Fr. Harry Winter
Fr. Harry Winter
Five Ways – September 2023
Monday, Sept. 25, 2023
Many thanks to those who responded to the August 28 Five Ways item. In it I noted that September began with the Ecumenical aspect of the Season of Creation, on you tube. The month of September also ends, Saturday, with The Ecumenical Vigil of Prayer, on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, to begin the October Synod. You may google “Ecumenical Vigil of Prayer,” to see how young people especially will participate in it. And the Vatican website (www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en) will tell you how to watch on you tube this important service which is scheduled for 5-7 pm Rome time, Sept. 30.
Below you will see an attack on the very concept of synodality, and my response to it (in both English and Spanish). Please note that on the Mission-Unity-Dialogue website (www.harrywinter.org) the five earlier postings on synodality are now available on their own page, on the right of the home page.
Your comments are most welcome.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
Synodality and the Oblates Part Six Synodality and Oblates, Part Six, A Pandora’s Box? – OMIUSA
Spanish 1 Synodal y Pandora – OMIUSA
Spanish 2 Synodal Dos – OMIUSA
Fr. George McLean, OMI, Evangelizer and Dialoguer
We are grateful to Fr. Charles Hurkes, OMI, for forwarding the 64 Letters of Condolences from Dr. Hu Yeping. Click here for a slightly edited version, where the many cc e-mails have been deleted. A personal remembrance of Fr. McLean: after his year of study in Cairo, Egypt, concerning Islamic Religious Thought (1991), he wrangled an invitation to address the Mullahs (scholars of Islamic Religion) in the holy city of Qom, Iran. He was the first non-Islamic scholar, and the first Christian, to do so. He entered the lecture hall with some fear, and immediately sensed the hostility of the Mullahs.
He related to a group of us when the Oblate Center for Mission Studies, Washington, DC (1994-1999) and his Center for Research in Values and Philosophy (see 8th item below) were working closely together, that all of a sudden, an expression from our Oblate spirituality came to mind: to be an Oblate of Mary Immaculate is to have “a passport to heaven.” He remembered that this is also a revered Islamic expression.
So he introduced himself as an “Oblate of Mary, with a passport to heaven,” and the Mullahs expressions all changed from one of hostility to welcome. This was one of Fr. McLean’s many gifts, to take an expression from one religion and adapt it to another, showing the unity of values.
For more on Fr. George McLean and the Center for Research in Values and Philosophy, click these links:
Synodality and Oblates, Part Six, A Pandora’s Box?
Click here to see this article en Español
Recently, practically every Catholic priest in the USA received in the US postal system a 100 page booklet The Synodal Process Is a Pandora’s Box: 100 Questions & Answers. Sent free by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), the accompanying letter is signed by President Raymond E. Drake and dated Aug. 20, 2023. An enclosed form seeks comments, financial contributions and further names of people to receive the booklet.
Originally written in Spanish by Jose Antonio Ureta and Julio Loredo De Izcue, neither of whom seems to have any background in theology, and translated by Jose A. Schelini, the booklet has a two page preface by Cardinal Raymond Burke, who claims that synodality has no history in the doctrine of the Church.
One may summarize the booklet’s thesis as claiming that a minority of progressive liberals have taken over the synodality process (#87). The main villain is the group of Germans pushing the Synodaler Weg (The Synod Way, #’s 53-91).
What is very noteworthy is the silence about St. John Henry Newman’s article “On Consulting the Faithful in the Matter of Doctrine,” in which he lists 20 examples from church history in which the hierarchy got it wrong and the laity did not. The most famous of these is the fourth century Arian heresy denying Jesus’ divinity. At the time, most bishops were Arians (with the notable exceptions of St. Athanasius, archbishop of Alexandria, and the popes). The laity maintained a staunch belief in the divinity of Christ (my thanks to Christine Schenk, C.S.J., for her article in the US Catholic of Oct. 6, 2020, for reminding us of this “Listen to laypeople, said John Henry Newman”).
As the Second Vatican Council began in 1962, it was not the bishops who were the Church teaching; they were being taught by the council priest theologians, led by Yves Congar O.P. and Karl Rahner S.J.
An author with a deep theological background who is much more positive about the Synod process is Serena Nocety and her book Reforming the Church, A Synodal Way of Proceeding, published by Paulist Press. My thanks to Lester Zapata for pointing out this book to me.
The Church Reform Section (IV, #’s 41-52) of Pandora’s Box does not seem to be as critical as the rest of the book. However, there is silence regarding those reformers who weren’t conservative bishops: St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Madeleine Delbrel.
The Wikipedia article on Cardinal Raymond Burke is quite extensive, detailing his opposition to the Synod and Pope Francis. It may be significant that Pope Francis named Cardinal Burke to be among the voting members of the upcoming October synod.
Three Oblates are among the 465 already named as voting members: Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I., of Windhoek, Namibia; Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’cruze, O.M.I., of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Bishop Radoslaw Zimitrowicz, O.M.I., auxiliary bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. As more people are named for the supporting staff, there will probably be more from the Oblate Family.
