International News

Another Church Is Possible
by International Federation of Married Catholic Priests

   This document was sent to Corpus Canada by Julio Pinillos, the former two-term president of the International Federation of Married Catholic Priests.

CLOSING STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON RENEWAL OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

   "All the faithful enjoy a true equality with regard to the dignity and activity which they share in the building up of the body of Christ". And “The laity are brothers and sisters of the bishops, with an equal call to mission.” Lumen Gentium 32 & 33 Dear brothers and sisters, We are writing to you from Leganes, Madrid, where we met from 19 to 22 September, 2002 in an International meeting for the renewal of the Catholic Church. We are 500 Catholic Christians, men and women, lay people, religious and priests. We belong to 200 base groups and organisations, from all parts of Spain, and from more than 30 countries around the world. We had the pleasure at this meeting of benefiting from the brotherly, humble presence among us of Bishop Tomas Balduino, president of the Pastoral Commission for the Earth, in Brazil.
We all came to this meeting driven by faith and the desire to see the Universal Church become a true network of communities in the service of humanity, especially for the millions of excluded poor in the world. We were pleased to learn of the community experiences of the Church of God at Chiapas, Mexico, among indigenous people exploited for five hundred years. We heard how the Church is born again each day, through the power of the Spirit, amid the communities of the campesinos and the poor in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, and other Latin American countries, as well as in Asia and European cities such as Brussels, Madrid and many others.
We accept as our own the petition made to the Pope for a new Council and a conciliar process, participatory and co-responsible, signed by more than 30 Catholic bishops, and which is collecting thousands of signatures of support from around the world. We feel moved by the Spirit to advance this conciliar process in which we find ourselves, as a path of faith and solidarity.
We have some suggested topics that today concern many communities and much of society, questions that should be debated and calmly considered by all members of the People of God. Among these, we would stress social issues, such as the urgency of prophetic action by the churches in the service of peace and against militarism and war; firm action against hunger which kills millions; justice and equality among all human beings; communion with nature and committment to its protection.
We also add that there is urgent need for dialogue between those representing the Church and those representing the scientific community, on the ethics of biotechnology to confront the attitude that sees science as simply a matter for the markets. If our churches are always to be signs of the Reign of God, we believe it is important to:
•Reflect on our way of being and organising as Church in the world. Open our ecclesial communities to the poor, to the migrants and to those morally marginalised, such as the divorced and homosexuals.
•Comply fully with human rights for all their members. Reformulate our understanding and way of expressing ministry, opening it up to full participation by women, and without celibacy being a mandatory requirement for fulfillment of the presbyterial ministry.
•These questions can only be dealt with in depth in a church which has experienced renewal in the light of the Gospel. May this conciliar process revive the ecclesial springtime of the days of Pope John XXIII who asked for the Church what we all want today: a new Pentecost.
May the peace of Christ be with you,
Your brothers and sisters at the International meeting in Leganes.