Posts Tagged Joshua J. McElwee
In meeting with Fellay, Pope Francis shows double standard in the ‘culture of encounter’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 7, 2016
Earlier this week (Apr. 4), NCR’s Joshua J. McElwee reported that, on April 1, Pope Francis met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X. Founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Society widely rejects the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
“According to the society’s website, the ‘false teachings’ of Vatican II include the Council’s exhortations on religious liberty, ecumenism, liturgical reforms, collegiality and what they call the ‘modernist’ idea that ‘that the human conscience is the supreme arbiter of good and evil for each individual.’ The society is an ardent defender of the Tridentine Mass (Fellay’s liturgical dress rivals any garb donned by Cardinal Raymond Burke) and believes passionately in the supremacy of the Roman Catholic church over all other religions …
“If Francis can offer a forty-minute, private meeting to a formerly excommunicated bishop who has been performing the sacraments illicitly for decades and who believes that the Catholic church is laced with false teachings, why can’t the pope also extend the same invitation to Catholic theologians, ethicists, and lay ministers who challenge the church’s teaching on women’s ordination, the use of contraception, and the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons?”
By Jamie Mason, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this column.
Vatican guide says Francis’ family document puts doctrine ‘at service of pastoral mission’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 6, 2016
A Vatican reading guide sent to Catholic bishops globally ahead of the release of Pope Francis’ widely anticipated document on family life says the pontiff wants the church to adopt a new stance of inclusion towards society and to ensure its doctrines are ‘at the service of the pastoral mission.’
“The guide — sent by the Vatican’s office for the Synod of Bishops in preparation for Friday’s (Apr. 8) release of ‘Amoris Laetitia; On Love in the Family’ — explains that Francis ‘encourages not just a ‘renewal’ but even more, a real ‘conversion’ of language.
“‘The Gospel must not be merely theoretical, not detached from people’s real lives,’ states the guide. ‘To talk about the family and to families, the challenge is not to change doctrine but to inculturate the general principles in ways that they can be understood and practiced.’
“‘Our language should encourage and reassure every positive step taken by every real family,’ it continues.
“Amoris Laetitia, which in Latin means ‘The Joy of Love,’ is a document written by the pope following two back-to-back meetings of Catholic bishops at the Vatican in 2014 and 2015 on issues of family life.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pell admits ‘enormous mistakes’ in church’s abuse handling, calls it ‘absolutely scandalous’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 29, 2016
One of the Catholic church’s highest ranking cardinals, Vatican official George Pell, faced four hours of questioning about his role in the clergy sexual abuse crisis in his native Australia in an extraordinary overnight hearing Sunday, in which he admitted the church ‘has made enormous mistakes’ in its handling of dangerous priests.
“The cardinal, who has been among Pope Francis’ closest advisors in reforming the Vatican and now leads the city-state’s new centralized treasury department, also said that evidence of abuse brought forward by victims in past decades ‘were dismissed in absolutely scandalous circumstances.’
“Pell, who formerly served as an auxiliary bishop and then archbishop of Melbourne and then archbishop of Sydney, was testifying via video-link from Rome in the hours between Sunday and Monday in a hearing taking place in his home country on the church’s historic response to clergy sexual abuse.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Part 1: In new interview, Francis pushes for a church big on mercy, tough on law / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on January 11, 2016
Pope Francis has offered his most detailed outline yet for the role of the Catholic church in the modern era, saying in a new book-length interview (published in three parts) the church needs to follow Jesus’ example more closely and seek to ‘enter the darkness’ in which many of today’s people live.
“The pontiff has also responded sharply to church leaders who have criticized his focus on the boundless nature of God’s mercy and who suggest that the focus obscures church teachings.
“Francis compares such criticisms to ‘angry mutterings’ that Jesus also heard ‘from those who are only ever used to having things fit into their preconceived notions and ritual purity instead of letting themselves be surprised by reality, by a greater love or a higher standard.’
“In the new book, titled ‘The Name of God is Mercy‘ and to be released Tuesday (Nov. 12), the pope states: ‘Jesus goes and heals and integrates the marginalized, the ones who are outside the city, the ones outside the encampment. In so doing, he shows us the way.'”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story. Also by Joshua J. McElwee, “Part 2: The Pope’s personal encounters with mercy” and “Part 3: Francis explains ‘who am I to judge?'”
Francis exhorts Vatican prelates to be more mature, recognizes ‘smallness’ of work / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 21, 2015
Pope Francis has strongly urged the bishops and cardinals who head the various Vatican offices to act with more respect, honesty and maturity — and has told them that reform of the church’s central bureaucracy will go forward ‘with determination, clarity, and firm resolve.’