The authors object very much to Father Timothy Radcliffe, former Master General of the Dominicans, to be the preacher for the October synod’s spiritual exercises (#96). Older members of the Oblate Family may remember Fr. Radcliffe as one of the two presenters at our 3rd USA Oblate Convocation, held in Pittsburgh, PA, from Nov. 5-9, 2007. (Fr. Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I. was the other).
The authors rejection of any meaningful effort to reach out to LGBTQ is evident from #26 through the “Postface.” Readers here may refer to Synodality and Oblates, especially #’s 2 and 3: click here.
I welcome comments on the matter of LGBTQ and any other issue raised by the Pandora book. The book may be obtained from The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), PO Box 341, Hanover, PA 17331, USA, TFP@TFP.org I www.TFP.org; tel. (888) 317=5571. It has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish). The English edition has $10.95 on the back cover.
Instead of a clear line between the teaching Church (bishops and pope) and the learning church (laity), is not every person in the Church both a teacher and a learner, in different moments and ways?
Synodality and the Oblates in the USA, Part Five: Missing, Other Churches
by Harry Winter, O.M.I.
As the Synodality process continues, there are two authorities who have commented differently about the role of Christian Unity as we proceed with synodality. Jon Nilson, professor emeritus of theology at Loyola University of Chicago, wrote on March 7, 2023 in the national Jesuit review America that the “National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod” document “says nothing–not a word–about our relationship with other Christians.” He observes “The synthesis from the United States gives no hint that ecumenism is a non-negotiable priority for Catholics.”
A second authority is Sr. Nathalie Becquart, a French Xavieres sister, undersecretary for the General Secretariate of the Synod of Bishops. In a talk she gave at the Boston College of Theology and Ministry, Oct. 27, 2022, she said that across the board in the synod reports submitted to the Vatican “There was also a strong call to foster ecumenism. For the Church to face the most important problems of our world–ecological climate change, violence, polarization–we can’t do it alone, we have to do it with our brothers and sisters from the Christian faiths and other religions.”
However, when her talk was printed in America, April 20, 2023, this portion was omitted.
Nilson proposed a simple but perhaps not easy step. “Let each Catholic priest, deacon and pastoral minister call or e-mail a nearby counterpart–perhaps a Lutheran, an Episcopalian, a Methodist–to say ‘We both belong to Christ. We must not be strangers. Can we get together for some coffee and conversation soon?’
“What good might come from encounters like these? Only the Holy Spirit knows. Meanwhile, doing nothing is not an option. The status quo is intolerable. We need ecumenical relationships that produce mutual knowledge and trust. Then, by the end of the 2024 session of the Synod on Synodality, our church might really be more synodal with strong visible bonds to our brother and sister Christians. Then, too, we might be more and truly visibly on the way to that unity which discloses Jesus as the One sent from God to us and for us.”
May every member of the Oblate Family remember what our Constitutions and Rules state about Christian Unity: “We collaborate in a spirit of brotherhood with others who work for the Gospel. Our efforts will be characterized by a genuine desire for unity with all who consider themselves followers of Jesus, so that, according to his prayer, all may believe that the Father has sent him (cf. Jo 17:21). Finally, in our hope for the coming of God’s reign, we are united with all those who, without acknowledging Christ as Lord, nevertheless love what he loves” (C 6).
Synodality emphasizes that every baptized Christian is an evangelizer and a missionary. With the expansion of the Oblate Family, the Holy Spirit is blessing us with more resources for evangelism. The Oct. 2023 Vatican Synodality session requires more involvement on our part, difficult as this may be.
May we exercise creative fidelity as we continue with the synodality journey.
Five Ways Book/Fellowship
Monday, Sept. 25, 2023
Many thanks to those who responded to the August 28 Five Ways item. In it I noted that September began with the Ecumenical aspect of the Season of Creation, on you tube. The month of September also ends, Saturday, with The Ecumenical Vigil of Prayer, on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, to begin the October Synod. You may google “Ecumenical Vigil of Prayer,” to see how young people especially will participate in it. And the Vatican website (www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en) will tell you how to watch on you tube this important service which is scheduled for 5-7 pm Rome time, Sept. 30.
Below you will see an attack on the very concept of synodality, and my response to it (in both English and Spanish). Please note that on the Mission-Unity-Dialogue website (www.harrywinter.org) the five earlier postings on synodality are now available on their own page, on the right of the home page.
Your comments are most welcome.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
Synodality and the Oblates Part Six Synodality and Oblates, Part Six, A Pandora’s Box? – OMIUSA
Spanish 1 Synodal y Pandora – OMIUSA
Spanish 2 Synodal Dos – OMIUSA
August 2023 Five Ways Newsletter
I hope you can open the YouTube below for this Friday, Sept. 1’s very important ecumenical observance of the Care of Creation Day begun by Pope Francis and immediately joined in by many religions, and by those of no religion.
And as we approach the October Synod on Synodality, there will be at least three Oblates among the 465 voting members. Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I. of Windhoek, Namibia; Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’cruze, O.M.I. of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Bishop Radoslaw Zimitrowicz, O.M.I., auxiliary bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. As more people are named in the supporting staff, there will probably be more from the Oblate Family.
For many of us, synodality is a mystery. Recently, the pope’s apostolic nuncio in the USA, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, attempted to clear this up. “I am a bit amazed to see people saying ‘We don’t want synodality, because this goes nowhere.’ It goes somewhere. But it requires effort. If you are a parish priest, you have to involve all your parishioners. Fathers and mothers have to involve the family and work together” (Boston Pilot, July 21, 2023, p. 9).
One area that touches all of us is our attitude towards LGBTQ people. The same issue of the Pilot newspaper notices this as part of the synod discussion (p. 5, from Our Sunday Visitor).
Many thanks to those who commented on the July 12 e-letter. I welcome your insights especially on the Sept. 1 you tube presentation. Feel free to forward this e-letter to your friends.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
| The #SeasonOfCreation 2023 begins on September 1 with the Day of Creation 🙌💙 Ecumenical faith leaders from around the world will lead this moment of presentation and reflection 🌊Join us: 🎉 👉youtube.com/watch?v=pv3kEx… #SeasonOfCreation2023 #prayer #catholics #commonhome pic.twitter.com/8yzfw6TxiS |
July 2023 Five Ways Newsletter
July 12, 2023 Five Ways E-Letter
Many thanks to those who commented on the June 21 Five Ways E-Letter.
Please note that Bishop Robert Barron below is one of those elected by the USA bishops to take part in the Synod on Synodality, which begins on Sept. 30 with an ecumenical service. Twelve “fraternal delegates” from non-Catholic Christian Churches will also participate. A complete list, including the many women who will be able to participate for the first time in a synod, is available on the internet.
You may want to read the four synod items on the home page of the Mission-Unity-Dialogue website: http://www.harrywinter.org.
The June 2023 issue of Oblate World, pp. 4-7, (available on www.omiusa.org) noted that our Oblate shrines in the USA are taking part in the National Eucharistic Revival, which began on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, June 2022 and will run until Pentecost 2025.
And may we all slow down during the hot summer months and enjoy God’s many gifts to us, especially the presence of Jesus among us in the Most Blessed Sacrament, where He energizes us for evangelism, ecumenism and dialogue.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
June 2023 Five Ways Newsletter
First, during this month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I was delighted to see that the Apostleship of Prayer, inspired by the Jesuits following the ministry of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and St. Claude de la Colombiere, added the ecumenical intention to the Morning Offering after Vatican II.
The revised Morning Offering prayer now reads: O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen.
Note the joining of evangelization (the salvation of souls) and ecumenism (the reunion of all Christians).
Secondly, I was a little skeptical to read in the April Reflection of the Gregorian University Foundation, p. 5, that Fr. Philipp Renczes, S.J., the dean of theology at the Greg, recently presented the newly launched program in “Comparative Theology of Christian Traditions and Ecumenical Studies,” as a response to “reading the signs of the times” and to the new “ecumenical spring” that has blossomed under the Francis pontificate.
“We’re trying to figure out what the church will look like in 10 or 20 years, and ecumenical relations become more and more relevant to this.”
Thirdly, the reflection below from the former Oblate General Councilor for Canada-US, Warren Brown, and the former Superior General, Louie Lougen, shows both the importance and difficulty of this.
Many thanks to those who commented on the May 11 Five Ways E-letter.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
May 2023 Five Ways Newsletter
Many thanks to those who commented on the April 17 Five Ways e-letter.
As we wind down the Easter Season, our first instinct might be to remember the Seven Joys of Mary. We remember perhaps too easily the Seven Sorrows. Are we equally familiar with the Seven Joys of Mary? And do we realize that the fruits of the Holy Spirit begin with love, joy and peace (Catechism, #736)? On the website Mission-Unity-Dialogue, the second page is Christian joy (www.harrywinter.org). In order to evangelize, we need to be joyful Christians.
Secondly, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, a French Xaviere Sister, undersecretary for the General Secretariate of the Synod of Bishops, gave speech at the Boston College of Theology and Ministry, Oct. 27, 2022, which was adapted in the journal America, April 2023. She wrote “A bishop from the United States recently told me the following: ‘This synod is changing my vision of evangelization. As a bishop, as a priest, I have been trained to teach, to preach, to tell the truth. Through all this experience of listening, I realize that the Spirit is already at work in all these people. This synod is really changing my vision of evangelization’.”
Sister Nathalie wrote especially about synod contributions regarding the role of women in the Church, and in the Boston College talk (not the America article) said regarding ecumenism and dialogue: “There was also a strong call to foster ecumenism. For the Church to face the most important problems of our world–ecological climate change, violence, polarization–we can’t do it alone, we have to do it with our brothers and sisters from the Christian faiths and other religions.”
