Can we start again please - towards reform of the Roman Catholic Church

The Australian Catholics Bishops Conference have announced that they are open to change. This book article scopes out what such an agenda for change might need to address. It contends that our existing model of Church governance is broken and that the Church’s social license to operate hangs in the balance. Many people have been marginalized by the way the Church has conducted itself. Many Catholics are left feeling marginalized from their own Church, facing as they do, an autocratic Church which expresses belief and practice in ways that no longer resonate with the people. Change is urgently needed. The expression of Catholic belief has to be informed by insights from the physical and social sciences while the Church’s model of governance must yield to the participatory nature of 21st century decision-making.