“The Institut Catholique of Paris (ICP), which was founded in 1875 and counts numerous cardinals and bishops among its alumni, has appointed the first-ever layperson to be dean of its Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan, a 45-year-old theology professor”
“The evening was part of the first-ever Theology Festival, a weeklong series of gatherings hosted by the Archdcs of Lyon and the Lyon Catholic Univ. to basically make theology more user-friendly to ordinary believers. "Our objective is that everyone leaves with a taste for further reflection,"”
“Elvira Neumann, a parish animator, support person and member of a team of 3 lay people who, together with a priest, are responsible for running the parish. Neumann, who has a degree in theology, is now also part of a group of 18 people – 17 of them women – whom Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck”
“A laywoman of the Catholic Diocese of Chur in German-speaking Switzerland has come under investigation for concelebrating the Eucharist at a liturgy to mark her retirement as a pastoral worker.”
“It shows that more than three quarters call for married priests; 91% demand women be ordained. 95% call for reform of canon law, in one case in line with the UN declaration of human rights. Every single diocese called for more inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics, and for transparent systems...”
“The Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) has announced plans for "new responses" to creatively announce the Gospel in difficult and forgotten environments on the continent and to seek greater participation of the laity and their influence in decision-making.”
“Pope Francis has announced plans to make two women members of the Vatican office that helps him in the appointment of Catholic bishops around the world...the pope also noted that a lay person could be named head of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and even the Apostolic Library.”
“Will religious life disappear from the Churches of the Christian West? In time, will the same phenomenon occur in Asia and Africa? Will there be a move toward new communities of religious? Will new lay movements replace traditional religious life?”
“She was one of 18 laypersons – including 17 women – who were officially commissioned by Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck on March 12 during a Mass in Essen's cathedral to celebrate baptisms.”
“In Christian antiquity various people held these offices, but gradually they were restricted to seminarians on their way to being ordained to the priesthood. Over time, the priesthood assumed all the roles formerly held by a variety of ministers.”
“The Catholic Archdiocese of Dijon, located in the historic Burgundy region of Eastern France, will soon be getting a new bishop. And a group of lay people there have presented the papal nunciature with a "composite" of the qualities they are looking for in their next spiritual leader. ”
“Authentic synodality, an inclusive discerning process involving the laity and the ordained, may be one of the most important institutional reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate, according to the We Are Church international movement. ”
“More than 240 Catholic laypersons and priests in Portugal have called on their bishops to create an investigating body similar to France's Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE). The laity made the request this week as the bishops gathered for a November 8-11 ”
“In response to the priest shortage It was just half a century ago, on November 26, 1971, that the Congregation for Divine Worship gave the French bishops permission to "deputize" lay people to conduct funerals -- if pastoral necessity required it.”
“The synodal process must allow for the expression of the great diversity of views that characterizes the Cath comm. But it requires a fundamental disposition: the ability to listen to what each person, w/o exception, has to say for the good of the Ch and its mission in the 3rd millennium.”
“A number of disgruntled Vatican lay employees have complained to Pope about recent cost-cutting measures in the world's smallest state, saying they have been given "unequal treatment" while others have been offered "privileges". About half of the Vatican's some 4,000 employees are lay people.”
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Mother of two is Institut Catholique’s new dean of theology
French diocese holds first-ever Theology Festival to engage ordinary Catholics
Two Cathlolic dioceses in Germany allow lay people to preside at baptisms
Swiss Catholic laywoman investigated for “concelebrating” Eucharist
The synodal process: it's time to make a stand
Latin American Church to seek greater participation of laity
Pope promises that women will soon help select bishops
Religious Life: From chaos to ‘kairos’? | La Civilta Cattolica
German Catholic bishop appoints laywomen to do baptisms
A Wonderful Complexity
Catholics demand a say over who’s their next bishop
Reform group calls for Assembly to replace the Synod
Portuguese Catholics call for independent commission on sexual abuse
Catholics in France take second look at lay-led funerals
The Synod on synodality: let the listening begin
Winds of revolt blowing among Vatican’s lay employees