Thirdly and finally, my thanks to Oblates Warren Brown and Peter Stoll for sending me the item below regarding the ecumenical dimension of the crowning of King Charles III. Anglicans in the rest of the world are called Episcopalians in the USA, and our two Churches are coming closer with events like King Charles’ Coronation.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
A 1st since 16th century: Cardinal Parolin represents Pope at coronation of Charles (aleteia.org)The last time a Cardinal attended the coronation of a British King was in the 16th century. Two other high-ranking Catholics will also attend.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s secretary of state, will represent Pope Francis at the coronation of Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, on May 6, 2023, announced the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni on May 4. This will be the first time since the 16th century that a Cardinal will attend the coronation of a British king in Westminster Abbey in London.
Pope Francis’ ‘number 2’ will not be the only high-ranking Catholic representative at the event. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, will also participate in the ceremony inside the cathedral. The Apostolic Nuncio to the United Kingdom, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, is also invited.
Shortly after the formal coronation, performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Church, Justin Welby, Cardinal Nichols is expected to bless the new King along with other Protestant and Orthodox leaders. The Cardinal will then say to the new leader: “May God pour upon you the riches of his grace, keep you in his holy fear, prepare you for a happy eternity, and receive you at the last into immortal glory.”
However, no Catholics were given any of the 50 positions of honor during the ceremony – unlike Jewish, Sikh and Hindu personalities who are expected to present the regalia, the objects representing royalty.
A defender of the faith
As supreme governor of the Church of England, Charles III will receive the title of “Fidei Defensor” – defender of the faith – which had been conferred on King Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521. Twelve years later, in 1533, the divorce and remarriage of the King of England, without the consent of the Church, led to his excommunication by Pope Clement VII.
As a consequence, Henry VIII provoked a schism in 1534 by getting the English Parliament to recognize him as “the Supreme Head of the Church of England.” Relations with Rome were formally broken off in 1536, but re-established under the reign of Mary I (1553-1558). Her coronation on October 1, 1553, was the last ceremony performed by a Catholic Archbishop – Bishop Stephen Gardiner of Winchester. The last time a Cardinal was present was at the coronation of Mary I as Queen of Scots in 1542.
From then on, Catholics were considered enemies of the national community for several centuries and were barred from Anglican churches until the end of the 20th century. Another sign of anti-Catholicism: Until 1901, at the coronation of Edward VII, the new King had to publicly denounce transubstantiation. The practice was then abandoned.
At the last coronation, that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, no Catholic entered the basilica. Archbishop William Godfrey, the Apostolic Nuncio at the time – the first since the Reformation – attended the procession to Westminster Abbey but did not enter. The then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Bernard Griffin, did not attend but celebrated a mass for the Queen the day before the ceremony.
The reign of Elizabeth II helped to ease relations between Anglicans and Catholics, especially after the Second Vatican Council. However, diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and the Holy See were not restored until 1982.
The Catholic origin of the anointing
One of the most important moments in the ceremony is the anointing, which is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury while four knights prevent the audience from seeing the sacred ceremony. The head, chest, and hands of the King or Queen are anointed out of sight. The oil to be used on May 6 was consecrated by Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on March 4, 2023.
Historically, this anointing was granted by Pope Adrian I to one of the first kings of united England, Offa of Mercia, for his son Ecgfrith in 787. The practice then became customary in the 10th century.
Pope Francis offered two fragments of the Holy Cross to the new King, who asked that they be enshrined in the silver cross to be used during the coronation ceremony. The Holy See said this was an ecumenical gesture desired by the Pontiff.
April Five Ways E-Letter
April 17, 2023
First, many thanks to those who commented on the March 28th Five Ways Letter. I hope you all had a very Happy and Holy Easter.
Secondly, Massachusetts is one of the six states to celebrate Patriot’s Day, on the 3rd Monday of April, to commemorate the historic battles of Lexington and Concord, which mark the beginning of the American Revolution. It was during the revolution that the majority Protestant colonists discovered the value of the Irish Catholic American soldiers and the French Catholic navy, which were both essential to our separation from England.
And it was ten years ago that two Muslim brothers killed three people at the Boston Marathon (held each year since 1897 on Patriots Day) and maimed hundreds more. Cardinal O’Malley of Boston asked all of us pray for them yesterday, and for an end to the increasing violence in our country.
Thirdly, may you enjoy the attachment, the April newsletter of the US Catholic Mission Association. I found the final article, by Don McCrabb, the executive director, to be inspiring as he reflects on the hymn “Here I Am, Lord.”
To prolong Easter joy, google “The Joyful Noiseletter” and click on Holy Humor Sunday, to see how many churches celebrated special joy on the Sunday after Easter, yesterday.
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
A Support Group for Any Christian
March Five Ways E-Letter
March 29, 2023
First, my thanks to Artie Pingolt, president of Oblate Partners, for sending me the important attachment. It shows how crucial Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue are to confront serious challenges, such as the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia. Such cooperation is needed at the local level too.
Secondly, as we approach the Triduum of Holy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday, you might want to consider the custom of Eastern Christians on Easter Sunday afternoon. They gather in cemeteries to process to the graves of those who have died since last Easter. When they reach each grave, the priest shouts out “Christ is risen,” and the people respond “He is truly risen.”
