Friday 11 March 2022
1 – Catholic Church “should be more like Alcoholics Anonymous,” says theologian
2 – University of Fribourg suspends Metropolitan Hilarion
3 – Jerusalem: freezing the transfer of an Orthodox property to Russia
4 – Myanmar junta bombs a convent and a church
5 – Congress approves the commission to investigate abuses in the Church in Spain
Catholic Church “should be more like Alcoholics Anonymous,” says theologian
Speaking at an online meeting organized by an Irish lay reform group, We Are Church Ireland, American theologian Thomas Doyle attacked the “unrealistic and exalted concept of priesthood.” The British daily The Tablet reported that he then criticized the “heretical theology” in which priests project themselves as being superior to the average layperson, criticizing John Paul II, who he accused of encouraging this vision. Doyle then attacked the Church as an institution, because it was too much based on the notion of authority or power. In order to bring the present church out of its present state and closer to what the early church was, the theologian compared it, surprisingly, to Alcoholics Anonymous. For him, Catholics need such a meeting place, which emphasizes “honesty, non-judgmentalism.” He ended his speech by acknowledging that he has almost lost his faith.
The Tablet, English
And today we celebrate...