The People Speak Out

Local voices connecting globally

This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.  (Pope Francis)

Canon Law 212 calls upon the laity to speak up:

2 - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

(Hint: Either copy and paste the text below into your document or e-mail this article to yourself.)

Will Church leaders ever hear us?

Not if we don’t speak up

Pope Francis has called upon us as laity to make some noise!  He wants us to let our pastors and bishops know our lived experiences and concerns.  What would happen if people all around the world actually spoke up?  If they gathered into local meetings all over the earth and made noise?

Let’s find out!

Dear _______,

People are gathering in small groups all around the world to share their lived experiences and concerns about our Catholic Church.  Lay people are pulling together and creating a groundswell!  You are invited to join us for a local gathering of concerned Catholics:

            Hosted by:

            Where:

            Date and time:

When the time is right, we will also invite the bishop, pastors, and local clergy to come and listen to our concerns.  Whether they join us or not, we will talk about the issues that most concern us.  A summary of our concerns will be added to reports from similar groups from around the world.  This information will be shared with Catholics everywhere as well as with the media, Pope Francis, and bishops around the world.

I hope you can join us as we claim our voices and help build up the Church.  Please RSVP to

 

In Joyful Hope,

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