CORPUS, the National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood, will host a meeting with the International Federation for a Renewed Catholic Ministry on Friday morning, June 10th beginning at 9:00 am at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. A national conversation will take place after the business meeting. Please join with us in presence and prayer.
CORPUS National Conference And the Young Shall Dream Dreams... A New Way of Being Church June 22-24, 2012 American Airlines Conference Center, Fort Worth, Texas
2007 Corpus National Conference "Prophecies, Dreams and Visions: Keeping Hope Alive" ~ June 22,23,24, 2007. Robert Kaiser, Jean Marie Marchant, Paul Lakeland and Daniel J. McCarthy. Audio of Keynote speakers.
Let Your Story Be Told! CORPUS is pleased to announce the development of a much anticipated project to collect and codify the life-stories of our CORPUS family.
We remember with love and gratitude the women and men who contributed to the reform and renewal of Catholic ministry, helping our Church on the road to a truly inclusive priesthood.
Click here to be taken to a complete manual and workbook on the employment transition process. THE NEXT STEP - Job Marketing Campaign Essentials A Make-it-Happen Approach to Today's Job Market by Frank X. McCarthy
Folk singer Peter Seeger is ninety years old now. His reedy tenor can no longer bring an audience to its feet singing enthusiastically for unity, justice and peace. Whether he was leading “We Shall Overcome” in the Civil Rights battles of the 60s, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” during the Vietnam War, or “Turn, Turn, Turn” to advocate patience in face of the adversity that comes in the struggle for justice, he is now an American icon. It wasn’t always so. He was right when it was not popular, and like all prophets, he suffered from that. For years he experienced great adversity.
The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece voted in Athens on Oct. 8, 2004, to restore the female diaconate. All the members of the Holy Synod -125 metropolitans and bishops and Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the church of Greece - had considered the topic. The decision does not directly affect the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Greek ecclesiastical provinces of the Ecumenical Patriarchate received their independence from Constantinople in 1850 and were proclaimed the Autocephalous Church of Greece.
A few weeks ago there was a religious dust-up in New York City. From 200 pounds of milk chocolate artist Cosimo Cavallaro sculpted a life-sized statue of Jesus with arms stretched out on an invisible cross. He called it my My Sweet Lord. The Lab Gallery in Manhattans Roger Smith Hotel had scheduled the sculpture to be displayed just before Easter. But all hell broke loose and it never happened.
On Monday, February 11th, Pope Benedict XVI surprised Catholics worldwide by announcing his resignation. Members organizations of Catholic Organizations for Renewal and Women-Church Convergence, made the following statement.
We join Catholics worldwide in praying for the health of Pope Benedict XVI and value his courageous decision to step down from the papacy for the betterment of the church. At this critical time of transition in church history, we claim our responsibility as committed laity, religious, and clergy in advocating for the selection of a justice-seeking pope, one with a pastoral vision to heal, reform and renew the Roman Catholic Church.Throughout the coming weeks, we will encourage our supporters to contact the eleven U.S. cardinals who will represent the United States during the conclave to share our hopes for renewed leadership.
Take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage. Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat
Keeping Vigil
The Gospel story of the ten virgins is not about wedding customs or about charity or even about staying awake at night. Rather it is about being ready when Jesus comes, either in someone who needs our help, or at the time of death, or at the end of time. It is a parable of urgency, a parable which urges us not to waste the opportunities that are offered us.
It’s been nine years now since that bright September morning which changed the course of history. All of us remember it vividly.
Anna Quindlen, the former Newsweek columnist, had an insightful comment on remembering 9/11. She wrote in 2003, “September 11 should be formally made a day of nation-wide remembrance by Congress. But it should become a day unlike any other so recognized, not a holiday, but a holyday. Not an excuse for white sales or four-day weekends, but a day of national service in the spirit of the [same] spirit that animated so many after this monumental tragedy.
For the past thirty-one years, CORPUS has been a primary voice for inclusivity in the priesthood. While the letters of our organization originally stood for 'Corps of Reserved Priests United for Service,' we have come to realize in recent years that our membership has attracted people far and wide who believe that the policy of mandatory celibacy and the corresponding male-only priesthood are both discriminatory and sexist.
Many years ago, my neighbors owned a basset hound with the unlikely name of “Courtney.” She was a wag-the-tail, people-friendly old pooch who seemed most content hanging out with kids and lying on her back getting her ample belly rubbed. With her distinctive physique (we never quite knew if she was sitting down or not) she was the kind of dog that made you smile just looking at her.
Imagine a married catholic priest in the 20th century, honored for his saintly life by none other than pope John paul II. strange but true! such is the case of Emilian Kowcz of the ukraine, beatified by the polish pope in 2001.
Imagining and moving toward the future of the Church should always be the work of the people of God. This "blueprint" of a future council is the result National Catholic Reporter's request to Catholics in various parts of the world for “three” issues of concern. You are invited to submit your own responses or suggest a new issue that you feel might be discussed.
In the more than two decades I spent as a priest (I left the clergy a decade ago over the issue of celibacy), I had many opportunities to observe the ways priests are required to grovel to their superiors
Abby rested her head on her princess pillow. It was 7:30 and time to wake her for school but the magic of the moment made me pause. It’s not often that a grandpa has an opportunity to see his little five year old sweetheart sleeping. I wasn’t about to hurry along.
Kids get taken from their parents and put into foster care for all sorts of reasons, neglect, physical or sexual abuse, mental illness or drug addiction; the reasons are as complex as human nature itself. But none of these forms of abuse are as shattering to a child as coming to the realization that he is not loved.
Feast of the Nativity of the Lord
A Multitude of Angels
God's greatest miracles often go unnoticed unless there are messengers and angels to announce them. God's gifts of peace, and justice and reconciliation are hidden in the ordinariness and ugliness of human history; there must be angels to point them out. Perhaps that's one of the important lessons of Christmas, for all ages. This year, the Christmas moon and stars look down on a scene that looks very ordinary and, in many places, very ugly
Rev. William Sloane Coffin's strong heart stopped beating at his Vermont home on April 12. He was 81 and had been under hospice care. His was a wide-ranging, courageous and powerfully influential life. A Presbyterian minister as chaplain at Yale University and senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City, he was a prophetic leader in the civil rights, nuclear freeze and anti-war movements. His rich pulpit baritone and creative, concrete writings gave voice to our national conscience. His words still nourish my soul. In the cliché beloved of eulogists he will be missed, but more importantly who will take his place?
ALERT AMERICA Magazine, the Jesuit weekly, editorializes about the need to examine a married priesthood in light of the fact that the shortage of priests has diminished eucharistic liturgies.
The silence is overwhelming at first. Only the songbirds and the whisper of the wind blowing through the cottonwoods breaks the stillness of the morning. I’m thinking, it’s wonderful to get away from it all but the abrupt leap into total silence is unnerving. I’m having second thoughts about this idea of taking a four day vacation in a Benedictine monastery.
During 2004 the Roman Catholic Faith Community Council of the Federation of Christian Ministries, the Women's Ordination Conference and CORPUS, a National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood agreed to participate in a National Catholic Ministerial Alliance (NCMA). The purpose of the Alliance will be to facilitate collaboration and coordination of efforts in promoting the grass roots re-formation of the Roman Catholic Church's ministries. It proposes to do that, in part, by the encouragement, promotion and enablement of renewing forms of Catholic ministry in the Church at large and to the unchurched.
NEW This is intended to be a short introduction of a fellow married priest with whom I have been associated closely since 1973. Sean Walsh and I met at the Mount Manresa Jesuit Retreat House on Long Island on the occasion of the fifth national meeting of an association of Catholic priests, the Society of Priests for Free Ministry. Most of us were married or would soon be and our organization would soon have a new name, the Fellowship of Christian Ministries, now the Federation of Christian Ministries. We felt a call from God to liberate the priesthood from ancient bondages and bring it and the Church it served into greater relevance in the modern world and the lives of ordinary people. Sean Walsh and his wife Emma have never looked back but have kept their hands on the plow opening up new furrows for the Kingdom of God and a married priesthood.
Years back someone e-mailed me “The Best Prayer I Have Heard in a Long Time.” The author was unknown. I adopt and adapt it here. It makes bushels of sense to me. Here’s my enhanced version.
“Have you been saved?” Engelbert asked Isabel, a friend he recently met in college. They were having coffee together after class in the Student Center. “What do you mean?” Isabel asked, “saved from what?” Engelbert was getting nervous. This was the first time he had been so aggressive with his faith. He had been attending evangelism classes in his dormitory and Isabel was the first person he had approached. His friend Rudolph was quite proud of the number of people he had evangelized and Engelbert wanted to do the same, so he pressed on. “You know”, he said, “when you die are you sure you’re going to heaven?”
It was mid-morning in Rome, on June 21, 1963, a radiant day and my first one in Europe. The traffic stopped. With most people on Bus #64, I ran to the Vatican to witness the white smoke that announced the election of Pope John XXIII's successor, Giovanni Cardinal Montini, Archbishop of Milan.
Last week, I became one of hundreds of people on visiting day at the Kern Valley State Prison in Delano. I was paying a visit to a young friend of mine, a kid who I had mentored through a life spent in a series of group homes, a kid known now as inmateG-49102.
The other day I hauled my bod out of bed bright and early to play some tennis. I was feeling chipper. The weather was perfect. I had my morning coffee. This had all the earmarks of a good day.
Victor Davis Hanson, historian, author and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, wrote an article in October 2008 entitled “America’s Nervous Breakdown - Should It Continue, a World Breakdown May Follow.” Well, as Hanson feared it has continued; it was contagious. Now the world too is having its breakdown.
Long ago I read somewhere that we should be extremely careful about what we become addicted to, as those addictions could harm or even destroy our lives.
Jennie, whom everyone in Lyndhurst knew, loved and trembled before was the matriarch of la famiglia LaCorte. Short, and anything but petite in stature, she was known by all simply as Mama LaCorte.
Like most folks I find myself pretty much chained to my desk on a daily basis. Which is why I try to regularly get out for a long walk through and beyond my neighborhood.
We've been there before… transitioning from an community of 'reserve' priests working for reinstatement to canonical ministry, becoming an 'association' of priests and their wives collaborating on witnessing to a 'married priesthood' and encouraging members to reengage in some type of ministerial activity. We grew further as we embraced the viability of women's ordination, and as we formally recognized that an ordained priesthood, semper reformanda, must truly be inclusive and supportive of our gay sisters and brothers called to ministry.
Jesus was priest -- mediator between God and humanity precisely because he experienced, immanently within and outside himself, the incredibly transcendent presence of God, and found himself driven to share that good news.
The other morning I participated in a corporate presentation entitled “Successfully Managing Four Generations of Employees.” Highlighted were the stylistic differences and workplace values of people across the different generations populating today’s business environs.
Maybe not as much a child of the 1960’s as some of my pre-boomer colleagues, I became captivated with folk music as I went off to college in 1964. Truth be told, I lived in a bit of a musical time warp focused around Peter, Paul and Mary, The Smothers Brothers, and The Kingston Trio until I finally connected with big band swing music and its modern jazz cousin somewhere in the late 1980’s.
Since I wrote to you in the May – June 2010 issue of CORPUS Reports, quite a number of things have unfolded to bring additional clarity and shape to the vision of a Ministry of Compassion: Interfaith Volunteer Chaplains program. As envisioned, the ministry will offer the services of priests, ministers, rabbis, and imams trained to provide humanitarian, pastoral, and spiritual support to military members, veterans, and their families.
Marian loves garage sales. A true alchemist, for her they are opportunities not only to find a deal, but a way to bring new life to others' outlived possessions, pass those treasures on to a new owner at a bargain, and more importantly, keep them out of a landfill for a longer period of time.
If the end-point of our activities in working for ministry reform and renewal is simply who gets to wear the vestments on Sunday, we are probably wasting the precious moments we've been given working for something beneath the greatness of the human spirit. It is in the wider context, the Church microcosm of the world, that or activities become incredibley important. Russ Ditzel, CORPUS President.
We are looking to connect, often for the first time, with the numbers of men who transitioned from the priesthood in the 1980's and 1990's who know nothing of the CORPUS vision.
We exist as an association today because of the commitments of almost two dozen elected board members who served CORPUS during the past thirty years. To ensure connectivity with our roots, last fall we began formally including these men and women in ongoing communications, providing a formal conduit for them to share in generating ideas and supporting deliberations.
RENEWING OUR OUTREACH....
We spoke of our hopes and dreams for a truly reformed and renewed priesthood in our Church. We traded stories that highlighted how much further we have to go to heal the pain still manifest in both canonical and non-canonical ministry.
Our historical roots are grounded in the soil of the Society of Priests for a Free Ministry (SPFM). Created in 1968 to give a voice to the great number of Roman Catholic priests resigning from the clergy, SPFM lobbied for the rights of married priests to minister.
I was in my mid 20's, fresh out of the seminary, facing another one of those events for which we'd not been adequately prepped in our training. Then, to be fair, situations take on a whole differrent level of being when transformed from 'case studies' to incarnated events in the lives of real people.
Being (C/c)atholic... Each time I have the opportunity to interact with the multi-national representatives of the North Atlantic Federation for a Renewed Catholic Priesthood (NAFed) I'm humbled by the experience. To make a place at the table for those of us who are linguistically disadvantaged, the nine other member countries in this federation conduct all formal collaborations in English, rather than in German, which would be a more logical choice...
My wife Marian and I recently attended a 'celebration of passing' liturgy, held to prayerfully remember the life of our friend Kathy's father who had died rather quickly from cancer.
There is a Native American saying that “to truly understand we must walk a mile in another’s moccasins.” What’s not often quoted, however, is the other half of that statement: “Before we can walk in another person’s moccasins, we must first take off our own.”
The rabbi and I were at Cindy and Greg’s home to celebrate the Naming Ceremony and Baptism of their infant daughter, Ashley Grace, just as we had concelebrated their interfaith wedding a couple of years ago.
I was having a discussion last week with a friend and we were talking about the different ways people relate to organizations as we spoke of our children's relationship to the Church. Chris commented rather simply: “it's one thing to say that you are an affiliate, something totally different to really 'be affiliated.'”
SPEAK UP! Recently our bishop, Paul Bootkowski, announced that he was convening a Synod as part of the preparations to celebrate the Metuchen Diocese's twenty-fifth anniversary. Speak Up sessions have been organized at the parish level to listen to the faithful; hear what is on our minds and in our hearts. The Synod organizers have mentioned that they are particularly trying to reach out to people disconnected from their local parish
If you didn't get the chance to hear him in person last June, I hope you took the opportunity to read Carl Hemmer's presentation from our Lansdowne conference reproduced in the January-February issue of CORPUS Reports. Carl thoughtfully, as usual, raised the question about our organizational future laying out several options for us to consider, providing pros and cons to each option:
The May-June issue of CORPUS Reports had traditionally been the time when the president penned a "State of the Organization" address to the CORPUS community. Having taken the opportunity for almost three years to write an article in each bi-monthly issue of our journal, you are generally up to speed on our activities much more frequently than once every twelve months, however.
For some reason this time around, this has been a very difficult article for me to write.... in fact, as I sit here typing I've already put David Gawlik behind in his pipeline. There have been so many disconnected bits and pieces of ideas and emotions that have been impacting me that I wanted to share with you. Weaving them together in some type of cogent fashion has been the hard part. I hope this works for you.
As I sit here on a beautiful day in the beginning of Autumn, I'm trying to come up with a sparkling, memorable, profound, message to share with you during this Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's triduum.
Responses to An Incomplete Journey …
I thought that it might be valuable to share a number of responses, both warm and challenging, that I received to my September-October Adsum article.
As I sat writing my March – April Adsum article I found myself really in a bit of a “dark night of the soul” and feeling not in synch with my responsibilities as president of CORPUS and executive member for the North Atlantic Federation as I had narrowly perceived them… championing an inclusive priesthood ministry in our Church. I’d reached a bit of a dead end personally. Much of what I had personally tried to accomplish during the previous four and a half years hadn’t seemed to have moved us forward at all.
Taking stock of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going seems to be built into milestone celebrations. They become opportunities for serious reflection, moments to relish what has been accomplished, the chance to sharpen our goals and objectives. Sometimes they even become the point at which a real transformation becomes possible, or even necessary.
You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the hour. And there are things to be
considered.
I hope you noticed the references to the mind-boggling statistics in the last issue of CORPUS Reports... 2,929 priestless parishes in the United States alone, 105,530 worldwide. (Not included are the over 1 million men, women and children worldwide under the responsibility of the US archdiocese for the military which has 75 - 80% fewer Catholic chaplains than 20 years ago.)
Pleased about CORPUS developing collaboration with other ministry-based reform organizations, in my May-June Adsum article I commented that I have hope that in the not too distant future well be discussing effective steps we can take to reunite organizationally with our sisters and brothers in the Federation of Christian Ministries (FCM).
Advent continues to offer support, both practical and emotional, as well as a forum for matters of justice that surround the issue of compulsory celibacy.
Advent: A Special Time on the Net
While the season of Advent is not seen commercially as important as that of Christmas itself, we as Catholic Christians realize its significance in the overall scheme of salvation history. Here are some of the best websites that deal solely with the season of Advent. It is our hope that these can serve as great starting points for your time of preparation
The new year is a time for resolutions, good intentions and giving and getting advice. Advice, however, can be dangerous. Author Walt Schmidt wrote, “Advice should always be consumed between two thick slices of doubt.” And the humorist P. J. Woodehouse tongue-in-cheek said, "I always advise people never to give advice." So this new year I won’t give any either.
In the U.S., there are as many as 20,000 married priests. This special page was created to showcase the stories of Married Priests, collected from alternative weeklies around the nation as part of a special AlterNet project.
In a move to unite U.S. Catholics, the newly formed American Catholic Council (ACC) called today for an historic assembly of the Catholic Church in the United States.
The American Catholic Council is conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the Catholic Church. We encourage you to participate.
PASSWORD: EasterPromise
We Americans are faced with two contending obligations: One is a national security obligation by the administration that calls for regime change in Iraq. The other is a moral obligation that says that U.S. cannot take the law into its own hands.
Congratulations on the new responsibility you have just taken on. This past April, Pope Benedict XVI granted you the power to dismiss from the priesthood and release from the obligation of celibacy, priests who are living with women, who have abandoned their ministry for more than five years or who have engaged in seriously scandalous behavior. I am one of those you will be dismissing – not for the scandal part but for the woman part.
Here’s my latest angel story. I had just parked my visiting daughter’s car in the supermarket’s parking lot. When I returned with some orange juice and milk, the battery was dead. The motor wouldn’t engage. As I turned the key all I could hear was click, click, click. It was bitterly cold. I had forgotten my cell phone. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I prayed.
Inspirational, informative, groundbreaking, “The Crowned White Eagle” is a riveting book that opens one’s eyes to the realities experienced by Poland, its insightful history, its legends and highly-enriched culture. Written by Anthony P. Kowalski, this exhilarating read reveals the compelling truths behind a series of struggles endured by a strong and united nation.
ENCOUNTER WITH FREEDOM
It happened swiftly, without warning, with a suddenness never before experienced in Church history. An ecumenical Council was summoned with no one calling for it, with no crisis on the horizon and without much of an agenda other "updating." Yet there are those who claim it as the best of all councils.
