Posts Tagged Joshua J. McElwee
African Jesuit Fr. Orobator quests for women’s inclusion in church structures / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on December 19, 2016
“We stand before God, as Cain was, befuddled by a question that we simply cannot wish away at the wave of a magisterial wand. The question is: ‘Church, where is your sister? Church where is your mother?'”
When theologians or others raise concerns about the exclusion of women from decision-making roles in the Catholic church, critics often say such concerns only come from a certain subset of the Western faith community. They say those in places like Africa, where the church is burgeoning, have other worries.
“Yet one of the most trenchant voices in recent years for the full inclusion of women in Catholic ministry has been a Nigerian Jesuit theologian and priest. In 2012, for example, he came to the premier annual theological conference in the U.S. with an unsparing message.
“Discrimination against women within the Catholic community is so manifest, said the priest, that the church ‘totters on the brink of compromising its self-identity as the basic sacrament of salvation.'”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Women deacons commission to meet in Rome for first time Nov. 25-26 / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church on November 21, 2016
The new Vatican commission studying the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church will be meeting in Rome for the first time as a full group Nov. 25-26.
“The dates of the meeting, anticipated in recent months, was first reported Saturday by the U.S. newspaper Newsday, which spoke to commission member and NCR columnist Phyllis Zagano.
“Pope Francis’ creation of the commission, formally known as the Study Commission on the Women’s Diaconate, has been seen as signaling an historic openness to the possibility of ending the Catholic church’s practice of an all-male clergy.”
by Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pope Francis dismisses critics of his teachings / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Amoris Laetitia, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on November 18, 2016
Pope Francis is firing back at foes of his efforts to make the Catholic church more open and pastoral in its ministry, telling an interviewer that ‘they are acting in bad faith to foment divisions.’
“The pontiff’s lengthy interview in Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian hierarchy, was published Friday and followed days of news coverage of demands by four hard-line cardinals who have grave concerns about Francis’ approach.
“The four say that focusing on ministering to people in their particular circumstances is eroding the church’s doctrinal absolutes and that Francis must dispel any ambiguities or face serious consequences.”
By David Gibson, Religion News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story, and click here to read NCR’s Joshua J. McElwee’s story “Flour cardinal challenge Francis over ‘Amoris Laetitia.'”
Four cardinals openly challenge Francis over ‘Amoris Laetitia’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Amoris Laetitia, Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 14, 2016
Four semi-retired cardinals have publicly questioned Pope Francis’ most recent teachings on family life, issuing an open letter to the pontiff with five yes or no questions about how he understands church teaching following the publication of his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetita.
“While the cardinals say they are writing the note in ‘an act of justice and charity’ to allow the pope to ‘dispel all ambiguity’ about his exhortation, they take a defiant tone and pit Francis’ document against others written by his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
“Publication of such an open challenge to a Catholic pontiff from some of his cardinals, who normally act as the pope’s staunchest defenders, is exceedingly rare.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Papal administrator of Guam archdiocese: Vatican preparing trial for accused archbishop / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 3, 2016
The papal appointee given authority to take charge of a Guam archdiocese rocked by allegations of sexual abuse against its archbishop has said the Vatican is preparing to put the prelate on trial.
“Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, who Pope Francis appointed in June to step-in over Agana Archbishop Anthony Apuron, told reporters Tuesday (Nov. 1) that ‘they just formed all the conditions for the trial.’
“‘I’m going to receive some news, some updates later,’ said Hon, who has been serving as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator while also remaining the second-in-command of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, Naitonal Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Members of Francis’ women deacons commission express diverse views / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons on August 9, 2016
The members of Pope Francis’ new commission to study whether women might serve as deacons in the Catholic church have expressed a wide range of views on the subject in the past, with some clearly supportive of the possibility while others say there is no firm historical precedent to follow.
“Very few members of the commission — comprising six men and six women and led by Vatican Archbishop Luis Ladaria — have made public comments since their appointments were announced in a brief press release Aug. 2.
“But as many of the appointed experts are theologians or other kinds of academics, some — like member and NCR contributor Phyllis Zagano of Hofstra University — have written extensively on the subject in the past.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Francis institutes commission to study female deacons, appointing gender-balanced membership / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church on August 2, 2016
Pope Francis has created a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, following up on a promise made last May in what could be an historic move towards ending the global institution’s practice of an all-male clergy.
