{"id":61825,"date":"2025-08-13T18:04:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?p=61825"},"modified":"2025-08-13T18:04:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:04:47","slug":"leo-invites-we-are-church-an-outstretched-hand-to-progressives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2025\/08\/13\/leo-invites-we-are-church-an-outstretched-hand-to-progressives\/","title":{"rendered":"Leo invites \u201cWe Are Church\u201d: An Outstretched Hand to Progressives?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"noi<\/p>\n

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

\n

 <\/p>\n

The official invitation to “We Are Church<\/strong>“<\/i><\/mark> by the Holy See is rather surprising.<\/p>\n

On the occasion of the event between October 24 and 26, 2025, in the context of the Jubilee of Synodal Teams<\/strong> and participatory bodies convened by Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Mario Grech<\/strong>, secretary of the World Synod, invited<\/a><\/em><\/strong> 8 delegates of \u201cWir sind Kirche\u201d<\/strong> (“We Are Church”).<\/p>\n

This is the first time<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n <\/p>\n

What is “We Are Church?”<\/h2>\n

But what is “We Are Church?”<\/p>\n

It is the most extreme current of progressive Catholicism<\/strong>, representing so-called “grassroots Catholics,” often largely outside of and in contradiction with the Magisterium.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

\"we<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n <\/p>\n

On multiple occasions, its representatives have harshly criticized<\/strong> the Church and the Catholic Catechism, accusing them of authoritarianism and resistance to change.<\/p>\n

The Italian section was long led by Vittorio Bellavite<\/strong>, who passed away in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\n <\/p>\n

Francis excommunicated the founders of “We Are Church”<\/h2>\n

One of the most emblematic episodes of the distance<\/strong> between the association and the Church was the excommunication<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Pope Francis<\/strong> in 2014 of two of its prominent founders: Martha Heizer, then president of the Austrian section, and her husband Gert.<\/p>\n

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed their latae sententiae<\/i> excommunication for regularly celebrating \u201csimulated\u201d Masses<\/strong> in their home in Tyrol, without a priest.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An unexpected invitation, what does it mean?<\/h2>\n

Yet, surprisingly, an unexpected opening<\/strong> appears today.<\/p>\n

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

So far, many have read some decisions made by the new pontiff as efforts aimed at reconnecting<\/strong> with traditionalist Catholics, toward whom his predecessor had developed\u2014sometimes rightly so\u2014a very critical view.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Pope Leo intends to extend a hand<\/strong> also toward the progressive world, hoping for reconciliation?<\/p>\n

Time will tell what fruits this invitation will bring, hoping only that it does not further legitimize<\/strong> the heterodoxy of “We Are Church”<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The surprise invitation of “We Are Church” by Leo XIV raises some questions and concerns. The most extreme progressive group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":138,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1727,1728,1729,1730],"class_list":["post-61825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-jubilee-of-synodal-teams","tag-leo-xiv-progressives","tag-we-are-church","tag-wir-sind-kirche"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeo invites \u201cWe Are Church\u201d: An Outstretched Hand to Progressives? - UCCR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The surprise invitation of "We Are Church" by Leo XIV raises some questions and concerns. 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