Archbishop Wilson's comment on celibacy…

Dear friends,

Re: Archbishop Wilson's comment on celibacy picked up in CathNews today.

UPDATE: 12.30 P.M. aest: Archbishop Phillip Wilson has confirmed through his media spokesperson that his comments were written for Vocations' Awareness Week and were not to be interpreted as a response to the petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops.

I believe this response from Archbishop Wilson can be interpreted as a very clear sign politically that the President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference sees no value in trying to derail this petition. His media spokesperon was most emphatic in insisting that Archbishop Wilson did not want his words written for Vocations Awareness Week and another context to be interpreted as a response to the petition. From the signs I pick up as a journalist I think the bishops in Australia do want to remain neutral in this matter — i.e. neither seen to be encouraging nor discouraging people in signing the petition and generally wanting to see what response this intiative generates at the grass roots level in Australia. There is still a long way to go but I know the organisers of the petition are encouraged that it is has already brought nearly 540 signatures to the online edition. They do not yet know how many signatures have been collected on the many hard copy editions of the petition that are in circulation around this country.

ORIGINAL TEXT OF TODAY'S e-BULLETIN: I think everyone should just wait on this one. I have spoken to Archbishop Wilson's office. The brochure was prepared for Vocations Awareness Week in the Archdiocese of Adelaide on 2nd August and it is highly likely the Archbishop's comment had been written some considerable time before that. News of the Petition to the Australian Bishops was only made public on 1 August. In fact Catholica Australia broke the news of the petition on that date.. In view of this it is unlikely that Archbishop Wilson's comment can be interpreted in any way as a response to the Petition. It is a mere coincidence of timing. I have asked Archbishop Wilson's media officer for a definitive comment from the Archbishop seeking to know if his comments are indeed a response to the petition or if it is merely a coincidence of timing. The media officer was having a meeting with Archbishop Wilson late this morning where he would raise the issue. Let us wait and see what the Archbishop has to say.

It would not be unexpected or unusual for the Archbishop to be writing on the issue of priestly celibacy in connection with Catholic Vocations. One suspects it is trying to stretch credibility beyond an extreme to suggest that his comments for Vocations Awareness Week are also to be interpreted as some response to the petition at this early stage.

As I have written The great value in this petiton, I believe, is not so much the particular issues it is asking the bishops to place on their agenda for discussion. The bishops themselves probably have very little power to change many of those things. The petition itself stands as a sign offering moral support and affirmation from the grass roots of the Church to our spiritual and ecclesial leaders who are as sick to death as many of the rest of us are at the continuing decline of our Church into irrelevance in the minds of so many in contemporary society.

I would be extremely surprised if the Bishops, and the President of the Australian Bishops Conference in particular, was at this stage trying to derail this petition. I think the bishops themselves might be very interested today in seeing what sort of response this petition does generate in the Australian community.

One assumes that in due course — perhaps after their meeting in November — they will make some public comment in response to the petition.

Meanwhile we have an interesting commentary for you today written by our resident theology student, Daniel Gullotta. This time Daniel's contribution is not one of his essays written for his course at ACU National but has been written out of personal interest in the subject matter at hand. In the commentary Daniel explores some interesting historical and political links on the titles humankind has given to Jesus. <Click HERE to read Daniel's commentary>

Petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops Update...

The online petition was just two clicks under 533 signatures at 11.50 am this morning. <Click HERE to access the information page> and <Click HERE to sign the petition online>.

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life, and in our world,

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher