Mary McAleese. The Catholic Church is at a critical crossroads in its history. If it fails to choose the right path “it risks an enduring permafrost”, she says. “Many of us are in growing despair of our Church’s Read more
Pope Francis’s little document Spiritus Domini is a most welcome development and a very interesting small brick in his larger pastoral edifice dedicated to implementing the reforms mandated over half a century ago by Vatican II. While some have presented Spiritus Domini as no more than giving formality to what has been common practice in some Read more
France’s Catholic bishops are planning to open their plenary assembly to lay participation. They made the decision following the passage of a controversial bioethics law despite mass church-backed opposition. Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort who is the French Catholic Bishops’ Conference president, “wants to change how our plenaries function and highlight themes common to both church Read more
A commission of lay Catholics to investigate his “brother bishops” has been called for by US Bishop Edward Scharfenberger. He wants a national, independent panel of expert lay faithful — completely separated from any source of power in the Church that could exert influence on them — to investigate the bishops. The panel should be Read more
The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity is positioning its website as a resource for lay men and women ahead of Pope Benedict’s Year of Faith, which will kick-off in October. “It is directed to all the lay faithful that want to know more about their vocation, about their role within the Church,” Ana Cristina Betancourt of Read more
In this fiftieth anniversary year of the opening of Vatican II, a number of interviews on Eureka Street TV have featured critical reflections from prominent Catholic thinkers and activists on various aspects of the Council. This interview is with journalist, author and broadcaster, Clifford Longley, who is one of the UK’s leading lay Catholics. He was invited Read more