Representatives from countries around the world.

Pictured, Sigrid Grabmeier, We Are Church (Germany) hands the Chair of the Council to Colm Holmes, We Are Church (Ireland).

A personal reflection from Colm Holmes

25 delegates from 12 countries attended meetings in Rome where much was discussed and ideas shared.

For me there were two highlights:

• Our Prayer Vigil close to St Peter’s at 10pm on St Patrick’s Day
• Our shared Eucharist

Those were two very special occasions where we prayed and shared at a deeper level with the Holy Spirit very present.

On the Friday we had a Joint meeting with the European Network Church on the Move (EN-RE). Martha Heizer shared her experiences from the AYA/ATP meeting in Indonesia where young leaders from 10 Asian countries discussed how they deal with life and death issues. Edson Silva presented an overview on Liberation Theology which led right up to the assassination of Marielle Franco, a young woman Council Member in Rio on 14 March 2018. We hope Edson’s paper will be translated into English.

The Joint meeting with EN-RE produced suggestions for 5 possible Joint Projects.

The WAC-International meetings included:

• Country Reports
• We have 21 members in 19 countries (2 members each in both France and Brazil)
• 500th anniversary of the Reformation witnesses outside and inside churches in 17 countries and 6 continents and using social media to share over 500 photos
• Red scarf Pentecost celebration
• 18 Press Releases issued
• Next WAC-International meeting will again be held in Rome at the end of March 2020.
• We linked up online with Ashik Naz Khokhar in Pakistan
• The election of our new Coordinating Team:

§ Chair Colm Holmes (Ireland)
§ Vice Chair Martha Heizer (Austria)
§ Communications Valerie Stroud (Great Britain)
- - Assistant Ashik Naz Khokhar (Pakistan)
§ Media coordinator Marianne Duddy Burke (U.S.A.)
§ Treasurer ? [Interim: Colm Holmes Ireland]
§ Membership In-Reach Martha Heizer (Austria)
- - Assistant Erik Westerberg (Sweden)
§ Outreach Jean-Pierre Schmitz (France)
- - Assistant Ed Schreurs (Netherlands)

Following up from the Council 50 meeting in Rome there is a large team working on the GCN Aparacida meeting in Brazil 15-18 November 2018 which has three titles:

• 2nd Global Forum of the People of God from Medellin 1968 to Aparacida 2018
• “EMPOWERING THE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH AND IN SOCIETY”
• The Gospel challenged by globalization: justice, peace, democracy, environment, spirituality

The keynote speaker will be Leonardo Boff with many other Brazilian and international speakers.

My sincere thanks to all our members who give freely of their time, energy and expertise to help to reform our Church into a more Christ like body.

We Are Church International (WAC-I) e la Rete europea Church on the Move (EN) sperano che Papa Francesco prosegua il processo di riforma della Chiesa cattolica .

L'elezione del primo Papa sudamericano, che iniziò il suo papato chiedendo a tutti di pregare per lui, suscitò grandi speranze in molti cattolici, specialmente in quelli che erano stati frustrati dall’abbandono nella Chiesa della linea del Concilio Vaticano II, in cui essi avevano visto l’indicazione di una maggiore fedeltà al Vangelo e di una maggiore possibilità di evangelizzazione tenendo conto dei segni dei tempi. .

WAC-I e EN lodano Francis perché propone un modello di vita in solidarietà con i poveri, incoraggiando il dialogo all'interno e all'esterno della Chiesa, tentando di frenare l'abuso della ricchezza e del potere nella Chiesa e parlando in modo comprensibile a tutti.  Tuttavia, molte delle sue riforme sono contrastate da funzionari della Chiesa nominati dai precedenti Papi, Giovanni Paolo II e Benedetto XVI.  WAC-I e EN invitano i Cardinali, i vescovi e tutti i cattolici a condividere la visione di Francesco di una Chiesa che, nella sua gestione, serva il Popolo di Dio e il mondo.

WAC-I e EN si congratulano con Papa Francesco per la sua strenua difesa dei profughi e dei migranti, per il suo forte impegno per la pace fondata sulla giustizia nel mondo, per la sua proposta di usare la nonviolenza in ogni conflitto, per la sua presenza visibile tra le comunità emarginate, per la semplicità nella sua vita personale. Condividono pienamente il messaggio contenuto nella sua enciclica Laudato Si. Riconoscono il suo coraggio nel castigare e declassare vescovi e cardinali che ostentano ricchezza e nel proporre a chi guida la Chiesa un approccio pastorale e non burocratico nel ministero.

Apprezzano che il Papa si sia concentrato sulle aree emarginate del mondo nella nomina di nuovi Cardinali e abbia deciso di valutare come prioritarie le capacità pastorali nella designazione dei nuovi vescovi.  Sostengono i tentativi del Papa di aprire il dialogo su questioni importanti per le famiglie e per i giovani e di invitare esponenti della chiesa nella preparazione dei Sinodi. WAC International and EN condividono gli sforzi di Papa Francesco per maggiore trasparenza in materia finanziaria. Condividono il suo impegno nel dialogo con le altre chiese cristiane e con le altre fedi religiose.

 I due movimenti WE Are Church e EN hanno anche espresso una profonda delusione per la mancanza di cambiamenti sostanziali in alcuni settori della politica e della dottrina della Chiesa, e per l’opposizione che i tentativi di riforma del Papa hanno incontrato all'interno della Curia.  Essi fanno presente che il Popolo di Dio rimane escluso dal processo decisionale a tutti i livelli nella Chiesa mentre Papa Francesco chiede che il dialogo sia praticato a tutti i livelli.  Hanno anche fatto presente che non c'è stato alcun cambiamento significativo per quanto riguarda la condizione di disuguaglianza delle donne nella Chiesa, nonostante la nomina di una commissione di studio per esaminare la questione dell’ammissione delle donne al diaconato. Il Papa ha mantenuto l'enfasi della Chiesa sulla complementarità che prescrive ruoli per donne e uomini basati sul sesso e sul riconoscimento del matrimonio come incontro permanente e esclusivo di un uomo e una donna aperto alla procreazione e alla crescita dei figli.  Ciò significa che le persone divorziate, risposate, conviventi, oppure LGBTI , coloro che usano i contraccettivi, coloro che costituiscono famiglie mediante tecnologie di riproduzione assistita o hanno aborti sono spesso esclusi dalla piena partecipazione alla vita della chiesa.

Il Papa ha nominato una commissione per affrontare la questione dei preti pedofili nella Chiesa, ma l'opposizione al suo lavoro tra i membri della Curia ha determinato la sua incapacità di portare a termine la sua missione. Un membro combattivo e sopravvissuto agli abusi si è dimesso in segno di protesta, l'autorità della Commissione è stata lasciata decadere e, una volta rinominata , si è trovata con membri che molti ritengono più deboli e meno propensi a sfidare la leadership della Chiesa. 

La Chiesa dovrebbe rinunciare alle procedure di condanna e di scomunica e mostrare più rispetto per il pluralismo, specialmente in teologia.  L'unità dei cristiani rimane bloccata dalla nostra Chiesa che rifiuta di accettare la comunione condivisa con membri delle altre chiese.  WAC-I e EN affermano anche che, nonostante diversi inviti, il Papa ha mancato di incontrare i leader delle reti di riforma e di rinnovamento presenti nella Chiesa per affrontare questioni di interesse comune.

We Are Church e le rete europea Church on the Move chiedono a Papa Francesco di continuare nel suo impegno per le riforme generali necessarie per liberare la Chiesa cattolica da una struttura gerarchica troppo rigida, per coinvolgere maggiormente i laici e specialmente le donne nella comunità cristiana e perché la Chiesa viva veramente il Vangelo di Gesù in un mondo denso di conflitti e di cambiamenti.  Preghiamo che questo quinto anniversario segni un momento di rinnovamento radicale per la nostra Chiesa.

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

Contatto : Raquel Mallavibarrena, Spagna , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , +34 649 332 654 , +34 649 332 654

Press release Rome / Tuebingen, March 17, 2018

International Reform Movements celebrate the 90th birthday of the Swiss theologian Hans Küng (19 March 2018)

We Are Church International (WAC-I) and the European Network Church on the Move (EN-RE) at their joint conference in Rome offer their heartfelt congratulations to the great theologian and ecumenist Professor Hans Küng on the completion of his 90th year of life. "His lifelong perseverance for the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church as well as his commitment to ecumenism and to the dialogue between world religions remain for us a great encouragement, inspiration and incentive at the same time", they explain. Küng is also one of the spiritual fathers of the grass root movements of EN-RE and of the We Are Church Referendum of 1995. They are grateful for his support to the First Forum of the People of God that that took place in 2015 in Rome.

Appointed by Pope John XXIII as an official advisor to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), notwithstanding the later ecclesiastical marginalization, this Swiss theologian of world renown has made decisive contributions to the understanding of the Catholic faith, ecumenical theology and interreligious dialogue. His 1957 dissertation entitled "Justification" on the Protestant theologian Karl Barth and a Catholic response was also praised by Joseph Ratzinger, who taught Dogmatic Theology from 1966 to 1969 alongside Küng in Tübingen/Germany. With his foundational works ("The Church" in 1967, "Being a Christian" in 1974 and "Does God exist?" 1978), Küng not only brought to the public selective ideas of reform, but intensively substantiated these in his works both biblically and systematically.

