One of the most urgent tasks of bishops and priests is to "proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the requirements of the time," he said in a conversation with the Viennese theologian Jan-Heiner Tück on the online portal "communio.de" on the feast of Christ Ascension.

"Today, as in apostolic times, we should assign many other leadership tasks to deacons or qualified laypeople, women and men," Kasper added. He referred to the biblical book of Acts, which also deals with the election of deacons in the early Christian community.

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The Baptism occurred last Sunday at St Hedwig's Parish in the Catholic Diocese of Essen, in the Ruhr region of Western Germany.

I had no particular expectations on this issue. Still, the fact that a lay person, especially a woman, can baptise my daughter has excited my whole family," said Carolin Winkler, the young mother.

With a degree in theology, Elvira Neumann is a parish animator, bereavement support person and member of a team of three lay people who, together with a priest, are responsible for running the parish.

"In the past, I did the preparation with the families, but I had to leave the celebration itself to the deacon or the priest," she said.

"Now, I accompany the families to the end. It's a very powerful feeling and a real honour."

The Diocese of Essen is the first in Germany to allow lay people to baptise.

It is something that canon law allows in emergencies, and Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck said the priest shortage created such an emergency.

"We are reacting to a difficult pastoral situation," he explained.

The move is in line with a Vatican instruction in 2020 on the pastoral conversion of parishes.

Further south, the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart announced it would soon allow lay people to celebrate the sacrament of Baptism.

The changes in Germany are not without theological debate.

The reforms are part of the politicisation and secularisation of the Church, says Fr Joachim Heimerl.

He says this is not the way to ensure the administration of the sacraments and will likely mean priests and deacons will hardly ever baptise again.

He's predicting the laity will "seize it and defend it against the clergy."

Heimerl is also opposed to Germany's Synodal Path.

Also critical is Michael Seewald, professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Münster.

He labels the emergency measures as "fictitious".

He warns that the move could lead to a two-tier baptism where a priest would preside at a "real ceremony", and others will do it "on the cheap."

The professor is labelling the move merely as "a political symbol that is only a consolation prize and a placebo for women who cannot be ordained priests".

Catholic dioceses in Switzerland already permit lay-led baptismal services.

Source

• la-Croix International

Francis' new apostolic constitution, "Praedicate Evangelium" ("Preach the Gospel"), issued last month, noted that the heads of dicasteries and other offices that manage the church need not be ordained.

This highlighted Francis' stated aim to give "more space" to women in the church.

Most of the important dicasteries are as a matter of fact headed by cardinals.

But if any Catholic can head a curial office, the question becomes, does the title come with the job?

More importantly, is the title needed to do the job?

If the main duty of a cardinal is to be an adviser to the pope, and there is no ordination required, it could make sense to restart the tradition of lay cardinals and to include women in the mix.

Since the 16th century, cardinals have come mostly from the ranks of priests and bishops, but this has not always been the case.

Some Spanish and Italian royals were created cardinals in the medieval church. More recently, Pope Pius IX named the curial lawyer Teodolfo Mertel a cardinal, two months before ordaining him deacon in 1858.

Mertel was not exactly a lay cardinal — he received clerical tonsure, a rite just short of ordination, in his late 30s — but he remained a cardinal deacon for the rest of his life.

As auditor of the papal treasury, he oversaw a good part of the Vatican's money.

There is even historical evidence of female deacons doing much the same. A sixth-century inscription recalls the Deacon Anna, who, with her brother, appears to have served as the treasurer of Rome.

Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, however, anyone named cardinal was required to be at least a priest.

The 1983 version of the code dictates that in addition to being chosen from among men who are at least priests, new cardinals are to accept ordination as bishops.

Appointing a layman or woman would require a change to, or at least a dispensation from, the law.

Yet in the late 1960s, Pope Paul VI considered making the French philosopher Jacques Maritain a lay cardinal, an idea Maritain himself rejected.

There is a rumour that Mother Teresa turned down Pope John Paul II when he asked her to become a cardinal.

So lay and female cardinals are not beyond the realm of possibility.

The question is, would it make any difference?

It would certainly be interesting.

Lay or deacon cardinals would be admitted to the College of Cardinals, which since 1179 has elected the next pope. It's highly unlikely a lay or female cardinal would be elected the bishop of Rome.

But Francis has already named a layman, former journalist Paolo Ruffini, to head the Dicastery for Communication, and the pope's emphasis on the church's mission of evangelization signals that his choice of personnel — male or female, married or single, ordained or not — depends solely on an ability and willingness to do the job within that context.

The message of "Praedicate Evangelium" is that becoming a cardinal is secondary and relative only to how gaining the title would or would not advance the task at hand.

That includes expanding management and ministry to laypeople.

That also includes telling the world that women are equally talented and capable human beings.

So, has the time come for female cardinals?

Maybe so, maybe no. But it is a new church.