I am deeply grateful for all those who supported my going to Rome for the Conclave Project. I hope that you will find this report evidence of the value of this endeavor.
NEW There are many sites for married priests, but few, if any, for wives of married priests. Priest wives have long been ignored in the celibacy discussion. They have had no voice or power. Here is a new blog, created by and dedicated to Priest Wives - a place to share stories and listen to others. This could bring tremendous healing where it is needed and a stronger sense of the right of priest wivews to be who they are.
From Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR, quotations and short stories from eclectic sources that promote positive attitudes, and development of holistic human dignity.
Are you Spiritual But Not Religious -- an SBNR? Many would describe themselves that way. Spirituality is fashionable today and religion unfashionable. Part of the problem is that the word “religion” carries tons of dogmatic, authoritarian baggage, but whatever the reasons the relationship of religion and spirituality is symbiotic and convoluted.
I was taking “Lori,” one of our Village kids to her soccer game on Saturday when she asked me. Grandpa Hank, are you staying to watch me?” Lori is a quiet ten year old and normally doesn’t ask a lot of questions but this one, I could sense, was important to her. She wanted me to be more than a pick-up and take-home chauffeuring service. This little ten year old, separated from any parent or other relative wanted someone down on the field cheering her on. She needed to have “family” watching her. Needless to say, I was delighted to be able to fill that role for her.
Founded in 1980 by lay and clerical Catholics, the Association affirms that there are fundamental rights and corresponding responsibilities which are rooted in the humanity and baptism of all Catholics.
A wide variety and wonderful array of reflections on theological issues ranging from systematic, biblical, sacramental-liturgical, moral-ethical and practical- pastoral areas of theology to interdisciplinary, interfaith, intercultural and gender issues.
A blueprint of how authority could & should function in the RC Church. This new system of authority, based on Gospel teaching and genuine co-responsibility as demanded by Vatican II, will affect all circles in the Church: Pope, Bishops, Bishops Conferences, Priests and Laity
Barley Cakes : Parables for the 21st Century by Cheryl Cavalconte Barley Cakes: Parables for the 21st Century is a collection of 30 new parables, each drawn from one line of the Gospels.
The title says it all.Michael Morwood 'snew book, IT'S TIME, is a winner as he speaks to a wide spiritual audience while delivering a well-written work that is easy to read and full of useful wisdom. Michael has a questioning purpose as he offers keen insights into contemporary issues that are fundamental to understanding a Jesus' appreciation of his God and the earthy spiritual kingdom of his Abba/Father.
This Web site, launched in June 2003, will provide information on the Catholic bishops of the United States and their role in the sexual abuse crisis. We will present resources on important dioceses, as well as more general sources of information on the crisis and assessments of the bishops' use of the Internet to inform or deceive.
Deep in the mountainous region of western Guatemala, where tourists rarely wander, I find myself shaking hands with a seven-year-old Mayan kid named Alex. We are not exactly strangers to one another. Alex and I have exchanged photos and letters over the past 18 months, ever since my wife and I decided to sponsor him through a non-profit agency in the United States. But this is my first face to face meeting with Alex and I'm a little nervous because my Spanish language skills are of the mui poco variety and, wouldn't you know it, the interpreter we were supposed to have is late.
The Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College seeks to be a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States by engaging critical issues facing the Catholic community. Many programs can be found online for your spiritual and theological development.
Back in 6th. Grade at Holy Family School, we kids used to giggle when Sister Pius would read to us that St.Francis of Assisi referred to his bod as “Brother Ass.” The double entendre was just too juicy for our 10-year-old minds to resist. That a holy nun would utter such a naughty word right out loud shocked and delighted us.
BustedHalo.com is a web e-zine that speaks candidly and occasionally irreverently on issues facing people in their 20's and 30's that intersect with spirituality. Open to dialogue and hearing the stories of young people, BustedHalo never preaches condescendingly, rather seeks to understand and to express the wisdom of Catholic and other religious traditions in away that makes sense to the experience of those "spiritually seeking."
Steve Allen, the TV personality and comedian said, “Television is bubble gum for the eyes.” If that’s true, then around the clock TV news is a drug for the mind, which distorts reality.
ALERT 2008 Joint Conference in Boston, MA, July 18-20, is calling for presentations for 8 workshops. If interested in making a presentation please fill out application. Click Here for further information
ALERT Stand up for Fr. Roy Bourgeois, peace and justice advocate, who stands with women and their right to be called by God to priesthood. Dial 914.941.7590 TODAY and ask that Fr. Roy continue to be included in the Maryknoll Community.
Lets be clear where I stand on the subject of
priests sexually abusing kids. Its not just inappropriate or even unacceptable. The sexual abuse of children, especially when done by a person in a position of trust, is abhorrent. It is a betrayal of trust of the worst kind. As a parent and now a
grandparent, I am appalled that this kind of behavior was allowed to continue in the Church I love.
Organized after US Bishops sponsored the original "Call to Action" gathering in 1976 in Detriot, this organization of over 20,000 has been advocating for justice in the church society for over twenty years.
READ Although Caucasians are still statistically overrepresented, the class of U.S. seminarians due to be ordained priests in the next couple of months shows a continuing increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of ordinands in recent years, according to data released in April by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and compiled by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
The following report is submitted to the Canon Law Society of America by its ad hoc committee to study the canonical implications related to the ordination of married men to the priesthood of the Catholic Church in the United States.
The new encyclcal of Benedict XVI, issued June 29, 2009, On Integral Human Development: In Charity And Truth
Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law.
This site is specifically aimed at the Roman Catholic Community in the British Isles. Its aim is to support Catholic life and faith and to become a Roman Catholic "Mega Site" for the British Isles.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is a lay Catholic organization that promotes increased awareness of Catholic social teaching through the media and provides opportunities for Catholics and citizens of good will to advance the common good in the public square.
From Canada, this organization works toward enabling women to name their giftedness, and from that awareness to effect structural change in the Church that reflects the mutuality and coresponsibility of women and men within that church.
Mission: to enable women to name their giftedness and from that awareness to effect structural change in the Church that reflects the mutuality and coresponsibility of women and men within that church.
Reporting the news which affects Catholics in their everyday lives. Some of that news is good and some is bad, but it is what readers need to know in order to work for salvation.
Good morning. Thank you for coming. I am Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA, speaking today on behalf of member organizations of Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR). We appreciate this opportunity for the voice of the majority of US Catholics to be heard even as our Cardinals make final preparations to begin the process that will culminate in the selection of a new Pope.
The fifteen organizations represented here have different aspects of Church reform as their primary areas of focus. Some of us are entirely volunteer groups, others professionally staffed nonprofits. We have a wide range of governance structures and constituencies. What unites us is our profound commitment to our faith in Jesus, our love of our Church, and our conviction that if the Catholic Church is to be a vehicle for carrying the Gospel into the future, much needs to change. Those issues include:
• The need to put accountability measures in place regarding sexual abuse and cover-up
• Collaboration and respect at all levels of our Church
• Involvement of lay people in Church governance and ministry
• Incorporating women at all levels of ministry and decision-making, including ordination
• Opening ministry to people in relationships and marriages
• Developing a sensible Church teaching on human sexuality, and respecting individual conscience in matters of sexuality and reproduction
• Restoring a focus on social justice concerns, such as poverty, war, the environment and basic human rights
This is clearly a critical time for our Church. Catholics, whose faith in our Church leadership is at an all-time low, and who are leaving the church in record numbers, are hoping that this transition will help restore the joy and pride we want to feel in being Catholic. We join in that hope. However, the change we yearn for cannot and will not come from the Conclave alone.
We are very much aware that women, people in loving, committed, recognized relationships, people involved in raising children, impoverished people, young adults and many others who form the Body of Christ are explicitly excluded from the Conclave. We are aware that some people who will sit in Conclave actively participated in shielding clergy and religious who sexually abused children. We know that nearly all those sitting in Conclave were raised to leadership by the last two Popes, and that adherence to doctrine was a key factor in their advancement.
Today we want to remind all Catholics that whoever is chosen to sit on the throne of Peter will head the largest Christian denomination in the world, and thus will hold enormous spiritual, financial, political, and social power. He will in some ways represent us all. But for our Church to become the Church we want to be, the Church we deserve, the Church that will bear the image of Jesus to those in need, change cannot occur only at the Vatican. During this time of transition, we call on all Catholics to enter into a “Conclave of the People,” a time of prayer and rededication. We need to all renew our commitment to the core of our faith—Jesus’ command that we love God above all and love our neighbor as ourselves—and to find ways to take more responsibility for our faith. We ask Catholics to prayerfully consider what they love about our Church, and what they believe needs to change. Then, find a way to help make that difference. Become involved in the governance of your parish, or join an intentional Eucharistic community that can be a place for you to live out your faith. Join and actively support an organization working on Church reform or social justice issues that you care about. Dare to speak to other members of your parish or faith community, including its leadership, when you have questions or concerns.
This is certainly a momentous time for the Catholic Church. We pray that it will be a moment of true renewal throughout our Church. And as Catholic Organizations for Renewal, we rededicate ourselves to continue to work for the changes we believe are needed within our church.
Participating Groups:
American Catholic Council
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church
Call To Action
Catholics for Choice
Catholics Speak Out
CORPUS, National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood
DignityUSA
Federation of Christian Ministries/RCFCC:
FutureChurch
Pax Christi-Maine
RAPPORT
Roman Catholic Women Priests
Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference
Women’s Ordination Conference
Women-Church Convergence
The official overseas relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic community, working to support families, reduce poverty, and build communities.
This as an Australian Catholic Bishops Conference-related organisation that fosters marriage and relationship education for couples considering marriage, and for already married couples. Its major activities are the National Conference for Marriage and Relationship Educators (in late September this year), the publication THRESHOLD, and information about national scoring of pre-marriage inventories using the diagnostic instrument known as FOCUSS. The website includes news about CSME activities, and PDF downloads of previous Conference papers - such as Dr Ken McMaster's on the stages of change, particularly in men.
Polarization has poisoned politics in America. It has also poisoned dialogue in our Catholic Church. What should be a respectful interaction of faithful followers of Christ sharing valid insights on issues affecting life in the twenty-first century too often degenerates into name-calling and attacks among the laity, and censure and excommunication from the bishops. What would Christ expect of us? - by Tony Kowalski
Catholics for a Free Choice, an independent not-for-profit organization, is engaged in research, policy analysis, education, and advocacy on issues of gender equality and reproductive health. Working in the Catholic social justice tradition, CFFC is affiliated with Catholic Organizations for Renewal and the Women-Church Convergence, both based in the United States, and with the European Network/Church on the Move.
CSO is A Movement for Justice, Equality and Democracy in the Roman Catholic Church. "Catholics Speak Out was born out of the belief that progressive Catholics, committed to the Gospel and the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, have been silent too long in the face of conservative trends
Celebrate Advent
From americancatholic.org: Celebrate the season with peacemaking ideas, inspiration and e- cards. Learn how Christians should celebrate Advent and Christmas, and read about saints whose feasts are observed during the season.
Bernard Haring critically evaluates celibacy and priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. "Whose heart wouldn't bleed to think that a Church law so contrary to the Gospel would help to cause so much pain?"
Joyce Rupp suggests seven ways to let Celtic spirituality be your guide this Lent.
I shy away from many popular spiritual movements, which seem to come and go like feathers in the breeze. But Celtic spirituality is not one of these. Celtic spirituality is solid and deeply rooted in a spiritual heritage. I have been deeply drawn to Celtic spirituality with its creation-centered orientation. It has been a "coming home" for me because I have always felt a strong bond with creation.
The Center for Progressive Christianity provides guiding ideas, networking opportunities, and resources for progressive churches, organizations, individuals and others with connections to Christianity.
Centering Prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer. Trappist monk, Fr. Tom Keating leads us in developing this prayer form for the modern Catholic.
Christian churches nationally are facing enormous changes. In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, for example, scores of churches have been slated for closings. The reasons are multiple and complex: a lack of priests, lack of parishioners, deteriorating buildings, duplication of services, geographic location, the end of the immigrant parish as the children and grandchildren of immigrants move away. In some communities these proposed closings have abraded raw nerves and engendered much controversy. I’m not addressing the merits of the competing arguments. I only wish to state that change in church life, as in all life, is inevitable.
Pardon my irreverence but haven’t you ever wondered, maybe after a couple of drinks, “Who in the heck is God anyway?” Forget for a moment all those pat answers you have heard from theologians or prophets or founders of religions. They don’t know any more than you do.
On Friday, January 30, 2004, Dateline NBC aired on national television, a story that had been previously published by the Boston press. Boston Archdiocesan Chancery, ordered by legal authorites to hand over all the personnel files of priests accused of child molestations, in error, surrendered the files of a different James Foley, not those of the pedophile with the same name. Marie P. O'Brien
Cherry picking harkens back to the time when folks who picked cherries did it with great care: selecting only the ripe ones, leaving the rest for later. By analogy, however, the phrase “cherry picking” was extended to mean selecting a favored position from a range of choices and ignoring the others. Almost everyone does it. Politicians, preachers, commentators, columnists (I plead guilty) -- and atheists. But cherry picking by anyone distorts the truth.
This site is dedicated to the tens of thousands of lives effected by the fatherhood of Catholic Priests. The life of the child and mother are profoundly changed by coming into this secret, often denied subculture of the Roman Catholic faith.
Christopher Francis Ruggeri, 82, of Mashpee, MA passed away peacefully into eternal rest on Tuesday evening March 29, 2011 at McCarthy Care Center, surrounded by his loving family, after a courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. He was the husband of Margaret "Peg" Ruggeri.
Someone once said that there are places in the heart that you never even know exist until you love a child. I believe that. When I became a parent, I got in touch with a part of me that had never surfaced before. I found myself loving my kids with a kind of fierceness that almost scared me. I am a mild mannered guy, a peace loving man, yet I knew, just as sure as I am writing these words, that I would have killed anyone who hurt my children. Most moms and dads understand what I’m saying because they would do the same for their kids.
Hospital chaplaincy is the kind of creative use of the talents of married priests that has been called for in several documents of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and numerous organizations of the Catholic laity.
When a person earnestly wants something, he fights to overcome all obstacles. Once gained, he holds on even more. So it was, by the grace of God, with my priesthood.
The Holy Spirit has surprised me three times in my life, and let me in directions that I had never dreamed possible. Indeed, the Spirit moves where She wills. God has blessed Roberta and me, and guided us in many wonderful ways.
In many ways I felt that I was starting out where I had left off at age eighteen. And I was. My naivete was quickly lost with very helpful, seasoned teachers and mostly black adults seasoned in a harsh world. These were veterans of the three recent wars, mothers and fathers on welfare, even a group of Black Panthers in uniform; this was year after the Cleveland race riots.
Since the Vietnam era, Elaine and Francis McGillicuddy have been involved in peacemaking sometimes more deeply than others. They joined Pax Christi in 1980 and have been nurtured through that community ever since.
Call to Actions's directory of renewal groups which include small faith communities, local CTA groups, and other groups interested in reform and renewal of the Catholic Church.
The organization of married Roman Catholic Priest/couples who are offering spiritual and sacramental ministry, responding positively and non-judgmentally to Roman Catholics who have not attended a parish for some time or feel uncomfortable approaching their local parish priest at a time of need.
This summer all over the country there will be reunions. Classmates who graduated ten, twenty, fifty years ago will gather to party, to reminisce and to see how the years have treated their classmates.
Too much of these goings-on will focus on how folks look physically since that long-ago graduation, but there is a deeper, more spiritual meaning I’d like to explore. What we see in ourselves and in our classmates at these reunions is the inevitability of change. No hair dyes, plastic surgery, wigs or tummy tucks can hide it. We have changed. We all have changed. It is the law of life.
It’s not only the gays who struggle to come out of the closet. Many of us are in closets of our own making, closets that have nothing to do with sexual orientation but everything to do with owning our real self.
Competition is natural enough. Nature tells us that the contest for water, food, and mates is normal for living organisms co-existing in the same environment. Competition is also a spectator sport. The obvious examples in our country are hockey, baseball, football and more recently soccer, but now on television we are seeing more and more competition in surprising settings -- and I’m not only speaking of “Survivor.”
Weren't able to join us at the Corpus Conference this year? Well, sit back and listen to the full audio clips of talks given by Peter Manseau, Anthony Padovano, Jim Callan & Mary Ramearman and Dick Rento. Included here as well are workshops given by William Manseau and Linda Pinto.
The word “conspiracy” comes from the Latin meaning to breathe together. Recently, there has been some heavy breathing -- hyperventilation really -- over President Obama’s place of birth. There’s a small but vocal group of Birthers, who persistently claim Obama was not born in the United States and therefore, in accordance with the Constitution, is not legitimately President. The evidence to the contrary, however, is overwhelming.
An exclusive interview with Australian theologian and married priest Michael Morwood. In this interview, Michael discusses his new book, From Sand to Solid Ground with editors of the Australian journal Catholica.
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Linda Pinto
corpusreports@gmail.com
570.296.5326
Will Pope Francis “Rebuild our Church”?
Catholic Organizations for Renewal (COR) joins with the Roman Catholic Church around the world in welcoming Francis I as the next Pope.
Now in its 21st year, COR is a leadership forum of US national organizations to further reform and renewal in the Roman Catholic Church, to build an inclusive church, and to bring about a world of justice and peace. Though representing a variety of constituencies, we are united in our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our love of the Church.
It is our conviction that much needs to change, if the Church is to be a vehicle for carrying the Gospel into the future. We pray that Pope Francis I will begin the much-needed task of initiating measures that will enable the Gospel to flourish in today’s world.
As this papal ministry begins, we respectfully highlight some of the issues that cry out from the People of God:
• The need to put accountability measures in place regarding sexual abuse and cover-up
• Establishing collaboration and respect at all levels of our Church
• Ensuring involvement of lay people in Church governance and ministry
• Incorporating women at all levels of ministry and decision-making, including ordination
• Opening ministry to people in relationships and marriages
• Developing a sensible Church teaching on human sexuality, and respecting individual conscience in matters of sexuality and reproduction
• Restoring a focus on social justice concerns, such as poverty, war, the environment and basic human rights
We pray that this will be a moment of true renewal throughout our Church. And, as COR, we dedicate ourselves and pray for a return to the early Christian community’s “discipleship of equals” rather than continuing a medieval, monarchical structure, so out of touch with its people.
May Pope Francis I be blessed in serving the needs of the People of God and find inspiration from his namesake, Francis of Assisi, to “rebuild the church.”
Participating Groups:
American Catholic Council (Sheila Peiffer 518.334.6076)
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (Joseph Boyle 484.480.8311)
Call To Action (Nicole Sotelo773.404.0004)
Catholics for Choice (Jon O’Brien 202.986.6093)
Catholics Speak Out (Dolly Pomerleau 301.864.7805)
CORPUS (Anthony Padovano 973.539.8732)
DignityUSA (Marianne Duddy-Burke
617.669.7810)
Federation of Christian Ministries/RCFCC (Tom Cusack 732.329.3586)
FutureChurch (Sr. Chris Schenk 216.513.3647)
Pax Christi-Maine (William Slavick 207.773.6562)
RAPPORT (Gloria Ulterino 585.455.0389)
Roman Catholic Womenpriests (Barbara Zeman 312.305.1053)
Southeastern PAWomen’s Ordination Conference (Regina Bannan 215.545.9649)
Women’s Ordination Conference (Erin Hanna 401.588.0457)
In the January/February, 2005 newsletter, Carl Hemmer wrote an honest and forthright article about the future of CORPUS. I think he laid out the value of Corpus, its rightful place of leadership in the on-going dialogue (and what must seem like a monologue at times) over the celibacy issue, particularly the failure of the Church to recognize the value of bringing married priests back into the ministry.
