IRELAND/UNITED STATES
Irish Times
Fr Tony Flannery
Tue, Dec 9, 2014
I have recently returned from an 18-city speaking tour in the US, organised by the network of Church Reform movements. They impressed me. Their commitment to the faith is strong, but they believe that the church as institution is not working, and that it needs urgent reform.
They display great energy and enthusiasm, and in my experience they are warm, loving people looking for a deeper spirituality and sense of community in their church. Their knowledge of theology is impressive.
More than half the people attending one gathering at a Call to Action conference in Memphis last month had masters degrees in theology. They are not the people who have left the church, but they are on the fringes. It was sad to see such an enormous resource being left unused by the church authorities.
The bishops in the US are much more vocal than our bishops who, with one or two exceptions, are quiet men who mostly avoid the public glare. The US “culture warrior” bishops take a strong public stance on some moral issues, mainly contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage.
Their doctrinaire statements, often followed by the sacking or excommunication of people who, according to them, violate the rules, drive many away from the churches.
Those who do not give up entirely often respond by setting up their own small communities, where they come together to pray, read the scriptures, and celebrate the Eucharist, with a married priest, with one of the Roman Catholic women priests or with no priest at all.
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