• Phyllis Zagano is a senior research associate and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University and was a member of the 2016-2018 Pontifical Commission for the Study of Women in the Diaconate. She is the author, most recently, of "Women: Icons of Christ" and "Women Religious, Women Deacons: Questions and Answers."
• First published in RNS. Republished with permission.

Aupetit has called for a study into the possibility of housing families and lay people in the buildings of the Paris seminary building.

Sharing meals and time for communal prayer, "seminarians will therefore be able to meet the people for whose pastoral care he will later be responsible," Aupetit says. Read more

"This is the Church's blind spot. It's there, very present, but nobody talks about it. We don't see them," she says.

Lesegretain, who is single, believes the relationship between the Church and single people should be looked at from a vocational perspective.

"For centuries, we heard that there are basically two vocations: the majority, called to marriage, and a minority, called to the priestly or religious life.

"When we are neither, we are led to believe that we have no vocation. And that's terrible, completely wrong and extremely devaluing. As soon as we are baptized, we have a vocation.

"This vocation is not related to your status. This status is a means to live this vocation," she says.

"At a time when priestly or religious vocations are falling, lay singles can be a chance for the Church."

Lesegretain says this is a delicate situation because singles might be upset with God.

Some will be asking "Am I forgotten by God?"

"We have anger toward God, and sometimes we do not dare to say it because we say that he loves us … So we are caught in a paradox," she adds.

"Do I accept to be looked at by God as I am, in this poverty? Because celibacy is a fragility, a poverty: It is not written on your forehead, but almost."

Lesegretain, who is often called to speak at conferences on the subject, says over the years she has met at least 2,000 single laypeople looking for a Christian meaning to their celibacy and a place in the Church.

She says she struggled with her faith and celibacy in her mid-30s.

"I did not see the meaning of celibacy as a Christian."

This led her to ask herself questions like "What does the Lord want from me?"

She says the social and personal pressures as a single person become sufferings for many single people.

"As a Christian, we were raised in the idea of giving ourselves, of loving one's life. And to whom am I giving my life?" she says she recalled wondering.

"I have heard many cases of singles who were seated at children's tables at family reunions. It's humiliating," she says.

"It's as if singles don't count. On top of that, we often end up feeling guilty. We say it's our fault, we live it as a failure. I am not enough this or that. We always think it's our fault."

Source

• Crux
• Image: Cruxnow.com

The papal criticism came in a letter from Francis to Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Cardinal Ouellet is also the Prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, which plays a crucial role in appointing leaders of dioceses across the world.

The letter, released by the Vatican on Tuesday, followed a meeting between the Pope and members of the Latin America commission.

The role of laity in Latin American countries was discussed at the meeting.

Francis stated in the letter: "The laity are part of the holy faithful People of God, and are therefore the protagonists of the Church and the world; we are called to serve them, not to make use of them."

He stated that priests must trust that the Holy Spirit is working in lay people and that the Spirit "is not only the 'property' of the ecclesial hierarchy".

He noted that "no one is baptised a priest or bishop" and described clericalism as "one of the greatest distortions affecting the Church in Latin America".

Francis criticised the "homogenisation" of the lay person that clericalism brings about, as well as the notion that the only committed lay people are those who work in church roles.

"Without realising it, we have created a lay elite believing that only those who work in things of priests are committed laypersons; and we have forgotten, neglected the believer that many times has their hope burned away in the daily fight to live the faith," stated the pontiff.

Pope Francis spoke of the importance of giving encouragement and support to the efforts of the lay faithful who work in the public sphere.

He stressed "it is not the job of the pastor to tell the lay people what they must do and say" in those situations, adding "they know more and better than us".

Rather, pastors "must remain at the side of our people, accompanying them in their work and stimulating that capable imagination of responding to current problems".

Sources

• The Tablet
• National Catholic Reporter
• Vatican Radio
• Image: Todays Catholic News

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform in St Paul-Minnesapolis has identified seven nominees to replace embattled Archbishop John Nienstedt.

During the first half of November, an "election-like process" will produce the three names to be sent to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Coalition board member Paula Ruddy acknowledged "as lay Catholics, we can't actually elect our leadership, but we want to raise our voices as concerned Christians who want a sustainable, healthy, Church".

The coalition's criteria included candidates being younger than 65, untainted by abuse scandals and being from the local area.

A consultant committee of four laypeople and five priests scrutinised those on a shortlist for abilities in key areas.

These were pastoral experience, credibility, theological aptitude, and experience working in social justice areas, with multiple generations, and in interfaith and diverse partnerships.

A key factor was "the ability to really act as shepherd and unify factions".

The National Catholic Reporter questioned the track record of one of the nominees in response to the abuse crisis.

Editorials in the local Star-Tribune and the New York Times have called upon Archbishop Nienstedt to resign.

He is undergoing an investigation into possible sexual misconduct and his archdiocese is facing legal action.

Former archdiocesan chancellor Jennifer Haselberger reported a "cavalier attitude about the safety of other people's children" at the archdiocese's top levels.

This led to lax investigations and continued priestly service by suspected abusers, she stated in an affidavit.