Corpus Canada is a faith community of men and women empowered by our baptism in Jesus' Spirit to reach out to others in their need as Jesus did. We also provide support for married Roman Catholic priests, their family and friends.
The CORPUS Community, a National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood, commends Fr. Roy Bourgeois for his faithful support of the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska to the priesthood in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests Community.
NEW The CORPUS Board and staff wishes to convey its gratitude to Ruth Kolpack for the many years of devoted work she has given to the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. We also wish to commend her for earning a Master of Divinity Degree in 2003 - a degree that requires many hours of study, writing and classroom interaction.
CORPUS (The National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood) is appalled by a recent Vatican announcement that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would treat any “attempted ordination of a woman” as a serious crime against the church. In fact, such an ‘attempted’ ordination would be classified by the church hierarchy as the same category of offense as sexual abuse.
Let Your Story Be Told! CORPUS is pleased to announce the development of a much anticipated project to collect and codify the life-stories of our CORPUS family.
With the release of the movie version of 'The Da Vinci Code' on May 19, it is reasonable to assume there will be general interest in the relationship that existed between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. While very little historical data exists that supports events depicted in Dan Brown's book, he does correctly draw upon recent scholarship that clears the bad reputation Mary Magdalene was stuck with for over one-thousand years.
CORPUS, a national association for an inclusive priesthood, welcomes and prays for the pastoral ministry of Benedict XVI as he assumes his new papal role
In a letter dated August 22, 2003, CORPUS President Russ Ditzel responds to the comments of Bishop Wilton Gregory regarding a call by a group of Milwaukee priests to end mandatory celibacy. Also included are the many comments of support sent to us by our friends. Thanks to all who took the time to respond.
NEW CORPUS, the national association for an inclusive priesthood, wishes to convey its joy over the ordination of four women bishops on April 19, 2009, in California.
November 20, 2008 CORPUS, a National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood stands with Fr. Roy Bourgeois, M.M. and agrees with his conscientious support for the ordination of women in our Roman Catholic Church. We call upon the Vatican to listen to the witness of the Holy Scriptures and the voice of the faithful as we stand with Fr. Roy Bourgeois and our sisters who are responding to God's call to the ministerial priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sincerely,
William J. Manseau, D. Min. CORPUS Pres
Superior General of Maryknoll Brothers and Fathers
P.O. Box 305
Maryknoll, NY 10545-0305
Dear Fr. Dougherty and the members of the Maryknoll Council,
The Board and members of CORPUS reaffirm our support of Fr. Roy Bourgeois regarding women’s ordination. How disappointing that Maryknoll has sent him the second canonical warning. Over its history, Maryknoll has been known for its courage and prophetic voice in spreading and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. It seems clear that you and Maryknoll have lost your way. You have sent men and women throughout the world as witnesses of the gospel. Now you are unwilling to support the prophetic voice of one of your own brothers.
The papal claim to infallibility in saying that women are not fit to be ordained is tenuous at best. For any doctrine to be infallible, it must be accepted by the “sensus fidelium.” If you look at the stance of Catholics around the world, it is by no means universally accepted by the baptized. In fact, more and more people are rejecting the papal assertion. It is clearly the lesson of history that doctrines change and develop. One obvious example is the now universal rejection of slavery, despite a whole scriptural history that accepted it as a norm in society. This is true even in the Pauline epistles. Slavery is now condemned despite a long held “tradition” of accepting it as a societal norm.
Our present pope, Benedict XVI, as a theologian to Vatican II, wrote clearly and forcefully about the primacy of conscience. Fr. Roy, who has been a faithful servant of the Church and Maryknoll, is obliged by his conscience to continue speaking out about sexism and women’s ordination. What a contradiction that Maryknoll and the Vatican condemn him for doing so. CORPUS stands with Fr. Roy and urges Maryknoll to do likewise.
Scapegoating gay priests will not fix the systemic problems of abuse of power we've seen facing our Church today. We affirm the sacred presence of all those touched by God's grace. We deplore the attempt to declare that God's grace discriminates in terms of sexual orientation...
August 20, 2003 An Open Letter to our Brothers in the Milwaukee Presbyterate: High Bridge, NJ: On behalf of the whole CORPUS community, we applaud the courage and energy it took for you in the Milwaukee presbyterate to facilitate a call for dialogue on the issue of optional celibacy for all called to priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
CORPUS’ board and staff have been approached numerous times by our members, non-members, and representatives of the media regarding our organization’s position on the Married Priests Now! prelature. After having the opportunity to reflect, meet in person, and discuss, we feel it important to share with you our perspective...
To paraphrase the lectionary reading from Mark 9:38ff, we are thrilled that Archbishop Milingo is adding his moral weight behind calling for an end of institutional celibacy. We wish him success in his campaign. Any movement that creates the possibility of change in our present clerical system is certainly welcome. We wish that other Roman Catholic bishops who secretly call for making a celibate priesthood optional would be as public in their support
Corpus-NCR is an organization of married priests, their wives, and their friends working together for renewal in the Catholic Church, and for the implementation of changes advocated for the Church by the Second Vatican Council.
Cheryl & Charlie Cavalconte, long time CORPUS members from Rhode Island, have recently released their new book, Create Your Own Wedding Ceremony. Both Cheryl and Charlie have had a very active wedding ministry for years. The book is intended for use by couples who want to customize a wedding ceremony. The book is extremely user-friendly and might even be a good resource for those officiating at ceremonies.
All writers, especially columnists, by the nature of their work must deal with criticism in various ways. First, hopefully they themselves are critics. They not only praise but also critique society: its trends, its movements, its politics, and its religions. In so doing others will criticize them. The only way to avoid criticism is to write blandly, saying nothing controversial or provocative. Absent such plain vanilla prose, criticism is as essential to the writing trade as word-processors and typewriters. No writer should be surprised to receive criticism. Whether it’s about typos, errors of fact, or differing opinions, it’s a gift. For public officials though, often consider it another story.
I once wrote a column about prisons, not about the correctional facilities governments build, but about the internal attitudes that restrict and confine us. I wrote of the constricting mind-sets of prejudice, religious dogmatism, bitterness and victim hood. (For those interested, it’s in “The Spirit at Your Back,” page 15). I’m writing about prisons again -- this time, about the culture itself as prison.
This new web site encourages bishops, priests and laity who are concerned about the lack of dialogue and a culture of secrecy in the Catholic Church to begin a meaningful conversation.
Before the election of the new pope in 2005, academics and experts made list after list of the top problems facing the Catholic Church in the world. Every list contained mention of the condition of the priesthood. Everyone agreed: there is a problem. What is it? A few defined the problem as the weakening of priestly identity, but most defined it as a shortage. In many nations the priesthood is in decline, and in a few, a precipitous decline.
From Fr. John Wijngaards: With the care and precision of a theologian, he bases his analysis on the teaching, statements and thinking of Jesus as found in the New Testament. He has, in this book, done the hard thinking that must be the ground-work of any discussion on the possible ordination of women to the priesthood.
Ram Dass in his book “Still Here -- Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying” speaks of how he coped with his life and work after a crippling stroke made it impossible for him to continue living as previously. Before his stroke he was active in writing, traveling and lecturing. His stroke changed that drastically. Dass tells his story even more dramatically in the film “Fierce Grace.” A film that “Newsweek” considered one of the Top Five Non-Fiction Films of 2002. It provides us with a moving meditation on “consciousness, healing, and the unexpected grace of aging.” “Fierce Grace” is available on DVD.
I’m not a snow skiing enthusiast (Hey, I got enough snow growing up in Buffalo) but on my few cross-country skiing trips, I have been mesmerized by the quiet beauty of the Sierra winter landscape. To me, perhaps even more striking than the visual beauty of the scene was the absolute stillness of the experience. I found myself astonished by the silence. I don’t think I ever realized how noisy our world is until that first time I went snow skiing in Tahoe.
NEW For many decades now, the Catholic community has been in dialogue—sometimes heated—about issues of authority and ministry. Vatican II began the discussion by introducing elements that would have seemed outrageous a decade earlier. Priests were urged to gather into council or senates with their own elected representatives. Celibacy was defined as an asset to ministry but not as essentially required. Married priests of Eastern Catholic Churches were celebrated. Priests were encouraged to share prayer, worship, and even sacramental rituals in matrimony with Protestant pastors. There were instances when Roman Catholics were permitted to receive sacraments from Orthodox priests. A married deaconate was introduced and, later, even a married priesthood for convert Protestant pastors.
Just recently I was watching TV with my foster grandson when the mattress company commercial came on the screen…the one that asks people to donate money so that children in foster care might have warm clothing for the cold weather. I asked Tony if the commercial embarrassed him at all. He admitted that the company probably meant well but “it sort of gives the impression that we are all poor kids and need to be pitied.”
Beware the experts. They know everything about their field of expertise, but that very specialization restricts their vision and wisdom. Their knowledge is exceptional and in one specialized area remarkable, but paradoxically that erudition narrows their view. The experts see things clearly and bolster their positions with logical arguments, footnotes, citations, and precedents -- but the reasoning is limited by the logic of their expertise. Remember, logic is like whiskey at some point it loses its beneficial effects -- and too much of it can make us delusional.
Beware the experts. They know everything about their field of expertise, but that very specialization restricts their vision and wisdom. Their knowledge is exceptional and in one specialized area remarkable, but paradoxically that erudition narrows their view. The experts see things clearly and bolster their positions with logical arguments, footnotes, citations, and precedents -- but the reasoning is limited by the logic of their expertise. Remember, logic is like whiskey at some point it loses its beneficial effects -- and too much of it can make us delusional.
Donald Cordero, 70, a retired counselor who was a current trustee of the West Valley-Mission Community College District, died of cancer Sunday, surrounded by his family.
Haiti is suffering from a devastating earthquake. Catholic Relief Service is seeking donations to help the recovery process. Please consider making a donation.
Drones are male honeybees. They develop from eggs that have not been fertilized, and unlike worker bees whose stinger is a modified egg-laying organ they cannot sting. It’s ironic that our pilotless drones are named after them. For those unmanned planes with their explosive-bearing missiles have killed and maimed many.
As you know CORPUS has an ongoing process of collecting the names of deceased married priests and others who have "served in the marketplace." Their ministry inside and outside the "walls" is too precious a gift to the Church to be forgotten. We have gathered this information and placed it on our web site. During the month of November, let us remember in prayers and thoughts the many brothers and sisters who have gone to their eternal rest. Click to view the complete list of the deceased.
Yesterday was Earth Day and this column appears in the middle of Earth Week. For me and for many, Earth Week is a holy week. There is something essentially spiritual about nature. My wife has an inscribed stone in her vegetable plot. It says, “The best place to seek God is in a garden.” But whether it’s in garden or forest, sunrise or sunset, in rain or sunshine, nature manifests Beauty and enables Life. It speaks of the divine. All nature is sacred.
The old news about Easter is that it is about resurrection. The new news may be that it is not so much about the resurrection of Jesus as it is about our own - by Joan Chittister, osb.
The Empty Tomb
The shattering earthquake of Easter should make it impossible for us to continue being comfortable and complacent. Resurrection faith is a marvelous gift, if we are open to receive it. It can change our lives and lead us to become the forgiving, peace filled people that Jesus wants us to be.
Some of the best Internet resources for information regarding Faith Formation, Family Ministry, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Social Outreach, Justice/Peace and Prayer & Reflection. .
The Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia of his Holiness Pope John Paul II to the bishops, priests and deacons, men and women in the consecrated life, and all the Faithful on the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church
Bleidorn died last week of complications from a fall. He was 94. A former Catholic priest, he was responsible for an inner-city Milwaukee parish during the tumultuous civil rights era, a period when Milwaukee had been dubbed the "Selma of the north."
Conference 2004 View the PowerPoint presentation by Bill and Mary Manseau which was used in our Evening Prayer, in Remembrance and Thanksgiving for the Holy Spirit working in the lives of the founders of CORPUS and other pioneers in the early days of reforming the Church and Renewing the Priesthood. (You will need Microsoft PowerPoint to see the slide show.) Click Here to view the Slide Show
When I lived in the monastery as a Catholic priest, 40% of my superiors thought they were divinely inspired. Now that I'm working in Corporate America, the number is up to 80%. In my company, I'm one fo the few who have a core competency for dealing with executives who believe themselves to be infallible. Kenny Moore
With clarity and candor, Dean Hoge, a professor in the department of sociology at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., and Jacqueline Wenger, a graduate student and licensed clinical social worker, communicate and interpret extensive data about generational changes in the priesthood and the impact of those changes on the church in the United States.
Robert Call, a 72-year-old retiree and CORPUS member, is an avid gardener, devoted family man and regular churchgoer. But the Hasbrouck Heights resident will put his quiet life on hold when he begins serving a 90-day federal prison sentence next month for a crime that he describes as an act of patriotism. Read the Full Article Pictures from Bob Call's Sendoff Read Bob's Letter from Federal Prison
NEW When we think of exercise, most of us consider only physical activity. The word conjures up images of treadmills, rowing machines and jogging tracks, but that’s only part of it. Exercise entails all that, of course, but the word has come to mean much more.
The liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas. It’s fitting that the feast occurs during the Christmas season. For at Christmas we focus in a dramatic way on children, generosity and family togetherness. Moreover, this holiday season routinely brings not only Christian families but families of different faith traditions together.
We had our memorial service for Penny today at the Children’s Village.. All the kids and most of the staff gathered at her yard, where the children had made a memorial stone for her. Inserted into the middle of the memorial stone, someone had put a one cent copper coin. Each of the kids held a small polished stone which they held in their hands. After a moment of silence during which the kids were asked to hold a memory of Penny in their hearts, one by one they placed the stones on Penny’s memorial stone.
To begin, it is important to state that the DaVinci Code is a work of fiction. Yet, the assumptions and theories presented by the author are highly relevant, as they relate to current debates in the Roman Catholic Church. Certainly, as the priesthood shortage continues to be a center-stage topic, there seems to be overwhelming interest in the sexuality of Jesus. This translates to the corresponding issues of married priests and the ordination of women. Ray Grosswirth, CORPUS Secretary.
Feast of All Saints
The Feast of All Saints reminds us that we, too, are poor in spirit; we mourn, we hunger and thirst after justice. We are always moving towards the end - the end of a season, the end of childhood, or young adulthood, or of old age, the end of high school or college, the end of vacation, the end of a career or a particular kind of employment...and inevitably the end of our journey here on earth. All of these endings we should turn over to the Lord - not with fear, but with trust
The Federation of Christian Ministries is a meeting ground for people of varying faith traditions and spiritualities. As members, we comfort, encourage, support, heal, challenge and lead in many actions which reflect the warm companionship of God's presence.
After twenty years of existence, the International Federation of Married Catholic priests, has had its sixth international Congress in Wilhelm-Kempf Haus, Wiesbaden, Germany from 16 - 19 September 2005 with the theme: The Renewal of Ministries Today.
The economy is down. Outsourcing is up. Globalization is in. And college grads have recently been let out. This has placed a great number of unemployed people out on the streets looking for work. Some timely advice is warranted.
Ronald Rolheiser, a Roman Catholic Priest, is a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and currently is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He is an author of many books and well-known lecturer on contemporary spirituality. His writings appear in many newspapers throughout the world.
A letter dated March 18th informed Fr. Roy Bourgeois that he has fifteen days to recant his belief that women, as well as men, are called by God to serve as priests in the Roman Catholic Church.
I vividly remember first meeting Frank Kabisch.It was around 1989 and I was manager of Washington Court Retirement in Bellevue.Due to a merger Frank had been laid off as V.P. of Human Resources at a large health care corporation in Tacoma and was job hunting.He heard about our support group for married priests and came by for lunch.WHAT A GUY !!!Bigger than life and so passionate about his identity as a married priest from the time he resigned from active ministry to marry sweet Kris.
Comedian Lily Tomlin said, “Remember we are all in this alone,” but she was wrong. We are not in this alone; we are not in life alone. If we’re lucky we have friends to help and support us as we face the ups and downs, the joys and sadness of life.
The American comedian Lily Tomlin once said, "Remember we're all in this alone," but she was wrong. We’re not alone. In our jobs, community work or raising families, we need help. All of us do. It would be naive to think otherwise. That’s why friends are so important; in zillions of ways they help us. We need them for the persistent and never-ending tasks involved in living, but we also need them for our well-being and mental health.
FutureChurch is a national coalition of parish-based Catholics who seek the full participation of all baptized Catholics in the life of the Church. A special emphasis is expanding an inclusive ministry.
Many main-line Christian churches are struggling with the reality of gay clergy. This situation, however, takes on added significance with the celibate clergy in the Catholic Church. About six weeks ago, the Vatican issued a pronouncement on gays in the priesthood. Officially called an instruction, it bans from seminaries men "who are actively homosexual, have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture". It would allow only seminary candidates with 'transitory gay tendencies' clearly overcome for three years prior to ordination.
Just last week, the Associate Press reported that “British Prime Minster Gordon Brown offered a posthumous apology for the ‘inhumane’ treatment of Alan Turing, the World War II code breaker who committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted for homosexuality and forcibly treated with female hormones.” He was only forty-two years old.
George Spellman gave his life to the priesthood, his heart to his wife, Susan, and his spirit to the Church. The priesthood was his response to God's call; marriage was his commitment to love in its most intense expression; the Church was his context for his service to God's People where ever they were.
George artfully wove together these three themes of his life. He worked for a married priesthood in a renewed Catholic Church so that priesthood would be inclusive and marriage an option for everyone and the Church itself a true community of Christ where no one's goodness would be underestimated.
George galvanized the married priest movement especially in the Washington K.C. area and used this as a base to help a large number of priests manage transition, find employment and affirm their acceptance by God. He gave his life to healing people, bringing them vision and enabling them to celebrate.
It is fitting that our testimony and farewell to George take place in this episcopal Church. No other Christian Church, perhaps, has labored more mightily to make the Church an inclusive and hospitable community.
We stand in solidarity with Susan in her sorrow and with their sons Jim and Mark in their grief. We stand in gratitude as a Corpus community of married priests for the example and courage of his life. We stand in wonder of what God made of George's life, priesthood, marriage and service to God's People.
May the memory of all the good he did grace each of our lives and lead us home safely to God and Christ
It was quiet as the Trappist monks lay to rest the body of Brother John.
But then, it’s always quiet at a monastery. The monks thrive on silence as much as our modern world hungers for noise.
I was making a private retreat at the New Clairvaux Monastery a few miles from Chico when I had the unexpected opportunity to experience the funeral of a monk.
Some days I find myself loving the kids so much it’s scary. It’s the kind of love that moms and dads know with their own children, the kind that hurts and also makes you want to sing. I have moments like that with our Village children, with 10 year old Jennie, spirited, stubborn and sweet all in one, 9 year old Danny, who threw theologians a zinger with his “Does God have a cat?” question, Matt, our future stand-up comedian. We touch one another if only for a moment. A fragile trust rises to the surface through a note, a tiny hand squeezed in mine, a confidence shared, a hug.
