Why people drop out…

Dear friends,

For a long time now I have been arguing that the institutional Church has to begin shouldering a heck of a lot more of the responsibility as to why people have been disappearing out of the Church. Pope Benedict still seems locked in the belief that the reasons for the decline have to be all sheeted home to forces outside the institution. In our lead commentary today though Fr Kevin Murphy points to where Bishop Geoffrey Robinson is arguing that we have to collectively begin taking some responsibility for the way in which the institution has become irrelevant to so many. As well as looking at the reasons for the decline Kevin also argues that on the positive side small faith communities offer hope for the future. I also suspect that the internet is going to play a huge part through these new social networks that are emerging. <Click HERE to read Fr Kevin's Commentary>

PETITION WELL THROUGH THE 3,000 MILESTONE…

At noon today the petition count stood at 3285. The petition organisers would appreciate further donations, no matter how small, to cover the cost of organising the petition and to promote it in other media. You can donate securely online at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr <Click HERE to access the petition 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