With his ecumenical commitment, Küng made a significant contribution to the 1999 establishment of a Catholic-Lutheran agreement in the doctrine of justification. Eucharistic Hospitality, for which the Institute for Ecumenical Research founded by him in 1963 in Tübingen, spoke at the Berlin Ecumenical Kirchentag 2003, was a step in the right direction for Küng.

Küng and the permanent problem of church reform

Like no other contemporary, Hans Küng has raised and kept alive the question of truth and credibility in Christianity. After the Council and the encyclical "Humanae Vitae" on birth control (1968), Küng in his 1970 book "Infallible? A question" raised the question of infallibility of the papal magisterium.

For this reason, on 18 December 1979, under Pope John Paul II, his ecclesiastical teaching permit ("missio canonica") was withdrawn. But Küng did not withdraw his theologically based statements about the controversial infallibility dogma of 1870 and thereby showed that not obedience, but resistance - a rather rare Catholic "virtue" - is demanded when it comes to resisting Roman prescriptions.

In 1968 he initiated and designed the Declaration "For the Freedom of Theology", which was revised by Yves Congar, Karl Rahner and Edward Schillebeeckx and finally signed by 1,360 Catholic theologians from around the world, including Joseph Ratzinger. In 1989, Küng was a co-signer of the "Cologne Declaration," which argued for open Catholicism and against an overarching papal authority.

The second volume of his memoirs "Controversial Truth" gives a historical and systematic justification of the concerns of We Are Church, which had been clearly defined since the Second Vatican Council and for which Küng fought for with great intensity in the 1960s and 1970s. In Volume 6 of his Complete Works he describes in the introduction the "permanent problem of church reform": 
www.wir-sind-kirche.de/files/002618_KUENG_Bd6_Kirchenreform_Einleitung.pdf

The fact that Küng's questions to the papacy are far from resolved is shown by the growing conflicts between Rome and the local churches and the conflicts between Pope Francis and parts of the Curia. Compulsory celibacy, the ordination of women and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper remain in the discussion, despite all the prohibitions from Rome, indeed there are and remain urgent reform points.

Since the withdrawal of the Missio Canonica (1980), Küng has devoted himself to inter-religious dialogue with great intensity. He also published three major works on Judaism (1991), Christianity (1995) and Islam (2004). Since 1990 he has been developing the Global Ethics Project, which he has been promoting since 1995 in the "Global Ethics Foundation". A milestone is the "Declaration on Global Ethics", adopted by the Chicago World Religions Congress in Chicago in 1993, which has led to a worldwide network of interfaith relationships.

Kueng and the grass root movements

Hans Küng is one of the spiritual fathers of the Initiative Church from Below, member of EN-RE, founded in 1980, and of the We are Church Referendum in 1995, which resulted in the Movement We Are Church. At the opening of the Conciliar Assembly "Signs of the Times - Hope and Resistance" in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, his last big appearance in Germany, he said: "We must not give up ... Especially in the current phase of the internal church restoration, it is important to ... keep our breath for longer", a word that applies especially to the current turning point in the history of the church. 
www.wir-sind-kirche.de/files/wsk/K%C3%9CNG_Paulskirche_20121018.pdf

Half a year after the election of Pope Francis, he wrote about We are Church: "In its demands, it has the message of Jesus Christ behind it, and at the same time meets the requirements of today's democratic and pluralistic society. During the time of the restoration pacts Wojtyla and Ratzinger there was little hope that their concerns would be heard in the hierarchy. With Pope Francis, however, a turnaround seems to have occurred which makes it easier to fulfill many of their demands. In the winter church the Church Movement kept the embers glowing under the ashes. May the fire of reform finally seize the whole Church and also the Vatican. So continue, dear friends, courage, creativity and perseverance!"

Media contacts:

• Marianne Duddy-Burke, cell phone: +1-617-669-7810, E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Raquel Mallavibarrena, cell phone: +34-649332654, E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Christian Weisner, cell phone: +49-172-5184082, E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 Vatican News:Watch the official trailer for Wim Wenders’ new film, Pope Francis - A Man of His Word. “Pope Francis - A Man of His Word,” is intended to be a personal journey with Pope Francis, rather than a biographical documentary about him. The pope’s ideas and his message are central to this documentary, which sets out to present his work of reform and his answers to today’s global questions. From his deep concern for the poor and wealth inequality, to his involvement in environmental issues and social justice, Pope Francis engages the audience face-to-face and calls for peace.

