Posts Tagged optional celibacy
An Open Letter from the People of God to U.S. Bishops
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Celibacy, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons on June 11, 2014
Voice of the Faithful® encourages interested Catholics to join with FutureChurch supporters and ask U.S. bishops to open a dialogue “about restoring our early traditions of married and celibate priests and male and female deacons.”
In an open letter to U.S. bishops, FutureChurch urges bishops “to discern the needs of all the people of God and to listen to Pope Francis’ call for courage in realizing reforms that will bring new vitality to Eucharistic communities.”
You can join this effort by clicking here to send your bishop a copy of the letter.
We need to shout loudly for our bishops to hear our Spirit-filled voices and help us change the Church.
Bishops Need to Be Couragious, Listen to the People — Discussing a Roman Catholic, Married Priesthood / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Celibacy, church reform, Future of the Church, Voice of the Faithful on April 22, 2014
Many Catholics will find hope in the conversation between Brazilian Bishop Erwin Kräutler and Pope Francis in which they discussed the ordination of married men as a serious and positive possibility.
“For the first time in a very long time, the idea of a Roman Catholic married priesthood is a topic that can be discussed and is being discussed inside the Francis administration. Pietro Parolin, recently made a cardinal, was clear about this in media interviews shortly after the pope named him secretary of state last summer. Celibacy ‘is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition,’ Parolin said. Even as archbishop in Argentina, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was open to the idea, saying celibacy for priests ‘is a matter of discipline, not of faith. It can change.'”
Click here to read the rest of this editorial by National Catholic Reporter.
Click here to see the Voice of the Faithful® webpage “Crisis in the Priesthood: Conversations about Celibacy,” which contains links to the history of celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church, VOTF position papers on celibacy and its effects, and action steps toward optional celibacy for Catholic priests.
Roman Catholic Bishops from England and Wales Call for Church to Allow Priests to Marry / The Independent
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Celibacy, church reform, Clergy, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 17, 2014
Roman Catholic bishops have called for the Church to take the historic step of allowing priests to be married amid growing signs of liberal reform under Pope Francis.
“The controversial issue is set to be raised at the next Bishops’ Conference after three bishops in England and Wales spoke out in favour of relaxing the centuries-old ban. Their comments follow signals from the Pontiff recently that he could be open to change on the issue and criticism of Britain’s most senior Catholic leaders for refusing to release the findings of a survey of their views on sexual ethics.”
By Jonathan Brown, The Independent — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Pope Francis — Married Men Could Be Ordained Priests If World Bishops Agree on It / The Tablet
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Celibacy, church reform, Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on April 10, 2014
A bishop who met with Pope Francis in a rare private audience on 4 April has said in an interview that the two men discussed the issue of the ordination of “proven” married men – viri probati – in a serious and positive way.
“Bishop Erwin Kräutler, Bishop of Xingu in the Brazilian rainforest, spoke to the Pope about Francis’ forthcoming encyclical on the environment, and the treatment of indigenous peoples but the desperate shortage of priests in the bishop’s huge diocese came up in the conversation. According to an interview the Austrian-born bishop gave to the daily Salzburger Nachrichten on 5 April, the Pope was open-minded about finding solutions to the problem, saying that bishops’ conferences could have a decisive role.”
By Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, The Tablet — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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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