The Challenge of Change
The Church is changing whether we like it or not.
What is our attitude?
What sort of change is the Holy Spirit calling for?
In the past, the Church condemned or forbade things it now accepts:
- democracy (in civil society)
- the Mass in your own language
- bible study
- freedom of conscience
- that the Earth orbits the Sun
- the theory of evolution
Similarly the Church now condemns or has abandoned previous teaching in several areas:
- on slavery
- all sexual desire as sinful
- obligatory clerical celibacy
- use of torture
- burning of heretics
WE SEEK
- empowerment of all and a share in decision-making, with full accountability
- access to information, Christian education and freedom of theological debate for all
- collaborative ministry as called for by the bishops of England and Wales in The Sign We Give
WE ARE CONVINCED
- that before God we must all have a change of heart, and that the Church too needs to be continually challenged by the Gospel
- that since all human beings are created equal in the image of God, they share a basic human equality, whether they be women, men, married, single, unordained, ordained, celibate, in relationships, lesbian, gay, divorced, re-married, of ethnic minorities, disadvantaged, young, old ...