Press Release

Limerick, 16.04.2015. “With the resignation of Pope Benedict we are at the end of an era, and this is our best chance to renew the church for a long time“, Father Tony Flannery of the Irish Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) said during an international conference in Limerick that brought together over 30 Catholic priests and church citizens from Ireland, Austria, Australia, Germany, India, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.. The four-day meeting was hosted by the ACP.

“The election of Pope Francis has begun a new era in Catholicism”, Father Flannery added. The meeting called on the Bishops of their respective countries courageously and publicly to support the vision and the programme of Francis for the Church. A key issue will be to devolve authority away from the Vatican to local churches. Connected to this is the need to enhance the authority of the local church, especially parishes.

IMWAC: PUBLICACIÓN 26/03/15

El Movimiento Internacional Somos Iglesia quiere apoyar completamente el llamamiento de la Irlandesa Marie Collins que se deba destituir al Obispo Juan Barros de Chile.

La misma Marie Collins es sobreviviente del abuso sexual clerical y en el aňo 2014 el Papa Francisco la nombró a la Comisión Vaticano cargada con la protección de los niňos.

Creemos que el Papa Francisco debiera despedir inmediatamente al Obispo Juan Barros.

Este nuevo obispo fue denunciado de haber protegido al sacerdote pederasta más conocido de Chile, Fernando Karadima.

Hace cuatro aňos,  a éste ultimo el Vaticano le declaró culpable del abuso continuo de adolescentes y proibió que celebrara la Misa en público.

Uno de sus víctimas prestó declaración que el Obispo recientemente nombrado vio a Karadima que le abusaba.

El Obispo Barros ha dicho que no sabía nada de eso. “Nunca imaginé los graves delitos cometidos por ese sacerdote. Nunca aprobé ni participé en esos actos deshonestos” dijo.

La jerarquía chilena ha apoyado publicamente el nombramiento del Papa.

Sin embargo, 30 de los sacerdotes y diáconos del nuevo Obispo, el  provinciale de una ordén, y 51 miembros del parlamento chileno han hecho un llamamiento a Juan Barros que se despida.

[Spanish]

The International Movement We Are Church fully support Ireland’s Marie Collins’s call for Bishop Juan Barros of Chile to be removed from his office as Bishop.

Marie Collins is herself a survivor of clerical sex abuse and Pope Francis in 2014 appointed her to the Vatican Commission for Protecting Children from Clerical Abuse.

We believe that Pope Francis should move immediately to suspend Bishop Juan Barros .

The new bishop is accused of  protecting Chile's most notorious paedophile priest Fernando Karadima.

At this year's IMWAC-Council meeting member groups confirmed their support for Pope Francis’ goals for reformation in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and encouraged the bishops to increase their backing.

Key issues were the Family Synod and Council 50 meeting in Rome November 2015.

The delegates decided on three priorities that IMWAC believes should be adopted by the Family Synod:

• An open and sensitive handling of those who have remarried, and Catholics in families that don´t follow the narrow standards of the Roman Catholic teaching.
• Respectful and non-discriminatory acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,
• A fundamentally new understanding of sexuality and major events in human life to guide the development of the Church's moral teaching and pastoral practice. 

A reflection by Luis Gutierez

El canon 1024 oscurece la misericordia divina, no es un dogma de fe
Canone 1024 oscura misericordia divina, non è un dogma della fede
Canon 1024 obscures divine mercy, is not a dogma of the faith
Canon 1024 obscurece a misericórdia divina, não é um dogma da fé
Canon 1024 obscurcit la miséricorde divine, ne est pas un dogme de la foi
Canon 1024 zaciemnia boskie milosierdzie, nie jest dogmatem wiary

Regina apostolorum, ora pro nobis

Pax Christi,
Luis