We Are Church
An international Catholic reform movement advocating changes to church doctrine, discipline, governance, and participation by laypeople.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
We Are Church International is a reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church. It emerged from the Austrian Church Referendum of 1995, a grassroots response to the sexual-abuse controversy surrounding Vienna Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër, and was formally founded in Rome in 1996. The movement is organized as a network of national groups rather than as a conventional membership organization: it does not generally accept individual members, but brings together country-level initiatives and maintains contacts with related reform organizations around the world. It is registered under French law and has been represented in more than twenty countries across several continents. The movement presents itself as an advocate for renewal based on the Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, and on what it describes as the council’s continuing theological and pastoral spirit. Its program was articulated in a manifesto proclaimed in Rome on 12 October 1997. The manifesto centered on five demands concerning equality, participation, and reform within Catholic life. We Are Church has also identified theologian Hans Küng as a spiritual influence on the initiatives that ultimately led to its creation. Its agenda extends beyond administrative reform. The movement has called for the abolition of mandatory clerical celibacy, the ordination of women, greater acceptance of contraception, a more open approach to questions involving abortion and assisted suicide, recognition of same-sex parenting, and democratic reform of church structures. A recurring theme is that lay Catholics should have a direct role in decision-making rather than being limited to a consultative position. The organization describes itself as giving expression to the perspectives of ordinary people in the pews, and it has sought to demonstrate that role through events such as Shadow Synods held in Rome. We Are Church has regularly responded to developments involving gender, sexuality, ministry, and authority in Christianity. In 2008 it criticized the Vatican position on attempts to confer holy orders on women and expressed support for the Anglican intention to consecrate women as bishops. In 2017 it backed the blessing of same-sex marriages. These positions place it well outside several current official Catholic disciplines and teachings, while the movement continues to frame its work as reform within the church rather than as the creation of a separate denomination. The organization became especially visible in 2014 after reports that its co-founder and chairperson, Martha Heizer, and her husband had been notified of excommunication in connection with private Eucharistic celebrations conducted without a priest. The episode highlighted the tension between We Are Church’s emphasis on lay participation and the Catholic Church’s rules governing sacramental ministry. Overall, We Are Church functions as an international advocacy and communications network: its principal outputs are public statements, campaigns, reform proposals, media contacts, meetings, and collaboration with similarly minded Catholic groups rather than commercial products.
History
We Are Church International developed out of the Austrian Church Referendum in 1995. That initiative arose amid public controversy surrounding Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër of Vienna and the wider issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The referendum gave lay Catholics a platform for demanding institutional accountability and changes to church practice. The international movement was founded in Rome in 1996 and subsequently organized as a network of national groups. It is registered under French law and has maintained links with reform organizations in more than twenty countries. The movement's stated intellectual and theological basis is the renewal of Catholicism according to the Second Vatican Council and the theological direction associated with it. It has described Hans Küng as the spiritual father of the initiatives that contributed to its foundation. Rather than operating as a parish organization or a conventional association with individual subscribers, We Are Church brings together country-level groups. Its public-facing structure emphasizes national media contacts, international coordination, public statements, and cooperation with related Catholic reform networks. In 1997, the movement proclaimed a manifesto in Rome setting out five demands focused on equality in the church. Its broader program has included the end of mandatory priestly celibacy, the admission of women to ordained ministry, acceptance of contraception, changes in Catholic approaches to abortion and assisted suicide, recognition of same-sex parenting, and democratization of church structures. The movement has argued that laypeople should have a direct role in decisions affecting the church. It has also presented itself as a representative voice for ordinary Catholics and has used Shadow Synods in Rome to gather and publicize reform perspectives. Gender and ministry became prominent issues in its public interventions. In June 2008, following a decree from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning attempts to confer holy orders on women, We Are Church issued a statement rejecting the assumption that priestly ministry should be understood as exclusively male. In July it welcomed the Anglican Church's intention to consecrate women as bishops and criticized the Vatican's response. In 2017, the movement supported the blessing of same-sex marriages. A major confrontation with Catholic authorities was reported in March 2014. Martha Heizer, the movement's chairperson and co-founder, and her husband stated in an interview that they had been notified of excommunication under canon 1378 §2 in connection with private Eucharistic celebrations conducted without a priest. The case illustrated the institutional boundary between the movement's support for expanded lay-led worship and the Catholic Church's sacramental rules. We Are Church has nevertheless continued to present its work as an internal reform effort seeking a more inclusive, participatory, and democratically accountable Catholic Church.
- 2017
Support for blessing same-sex marriages
[1]We Are Church publicly supported the blessing of same-sex marriages.
