This is a strange, and extremely interesting, time in the Catholic Church. Two things I have been reading about recently have caught my attention in particular.
Both have in their separate ways to do with the opposition to Pope Francis, which has been building up in recent times. I have lived through most of my adult life during the time when popes were traditional and conservative, and when there was a concerted effort to row back on the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
On Saturday October 21st last I was one of the speakers at a conference in Birmingham organized by ACTA, the Catholic Church Reform Movement of England and Wales. It was a marvelous event, with a packed hall of over two hundred people in attendance, representing every diocese in the two countries. The main theme of the day was to reflect on the future of parishes in the context of the rapid decline in numbers of priests available for ministry.
A couple I met today asked me to explain how the Vatican sanctions effected me. Apart from not being allowed to minister publicly as a priest, I also told them how quickly I was shut out from doing anything on catholic property. I looked back at my speaking tour of the U.S. in the autumn of 2014. The locations were as follows;
Washington: Augustana Lutheran Church.
Baltimore: Faith Presbyterian Church.
Philadelphia: University of the Sciences.
