We mourn the death of
Pope Francis
17.12.1936 - 21.4.2025
"Sisters, brothers, in the wonder of the Easter faith, carrying in our hearts
every expectation of peace and liberation, we can say: with You, O Lord,
everything is new. With you, everything begins again."
Pope Francis, 20 April 2025
Tributes
But he would want us to look to the future
The Conclave begins on Wednesday, 7 May 2025
Quotes from the Presentations
But, there is
still a lot for the next Pope to do. There is no going back. That would be
walking out on the Spirit. Abhorring violent words and actions, he will be the
voice of those who have no voice, and when necessary, be a
disruptive voice who stubbornly insists on the way of justice, compassion and
peace. This is particularly important for us in Australia and Aotearoa New
Zealand where the legacy of colonialism continues to cast a dark shadow. Our
indigenous people are still not respected. Kevin Liston (Australia)
I dream of a church without clericalism
– Pope Francis said. What does clericalism mean? It means that ordained men
feel superior and are treated accordingly. And they have the sole say in
impotant decisions in our church, and are not held accountable. Church
leadership and ministry must not be left to ordained men alone. Governance and
decision making should be separated from ordination. The church needs to be
democratised with greater involvement of the people of God in all areas of
church governance. Martha
Heizer (Austria)
In Brazil and in
different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Pope Francis is always
very committed to the realities of the people.
Supporting social
movements mainly on the themes of Land, Work and Housing.
Sensitive to
people and families of sexual diversity, recognizing the importance of
traditional indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.
May our base
ecclesial communities be recognized as a new way of being Church.
May it recognize
that unity is the expression of love in the face of diversity of ministries,
charisms, genders, sexualities, and cultures.
Edson
Silva (Brazil)
“We
Are Church International” calls on the cardinals, to take the signs of the
times seriously. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we hope, the cardinals will
elect a successor who will continue and intensify Pope Francis' course of
reform with courage and vigour.
Christian Weisner (Germany)
I
pray that Pope Francis’ successor will promote unity in diversity and not unity
in uniformity! Colm Holmes (Ireland)
Sr Simona
Brambilla, was appointed Prefect of a Vatican dicastery by Pope Francis. She is
said to have received an invitation to the conclave “by mistake”. Why was that
a mistake? As a Prefect it was her right to be at the conclave. Virginia Saldanha (India)
There is no greater example of
the unfinished work of the Synod on Synodality than an all male conclave.
Ordained men are getting behind closed doors to make a consequenbtial decision
about the future of the church. This is a textbook definition of the “Old Boys
Club” Kate McElwee (USA)
We would like the Synodal process to
continue. That the voices of all to be intentionally heard: The youth; women;
people with disabilities; LGBTI people, migrants. That it really translates
into reality. They are now looking at the participation of the laity in elections
of bishops which will begin to pave the way up to the conclave. Nontando
Hadebe (South Africa)
About 3 years ago the German Synodal Way
made a number of formal recommendations, one of which has often been
overlooked. Let me quote it: The discussionon a church constitutionand on its
norms which would be fundamental for a legal system of the entire church must
be rekindled and brought to a positive conclusion. End of quote.
Coincidentally, a few months earlier here at the Wijngaards Institute for
Catholic Research we had recently released just such a proposed constitution.Luca
Badini Confalonieri (UK)
Latin American Lay Network
Lay Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean, about 70 virtually, worked in groups to reflect on Francis' papacy and present our concerns and needs for the next papacy to our Cardinals who will take part in the forthcoming Conclave.
Edson Silva participated as the representative of We Are Church (San Paulo/Brazil)
To Cardinals - Portuguese
To Cardinals - Spanish
To Cardinals - English
We present some pictures of the We Are Church team in Rome in 2013
both on duty and relaxing with each other.
2005
Awaiting the new Pope:
Prospects and Challenges of the Catholic Church
1998
A Pope for the
Time to Come:
Bishop of Rome
and Universal Pastor
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