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.

Jo Cox MP
BBC image

RIP - Jo Cox MP

Written by: Alex Walker

One year on from the tragic death of Jo Cox, a series of events are being held across the UK to celebrate the late MP – and the message of togetherness that she promoted throughout her life.

Grenfell Tower

What is there to say ?

Written by: Chris McDonnell

                           only in the West

 

                           the sun returned

                           bringing angled shadows

                           of morning

                           back to city streets.

 

                           cars and buses,

                           trains and tubes

                           moved people

                           from home to work.

 

                           only, in the west

                           a pall of smoke

                           hung heavy

                           on the skyline

 

                           and the people wept.

 

Chris McDonnell

Singing

It's time to sing again !

Written by: Chris McDonnell

It’s often been called the four-hymn sandwich, one at the beginning of Mass, one for the Offertory, one for Communion time and one at the end to send us all home. A neat package of wordage that may or may not have been planned with care, but it is what we have come to expect, words with a difference.

Read more: It's time to sing again !

Dr Clare Watkins
Dr Clare Watkins

ACTA Southwark Day Workshop, Amigo Hall, 27th May 2017

Written by: Alex Walker
Dr Clare Watkins gave the main presentation, in which she proposed a view of the Parish as an outward-looking entity, with all its functions focused towards mission.  She reminded us that the Parish has developed as a local organisational reality in response to various contexts - and that our context today is changing rapidly.  The Parish should not be viewed through a clerical lens, with the Parish Priest directing everything.  Instead, the Parish should have an external focus with the laity playing their proper roles in the world, which are according to the Catechism, served by the clergy.  All of the laity, through Baptism, are called to be missionaries and are equipped to respond to the Spirit in the world.   The Eucharist and the other sacraments are not just ends in themselves, rather they are places of empowerment and sending.  The Eucharist must be lived in the world after the celebration, in our daily lives.  Sacramental life is missionary in nature.
 

Cardinals plan for laypeople to lead parishes

Written by: Alex Walker

Cardinal Reinhard Marx has announced plans to allow laypeople in his Archdiocese of Munich to lead parishes where there are no priests.

In doing so he has strongly rejected the increasingly common option of coping with the dwindling number of ordained ministers by combining or “clustering” parishes.

The 63-year-old cardinal is a top aide and advisor to Pope Francis.

Read more: Cardinals plan for laypeople to lead parishes

  1. With open hands
  2. Leadership Meeting Venue Change
  3. Hey you, stop being so critical!
  4. My people are suffering

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