Posted on 10/04/2005 10:01:13 PM PDT by jec1ny
Abandon Eucharistic doctrine, dissidents urge Synod
'We Are Church' dissidents claim Catholic teachings open up for question Oct. 04 (CWNews.com) - The international dissident movement "We Are Church" is issuing an appeal to the Catholic bishops, gathered in Rome for the Synod, to confront the "real" problems relating to the Eucharist.
At an October 4 press conference in Rome, the dissident group called for reconsideration of the key Catholic doctrine on the transubstantiation, an end to the "hierarchical monopoly" on the sacraments, and approval of shared communion with other Christian denominations.
This is the 8th in a series of CWN news stories on the October 2005 meeting of the Synod of Bishops. Three leaders of the international movement-- Martha Heizer of Austria, Gigi De Paoli of Italy, and Norbert Scholl of Germany-- said that the Synod was likely to prove a "missed opportunity" because the bishops begin their deliberations on the basis of a working document that affirms Catholic dogmatic teachings on the Eucharist. We Are Church argued that all such teachings should be open to question.
Specifically, the dissident group called for abandoning the notion that the Eucharist is a sacrifice, and instead saying that the mass is "in memory of the entire life of Jesus." The group called for "full freedom of philosophical and theological interpretation of that mystery."
We Are Church argued that the dogma of the transubstantiation-- the teaching that the bread and wine at Mass are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ-- is unacceptable to Protestants, and thus impedes ecumenical unity. The group decried traditional forms of Catholic piety, such as Eucharistic adoration and processions, as tending to make an "idol" of the Blessed Sacrament.
The group also denounced the exclusion of women from the Catholic priesthood, the bar on Communion for those who are divorced and remarried, and "monopoly" claimed by priests as sacramental ministers.
During the last general assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in October 2001, We Are Church organized a 4-day "counter-synod" in Rome. The event, which drew about 30 participants, was styled as a "parallel synod of the People of God," with speakers demanding a more democratic Church. The "counter-synod" concluded that bishops should be elected, and all believers-- male or female, clerics and laity-- should be eligible.
After the election of Pope Benedict XVI, We Are Church announced that it was seeking a meeting with the new Pontiff, and hoping to being an "open and constructive dialogue." Christian Weisner, the president of the dissident group, said that he hoped the new Pope would prove "less rigid" than he had been as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Leaders of the group say that they have not had a response to the request for a meeting.
We Are Church, founded in Austria in 1995, emerged as an international movement the following year, with liberal Catholics from 20 different countries meeting in Rome to form a united front for "the reform of the Catholic Church on the basis of Vatican II."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ©2005, Directions to Orthodoxy
--- At an October 4 press conference in Rome, the dissident group called for reconsideration of the key Catholic doctrine on the transubstantiation, an end to the "hierarchical monopoly" on the sacraments, and approval of shared communion with other Christian denominations.---
Just your basic road to ecumenical ruin.
And their thoughts about ecumenical unity with the Orthodox Churches concerning this would be...?
...as tending to make an "idol" of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lord is an "idol"???
Specifically, the dissident group called for abandoning the notion that the Eucharist is a sacrifice,...
And later,
The group also denounced the exclusion of women from the Catholic priesthood,...
If we are to abandon the fact that the Eucharist is a sacrifice, why would we need Priests?
After the election of Pope Benedict XVI, We Are Church announced that it was seeking a meeting with the new Pontiff, and hoping to being an "open and constructive dialogue."
"Open"? Well, I suppose he could always use a good laugh. I don't think "constructive" would be possible though...
Why does every off-the-wall small group like this one get so much coverage?
To become Protestants I suppose...
Did anyone really believe that their commitment to women's ordination arose from a love of the Holy Sacrifice of the altar?
"We are Church"
No they're not; silly people!
They should call themselves "We are Congregationalists!" Then they could get out the phone book, find a Congregational church, and leave Catholicism alone.
"What knaves."
You are nice. I'm trying to curb my tongue so as not to offend Charity.
But, I'm thinking........and I guess that will mean a stint in confession....
Time for Benedict XVI and those in the hierarchy that support him to start wielding a very, very large hickory switch and start some serious excommunications. These "dissident" groups have poisoned things for too long, and it is time to dismiss them like the serpents that they are!
Poor old Vatican II gets the shaft again. To cite VII as the underpinning of heresy is willful ignorance.
These people are not Catholic and the article is dishonest in characterizing them as such. I would suggest they go all the way and dump their alternate hierarchy theory like my ancestors the Anabaptists. No pastors, no sacraments. Just the congregation and Scripture. If the sacraments aren't real they must be play-acting. Who needs that?
These people have already abandoned the idea that the Eucharist is a sacrifice and they have full philosophical and theological freedom, as far as I can see. They're at liberty to believe whatever they want regarding the Eucharist.
Where's the problem here?
Ha. Ha ha.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha......
(Wiping eyes) Mrs. Don-o
"We Are Church" should be excommunicated. Then they would be free to be the Protestant heretics they are.
Yes, given the numerous Christian denominations available, it does seem that honest people would simply join one that believes as they do.
In this day and age, when there is in most places full civil freedom of religion, this kind of demand that the Church must change her beliefs to suit dissenters has absolutely no place. If these people want to be Protestants and have a Protestant understanding of the Eucharist, they can go be Protestants! Nobody forces them to remain Catholic. Dissenters are basically totalitarian thugs who don't believe in freedom of religion and want to force everyone to believe what they believe.
Makes about half the world's population who don't have the freedom to be Catholic, Congregationalist, or anything in between.
Dissenters are basically totalitarian thugs who don't believe in freedom of religion and want to force everyone to believe what they believe.
Yup. Or at least to keep silent if they don't, or go to jail. The situation in Canada and Australia is very interesting.
Bingo! I've always wondered why these folks just don't leave the Church since they are so unhappy inside it. But the more I've studied them, the more I realize that for them it isn't just a matter of not believing in the Gospel. It's also a matter of keeping everyone else from doing the same. They are actually quite dogmatic in their beliefs.
I also think many don't leave the Church because they have huge martry-complexes. When they stay in the Church but attract lots of controversy because of their heresies, then they can say they are being "prophetic" or that they are "speaking truth to power." If these folks were to leave the Church, few people would pay any attention to them any more. If they all became Unitarians, then how could they be prophetic any more? So much for their martyr complexes.
Like everyone else, I am also puzzled why these folks are so adamant about having women priests when they don't believe in the Eucharist or the Mass. If what they believe about the Mass and Eucharist is true then there would be no need for priests, male or female. Why are they so upset that women cannot enter a ministry that they think is meaningless hocus pocus anyways?
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