Cleveland Bishop Reopens 12 Parishes  

Cleveland Catholics rejoiced April 17 when Bishop Richard G. Lennon announced his decision to reopen 12 parishes whose closings were overruled Vatican. Lennon chose not to appeal to a higher Vatican court because of the need for "peace and unity' in the diocese. He did not give a timeline for when parishes would reopen. FutureChurch characterized Lennon's decision as "prudent" and "a final ratification of the courage of Cleveland Catholics whose love for their parish communities led them to appeal." FutureChurch played an important role in providing canonical resources to Cleveland parishioners. Read more...  

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Philadelphia Catholics learn of parish closings at Mass Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will merge a dozen parishes into five by July 1, resulting in seven closures. The moves constitute the first round in a process that Chaput had earlier warned would be "painful." All 267 parishes in the five-county archdiocese being reviewed for restructuring. The diocese foresees a steep drop priests supply due to retirements and deaths. A year ago it placed 27 priests on administrative leave for improper behavior with minors. Read more...

Judge rules in favor of St. Louis parish. A St. Louis judge ruled in favor of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church granting parishioners control over the assets and property that have been the source of a decade-long dispute between the historic Polish church and the Archdiocese of St. Louis. "The Archbishop may own the souls of wayward St. Stanislaus parishioners, but the St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation owns its own property," the judge wrote. Read more... 

Boston Archdiocese promises no church closings The Boston Archdiocese has a new plan to deal with the priest shortage. It will create about 125 Pastoral Service Teams for the___parishes across the Archdiocese, each led by one pastor and possibly a staff of priests. Most will serve two to three parishes, while a few will serve a single parish or four parishes."We are undertaking a pastoral planning initiative that does not call for the closing of parishes and does not call for the closing of churches," said Archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon. Read more...

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LCWR earthquake snaps tensions present since Vatican II Tom Roberts, the National Catholic Reporter editor at large, recently wrote: "In the church, no greater challenge exists to hierarchical power and the traditional way of doing things than the sisters. Following the council, the women did what they thought the gathering had mandated... Many came out of that period with startling conclusions. One of them was that their mission was to be more than cheap labor for the hierarchy...This should not be a contest between men and women... It shouldn't be a win-lose matter. But the men have forced it to this point. Read more... 

Half-truths and innuendo about LCWR "The actual CDF [Vatican ]statement, however, is little more than a tissue of misinformation, misrepresentation, and innuendo that does a profound disservice to these religious women," wrote US Catholic's Bryan Cones on Apr 19. Cones suggested readers decide for themselves providing links to two LCWR documents strongly criticized by the Vatican. Read more...

LCWR Board to discuss Vatican document Pentecost week. The national board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will meet May 29-June 1 "in an atmosphere of prayer, contemplation and dialogue" to discuss the Vatican document issued April 18. LCWR membership around the country will engage in similar processes. "We will engage in dialogue where possible and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit."Read more...

Sisters' Petition gathers over 13,000 signatures in 6 days. If you haven't signed it yet, click here.

Read FutureChurch Statement on mandate here 

NCR to track stories on LCWR crackdown. Follow at Sisters Under Scrutiny 

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Related

Vatican nun crackdown hits US group for radical feminist ideas(AP)  

In LCWR oversight, key questions remain

A few famous nuns: [this is fun!]

New Women Deacons: Why Not Now? resource available late May  FutureChurch staff and our Women in Church Leadership Committee members are hard at work writing essays and prayer services about early women deacons for FutureChurch's newest educating/organizing resource, Women Deacons: Why Not Now? In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said it was proper to ask if the church could offer "more positions of responsibility" to women. In 2009 he approved changes in canon law that may open the way for women deacons.   

Bishops have canonical authority to ordain women to the permanent diaconate right now. In an article in January's U.S. Catholic, Dr. Phyllis Zagano, the foremost U.S. expert on the female diaconate, stated: "All a bishop has to do is ask for derogation from the law.

Using parishioner-appropriate discernment tools, this project aims to surface female permanent diaconate candidates for presentation to bishops across the U.S. New educational essays and prayer services will simultaneously help Catholics learn about the rich history of female deacons and why the Church can and should restore the female diaconate today.

Opening the permanent diaconate to qualified women would enrich the entire Catholic community who can then hear the Gospel through the lens of female experience. It would also allow women to serve as ordinary ministers of Baptism and Marriage, and serve as single judges on Church tribunals.   

Email liz@futurechurch.org to be notified when the packet is available  (mid June)  

Swiss Church looks to a future with fewer priests A Swiss seminary built 30 years ago to house 40 seminarians currently houses five. Researchers predict that in 2029 there will be one third fewer priests in Switzerland than there were in 2009.  In Basel, Catholics have urged the dropping of the celibacy requirement and demanded that women be admitted as priests. Read more...

Australia looks to Asia to cover priest shortage Bishop Greg O'Kelly from the Port Pirie diocese in South Australia says only three of 23 priests in the diocese are under 50. O'Kelly has been to the Philippines and found strong support for the idea of relocations to Australia. Read more...  

Spain's bishops recruit priests from unemployed A group of Spanish bishops has produced a recruitment video telling job-seekers, "I do not offer you a great salary. I promise you a permanent job." It's a tempting message in a dismal economy where nearly half of people under 25 are unemployed....The campaign may be working .The number of priests in Spain rose more than 4% last year, in stark contrast to a 25% decrease over the last decade. Read more...