Let us encourage all our friends and relatives who have dropped out of our Churches, to come with us on Easter and the Sundays after.
Thirdly, the website of Jesuit journal America posted an article on March 7 by theologian Jon Nilson, headlined “The Synod is missing something essential: other churches.” He is very concerned that the USA report “National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod” was crafted from 290 documents distilled from 22,000 reports from parishes, dioceses, etc.
But the importance of working with other Christian Churches is never mentioned in the synthesis. Nilson does not report that the Eastern Churches in the USA did submit their own document. However, especially Episcopalian and Presbyterian Churches have a long record of involving the laity in every major decision and development. A major feature of synodality is to decrease clericalism and increase the role of lay people. Nilson’s concern that ecumenism did not make it into the USA synthesis needs further attention by our bishops.
If any of the Five Ways recipients can find the report on synodality from the Eastern Churches USA, please send it to me.
In the meantime, many thanks to all who commented on the Feb. 14 Five Ways e-letter. May we each have an inspiring Holy Week and Easter!
In Christ’s love,
Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I.
People who have read the book Dividing or Strengthening, or who have made the retreat (both available, click here) have expressed a desire to pray for unity and to work with other Christians. We meet regularly and update. There are no dues and no regulations. We are a very small part of an increasing web of Christians who identify with one denomination and are concerned with all Christians. Some of the larger groups are Renovare, Stephan Ministries, Taize, and Iona.
Father Tom Ryan, CSP, in his 2015 book Christian Unity: How You Can Make a Difference, describes at length (ch. 5, pp. 83-107) the surge in the number of lay groups focusing on Evangelization and Christian Unity (Paulist Press). But he also states that apathy toward Christian Unity is growing (p. 121).
Currently we have about 50 people connected by e-mail and regular meetings. An initial group came out of the weekend retreat at King’s House, Buffalo, MN, Jan. 15-17, 2010. Following that, there were parish retreats at St. Casimir’s Church, St. Paul, MN, March, 2010 and St. Patrick’s Church, St. Paul, MN, March, 2012. What started out as an update meeting for those who attended any of the three previous retreats was expanded to anyone who is interested in the challenge of sharing our faith: June 6,7, 2012 (evening, repeated the following morning for those unable to come in the evening), and Nov. 7, 8, 2012; May15,16, 2013, May 7th, 8th 2014 See Below
Mass on the Moon
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (2019)
Fifty years ago yesterday, on July 20, 1969, Presbyterian Ruling Elder Buzz Aldrin celebrated the Lord’s Supper on the moon. The first food and drink consumed on the moon was the blessed bread and wine from Aldrin’s church, Webster Presbyterian, near Houston, TX.
Communion on the Moon Fifty Years Later (2019)
When President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union Message on Feb. 5, 2019, he reminded us that fifty years ago this July 20, humans first walked on the moon. By placing astronaut Buzz Aldrin, among those notables invited, he also reminded us that the first food and drink consumed on the moon was the Blessed Bread and Wine Aldrin had brought from his church, Webster Presbyterian, near Houston, TX.
May the rest of your day be filled with love and happiness
2022
December, 2022
November 2022
September 24, 2022
August 17, 2022
July 14, 2022
June 15, 2022
May 17, 2022
April 13, 2022
March 20, 2022
February 19, 2022
January 11, 2022
2021
December 14, 2021
November 19, 2021
October 11, 2021
September 24, 2021
September 9, 2021
Current
Synodality and Oblates in the USA
Pope Francis is asking every parish, retreat center, house of formation, and Catholic center to discuss synodality. In the seven mandated questions, the fourth asks “How connected do you feel to the core mission of the Church–making disciples for Jesus?” St. Eugene de Mazenod must be agreeing with this on every Catholic being a missionary.
In our first installment, we mentioned how much St. Eugene lived synodality, even though he may not have used the word (Synodality and the Oblates: Part 1).
Since the core of synodality is mission, St. Eugene looks over our shoulders as we invest in synodality. (Click here Part Two)
In October, the Diocese entered into the process of discernment regarding ministry. The entire diocese was given 75 questions for parishioners to respond to. So we sent them out and had an above average number of folks fill it out. We also come out as environmentally green and are in the upper 80% in that category in the city and diocese. (Click here Part Three)
The Synodality report submitted by Fr. Jim Allen, regarding our Belleville Oblates, and the Synodality report submitted by Fr. Harry Winter, regarding the Diocese of Syracuse, may seem unrelated. But we are putting them together to show the widespread interest in the Synodality process going on in every religious community and every diocese in the world. Click here Part Four
Two experts recently differed on the role of ecumenism in the process of synodality. I have also inserted the importance of ecumenism as the Oblate Constitutions describe it. (Click here for Part Five)
Oblate Missiologists includes at least one Oblate Missiologist from each of our five geographical regions.
First produced as a hard copy in 1997, it is now made available in two versions on the internet. For a PDF version, click here. The type is smaller and you cannot edit it.
For Ecumenism and Laity in the Oct. 2021-OCt. 2023 Synod.
