Global Council Network

Base movements from all continents support Pope Francis’ call for substantial reforms in the Roman-Catholic Church and in Society.

Press release   Rome, November 20, 2015

 Convention ‘Council 50’: Towards a Church – Inspired by the Gospel – for the world’ with more than 100 delegates of worldwide catholic reform movements in Rome, November 20-22, 2015.

 This Coming weekend reform movements from diverse continents, countries, cultures and theological tendencies are gathering in Rome and will present a variety of fruits and projects grown from the Second Vatican Council for an inclusive Church for the 21^st century. They are bringing their practice, experience and reflexions to Rome and hope to show their potentialities for a revival of the Church, as St Francis of Assisi did in his time.

 ‘Council 50’ aims to reaffirm the values and the spirit of the Council and to give space and opportunity of networking between the different experiences that sprang from it. ‘Council 50’ intends to revivify the disappointed hopes, to relight the flame of the Council, and to renew the impetus towards the future. So it is making visible the prophetic part of the ‘people of God’ in the Church too often hidden and unknown.

 ‘Council 50’ strongly supports Pope Francis’ efforts against all resistance: for the renewal of the Roman-Catholic Church, for interreligious dialogue and for a more just and peaceful world. ‘Council 50’ wants to help change the dogmatic and legalistic attitude of the Church into a pastoral and evangelic attitude inspired by the Gospel and in line with the Second Vatican Council. Hence the leitmotiv ‘Council 50: towards a Church – inspired by the Gospel – for the world’.

 ‘Council 50’ is a networking process that contributes to strengthen the ‘sensum fidei fidelium’ that is one of the key theological teachings of the theological thoughts of the Second Vatican Council as expressed in the dogmatic constitution ‘Lumen Gentium’. This Council brought so much hope 50 years ago but because of unsatisfactory decrees and Pope Francis’ predecessors the prophetic part of the Church at the peripheries of the world were too often ignored, hidden, and even condemned. The teaching of this Council is still waiting to be implemented.

• Letter – 03/04/2015 [EN] [FR]
• A brief description of the event in Rome [FR] [EN]
• The provisional program of the event [FR] [EN] [ES]
• The list of workshops to be worked on during the event. [FR] [EN] [ES]
• The registration form in three languages [FR] [EN] [ES]
• Joint presentation of the Pact of the Catacombs Conference and Council 50 [FR] [EN]
• Pact of the Catacombs Conference programme [EN]
• Brief presentation of the Council 50 project  [FR] [EN]
• “Why this project and why now? [FR] [EN]
• Financial support urgently needed [FR] [EN]

(Chrétiens Ici Maintenant Ensemble) - Montpellier

Constat :

Depuis 2 générations, la situation des Églises et particulièrement de l'Église Catholique de France ne cesse de se détériorer (indifférence, désaffection...).
L'Église est contestée dans ses dogmes et sa morale intangible, l'incohérence entre ses paroles et ses actes...      
Pour vivre leur foi en vérité et en cohérence avec eux-mêmes, certains fidèles s'affranchissent  de l'Église institutionnelle.        
Nous regrettons le côté infantilisant et culpabilisant de l'Église... c'est une institution qui juge. Aujourd'hui, l'Église n'est plus porteuse de l'espérance évangélique.

Dans le même temps, nous nous réjouissons des paroles et de l'engagement du Pape François en faveur  des causes humaines actuelles : les pauvres, l'écologie, la paix, les immigrés victimes d'un système économique international  injuste, des passeurs et des terroristes, …