We are Church

In recent weeks, a new group has sprung up in Ireland. We are Church is a group of reform minded, lay catholics, present in several countries. They criticise aspects of church doctrine, but crucially they do this as practicing catholics.

http://we-are-church-ireland.org/

Though this can hardly be described as a revolution in people power, nonetheless this is a very positive form of criticism which the church would do well to listen to. These people are not doctrinally or ideologically opposed to catholicism, they are not intent on damaging the church -rather, they are committed to the church's wellbeing and are voicing concern about harmful aspects of current doctrine which are not rooted in fundamental tenets of catholicism, needlessly harming the church and its members.

Their fundamental aim is to involve the lay in decisionmaking, and to this end they have avoided defining their stance on many issues (it would make no sense to combat doctrine by creating a new doctrine for their members) -yet they have managed to agree broadly amongst all their members on a limited number of issues they intend to collectively campaign for.

1.The equality of all the baptised where decision making is actively shared by all, with appropriate structures for this.
2. Full participation of women in all aspects of church life, including priesthood.
3. Removal of the obligation of clerical celibacy.
4. A positive attitude toward sexuality and recognition of the primacy of an informed conscience.
5. An inclusive church, open and welcoming to all, which does not marginalise its own people i.e. divorced, in second relationships, those who are gay or lesbian.



Reading this list of very reasonable reforms, I can't help feeling that this group is very badly needed. None of these problems of life inside the catholic church is based in scripture -they are all inferred from a selective interpretation of the bible and an overreaching catechism that is based more on mortal opinions than divine will. These problems stem from mortal prejudice rather than divine intolerance.

That these problems can drift on unaddressed is an indictment of the way doctrine is made. Successive Ecumenical Councils have added more and more mortal norms to catholicism that have nothing to do with the religion left by Christ. Many of these mortal norms are now outdated and discredited, they damage the church but they drift on unaltered. The reason these problems have gone unaddressed is because nobody that counts is opposed to them. We are church could be the start of a forum to make the church authorities sit up and take notice that their followers are upset with their insistence on arcane rules that are not really related to the faith. I wish this new group all the best in their broad endeavour to claim back the catholic church for all the faithful. A simpler, narrower interpretation of christian living that is based exclusively on scripture, rather than ecumenical interpretation is the objective. The Beatitudes, the Gospels and to a lesser extent the wider new testament should be the only basis for doctrine.

Apostolic succession is probably the main obstacle to the success of a group such as We are Church. If catholics are to believe that the church authorities are appointed by divine will, then there is no scope for them to oppose church authorities. But if this notion is challenged (and implicitly this seems to be embedded in their first issue regarding the equality of all catholics in decisionmaking for the church), then the flood gates of reform could burst open. I wish them well, I wish the church well.