Pax Romana survey on the future of the church
09-juil-13
1 Hopes
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Involvement of lay persons in Church activities.
Spirituality, sacraments, liturgy and prayer - for many Catholics in Europe these are the elements being
constant and fundamental for the mission of our Church, the ones that do not change in times of crisis.
Church will promote social teaching of church and start talking about this topic
Its fundamental mission to Serve the weak
Justice issues globally
Structure of the Church – The church is strong with its structure and this builds a universal system where
all have a space to profess their faith in any part of the world and this helps laity to work with a common
goal and understanding of how the univer
Involving in grassroot and marginalized communities
The dynamics of few basis communities and the ability oc christians to to put the important questions on
the table
Social Teaching of the church
Catholic Social Teaching
With Pope Francis I hope the marginalized come back into focus instead of an institutionalized,
hierarchical body
That am able to attend mass every other time in the country I leave in because there is no war
Its persistence to stick to the holy scripture while updating it to every day life through the publication of the
encyclical
The service of the church in poverty-stricken areas.
Election of Pope from outside Europe The Catholics from other parts of the world now have a sense of
belonging to the true Catholic and Universal Church and Body of Christ
1.The uniformity and the consistency in the church ,Especially in the area of doctrines. The doctrines of
the church have been the same all over the world and it is a sign of hope that the church will overcome its
challenges.
the prayer, the social doctrine and the order in the church are a real source of hope anytime
Spirituality: People participation in the daily liturgy because people themselves are the Church.
Catholic Social Teachings
the new pope being elected
The new election of the pontiff sheds some hope for lay empowerment especially the promotion of the role
of women in the Church and society
election of pope Franciscus a pope with strong pastoral interests raises the hope that the church may
indeed become God\\\'s people, wandering through time
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Prayer life of the church
The style of the new pope beeing poor with the poors
Church's role in the education sector.
Reaching out to those in need
There is another practical hope for the implementation for the referential option for the poor since the new
pope has some firsthand experiences of extreme poverty of the third world
Religious – After Vatican II the church has helped religious in its approach and has helped the church
connect to its people and the marginalized. This has also helped the religious in incorporating various
views and expectations of the people. Thus, brid
Preferential option for the poor
Church should utilize abilities of its youth
Middle Eastern Christians
Universality: Regular and universal practice because it keeps church alive in universal solidarity and unity.
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Its prophetic mandate to work for Peace and Humanity
stepping back of pope Benedict gives hope that this may become the ordinary way ending the office
period of a pope
2.The stance of the pope to protect the age-long doctrines of the church.
Social commitment: For most of our members, faith is linked to the responsibility to actively involve
oneself in the areas of \\\""crisis\\\"" in our society (educational, political, economical sector etc.). The fact
that this involvement proves itself t
lay people get more possibilities, the church as a community rather than an institution
That the church still has a stand in matters of social and economic welfare of my country
Eucharist
prayer and social doctrine are getting united, indeed
Hope for the poor and oppressed of the World Pope Francis has personal experience working for and
among the poor and downtrodden in Latin America. This brings hope that we now hav somebody in the
Vatican who really understands the real issues is the Thir
Voice of church to challenge economic systems of inequality.
Its global reach in its encounter to human lives all over the world
many former active Catholics who were alienated or left the church either feel hope or have come back in
the passed few month
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Laity as evangelizers for the Church.
The ability to reach out to socially vulnerable and unite them for a meaningful life
house cleaning on child sex abuse
Laity – The laity was always on the receiving end. But today they look forward to help the church and base
their lives on faith. They have been a great help to the church and
There is a great hope that the present pontiff will walk the path the Vatican II paved to be the church
being, with and in the postmodern world through different forms of dialogue
Small Christian Community (SCC) Approaches.