Archbishop Nienstedt has vowed to stay in office as long as Pope Francis wants him to.

He said he's never knowingly covered up clergy sexual abuse.

He also said he's created a new leadership team that puts victims first and he maintains he's always been honest with Catholics of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Nienstedt has previously cautioned local Catholics from interacting with the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform.

The coalition includes local chapters of DignityUSA, Call to Action and Roman Catholic Women Priests.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Star Tribune
• Huffington Post
• Image: Minnesota Public Radio

At the end of their twice-yearly conference in Sydney, the bishops said they had formed a supervisory group of representatives from the bishops' conference and Catholic Religious Australia.

They said this group would establish and oversee the 10-member Council for the Royal Commission.

The conference president, Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, said the new council would help the Church engage closely with the commission and the community.

He said expert lay people, including those with expertise in the care of sex abuse victims, would be on the council but he did not give any names.

"We need broad-based expertise so that the church together can face the truth, can provide a better response to the care of victims and also make Australia a safer place for our children," he said.

The bishops' statement welcomed the establishment of the royal commission.

"It is an opportunity for those who have suffered to obtain a compassionate hearing, justice and further healing," the bishops said.

"It is also an opportunity for the Church's processes to be scrutinised with greater objectivity. This will allow further refinements that seek justice and pastoral care.

"However imperfectly, this work has been going on in the Catholic Church for the last two decades. It will continue.

"Once again, we renew our heartfelt apology to those whose lives have been so grievously harmed by the evil perpetrated upon them by some priests, religious and church personnel . . . .

"Our hope is that, in its search for truth, the royal commission will present recommendations ensuring the best possible standards of child protection in our country," the bishops said.

"Painful and difficult as this might be for the Church, it is nothing compared to the hurt of those who have suffered sexual abuse, particularly by clergy and religious."

Sources:

Catholic Church in Australia

SBS

Sydney Morning Herald

Image: Press TV

"A committee is being formed — I don't know all the details about it — but there is going to be a process where there are a number of people, a larger number of people, who are not religious or bishops, who are involved in taking the process forward," said Sister Annette Cunliffe, RSC.

"They are the experts. The bishops and archbishops and ourselves are not as skillful and perhaps we're too close to the problem,"

Sister Annette is president of Catholic Religious Australia, which represents the leaders of 180 religious orders and congregations. She was speaking in an ABC television interview.

Her organisation earlier joined the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference in welcoming Prime Minister Julia Gillard's establishment of a royal commission to investigate child abuse in Australia.

Sister Annette described recent public statements by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, as too defensive and said a new way in dealing with abuse claims was needed to move forward.

"I think I hope that we are looking at greater openness and less defensiveness, so that we can open this crime to the light of day to what God would want of truth and honesty," she said.

Sister Annette said it was time for a new era in the Catholic Church where families no longer felt betrayed, and those doing good work for the poor and disadvantaged could hold their heads up high again.

"Hopefully [this will be] the beginning of a new era of openness and of collaboration within the whole Church to ensure that as far as possible, this does not happen again."

Sources:

ABC

Catholic Religious Australia

Image: ABC

In the tough economic climate it is feared that dioceses will increasingly to turn to priests to fill top jobs to save money, fuelling clericalism in the local curias. Continue reading

A lot has changed in parish life in a quarter-century, yet American Catholics are still predominantly attached to territorial parishes headed by a priest pastor. The model is being stretched and transformed, however, by tremendous demographic changes in the Catholic population. Church leaders are struggling to keep up.

In the years since we began this series on American Catholic laity, the Catholic population in the United States has increased by more than a fifth. It continues to grow at about 1 percent a year and even conservative estimates project that Catholics will top 100 million by the middle of the 21st century. The Catholic population is becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse as well, influenced by immigration from predominantly Catholic countries around the world.

Catholics are also more dispersed geographically than they were in 1987, continuing a late 20th-century pattern of movement out of the inner cities and into the suburbs, out of the traditional Catholic strongholds in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest and into the rapidly growing Sun Belt cities in the South and the Southwest. An unintended consequence of this growth and migration has been a mismatch between Catholic institutions and Catholic population. While more and more large, once-beautiful urban parishes and elementary schools in the traditional Catholic population centers such as Cleveland and Boston struggle under the burden of too few Catholics to provide financially for their maintenance or to keep them vibrant communities of faith, Catholics in Southern cities such as Atlanta and Fort Worth, Texas, are lobbying their bishops for new parishes and schools to accommodate the growth.

In 1987, there were about 19,600 parishes for 54 million Catholics, or about 2,700 Catholics for every parish. By 2011, the number of parishes had been reduced to about 17,800, a net decline of more than 7 percent. Even though most of the parish mergers and closures occurred in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, in areas that have lost Catholic population, there has been no corresponding increase in new parishes in the areas of the country that are experiencing the most growth. Thus, the ratio nationally is now more than 3,600 Catholics per parish. Read more

• Source: National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Hispanically Speaking News