Lumen Gentium 37

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‘Togetherness’ or ‘walking together’ – as explained by Pope Francis.

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About Sean O'Conaill

Retired teacher of high school history and author. Now editing here and on acireland.ie - and campaigning for immediate implementation of Article 37 of Vatican II's 'Lumen Gentium'. A fuller profile can be found at 'About / Author' from the navigation menu above. View all posts by Sean O'Conaill →

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Lumen Gentium Article 37

Like all Christians, the laity have the right to receive in abundance the help of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially that of the word of God and the sacraments from the pastors.

To the latter the laity should disclose their needs and desires with that liberty and confidence which befits children of God and brothers of Christ.

By reason of the knowledge, competence or pre‑eminence which they have the laity are empowered ‑ indeed sometimes obliged ‑ to manifest their opinion on those things which pertain to the good of the Church.

...through the institutions established by the Church for that purpose ...
21915 days
have elapsed since November 21st, 1964, when this solemn Constitution on the Church, agreed by Vatican Council II was promulgated by Pope Paul VI.
1878 days
have elapsed since October 1st, 2019, when ACI presented to the Irish Bishops Conference at Maynooth a reminder of what Lumen Gentium promised in 1964 and Irish bishops never delivered - with catastrophic consequences for the Irish Church.

With the announcement by the Irish Bishops' Conference on March 10th, 2021 of their intent to lead the Irish Church on a 'Synodal Path' towards renewal there is hope that a longstanding injustice is to be addressed. However, given the continuing canon law obstacles to committed clerical collaboration with lay people, and the apparent lack of clerical enthusiasm for synodal interaction with lay people so far, the reality of this 'Synodal Path' remains to be widely seen.

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ACI Submission I to Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2019

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It was Catholic parents and victims of clerical abuse who taught Catholic Bishops to prioritise the safeguarding of children in the church

ACI Submission II to Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2019

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ACI Submission III to Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 2019

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Again a huge thanks from me to all - and to the Source of all insight!

Sean O’Conaill
1st November 2024

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Catholic Church Internal Trials in the Diocese of Derry, Ireland, in 2019

A brief account of personal experience of more than five decades of clerical apartheid and inertia in Derry Catholic Diocese in the wake of Vatican II (1966-2019)

It was these experiences - and similar experiences by other ACI members - that led to the 2019 appeal by ACI to the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference for the immediate honouring of the promise implicit in Lumen Gentium 37 (1964).

With the declaration of March 2021 of a Synodal Pathway for the Irish Church, and Derry’s own synodal discussions in the spring of 2022, there was hope for change in this inertial situation. However 'synodality' has not yet become embedded in the ordinary lives of Derry Catholics, and clerical enthusiasm for it is hard to find. It cannot yet be said that the process of decline in the diocese - an inevitable consequence of clerical aloofness - has turned a corner.

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