More inclusive role of the laity
Christians in the Global South
women get full rights (representation and decision making, not only a means of reproduction
Focus with practical approaches to solve youth’s issues in this era
The language of communication has changed in Vatican
Hope that issues of corruption at the Vatican and sex scandals among the ordained priests will be
addressed conclusively. Pope Francis being an outsider among the Vatican bureaucrats will be able to
fully address the issues without fear or favour
3.The growth of Lay organizations in the church.
communication and setting the order inside the church is a real challenge
Movements: Replication of lay movements because it produces dynamics towards the kingdom of justice
and peace: kingdom of God without any fear or threat of new challenges.
That I can freely recite the rosary and say other prayers without being victimised.
ecumenical progress occurs in wide areas at the basis everywhere may eventually force official changes
Youth work - since we are a youth and youth-led organization of students (secondary and university), we
see the responsibility but also the hope for tomorrow\\\'s Church among the next generation, today\\\'s
generation of young people beings the ones acti
Its integration to the scientific advancement while adjusting it to biblical content
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giving light to Vatican II after so many years of suppressing it
The ability to mobilise ‘prophetically’ the Christians for a common struggle for the rights and recognitions
of the weak
Movements in the Church- they help in getting an understanding of Roman Catholic churches and its
challenges all over the world. It helps unite people on common grounds and helps in finding solutions.
Most of all it helps in the formation of the individua
Option for the Poor
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Ecumenicism
progress of science presents an enormous challenge because it makes a good number of details in the
creed obsolete hopefully this is recognized and our official creed is pruned from many \""branches \""
from ancient times
Its persistence to fight against human right violation and against hunger and poverty
Hope among the youth who are the future of the Church It is good to see that the is able to preach and
speak to audience off-the-cuff and without reading from dry prepared speeches. This is the way the youth
see the Church of Christ in the world today Vocations: Emerging of local vocation towards building of just societies because Church is the source and
scripture is the guidance to the action of liberation to create just, peaceful and equitable societies.
The lay people have become more encouraged to be heard
Increase Lay people engagement in mission to build unite community
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Recognition: widely reorganization of the Catholic/Christian institute, groups because it help Church to
grow in any part of the world despite of unfavorable condition.
Vatican could be more \""internationally Catholic\"", not only Europeans
Pope trying to live out his vocation away from the elite lives the curia lives in vatican, although this is
symbolic at this point of time.
Use technologies for God’s mission
2 Challenges
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Survival of Christians of the Middle East
Lack of awareness or Education about the faith and social justice
To be able to propose the Gospel in understandable words
Muslim fundamentalist groups are emerging
Wrong concept of evangelization (The Church need Re-evangelization)
The scandal of the hierarchy and the religious in the area of (clerical) sexual misconduct or living double
life. A priest-friend of mine jokingly said that “There is no law to suit against such erring priest in
Myanmar.” This scandal is a stumbling block
Dialogue between congregations of the Roman Catholic Church is poor. Thus, there is no unity seen
unless called for a serious cause and for formalities
very clergy centred
Inadequate knowledge about the issues pertaining to “Human Rights in general and “Women’s Rights” in
particular
The main challenge is to be authentic
Crisis of faith – first and foremost it becomes a challenge to easily live one’s faith in nowadays
Europe due to the tendency that everybody seems to be individualistically responsible for what he or she
defines this faith consists of. For a nowadays
Lack of youth Engagement and ownership for church
Collaboration between clergy/Church hierarchy and lay people almost does not exist. It si not a dialogue
Underdevelopment, because it has been a source of disharmony leading to social tension and mostly for
religious miscommunication
Credibility in speaking on social issues
Lack of resources to support the clergy and other Church workers in spreading the Gospel The Christians
in Africa are generally poor but also many of them are not as generous as they should be in support work
of the Church
The threat of secular government incursion in the affairs of the church.Especially in the advanced
countries.
The limited role of the lay people
lack of religious knowledge, because of the communist era
Church hierarchical structure: Rigid: sometime irrational and unpractical which generally can’t address
realities at local context of laities. Often controlling and ruling in nature rather than leading flocks.
Finances
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retain young people
Priests engaging in acts of sexual abuse contrary to the vows they took of celibacy.
