Tag: ecclesiology
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I’m a Catholic woman who was allowed to preach at Mass—until it was banned
The Vatican has rejected a request from the German bishops for special permission to allow lay men and women to preach homilies during Mass. Although the following article focuses specifically on women, it helps us appreciate what lay people can bring to preaching, and what is lost when their voices are silenced by the institution.
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A ‘Leonine’ Version of Synodality?
By Massimo Faggioli, 12 June 2026 From an institutional point of view, the most consequential, long-term legacy left by Pope Francis to his successor is synodality. While Paul VI had conceived and instituted the Bishops’ Synod in 1965, it was not for “synodality” as we think of it now, but was rather an expression of…
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Final Synod Report on Synodality
These summaries have been prepared by Terry Fewtrell using the words contained in the report. The dot points are his own to enable understanding and promote reflection.
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Signs of departure
It is now long enough since the election of Pope Leo IV to see how he is continuing in the path of Pope Francis and how he is treading his own path. Catholic Outlook from the Diocese of Parramatta has highlighted an article, originally published in Commonweal magazine. The author is Massimo Faggioli, a professor in…
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Not what I imagined or hoped
I approached Eugene Stockton’s pieces in ARCVoice 97 (Jun 2025) with interest and hope. Three ‘articles’ appeared in that issue with the rest to follow in subsequent issues. Part 1, Times are a-Changing, seemed to strike the right notes, acknowledging that the world had changed and our church must change in response. The observation that “the…
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Exploring Faith and Reason
Dr. Peter Vardy outlined the development of Christian doctrine in the early centuries and the later centrality of St. Thomas Aquinas in establishing the link between Philosophy and Theology.This led on to the tension between science and faith in the modern world, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and alternative approaches culminating in the contrasting…
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The Need for a Theological Reformation
Church doctrines which are reliant on understandings of the universe that are longer believable are increasingly irrelevant. Only a reformed understanding of “God”, revelation, Jesus and liturgy can bring the changes so many people are longing to see. Renowned scholar and author, Michael Morwood, discussed how we can re-discover the teachings of Jesus by looking through a contemporary…
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ARC Member Bishop Tim Norton meets with members
ARC members participated in a stimulating and informative Zoom meeting with Bishop Tim Norton on 24 August 2023. Bishop Tim shared thoughts about Church reform and responded to questions from members. The session was recorded and the video can be accessed on YouTube using the button below.
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Conversation with Bishop Paul Bird
On the 6 July 2023 Bishop Paul Bird, Bishop of Ballarat, generously met with ARC members via Zoom. Members of ARC and others interested in Church reform posed a number of questions to the bishop. These were presented in the spirit of Synodality. The questions posed may be read here.
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Radical inclusivity
The Parramatta Diocesan Pastoral Council has prepared this wonderful statement on inclusivity. It was released on the 30th of July 2022.