“In an annual pre-Christmas meeting with the leaders of what is called the Roman Curia, the pontiff also quoted a prayer long attributed to slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero to emphasize the ‘smallness’ of their work in the context of ‘God’s great project of salvation.’
“Referencing a similar speech he gave at this time last year — when the pope outlined 15 diseases he said were affecting the Vatican’s work — Francis said some of those diseases had manifested themselves in 2015, ‘causing not a little pain to the entire body [of the church] and wounding many souls.’”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Catholicism can and must change, Francis forcefully tells Italian church gathering / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on November 11, 2015
Pope Francis has strongly outlined a new, comprehensive vision for the future of the Catholic church, forcefully telling an emblematic meeting of the entire Italian church community here that our times require a deeply merciful Catholicism that is unafraid of change.
In a 49-minute speech to a decennial national conference of the Italian church — which is bringing together some 2,200 people from 220 dioceses to this historic renaissance city for five days — Francis said Catholics must realize: ‘We are not living an era of change but a change of era.’
“‘Christian doctrine is not a closed system incapable of generating questions, doubts, interrogatives — but is alive, knows being unsettled, enlivened,’ said the pope. ‘It has a face that is not rigid, it has a body that moves and grows, it has a soft flesh: it is called Jesus Christ.'”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Global women religious leader asks them to do synod’s unfinished work / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on October 26, 2015
The leader of the umbrella group for some 600,000 global Catholic women religious has said that in the wake of this month’s Synod of Bishops the women are called to carry forth the pastoral work that the official church is sometimes not able to do.
“Maltese Sr. Carmen Sammut — who participated in the Oct. 4-25 Synod as one of 32 women who took part in non-voting roles alongside the 270 prelate-members — said the women religious should engage with people church institutions may not even know need help.
“‘I think that we should not give up our role at the frontiers of the church,’ said Sammut, who heads the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Synod offers striking softening to remarried, proposing individual discernment / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 26, 2015
A worldwide gathering of some 270 Catholic bishops has recommended softening the church’s practice towards those who have divorced and remarried, saying such persons should discern decisions about their spiritual lives individually in concert with the guidance of priests.
“Pope Francis also closed the meeting with a strong renewal of his continual emphasis of the boundless nature of divine mercy, saying: ‘The Church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy.’
“Although the final document from the Oct. 4-25 Synod of Bishops says discernment for remarried persons can ‘never overlook the demands of truth and love in the Gospel,’ it seems to significantly move decision-making for how they can participate in the church to private conversations in dioceses around the world.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
No Communion for the divorced and remarried, as women take back-row seats at Family Synod
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on October 23, 2015
Drafting committee cardinal: Synod will not provide Communion path for remarried
One of the prelates responsible for drafting the final document from the ongoing Synod of Bishops has said he does not anticipate that it will propose changes in the Catholic church’s practices towards the divorced and remarried. Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias — one of ten prelates who co-drafted the document after three-weeks of intense deliberations among some 270 bishops at the Oct. 4-25 Synod — said in particular that one specific proposal that might have allowed the remarried to take Communion would likely not be mentioned.” By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Women fear their voices will be sidelined in synod’s final report
The rows of seats in the synod hall, where Catholic bishops are meeting to discuss family issues, are filled with bishops and cardinals — all male. To find any women, look to the back of the room. The women’s distance from the heart of the synod hall reflects fears raised by women’s groups that their participation is a mere token on the Vatican’s part.” By Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service, on Cruxnow.com
Catholic women sharply call for Synod to open to women’s participation, voices / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on September 17, 2015
A diverse global network of Catholic women is set to launch an expansive and compelling collection of writings before the opening of October’s Synod of Bishops, pointedly calling on the male prelates to include their half of humanity and its experience in the synod’s discussions.
“In 40 short essays mixing the sociological, theological, and sometimes deeply personal, the writers raise a number of weighty concerns for the hotly anticipated worldwide meeting of prelates on family life — centered on the fact that extraordinarily few women are invited or involved.
“At the heart of many of their concerns, however, is their own exclusion from the Synod process. While Francis has appointed 30 women to attend the Synod as auditors making contributions to the discussions, only the 279 male members of the meetings can vote …
“‘The absence of women’s perspectives at times of reflection on these issues is not only an act of disdain toward women, who make up more than half of religious and believers, it is also an impoverishment of Catholic life, writes (historian Lucetta) Scaraffia, one of 43 women writing for the essay collection, titled ‘Catholic Women Speak: Bringing Our Gifts to the Table.’”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
The collection of essays will be launched in Rome on Oct. 1.
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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