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unchanged mentality of the clergy and the laity regarding the nowadays society
In difference to the crisis within, the Church is also confronted with many competing atheist or humanist
worldviews which claim to be able (or that it is nowadays in principle possible) to transmit the same values
the Church does, but without the metaphy
retain volunteer services of lay people
Clergy imposing political support of various candidates on their congregation.
Inward looking rather than outward looking – the Church going back to emphasize on Latin rites and
looking inward looking on the tradition, structure and rituals rather than emphasizing on the mission to
reach out, on social and ecological justice.
Ecumenicalism: Different Christian denomination and their different perspective on local cultures clearly
show how people are diving single body of Christ in to small pieces. Structural functionalism is dominated
over individualism even though own faith
Sustainability of church institutions
Lack of dialogue and interface on contemporary social issues with the people/youth
lay spirituality largely still personalized individual faith. But in Malaysia there is an awakening in tandem
with the political awakening of society largely
There is lack of transparency and accountability in term of resources (money, property, etc). The priests
are like businessmen. They preach tithing in the Church as if the commandment of, and obligatory from,
God. Many Catholics complain different kinds o
Mixed marriage.
The church to become witness of the gospel, rather than a institution preccupated by his own objectives,
interests and image.
Clericalism limiting roles of laity
The lackadaisical attitude of our priests and religious to their pastoral duties and responsibilities.Some
priests have become too money-conscious and in some cases have been too imposing .They abdicate
their responsibilities for social reasons and when
Sharing of resources is a challenge. Often they find it difficult to share resources and appreciate others.
There is a competitive attitude most of the times.
The inability of the church itself to respond to the changing needs and situations of the society.
to answer people\\\'s real questions, address their real needs
The Church hierarchy is still made up of very old people who are very conservative in their interpretation
and understanding of new ways of worshipping God and spreading the Gospel especially among young
people. This discourages and sends the youth away f
Inability to properly address moral failures in the past (sex abuse).
Inequality in income and wealth
Catholic education is not sufficient.
Youth Exodus
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A lot of Vatican II is not yet introduced. Even documents have not yet been translated
Lack of Laity empowerment and also the class barriers. Even there is Laity leadership, its still questionable
whether it’s from the bottom up servant leadership or the other way round.
Church role for community development
No space and encouragement to express differences of opinion on religious matters; Discrimination and
debarment of the agnostics and atheists whose views differ from faith practicing people, or even of those
who hold views perceived as “Inappropriate and
lack of capacity to engage more directly on justice issues in the life of the nation
To change the outdated ideas (old theology, patriarchal-male dominated thought) in dialogue with the
postmodern thought and in line with the Judeo-Christian tradition. Constant reformation is needed. My
local Church needs to be anthropologically founded i
Reduction of Vocation
to be close to people, not to stick to power
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A proper reform of the Vatican and the resistance it may face.
The threat of the so-called modernizers.Some bishops and priests in their bid to conform with the realities
of the time are now bringing in the \""Pentecostalism\"" way of things which is not always right.
The rigidity of the church, still too much Vatican 1
As it regards the Church as an institution, bureaucracy seems to be a big challenge. It is often criticized
that the Church’s institutional structures are hierarchically and not close to the people and that there is
a lack of opportunities for democrati
lack of interest for the sacraments
Institutionalization of the Church: Lacking on social outreach, poorest of the poor, not practicing what is
being preached and limiting within man made boundary denying Christ call for “go the world and
preach―
Chastity
find contemporary ways to teach
Most of the time the Laity is not aware as to what the church is up to. Means to disseminate the needs of
the church is poor and most of the times what the church expects from the Laity is not clear. It can be in
terms of religious behavior/ rituals/ teac
Lack of education
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Negligence of young people towards Church
All above mention challenges are just because of lack of concentration and distracted approaches from
church leadership. Lay people are decreasing their role in church activities, because of structure and
hierarchy complications and protocols. Church note
lay movements of catholic action nature still not encouraged and nurtured
comunity instead of institution
Catholic lay organizations just few left and active
Faithfuls lack of full knowledge of the canons and the catechism of the church .
