Open letter to the bishop of my diocese
Le problème
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Open letter to the bishop of my diocese,
To the President of Episcopal Conference of my country,
To Pope Françis
Dear Bishop,
The present situation of the Church over the past months, concerning sexual abuses and their management within its hierarchy has shocked and devastated many christians. This acrimonious situation in the Church gives rise to many questions and is leading us christians to take action, as Pope Françis in the Letter to the People of God (August 2018), urges us to « feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need ».
There are many courses of action, some of which seem to be especially relevant and urgent :
- Changing the manner of governance of the Church into a synodal and participative system with a significant representation of laypeople at each level.
- Allowing men to be celibate or married in the priest ministery
- Opening the diaconate ministry to women.
We are totally aware that these changes alone will not magically resolve the crisis that the Church is going through. We are however deeply convinced that moving in this direction :
- The Church will reach many of our contemporaries who have drifted away from her,
- She will bring about new energy,
- And open new prospects in particular towards other Christian churches.
Thanks to theses changes, we want to see the Church be renewed from within in a way that will allow her to take up the challenges of our modern world and thus, always better bear witness to the message of Christ.
We uphold our determination to participate in an active, and truly open-hearted way in these changes. We wish to renew our baptismal commitment, to live our faith through personal and community prayer as well as the sacraments. It is our firm attachment to Christ and the Church, as well as a deep concern to pass on our faith to our children within a renewed Church, that leads us to take action today.
Profoundly wishing that this letter will bring about a positive response from you, we thank you, in advance for your favorable consideration.
Fraternally,
Claire Rasiah
In the name of the joint signatories
Pétition fermée
Le problème
Français // Italiano // Español // Português // Deutsch
Open letter to the bishop of my diocese,
To the President of Episcopal Conference of my country,
To Pope Françis
Dear Bishop,
The present situation of the Church over the past months, concerning sexual abuses and their management within its hierarchy has shocked and devastated many christians. This acrimonious situation in the Church gives rise to many questions and is leading us christians to take action, as Pope Françis in the Letter to the People of God (August 2018), urges us to « feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need ».
There are many courses of action, some of which seem to be especially relevant and urgent :
- Changing the manner of governance of the Church into a synodal and participative system with a significant representation of laypeople at each level.
- Allowing men to be celibate or married in the priest ministery
- Opening the diaconate ministry to women.
We are totally aware that these changes alone will not magically resolve the crisis that the Church is going through. We are however deeply convinced that moving in this direction :
- The Church will reach many of our contemporaries who have drifted away from her,
- She will bring about new energy,
- And open new prospects in particular towards other Christian churches.
Thanks to theses changes, we want to see the Church be renewed from within in a way that will allow her to take up the challenges of our modern world and thus, always better bear witness to the message of Christ.
We uphold our determination to participate in an active, and truly open-hearted way in these changes. We wish to renew our baptismal commitment, to live our faith through personal and community prayer as well as the sacraments. It is our firm attachment to Christ and the Church, as well as a deep concern to pass on our faith to our children within a renewed Church, that leads us to take action today.
Profoundly wishing that this letter will bring about a positive response from you, we thank you, in advance for your favorable consideration.
Fraternally,
Claire Rasiah
In the name of the joint signatories
Les décisionnaires
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Pétition lancée le 13 mai 2019