Thank you for being here for the opening of the Synod. you have come by many different roads and from different Churches, each bearing your own questions and hopes. I am certain the Spirit will guide us and give us the grace to move forward together, to listen to one another and to embark on a discernment of the times in which we are living, in solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of all humanity. I wan to say again that eh Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll; the Synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit is not present, there will be no Synod. Click Here to Read More
Political Order and the Ethics of Peace (August 15 – September 16, 2022)
The global political order is today confronted with one of its most serious and dangerous crises since 1945. The violation of ionternational norms and the massive scale of suffering and destruction have prompted vigorous and unprecedented forms of cooperation aimed at attaining a peaceful resolution. Click here to Read More
Lutheran and Catholic Churches in Sweden Increase Praying Together
In this Voices from the Communion interview, Bishop Johan Tyrberg, Diocese of Lund, Church of Sweden, looks back at how a historic ecumenical event that put his home city on the global map five years ago continues to change Lutheran-Catholic relations there. He also reflects on his early education, his interest in natural sciences and acting, and finding his way into theological formation, and eventually the pastoral ministry. Click Here to Read More
Synodality and Oblates in the USA, Part Four
Posted on August 24, 2022
The Synodality report submitted by Fr. Jim Allen, regarding our Belleville Oblates, and the Synodality report submitted by Fr. Harry Winter, regarding the Diocese of Syracuse, may seem unrelated. But we are putting them together to show the widespread interest in the Synodality process going on in every religious community and every diocese in the world.
Diocese of Syracuse Report
When I was assisting the ill pastor in my home parish of St. Paul, Norwich, NY, from July 25-Aug. 7, 2022, the diocese published in its newspaper The Catholic Sun, a summary of 42 listening sessions. What caught my attention was the addition of “special listening sessions,” three of which were “for those who for whatever reason are estranged from the Church, with a particular focus on the LGBTQ Community.” Later in the report, when the top 10 themes were listed, “The LGBTQ Community” was #6. And when this was described, the authors explained “At one of our special listening sessions geared to the LGBTQ Community, several gay people spoke of their experience of being considered ‘possessed’ or ‘mentally ill.’ Their stories were heartbreaking.”
In a meeting with one of my high school classmates, the husband and wife both expressed their concern and bewilderment over a lesbian daughter and daughter-in-law. This development already presented in “Synodality and Oblates in the USA, Part Three,” continues to grow.
The report also described “one of the surprises was how quickly and how deeply the people entered into the sacred silence. For the most part, the people listened carefully and attentively to one another, and seemed to act just as the Holy Father wished: they spoke freely, boldly , and courageously …and respectfully (with a few exceptions).”
The Contribution of a Community of Religious Men Toward the Synod
St. Henry’s Oblate Residence, Belleville, IL
On May 26, 2022, 13 of the 18 Missionary Oblates living in this community gathered prayerfully to express their thoughts on the preparatory questions for the Synod of 2023. The questions were adapted to the nature of this community of priests and Brothers , most of whom are retired or in Reduced Active Ministry.
- How is “journeying together” happening in this community?
The experience of community life has been a unique experience for each person, depending partially on their ministerial assignments: some have been in small communities; some, in large; some were basically alone for several years.
However, there is general agreement that community life here is a positive source of sharing and mutual support. Given the rather advanced age of most of the members, it has been described as “living while dying, making the best of our time together, aware of our mortality.”
Our shared identity as Oblates of Mary Immaculate affords us the opportunity to learn from one another as we move forward together. The Holy Spirit works differently in each of us and helps us to understand our differences and our gifts.
- What is there about Jesus that draws me to him? What is there about Jesus that makes an impression on me?
- Over the years the relationship with Jesus has changed and become more real in various ways.
- Jesus teaches us by his own life to be more giving than receiving.
- We can look at the concrete actions of Jesus as examples of how we can touch the lives of others.
- We also can find images of Jesus in persons who have affected our lives (e.g. a parent or a teacher)
- Jesus wants to be a constant presence in our lives; one who lives within us.
- What is there about the Church that draws me closer to the Lord and to other people?
As “cradle Catholics,” it is difficult to imagine a life totally outside of the Church. But the idea and experience of Church has expanded through contact with different peoples and cultures. At the same time, we would find it difficult to experience God without being in contact with other people.
Most of us knew the Church before we even really knew God and Jesus. It was only through maturing in our faith that we began to realize the transcendence of God and the call to be of service to others.
At this point in our lives, given the experiences we have had in many places and with so many people, the Church is anything but an abstraction. We see the Church in the persons we serve, whether they are prospering or struggling.
- What are my hopes for the Church that will help to draw me closer to Christ?
- To see a Church with living saints who live their Catholic faith in such a way that we too can be proud to be Catholic.
- To see a Church that is willing to look at its way of presenting its moral teaching in a way that attracts and encourages people to walk the path that is sometimes hard. This should include an in depth and fresh look at the relationship between what is considered to be the “natural law” norm and the “lived experience” of people who are also living what they consider to be “natural.” So many people see some aspects of the Church’s moral teaching so stringent and demanding that they either give up or become pathologically scrupulous.
