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Unity and Exclusion in the Roman Catholic Priesthood: Explaining the Creation of the National Council of Priests of Australia
Author(s) -
WILLIAMS DAMIEN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of religious history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1467-9809
pISSN - 0022-4227
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9809.2012.01173.x
Subject(s) - bishops , christian ministry , representation (politics) , law , history , term (time) , political science , sociology , genealogy , politics , physics , quantum mechanics
The National Council of Priests of Australia (NCP) was created in Sydney in September 1971 and continues to exist today. The organization has undergone some significant changes since its beginnings. It moved, for instance, from representation by delegates to direct membership in the mid‐1970s, which made it unique among other national associations of priests that were sponsored by bishops. Since its beginnings, deciding whether or not to extend membership to ordained men no longer in active ministry has proved to be a vexing issue within the NCP. It has shaped the organization's culture as much as those who qualify to belong. This article explains the significance of the NCP membership criteria and looks to some of the long‐term and short‐term influences on its creation.