Call to Action hopes to unite Catholics who want to bring changes to church

By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Wednesday, May 26, 2004 10:10 PM PDT ∞

The child-abuse scandal that rocked the church last year left many Catholics calling for reform. What they might not realize, however, is that a group of Catholics has been working for broad reforms for decades.

Call to Action, formed in 1976 as a way of continuing reforms set in motion after Vatican II, has 25,000 members in 50 chapters, including one formed in Carlsbad in 1995.

After almost nine years, the San Diego chapter has only about 100 members, although founder Evi Quinn of Carlsbad said she is sure that more people would join if they only knew about the group.

"There are people who are dying to feel a sense of solidarity with people who are reform-minded, but they don't even know we exist," Quinn said.

Many church reforms were outlined decades ago by the Second Vatican Council, but many of the faithful believe bigger changes are still long overdue.

"After Vatican II, there were a lot of things that were changed and reformed, but were not really being put into practice," said Quinn, who thinks much of the spirit of the reform movement has been cast aside.

The changes came after Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council in October 1962. Pope Paul VI closed the council in 1965. During that time, cardinals, bishops, theologians and representatives of other religions assembled in Rome to discuss the church's role in modern society.

When it was over, Vatican II brought about changes in how sacraments were administered, including the use of vernacular languages for the Mass.

But Quinn believes Vatican II called for other changes that were largely ignored by church leaders, and in 1995 she formed a local chapter of the national group Call to Action to keep pushing for those changes.

Approaching the nine-year anniversary, the county-wide chapter has grown to only 100 members.

Quinn is undeterred and said that she realizes the major reforms she wants may be decades away. A look at the group's Web site indeed reveals a wish list that could take generations: opening the priesthood to non-celibates and women; incorporating women in all levels of ministry and decision-making; extensive consultation in issues of sexuality; financial openness at all levels, including the Vatican; participation in the selection of local bishops; and "a more participatory community of believers who practice what Jesus preached in regard to nonviolence and the preferential option for the poor."

Quinn said a catalyst for the movement was Vatican II's document, "The Church in the Modern World," which defined the church's role as service to the entire human community.

San Diego resident Janet Mansfield, president of the San Diego chapter, said Call to Action follows that agenda by working with groups such as Survivor Network for Those Abused by Priests; a Catholic gay and lesbian group; and other groups aimed at achieving social justice.

"Call to Action is three-pronged," she said. "It's very concerned with church reform, social justice and education."

The roots of Call to Action began in 1976 after 1,340 delegates from dioceses throughout the country met in Detroit and wrote resolutions and recommendations addressing issues involving human rights, the economy, ecology and the church.

In 1990, 4,500 Catholics signed a New York Times ad as "a call for reform in the Catholic church."

Quinn attended the Call to Action national conference in Chicago in 1994 and returned to Carlsbad to form the first local chapter in Southern California, serving as president for the first four years.

"I personally called people and invited them to my house," she said. "We had our first get-together at my house with 19 people. We decided we'd go on and meet monthly."

The first meetings were held at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, but the group moved to a Catholic church in La Jolla, a more central location that Quinn hoped would draw more people.

However, the diocese asked the San Diego chapter not to meet in a Catholic church because, Quinn said, it was not an official Catholic church organization. The group now meets at Mansfield's home and at Christ Lutheran Church in Pacific Beach for special events.

"It depends totally on the bishop," Quinn said about whether any of the other 50 chapters nationwide meet in Catholic churches. "Some allow the meetings and events to take place in the parishes. The majority of the bishops do not want them there."

With the church tarnished by an abuse scandal and the ratio of priests to parishioners dropping, Mansfield said the church's very existence depends on reform.

"If the church does not change, it will remain a church of the Middle Ages," she said.

Call to Action's next meeting is in Mansfield's house on June 12, when members will meet for a "Day of Reflection" ceremony.

The local group holds about five programs a year, which in the past have included talks by University of San Diego theologian Gary Massey, an expert in medieval history. Upcoming programs will include a discussion about women in the Bible in September and a talk about Vatican II in October.

Although Quinn and Mansfield want the Catholic church to reform, neither would consider changing religions.

"I won't leave the church," Mansfield said. "I feel it's my church. It's like my country. I won't kill for it, but I will die for it.

"There's no reason why we can't sit it out and talk together," she said about her hopes for reform. "It will happen. It's just a matter of time."

For more about the local chapter of Call to Action, call Quinn at (760) 434-3710 or visit the Web site www.cta-sandiego.org. The national Call to Action site is www.cta-usa.org.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at gwarth@nctimes.com or (760) 740-5410.