A PUBLIC meeting to essentially help "get the Catholic church back on track" will be held in Leeton next month.
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A group known as the Concerned Catholics Wagga Wagga Diocese, which covers Leeton, will hold its third public meeting in Leeton on March 1.
The organisation was formed after it says it saw a need for the Catholic Church to return to the "true spirit of the Gospels" and to "allow lay Catholics to have a greater leadership role in the reform of their beleaguered Church".
The group said it was keen to see people of the diocese act on the call of Pope Francis and Vatican 2 for lay people to have a greater role in church decision-making.
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The vision of the group is "an Australian Church which is Gospel-Centred, accountable, inclusive and transparent", and this will be the theme of the Leeton meeting.
Speakers on the day will be Denis Nickle who lives in Wagga and Tricia Johnson who lives in Griffith.
Both are members of the organising committee. Group chairman Kerry Carmichael said the Catholic Church in Australia was at a critical point in time.
"We believe the Catholic Church is in crisis in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and related developments," he said.
"The 2020 Plenary Council presents a watershed opportunity for us, the laity and clergy, to bring invigorating reforms the church so sorely needs to reflect more effectively the teachings of Christ in the modern day.
"The Royal Commission's recommendations provided a powerful template for reform in the church, yet we have seen little evidence towards a more accountable and transparent church giving a greater role of lay people in decision-making.
"It's time for lay Catholics throughout Australia, including the Wagga Diocese, to discuss and raise their views at local parish and diocesan level without waiting for the Plenary Council sessions."
The meeting in Leeton will be held at the Mia Club on March 1 from 2pm. All welcome to attend.