News and Media Releases

Incontro dei Presidenti delle Conferenze episcopali:   per WE ARE CHURCH  è l’ultima possibilità per i responsabili della Chiesa  di correggere i gravi errori   per quanto riguarda gli abusi sui minori 

In occasione dell'incontro dal 21 al 24 febbraio 2019 al quale Papa Francesco ha invitato i leader di tutte le conferenze episcopali nel mondo, We Are Church International sottolinea la necessità che il Vaticano decida iniziative concrete e chiare che diano la priorità ai problemi  delle vittime di abusi sessuali da parte del clero sulla preoccupazione di proteggere l’istituzione.

"Questo vertice è l'ultima opportunità per i leader della Chiesa  cattolici di dimostrare al mondo e, soprattutto, alle vittime degli abusi di prendere sul serio la questione e di essere pronti  a intraprendere una vera riforma", ha dichiarato Colm Holmes di Dublino, Irlanda, presidente di We Are Church International. "Le persone che hanno subito abusi per mano di sacerdoti e che hanno visto i loro violentatori protetti dai responsabili della chiesa hanno  chiesto giustizia da decenni e  sono stati ignorate. È ora che le loro sofferenze e le loro richieste abbiano la priorità nella Chiesa”.

We Are Church International appoggia gli obiettivi di questo summit proposti da Marie Collins, che è sopravvissuta all'abuso sessuale, che è avvocato da lunga data ed ex membro del Pontificio Consiglio per la protezione dei minori. Questi obiettivi  sono:

1) Concordare su una chiara definizione di ciò che si intende per abuso sessuale di un minore;

2) Concordare su una definizione chiara del termine "tolleranza zero";

3) Aggiornare il diritto canonico su questi  termini e definizioni;

4) La legge canonica sugli abusi di adulti vulnerabili deve essere del tutto distinta da quella che riguarda  l'abuso su minori;

5) Dovrebbero essere concordate misure universali di protezione e una politica  di intervento trasparente per trattare secondo giustizia  ogni segnalazione di abuso;

6) Il Papa dovrebbe emettere un documento  in cui definire in modo inequivocabile  il procedimento sulla base del quale viene dichiarata  la responsabilità dei vescovi;

7) Il Papa deve in questo incontro indicare quali sono i vescovi colpevoli, dettagliando quale abuso è stato compiuto e rendere nota la punizione inflitta.

"Siamo una Chiesa universale, e abbiamo bisogno di una unica ed efficace politica  per proteggere i bambini e  fare fronte agli abusi sessuali sui minori quando è necessario", ha detto Holmes. "Non dovrebbe esserci differenza se un bambino che subisce violenza viva  in Europa, o in  Africa, o in  Asia, o in  Sud America, o in Australia o in  Nord America. Il crimine è lo stesso, e il colpevole deve affrontare le stesse conseguenze. "

Holmes ha concluso: "Ogni leader della chiesa che ha nascosto le azioni di un violentatore e non è riuscito a proteggere i bambini e le loro famiglie, deve essere privato del suo ruolo. I membri di We Are Church International seguiranno attentamente ciò che avverrà in questo incontro  insieme  ai cattolici di tutto il mondo.  Diciamo con chiarezza che il momento per   iniziative concrete e per definire  politiche generali è questo.  La vera credibilità della nostra Chiesa è in gioco. Solo facendo la cosa giusta ora ci sarà qualche possibilità per il Vaticano e i responsabili  della Chiesa di iniziare a ridare credibilità alla Chiesa ".

Roma, 1 febbraio 2019                                We Are Church International

Says this is the “Final Opportunity” for Church Leaders to Correct Failings

[ Italian ]

1 February 2019. In advance of the 21-24 February 2019 meeting Pope Francis has called with leaders of all of the national bishops’ conferences from around the world, We Are Church International stresses the need for the Vatican to take decisive, consistent, and clear action that prioritizes the needs of clerical sexual abuse victims over protection of the institution.

“This summit is the final opportunity that Catholic leaders have to show the Church, the world, and, most importantly, victims of clerical sexual abuse that they take this issue seriously and are ready to undertake real reform,” stated Colm Holmes of Dublin, Ireland, Chair of We Are Church International. “People who suffered abuse at the hands of priests, who saw their abusers protected by church officials, and whose repeated calls for justice have been ignored for too long have been speaking out for more than four decades. It is long past time for their needs to be our Church’s clear priority.”