The Election of Bishops by Clergy and People The March issue of Theological Studies has an interesting article about the election of bishops. "Nineteenth-century priest, philosopher, and theologian Antonio Rosmini argued that the ordinary way of appointing bishops must be through elections by the local clergy and people. All other procedures, including papal nominations, are extraordinary measures that must be resorted to only as a 'lesser evil' when exceptional circumstances prevent carrying out elections." Read more...

Ad Limina Bishop dialogue results in fourteen meetings and counting. To date, faithful Catholics have succeeded in obtaining meetings with their bishop in fourteen US dioceses with groups organizing in an estimated 25 additional dioceses. FutureChurch is encouraging people to talk to their bishops about their  Open Letter to U.S. Bishops before or at time they go to Rome for their ad limina visit. U.S. visits are projected to extend through May 2012.  Outcomes of the meetings and letters will be compiled and published in mid summer. 

The Open Letter  has already garnered over 5500 signatures. It addresses the priest shortage crisis and calls on U.S. bishops "to open dialogue about restoring our early traditions recognizing married and celibate priests and women deacons." It was published in the November 7 issue of America.

Related: 

Sign the Open Letter From the People of God to U.S. Bishops    

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In 2006, a group of Austrian priests launched the Pfarrer Initiative, or pastor initiative, a call to disobedience aimed at abolishing priestly celibacy and opening the clergy to women to relieve the shortages of priests. The head of the Pfarrer Initiative, Rev. Hellmut Schueller, downplayed the severity of Benedict's message and said the pope was merely asking for reflection on whether disobedience can reform the church.  Read more..   

Vatican did not order Schoenborn to take action against rebel priests "Austrian bishops received no diktat from the Vatican ordering them to intervene against priests who form part of the Pfarrer Initiative . Confirmation of this was given to Vatican Insider by Michael Prüller, spokesman to the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Read more...

Related:

VIDEO of MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Pope's Holy Thursday address  here 

Read about FutureChurch Optional Celibacy Campaign 

Wall Street Journal article misleads on ordination numbers. "Traditional Catholicism is winning," blared a headline in a recent WSJ article."There were 467 new priestly ordinations in the U.S. last year, and Boston's seminary had to turn away applicants." But Georgetown researcher, Mary Gautier had another take: "While there were 5,000 more priests worldwide in 2009 than in 1999, what isn't mentioned [in the WSJ piece] is the fact that "the number of Catholics worldwide is up by 150,000,000 during the same period." Another way of measuring that, she said, is to realize there were 2,551 Catholics per priest in 1999 and there were 2,876 Catholics per priest in 2009. "Catholics are still increasing at a faster rate worldwide than are priests, and the ratio is even starker in the United States."Read more...

Traditional Catholicism is winning  

Vatican says number of Catholics, priests, bishops worldwide increased [but Catholics increased even more]

Puzzling revelations on dismissal of Aussie bishop In his 'Statement of Position' to the three Cardinals gathered in Rome in January 2008, Australian Bishop William Morris said, "At the end of the Apostolic Visitation, when Archbishop Chaput was being driven back to Brisbane, he remarked to Fr Brian Sparksman, our diocesan Chancellor, that he would be astounded if our diocese were to lose its bishop. He also asked John Bathersby (Archbishop of Brisbane) why he thought he was asked to investigate me because as far as he could see from the material provided to him things that I had reportedly said and done were happening in other places as well." Morris was removed from his Toowoomba diocese in May, 2011 ostensibly for his progressive views.  Read more...  

Cardinal Schoenborn allows gay Catholic to serve on parish council Austria's cardinal has overruled one of his priests and is allowing a gay Catholic to serve on a parish council. Florian Stangl lives in a registered domestic partnership. The 26-year-old was overwhelmingly elected to the council recently, but it was overruled by the priest -- a decision initially backed by Cardinal Schoenborn. But the Cardinal changed his mind after hosting Stangl and his partner for lunch, declaring Stangl to be "at the right place." Read more...  

Seattle parishes refuse to petition against gay marriage "A growing number of Seattle's Catholic parishes are saying 'no' to Archbishop J. Peter Sartain's offer that churches become signature gathering points for Referendum 74, the ballot measure to roll back Washington's recently passed same-sex marriage law." Notably, among the parishes declining to participate are St. James Cathedral, the seat of the archdiocese, and Christ Our Hope, a new and growing parish in downtown Seattle. Read more... 

Former Philly Archdiocese CFO charged with embezzling  The former chief financial officer of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been charged with stealing nearly a million dollars from the church's general operating fund over a nearly six-year period. Read more... 

Pittsburgh priests tell bishop to listen to laity on contraception Several priests of the Pittsburgh diocese have met with Bishop David Zubik -- the prelate who said in January that the Obama administration's mandate regarding coverage of contraceptives in health care plans told Catholics, "To Hell with you" -- telling him his stance on the issue was alienating women and creating "a lot of anger" among laypeople. Read more...

Vatican investigates document leaks Pope Benedict XVI has established a commission to investigate a series of leaks of letters exchanged among Vatican officials and with the pope himself. A Vatican tribunal will consider legal action against those who leaked documents to reporters. The Secretariat of State plans an administrative review of every Vatican office. Some of the documents include allegations of serious financial misconduct. Read more...http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1201092.htm

$144 Million in Catholic Sex Abuse Settlements in 2011 Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders said they received 594 credible claims of clergy sex abuse last year, with all but a few of the allegations involving wrongdoing that occurred decades ago, according to a study released Tuesday by American bishops. Read more...