PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks
Controversial Catholic priest comes to Chestnut Hill College despite Philadelphia Archdiocese ban
July 22, 2013
By Jana Shea for NewsWorks, @jujukus
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia didn’t roll out the welcome mat when Father Helmut Schüller came to town to speak at Chestnut Hill College on Friday night. The Catholic priest is something of an outlaw to the Holy See.
Schüller’s message is simple: the Catholic Church needs to get with the times.
Together with the Austrian Priests’ Initiative (API), he has put forth an “Appeal for Disobedience,” advocating for sweeping reforms.
The appeal calls for “a new image of the priest” where women and married persons may be ordained, among other proposed changes. These actions will enable the church to become deeply involved in a conversation with modern society, Schüller said.
As a result, Schüller was stripped of his monsignorship and demoted to parish priest. Schüller has embarked on a 15-city tour of the U.S. to spread the message of reform, but has been prohibited from speaking on church properties.
“The Archdiocese wanted to avoid any confusion about Catholic teaching — especially a priest speaking about Catholic teaching — so we made it very clear that Father Schüller would not be permitted to speak at any parishes or Archdiocesan facilities in the area,” said Archdiocese of Philadelphia spokesman Kenneth Gavin in a statement to NewsWorks last week.
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