Now is the time to emulate Paul and stand up to Peter (Galations 2;11) to preserve and develop all the wonderful work done during the Second Vatican Council.  There are strident voices from those who want the Church to stagnate and regress to a past mythical era.  It is important for those who support the changes brought about by Vatican II to take courage and let their voices be heard.

The Stand Up for Vatican 11 committee have organised a meeting at the Westminster Thistle Hotel, SW1W 0QT, on Tuesday 26 January 2010 from 7 - 9 pm for all who want the Church to move forward in the spirit of Vatican II.

There are powerful groups at work who wish to intimidate those of our persuasion into silence.  Those who respect Blessed Pope John XXIII as a courageous man of vision must refuse such tactics.

Blessed Pope John stepped beyond expectations; he opened the doors and let the Holy Spirit breathe new life and perception into the Church (the People of God).  He realised that a General Council of Bishops from all over the world would only be the start. Sadly he himself was only to be with the Council at its beginning.  He knew that its application in the Church would be difficult with a struggle between those who dare to take their faith into the wider world and those who are committed to lack of change, exclusivity and the safety of the ghetto.  

There is a great example in Acts 10, when those who were not of the Jewish Faith invited St Peter to tell them the message God had sent through Jesus, St Peter had to make a very difficult decision about such a meeting because his people were forbidden to mix with and visit people of another race. (There was a genuine fear of Hellenisation) St Peter is quoted as saying "The truth I have now come to realise is that God does not have favourites, but that anyone of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him."  ('Fear' in this context means 'reverence for' or 'awe of'; even 'submits to')  

One of the most important concepts to come out of the Council was that of 'dialogue'.  Progressive Roman Catholics want this to become a reality in the Church.  

Indubitably mistakes were made in implementing the decisions of the Council: lack of full consultation and adult catechesis were but two.

• There is room in the Church for those who want to pray and celebrate the liturgy in a foreign language as well as for those who believe God likes to hear his children speak to him in their own tongue. 
• There is room for grand formal liturgies as well as for more intimate community celebrations.
• Dare we say it, there is room for those who want to be told what to do and have others take the responsibility as well as for those who believe that God gave human beings the ability to think, reason, inform their moral conscience and act accordingly.

Book a place on 26 January by e-mailing your name, address and telephone number to wacuk (at) we-are-church.org (replace the '(at)' by @ and remove the spaces to turn this into a conventional e-mail address)  You are asked to book, not because there is a desire to exclude anyone but because of the capacity of the hall.  A second meeting will be arranged if there is not enough room for all who would like to attend.

Stand Up for Vatican II