Christ's Idea of Authority in the Church: Reflections on Reform - Paperback

by John Wijngaards (Author)

The Catholic Church--like other churches--has created institutions to support its spiritual mission. The exercise of authority plays a central role in how they function. The truth is that ugly accretions have attached themselves to that "authority" in the course of the centuries. Like weeds, scallops, and rubbish clinging to the bottom of a ship. Think of unchristian cultural views, customs, and practices from the Roman Empire, the barbarian tribes in Europe and the feudalistic Middle Ages that nailed themselves to the ministries. These cancerous growths have even been enshrined in church laws. . . . This booklet identifies what is wrong by going back to Jesus' original intentions. Find out how Jesus wanted the spiritual authority he gives to be exercised in practice.

Author Biography

John Wijngaards is professor emeritus of the Missionary Institute London, and at present chair of the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research. He has written thirty-five books on spirituality, biblical theology, adult catechesis, and church reform, among them Background to the Gospels (1970), Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests? (1977), Communicating the Word of God (1978), Experiencing Jesus (1981), God within Us (1988), How to Make Sense of God (1995), The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church (2001), No Holy Orders for Women? (2006), and Ten Commandments for Church Reform (2022).