Coming down the expressway and very anxious to get home I spied a traffic jam ahead. It was probably an accident, which would hold up traffic for an hour or more. As I came nearer the slowdown area, I could see that many of the motorists were getting anxious. The grassed medium looked tempting as a sort cut to find another route. As I was contemplating my options, a car ahead of me suddenly veered off into the ditch and came to a complete halt in the mud.
World Food Day was October 16. There is a lot – good and bad -- going on in the world of food. First, food has been internationalized. Thank God for the variety. I was in my thirties before I discovered Chinese, but my grandchildren tasted egg rolls and chicken sweet and sour even before they started elementary school.
There cannot be world peace without dialogue among and peace among world religions. Based on the work of Hans Kung, this site holds that the religions of the world can make a contribution to the peace of humankind only if they reflect on those elements of an ethic which they already have in common.
Whether you are beginning a University career or if you are seeking an advanced degree, Global Ministries University's programs provide you with innovative techniques in approaching your educational goals. The bachelor's and master's degrees offered at Global Ministries University allow students to gain the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies needed to prepare them for productive careers and future academic endeavors.
The God I believe in has another name. The name is both simple and profound. Everybody knows what it means, because like the air we breathe, it is everywhere. God’s other name is love.
God is love. He is the energy that gives life to our world, the spirit that warms us, and the fire that stirs our hearts. God is the magic of springtime, the miracle of birth, the power of the wind and waves.
“Precious,” the overweight, under-loved main character in the movie of the same name, was quoting Aretha Franklin’s words to herself as she was being abused by her mom and dad.
In Germanic mythology, Gotterdammerung is the destruction of the gods after a battle with evil, causing the violent ending of a regime or institution. It’s a fitting metaphor for the current international sexual abuse scandal, which theologian Hans Kung has called the Catholic Church’s greatest credibility crisis since the Reformation.
In March of 1965, Tom Honoré was one of four black young men ordained to the priesthood in the historic Saint Louis Basilica, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Except for the one other member of that ordination class who was Anglo and a native of Massachusetts, the four African Americans were all from the deep South from places that were not more than one hundred miles from the Crescent City. The then Archbishop of New Orleans, John Patrick Cody, had sent for these young men to come to New Orleans, so that he could ordain them and demonstrate to the world the special significance of that moment in the history of the U.S. Catholic Church and in the history of the Josephite Fathers.
A personal story of what it's like for a man in his 70's to move in with a passel of abused and neglected kids, share their lives and take on a new identity as a grandpa to a children's village. The author's job description as a live-in grandfather at the inter-generational village is to be a giver of unconditional love to twenty-four foster children ranging in age from five to sixteen.
Giving thanks is a constant thing -- or should be. It’s not only for great blessings or for Thanksgiving Day. I read somewhere that we should be grateful when we get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. Many handicapped folks are unable to move let alone walk. We should be grateful we can manage the bathroom by ourselves. Many can’t take care of their personal hygiene. We should be grateful for our shower, for clean water, for hot water. Millions have no homes -- nor showers or any unpolluted water. We should be grateful, but are we?
There is a lot about books in the media these days. Check out the Internet: Top books to read at the beach. A reading list for the entire year. The top 100 picks for book clubs. Oprah’s book club books. The New York Times bestseller list.
Gordon Gekko is a fictional character in Oliver Stone’s film “Wall Street.” In that film Michael Douglas won an Oscar for the role, in which Gekko notoriously proclaimed the Wall Street mantra, “Greed is good.” The Gekko character is loosely based on the market manipulator Ivan Boesky and the (in)famous corporate raider Carl Icahn.
Jason Kendall, the catcher for the Oakland A's baseball team, gave me a chuckle the other day. He was talking to a reporter about how, when he was a
young player and had gone hitless at the plate or made an error in the field, he used to beat himself up over his performance.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in warning state residents as Hurricane Irene barreled up the East Coast towards his state did not sugarcoat his words. “I saw some of the news feeds … of people sitting on the beach in Asbury Park. Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out.”
Sept. 21 marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Henri Nouwen, one of our most popular writers on the spiritual life. One might surmise that here was a strict ponderer of the inner life. Or a guide to navigating one's private relationship with God. But Henri's thinking surged beyond such narrow channels. Few realize the full spectrum of his spirituality.
Perhaps you have never heard of Henri Nouwen or you may be quite familiar with his writing. Either way we invite you to explore this site and discover why the themes of his many books resonate so deeply with people all over the world.
Highlights from the 2001 National Conference
Seacaucus, NJ: Freedom in the New Millenium
Conference Homily
- Text of the homily by Theresa Kane, RSM, for Sunday?s Eucharistic Liturgy at the 2001 CORPUS Conference in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The People of God and the Future of the Church
- by Robert Blair Kaiser: Author of Pope, Council, and World and The Politics of Sex and Religion. Robert currently serves as the Rome correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
Re-imaging Full Humanity
- by Mary Ann Cejka: Women , Sexuality and Celibacy in the 21st Century...
Holy Week; Dying and Rising with Christ
As we walk with Jesus through the incidents of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we recoil again at the ugliness and horror of his rejection, betrayal, condemnation, passion and crucifixion. We study His courage, His struggle to bend His will to the Father's. We understand His agonizing sense of abandonment. We feel His hurt at the treachery of His friends, and ultimately His trusting embrace of the Cross - and the shameful death it promised - knowing that the love and power of His Father would sustain Him and carry Him through to the triumph of Resurrection and New Life.
The presidential candidates’ “debates” together with the visit to Columbia by Iranian president Ahmadinejad, and the President of Duke University’s belated apology to his lacrosse team trouble me. They forced me to reflect on the honesty and integrity of public speech and how the culture has severely compromised it. I chuckled remembering the tongue-in-cheek comment of George Burns, "Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake THAT, you've got it made.” Still I’ve grown nauseous watching politicians and figures spin, fudge, posture – and attempt to manipulate us with insincerity and sound bites.
This year's Call To Action Conference which took place November 4 - 6 was a greaat success.. Corpus was there, and our own David Gawlik conducted some impromptu interviews. Listen to what some folks "Hope for the Church."
Hope is a Dialogue - by Dr. Anthony Padovano The best of Dr. Anthony Padovano's presentations at various reform group meetings. All the material has been updated together with new material. Anyone who has read any of Anthony's 26 award winning books will be rewarded with his 27th book!
During the recent presidential campaign, President-Elect Obama ran on the theme of hope. Although hope is a virtue – less than love (1 Cor 13:13) and rooted in faith, Obama’s critics derided hope as being non-specific, theoretical and airy-fairy. That criticism had some validity and his campaign became more specific with emphasis on change.
Life never quite lets us off the hook does it? Even when we are retired from the workplace, the kids are grown and we are free to do whatever we want to do with our days, there is still a catch. But this kind of “catch” is good for us. It means we still have a role to perform, a part in the drama of life.n, but unless they have the capacity to love much, their “eldering” won’t change a life or change a world.
John Shelby Spong, the retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark, NJ wrote his conclusions, the culmination of his lifetime in the clerical profession, WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE (Harper Collins). This thinking began with radical departures from traditional Christian theological thought that were part of his professional formation in the 1960s. Larry Roegner.
At the promptings of my 12-year-old granddaughter, I read Suzanne Collins’ best selling trilogy and have seen the movie based on her first book: The Hunger Games. A quick summary: the book is a young adult novel; its chief character is 16-year-old, street smart Katniss Everdeen. She lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the United States once existed. The Capitol is a prosperous metropolis, which holds absolute power over the rest of Panem.
“ I am I, and you are you
and we’re each other, too.”
From the Cowboy and the Cossack
The words in the title are taken from an excellent book by Clair Huffaker,called the Cowboy and the Cossack. Set in the period of history when the Tsar ruled Russia with an iron fist, the story is about a cattle-trading outfit from Montana who sold a herd of 500 long horn cattle to a group of anti-Tsarist rebels in Russia.
I took the title of this column from Chris Hedges’ book. In his book Hedges argues that the New Atheists (Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and others) are fundamentally mistaken in claiming that human nature is perfectible and that reason and science can lead us to a utopian future. Hedges asserts that human nature is basically flawed and that professional atheists are naïve to think that if science would only replace religion, we would have an ideal world. But enough about Hedges’ book, I want to write about billboards -- billboards around the country promoting atheism. There are lots of them.
In his book, “I Shall Not Hate,” Dr. Isseldin Abuelaish, the Muslim father who experienced one of the worst nightmares that can befall a human being, the killing of his three daughters, writes a story not of vengeance but of forgiveness.
NEW The popular Irish Rock group has contributed some beautiful music to this generation but no song more hauntingly beautiful than this one, “But I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” The refrain speaks to our human condition, our yearning to be more than we are, to fulfill our longing for happiness while, at the same time, acknowledging that we are not there yet and perhaps will never realize the dreams that lie buried within us.
ISECP has been providing spiritual exercises and workshops since 1977. It is a joint Canadian-American project to explore the grace that is in a working group of people.
Catholic theologian Regina Schulte is one of the reasons our church is in trouble today. Years ago she went off and got educated. For a while she served the church as a Catholic sister. Eventually she left the religious life and married. For years she and her late husband, Jim, earned their livings as Catholic theologians. Jim died eleven years ago. Regina continues reflecting on life, church, and the human condition while living in partial retirement.
A funeral of a priest is a unique experience. If he is a celibate, then he will be dressed out in his coffin with the vestments of his sacerdotal rank according to the tradition of the clergy. If he has been married and eliminated from the clerical state, then he will dressed as an ordinary lay person. It is reasonable that his family will activate their creativity to express his priestly ordination in some manner to those who have come in contact with him during his life. Herein lies the wonder of the people of God.
True story. A sub compact car with a family aboard was rear ended and burst into flames. A man in his late 20’s ran to the burning vehicle and at considerable risk to his own life, managed to pull a little boy free. The boys clothes had burned off so the man took off his own shirt, to douse the flames and cover the boy’s naked body. He cradled the little guy in his arms until emergency help arrived. As I write this, the boy is in critical condition but, thanks to the heroism of the young man, there is reason to hope he will survive.
I’ve been thinking recently of how often our words even our well-meant words betray us. I’ve been reflecting on how insensitive we are to the full implications of the things we say about other people and groups.
Scott Neeson tells the story in The Christian Science Monitor. The former head of 20th.Century Fox International in Hollywood, was in the middle of Phnom Penh’s most notorious slum witnessing the unnerving sight of poor children hunting through the garbage for salvage they could sell.
A Time-Warner Business TV ad, parroting western efficiency experts tells us, “Time is money.” Do you know what the Buddhists in the East say? They say, “Time is life!” Now that’s food for thought -- and a topic for a column.
What Do We “get out of” going to Church on Sunday
Having breakfast with a friend after Mass last Sunday, I was a little surprised to hear her say bluntly “That’s it for me. I’m not going to Church here anymore. The liturgy is same-o, same-o every week, the music is mediocre, the sermons mostly uninspired. I’m just not getting anything out of it anymore.”
Imagine you’re reading this column on March 27, 1908. A century ago women would not have the vote. The Senate of the United States would still be refusing to condemn lynching. Even though almost 4,700 Negroes, as they were called then, would be lynched because of their race. Unions were just beginning to protect workers. Safety and child labor laws were spotty and enforcement uneven. In the past century we’ve improved.
It was an intelligent question, but my answer was not very articulate. Only when driving home did I think of Archbishop Camara. His observation seemed to fit. His relentless advocacy for the poor caused much tension with the authorities, but though he upset the leadership in both church and state he persisted in his pursuit of justice. His efforts brought hostility and death threats, but he persevered because he loved.
Through her books, tapes, and retreats, Joyce Rupp has touched deeply the lives of many. The website of this spiritual writer can help many become acquainted with Joyce's work.
Many priests and deacons are unaware of their rights under Canon Law. Justice for Priest's and Deacons seeks to serve the needs of clergy and are available for consultation and representation, to advise priests and deacons about their rights under Canon Law and to process appeal cases. Currently 22 canon lawyers are available.
Conference 2005 Weren't able to join us at the Corpus Conference this year? Well, sit back and listen to the full audio clips of talks given by Andrea Johnson, Tom Doyle, Tom Fox and Dick Scaine.
I took my two grand daughters (ages 3 and 6) to visit my ailing sister-in-law at a convalescent hospital last week. Neither of the girls had seen my sister-in-law in a long time, nor had they ever been to a convalescent hospital, so I was nervous about how they would react. I needn’t have worried.
I suspect that parents, dealing with their kids being home from school over the holidays, might choose to differ on the “soul-healing power of kids.” Words like “frustrated” or “challenged” or “driven berserk” are a few of the more polite descriptive words that might come to mind when big people spend school vacation time with the little people in their lives.
Labor Day in the United States is the first Monday in September. It has been a federal holiday since 1894. Its original purpose was to honor and recognize the unionized work force. The evolution of the holiday, however, has eclipsed blue-collar workers and their unions. It has evolved into a gigantic national barbecue – even at our country clubs. Labor Day is a major holiday. It’s a watershed date on our calendars, but its blue-collar origins have been forgotten. It’s now an end of summer feast.
My last column, “A Pill for Every Ill” elicited a lot of responses. Many said that it made them laugh, chuckle -- even giggle. I intended that humor and wish I were clever enough to be more humorous in these columns. I’d like to make readers laugh as I prod them to think -- as my conservative namesake P.J. O’Rourke does.
Laughter is something else altogether. It erupts out of humor, and humor is a surprising shift in perception, a sudden, jarring change that points out the incongruity in the situation. It is the juxtaposition of two very different ideas linked by a punch line, which suddenly makes us aware of the absurdity. Sometimes it’s a pun on words.
Recently, an acquaintance of mine had the misfortune of losing his Dad in an automobile accident. As the only child, it fell to Dan to go through the apartment where his Dad had lived alone since the death of his wife three years earlier.
Marijuana has been in the news recently – all the way from South America to California and Washington State.
In Cartagena, Colombia at a summit of South American leaders, some heads of state criticized President Obama for refusing to abandon a drug war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and undermined their governments. Some argued that legalizing marijuana in the Untied States would help to defund the drug cartels in their countries. "I don't mind a debate around issues like decriminalization," Obama said, “but I personally don’t agree that that’s a solution to the problem.”
Most religions have their sacred days and times. Jews celebrate the Sabbath. Muslims keep Ramadan. Hindus practice Purnima, and some Christians observe Lent. Such observances have great spiritual meaning, but they can also lead to some bizarre, legalistic craziness.
In Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania the Amish have torn down the one-room schoolhouse in which five of their young girls were murdered. A neighbor Charles Roberts IV with premeditation and in cold blood had shot them in the head before taking his own life. Only ten days after the massacre a construction company hauled away the blood splattered debris. The Amish have leveled the land and planted grass. The spot will revert to pasture. There will be no marker or plaque. The Amish community didn’t want the site to become a morbid tourist attraction.
I picked you up from school today as usual. You looked pretty sharp with your new jacket but I knew enough not to call attention to your appearance. I asked the standard dumb question, How was school today, big guy? You gave the safe answer. “Good.” I knew better. There were two “f’s” on your latest progress report but I didn’t want to go there at the moment.
Dear President Obama,
I know you’re getting many recommendations on Afghanistan. Democrats and Republicans, Generals and politicians, liberals and conservatives are giving you advice. I’m about to add mine.
“This is a nightmare,” said my young friend. “The hospital called me last night asking if they could take my mom off life support. I told them I needed to talk to my younger brother and sister first. His voice broke over the phone. “I don’t know what to do.”
The Sacredness of the Present Moment - An article by Kerrie Hide, in which she draws our attention to the sacredness of the present moment in which we dwell and shows how we can nurture a spirituality of Presence through the practice of centering prayer
Those of us over 40 also tend to forget that a significant portion of our Church was not alive to experience pre-Vatican II Catholicism. Time and again, when we scratch beneath the surface, we are brought to stark awareness how different our formation in faith has been. Russ Ditzel, CORPUS President.
“Regrets I’ve had a few
But then, too few to mention”
Frank Sinatra in “My Way”
I meet from time to time for coffee with a group of oldsters. We tell our stories, get heated about politics, talk some sports. If we are lucky, we get to ogle pretty young things passing by and pine for the days of our youth. Sometimes we even get serious.
As the Women's Ordination Conference approaches our 30th Anniversary in 2005, we've begun to look back and evaluate our past successes. Upon examining them, we've discovered a great diversity of thought and opinion within our movement. A diversity that brings us back to some important questions.
When one of our kids had to leave the Village a few months back, I was sitting next to a little guy who had tears in his eyes. He said to me “You know Grandpa Hank. “Tony” is not my brother but he is LIKE my brother. That’s why I’m so sad that he has to leave. It’s like someone dropped a coin down a deep,deep well and you could hardly hear the coin drop at the bottom. That’s how sorry I am that he is leaving.”
Because it’s Valentine’s Day, I’m writing about love. It’s not an easy topic. It’s difficult to deal with without getting sentimental, cynical or bookish, but I’m game to try it with realism, humor and spirituality.
The Dalai Lama tells us, “Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together.” There is, however, much confusion about love and its text message spelling: LUV.
Travel has a way of changing you, shaking up those
brain cells and rearranging them so that you begin to
think differently about life. Anyone who has had the
opportunity of spending some time in a foreign country
knows how exciting and challenging it can be.
When a fifth grade boy in a school in Texas was asked to write an essay about “My Very First Dad,” his essay pulled at his teacher’s heart strings.
“I remember him like God in my heart. I remember him in my heart like the clouds overhead and strawberry ice cream and bananas when I was a little kid. But the most I remember is his love, as big as the State of Texas when I was born.”
Many of us stay in not because we believe the official ideology of celibacy anymore, but because we believe in our work, we love the people, and we also know God's mercy.
We are approaching the wedding season - a good time to think about marriage. So my apologies up front to the celibate, the single and the partnered who work out their lives with other people in different ways. This is for the married and soon to be married.
Candidates for the episcopal office [in the first three centuries of Church history] were chosen by the local church, including both clergy and laity, in clear fidelity to those words. That method of selection stands in stark contrast with the practice in catholic communities today. - by Anthony P. Kowalski
On Sunday, October 16, President and Michelle Obama, the King family, elderly civil rights leaders, and the nation dedicated the Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Many have criticized the memorial and for many reasons: the Chinese artist who designed it, the stoic, serious, staid depiction of the assassinated leader, Maya Angelou’s complaint about the truncated, “I was a drum major for justice” quote.
An Associate Press story last month caught my eye. Jaguar Distributions, a firm that supplies movie DVDs to airlines for passenger viewing, distributed copies of the Oscar-nominated film “The Queen” in which the world “god” had been bleeped out. The president of the firm said it was a mistake made by an over zealous censor whose job it was to edit out all profanities and blasphemies. Airline passengers viewing the film heard the word “god” bleeped seven times. In one scene a servant is heard to say to the queen, “May bleep bless you, ma’am.”
