Posts Tagged national catholic reporter
‘Excuse me, Your Eminence, she has not finished speaking’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clericalism, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on November 21, 2023
The synod recognized the church’s global infection with narcissistic clericalism. It said fine things about women in leadership and the care of other marginalized people. Yet the synod remains a secret in many places. Its good words don’t reach the people in the pews.
By Phyllis Zagano, National Catholic Reporter
“Without doubt, the best line to emanate from the synod on synodality is ‘Excuse me, Your Eminence, she has not finished speaking.’
“That sums up the synod and the state of the Catholic Church’s attitude toward change.
“In October, hundreds of bishops, joined by lay men and women, priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers met for nearly a month in Rome for the synod on synodality. At its end, the synod released a synthesis report brimming with the hope and the promise that the church would be a more listening church.
“Some 54 women voted at the synod. Back home, women are still ignored.
“Why?
“It is not because women quote the Second Vatican Council at parish council meetings. It is because too many bishops and pastors ignore parish councils.
“It is not because women of the world do not write to their pastors and bishops. It is because without large checks, their letters are ignored.”
By Phyllis Zagano, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
The synod meeting in Rome is done. What now? / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Voice of the Faithful on November 1, 2023
The document (A Synodal Church in Mission: Synthesis Report) makes clear that formation is not just for the ordained, nor something done only on Sunday at Mass.
By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter
“What now? The first session of the two-year synod in Rome has finished its work and published a final document. It offers ideas to guide the church in the next 11 months before the second session gathers in Rome next autumn. What does the task look like for the church here in the United States?
“The final document has some very specific proposals, and the section on formation especially has some clues about how to proceed.
“The text gives us the model for formation. ‘The way in which Jesus formed the disciples constitutes the model we need to follow. He did not merely impart teaching but he shared his life with them,’ the document states. ‘Through the example of his own prayer, he drew from them the request: ‘Teach us to pray.’ By feeding the crowds, he taught them not to dismiss the needy. By walking to Jerusalem, he showed the way to the Cross.’ None of that is easy.
“In our busy world, making time to pray is a challenge. It requires us all, from bishop to ‘C&E Catholics,’ to be willing to be taught. In our self-centered, consumerized culture, showing people the way to the cross is never easy. It is impossible unless we encounter with compassion those whose crosses are many or especially burdensome, and learn from them.
“The document makes clear that formation is not just for the ordained, nor something done only on Sunday at Mass.”
By Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Work still needed to bring justice to sexual abuse survivors, say advocates / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 16, 2023
‘I’ve read many statements over the years, but this one (Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Sept. 27) statement was something,’ Thorp said. ‘One sentence struck me like a lightning bolt: ‘No one should have to beg for justice in the church.’ I’ll repeat it: ‘No one should have to beg for justice in the church.’
By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter
“Despite more than two decades of efforts to transform the Catholic Church to bring justice to sexual abuse victims and ensure widespread abuse and its cover-up do not happen again, there is much to be done, advocates say.
“Barbara Thorp, a social worker and the former director of Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection for the Boston Archdiocese, told the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice Oct. 6 that while great strides have been made in some areas, shocking examples of failure continue to arise. “Barbara Thorp, a social worker and the former director of Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection for the Boston Archdiocese, told the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice Oct. 6 that while great strides have been made in some areas, shocking examples of failure continue to arise.
“‘The resistance to the necessary institutional changes to ensure justice are in many places not only glacial, but frozen,’ Thorp told several hundred attendees at the conference, which was held Oct. 5-7 at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. ‘Jesus said, ‘You are the light of the world,’ but in practice, it’s more like a 10-watt bulb flickering than the penetrating light of Christ.'”
By Dan Stockman, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
The synod could change whether women can be ordained as deacons or priests. These women are hopeful / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on September 19, 2023
Discerning Deacons co-directors Ellie Hidalgo and Casey Stanton told NCR they would like to see proposals about women’s participation emerge from the October meetings, especially since the topic surfaced in listening sessions around the world.
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter
“Advocates for women’s ordination — to the diaconate, the priesthood or both — say they are hopeful about the upcoming synod in Rome, despite some high-profile opposition to the possibility of expanded leadership opportunities for women in the church.”Advocates for women’s ordination — to the diaconate, the priesthood or both — say they are hopeful about the upcoming synod in Rome, despite some high-profile opposition to the possibility of expanded leadership opportunities for women in the church.