- Some issues in the Church are not going to go away and they need to be discussed openly and without bias and preconceived answers. Among them stand out such areas as the role of the laity and especially women in the Church; obligatory celibacy of the priests of the Latin Rite; inclusivity, even of sinners (and that’s all of us).
- How will the Church be present to the world in the face of climate change and a possible collapse of the environment?
- How can the Church make synodality a normal way of being Church so that this current process not be mere tokenism? Are we going to take the faithful seriously in their own baptized role as “priests, prophets and kings”?
- We need to meet people where they are and as they are.
Archive
For Ecumenism and Laity in the Oct. 2021 – Oct. 2023 Synod
Thank you for being here for the opening of the Synod. you have come by many different roads and from different Churches, each bearing your own questions and hopes. I am certain the Spirit will guide us and give us the grace to move forward together, to listen to one another and to embark on a discernment of the times in which we are living, in solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of all humanity. I wan to say again that eh Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll; the Synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit is not present, there will be no Synod. Click Here to Read More
Pioneer Catholic Feminist, (available on Amazon books)
Do you know who is in your own Clod of Witnesses (heb 12:1), the people in your life who have died but still influence you positively in a significant way? Fr. Harry Winter, O.M.I., Ph.D. traces the history of Virginia’s Governor John Floyd Jr. (1783-1837) and his pioneer feminist wife, Letitia Preston Floyd, *1779-1852) and their descendants to show how their influence is as important for the United States today as President John Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams and their decendants. Click Here to learn more
Superior General Describes Oblate Role in the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate continue to play a significant role in many of the most difficult missions around the world. We are well known and highly regarded in the Church for our availability. although with good humor, we like to joke that we are specialists in making missions difficult, the simple truth is that Oblates are laboring with great zeal in many of the most challenging areas of the globe. Click Here to learn more
For the Muslim Response to Pope Francis’ Visit (March 2021)
Pope Francis’s recent trip to Iraq will undoubtably have a lasting impact on the country in ways that only time will tell, however, in the immediate aftermath, a few significant developments can already be seen. Click Here to learn more
“Ecumenical Vademecum” Statement Animating Christian Unity (December 3, 2020)
The ministry entrusted to the bishop is a service of unity both within his diocese and of unity between the local church and the universal church. That ministry therefore has special significance in the search for the unity of all Christ’s followers. The bishop’s responsibility for promoting Christian unity is clearly affirmed in the Code of Canon Law of the Latin Church among the tasks of his
pastoral office: “He is to act with humanity and charity toward the brothers and sisters who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church and is to foster ecumenism as it is understood by the Church” (Can 383 §3CIC 1983). Click Here to learn more
Oblate Missiologists includes at least one Oblate missiologist from each of our five geographical regions. First produced as a hard copy in 1997, it is now made available in two versions on the internet. For a PDF version, click here. The type is smaller and you cannot edit it.
Vatican and World Council of Churches publish dynamite document on COVID
Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity.
A Christian Call to reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond Click Here to learn more
Commentary on Dynamite Document and Season of Creation
Commentary on the Statement “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” by Harry E. Winter, OMI. Printed in Ecumenical Trends 46 (Oct. 2017, 9):10-11.
Insight by Fernando Velazquez, OMI, May 15, 2017: part of the neglect of this statement comes from the earlier document “Dominus Iesus” (2000). Mission exists in a difficult and creative tension with Unity/Dialogue. Click Here to learn more
Two Oblate Ecumenists on the Road to Glory
Father Waclaw Hryniewicz, O.M.I., an expert on the Eastern Orthodox Church, died on May 26 at age 83 in Poland. Fr. Jean Gueguen, O.M.I., a promoter of the Taize Community, died on May 24 at age 95 in France.
On March 20, 1995, Hryniewicz was the featured speaker at Oblate College, Washington DC, to open the Oblate Center for Mission Studies. Due to his friendship with Fr. George McLean, O.M.I., Hryniewicz had agreed to speak about developments between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
“Understanding the signs of Our Times”
An interesting article from: McLean Center Online Seminars
The current pandemic felt by the entire globe has brought not only deep anxieties and fears but also profound quests and search for root causes and answers for our challenging situations – socio–
political, cultural, ecological, etc. In order to understand the uniqueness and specificity of our times and to look for some resources that may help us deepen our understanding, this special research project intends to explore the philosophical–theological writings of a special figure, Romano Guardini, one of most important intellectuals of the Catholic tradition in the 20th century. Click Here to learn more
New Biography on Fr. George McLean has been released!
