WE'RE YOU!
We will not be silent.
We’re supported by other denominations and faiths.
Join us to be the reform you want to see!
PAMELA PERRY
Teacher, writer, NGO volunteer, former business director
Co-founder of Parishioners’ Call –
for sacramental ministry open to all who hear God’s call.
PENELOPE MIDDELBOE
Writer, historian, former charity CEO
“I want an egalitarian, prophetic Church, that leads out of love –
liberated from Spirit-denying judgementalism.”
SUE WILLIAMSON
Prison and university teacher, political activist, strongly influenced by feminist theology.
“We need to heal our broken Church for our broken world
so that the face of Christ is visible.”
MARY RING
Mother, grandmother, parishioner
“Is God so small as to be confined to one gender?”
KEVIN GALLAGHER
Electronic Engineer, Chinese Translator, NGO volunteer and recovering Catholic Church employee.
"To see God everywhere, not in a building on a Sunday morning"
MARY VARLEY
Mother, friend, former social worker, seeker, joined Root & Branch in the weeks leading up to the Bristol Synod. She feels privileged to have worked with courageous and wise people to develop the 'Stolen Lives' talks and learning resource.
'"I am deeply ashamed to be part of a church that has betrayed children and young people so grievously. I want to share in the transformation of structures and cultures so that the church becomes a safe place for everyone".
PETER AGIUS
Retired Electronic & Software Engineer, now Administrator for the
Lay Community of St Benedict and IT Support for Root and Branch.
"To Live Holy Communion, Create Holy Space and Offer Holy Service"
(The LCSB Promise)
MAGGIE CONWAY
NGO volunteer, former Clinician, Compliance/ Quality Standards Lead, Lecturer.
"Re-building the Church Jesus 'called' us to be is our sacred duty.
Seeking God's truth above all .
In the words of John Henry Cardinal Newman (1879),
“To the Pope yes, but to Conscience first!”
BRIAN DEVLIN
Former Priest, AIDS & Anti-bullying activist, Passion for Bioethics,
Whistleblower, Writer
‘'Maeve Binchy coined the phrase Collapsed Catholic, and that suits me down to the ground. I find being a Catholic frequently exhausting and too often disturbing. But it’s also a place where true beauty resides despite the harm the hierarchy have caused us.''
What Do We Want?
We want comprehensive Root and Branch reform in the institution of Catholic clericalism. We, the People of God, must lead the way towards an inclusive, safe and loving Catholic Church.
Because of the Vatican’s suppression of free speech in Catholic institutions, many academics, lay people and religious have fallen silent on the important topics of inclusivity and the abusive power of clericalism. WE, the Church, must lead the way in the healing of our institution and our world.
Pope Francis has asked no less of us. He has sent out his bishops to begin consulting with us on 16th October 2021, through until April 2022, to finally come back to him in Rome, October 2023.
Has your Diocese set up arrangements to hear your voice, the voices of “each individual faithful”?
Our Root and Branch Synod is open to all the topics that are deemed “outside the remit.”