8 December marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major Holy Day in the Catholic calendar. It commemorates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved from Original Sin.
In marking this feast, many Catholics will pray the Magnificat, the prayer attributed to Mary on the occasion of the visit to her cousin Elizabeth. In that prayer, Mary praises God for reversing the social order. She proclaims that God
“has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.” (Luke 1: 51b-53)
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, We Are Church International calls for continued efforts to achieve the Inverted Pyramid model of Church described by Pope Francis in an October 2015 speech. Like the world of Mary and Jesus’ time, the Catholic Church clearly needs to reverse the order of power. The Pope, Cardinals and Bishops must see themselves as serving the needs of God’s people, rather than as enforcers of dogma. In this way, our Church will realize its true mission. One possible step forward would be to have our bishops elected by the people of each diocese rather than selected by Rome.
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We Are Church International (IMWAC) founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.
Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke,