Liberal U.S. Catholics say their Church is not listening

Reuters ^ | Jun 12, 2011 | Scott Malone

[GonzoII]

(Reuters) - Members of a liberal group of U.S. Roman Catholics on Sunday called on Church leaders to open talks with their members on controversies ranging from the ordination of women to allowing priests to marry.

Members of the American Catholic Council, meeting in Detroit, said they had grown concerned the church's hierarchy was not listening to its members on issues such as the role of women, married clergy and the treatment of homosexuals.

The meeting comes as the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is struggling with a sexual abuse crisis, loss of membership and a dwindling number of priests.

"When in God's name are the conversations going to begin?" asked Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun who addressed the meeting of about 2,000 people -- part of a liberal wing that represents a minority in the 1.2 billion-member Church.

She likened the structure, with bishops and archbishops answering to the pope in Rome, to "a medieval system that has now been abandoned by humanity everywhere, except by us."

Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron had warned before the meeting that any members of the clergy who attended the group's mass would risk being defrocked.

"All of the invited keynote speakers have manifested dissent from Catholic teachings or support for dissenters," the archdiocese said in a posting on its website.

[IbJensen]

$174,000 per year plus staff, perks up the wazoo!

[IbJensen]

Wrong thread!