>The film goes on general release on 18 May. It is produced by Wim Wenders with Samantha Gandolfi Branca, Alessandro Lo Monaco (The World's Smallest Army) Andrea Gambetta, and David Rosier (The Salt of the Earth). The film is a production of Celestes Images, Vatican media. Solares Fondazione della Arti, PTS Art's Factory , Neue Road Movies, Fondazione Solares Suisse and Decia Films.

Joint Press Release from We Are Church International and the European Network - Church on the Move

[ Spanish ] [ Portuguese ]  [ Italian ]

8 March 2018

Five years after the election of Pope Francis (13 March 2018) We Are Church International (WAC-I) and European Network Church on the Move (EN) appeal to Pope Francis to continue the reform process of the Roman Catholic Church and to intensify it with dramatic action. The election of the first South American Pope, who began his Papacy by asking the people of the world to pray for him, stirred great hopes in the hearts of many Catholics, especially many who had been frustrated by the failure of our Church to realize the promises of the Second Vatican Council, which was seen as having great potential to be more faithful to the Gospel and for modernizing aspects of the Church.

Today, delegates and representatives of the international Catholic Church Reform and Social Justice movements give Pope Francis decidedly mixed reviews. WAC-I and EN praise Francis for modelling a life in solidarity with the poor, encouraging dialogue within and beyond the Church, attempting to rein in hierarchical abuse of the Church’s wealth and power, and speaking in ways that are accessible to many. Yet, many of his reforms have been resisted by Church officials appointed by the previous Popes, John Paull II and Benedict XVI. WAC-I and EN call on the Cardinals, bishops, and all Catholics to embrace Francis’ vision of the Church as servant and steward.

WAC-I and EN leaders commend Pope Francis for his relentless advocacy on behalf of refugees and migrants, for his strong engagement for peace founded on justice in the world, for his proposal of nonviolence in every conflict, his visible presence among communities typically marginalized, and opting for simplicity in his personal life. They applaud the stewardship of the Earth promoted in Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si. They recognize his courage in chastising and demoting bishops and cardinals who flaunted wealth and instructing church leaders to focus on pastoral care rather than bureaucracy. They appreciate that the Pope has focused on under-represented areas of the globe in the appointment of new Cardinals and has emphasized pastoral skills in designating bishops. They support the Pope’s attempts to open dialogue on issues of importance to families and youth and inviting input from members of the church in preparing for these Synods. The groups celebrated Pope Francis’ efforts to increase the accountability in financial matters, and his respectful engagement with leaders and members of other faiths.

The groups also expressed significant disappointment with the lack of substantive changes in some areas of Church policy and dogma, and about the opposition the Pope’s attempts at reforms have met within the Curia. They noted that the People of God remain excluded from decision making at all levels of the Church and Pope Francis call for dialogue has not been heeded at all levels. They also noted that there has been no significant movement on the inequality of women in the Church, despite the appointment of a study commission to consider the questions of women in the diaconate. The Pope has maintained the Church’s emphasis on complementarity, which prescribes roles for women and men based on gender, and on recognizing only the permanent, exclusive marriage of a man and woman open to the procreation and nurture of children. This means that divorced, remarried, cohabiting, LGBTI people, and those who use contraceptives, build families through assisted reproductive technologies, or have abortions are often excluded from full participation in the church. The Pope did appoint a commission to deal with the issue of clerical abuse in the Church, but opposition to its work among Curial members led to it being unable to accomplish its mission. A strong advocate and survivor of abuse resigned in protest, the Commission’s authority was allowed to expire, and when recommissioned, it was with members many characterize as weaker and less likely to challenge Church leadership. The Church should give up the procedures of condemnation and excommunication and show more respect for pluralism, especially in theology. Christian unity remains blocked by our Church refusing to accept shared communion. WAC-I and EN also noted that, despite several invitations, the Pope has failed to meet with leaders of Church reform and renewal networks to address areas of common concern.

We Are Church International and European Network Church on the Move call on Pope Francis to renew his commitment to the comprehensive reforms needed to free the Catholic Church from rigid hierarchical tradition, engage more of the laity and especially women, and ensure that the Church truly lives the Gospel of Jesus in a world that is in deep conflict and turmoil. We pray that this fifth anniversary marks a time of radical renewal for our Church.

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

Contact: Raquel Mallavibarrena, Spain, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +34 649 332 654

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The European Network Church on the Move (EN) 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)

http://www.en-re.eu/index.php

**********

We Are Church International (WAC-I) 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.

https://www.we-are-church.org

________________________________________________________________________

See Also

Interim results: Pope Francis revitalizes Vatican II reforms by Christian Weisner

I cinque anni di papa Francesco. Noi Siamo Chiesa appoggia il nuovo corso ma continua il suo impegno contro le troppe resistenze che vi si oppongono. by Noi Siamo Chiesa