CTA Spirituality Justice Reprint

CTA: 25 years of Spirituality and Justice

1976 - Call To Action, Detroit 1990 - CTA's Call for Reform in the Catholic Church, signed by 20,000

A sample of resolutions for church reform: Some highlights:

NCCB should dialogue with Rome to allow women to be ordained to the diaconate and priesthood.

An affirmative action plan by the bishops to ensure the equal status of women.

NCCB should petition the Pope to allow married men to be ordained to the priesthood. We call upon church officials to incorporate women at all levels of ministry and decision-making.

We call upon the Church to discard the medieval discipline of mandatory priestly celibacy, and to open the priesthood to women and married men, including resigned priests, so that the Eucharist may continue to be the center of the spiritual life of all Catholics.

Rights of conscience on birth control.

Reconsideration of Humanae Vitae.

Non-discrimination, constitutional rights, more sensitive pastoral care of homosexual persons. Affirm pastoral efforts of Dignity. We call for extensive consultation with the Catholic people in developing church teaching on human sexuality

Local participation in selecting pastors and bishops. We claim our responsibility, as committed laity, religious and clergy, to participate in the selection of our local bishops, a time honored tradition in the church.

Protection of free speech and theological discussion. We call for open dialogue, academic freedom and due process.

Financial accountability. We call upon the Church to become a model of financial openness on all levels, including the Vatican.

A sample of resolutions for societal peace/justice:

AGAINST:

capital punishment,
racial discrimination,
all arms sales abroad,
"the production, possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons...even in a policy of deterrence"

FOR

the Equal Rights Amendment
unions and collective bargaining
affirmative action
a national commission on economic justice
church investments for Third World justice
education for human rights, hunger relief, and international economic justice
Twenty-five years ago Vatican II clarified the mission of "The Church in the Modern World": to be a sign of God's saving work and a servant to the entire human community. The world is wracked by terrible problems - ecological perils, poverty and injustice, conflict and violence. To be a clearer sign and a better servant to God's global family, our church must reform its own structures. We call on all people within our own church, in the spirit of co-discipleship and co-responsibility, to use their imagination and creativity. For the world's sake, let us make the Church more faithful to its mission.

1976 - Call To Action, Detroit	1990 - CTA's Call for Reform in the Catholic Church, signed by 20,000
A sample of resolutions for church reform:	Some highlights:
NCCB should dialogue with Rome to allow women to be ordained to the diaconate and priesthood. An affirmative action plan by the bishops to ensure the equal status of women. NCCB should petition the Pope to allow married men to be ordained to the priesthood.	We call upon church officials to incorporate women at all levels of ministry and decision-making. We call upon the Church to discard the medieval discipline of mandatory priestly celibacy, and to open the priesthood to women and married men, including resigned priests, so that the Eucharist may continue to be the center of the spiritual life of all Catholics.
Rights of conscience on birth control. Reconsideration of Humanae Vitae. Non-discrimination, constitutional rights, more sensitive pastoral care of homosexual persons. Affirm pastoral efforts of Dignity.	We call for extensive consultation with the Catholic people in developing church teaching on human sexuality
Local participation in selecting pastors and bishops.	We claim our responsibility, as committed laity, religious and clergy, to participate in the selection of our local bishops, a time honored tradition in the church.
Protection of free speech and theological discussion.	We call for open dialogue, academic freedom and due process.
Financial accountability.	We call upon the Church to become a model of financial openness on all levels, including the Vatican.
A sample of resolutions for societal peace/justice:
AGAINST: capital punishment, racial discrimination, all arms sales abroad, "the production, possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons...even in a policy of deterrence" FOR the Equal Rights Amendment unions and collective bargaining affirmative action a national commission on economic justice church investments for Third World justice education for human rights, hunger relief, and international economic justice	Twenty-five years ago Vatican II clarified the mission of "The Church in the Modern World": to be a sign of God's saving work and a servant to the entire human community. The world is wracked by terrible problems - ecological perils, poverty and injustice, conflict and violence. To be a clearer sign and a better servant to God's global family, our church must reform its own structures. We call on all people within our own church, in the spirit of co-discipleship and co-responsibility, to use their imagination and creativity. For the world's sake, let us make the Church more faithful to its mission.