Dossier on Advent Group

The dissident support group for ex-priests and nuns, Advent Group ('working for a renewed priesthood'), was allowed to use St Chad's Cathedral for its AGM, Saturday 11th November 2006.

Advent's dissent is clearly visible from its website.

1) One of the aims of ADVENT

is to "work for change in the Church and its ministry"

2) Its members write articles for the dissenting "Catholics for a Changing Church" website ("Celibacy, the Eucharist and the People of God")

For a flavour of this article, posted on the Advent site: "Would it not be better to have a closer look at our historical evolution and, instead of freezing the frame in the late Middle Ages, allow a different model of church to emerge? This would be to cultivate a vision for the future and perhaps apply in this context an expanded form of Paul’s dictum in Galatians: “There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, cleric and lay: for you are all one person in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28)." (Italics in original.) This is clearly dissents from the recently reiterated teahing of the Church on homosexuality in the priesthood.

3) The ADVENT website states that

"We are regularly out on the web. When we find a great site we list it here for you to enjoy."

Below are what ADVENT thinks are "great sites"!!

4) This links to various

"Women Priests" sites

5) And other also other "Church Renewal Groups"

i.e. dissident groups, such as Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, We Are Church, Catholics for a Changing Church, etc.

Relevant here is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 'The Pastoral Care of the Homosexual Person', 1986:

(See here for the full text.)

17: 'All support should be withdrawn from any organisations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely. Such support, or even the semblance of such support, can be gravely misinterpreted. Special attention should be given to the practice of scheduling religious services and the to the use of Church buildings by these groups, including the facilities of Catholic schools and colleges. To some, such permission to use Church property may seem only just and charitable; but in reality it is contradictory to the purpose for which these institutions were founded, it is misleading and often scandalous...'