Tomorrow's Church Today: The Way Forward

by Michael Kelly (Editor)

Overview

In his last interview, the late Italian Cardinal and former Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini, said the need for deep reform in the Catholic Church was urgent and long overdue because 'the Church is 200 years behind the times'. The reference to 200 years clearly points to the watershed in European life that the French Revolution and the Enlightenment became. Vatican II was one attempt to meet the challenge of relevance to our times. But its best efforts have been on ice since the late 1970s. Now a new opportunity arrives in the pontificate of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. And the movement he has initiated is evangelical in source and comprehensive in reach. But, as many observers have pointed out, it will not be lasting if it does not lead to sustainable structural change—to reform that accompanies renewal. In Tomorrow's Church Today, five highly qualified commentators focus on what lies ahead for the Church to be reformed if it is to meet the challenges of the 21st Century: o A theologian and historian (Massimo Faggioli) who targets how ministry and leadership can be reshaped authentically for our times; o A journalist and radio host for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation—the ABC—(Geraldine Dougue), writes a candid piece on how she would advise Pope Francis on the state of the Church; o A reporter and analyst with 30 years experience of moves and machinations in the Etenrnal City (Robert Mickens); o A bishop with a lifetime of experience of ministering to the divorced and remarried and the benefit of legal and biblical scholarship to support his approach (Geoffrey Robinson); o A biblical scholar who examines much of what's taken for granted in the governance of the Church and exposes where it is left wanting (Antony Campbell); and o A bishop whose forced 'resignation' exposes the deficiencies of a system of governance devoid of basics—due process and respect for natural rights. But the Catholic Church is not its clerics, scholars and commentators. It is the baptised. Geraldine Doogue is a celebrated Australian broadcaster and commentator whose Introduction speaks for and from the experience of the mass of Catholics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925486377
Publisher:	ATF Press
Publication date:	09/20/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 9.06(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Kelly is an Australian Jesuit living in Thailand where he leads UCA News, the Asia wide news and information service for the Catholic Church. He has worked in journalism, video production, radio broadcasting and web publishing since the 1970s.

Table of Contents

Introduction Michael Kelly SJ vii

1 Mission and Governance of a Global Catholic Church: Revival and Completion of Vatican II Massimo Faggioli 1

2 If I Could Advise the Pope Geraldine Doogue 15

3 The Pope's Vision for a Renewed Church Robert Mickens 23

4 Divorce and Remarriage Geoffrey Robinson 45

5 God's Dreaming: Tomorrow's Roman Catholic Church Antony F Campbell, SJ 75

6 Being Church Today (Here Comes Everybody!) William Morris 85

Contributors 101