By 
There are more than 1 billion followers in the Catholic Church. However, a growing number of them have been disappointed by a Church that is crumbling under the heavy load of the scandal over its failure to tackle child abuse. It is time for fundamental reforms. BILD makes 12 demands for a modern and open church!
1. Open your files and archives!
A fresh start finds its beginning with credibility. That is not possible as long as the Vatican seals investigation reports on thousands of sexual abuse cases perpetrated by the Catholic Church. Therefore, Pope Francis has to open every single file for investigators and scholars in every community throughout the world.
2. Allow adequate control!
A grim-looking all-male clergy, organized crime and obscure circles. In real life, the police would be looking into this case. The church shouldn’t be hiding behind its rules and regulations from authorities who are investigating the abuse around the world.
All human beings are equal before God and the courts!
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Ändert euch!
12 Thesen für Neuanfang in der katholischen Kirche
Immer mehr Menschen sind enttäuscht von einer Kirche, die an ihren Skandalen zerbricht. BILD stellt Forderungen für eine moderne Kirche!
3. Implement a zero tolerance!
The Catholic Church has long been the breeding grounds for abuse committed against its protégés. What happened to the publicly identified sexual abuse cases, the suspended third parties and those who covered their tracks?
You show us, how serious Pope Francis is with his call for zero tolerance.
4. Abolish the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith!
The Church does not tolerate a contradiction of faith. It supresses and fights it within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It has been 300 years since the Age of Enlightenment and this overpowering institution is incompatible with a church free and open to all.
It must be abolished!
5. Stop the hypocrisy!
Priests are human beings before and after they have completed the ordination process. The human soul needs love and sexuality. Nobody believes the Catholic Church when it says that the majority of its priests practice celibacy.
Therefore, it would be more sincere to loosen and modernize the rules, and to stop the condemnation of homosexuality.
6. Allow women to be ordained!
Everywhere in Europe women have the right to speak except in churches. Priestly ordination for women still remains prohibited. The Catholic Church is an all-male clergy. Hence it renounces gender equality between women and men. It is a path that takes us back to bygone days and not to a brighter future!
7. Be more modest!
The rings you wear, the churches you preach in and the palaces you reside in all belong to church members. They reflect God’s glory in the world and not self-adulation. We know that God can hear our voices without you. Did you know?
8. Dare more democracy!
In democratic societies, those who pay taxes have the right to vote. But not in the Church! The Church has to decide whether it will abolish church tax or whether it will allow members to fully participate in decision-making process regarding important personell choices, i.e. bishops, cardinals etc.
9. The Catholic Church has to become younger!
Cardinals can participate in the election of the new Pope until age 80. It is a conclave ruled by old men. If the Church wants to be more modern it has to breath new life into its upper echelons. A club ruled by old men is no longer in touch with the reality of ordinary people’s lives.
10. The Church belongs to children!
Time and again, God has placed the future in our children’s hands. Is there any sign that the Church has understood that? A church that doesn’t shelter those who have been abused, that doesn’t even offer to get to the bottom of the abuse, that hides illegitimate children fathered by priests is protecting itself at the expense of the weaker ones.
11. Argentina – In pursuit of the truth!
The Pope has to lead the way with his head held high! That’s why he has to help in the search for truth: What did he know about the atrocities committed by the military junta in his home country Argentina? What did the military bishops, the pastoral workers and the priests know? All archives must be opened!
12. Speak up, Pope Benedict!
Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, knows about the darkest secrets of the Church’s recent history. It was his obligation to protect the Vatican as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. What happened in the Vatican Bank? How many sexual abuse cases are known to them? How long has this been going on? Why did he resign? Benedict, talk to your devoted followers! They have a right to know the truth!
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