FutureChurch is an American religious organization that advocates for a variety of causes within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. It is based in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

and supports women's

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, the advancement of

feminist theology Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Jainism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scri ...

, and an end to mandatory

priestly celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...

. It has been characterized as "liberal" by the ''

Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

''. FutureChurch has been characterized as a "national" and even "international" group, but is active primarily in the

Cleveland metropolitan area The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 census results, the six-county Cleveland, OH ...

.; this article discusses FutureChurch solely in the context of the Cleveland local church, even though the subject of the article involves the entire United States. Its executive director is Deborah Rose-Milavec.

History

FutureChurch was founded in 1990 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, by Sr. Christine Schenk, Fr. Louis Trivison, and others. It was incorporated as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

in 1994. In its early years, FutureChurch was in a friendly dialogue with the

Diocese of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio in the United States. , the bishop is Edward Malesic. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located in Clevelan ...

. However, in 2004 the Cleveland diocese, led by Bishop

Anthony Michael Pilla Anthony Michael Pilla (November 12, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1979 to 1981 and as bishop of the same diocese from ...

, released a statement critical of the organization. Shortly after

Richard Lennon Richard Gerard Lennon (March 26, 1947 – October 29, 2019) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 2006 to 2016. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdio ...

succeeded Pilla as Bishop of Cleveland on May 15, 2006, FutureChurch began looking for another location for its office. There were rumors that Lennon had refused them permission to operate out of churches in the Cleveland diocese, but these rumors were not officially confirmed by FutureChurch or by the archdiocese.The rumors appeared in June 2006 on a number of blogs, includin
Open Book
The rumors were still unverified as of early 2007: the magazine ''

Catholic World Report ''The Catholic World Report'' is an international news magazine published by Ignatius Press that covers issues related to the Catholic Church. It was founded by Joseph Fessio in 1991 as a print monthly. Its circulation was approximately 20,000 i ...

'' (February 2007 issue, page 39) stated that "neither FutureChurch nor the diocese has confirmed the rumor." When Bishop Lennon decided to close several Catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es in the

, FutureChurch was one of the groups that contested this move. According to Eugene Kramer, the chairman of the FutureChurch Board of Trustees, Bishop Lennon met with the organization's leaders in January 2007 to discuss alternatives to the parish closings. When the closings went ahead, some Catholics in the diocese appealed to the Vatican, and in March 2012, the Vatican overruled Bishop Lennon on this matter. After the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

mandated certain changes in the

Leadership Conference of Women Religious The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is one of two associations of the leaders of congregations of Catholic Church, Catholic Religious sister (Catholic), women religious in the United States (the other being the Council of Major Su ...

in April 2012, FutureChurch helped to rally support for religious sisters in Cleveland.

Mission

FutureChurch seeks the full participation of all Catholics in the life and leadership of the Church. FutureChurch works for: Just, open and collaborative structures for Catholic worship, organization and governance; a return to the Church's early tradition of both married and celibate priests; a return to the Church's earliest tradition, "modeled on the inclusive practice of Jesus", of recognizing both female and male leaders of faith communities; and, regular access to the Eucharist, the center of Catholic life and worship for all Catholics.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official site
1990 establishments in Ohio Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Organizations based in Cleveland Christian organizations established in 1990