National Pastoral Congress in 1979?

The eighth National Conference of Priests meeting at Newman College, Birmingham, this week has voted unanimously in favour of a National Pastoral Conference.
If the bishops accept the recommendation, a cornerstone of the pastoral strategy document "A Time for Building", it could be that there will be a national Catholic parliament meeting in 1979.
Although the NC? representing all the priests of England and Wales voted by 63 to 0 in favour of the principle it is not unaware of the difficulties. Money is probably the greatest of these but the recommendation contains the proviso that the conference be "genuinely a national conference, truly representative of all sections of the Church and manifestly seen to be representative."
Many priests do not see how a national representative conference can go ahead without a survey of the national Catholic population and its resources, but the bishops have turned down requests for such a survey every year since the NC? began seven years ago.
Another proposition suggesting that the Bishops fund such a survey is on the conference agenda and another suggests that the NCP and the Bishops' Conference ask Gallup Poll if they may cooperate in a poll that Gallup is believed to be conducting on the Catholic population.
The third problem is what local structures could produce representative Catholics from parishes and deaneries. There is a suggestion that every diocese sets up a secretariat to work towards the National Pastoral Conference and to collect responses to "A Time for Building." Mgr Joseph Buckley, from the working party on pastoral strategy said that there had been fewer than 100 responses so far.
As regards what such a conference should be discussing, a second proposal put by Mgr Philip Cronin and passed by 63 to two said that particular attention should be drawn to the following:
the description of mission in the report, the need for adult Christian formation, the Mass, the other sacraments and their mode of celebration, Christian attitudes to work and the processes on consultation in the Church.
The knowledge that the NCP is only an advisory body to the bishops permeates this con Continued on page 2
Congress in 1979?
Continued from page 1 ference, Its resolutions are pressure towards action rather than executive acts.
The Bishops' Conference makes all the major decisions. On the other hand, the issues discussed openly in front of the press are crucial to the future of the Church.
Another factor is that eight members of the 12 man standing committee of the NCP are due for replacement including the chairman, Fr Tom Shepherd. Since the standing committee carries on the work of the conference throughout the year and relates its thinking to the Bishops' Conference, this is of crucial importance. So far the names of Fr Michael Winter, West London University chaplain, Fr Sean Kerney, a former chairman and Fr Gerry Burke, the present secretary,
have been put forward for chairman.
The main theme of this year's conference is "A Time for Building" but other resolutions on the agenda promise lively debate. On Thursday the propositions put forward include a suggestion that the Bishops ordain married men to the priesthood, that alcoholism among the cl rgy be considered a matter of urgent concern and that the Bishops set up a working party to consider the pastoral approach to the problems of homosexuality.
Other propositions on the agenda include a scheme for a liturgy institute and the suggestion that priests be forbidden to say Mass more than three times in one day.
FULL REPORT NEXT WEEK