TEN PROPOSALS OF URGENT PASTORAL REFORMS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
submitted by the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research
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The ten proposals are the following:
- Allow theologians and other scholars unrestricted freedom of research without fear of consequences.
- Recognize that a pastoral leader’s first priority is caring for people, not upholding ecclesiastical institutions.
- Select perceptive administrators in the Roman Curia, not narrow-minded bureaucrats intent on blocking church reform.
- Appoint open-minded pastoral bishops, not hard-line traditionalists.
- Abandon the misguided repression of sex, based on the assumption that any act not geared to procreation is sinful.
- Grant parents freedom to plan their families responsibly.
- Give women full access to holy orders.
- Allow priests to benefit from the support of a loving spouse.
- Respect the God-given dignity of every member of the community – treating grownups as adults.
- Update church doctrine and practice after listening to the advice of independent competent scholars, pastoral councils and experienced pastors.
THESE PROPOSALS WERE SIGNED BY:
- CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS
The first group to sign the list of ten proposals are 28 Catholic organizations from 13 countries. They are listed here in alphabetical order:
- WIJNGAARDS INSTITUTE FOR CATHOLIC RESEARCH (UK)
- AUSTRALIAN REFORMING CATHOLICS (Australia)
- CALL TO ACTION Colorado (USA)
- CATHOLIC CHURCH REFORM INTERNATIONAL (USA)
- CATHOLICS FOR A CHANGING CHURCH (UK)
- CATHOLIC NETWORK US (USA)
- CATHOLIC WOMENS ORDINATION (UK)
- CORPORACION ACCION Y VIDA (Ecuador)
- CORPUS. Association for an Inclusive Priesthood (USA)
- DONNE PER LA CHIESA (Italy)
- FHEDLES (Femmes Et Hommes Droits Et Libertés Dans Les Eglises Et La Société) (France)
- FRAUENWEIHE JETZT (Germany)
- MARIENBURG VERENIGING (Netherlands)
- NOI SIAMO CHIESA Italia (Italy)
- PAKISTANI ACTIVE YOUTH GROUP (Pakistan)
- RAINBOW CATHOLICS INDIA > (India)
- RAPIDSHIFT NETWORK (USA)
- Religion and Socialism DSA (USA)
- RÉSEAU FEMMES ET MINISTÈRES ⎯ Femmes et hommes pour l’égalité en Église (Canada)
- Association of ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN PRIESTS > (USA)
- ROOT AND BRANCH SYNOD (UK)
- SADYASHODHAK FEMINIST COLLECTIVE (India)
- SNEHA SMILE SEVA SOCIETY (India)
- WIR SIND KIRCHE DEUTSCHLAND (Germany)
- WIR SIND KIRCHE OESTERREICH (Austria)
- WOMEN’S ORDINATION CONFERENCE USA (USA)
- WOORI THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE (South Korea)
- WORLD CITIZENS’ VOICE (India)
- CATHOLIC INDIVIDUALS
The second group to sign the list of ten proposals are 1252 Catholic individuals from 42 countries. Sixty percent of signatories came from the English speaking countries (USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, India), but the overall spread was truly international.
AFRICA: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda.
THE AMERICAS: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, USA.
ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST: China, India, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea.
AUSTRALIA AND PACIFIC: Australia, New Zealand.
EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.
The name and other details of each individual signatory can be found on https://ten-synodalreforms.com.
- ACADEMIC SIGNATORIES
Among the individual signatories were 101 Professors from 25 countries. We print here the list of their names and the universities they belong to.
