Concerned Catholics Tasmania want the church to become more collaborative, accountable and transparent and to include and embrace women as part of church leadership at all levels.

The group will be launched in Launceston this Saturday with the former chief of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council Francis Sullivan, one of the guest speakers.

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Chairman and retired Burnie lawyer Kim Chen says there is no formal means whereby lay Catholics can converse with Hobart Archbishop Julian Porteous about "their hopes, wishes and needs".

"Any enterprise which has a diminishing active 'customer base', such as the Catholic Church, should be assessing its structures, processes and personnel," Mr Chen said.

"It might even question its continued existence.

"Nationally, only 11.8 per cent of Catholics practise regularly, down from 30 per cent in 1978.

"In Tasmania, the current percentage is 6.7 per cent."

Mr Chen said Concerned Catholics Tasmania was part of a growing national movement of Catholics who wanted to see the church become more "collaborative, accountable and transparent".

"CCT wants to challenge the growing public perception of the institutional church as a conservative, reactionary pressure group with little to contribute given the complexities and uncertainties of our times," he said.

"It is little wonder to us that people are abandoning our Church."

Many Tasmanian Catholics were disappointed, he said, that unlike his predecessor Archbishop Adrian Doyle, Archbishop Porteous, who came from New South Wales, did not seem to be "engaged" with Catholics around Tasmania.

Mr Chen said parishioners in the Meander Valley parish were disappointed that Archbishop Porteous had not explained his reasons for appointing Father Nicholas Rynne who was later removed from his post after what the church described as "tension within the parish" and "disturbances".

Police charged three people over an incident at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church at Deloraine last year.

"It is of concern that following the Fr Rynne affair in the Meander Valley Parish and the damage caused in that parish, [Archbishop] Julian has not visited that parish to explain why he thought Fr Rynne was an appropriate appointment and how he had made such an error of judgment," Mr Chen said.

"We know the parishioners there are still suffering and would like Julian to help heal those wounds.

Mr Chen said parishioners also were disappointed had not engaged with the Burnie parish over sexual abuse at Marist College.

"At a parish level, we have been disappointed that [Archbishop] Julian did not, of his own volition, seek to engage with our parish in relation to the sexual abuse which occurred at Marist College.

"There are members of our community who still suffer as a result of that abuse."

CTT also believes women are often rejected with CTT saying: "Our concern is that our institutional church seems to have an aversion to commissioning women and engaging their talents to advance its mission".

Mr Chen said Pope Francis was a breath of fresh air for many Catholics who hoped for a renewed church.

"Regrettably, however, many bishops cling to a church structure that protects the pre-eminence and power of clerics and does not meet the needs of faithful Catholics," he said.

"Those bishops have shut the windows to keep that breeze out.

"Many, rather than becoming inclusive and walking with faithful Catholics as they navigate our modern world, revert to their tired, dogmatic and exclusive ways of functioning."

Arcbhishop Porteous could not be reached for comment.

The Catholic Church says Tasmanian parishioners can become involved in Plenary 21 which is deciding the future direction of the church.