US priests chart moderate path

The reform-minded Association of US Catholic Priests has rejected a call for the Church to open the priesthood to women and married men, the Huffington Post reports.

Fr Dave Cooper, a priest from Milwaukee who heads the 1,000-member AUSCP, said last week that the middle course charted by the 140 delegates reflected a goal of promoting dialogue, not laying down markers for a confrontation with the hierarchy.

'We realized that if we hope to dialogue with bishops we have to find bridges to do that,' Cooper said. If the group had adopted the resolution on ordaining women priests – a ban that the Vatican has said is not open for discussion – 'it would have become an obstacle, a barrier, rather than a bridge.'

On the other hand, he said, now the group is being criticized by some 'who accuse us of a lack of courage.'

'No, it’s not a lack of courage,' he said. 'It’s wisdom. We need to know how to move forward.'

Among the six proposals passed by the priests at the three-day AUSCP convention was a resolution urging the church to 'exercise … authority in a collegial manner through consensus decision-making processes.' 

Another expressed support for Pope Francis in his own effort to reform the church, and called for the participation of laity and clergy in the selection of bishops.