Rabbi Kushner, author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” tells the story of a young couple who asked him to officiate at their marriage. They requested that he change the words of the wedding ceremony from “until death do us part” to “as long as our love shall last.” When the Rabbi asked them why they wanted the change, the couple explained, “We would not want to stay together if we no longer loved one another.” Shucks! Isn’t that beautiful? No it’s not.
Out walking the other day, I had the pleasure of witnessing something that both tickled my funny bone and darn near made my gray hair turn brown again. I
spot this eight-year-old boy dressed in a red t-shirt and blue shorts tumbling down a hill as his mom watched and yelled encouragement. The little guy is
going fast. All I can see is this blur of red and blue. All I can hear is a child’s laughter and a mom’s applause. What a moment! I stopped long enough to
watch him dust off his pants and do a repeat performance and then follow with an encore tumble.
As I write this, the media is overwhelming us with coverage of Michael Jackson’s tragic death. We are hearing not only about his extraordinary talents, but also about his drugs, his doctors, his debts, the custody of his children, his Neverland Ranch with its bizarre lifestyle. The media covered his memorial service from blast-off to re-entry. You'd think we were burying the assassinated John Kennedy at a pop concert.
It has been a while since I wrote to connect with you, my brothers and sisters of the CORPUS Inclusive Ministry Community.
I am at my computer this Holy Thursday evening hoping to enroll you into a vision of possibility that many of you, despite having much on your plate and perhaps being even a little more grey around the temples than you’d like, could consider embracing.
It has been some time since I spoke with a number of you about your interest in the Ministry of Compassion … Interfaith Volunteer Chaplains program. As envisioned, the ministry will provide collaborative / adjunct support to regular military and Veterans Administration chaplains in pastoral service to military members, veterans, and their families.
Readers of CORPUS Reports over the past year are familiar with a vision I've shared of an interfaith volunteer ministry group willing to collaborate on enhancing the lives of military members and their families under the banner Ministry of Compassion.
The website of David Casey and Doug Tooke, who have been doing the traveling piece of youth ministry for a number of years with an immense amount of success. They write new material for all of their events as well as introduce successfully proven methods of the past.
After breakfast the phone rang. It was my wife Marie. She had left earlier for a meeting, but after her meeting had a fender bender. No one was injured, but understandably unnerved she was waiting for the police. She had promised Susan my daughter in law to baby-sit three of our grandchildren so she could teach her college class. It was late. Would I alert Susan and go to Silver Creek and baby-sit? I said, No problem, not to worry. Glad she wasnt hurt. Id take care of it. Little did I know what was ahead.
Ten O’clock at night. I hobble to my bed nursing a sore ankle from a tennis injury. Oh! Finally getting in bed never felt so good. Then, I hear the sound of Penny, my basset hound at her water dish. Her collar rattles the metal container, letting me know that she is out of water. I groan. “No, I don’t want to get up again. Penny, can’t you suck it up for a night without water?” No response except another rattle of the water dish.
But there's something different, too. I told you about my history. Then there's his. He's a Catholic priest. Yes, out for several years, formally laicized—"reduced"—as official church lingo puts it—to the "lay state."
National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved
Called by the healing ministry of Jesus, the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved is committed to serve all people who have experienced the death of a loved one. Our holistic care is dedicated to the spiritual support of individuals, parishes, and communities.
NCR's vision of the Church is that "of a compassionate and inclusive Catholicism, a church in which the People of God gather to pray and work to build a more just and peaceful world."
Statistics (a list showing how many priests have been asked to leave each diocese), a discussion board in which viewers can participate, and other information about the Catholic priesthood.
NEW Author and lecturer Matthew Fox, speaking at a Boston conference July 19-20, gave his personal blessing to chaos, calling it a necessary prelude to new birth.
Many years ago, my neighbors owned a basset hound with the unlikely name of Courtney. She was a wag-the-tail, people-friendly old pooch who seemed most content hanging out with kids and lying on her back getting her ample belly rubbed. With her distinctive physique (we never quite knew if she was sitting down or not) she was the kind of dog that made you smile just looking at her.
By Mary Grace Crowley-Koch Mary Grace served as a Region Two Coordinator for CORPUS. She is a hospice chaplain and active in the marriage ministry with her husband Ron in the greater Chicago area.
Believe it or not this column started out to be on laughter, about its therapeutic effect for our bodies and souls and the need for more of it in our lives. I was reading Norman Counsins’ book, “Anatomy of an Illness” in which laughter was one of the strategies he and his doctor used. They actually watched Marx Brother movies and recorded a significant increase in pain-free sleep and lower blood sedimentation rates and determined that laughter was beneficial in treating his diseased adrenal system.
Nicholas J. Carroll, a former civil rights specialist with the U.S. Department of Education whose life was defined by fighting for social justice, died July 30 of a heart attack at his Crofton home. He was 87
Wiesbaden, 31 August, 2004 -- Women and men representing ten countries in the North Atlantic Federation for a Renewed Catholic Priesthood, in Wiesbaden, Germany, gathered to discuss the theme: "Power and Sex in a Renewed Church".
This column is about President Barack Obama, but I want to start by talking about all of us. The psychological cliché, “Our strengths are our weakness” is true for everyone. Our personality traits are a continuum running from one extreme to the opposite extreme. If we are passionately committed to gardening, for example, then we will grow extremely impatient when a fungus rots the tomatoes. The passion and impatience are the extremes of the same personality trait; they are two sides of the coin.
Standing in front of me at Church last Sunday is an older man flanked by his two grown-up daughters. Each woman has her arm linked with dad. They remain close like that during the whole service. Occasionally, I notice, the young women giving the first love in their life a light squeeze.
CORPUS (The National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood) is appalled by a recent Vatican announcement that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would treat any “attempted ordination of a woman” as a serious crime against the church. In fact, such an ‘attempted’ ordination would be classified by the church hierarchy as the same category of offense as sexual abuse.
One night in 1952, a German boy of 19, in the throes of a youthful romance, became overwhelmed with the certainty that God wanted him as a priest. In the following days he felt he could not pray “Thy will be done” if he refused the call.
On a spring day in 1944,two seminarians chatted about ordination to the diaconate with its commitment to celibacy, scheduled for the following morning in the seminary chapel. I remarked, "For heaven's sake, John, if you can take the step, I certainly can. John's response was unnerving: "Well, Harry, I have news for you. I won't be here tomorrow. I'm out of here." I was the one who stayed, however much I questioned the rule of celibacy. I felt called to priestly ministry and trusted, perhaps naively, in the assurances of church authorities that celibacy enhanced one's spiritual life and ministry.
NORTH BABYLON, N.Y. -- Sleet was still coating the roads of central Long
Island as the cars pulled into the parking lot outside a drab suburban high
school and several hundred middle-aged Catholics filed into the auditorium
to vent their frustration with the leadership of their church.
CORPUS is supporting a special Open Letter to US Bishops about the impending priest shortage crisis in the US. A number of priest organizations and national church renewal/reform groups are also joining this effort.
Studies show that half of the 19,302 active diocesan priests plan to retire by 2019. We are ordaining about 380 new diocesan priests each year. In just eight years, we will have only 13,500 active diocesan priests to serve our 18,000 parishes, presuming ordinations remain constant, as they have for over a decade. (2008 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate study)
To sign onto the open letter, download paper copies to circulate, download a free organizing kit or circulate to family and friends
The open letter will be published in one or several national Catholic publications in 2011 and 2012. Every effort will be made to contact individual US Bishops and officials at the US Bishops’ conference.
Only your name and diocese will be included in the online listing. (it is ok to sign anonymously if you wish)
We hope you will join CORPUS in supporting this important effort.
Sincerely yours,
Celebrating 20 Years!
Of Loving the Church...And Working to Make it Better
The members of CORPUS, a National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood, join with you in responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s call to observe the Year for Priests in our Church and each of us in our own ways are doing that.
Karl Marx, the father of Communism wrote volumes of philosophy. The line, however, for which he is most famous is: “Religion is the opium of the people.” In 1843 when Marx made this comparison to religion, opium was a popular medicinal and recreational drug used both to relieve pain and escape reality -- much as cocaine is today. Some have misinterpreted Marx’s famous statement by implying that the bourgeois ruling classes deliberately used religion as a tool to quiet and control the workers. Marx’s meaning, however, was more complicated and nuanced.
COLORADO Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Community Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Community in Longmont, Colorado is seeking a Lay Pastoral Associate. This is a part-time salaried position with a three year old community that is a member of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Light of Christ has over 250 members, is financially sound and shares space and occasional worship services with a Lutheran Church.
For further information, please visit our website: www.LightofChristECC.org. or contact LOC Church Office at 303-772-3785.
SAN DIEGO Dignity, San Diego
We are currently looking for priest(s) willing to assist us in our masses.
Contact: Bridget Wilson
NEW JERSEY Center for Hope Hospice & Palliative Care 1900 Raritan Road
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
Needed: Priests who would be open to some chaplain work, especially to be called upon to celebrate the sacrament of the sick with patients at home or patients who are residents at Father Hudson House in Elizabeth, NJ.
Virginia
Seeking volunteer clergy to assist in Chaplain's Office at large, mental hospital. Eastern State Hospital is the oldest mental hospital in U.S. located in Williamsburg, Va. Help needed for pastoral visits with patients, support to staff, Bible Study, lead in devotions and some sacramental activities. Will try to match interests with hospital needs.
Contact person:
Chaplain George F. Spellman, 757-253-5308
Take the test. U.S. Catholic is exploring the idea that was proposed by an African bishop of ordaining elders in the community for Eucharist. Information will be used in an upcoming article.
As the white smoke drifted away and the church bells grew silent, questions already formed in the minds and on the lips of Catholics around the globe. What type of papacy might be expected from Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who for the last twenty-four years had earned a well-deserved reputation as the hard-line enforcer of church dogma and discipline?
My wife of 43 years died in January of 2005 after a long illness. During the many months preceding her death, I had diligently saved on my computer disk all of the wonderful Mirabile Dictu issues that David Gawlik produces-planning to read them when I got the time.
Recently a fifteen-year-old girl was savagely beaten and raped on a schoolyard in Northern California while twenty schoolmates watched. A few of the boys participated in the violence but most were passive spectators, too scared to confront the perpetrators.
"We need to understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Recently, I discovered an author I had never read before, a Brazilian writer by the name of Paolo Coelho. In a thin little volume called "The Alchemist" Coelho spoke to me of life, of God and the human search for meaning as few men ever have. I'd like to share with you a smidgeon of his wisdom. Maybe his words will speak to you, too.
In some ironic ways, the priest pedophilia scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, which the Boston Globe revealed (and for which it won a Pulitzer Prize) did something positive for all our institutions by disclosing the sexual abuse in them.
Just got word today that my oldest brother, Joe, was admitted to Mercy Hospital in
Buffalo, N.Y, in critical condition, apparently a relapse after a gall bladder operation. I was trying to absorb this troubling news when in pops Danny. Seeing my face, Danny said “What’s the matter Grandpa Hank. Are you sick?” “No,” I answered. “I just found out my brother is very sick.” “I’m sorry,” the little guy answered. “Is he gonna die?” “I hope not Danny but, tell me something, do you ever pray?” “Yes, sometimes,” he answered shyly. “Would you do me a favor and say a prayer for my brother?” “You mean NOW?” he asked.. “If you want to,” I said, not really expecting such immediate action.
Kids who come to Children’s Village are sent from the court because they have been abused or neglected by their parents. Almost from the beginning, I wondered what kind of parents would abuse their children. My first inclination was to look upon them as people I’d just as soon avoid.
NEW Part II of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey explores Americans' religious beliefs and practices as well as their social and political views. The survey finds that most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to their faith; for example, most do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. The survey also finds that religion is closely linked to political ideology.
NEW Here’s a great paradox. The three things that have most helped the human race in its quest for God are the self same things that are its greatest obstacles.
Frederick Buechner once wrote that “Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears. It is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you the secret of who you are, but more often than not of the mystery of where you have come from and are summoning you to where you should go next.”
A few weeks ago I participated in a peace walk and rededication of the peace pole on campus of the local university. A peace pole is a handcrafted monument carrying the multi-language message and prayer: “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles on every continent in different countries around the world. They link the human family with one another and are reminders to work and pray for peace
CORPUS Pension Advocacy has been a strong voice for fairness and justice for the pensions of married priests. Follow the link for detailed information.
From the Tablet: We need to remember, as we celebrate Pentecost, that progress in the Spirit is by fits and starts. The gift of the Holy Spirit is something we need to get used to, and the Holy Spirit needs to get used to us.
View the photos from the CTA Pre-Conference, Bridging the Gap, sponsored by the National Catholic Ministerial Alliance at the National CTA Conference in Milwaukee.
A petition for the reform of the Catholic Church, based on the Declaration of Independence, is asking for reform-minded Catholics to sign. Please take a moment and read.
Sr. Chris Schenk and other leaders from FutureChurch are travelling to Rome March 11-23 for a pilgrimage to archaeological sites of women leaders in the early Church. They hope to meet with Vatican officials and deliver the current list of all who have signed online or paper postcards for optional celibacy and women deacons.So far there are nearly 20,000 signers.
Will you help increase that number to 25,000 between now and March 15?
We are also happy to report that in 2012, as a direct result of the Open Letter, over 400 Catholics sought meetings with Bishops in 42 U.S. dioceses at the time of their ad limina visits to Rome. The purpose was to discuss optional celibacy and women deacons. Here are links to a comprehensive report of meeting outcomes and letter responses as well as a media release.
A few weeks ago David Shuster of MSNBC made an outrageously offensive comment about Chelsea Clinton. After an on-air apology, MSNBC suspended him. Shuster had said that the Clintons had “pimped out” Chelsea by having her telephone celebrities and super delegates on behalf of her mother’s campaign. Certainly Shuster’s comment was shamefully inappropriate, but it reminded me of President Ronald Reagan who once said with only half tongue in cheek, "Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
Popular columnist ends 10-year run
Publisher's Notebook
At that time, our religion page was running weekly columns from area pastors. His submission during my first week at this newspaper was headlined "Why 2K?" The premise of the column was that while Christians were celebrating the start of a new millenium, other religions around the world were not.
"By the Hebrew calendar it is not their millenium, rather the year 5760," O'Rourke wrote. "For Islam it's the year 1470. For the Ethiopians it's 1994."
Since that commentary, O'Rourke has written nearly 300 columns on a twice-monthly basis for the OBSERVER. Unfortunately, however, his run has ended.
In a phone message this week, O'Rourke told me he was ending his "From the other side" column, which has regularly appeared for the last 10 years in the OBSERVER on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
Many readers have been able to treasure his columns over the years. The Cassadaga resident has compiled almost all of his submissions into two books, "The Spirit at Your Back," published in 2007 and "The Living Spirit," which was published in 2011. He also maintains a web site, www.danielcorourke.com that includes his most recent submissions.
"My efforts as a columnist these past half dozen years have brought affirmation and encouragement, public criticism and anonymous hate mail," O'Rourke wrote in his first book. "The criticisms did not surprise me. After all if write about hot-button topics like homosexual clergy or war in Iraq, there will be lost of people vehemently voicing their differences. I lost some friends on these issues, but gained many more."
And all of those friends will miss his continued contributions.
On October 4 the Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran calendars commemorate Saint Francis of Assisi. Such recognition is fitting. Protestants recognize him as a church reformer long before Luther and Calvin. Catholics see him as a loyal son of the medieval church. With his Canticle to the Sun, Mother Earth, Sister Water and Brother Wind, environmentalists claim him as their own. His famous visit to Sultan Malik al-Kamil in Egypt has endeared him to ecumenists as a bridge to Islam. (Pope Benedict would do well to follow his inter-faith example.) We cannot cavalierly dismiss Francis as the stereotyped saint of birdbaths. G. K. Chesterton called him “the only true Christian who every lived.”
I just finished watching a DVD of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” More than anything on the holocaust I’ve seen or read, that movie gave it a human face. It also helped me recall the story about a group of Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz who met secretly at night in their dormitory. This particular night they met to put God on trial. They argued that if God were really all-powerful and loving, they would never be suffering the chilling evils of slave labor, starvation, gas chambers and genocide.
Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism. In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. Collaborative Mininsties offers resources here to assist our entry into this wonderful season, from our preparing to begin Lent to our preparing to celebrate the holy three days following Lent.
She is a large Latina woman but still manages to get down on both knees to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in its glittering gold monstrance. Her grand daughter, a little tyke of about three years old, goes down on her knees with grandma. The old woman makes her way to the front of the chapel and, arms outstretched, prostrates herself before the altar. The little girl does the same.
“Guns, Gays and God” are hot button issues again. They are the preferred distraction of the political right. For the common good you’d think today they’d be rallying instead for peace, energy diversity, health care and sanity in the stock market, but they prefer simplistic slogans about “values.”
CORPUS THANKS GAY PRIESTS FOR THEIR MINISTRIES December 14, 2005
CORPUS, the National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood (www.corpus.org), wants to take this opportunity to say thank-you to the multitude of gay priests in the United States, and throughout the world, for their generous ministries they continue to share within their Roman Catholic faith communities.
Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events.
NEW Priesthood serves the People of God by bringing healing and hope through sacramental celebration and pastoral care. It is God’s People who must discern their leaders and it is the bishops of the Church who are called to validate this in the normal course of events.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Church has been blessed by leaders, who have had great vision and courage, and who thus were able to transform the world. But She has also been led and influenced by human beings who have the same makeup and all the faults of other human beings, and throughout the centuries some of these have led to major catastrophe.
Priests for Equality is a movement of women and men throughout the world - laity, religious and clergy - who work for the full participation of women and men in church and society.
From Religion and Ethics Online: There are ceremonies and gatherings all over the country this month and next remembering the late Trappist monk Thomas Merton on the 40th anniversary of his untimely death. Through his prolific writing, Merton opened the door to spirituality for generations of believers, as Judy Valente reports.
Some years ago Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York pontificated that God should be more prominent at the United Nations. Most likely he envisioned that the UN should open its meetings with prayer and that someone should invoke the name of God. He imagined chaplains, politically appointed and rotating among the world’s religions, daily intoning a simultaneously translated prayer to a generic almighty invoking his blessings on the UN’s agenda.
I picked up an old movie poster of the film Casablanca at a flea market last week for one dollar. Such a deal! Placed strategically over the toilet in my bathroom, I can be a multi-tasker, viewing the rugged face of Humphrey Bogart and the beautiful Ingrid Bergman as I go about my business. Other names and faces from this classic flick captured my interest. There’s Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. I shake the cobwebs from my memory. Haven’t heard those names for a while but, my gosh, weren’t they great?
The goal of the group "RC Womenpriests" (Roman Catholic Womenpriests) is to bring about the full equality of women in the Roman Catholic Church. At the same time we are striving for a new model of Priestly Ministry.
I've had good cause to be grateful for the friends who have been part of my life. The boyhood pals who made me part of the gang even though I was a fat kid, my seminary friends who shared my dreams, the Japanese teachers who helped me learn a difficult language, the Afro-American parishioners who accepted their honky priest as one of their own, senior center folks who have remained loyal friends through the years.
Fr. Thomas Doyle, who worked for the pope?s representative in the United States in the early 1980s, was one of three drafters of a report given to the United States bishops in June 1985. That report was largely ignored (NCR, May 17). Since then, Doyle has been an outspoken critic of the bishops in their handling of the sex abuse crisis.
