Tony Flannery

This letter came out of the Reform Conference in Limerick last month, and has been sent to Pope Francis, signed by reform movements from around the world.

Vienna/Limerick, May 2015

An open letter to Pope Francis

Pope Francis, you need vibrant parishes and the parishes need you!

Pope Francis, your vision of the Church moves us: a Church following the path and the spirit of Jesus; united in respect and candour, as equals, as true fellow travellers – squarely facing those who are marginalised and most in need of solidarity.

Sarah McDonald has written an excellent account of the Limerick Conference in the National Catholic Reporter, the American Catholic Newspaper.

Below is the link:

http://ncronline.org/news/global/lay-reform-groups-discuss-equality-women-church-governance-international-meeting

The Catholic Church, worldwide is in a state of flux at the moment. For those of us in the reform movement, who believe that the Church urgently needs to change, the pontificates of both John Paul and Benedict were a dark winter. Now, with Francis, there are signs of a spring growth again. But the new shoots are fragile, and like a lettuce plant newly introduced to the garden, a sharp late April or early May frost could kill them off.