- 2014
Martha Heizer reports excommunication
[1]The movement's chairperson and co-founder said that she and her husband had been informed of excommunication connected with priestless private Eucharistic celebrations.
- 2008
Movement campaigns against male-only assumptions about ordination
[1]We Are Church responded to Vatican action concerning women's ordination and separately supported the Anglican intention to appoint women bishops.
- 1997
Five-demand manifesto is proclaimed
[1]A manifesto proclaimed in Rome set out five demands centered on equality and reform within the Catholic Church.
- 1996
We Are Church International is founded in Rome
[1]The movement was formally established in Rome as an international Catholic reform initiative and later operated through national groups under a French-law association structure.
- 1995
Austrian Church Referendum provides the movement's immediate origin
[1]Austrian lay Catholics launched the Church Referendum in response to the controversy surrounding Vienna Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër. The initiative became the foundation for the later international reform network.
Products and positioning
A progressive, lay-oriented Catholic reform network that seeks to renew the church in continuity with the Second Vatican Council.
Religious advocacy · 1996
Catholic reform advocacy
The movement's core offering is advocacy for structural and doctrinal reform within Roman Catholicism. Its proposals address clerical celibacy, women's ordination, contraception, LGBTQ+ inclusion, lay participation, and democratic accountability. These activities are conducted through statements, campaigns, consultations, networking, and engagement with media rather than through commercial goods.
Consultation and advocacy initiative
Shadow Synods
Shadow Synods are forums used by We Are Church and aligned reform advocates to present perspectives from lay Catholics and other reform-minded participants. They are intended to complement or challenge official church deliberations by highlighting demands for broader participation and institutional change.
Civil-society network · 1996
International Catholic reform network
We Are Church coordinates national groups and maintains relationships with similarly minded reform organizations across multiple continents. The network provides public communications, media contacts, and a channel for sharing positions on church governance, ministry, sexuality, gender, and lay authority.
Controversies
2014
Reported excommunication of Martha Heizer
Martha Heizer and her husband said they had been notified of excommunication under canon 1378 §2 because of private Eucharistic celebrations without a priest. The incident brought attention to the conflict between We Are Church's support for expanded lay participation and Catholic sacramental discipline.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017Support for same-sex marriage blessings
International
The movement supported the blessing of same-sex marriages as part of its wider advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Catholic life.
- 2008Women's ordination and women bishops advocacy
International
We Are Church challenged Vatican opposition to women's ordination and welcomed the Anglican plan to consecrate women as bishops.
Outcome. The campaign reinforced the movement's position in favor of gender equality in ordained ministry.
- 1997Five-demand manifesto
International
The movement proclaimed a reform manifesto in Rome focused on equality and a more participatory Catholic Church, establishing a public framework for its subsequent advocacy.
Outcome. The manifesto became a central statement of the network's reform platform.
- 1995Austrian Church Referendum
Austria
The referendum movement mobilized lay Catholics around accountability and reform after the controversy involving Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër. It served as the immediate precursor to We Are Church International.
Outcome. It helped generate the international organization founded in Rome the following year.
Brand decisions
2017
Support blessing of same-sex marriagesStrategyBackground
The movement's wider reform agenda included recognition and inclusion of same-sex couples and families.
Action taken
We Are Church endorsed the blessing of same-sex marriages.
Aftermath
The position aligned the movement with progressive Catholic reform groups advocating LGBTQ+ inclusion.
2008
Publicly reject male-only restrictions on ordinationStrategyBackground
A Vatican doctrinal decree addressed attempts to confer holy orders on women and attached severe canonical consequences.
Action taken
We Are Church issued a statement arguing that Christian ministry should not be defined by a male-only model and later supported the Anglican move toward women bishops.
Aftermath
The organization continued to make women's ordination and gender equality central parts of its reform platform.
Recent events
- 2017
We Are Church backs blessing of same-sex marriages[1]
Other · Campaign
The organization expressed support for the blessing of same-sex marriages as part of its broader campaign for LGBTQ+ inclusion and reform of Catholic practice.
- 2008
We Are Church responds to Vatican action concerning women's ordination[1]
Other · Regulation
The international movement criticized the Catholic doctrinal position that imposed excommunication-related penalties on people attempting to ordain women. It argued that Jesus's ministry should not be interpreted through a male-only model of priestly authority.
- 2008
We Are Church supports the Anglican move toward women bishops[1]
Other
The movement welcomed the Anglican intention to consecrate women as bishops and condemned the Vatican's criticism of that development.
Sources2 sources
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