Poverty and vulnarability among the population/lay people
Persecutions: Lacking on Religious harmony, brotherhood, due to the radical religious belief rather than
internalization of own faith in to action.
Although this is not a primary challenge, the Church is of course not isolated from Europe as it regards the
financial crisis. Therefore, in many countries the Church is facing difficulties with employing personnel and
financing the maintenance of buildin
Irresponsible and negative view (as projected by the media and international powers) of the “Other” who
do not share the same faith of Christianity, perpetuating divisive politics /differences and unfavorable
picture of those following or even not practi
The lack of openness to women\'s leadership.
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There is no platform for dialogue among institutions in the Church
Conflict between lay leaders.
Absolute lack of dialogue / interfaith partnership projects and programmes that will spread communal
harmony and a culture of tolerance and acceptance
De-motivations: Negligible lay empowerment often caused de-motivation, maintaining “Status Quo―
by church authority is always been challenges to address new situations in the modern world.
how to work with all civil society movement more actively and effectively
3 Prophetic Church
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The Church needs to go back to the roots radically. She needs to live out the biblical good news of the
Reign of God in our time. She needs to be a prophet of our time by dialoguing with the reality of the times.
The pope will listen to the voices of the
Continue to stand for the poor and make it central focus; continue to teach the linking of the faith with
social justice and worship; Pope Francis can assign more lay people and women to positions of authority
within the Vatican and promote the role of la
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Restore the unity of the Apostolic Church and become more vocal on behalf of the Christians of the Middle
East.
Inter and intra religious dialogue, motivational initiatives for the youth, emphasis on catechism, we hope
Pope Francis will bring unity in Catholic Church and among different faiths through his dynamic leadership
a) Reaching out to people, the marginalized community in more equal way as in there something for us to
learn from this community and being and journeying with them in the struggle together as it part of our
issues rather than looking empowerment process
I hope Pope Francis keeps up his charm and his attitude, as the image of a truly living human figure that
we look up to as head of the church, really brings a lot of positive energy. I hope that Pope Francis breaks
a lot of myths in the Catholic Church by
-he should open up more spaces for lay involvement in the church especially on justice and human rights
issues. -time to re-train priest and bishop all over the world to follow in his vision of a church of the
peoples.
Church should develop new plans for youth engagement in church and God’s mission with new innovative
and practical actions. We believe, to see global youth and lay policy of Catholic Church to tackle their
challenges in future under leadership of Pope Fra
“Being prophetic” can be understood as “being ecstatic”. It is questionable whether
“being ecstatic” would be the best solution in the Church’s current crisis. In an age where
individualism plays an important role in many Europeans’ lives
yes, it can, Pope Francis should stick to his goals, forming a community of equals rather than a
hierarchical institution
The mandate of the Church is to uplift the downtrodden and socially excluded, and the Bible clearly is
filled with such prophetic declarations. The Pope should recognise sufferings and struggles of such groups
scattered across the world and issue circular
initiate discussion on various levels, without restrictions act
Make a great effort to implement the Church Social Teaching. In the field of economy and social problems
at large, there must be a mayor revision on the economics science, verifying the truth of its assumption
and hypothesis.
By exemplifying humility and openness, and by allowing ourselves to forget that we are a politically
governed body.
The Church should move with the times. Encourage youth to participate more actively and bring
innovativation and fresh air into our Catholic approaches to the mission of the Church The Pope has the
sponteneity of the Youth and generally the traditional
Pope Francis Should direct The Bishops and priest and Religious to be very much involve in the teaching
of catechism of the catholic church .Also there should be massive enlightenment through the mass
media.Maybe an organisation of Youth from all over the
Address the question of lay people. Explore and come up with practical actions on how the lay people can
be involved in the church
propose a new way to spread the Gospel in concrete situations
Possibly it would be good to have a big round of new council where both laities and clergies come together
and undergo solemn discussion on religious and social perspective of the Church. Developing new
pedagogies for “addressing new era― with the unc
That he will change the image of the church. Foster unity amongst Catholics
Think about engaging lay people in decision process at every level of church governance
4 Role for Pax Romana
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underline that lay people are full members of the church, and not only sheep that need guidance
Collaboration with Church in their activities/movement, motivational workshop, seminars, etc., practice our
faith in our daily life.