“The pontiff has appointed an equal number of male and female experts as members of the commission, which will be led by Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, a Jesuit who serves as the second-in-command of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation.
“The Vatican said in a release announcing the commission Tuesday (Aug. 2) that the pope had decided to create the group ‘after intense prayer and mature reflection’ and wanted it particularly to study the history of the female diaconate ‘in the earliest times of the church.’
“The formal name given to the group is ‘Study Commission on the Women’s Diaconate.’ The commission’s members include experts in patristic theology, ecclesiology, and spirituality.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Francis to create commission to study female deacons in Catholic church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church on May 12, 2016
Pope Francis has announced he will create a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, signaling an historic openness to the possibility of ending the global institution’s practice of an all-male clergy.
“The pontiff indicated he would create such a commission during a meeting at the Vatican Thursday with some 900 leaders of the world’s congregations of Catholic women religious, who asked him during a question-and-answer session why the church excludes women from serving as deacons.
“The women religious, meeting with the pope as part of the triennial assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), told Francis that women has served as deacons in the early church and asked: ‘Why not construct an official commission that might study the question?’
“The pope responded that he had spoken about the matter once some years ago with a ‘good, wise professor’ who had studied the use of female deacons in the early centuries of the church. Francis said it remained unclear to him what role such deacons had.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Voice of the Faithful’s Women’s Initiative is dedicated to the proposition that all baptized Catholics—women and men—have equal access to all positions within the Church and have a voice in all decision-making processes. VOTF encourages conversation on all ministries and opportunities for women, but we focus our project work primarily on the restoration of the female diaconate.
Women Deacons: How Long? — paper on restoring the female diaconate to the Church (15 pages)
Suggested Readings: Women in the Church — additional resources and information on women’s roles (9 pages)
Francis rails against child sexual abuse, saying abusers must be ‘severely’ punished / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on May 1, 2016
Pope Francis railed against the sexual abuse of children in a weekly address in St. Peter’s Square Sunday (May 1), calling any such abuse a ‘tragedy’ and saying the church cannot tolerate the matter and ‘must severely punish the abusers.’
“Greeting members of an Italian association that has worked to raise awareness against pedophilia and to report sexual abuse crimes, who were present in the Square for the recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer, the pontiff thanked them for their work before departing from his prepared text.
“‘This is a tragedy,’ said Francis off the cuff, his voice raised and his arm extended from the window of the Vatican’s apostolic palace above the Square. ‘We must not tolerate the abuse of minors. We must defend minors. And we must severely punish the abusers.’
“The Catholic church around the world has been embroiled in scandals over its handling of sexually abusive clergy for decades, with survivors, advocates, law enforcement agencies, and some local jurisdictions saying members of the hierarchy covered up crimes in order to protect the institution at the risk of children’s well-being.”While Francis did not specifically mention the church or its response to abuse on Sunday, he spoke in the plural using a remarkably forceful tone.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Francis: Spirit works in laypeople, ‘is not property of the hierarchy’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clericalism, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 26, 2016
Pope Francis has again sharply denounced the culture of clericalism among priests in the Catholic church, calling it ‘one of the greatest deformations’ that must be confronted by the global faith community and saying it helps ‘diminish and undervalue’ the contributions that laypeople make.
“The pontiff has also strongly reaffirmed the right of laypeople to make decisions in their lives, saying that priests must trust that the Holy Spirit is working in them and that the Spirit ‘is not only the ‘property’ of the ecclesial hierarchy.’
“In a letter to Cardinal Marc Ouellet in his role as the head of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, released by the Vatican Tuesday (Apr. 25), Francis says he wants to speak to the members of the commission about how to better serve what he terms ‘the Holy Faithful People of God.’
“‘Evoking the Holy Faithful People of God is to evoke that horizon which we are invited to look at and reflect upon,’ states the pope. ‘It is the Holy Faithful People of God that as pastors we are continually invited to look to, to protect, to accompany, to sustain and to serve.'”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Voice of the Faithful wonders whether any clergy are listening to the Pope.
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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