"Pope Francis Shakes Up Catholic Church"/ Visit to Brazil

Pope Francis at World Youth Day in Brazil Photo:Reuters
"Erwin Kräutler, bishop of the diocese Xingu in the Brazilian Amazon region, steers clear of tricky subjects such as women priests and celibate. Kräutler, an Austrian native who came to the Amazon region some 40 years ago, takes a more pragmatic approach: "I have 28 priests for 700,000 people in an area that's about the size of Germany," he said. "We started to ask ourselves: How can we enable people in the jungle, wherever they are, to take part in the Holy Communion?"
No priest around
Many laypersons have already come up with their own solution: they simply hold church services without the support of the clerics. They pray together, break the bread, administer wine, and care little about Catholic regulations, which specify that only priests are allowed to administer the sacrament of the Holy Communion. "

http://www.dw.de/pope-francis-shakes-up-catholic-church/a-16972679

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greeted the pontiff at Rio's international airport.

 

Bridget Mary's Response:

Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air in our church. His simplicity and  solidarity with the poor

touches the heart.

 Isn't it great that Brazil has a woman president? Now if we could only move the institutional church to treat women as partners and equals like Jesus did in the Gospels.

According to the article above, the people have found a solution for priestless communities, simply go ahead and celebrate the Eucharist!.

Amen, Sisters and Brothers, we are the church and that is what Jesus invited us to do. Break the Bread of Life and Drink the Wine of Love in his memory. The indigineous people in the Amazon are celebrating their faith and living their baptism fully.

Perhaps, more Catholic communities will follow their example!

Roman Catholic Women Priests are a bridge from the present model to a disicpleship of equals.

In our worship, the communities celebrate Eucharist, pray the words of Institution/Consecration, participate in dialogue/interactive homilies, and co-preside in inclusive communities where all are welcome.

I hope, our brother,  Francis will  reform the church and affirm women as sisters and equals in Christ. May he be blessed and may it be so.

Bridget Mary Meehan, arcwp, www.arcwp.org