While they would like to see concrete proposals that increase women’s participation, those who spoke to NCR said they are also excited about the process of synodality itself and believe the Oct. 4-29 series of meetings will surface fruitful conversation and dialogue.
“My hope is in the commitment of all of us to be a synodal people,” said JoAnn Melina Lopez, director of faith formation at St. Basil Parish in Toronto, who will travel to Rome for a Sept. 30 ecumenical prayer vigil ahead of the synod. She will be part of a 17-member delegation of young adults affiliated with Discerning Deacons, a group that advocates for the restoration of women to the diaconate in the Catholic Church.
Documents summarizing two years of listening sessions in advance of the October series of meetings have included previously taboo topics, including women’s ordination, LGBTQ relationships, married priests and clergy sex abuse. In addition, for the first time in history, lay men and women will be included as full voting members of the synod.
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Is synodality just another word for collegiality? / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on September 14, 2023
But synodality goes beyond collegiality as a practical vision for the church. The instrumentum laboris (“working paper”) prepared for the synod delegates describes synodality not as a theory but as “a readiness to enter into a dynamic of constructive, respectful and prayerful speaking, listening and dialogue.”
By Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter
“In October, the Catholic Church is going to have an international meeting in Rome on the topic of synodality. This is an unfamiliar term to most Catholics, except those of Eastern traditions, whose bishops regularly come together in synods to govern the church. In the Western church, we call such meetings ‘councils,’ not synods.
“What then is synodality?
“My own unsophisticated understanding is that it is another word for “collegiality,” a term that became popular after the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s.
“At the council, bishops became conscious of their collegial responsibility with the pope for the governance of the church. It was wrong, they realized, to view the church as an absolute monarchy with bishops as vassals of the pope. The college of bishops, as successors of the apostles, has an important role to play.
“After the council, the term “collegial” became an adjective describing a new style of church leadership that envisioned consulting the laity on important issues facing the church. It was applied to not only bishops and their conferences, but dioceses and parishes.
“This widespread use of collegiality soon came under attack from the Vatican, with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) leading the charge. He insisted that collegiality in the strict sense applied only to the college of bishops under the pope. He made distinctions between ‘affective’ and ‘effective’ collegiality — the former saw bishops’ meetings as little more than mutual support; the latter considered them authoritative.”
By Thomas Reese, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century / Associated Press in National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on September 13, 2023
‘The situations identified surely amount to only the tip of the iceberg,’ said historians Monika Dommann and Marietta Meier in a statement.
By Jamey Keaten, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter
“A sweeping, year-long study of sex abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Sept. 12 has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal.”A sweeping, year-long study of sex abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Sept. 12 has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal.
“With few exceptions, those accused of wrongdoing were all male. Nearly three-fourths of the documents examined showed the sexual abuse involved minors.
“The report, commissioned by the Swiss Conference of Bishops and led by two University of Zurich historians, offers a deep look at sexual abuse and harassment that has confounded the Catholic Church across the globe in recent decades — upending the lives of many victims and their families, and tarnishing the image of the institution.
“The authors said in a statement that they identified 1,002 “situations of sexual abuse,” including accusations against 510 people. The abuse, they wrote, affected 921 people.
“‘The situations identified surely amount to only the tip of the iceberg,’ said the historians Monika Dommann and Marietta Meier in a statement.
“Among other findings, which were admittedly not exhaustive, over half — 56% — of the cases of sexual abuse involved men or boys. Some 39% of victims were women or girls, while sourcing did not allow for the remaining 5% percent to be identified by gender, according to the study.”
By Jamey Keaten, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
I am a woman who serves like a deacon. Will I ever share St. Phoebe’s title? / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on September 5, 2023
In some places, there is hesitation to seek the intercession of St. Phoebe, a hesitance to recognize her as a deacon. We know that the deacons of today are not the same as the deacons of the first centuries. But why are we afraid of this dream of women received as deacons? Women like me are already doing such work — just without the title.
By marie Philomene Pean, National Catholic Reporter
“As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I remember feeling like I lived in a paradise as I rested easy in my mother’s lap. She and our community made me feel safe, loved and seen. It was not hard for me to come to know God as a loving mother who cares for all his children. I sensed that God knew me and called me by name to go out and proclaim his word.