I had the honor recently to be one of the judges for a writing contest for kids 13-18 sponsored locally by the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Commission. The kids eligible for the contest were not high achievers. They sent in their essays of 500 words or less from places like Juvenile Hall, the Probation Camp, Sierra Youth Center, Hanna Boys Center, and several group homes. These were troubled kids, “wards of the court,” sent to institutions because their parents were unwilling or unable to take care of them.
November is a special time to remember our brothers and sisters who have labored in the vineyard and have gone to the Lord in 2010-2011. Also remember all who have worked for an inclusive priesthood in their lifetime and now are at rest with Lord. Please hold them in your hearts and prayers.
We would like to compile the most comprehensive listing possible. We need your help. If you know of any deceased married priest who has not been included on our web site, please forward the following information , brief bio/ obituary (residence city/state, ordination year/diocese/community, marriage/union/family info, employment/ministry, date of death). Pictures or an eulogy would be greatly appreciated to enhance the "memory". During the month of November, please take the time to send along any material to us to include on the site
Thank you. Stu O'Brien
Send to: Stuart O'Brien
114 Sunset Drive
Raynham, MA 02767
Fax: 508.822.6710 sobrien@corpus.org
The focus of this list is to reflect on how we as individuals are renewing our church as we live out our faith traditions(in particular, those dealing with peace and social justice issues) in our lives, in our families and in our work, as well as in the larger community and the world.
The way consciousness evolves and develops is most fascinating. It does so, often subtly, in a manner that we are hardly aware of until the process is complete.
So it was at the 2008 Congress in Vienna. This was the tenth Congress of the International Federation of organizations seeking reform and renewal in priesthood and ministry. During that time, the Federation has had three names and has celebrated Eucharist in very different ways. A look at these titles and celebrations reveals astonishing changes in consciousness.
My granddaughter, a passionate Harry Potter fan, spotted a “Republicans for Voldemort” bumper sticker in parking lot. Her parents more prudent than grandpa were definitely not interested, but I found it at stampandshout.com, a liberal button and sticker website. My granddaughter literally jumped with joy when she saw it on my Prius. I suspected she’d be delighted, but I did not foresee the reactions of others. I’ve been chuckling for weeks.
Current Vatican officials have used a very narrow interpretation for the “pastoral emergencies” when a resigned or dispensed priest may appropriately respond using his sacramental powers, but the fact that they continue is accepted by all. - by Patrick Callahan.
In this thought-provoking essay Michael Morwood raises questions that will be challenging to both traditionalist theologians and progressive theologians who have been searching for a better interpretation of the meaning of Jesus since the time of Teilhard de Chardin when the insights of modern science began to pose serious challenges to our theologies. This is a thought-provoking essay likely to be dismissed outright by the traditionalists and the fundamentalists but has the potential to encourage much reflection amongst those, following the likes of Teilhard de Chardin, who have been attempting to reinterpret Jesus as the "Cosmic Christ" as a way of enabling our traditional understandings of Christ to better fit with what we're learning about our universe from the sciences and modern scholarship.
A formation process in Spirituality and Nonviolent Direct Action to bring about justice in the Catholic Church and to demonstrate concern for human rights both inside the church and out.
Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) is an international initiative within the Roman Catholic Church. The mission of Roman Catholic Womenpriests North America is to spiritually prepare, ordain, and support women and men from all states of life, who are theologically qualified, who are committed to an inclusive model of Church, and who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to minister within the Roman Catholic Church.
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stocking were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
Clement Clarke Moore first published this Christmas classic in 1822. Some say Major Henry Livingston originally wrote the poem in 1807, but no matter. Who was this Saint Nicholas of whom Moore and perhaps Livingston wrote?
The execution of the medical aid workers in Afghanistan shocked the world. Six Americans, one German, two Afghans and a British citizen were ambushed, shot and robbed on August 5 in northern Afghanistan. They had been traveling from village to village in that remote part of the country to provide medical care. Tom Little, an eye doctor originally from Delmar, New York had spent forty year in Afghanistan treating diseases of the eye. He was sixty-one and a grandfather. Thomas Grams, 51, gave up a Colorado dentist practice to make dental health available to impoverished Afghan children. Forty-year-old Glen Lapp from Lancaster, Pennsylvania was a nurse. Previously, Lapp had worked with the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Every serious issue within the Catholic Church has two sides. San Francisco Bay Catholic attempts to provide arguments on both sides of the important Issues facing Roman Catholicism today. We bring you Catholic articles - by Catholics.
My Dad often referred to God as “the man upstairs.” He used the term reverently; with due respect for the Deity and at the same time an acknowledgment that God is eminently approachable. God, to my Dad and a whole generation of Christians, was perceived as all-powerful, the ultimate judge and decision maker.
Have I lost my faith? Sometimes I think I have. The faith that I now profess is most assuredly not the faith of my boyhood. That faith was all about novenas and scapulars and Father Stedman’s Sunday Missal in Latin and in English. It was centered on “making” the nine First Fridays and the five first Saturdays, on Fr. Peyton’s family rosary and the stations of the cross, and giving up candy during lent.
What We Believe is Who We Become
There are some who will always need in some way to touch the wounds of the Risen Christ in order to come to faith. They will demand some physical proof. Others will become aware of His presence and power in ways that transcend the senses..
We certainly have evolved since the founders of CORPUS banded together for mutual support, encouragement, and witness in the early 1970's. Russ Ditzel provides a glimpse of Corpus' vision and goals for the months ahead.
Practicing Eternity
In the continuing miracle that we celebrate in the Eucharist, Jesus is teaching us how to practice eternity, giving us the nourishment we need to yield inwardly for the sake of God and neighbor, and just for a moment, giving us the vision and experience in the present of what our eternity can be...
This column is about sexuality as the primal energy, the primitive power that, for better or worse, nourishes and motivates our actions, but first let’s take a careful look at relationships themselves.
Last week David Letterman, CBS’s longtime late night comic in a misleading routine “confessed” to having had sexual relations with some of his staff. Until the very end of this carefully worded “confession” the audience thought it a joke. It wasn’t. Letterman admitted his sexual dalliances only because Robert “Joe” Halderman, a colleague at CBS had blackmailed him. Halderman has pleaded not guilty to first-degree grand larceny and is free on bail. What impact this will have on Letterman’s job, however, is a huge question. CBS claims that no one has brought sexual harassment charges against Letterman, who was a confirmed bachelor before his marriage last March to his long-time girl friend, the mother of his six-year-old son
What If We Just Said Wait?
The case for a grassroots review of the new Roman Missal
The Roman Missal in the News On Friday, August 20, Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced that the final text of the new Roman Missal had been received from Rome, and that November 27, 2011—the First Sunday of Advent—has been set for the implementation of the new Missal in the United States.
This is disappointing news. More than 21,400 people—lay women and men, priests, deacons, and religious—from more than 60 countries signed on to What If We Just Said Wait, asking our bishops to wait until the texts could be tested and evaluated before being generally implemented. A packet containing the complete list of names of the signers, as well as thousands of their comments, was sent to the bishops of the English-speaking world. Nevertheless, the implementation is being pushed through as scheduled.
No Way to Run a Railroad But the story doesn't end there. Inside sources tell us that even after Pope Benedict XVI gave his approbation to the new texts, more than ten thousand changes were made to the "final" draft. These changes were made without consulation with our bishops or even with ICEL. According to some who have seen them, the changes are arbitrary and do nothing to improve the quality of this already greatly compromised text.
During the months to come, as the so-called "catechesis" unfolds, keep in mind what we are being promised with these new translations. The new Missal will, we are told, "foster a deeper awareness and appreciation of the mysteries being celebrated in the Liturgy” (USCCB). The process of implementation will be "a joyful time, preparing us to sing a joyful song to the Lord, together as his people" (Cardinal George). We need to hold the leaders of our Church to these promises and if they are not realized, we must continue to make our voices heard.
To help make this happen, the What If We Just Said Wait website will remain open. In the months to come, we will provide a place for you to record your own reactions and experiences as the new texts are introduced. The information we collect will be shared with our bishops.
Thank you for your continued faithful witness. Remember that we are the Church and it is our prayer that is at stake!
P.S. TAKE HEART! In Germany, the priests and people reacted so strongly and so negatively to the newly translated funeral texts mandated by the Vatican that within a few months, the texts were withdrawn, and the bishops told the Vatican Congregation, “the new ritual must be considered a failure” (!). They have now returned to the translation developed in the years following the Second Vatican Council. It seems inevitable that our priests and people will react similarly when they experience the new English translation of the Roman Missal, and there is even more at stake here! If we are looking for a sign of hope for Advent of 2011 when the new Missal is introduced, this may well be it.
P.P.S. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE “What If” signers might appreciate these FAQs: The New English Missal Translation, courtesy www.PrayTellBlog.com.
A special thank you to the signers whose generous donations are enabling us to keep What If We Just Said Wait online.
HELP On March 12, 2009, Ruth Kolpack was fired from her position as Pastoral Associate at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Beloit, Wisconsin. She had served the parish for the past 35 years.
The decision to fire Ruth, effective immediately, came after a ten minute meeting with Bishop Robert Morlino of the Catholic Diocese of Madison.
During this meeting, Ruth was asked to denounce her master's thesis, titled, "Inclusive Language for Naming God: A Challenge for the Church," in order to keep her job; she was given no opportunity to defend her work, nor explain why it would be dishonest for her to conform to the Bishop's request.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS INJUSTICE IN THE CORPUS FORUM.
So, I’m walking along Sonoma Ave in my hometown, toting a cloth bag with a few books I’m donating to the library. I’m dressed in my sunny California uniform, shorts, t-shirt and a battered Oakland A’s baseball cap.
Membership: About 50, representing a wide variety of ages and backgrounds.
Location: Vista is 35 miles from San Diego. Community members are parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Church. Organization: Very informal. Members regard liturgy in its literal sense as "a common work" and take turns handling the details. The group sponsors an orphanage in Sri Lanka, and most members are active at St. Francis in the soup kitchen, the Cursillo, RCIA counseling.
Recognizing that small groups take many forms and serve many purposes, this link offers different resources for small groups, including accountabilty groups, study groups, intercessory prayer groups, and devotional materials for small groups.
"On April 20, the unprecedented assault on crime victims, on those who help crime victims, and on our self-help group moves forward. That's when church defense lawyers will again urge a judge to order us to turn over thousands of pages of confidential communications - from victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors, journalists and concerned parishioners. They will also claim that our director David Clohessy must face another deposition.
Some Thoughts About Holy Week
Each year the Church invites us to bring the heart-aches of our lives, our own personal broken dreams and moments of sorrow and pain to the Risen Christ. We relive the final days of the Savior in order to reinforce our conviction that resurrection always follows death, that victory always crowns our failures.
Omigosh! I stepped on by bathroom scale this morning and, to my dismay, weighed in at 200 lbs. Good grief Charlie Brown. That’s more than 40 lbs over what I weighed in college. So what did I do? I went to the fridge. and started to cut up some celery and carrots for future snacks. Be gone potato chips and ice cream. It’s time to reform.
...while 256 Roman Catholic bishops from 118 countries prepared to assemble in Rome this week for a synod on the Eucharist, Corpus, an organization of married priests that has long supported the notion of a married priesthood (it was formally named the Corps of Reserve Priests United for Service), initiated a program that could certainly enliven the discussion. Maybe even start a revolution of its own.
My dad was a “do it now” kind of guy. He was fond of quoting the German poet, Goethe. Whenever one of us kids would be late with homework or be guilty of putting off a household task, dad would fix us with those dark brown eyes and in his deepest voice, would impale us with the words of Goethe.
We have to have a culturally healthy narrative for sexuality that goes beyond sin and disease because if you don’t have a narrative for sexuality you wind up being either an abuser or being abused...
Begin your journey with SoulfulLiving.com! Let our online magazine, devoted to personal and spiritual growth, help guide you along your path. Together as a community, we will experience the fullness of life, grow personally and spiritually, and discover the unfoldment of joy, inner peace and soulful connection.
After more than 50 years of life in a monastery, Sister Joan Chittister asked herself some questions. What — if anything — of monastic life is worth passing on to others in our time? What does monasticism offer seekers who are already overwhelmed by all the spiritual and secular options available to them? And how can those outside traditional monasteries embrace this life that is both enriching and enlightening?
Responses to the CDF document by Joan Chittister, Augustine De Noia, Avery Dulles, Hans Kung, Nicholas Lash, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Robert McClory, Rosemary Ruether, Francis A. Sullivan.
In our search to find purpose and meaning we go through different stages in our lives. Most people navigate this on-going search through religion, but religion does not have to be involved. All of us, religious and non-religious, seek meaning and purpose -- and this seeking evolves as we age.
I’ve been thinking about those storage facilities that are sprouting up all over the county. You know the kind where you rent a good-size shed to store your belongings. For some in transition between stable residences, they provide a needed service. But more and more of them are becoming a quasi-permanent storage space to collect the overflow from our closets, garages and attics. All our excess possessions can now be stashed away-- indefinitely.
The suicide of fourteen-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, a gay or bi-sexual middle school student has been in the news recently – both in Buffalo and nationally. Jamey was the victim of relentless on-line bulling. Bulling and in particular bullying of young gays and lesbians are major problems, which our schools and society are finally beginning to address. I don’t want to minimize bulling, but suicide is a much broader problem.
Here are some eye-opening statistics on suicide. Experts tell us that in the United States someone dies from suicide every 16 minutes. That’s about 90 every day, over 33,000 every year. Do the math yourself. For my local readers that’s more than the combined populations of the City of Dunkirk and Village of Fredonia -- including the entire student body of the local campus of the State University of New York. Suicide is a massive problem.
PLEASE You can show your support for the U.S. women religious and all that they have done for the Catholic Church in America by signing this ad that will appear in the National Catholic Reporter.
Please support the American women religious during this difficult time of the Vatican investigation. You will find many articles dealing with this investigation in the CORPUS FORUM.
Confronting Papal Power and the Religious Right by Joanna Manning Joanna Manning introduces readers to the growing polarization within Christianity and its relationship with the modern world. She warns against the ongoing retreat into fundamentalism and exclusivity and points the way toward inclusivity and compassion.
It has been attributed to Buddhist gurus and their emphasis on mindful speaking, but no matter what pulpits preach it, it makes great sense. What is that distilled wisdom? We should ask ourselves questions before we speak. Is what I’m about to say kind? Is it necessary? Is it true? Does it improve the silence?
- by Paul Wilkes Individual conversion, systemic change for laypeople and the hierarchy Paul Wilkes is the author of "The Seven Secrets of Successful Catholics" and many other books on religious belief and spirituality.
Most of us lead busy, hectic lives, but we still care deeply about helping others. In only a few minutes of a single day, you can make a difference in the world. Here are some practical suggestions from Karen Jones, founder of the organization Benevolent Planet, that are easy to fit into your day.
A Latina mom comes into the meditation chapel with her little girl. The girl, who looks to be about ten-years-old, kneels with her mother. Mom brings out a prayer book and mother and daughter kneel close together reading from the same book.
This Thanksgiving Day column begins with an extended and adapted selection from Melannie Svoboda about putting away the groceries. It’s from her book, “Everyday Epiphanies: Seeing the Sacred in Every Thing.” Svoboda tells us that there are essentially two attitudes toward coming home after food shopping.
We tend to celebrate our holidays with special meals. More than most holidays, however, we celebrate Thanksgiving with distinctive food. Most American families will gather this holiday not only to break bread but also to carve turkey.
These statistics from an anonymous source jumped right off my computer screen the other day and have stayed in my consciousness ever since. The statistics have much to say to us on this Thanksgiving holiday.
In October 2003, our own Anthony Padovano addressed the Call To Action convention in Milwaukee. His excellent thoughts, now titled "The American Catholic Church," were carried in the November-December issue CORPUS REPORTS of that year. For those of you without easy access to that article, I will summarize his thoughts and suggest where we go from here, the changes that must AGAIN occur in our Church if the current ugly impasse is to be broken.
There has been a lot of print, talk and footage recently about atheism. Books such as Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” and Jonathan Miller’s public television series “A Brief History of Disbelief” are just the tip of the iceberg. The subject is clearly in the public forum. The arguments supporting atheism, however, as Terry Eagleton in the “London Review of Books” and Peter Steinfels in the “International Herald Tribune” have pointedly noted are not as logical as one would expect. The arguments wander down all kinds of alleys, which have little to do with God’s existence or nature.
On December 31st last year, I turned eighty-years-old. Back in 1931 when taxes were lower and not a raging national issue; I was a tax exemption for my parents.
I was born with the blue baby syndrome and they feared I was going to die. The birth was in a Catholic hospital, but the attending doctor Vivian Edwards was a third degree Mason and a Presbyterian elder. He baptized me then and there. Marge Kelly the obstetrics nurse told him, “Doctor, Bishop O’Reilly (the local bishop) could not have done it any better!”
All over the world colonies of bees are dying. Hives of honeybees are collapsing not only in the United States, but also in Brazil, Canada and parts of Europe. The United States Department of Agriculture is working feverishly to determine the cause. Congress has held hearings on these disappearing beehives.
These early experiences of violence in the home had left Eddie bowed down by life. He had become old for his years. The anger he felt at being rejected by his parents occasionally exploded into acts of violence but mostly it stayed within. The sadness never left his face.
- by Donald B. Cozzens
The Changing Face of the Priesthood is a remarkable survey of the state of American Catholic clergy today. Donald Cozzens, the president-rector of Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland, combines personal reflection and analysis of empirical data in this brief but wide-ranging book.
Transcript of the March 31, 2002 "Meet the Press" with guests: Ray Flynn, former U.S. Ambassador to Vatican; Father Richard McBrien, Univ. of Notre Dame; Father John McCloskey, Catholic Information Center; Father Donald Cozzens, former Vicar of Priests, Cleveland, OH; Father Thomas DOyle, former canon lawyer.
From Richard Scaine, John XXIII Community: The recent past has dwarfed our understanding of the post-Easter Christ by confining his Spirit to the Sacraments as signs instituted by Christ to give grace, or to one’s heart where he dwells as a personal house-guest. A new story of the Easter mystery is developing in the new millennium.
This column will see the dark of print and the light of day on Earth Day itself. Earth Day’s purpose is to increase awareness and appreciation of our environment. I hope this column will do that -- and I hope it will do much more.
It’s an unlikely jump from the garish Bada Bing Go-go Bar in Newark, New Jersey to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the foggy forests of England, but Harry Potter and Tony Soprano have something in common.
The media has recently exposed many negatives about politicians. I plead guilty. I’ve written my share of critical copy. This column, however, will praise a politician fulsomely. Neither am I alone in singing his praise. He has received countless awards from the State of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin, even from the United Nations. President Clinton awarded him the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I write of former Senator Gaylord Nelson, the father of Earth Day.
Humble Beginnings
We approach the new year with high hopes and dreams. Today especially, we pray for all families: small and large families, those coming to grips with sickness or death, those struggling to find employment or a home, dysfunctional families, single-parent families, those torn apart by disharmony or anger. May the faith and trust of Mary and Joseph touch our lives and hearts as we journey t
"The Inquiry wishes to acknowledge its debt to the courageous people who spoke about experiences of abuse. Without exception the witnesses who attended the hearings impressed the Inquiry with their dignity and clarity. Many offered an invaluable insight into the nature and extent of the problem and the lasting trauma it can cause. It would not have been possible to produce this Report without their cooperation and help." Ferns Report, p. 4.