Message from Colm Holmes, Chair of We Are Church International

This is certainly a time of turmoil in our hierarchical church with cardinals and bishops openly attacking Pope Francis and each other.

I am writing to invite you to consider taking part in a worldwide campaign leading up to the meeting of Pope Francis and the Heads of Bishops Conferences in Rome in February 2019.

Your WAC Co-ordinating team has agreed that WAC International join US Reform Groups campaign “Time’s Up: Catholics Demand Truth”

A large number of U.S. Reform Groups (including DignityUSA; Call To Action; WOC; FutureChurch) launched this campaign in September 2018. They are organizing prayer vigils on the first Sunday of November, December, January and February – leading up to the February 2019 meeting in Rome of all the Heads of Bishop’s Conferences. The call for truth covers 4 main areas (see Appendix 1 below for full details):

i. Survivor Justice and Civil Recourse

ii. Church Transparency and Accountability

iii. Patriarchy Dismantled in all its forms

iv. Clericalism Dismantled in all its forms

You will find more details at this website http://catholictoo.org/.

Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, +1 617=669-7810, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Contact: Raquel Mallavibarrena Martinez de Castro, +34 649332654, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[ Italian ]

We Are Church International (WAC) and European Network Church on the Move (EN) strongly oppose the canonization of Pope Paul VI, and the recent trend to quickly canonize many who serve as Popes. The rush to canonize Popes soon after their death which began late in the twentieth century contrasts strongly with prior Catholic tradition, which wisely allowed the passage of decades or even centuries to reveal both the personal character and impact of the papacy of each individual who served in that position. It also seems to be creating an idolatry of the papacy, again in violation of Catholic tradition and values. Many of our colleagues from other Christian denominations note that the trend also frustrates efforts to increase ecumenical collegiality. This concern must be taken seriously.

Considering these concerns, WAC and EN call for a reexamination of the entire process of canonization. We believe that the process must be conducted with transparency, that Popes should not be considered for sainthood until at least 100 years following their deaths, and that every member of the Church should have the opportunity to voice their support for or concerns about any candidate for sainthood.

On the specific case of Pope Paul VI, WAC and EN believe that his early work advocating for peace, increasing globalization, expanding interfaith collaboration, making liturgy more engaging of the laity, and raising up the voices of members of the church in Latin America must be balanced with the centralization of Vatican power, the damage done to the church by his promulgation of Humanae Vitae, and his insistence on obedience to ecclesial authority. It will take more time, we believe, for the church to understand whether his papacy advanced the Gospel agenda in our church and our world. In addition, the church must be able to consider archival records and testimonials that address his personal characteristics and determine if he truly embodies the qualities that deserve to be honored by the bestowal of sainthood.

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We Are Church International (WAC) 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.

The European Network Church on the Move (EN-RE) is a spontaneous convergence of organizations – associations, communities, informal groups and networks – of European Christians who are in majority Catholic, sharing

(1) the vision of a Church prophetic, ecumenical, liberating, supporting, loving, which neither excludes nor discriminates and which follows on the steps of Jesus the liberator

and

(2) the will to work, respecting cultural and religious diversity, for peace, justice, freedom, human rights and democracy, including in the Catholic Church (Cf Declaration of rights and freedoms in the Catholic Church, European Network 1994)

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 Italy:  I tanti dubbi di Noi Siamo Chiesa sulla canonizzazione di Paolo VI

Recent statements from Vatican officials, including Pope Francis, that women and lay people should be more fully represented in Church structure are undercut by the announcement of who will have voting authority at the upcoming Synod on Youth, say leaders of We Are Church International, a group in the forefront of global church reform. The list of those with the right to vote includes cardinals, bishops, ordained Vatican officials, priests, and even a few brothers. Women and the young adult lay representatives who are the focus of the Synod are described as “collaborators” and “observers,” and they are specifically banned from voting.

“Once again, the Vatican is demonstrating its total unwillingness to share power and authority with those of us who make up the vast majority of the Catholic church,” said Colm Holmes of Dublin, Ireland, Chair of We Are Church International. “It is a shame that those with the real expertise on the experience, gifts, hopes, and needs of young people are sidelined as observers as decisions that will shape their futures are made. And, of course, women, whom Pope Francis has repeatedly said should have more authority in the church, are excluded from the vote, as well. How long can this institution continue being so deaf to the cries for equality that are coming from every part of the church?”