Fr. Tony Flannery hosts International Network of Church Reform Movements participative conference in Co. Limerick
An International Network of Church Reform Movements conference will take place next week, from Monday 13th April to Thursday 16th April, in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick. Hosted by Fr. Tony Flannery, the participative conference will be the first time such a large gathering of leaders of the Church Reform Movement have met. It is also the first time such an event has been hosted in Ireland.
The four day workshop will be facilitated by Austrian and Canadian leaders and participants will come from twelve different countries around the world, from the U.S. and Canada, Australia, India, many countries in Europe, and of course Britain and Ireland. Each of the main reform movements in Ireland will be represented. Many familiar names in the reform movement will attend; Paul Collins and his wife Marilyn Hatton from Australia, Donald Cozzens, Deborah Rose-Milavech and Jeannine Gramick from the U.S., Astrid Lobo Gajiwala from India, Helmut Schuller from Austria, Christian Weisner and Martha Heizer of We Are Church international, and many others.
The main focus of the event will be to get to know each other, with the aim of supporting Church Reform, both at the level of structures of authority and at the grass-roots. This is the first time that this group will come together, so a lot of it will be sharing experiences and ideas on Church reform. Some of the topics expected to be discussed throughout the week include sharing perceptions of the reform agenda of Pope Francis, the future of parishes and communities, women’s equality and how to communicate with the Vatican.
A Press Conference will be held at the end of the Conference, at 2.00pm on Thursday, 16th in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Limerick
This four day event is not open to the public but there will be an open session at 8pm on Thursday, 16th April in the Radisson Blu in Limerick. Some of the international participants will speak of their experience of Church Reform in their parts of the world, and how we can move forward. Members of the public are welcome to this event.
Sr. Jeannine Gramick, a Loreto sister who has worked all her life for equality for gay people in the Catholic Church, and who has had a long running dispute with the Vatican, will speak in the Unitarian Church, Stephens Green, on Saturday, April 18th, at 3.00pm. All are welcome to this talk.
