Page 45 - John Warhurst News Today

The 71-year-old’s latest campaign depicts him in the middle of the last supper and now he will be at the centre of a gathering of former conservative leaders.

When those, like myself, seeking reform speak of systemic change to church structures those opposed to change see disrespect towards those holding positions like bishop and priest within the established order. When reformers seek the equality of women in governance and ministry those opposed to change see disrespect towards lay men and male religious as well as to other women. By John Warhurst

The Plenary Council (PC) is over and the time has come for assessments. What did it achieve? In positive terms it brought together an enormously generous group of people whose dedication to Catholicism is extraordinary. It also demonstrated the diverse complexity of the community. By Paul Collins

A sense of crisis among plenary members, lay and clerical, became evident over issues regarding women in the church

Australias Plenary Council was disrupted July 6 after more than 60 of the 277 members protested issues regarding women in the church, including the defeat of a motion to support for the ordination of women as deacons.

News: Australia

The agenda for the Second Assembly of Australia's Plenary Council was disrupted July 6 after more than 60 of the 277 members staged a protest ...

The agenda for the Second Assembly of Australia’s Plenary Council was disrupted July 6 after more than 60 of the 277 members staged a protest over issues regarding women in the church.

The week of the Plenary Council's Second Assembly, unlike the First Assembly, will largely be devoted to voting. My best guess is that there could be about 100 rounds of consultative votes (including amendments and then thirty amended motions) during the week. This will be followed by deliberative voting by the bishops and their proxies. Before voting there will be many short, sharp speeches from among the 280 members interspersed in the program. This will make for an extremely tight timetab...

After John Howard’s loss, the Liberal Party was transformed again, with branches taken over by religious sects, and the voters he targeted from a distance becoming members.