“By the age of 8, I was serving as a lector in our parish, and by the age of 18 was leading retreats for the Legion of Mary and speaking to groups of all ages. I felt welcomed to share who I was and bring forth my gifts.
“I had a vision of Jesus when I was about 15 years old, seeing him as a handsome Black man who patiently asked me the same question he had asked Peter in John’s Gospel: “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). I sensed then that Jesus was asking for my whole life.
“It has not been a straightforward path. I came of age in the 1990s, when the clearest way for a woman to live a deeper call and commitment to the church was through religious life. I spent years discerning becoming a nun — first volunteering with a community of sisters, then entering as a novice.
“The regular prayer, sisterhood and studies was enlivening. But I struggled, especially when service to the church too closely looked like servanthood. There were real constraints that limited how we could develop our gifts and capacities as women.”
By Marie Philomene Pean, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Synod raises hopes for long-sought recognition of women in the Catholic Church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church on August 21, 2023
‘It’s remarkable the shared cry that came through in ‘Enlarge the Space of Your Tent’ around the deep connection between creating a new synodal path in the church and a church that more fully receives the gifts that women bring,’ (Casey) Stanton (co-director of Discerning Deacons) said.
By Claire Giangrave, National Catholic Reporter
‘When Pope Francis called two years ago for a worldwide discussion among rank-and-file Catholics about the main challenges and issues facing the church, the question of women’s ministry and leadership echoed loudly in parishes and bishops’ assemblies.
“The question is resounding more loudly as the summit of bishops and lay Catholics known as the Synod on Synodality, scheduled for October, draws near. Participants and observers alike recognize that any conversation about reforming church hierarchy or promoting lay involvement, Francis’ twin goals for the synod, has to include honest exchanges about the role of women.
“‘It’s not just one issue among others that you can tease out,’ said Casey Stanton, co-director of Discerning Deacons, a group committed to promoting dialogue about the female diaconate in the church. ‘It’s actually kind of at the heart of the synod and we need to take a step forward that is meaningful, and that people can see and feel in their communities.'”
By Claire Giangrave, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
Joy and hope amid struggle at Women of the Church event / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Synod on Synodality, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on August 2, 2023
‘Because we’re living through it, we can fail to see how radical and exciting a time this is in the church,’ she (Kristin Colberg, associate professor of theology at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary) said.
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter
“At the third Women of the Church conference for Catholic women leaders, a morning prayer service began with a reading of the Gospel account of Mary of Magdala witnessing the resurrected Jesus outside the tomb. Participants were then asked to call out a word from the scripture passage that spoke to them. The most frequently shared word was ‘weeping.
“Catholic women have much to weep about, and many at the conference expressed pain, frustration and hurt by experiences of sexism in the church. But the overall vibe at the three-day event was one of joy and hope — brought on not only by the opportunity to pray, network and celebrate together, but also by optimism about the church’s upcoming synod on synodality and what it might mean for women’s leadership in the church.
“Keynote speaker Kristin Colberg set the tone the first night of the conference with her presentation titled ‘Fruit and Seed: New Roles for Women in a Synodal Church.’
“‘What’s happening with women in the church is not just the beginning of something new, but it’s the realization of something that’s already happening,’ said Colberg, associate professor of theology at St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary.”
By Heidi Schlumpf, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
New Vatican doctrinal chief admits mistakes in handling abuse allegations / AP in National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on July 11, 2023
(Archbishop Victor Manuel) Fernández said he had spoken to the pope about the criticism received about Lorenzo’s case and was told: “You explain reality as it was.”
By Almudena Calatrava and Natacha Pisarenko, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter
“Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, chosen by Pope Francis to head the Vatican office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy, conceded July 9 he made mistakes in handling a 2019 case of a priest accused of sexual abuse of minors.
“The case has drawn allegations by critics that Fernández tried to protect the priest, a charge that he has denied.
“‘Today I would certainly act very differently and certainly my performance was insufficient,’ he told The Associated Press during an interview after celebrating Mass in La Plata, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of Buenos Aires.
“Francis appointed Fernández on July 1 to head the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which guarantees doctrinal orthodoxy and one of whose areas involves handling sexual abuse allegations brought against clergy. He was also named a cardinal July 9 along with about two dozen religious.
By Almudena Calatrava and Natacha Pisarenko, Associated Press, in National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
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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