MISSION statement: Revised 2026

We are a group of Catholics, some of whom are ordained, brought together by our love of Christ’s Church and a desire to be part of the synodal renewal it needs.
 
Inspired by the legacy of the Second Vatican Council, and the call to Synodality for the Church of the third millennium, we want to contribute fully to the life of our Church so that it may be a more effective and inclusive sign of the Kingdom of God.
 
To enable this, we wish to promote listening, dialogue and receptivity within the Church, and with all people of good will, open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
 
Accordingly, we aim to facilitate opportunities to share experiences, practices and insights to discern our hopes and aims for the Church in the world today.

THEOLOGY statement:

ACTA is a movement built from below by clergy and laity alike in every diocese in England and Wales. It exists to give those people an effective voice. It is an instrument to establish and promote space for a trusting dialogue within a hierarchically structured people’s Church.
 
ACTA believes that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council are the only way forward for mission to modern society. It is not a small chapel of selected followers; it believes in the Church as a “big tent”, with open doors. As a free and representative association of believers, it seeks to liberate the expertise in the ranks, so as to bring added energy and witness to the Church in the world.

Sixth Sunday of Easter Yr B

Written by: Joseph O’Hanlon

ACTA COMMENTARY on THE SUNDAY LECTIONARY

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER  

YEAR B: YEAR OF MARK    Download here >>> Sixth Sunday of Easter Yr 2

There is much to learn from today’s readings simply by looking at the pages in the Lectionary.  Apart from the Gospel the two other readings and the Responsorial Psalm have been abbreviated. There is a warning at the end of the Book of Revelation:

Read more: Sixth Sunday of Easter Yr B

Fourth Sunday of Easter - Year B

Written by: Joseph O’Hanlon
ACTA COMMENTARY 
OUR SUNDAY LECTIONARY
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER  
YEAR B: YEAR OF MARK
 
GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY      Download >>> Fourth Sunday of Easter - Year B
 
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday because the Gospel reading portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  It is customary on this day, in our reflection on the Gospel reading, to direct our thoughts to vocations to priesthood and religious life.  Jesus who proclaims ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ is seen as a model for all who are called to undertake shepherding rôles in every church community throughout the world.  Today couragement to serve in such callings will find its way into homilies and congregations will be urged to pray for vocations.   

Read more: Fourth Sunday of Easter - Year B

Gaudate et Exsultate - on the call to holiness in today's world

Written by: Alex Walker

Read the Exhortation here. Issued on the 9th April 2018 on the Solemnity of the Annunciation >>>

National Catholic Reporter review by Michael Sean Winters

Bishop Paul Swarbrick of the Lancaster Diocese

Written by: Alex Walker

Bishop Paul Swarbrick, the seventh Bishop of Lancaster was installed on Monday 9th April and gave this address. The sound he refers to is the smoke alarm that went off, as it always does, when incense is used ! The Cathedral was packed and the Joy was palpable. He will make a very good listening, collaborative and pastoral Bishop.

 

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Written by: Joseph O'Hanlon

ACTA COMMENTARY ACTA COMMENTARY OUR SUNDAY LECTIONARY
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER   YEAR B: YEAR OF MARK      Download: Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

The Easter Sunday morning Mass last week featured a Gospel reading which is to be read on each Sunday in the three year cycle.  That Gospel begins with the story of Mary Magdalene’s meeting with the Risen Lord.  In the darkness of the very early morning she came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away.   She ran to Simon Peter and “the other disciple” - and there her story is suspended and we are provided with an account of the experience of the two men.  It is a very enriching story of the readers/hearers but ends in a most extraordinary sentence - so bewildering that our Lectionary omits it.   Having discovered an empty tomb and no sign of the body of Jesus, they speculate as to the meaning of the folded burial cloths, and then,

Read more: Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

  1. Easter Vigil
  2. Easter Sunday
  3. Mary Magdalene in the Movies
  4. Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday)

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