It’s Flag Day and logically enough I’m writing about the flag -– and our country. As we say in the pledge we’ve all recited since grammar school the flag is the symbol of “the republic for which it stands.” Undeniably, it’s the most important symbol of the nation.
Since the close of the Second Vatican Council (1965), a rolling sea change has been in progress with Catholic ministry. This is all the more amazing, given that Vatican II generally favored the ontological divide between clergy and laity, still designating the former for the "sacred" ministries of the Church and assigning the laity to the "secular" work of building up God's reign in the world--with occasional opportunities to participate in volunteer "apostolates." Upon checking the Index of Abbott's Documents of Vatican II, you don't even find the term "ministry," and under "ministers" - previously considered a Protestant term - it says, "see Clergy, Priests."
Seasoned Catholics may remember a hymn that was once quite popular in Church a number of years ago. It was called “O God of Loveliness.” and was often sung at Benediction along with the Latin hymns, “O Salutaris Hostia” and “Tantum Ergo.” Remember? Anyway, “O God of Loveliness” popped into my head the other day and it struck me that “Loveliness” is a word we don’t often use anymore. That’s a loss to our language because the word expresses in a gentle, understated way an aspect of our world, our nature and our very lives that screams for attention.
I’m wheeling my ailing sister-in-law down one of the long corridors of the convalescent hospital. Bringing her back from the cafeteria to her own room, I’m feeling kind of down. Places like this can be depressing. I can’t help thinking that we are somehow failing our parents and grandparents warehousing them like this. Why can’t we take care of them at home? I know, it’s complicated in our modern world. But there has to be a better way, doesn’t there?
T he words joy and hope appear twice in the first three lines of “Gaudium et Spes,” as do the words grief and anguish. The document is one of the last four passed and promulgated on Dec. 7, 1965, by the bishops at the Second Vatican Council. The quoted words were reflections of the mood and content of the debates at the end of the third session, which I attended late in 1964.
Martin Marty
According to the gospel of Mathew (2:16-18), the Holy Innocents were the children Herod the Great massacred in Bethlehem in his attempt to kill the child Jesus. Since the sixth century, the link between the massacre of these innocents and the birth of Christ has been commemorated in catholic liturgies shortly after Christmas -- on December 28.
Fr. Ronald M. Vierling, Webmaster, provides a trusted resource for all those who desire to know the Church's authentic profession of faith. All direct links touching upon Church teaching have been chosen for a thoroughly Catholic perspective.
One minute the little six-year-old girl at our Children’s Village was giving me a hug. Moments later, she gave me a punch in the belly and challenged me to beat her in a race. “Shauna” was acting out, in her own childlike way, the dance of intimacy. She wanted, to be close to someone she could trust. At the same time, she needed distance.
The American Friends recently brought a traveling exhibit to Erie, Pennsylvania on the human cost of the Iraq War. The exhibit displayed one hundred-eleven pairs of military boots in honor of the hundred and eleven Pennsylvania soldiers and marines killed in Iraq. The Quakers do not have a similar exhibit for New York State. Sadly, there are far too many pairs of empty boots to transport and display.
I approach the legacy of John Paul II with mixed feelings. This arises on the one hand from pride in my Polish heritage and on the other hand from pride in my married priesthood. Let me explain.
Once upon a time, millions of years ago, a tiny little bug was born. People called it the love bug because wherever the love bug landed, people would change and become more loving.
From the Tablet: The Mass today is both fundamentally the same yet radically different from the celebrations of our forefathers. In the first of a new series for the Year of the Eucharist, Eamon Duffy examines changes to the liturgy and to ritual, and how these affect the beliefs at the core of Catholic faith .
The Thomas Merton Foundation supports the preservation of Thomas Merton archives, and is dedicated to raising awareness of the spiritual discipline and contemplative practices of Thomas Merton.
Of all the so-called seven deadly sins, Americans are probably least likely to be accused of sloth. This is one failing we are more likely to attach to the stereotype of a Latin sitting in the sun shaded by his big sombrero and putting off real work until tomorrow or maybe next week.
When I was a young man in the seminary, our teachers taught us the old Roman adage, “Age quod agis.” Do what you are doing. The message was fairly obvious: focus, concentrate, stay with the task before you, and direct your intention to what you are doing. Don’t be distracted.
Keeping Watch by Night
In the quiet and promise of Christmas we rediscover the incredible power of God's love. We realize once again that He continues to be present to us, that He is aware of our needs, concerned for our pain and our sorrow. He is as near as our very breath, within us, around us. Christmas is a journey of the heart.
Did you happen to catch the article entitled “Living Alone is the New Norm.” in the March 12, issue of Time Magazine? The article written by Professor Klinenberg, a Professor of Sociology at New York University, is like a peon of praise for living the single life.
Available Here in PDF format Job Marketing Campaign Essentials (Copyrighted Material used with Permission - Licensed to Corpus Members for Personal Use Only)
Remember when you were a little kid and your mom or maybe a nun at school told you that God is EVERYWHERE. I recall being sort of freaked out. You know what I mean? It made me nervous to know that God could see me, even when I was trying to light up one of my dad’s cigs in the bathroom.
The entire world has again endured the Investiture of new cardinals in Rome and the annual Oscar Academy Awards in Hollywood. I must admit there was a time when I had a fleeting interest in these two reoccurring international extravaganzas. Now, however, they seem more like the Roman bread and circuses: superficial diversions and distractions from the real issues confronting the church and world. Think of the worldwide financial meltdown, or Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. Or even matters closer to the Academy and the Roman Church, like plummeting movie attendance and pedophilia.
Have you ever heard of Rocky Twyman and his Pray at the Pump group? Twyman from Rockville, Maryland is a community organizer and a Seventh Day Adventist. He and some of his followers have held group prayer meeting at gasoline stations as far away as San Francisco. Typically, Twyman and a half dozen others join hands around gasoline pumps and pray for lower gas prices.
By telling this riveting story about his own intense struggles to live in accord with his deepest spiritual and emotional needs, Mattimore offers help to Catholics and non-Catholics alike who wrestle daily with their own demons and their own angels.
From Faith at Home: The Great 50 Days of Easter are a wonderful opportunity to explore and celebrate Easter more fully than we can possibly squeeze into a single day. Here are some tips for home activities throughout the Easter season.
Anger is a two-edged sword. Traditionally, it has been diagnosed as a capital sin. There are many who would agree with that diagnosis -- and they are not all theologians. A few examples: in the first century before Christ, the Roman Poet Horace told us, “Anger is a momentary madness so control your passion or it will control you.” Eleven centuries later, the famous American agnostic Robert Ingersoli said, “Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.” Finally, Ambrose Bierce, the American critic and journalist warns, “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” All of that is excellent counsel. It’s worth thinking about long and hard.
I am convinced that there are moments in our lives when the Creator of the Universe makes his presence known by softly breathing his spirit, into a situation in our lives. I felt the breath of God last month when one of our village “alumni” gave me a ticket to attend his graduation from high school. “Bret” had only four tickets allotted to him so I felt honored to be given one of them.
Married priest Gordon J. Hilsman has established this website to celebrate and explore the spiritual benefits of sexual love, . He places a brief sermon on it every week, based on the scripture of the following Sunday, illustrated with sexual loving perspectives. He's doing his bit to fill the hole between individual spirituality and communal spiritual traditions, with a "partnership spirituality" view. He invites comments, substantive ones of which he places on the "readers' contributions" page. Check it out and make suggestions, contributions, critique or add stories of your own.
Forty years after Vatican II finds us with a plethora of books on the priesthood, widespread acknowledgment that there is a crisis in priestly identity today, an undisputable shortage of priests as parishes cluster, pastors serve multiple parishes, and lay ecclesial ministers mind the store in the absence of a resident pastor.
Albert Einstein loved wordplay. He once wrote on a classroom blackboard at Princeton, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
Formerly The Catholic Mobile, this has to be one of the best overall informational sites we have seen in quite a while. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, The Theology Library is a collection of 111 pages with over 4,600 links!
Tales of Two Women
Our Gospel today presents us with a "story-within-a-story." First, there is an encounter between Jesus and a man named Jairus. But before that story concludes, another encounter takes place. The second encounter between Jesus and a nameless woman runs its course. Then finally we return for the conclusion of the story of Jairus. All three of the Synoptic writers give us their version of these encounters, so we should know that something significant is about to be told.
NEW A few weeks ago I heard Rev. Neal Rzepkowski preach at Lily Dale’s Church of the Living Spirit. His talk nourished my soul. I’m still thinking about it. It was a grace. Neal told the scriptural stories of Isaac’s sons Jacob and Esau, and of Jacob’s son Joseph.
Most Americans go to church regularly. That’s almost unique among nations in the developed world. If you’ve traveled in Europe, you know how few people go to church at all. Does that make us somehow holier in God’s eyes? Nah ! I don’t think so. William Sloane Coffin, a minister himself, once said, perhaps a tad cynically, “Many of us Christians who feel so at home in our churches, may in fact, be miles away from God.”
""All of life," said the veteran retreat master, "can be summed up in three words: anticipation, disillusionment and resignation. " He was preaching to young monks. "When you came to the monastery", he said, " you came with the highest ideals. You wondered if you were worthy. You came with stars in your eyes to love and serve, surrounded by saintly brothers -- anticipation."
The God we profess
The Feast of the Holy Trinity - a celebration which not only proclaims our belief in a Triune God, but one which also confirms our response to Christ's command to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded.
Turn the Tide is an innovative program that Americans are using to make a difference for our environment. Turn the Tide offers nine simple actions almost anyone can take and then instantly shows the positive impact of each reported action.
Preparation/Continuation
John the Baptist's ministry was one of preparation; ours is one of continuation. We continue Christ's mission so that the ministry of his church in the future can be more effective. It doesn't matter whether or not we are appreciated. But it does matter that we are faithful to God who called us to salvation. Like John, we cannot be silent. We cannot be afraid of contradiction and ridicule. We cannot be afraid to pay the price for carrying on the prophetic mission of Jesus Christ
Ephphatha
Christ has touched our ears and opened them to hear the Gospel and having heard it, we have received a whole new way of listening and acting. The deaf man, once cured, speaks "plainly" - and so should we speak and act plainly as witnesses to the Gospel - a way of life that we are still in the process of learning.
U.S. Catholic celebrates Catholic tradition, yet embraces the spirit of Vatican II reform and rejuvenation. A very valuable source for contemporary theological and spiritual discussions that help average Catholics understand their faith better.
One cannot understand Karol Wojtyla without an awareness of the Polish experience. It sheds light on the man, and places in perspective his remarkable accomplishments. Let me summarize that experience.
In a Florida supermarket where they sold postage stamps a man in the checkout line requested some. Pulling the stamps from under her tray in the cash register, the clerk said, We only have love stamps. Unexpectedly, in a voice loud enough to startle those around him the man barked. I hate love stamps! He paid his bill and left angrily.
Valentines’ Day will soon be here. The Greeting Card Association tells us that in a typical year its members sell a billion valentines (that’s billion with a “b”!). Only at Christmas do they sell more cards. Cards, however, aren’t the only items bouncing off store shelves to celebrate the 14th of February. Chocolate and flowers are also in great demand. Valentine’s Day is big business.
Welcome to Vatican II—Voice of the Church. The mission of this website is to promote and explain the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) which ...
- by Jack Shea, president of the North Atlantic Federation. "The future of the Church will certainly hinge on the direction of the priestly ministry. An enormous consequence will depend on which route the "Renewed Priesthood" takes."
A pastor friend has been gently suggesting I use this column to write about suicide. He points to the Canadian priest author and columnist, Father Ron Rolheiser, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate considers suicide important enough to write about every year.
Voice of the Faithful focuses on support for clergy sex abuse victims and priests of integrity. It also wishes to make the Church more accountable for its operations and practices.
NEW I’m a volunteer. Even before I retired I volunteered for United Way, the Center for Peace and Justice and the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, but retirement has given me time and leisure to do more. I’ve moved on from United Way and Rural Ministry but I’m still active with the Dunkirk Fredonia CPJ, and volunteer for the Red Cross and the Center for Resolution and Justice. I’m sure some people dismiss me as a do-gooder. I hope I am. I’d rather do good than do nothing -- or do harm.
"Vows: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son" (Free Press, $25) isn't sensational or hostile, but rather a revelatory and nuanced exploration of his parents and their relationship with the Catholic church, which has both blessed and wounded them.
"My parents seem so hurt by the church and yet so committed to it," said Manseau, who himself spent time in a monastery to explore a calling he felt to the priesthood. Both of his parents had to leave the religious life in order to marry, but William Manseau kept up a campaign to be allowed to continue in the role of a priest and for Rome to recognize married priests.
Listen to an interview from NPR: "A Family of Vows: The Son of a Priest and a Nun" - Interview of Peter Manseau by Terry Gross of NPR's Program, "Fresh Air." - October 23, 2005 - chosen by the editors of NPR as one of the 50 most memorable moments of the year 2005.
Steven Levine, author of “A Year To Live,” suggests that we take a day off from living from time to time. He advises us to use our imagination to disconnect ourselves from life and pretend that we have died. We see the world as though it were the day after our funeral. We walk through a world in which we no longer are physically present. Weird? Maybe, but anyone who has seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” or went to a performance of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” can get the idea.
I’m a healer. I’ve taken courses in Reiki and Spiritualist healing. I believe in alternative remedies. It’s not that I distain Western medicine. In seventy-seven years I’ve had more than my share of surgeries and take multiple medications. Modern doctors have helped me greatly, but my spiritual aches and physical pains have been lessened by acupuncture, massage therapy, Reiki and Spiritualist healing -- and I make use of the last two to help others.
We Are Church/USA is a coalition of Catholic groups in the United States united with our sisters and brothers around the world to call for fundamental reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. We seek to build a church that more closely incorporates the values of the gospel.
is a voluntary association of men and women formerly engaged in full-time ministry in the Catholic Church. The primary purpose of WEORC is to provide information and job contacts to others who are making the transition from Church service to new careers. Contains step-by-step and links to job leads contacts
I picked up the book at the bookstore the other day and was astonished at the title “What Are Old People For?” What kind of title is that, I thought to myself. How come they don’t write a book about “What Young People are For?” or What Are Irish Americans For?” Why should old folks be singled out? Aren’t we all in this journey of life together? Are seniors the only group of people who have to justify their existence?
- written by Episcopal priest Richard Bolles originally to support men transitioning from church ministry. Updated annually since 1970, this book is considered a classic resource. More resources are available at Dick's website jobhuntersbible.com
Graduations and retirements are frequent this time of year. Besides the obvious transitions of entering or leaving gainful employment, what do college commencements and retirement parties have in common?
Its the season. Signs beckon as we drive by. They clutter lawns, sidewalks, porches and driveways. In the winter they are more rare. I speak of course of garage sales, barn sales, attic and yard sales, those informal marketplaces of used household stuff.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, when Christmas decorations were already in the stores and Christmas merchandise crowding the shelves, my twelve-year-old granddaughter with a twinkle in her eye asked me, “Grandpa, what if the Christmas wise men were women?”
One of the first things I read in the daily paper is the obituary page. When I do that, I often recall the New Yorker cartoon of an aging man reading obits at breakfast, ticking them off to his wife. “Older than me; younger than me; older than me; younger than me.” The obits are reminders of our own mortality and self-centeredly we old folks read them faithfully.
Many have called the fascinating rescue of the thirty-three Chilean miners a miracle. Some use that word to credit the rescue to God’s direct intervention. “But,” as Eugene Cullen Kennedy wrote in the National Catholic Reporter, “this remarkable and riveting accomplishment is, in fact, a demonstration of human power, machinery and rescue devices that were born not in some divine workshop but in the human imagination.”
We like to think that kids pretty much live in the present. They have adults to worry about them and their future. Their job is just to be kids. Nah! Not true for a lot of kids and definitely not true for kids in foster care. The nagging question in the guts of all of them is “What’s Gonna Happen To Me?”
NEW About seven years ago, a friend introduced me at a church service as “an elder.” The introduction was a compliment. It pointed to my presumed wisdom not my age, but it also jarred me. I was in my late sixties at the time and had never thought of myself that way. Today at seventy-five, I’d no longer be surprised. There’s no doubt now. I’m an elder and think often about this stage in my life.
Conference 2004 Carl Hemmer led a panel discussion on the future of CORPUS at the 30th Anniversary meeting recently in Virginia. Read his presentation.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world where pain and suffering were present on a massive scale prior to the earthquake. Now thousands of people, including ELCA seminary student Ben Larson, lay under the rubble in Port-au-Prince. Watching images on television of the suffering in Haiti is heartbreaking.
Am I the only Catholic totally embarrassed by the recent “coronation” of new bishops into the ranks of cardinals in Rome? The miters on their heads, the flowery red robes, their funny little slippers on their feet, the opulence of the setting made me think of a Cecil B Demille movie about the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1949-50 the political question of the day was “Who lost China?” Mao and the Communists had defeated Chiang Kai-Shek in the Chinese Civil War. Overnight China, an ally in the war against Japan had become a communist enemy. Senator Joseph McCarthy in a finger-pointing crusade blamed communist sympathizer. McCarthy’s demagogic witch-hunts ruined political, academic and journalistic careers and blacklisted many. It was not America’s finest hour.
I may have miscounted along the way, but including the clergy columns before I moved to the editorial page, I think this is my hundredth Observer column. That’s an anniversary of sorts, a good time to stop and reflect on it all.
My calling, my gift, my passion is being a writer. Writing is the way I communicate the ideals that live within me. It’s God in me speaking to God in my readers. As Brenda Ueland would have it, we write,“Because the best way to know beauty and truth is to try to express it. And what is the purpose ofexistence here or yonder but to discover truth andbeauty and express it, i.e. share it with others.”
Our first, our most intimate, social circle is our family. Not just mother and dad and the kids, but grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and in America today, all sorts of blended folks who are now lovingly included in our intimate family group.
I paused to look at one of the last roses of the season the other day. The old girl was at the end of her journey. Her once brilliant red had faded to pink; most of her proud petals were strewn on the earth from which she had sprung. She looked sort of lost and abandoned. I thought of O’Henry’s poignant story of the “Last Leaf.” I wanted to ask this forlorn rose what she was thinking. Was she sad to be bidding adieu to her life on earth? I wanted to engage her in conversation. After all, we were two living beings, both of a certain age, sharing the same earth. Ah, if only we could talk.
A coalition of organizations working for reform and renewal within the Roman Catholic Church in a variety of ways. Catholics Speak Out, a program of the Quixote Center, coordinates the coalitionn, to help move the cause of women's equality forward. Our goal is to build a broad grassroots movement to demonstrate that large numbers of Catholics support equality and justice for women.
The website of the largest international website of Roman Catholic theologians who firmly believe that the discussion on women priests should be left open..
The Women's Ordination Conference works for the ordination of women as priests and bishops into a renewed & inclusive priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church.
