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A Call To Action (ACTA) is a group of Roman Catholics in England and Wales. It was formed at a meeting at Heythrop College, London, in 2012. Its first Chair was Jean Riordan, and its members developed a mission statement declaring that they sought in a climate of trust and respect to promote openness and dialogue both with each other and with the Catholic hierarchy, in order to pursue the reforms of the Second Vatican Council as the only way forward for mission to modern society.
ACTA has branches in each of the Catholic dioceses of England and Wales. It has around 2,000 members, both ordained and lay. In addition to local activities it has held national conferences in 2013, and at Liverpool Hope University in October 2014; a 2015 conference will be held in Leeds. The current office-holders include: Chair, Eileen Fitzpatrick; Vice-Chairs, Fr Gerry Hughes SJ and Kathy Bamber.
The Bishop of Portsmouth held a meeting with the group in March 2014[1], but its work has not been without controversy[2]. Later in 2014 the group urged the hierarchy of England and Wales to follow a precedent set by the German and Austrian bishops in publishing a summary of responses to the questionnaire preparatory to the Synod on the Family in October 2014[3]. In March 2015 ACTA was criticised by the Bishop of Lancaster as a "lobby group", but defended by a deacon in the diocese of Northampton and trustee of the heavyweight British Catholic journal The Tablet[4].
Other than the resemblance of its title, it has no relationship with a similarly-named US organisation.
References edit
- ^ Teahan, Madeline (6 March 2014). "Bishop of Portsmouth meets with ACTA". The Catholic Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Greaves, Mark (10 July 2014). "Booming reform group is still an enigma". The Catholic Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Roman Catholic Church refuses survey request". BBC News. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ Moorhead, Joanna (1 April 2015). "Bishops seek to keep synod debate out of the media". The Tablet. Retrieved 18 April 2015.; Phelan, Michael (2 April 2015). "Loyal ACTA has been misunderstood". The Tablet. Retrieved 18 April 2015.