ACTA - A Call To Action

MISSION statement: Revised 2026

We are a group of Catholics, some of whom are ordained, brought together by our love of Christ’s Church and a desire to be part of the synodal renewal it needs.

Inspired by the legacy of the Second Vatican Council, and the call to Synodality for the Church of the third millennium, we want to contribute fully to the life of our Church so that it may be a more effective and inclusive sign of the Kingdom of God.

To enable this, we wish to promote listening, dialogue and receptivity within the Church, and with all people of good will, open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Accordingly, we aim to facilitate opportunities to share experiences, practices and insights to discern our hopes and aims for the Church in the world today.

THEOLOGY statement:

ACTA is a movement built from below by clergy and laity alike in every diocese in England and Wales. It exists to give those people an effective voice. It is an instrument to establish and promote space for a trusting dialogue within a hierarchically structured people’s Church.

ACTA believes that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council are the only way forward for mission to modern society. It is not a small chapel of selected followers; it believes in the Church as a “big tent”, with open doors. As a free and representative association of believers, it seeks to liberate the expertise in the ranks, so as to bring added energy and witness to the Church in the world.

Accompanying Letter

: Written by: Alex Walker; Published: 16 July 2021

Accompanying Letter:

Rome, 16 July 2021

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

Just as my Predecessor Benedict XVI did with Summorum Pontificum, I wish to accompany the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes with a letter explaining the motives that prompted my decision. I turn to you with trust and parresia, in the name of that shared “solicitude for the whole Church, that contributes supremely to the good of the Universal Church” as Vatican Council II reminds us.[1]

New Norms regarding the use of the 1962 Roman Missal.

: Written by: Alex Walker; Published: 16 July 2021

Vatican News

New norms regarding use of 1962 Roman Missal: Bishops given greater responsibility
Pope Francis publishes a motu proprio on Friday to redefine the use of the pre-Vatican missal granting the decision to allow its use the local bishops. Groups attending the pre-Vatican liturgy must not deny the validity of the liturgical reform dictated by the Second Vatican Council and the magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs.
By Vatican News

ESV Lost in Translation - Registration Now Open!

: Written by: Alex Walker; Published: 12 July 2021

The ESV - Lost and Found in Translation

The commissioning of a new translation of Sacred Scripture will always raise key questions about how much any translation can meet the requirement to be faithful to original texts and, at the same time, aware of cultural needs. ACTA has arranged a series of talks from Scripture scholars to explore some of these issues.

All talks will be delivered via Zoom. All times are current London times.

The first session will be on Thursday 23rd September from 7.00pm- 8.30pm

Session 1 will involve:

Sr Patricia Rumsey – Abbess, Author and contributor to the Centre for Applied Theology
Dr Amanda Dillon - Assistant Professor, Dept of Theology, Dublin City University

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The second session will be on Thursday 30th September from 7.00pm- 8.30pm

Session 2 will involve:

Rev Dr Joseph O'Hanlon - Author, retired priest of the Diocese of Nottingham and Spiritual Director to ACTA

Archbishop George Stack, Archbishop of Cardiff and Chair of the Dept of Christian Life and Worship -CBCEW

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The third session will be on Thursday 7th October from 7.00-8.30pm

Session 3 will involve:

Fr Henry Wansbrough OSB - Cathedral Prior of Durham, Editor, New Jerusalem Bible

Fr Nicholas King SJ - Author, Fellow of Campion Hall, University of Oxford.

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Attendance will be via registration on the ACTA website:

www.acalltoaction.org.uk

Evangelisation and lay ministry top synod poll

: Written by: Sebastian Milbank; Published: 29 June 2021

The general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech, has praised the Liverpool Synod for modelling the synodal process by walking together, listening and discerning.

In a message to the synod, Cardinal Grech said: “I am convinced that during this synodal experience you have learnt that although you were asked to take a ‘vote’, the synod is neither a parliament nor a convention but, as Pope Francis insists, it is ‘an expression of the Church’. It is a Church that walks together and reads reality with the eyes of faith and the heart of God.”

The Table of the Lord

: Written by: Chris McDonnell; Published: 28 June 2021

Download: The Table of the Lord JUNE20

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, with the Universe media group closing, my CT column is at an end.

However….

For the last few weeks, La Croix international website has been carrying my pieces. This is the web presence linked to the French paper La Croix. The English language text is edited by Robert Mickens who is based in Rome.

I have now arranged to write a weekend column for La Croix, the first one of which is attached. Some of you on this circulation list I know subscribe to La Croix so you might pick my articles directly. Either way, I hope you will continue to enjoy your weekly read.

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