As our bishops prepare for the International Synod on the Eucharist, CORPUS is pleased to provide you with this look-back in time on the issue of Women's Ordination, a 26 year old précis of research commissioned by the Catholic Biblical Association of Ameria and printed in the October 1979 issue of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
In the quiet and promise of Christmas we rediscover the incredible power of God's love. We realize once again that He continues to be present to us, that He is aware of our needs, concerned for our pain and our sorrow. He is as near as our very breath, within us, around us. Christmas is a journey of the heart. - A Christmas Reflection by Joe Cece, Corpus Webmaster.
I have been reading Houston Smith’s classic book on World Religions, A devoted Christian from birth, he writes eloquently and respectfully about the way Hindus and Muslims, Buddhists and Jews approach God. What a different world it would be if more of us shared his respectful approach to other religions.
Non-believing readers won’t like this column. It will be far too spiritual for them. There is no political red meat, but some of them would like the Darrell Hammond book that prompted the column. His book is a ribald, smutty, foul mouthed and often-hilarious look inside the troubled life and mind of this Saturday Night Live star.
I am conducting an exploratory study of men who have served in active ministry in the priesthood for twenty or more years, and then marry. I am selecting this group because marriage constitutes a definitive break with the clerical lifestyle of the Latin Rite.
Folk singer Peter Seeger is ninety years old now. His reedy tenor can no longer bring an audience to its feet singing enthusiastically for unity, justice and peace. Whether he was leading “We Shall Overcome” in the Civil Rights battles of the 60s, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” during the Vietnam War, or “Turn, Turn, Turn” to advocate patience in face of the adversity that comes in the struggle for justice, he is now an American icon. It wasn’t always so. He was right when it was not popular, and like all prophets, he suffered from that. For years he experienced great adversity.
Take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage. Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat
Keeping Vigil
It’s been nine years now since that bright September morning which changed the course of history. All of us remember it vividly.
Needing Someone To Worry About Me
Imagine a married catholic priest in the 20th century, honored for his saintly life by none other than pope John paul II. strange but true! such is the case of Emilian Kowcz of the ukraine, beatified by the polish pope in 2001.
Kids get taken from their parents and put into foster care for all sorts of reasons, neglect, physical or sexual abuse, mental illness or drug addiction; the reasons are as complex as human nature itself. But none of these forms of abuse are as shattering to a child as coming to the realization that he is not loved.
The silence is overwhelming at first. Only the songbirds and the whisper of the wind blowing through the cottonwoods breaks the stillness of the morning. I’m thinking, it’s wonderful to get away from it all but the abrupt leap into total silence is unnerving. I’m having second thoughts about this idea of taking a four day vacation in a Benedictine monastery.
ars back someone e-mailed me “The Best Prayer I Have Heard in a Long Time.” The author was unknown. I adopt and adapt it here. It makes bushels of sense to me. Here’s my enhanced version.
“Have you been saved?” Engelbert asked Isabel, a friend he recently met in college. They were having coffee together after class in the Student Center. “What do you mean?” Isabel asked, “saved from what?” Engelbert was getting nervous. This was the first time he had been so aggressive with his faith. He had been attending evangelism classes in his dormitory and Isabel was the first person he had approached. His friend Rudolph was quite proud of the number of people he had evangelized and Engelbert wanted to do the same, so he pressed on. “You know”, he said, “when you die are you sure you’re going to heaven?”
Last week, I became one of hundreds of people on visiting day at the Kern Valley State Prison in Delano. I was paying a visit to a young friend of mine, a kid who I had mentored through a life spent in a series of group homes, a kid known now as inmateG-49102.
Victor Davis Hanson, historian, author and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, wrote an article in October 2008 entitled “America’s Nervous Breakdown - Should It Continue, a World Breakdown May Follow.” Well, as Hanson feared it has continued; it was contagious. Now the world too is having its breakdown.
We thank you for your rapid turnaround in supporting two critical elections for CORPUS these past couple of months... Russ Ditzel, Corpus President
Since I wrote to you in the May – June 2010 issue of CORPUS Reports, quite a number of things have unfolded to bring additional clarity and shape to the vision of a Ministry of Compassion: Interfaith Volunteer Chaplains program. As envisioned, the ministry will offer the services of priests, ministers, rabbis, and imams trained to provide humanitarian, pastoral, and spiritual support to military members, veterans, and their families. 
In a move to unite U.S. Catholics, the newly formed American Catholic Council (ACC) called today for an historic assembly of the Catholic Church in the United States.
A video presentation of the recent 2011 American Catholic Council Meeting in Detroit on YouTube.
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Here’s my latest angel story. I had just parked my visiting daughter’s car in the supermarket’s parking lot. When I returned with some orange juice and milk, the battery was dead. The motor wouldn’t engage. As I turned the key all I could hear was click, click, click. It was bitterly cold. I had forgotten my cell phone. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I prayed.
vano's address at the American Catholic Council meeting in Detroit.
ENCOUNTER WITH FREEDOM
Are you Spiritual But Not Religious -- an SBNR? Many would describe themselves that way. Spirituality is fashionable today and religion unfashionable. Part of the problem is that the word “religion” carries tons of dogmatic, authoritarian baggage, but whatever the reasons the relationship of religion and spirituality is symbiotic and convoluted.
A blueprint of how authority could & should function in the RC Church. This new system of authority, based on Gospel teaching and genuine co-responsibility as demanded by Vatican II, will affect all circles in the Church: Pope, Bishops, Bishops Conferences, Priests and Laity
The title says it all. Michael Morwood 's new book, IT'S TIME, is a winner as he speaks to a wide spiritual audience while delivering a well-written work that is easy to read and full of useful wisdom. Michael has a questioning purpose as he offers keen insights into contemporary issues that are fundamental to understanding a Jesus' appreciation of his God and the earthy spiritual kingdom of his Abba/Father.
PDF file.
The Church in the 21st Century Center at Boston College seeks to be a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States by engaging critical issues facing the Catholic community. Many programs can be found online for your spiritual and theological development.
BustedHalo.com is a web e-zine that speaks candidly and occasionally irreverently on issues facing people in their 20's and 30's that intersect with spirituality. Open to dialogue and hearing the stories of young people, BustedHalo never preaches condescendingly, rather seeks to understand and to express the wisdom of Catholic and other religious traditions in away that makes sense to the experience of those "spiritually seeking."
COR Press Conference March 8, 2013
Polarization has poisoned politics in America. It has also poisoned dialogue in our Catholic Church. What should be a respectful interaction of faithful followers of Christ sharing valid insights on issues affecting life in the twenty-first century too often degenerates into name-calling and attacks among the laity, and censure and excommunication from the bishops. What would Christ expect of us? - by Tony Kowalski
The Center for Progressive Christianity provides guiding ideas, networking opportunities, and resources for progressive churches, organizations, individuals and others with connections to Christianity.
Read the verbal changes that will take place in the third addition of the Roman missal
Cherry picking harkens back to the time when folks who picked cherries did it with great care: selecting only the ripe ones, leaving the rest for later. By analogy, however, the phrase “cherry picking” was extended to mean selecting a favored position from a range of choices and ignoring the others. Almost everyone does it. Politicians, preachers, commentators, columnists (I plead guilty) -- and atheists. But cherry picking by anyone distorts the truth.
ristopher Francis Ruggeri, 82, of Mashpee, MA passed away peacefully into eternal rest on Tuesday evening March 29, 2011 at McCarthy Care Center, surrounded by his loving family, after a courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. He was the husband of Margaret "Peg" Ruggeri.
s summer all over the country there will be reunions. Classmates who graduated ten, twenty, fifty years ago will gather to party, to reminisce and to see how the years have treated their classmates.
An exclusive interview with Australian theologian and married priest Michael Morwood. In this interview, Michael discusses his new book, From Sand to Solid Ground with editors of the Australian journal Catholica.
CORPUS (The National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood) is appalled by a recent Vatican announcement that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would treat any “attempted ordination of a woman” as a serious crime against the church. In fact, such an ‘attempted’ ordination would be classified by the church hierarchy as the same category of offense as sexual abuse.
August 9, 2011
CORPUS’ board and staff have been approached numerous times by our members, non-members, and representatives of the media regarding our organization’s position on the Married Priests Now! prelature. After having the opportunity to reflect, meet in person, and discuss, we feel it important to share with you our perspective...
Ram Dass in his book “Still Here -- Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying” speaks of how he coped with his life and work after a crippling stroke made it impossible for him to continue living as previously. Before his stroke he was active in writing, traveling and lecturing. His stroke changed that drastically. Dass tells his story even more dramatically in the film “Fierce Grace.” A film that “Newsweek” considered one of the Top Five Non-Fiction Films of 2002. It provides us with a moving meditation on “consciousness, healing, and the unexpected grace of aging.” “Fierce Grace” is available on DVD.
Just recently I was watching TV with my foster grandson when the mattress company commercial came on the screen…the one that asks people to donate money so that children in foster care might have warm clothing for the cold weather. I asked Tony if the commercial embarrassed him at all. He admitted that the company probably meant well but “it sort of gives the impression that we are all poor kids and need to be pitied.” 
Beware the experts. They know everything about their field of expertise, but that very specialization restricts their vision and wisdom. Their knowledge is exceptional and in one specialized area remarkable, but paradoxically that erudition narrows their view. The experts see things clearly and bolster their positions with logical arguments, footnotes, citations, and precedents -- but the reasoning is limited by the logic of their expertise. Remember, logic is like whiskey at some point it loses its beneficial effects -- and too much of it can make us delusional.
Haiti is suffering from a devastating earthquake. Catholic Relief Service is seeking donations to help the recovery process. Please consider making a donation.
This site offers many daily resources on a wide range of topics for Catholics living their faith in the third millennium.
mpty Tomb
Read Bob's Letter from Federal Prison
I vividly remember first meeting Frank Kabisch. It was around 1989 and I was manager of Washington Court Retirement in Bellevue. Due to a merger Frank had been laid off as V.P. of Human Resources at a large health care corporation in Tacoma and was job hunting. He heard about our support group for married priests and came by for lunch. WHAT A GUY !!! Bigger than life and so passionate about his identity as a married priest from the time he resigned from active ministry to marry sweet Kris.
Frank H. Woolever July 5, 2010 Frank H. Woolever, 77, of Syracuse, died peacefully at Crouse Hospital on Monday after a brief illness.
The American comedian Lily Tomlin once said, "Remember we're all in this alone," but she was wrong. We’re not alone. In our jobs, community work or raising families, we need help. All of us do. It would be naive to think otherwise. That’s why friends are so important; in zillions of ways they help us. We need them for the persistent and never-ending tasks involved in living, but we also need them for our well-being and mental health.
FutureChurch is a national coalition of parish-based Catholics who seek the full participation of all baptized Catholics in the life of the Church. A special emphasis is expanding an inclusive ministry.
George Spellman gave his life to the priesthood, his heart to his wife, Susan, and his spirit to the Church. The priesthood was his response to God's call; marriage was his commitment to love in its most intense expression; the Church was his context for his service to God's People where ever they were.
In Germanic mythology, Gotterdammerung is the destruction of the gods after a battle with evil, causing the violent ending of a regime or institution. It’s a fitting metaphor for the current international sexual abuse scandal, which theologian Hans Kung has called the Catholic Church’s greatest credibility crisis since the Reformation.
ving thanks is a constant thing -- or should be. It’s not only for great blessings or for Thanksgiving Day. I read somewhere that we should be grateful when we get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. Many handicapped folks are unable to move let alone walk. We should be grateful we can manage the bathroom by ourselves. Many can’t take care of their personal hygiene. We should be grateful for our shower, for clean water, for hot water. Millions have no homes -- nor showers or any unpolluted water. We should be grateful, but are we?
Gordon Gekko is a fictional character in Oliver Stone’s film “Wall Street.” In that film Michael Douglas won an Oscar for the role, in which Gekko notoriously proclaimed the Wall Street mantra, “Greed is good.” The Gekko character is loosely based on the market manipulator Ivan Boesky and the (in)famous corporate raider Carl Icahn.
Perhaps you have never heard of Henri Nouwen or you may be quite familiar with his writing. Either way we invite you to explore this site and discover why the themes of his many books resonate so deeply with people all over the world.
Scott Neeson tells the story in The Christian Science Monitor. The former head of 20th.Century Fox International in Hollywood, was in the middle of Phnom Penh’s most notorious slum witnessing the unnerving sight of poor children hunting through the garbage for salvage they could sell.
What Do We “get out of” going to Church on Sunday 
Recently, an acquaintance of mine had the misfortune of losing his Dad in an automobile accident. As the only child, it fell to Dan to go through the apartment where his Dad had lived alone since the death of his wife three years earlier.
Most religions have their sacred days and times. Jews celebrate the Sabbath. Muslims keep Ramadan. Hindus practice Purnima, and some Christians observe Lent. Such observances have great spiritual meaning, but they can also lead to some bizarre, legalistic craziness.
The Sacredness of the Present Moment - An article by Kerrie Hide, in which she draws our attention to the sacredness of the present moment in which we dwell and shows how we can nurture a spirituality of Presence through the practice of centering prayer
When one of our kids had to leave the Village a few months back, I was sitting next to a little guy who had tears in his eyes. He said to me “You know Grandpa Hank. “Tony” is not my brother but he is LIKE my brother. That’s why I’m so sad that he has to leave. It’s like someone dropped a coin down a deep,deep well and you could hardly hear the coin drop at the bottom. That’s how sorry I am that he is leaving.”
When a fifth grade boy in a school in Texas was asked to write an essay about “My Very First Dad,” his essay pulled at his teacher’s heart strings.
It has been a while since I wrote to connect with you, my brothers and sisters of the CORPUS Inclusive Ministry Community. 
The members of CORPUS, a National Association for an Inclusive Priesthood, join with you in responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s call to observe the Year for Priests in our Church and each of us in our own ways are doing that.
Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Community
Take the test. U.S. Catholic is exploring the idea that was proposed by an African bishop of ordaining elders in the community for Eucharist. Information will be used in an upcoming article.
"We need to understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
View the latest photos by Dave Gawlik at the 2009 CTA meeting in Milwaukee.
of Church reform 
Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism. In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. Collaborative Mininsties offers resources here to assist our entry into this wonderful season, from our preparing to begin Lent to our preparing to celebrate the holy three days following Lent.
She is a large Latina woman but still manages to get down on both knees to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in its glittering gold monstrance. Her grand daughter, a little tyke of about three years old, goes down on her knees with grandma. The old woman makes her way to the front of the chapel and, arms outstretched, prostrates herself before the altar. The little girl does the same.
In this thought-provoking essay Michael Morwood raises questions that will be challenging to both traditionalist theologians and progressive theologians who have been searching for a better interpretation of the meaning of Jesus since the time of Teilhard de Chardin when the insights of modern science began to pose serious challenges to our theologies. This is a thought-provoking essay likely to be dismissed outright by the traditionalists and the fundamentalists but has the potential to encourage much reflection amongst those, following the likes of Teilhard de Chardin, who have been attempting to reinterpret Jesus as the "Cosmic Christ" as a way of enabling our traditional understandings of Christ to better fit with what we're learning about our universe from the sciences and modern scholarship.
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
The execution of the medical aid workers in Afghanistan shocked the world. Six Americans, one German, two Afghans and a British citizen were ambushed, shot and robbed on August 5 in northern Afghanistan. They had been traveling from village to village in that remote part of the country to provide medical care. Tom Little, an eye doctor originally from Delmar, New York had spent forty year in Afghanistan treating diseases of the eye. He was sixty-one and a grandfather. Thomas Grams, 51, gave up a Colorado dentist practice to make dental health available to impoverished Afghan children. Forty-year-old Glen Lapp from Lancaster, Pennsylvania was a nurse. Previously, Lapp had worked with the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Believe is Who We Become
ALERT Would you like to see a married priesthood? PLEASE send an electronic post card to the Vatican asking for this change.
"On April 20, the unprecedented assault on crime victims, on those who help crime victims, and on our self-help group moves forward. That's when church defense lawyers will again urge a judge to order us to turn over thousands of pages of confidential communications - from victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, police, prosecutors, journalists and concerned parishioners. They will also claim that our director David Clohessy must face another deposition.
Omigosh! I stepped on by bathroom scale this morning and, to my dismay, weighed in at 200 lbs. Good grief Charlie Brown. That’s more than 40 lbs over what I weighed in college. So what did I do? I went to the fridge. and started to cut up some celery and carrots for future snacks. Be gone potato chips and ice cream. It’s time to reform.
Krista Tippett moderates this excellent web site and provides many interviews with leading religious leaders of all faiths.
After more than 50 years of life in a monastery, Sister Joan Chittister asked herself some questions. What — if anything — of monastic life is worth passing on to others in our time? What does monasticism offer seekers who are already overwhelmed by all the spiritual and secular options available to them? And how can those outside traditional monasteries embrace this life that is both enriching and enlightening?
An international, ecumenical 
These statistics from an anonymous source jumped right off my computer screen the other day and have stayed in my consciousness ever since. The statistics have much to say to us on this Thanksgiving holiday.
Humble Beginnings 
T he words joy and hope appear twice in the first three lines of “Gaudium et Spes,” as do the words grief and anguish. The document is one of the last four passed and promulgated on Dec. 7, 1965, by the bishops at the Second Vatican Council. The quoted words were reflections of the mood and content of the debates at the end of the third session, which I attended late in 1964.
Catholica.com explores the character and nature of the priesthood of the future in a series of articles.
Anger is a two-edged sword. Traditionally, it has been diagnosed as a capital sin. There are many who would agree with that diagnosis -- and they are not all theologians. A few examples: in the first century before Christ, the Roman Poet Horace told us, “Anger is a momentary madness so control your passion or it will control you.” Eleven centuries later, the famous American agnostic Robert Ingersoli said, “Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.” Finally, Ambrose Bierce, the American critic and journalist warns, “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” All of that is excellent counsel. It’s worth thinking about long and hard.
NEW The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops commemorates this special year for the priest on their web site.
es of Two Women 
d we profess
on/Continuation 
One cannot understand Karol Wojtyla without an awareness of the Polish experience. It sheds light on the man, and places in perspective his remarkable accomplishments. Let me summarize that experience.
Valentines’ Day will soon be here. The Greeting Card Association tells us that in a typical year its members sell a billion valentines (that’s billion with a “b”!). Only at Christmas do they sell more cards. Cards, however, aren’t the only items bouncing off store shelves to celebrate the 14th of February. Chocolate and flowers are also in great demand. Valentine’s Day is big business.
Many have called the fascinating rescue of the thirty-three Chilean miners a miracle. Some use that word to credit the rescue to God’s direct intervention. “But,” as Eugene Cullen Kennedy wrote in the National Catholic Reporter, “this remarkable and riveting accomplishment is, in fact, a demonstration of human power, machinery and rescue devices that were born not in some divine workshop but in the human imagination.”
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world where pain and suffering were present on a massive scale prior to the earthquake. Now thousands of people, including ELCA seminary student Ben Larson, lay under the rubble in Port-au-Prince. Watching images on television of the suffering in Haiti is heartbreaking.
In 1949-50 the political question of the day was “Who lost China?” Mao and the Communists had defeated Chiang Kai-Shek in the Chinese Civil War. Overnight China, an ally in the war against Japan had become a communist enemy. Senator Joseph McCarthy in a finger-pointing crusade blamed communist sympathizer. McCarthy’s demagogic witch-hunts ruined political, academic and journalistic careers and blacklisted many. It was not America’s finest hour.
Michael Morwood...
Michael Morwood...