Mary McAleese (Dublin), Flavia Agnes (Mumbai), Jane Anderson (University of Western Australia), Inés Andújar (Madrid), Candelas Arranz (Comillas, Spain), Antonio Autiero (Münster), Anne Marie Bahr (South Dakota), Giuseppe Benagiano (Roma), Sharon A Bong (Monash), Agnes M. Brazal (De La Salle, Manila), Anton Bucher (Salzburg), Tove Bull (Tromsø), James Calderone (Kingston), María Carmen Castellano Paredes (Salamanca), Deirdre Carabine (University of Uganda), Aloysius Cartagenas (Manila), Darryl Caterine (Lemoyne), Marilyn Catherine (Rochester), Ricardo Chica (Javeriana, Colombia), Maaike De Haardt (Nijmegen), Lillian Doherty (Maryland), Luk Draye (Louvain), John Esposito (Georgetown), Sr Juanita Fernandes (Bengaluru), Gisela Forster (Leipzig), Hubert Frankemölle (Paderborn), Sr Madeleine Fredell OP (Stockholm), Giovanni Gaiera (Milan), Andrea González (Mexico City), Hille Haker (Loyola), Wilfrid Harrington (Dublin), John Haught (Georgetown), Hermann Häring (Tübingen), Karin Heller (Whitworth), Michael P. Hornsby-Smith (University of Surrey), Marinus Iwuchukwu (Duquesne), Andrea Johnson (Santa Barbara), Marie Rose Joyce (Melbourne), Manuela Kalsky (Amsterdam), Anne-Marie Korte (Utrecht), Gerhard Kruip (Mainz), Michael G. Lawler (Creighton), Paola Lazzarini (Milano), Michel Lejeune (University of Uganda), Astrid Lobo Gajiwala (Tata, Mumbai), Stefanie Lorenzen (Berlin), Gerard Loughlin (Durham), Kathleen Maas Weigert (Loyola, Chicago), Stefania Manganelli (Siena), William Manseau (Emmaus, Nashua), Judith Martin (Dayton), Chris Maunder (York), John McDargh (Harvard), Paul McQuillan (Brisbane), Gina Menzies (Dublin), Norbert Mette (Münster), Dietmar Mieth (Tübingen), John Milburn Thompson (Louisville), Gareth Morgan (Sheffield Hallam), Sr. Shalini Mulackal (Vidyajyoti, Delhi), Peter Nissen (Nijmegen), Irene Nordgren (Stockholm), David O’Brien (Holy Cross, Rochester), Thomas O’Loughlin (Nottingham), Marie Opatrná (Prague), Vibhuti Patel (Tata, Mumbai), John Pawlikowsk (Loyola, Chicago), Jesus Pelaez (Cordoba, Spain), Giovanni Perini (Bologna), Kerstin Persson (Gothenburg, Sweden), Marinella Perroni (Marianum, Rome), Hélène Pichon (Paris), Pat Pinsent (Roehampton), Monique Pontier (Toulouse), Kim Power (Notre Dame of Maryland), Jordan Pullicino (Oscott), Mary Racelis (Manila), Rosemary Radford Ruether (Claremont), Geraldine Rauch (Berlin), Patricia Rumsey (Nottingham), Susan Roll (Saint Paul University, Ottawa), Joseph Ruane (Philadelphia), Hans-Joachim Sander (Paris-Lodron, Salzburg), Matthias Scharer (innsbruck), Mary Schneider (Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee), Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (Harvard), Rita Shaughnessy (Toronto), Franziska Sigrist (Bern), Valerie Siqueira (Mumbai), Roser Solé i Besteiro (Cataluña), Nora Stene (Oslo), Anne Stensvold (Oslo), David Stronck (California State University), Leonard Swidler (Philadelphia), Sam J. Thomas (Michigan), Terrence Tilley (Fordham), Edward Vacek (Loyola, New Orleans), Jacques Vanobbergen (Ghent), Joanna Waller (Whitstable), Adela Yarbro Collins (Yale), Hans-Georg Ziebertz (Würzburg).
Presentation
We hereby present the ten pastoral reforms for consideration by Bishops’ Conferences and the International Synod of Bishops
on behalf of our central team of volunteers, the international networks of the Wijngaards Institute, all the Catholic organizations and individuals who signed our appeal
John Wijngaards, Chairman of the Board
Miriam Duignan, Vice-Chairman of the Board and Director of Communications
Luca Badini Confalonieri, CEO of the Institute
INTERNET SOURCES:
https://ten-synodalreforms.com . The ten proposals with all the additional information in detail.
https://wijngaardsinstitute.org. Information on how the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research functions.
https://wijngaardsinstitute.com. Information on the research projects published by the Institute.
