Five years ago, a group of my friends and colleagues began getting together to study and discuss church teachings, share doubts, and encourage each other in understanding and living the faith.
We meet regularly in my living room, all of us dedicated Catholics. We have raised children and held responsible jobs and positions of leadership in our communities. Within our church, however, we exercise no formal influence; there is no way for our voices to be heard. Indeed, at the time we first gathered, our discussions would have been seen by many church leaders as disloyal and disruptive—the church had spoken its final words on such matters as artificial contraception and women’s ordination, and the faithful were bound to docile assent.
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