Involve in the grassroot communities as part of them rather than we as an intellectuals to be giving
something to them or bring our agenda with them
I am still studying about the Paz Romana and I am not a registered member of it even though I feel that I
am part of this movement. I share the vision, mission and passion of this movement. The more the
members the engaged in society, they will be always
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It can be prophetic only when its members does the work of a Prophet. One needs to know that
dissemination of information and giving scope for people to think about the Catholic church will help them
be prophetic.
-time to be more organized and more involved in the larger society defending human rights; -to become a
strong catholic NGO that can be a keen advocate of justice within the church and the world
Pax Romana should do best use of its member movements to become larger catholic young professional
force, to do advocacy, lobby and coordination with church leadership to tackle future issues and problems
of its people. Pax Romana can also perform as youn
Pax Romana can offer its links, human resources and connections to establish dialogue
The international organizations could unite in action and solidarity for causes such as eradication of caste
system in India and South Asia. Most caste discriminated sections form the majority of Christians, whose
plight could be taken up through extended
Evangelise and teach its members the significance of the work they do
Educate the various regions on the importance of the role of lay movements; continue to offer
opportunities for lay involvement; continue to make ourselves known in the various Parishes and churches
of who we are and what we do
Be an agent of change in the world life by the grass roots actors of the CST
participate without taking itself important
Pax Romana is a one among first Catholic Group as an intellectual property of Church and functioning as
a NGO, as a proactive civil society globally, where its members are contributing their time and resources
voluntarily. If Pax Romana also professionall
being more attached to the particular situations of the Church in the countries where their members are
Pax Romana should be a source of intellectual input to the church from the parish level to Rome
Pax Romana and other organisation must continue in this endeavour as well employ on-the-ground
workers to compliment this effort.Pax Romana and other organisations to also present their position on
important issues at UN Meeting .Issues on Homosexuality,A
Be open to change. Interact more and be open to other cultures. bring more people, especially the Youth
into ICMICA. IYS and IMCS.
By understanding the global reach of Christianity and engendering this understanding.
Pax Romana – and with this term we can refer to both IMCS/MIEC and ICMICA/MIIC – is already a
good example of how the existing diversity within Catholic faith can be lived regionally or globally in a
peaceful and complementary way. Let us go on with b
5 Questions for debate
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the issue of condoms as a means to prevent HIV infections, the Church\'s stand should nd must be
revisited on this issue.
role of women: real representation in decision making, and a woman should not be regarded as \""the
other\"" for men...
Recognition of the rights and dignity of the sexual minorities in the world who mostly refrain from Churches
for fear of rejection, and nor do they feel comfortable in publicly expressing their orientation for fear of
embarrassment and ostracisation even
-call for a global summit on Vatican 2 +50 by lay movements supported by Vatican -fund raising for pax
romana is its going to be active again. -occupy the spaces of the right-wing catholic big gatherings in the
world J
I think it is important to debate the importance given to spirituality in the church, as many ignore the core
of spirituality which is the essence of faith. By this I mean helping people connect to humanity through the
teachings of Christ and making them
For this question, I would like to copy and paste my post I put on my Facebook/maungjohn, on 30 April
2013, “I am a Catholic and this is my confession: "Bless me, Father for I have sinned. I am sorry because I
tell the truth in the Church. I pointed out t
To actualize world-wide discussions on role of Catholic lay people and their ministry in \""this new era\""
How the world inequality in economy could be abated, and which principles should be put in place.
Can the election to position of the future Pope be made rotational from continent to continent in turns?
This in my view will make it possible for the Catholic Church be seen to be trully global. At the moment it
is too European
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The Canons of the church .
“Moving towards building Church of the Poor―
Productive Networking of ICMICA Member Movements
how to propose, to change a concrete situation in the particular church
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