The surprise invitation to “We Are Church” by Leo XIV raises some questions and concerns. The most extreme group of Catholic progressivism will be present in the Vatican for the first time.

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The official invitation to “We Are Church“ by the Holy See is rather surprising.

On the occasion of the event between October 24 and 26, 2025, in the context of the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and participatory bodies convened by Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary of the World Synod, invited 8 delegates of “Wir sind Kirche” (“We Are Church”).

This is the first time and the leaders will participate in the meeting with the Pontiff, the passage through the Holy Door, and the concluding celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica.

 
 

What is “We Are Church?”

But what is “We Are Church?”

It is the most extreme current of progressive Catholicism, representing so-called “grassroots Catholics,” often largely outside of and in contradiction with the Magisterium.

It is a reformist movement born in Austria in 1995 under the name “Wir sind Kirche” and quickly spread to other European countries, including Italy, presenting itself as the expression of the “mature laity” and proposing radical changes on various doctrinal and disciplinary points.

Among the best-known demands are the abolition of mandatory priestly celibacy, female ordination, openness to contraception, abortion, assisted suicide, same-sex parenting, and the democratization of church structures, with a direct decision-making role for the laity.

Just over a month ago, on the Facebook page of We Are Church International, congratulations were extended to the group “Roman Catholic Women Priests” for the (naturally invalid) ordination of some women in South Africa.

 
 

On multiple occasions, its representatives have harshly criticized the Church and the Catholic Catechism, accusing them of authoritarianism and resistance to change.

The Italian section was long led by Vittorio Bellavite, who passed away in 2023.

 
 

Francis excommunicated the founders of “We Are Church”

One of the most emblematic episodes of the distance between the association and the Church was the excommunication by Pope Francis in 2014 of two of its prominent founders: Martha Heizer, then president of the Austrian section, and her husband Gert.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed their latae sententiae excommunication for regularly celebrating “simulated” Masses in their home in Tyrol, without a priest.

“We Are Church” continues to be active in Italy, in close collaboration with the agency “Adista“, which acts as a sounding board for their battles, promoting conferences, public statements, and media campaigns in favor of their reforms.

 

 

An unexpected invitation, what does it mean?

Yet, surprisingly, an unexpected opening appears today.

The invitation from Leo XIV raises some questions and concerns: is it a sign of openness? Or rather, a symbolic move to avoid further fractures within the body of the Church?

So far, many have read some decisions made by the new pontiff as efforts aimed at reconnecting with traditionalist Catholics, toward whom his predecessor had developed—sometimes rightly so—a very critical view.

Perhaps Pope Leo intends to extend a hand also toward the progressive world, hoping for reconciliation?

Time will tell what fruits this invitation will bring, hoping only that it does not further legitimize the heterodoxy of “We Are Church”.