If you wish to purchase a physical copy, give Matthew Martin a call 210-340-1366 ext 205 or email him at mmartin@ost.edu and he can sell you one for $17.50 plus $5.00 shipping and handling for a total of $22.50. We take VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. an electronic version is available. Click Here to learn more (link is to large to upload)
Mclean Center Activities — Click Here
Fr. George McLean, OMI — Full Bio — Click Here
Oblate Missiologist, Tragic and Talented (2018)
His Irish parents and he endured the persecution of the English during his youth in Ireland and England. So when Con Scollen worked with the Native Americans in Canada and the United States, he bluntly told them any treaty from the national governments wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. An Oblate for 26 years, and a diocesan priest for the 17 remaining years of his life, he surpassed his teacher, Father Albert Lacombe, OMI, for his knowledge of Native American languages and culture. He is revered by them today. Click Here to learn more
Native Peoples indigenous art at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019)
Thanks to Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI for this related piece. Click here to watch video
High Point of Bibliographia Missionaria (Dec. 6, 2017)
Thank you for being here for this important moment in the history of the University and our library. We present a volume, 70° c, a unique magazine, Bibliographia Missionaria. Begun in 1935 by Prof. Johannes Baptista Rommerskirchen, OMI, today presents itself as a significant contribution to reflection and research on all things related to the Church’s mission. Click Here to learn more
Witnessing to Jesus, and Ecumenism at Royal Wedding (May 19, 2018)
African-American Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at the royal wedding is a marvelous combination of witnessing to Jesus, and Christian Unity. His quoting Jesuit theologian Teilhard de Chardin is unprecedented in such a world-wide event. However, he also is an example of the difficulty within the Anglican Communion, where many find his espousal of same sex marriage and other moral matters to be divisive. Click here to learn more
Grieving for an Oblate Accomplishment (2018)
For many years, Oblates were accustomed to seeing an annual photo of an Oblate missiologist presenting to the pope a comprehensive bibliography listing every book or article written the previous year on Mission, Ecumenism, Dialogue, Sociology of Religion, etc. Known as Bibliographia Missionaria, this book was of immense aid to anyone interested in a topic concerning the spread of the Christian faith. Click Here to learn more
Episcopalian/Anglicans Join Lutherans and Catholics in Reformation Document (2017)
On 31st of October 2017, the final day of the year of the common ecumenical Commemoration of the Reformation, we are very thankful for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, a commemoration that we have shared together and with our ecumenical partners globally. Likewise, we begged forgiveness for our failures and for the ways in which Christians have wounded the Body of the Lord and offended each other during the five hundred years since the beginning of the Reformation until today. Click here to learn more
Four Articles on Oblates and the 50th Anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (2017)
December 19, 2017 – Father John Morin, OMI, and the Haitian US Charismatic Renewal Click Here to learn more
December 10, 2017 – US Oblates and the 50th Anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Part 3: Hispanic Charismatic Renewal Click Here to learn more
November 15, 2017 – US Oblates and 50th Anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal, Part Two Click Here to learn more
September 13, 2017 – US Oblates and the 50th Anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal, Part One Click Here to learn more
Controversial Article
An important Italian Catholic journal, La Civilta Cattolic, has an English version, and in the July 21 issue, there was a controversial article linking Protestant Fundamentalism with Catholic Integralism in the USA. An American bishop has responded with an easily readable article, agreeing with some of the author’s insights, by disagreeing with others. Click Here to learn more
Presbyterians join Lutherans and Roman Catholics (2017)
Five hundred years after the Reformation, one of Protestantism’s leading branches has officially said it now agrees with the Vatican on the main issue at the root of its split from the Roman Catholic Church. Click Here to learn more
Luther, Literacy, and Martin Luther King (2017)
(The Conversation) This year marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s famous 95 theses, which helped spark the founding of the Reformation and the division of Christianity into Protestantism and Catholicism. 
Click Here to learn more
Four Oblates Praised; Vital Statement Examined at Ecumenical Meeting (2017)
During the National Workshop on Christian Unity, held May 1-4 in Minneapolis, MN, four Oblates were praised and a vital statement concerning Social Justice, Mission, and Ecumenism/Interreligious Dialogue was publicized. Click Here to learn more
Commentary on the Statement “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” (2017)
As an ecumenist convinced that Mission is at the heart of Christian Unity, I was stunned at the May 1-4, 2017 National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU)to discover that the statement “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” was published in November, 2011. I had never heard of this remarkable, vital and practical accomplishment of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the World Council of Churches, and the World Evangelical Alliance. Click here to learn more
The 500th Anniversary on the Reformation: A Year of Unparalleled Opportunity (2017)
In his new book on Martin Luther: An Ecumenical Perspective, Cardinal Walter Kasper notes that our ideas about Martin Luther have undergone transformations in a number of ways over the past 500 years. Historically, for Catholics, Luther was the church father of Protestantism, the heretic to blame for the division of the Western Church. Click Here to learn more
Islam and Oblates
The 2017 De Mazenod Conference of the Missionary Oblate Partnership was held February 10-12 at the Oblate Renewal Center in San Antonio, Texas. The theme of this year’s conference: Christianity & Islam: Can We Talk? provided opportunities for enlightened conversations on a highly-charged and often emotional topic. Click Here to learn more
Basics of Islam
The Basics of Islam, presented to Oblate Partners, Feb. 10-12, San Antionio, TX. Scott Woodward, DMin, Oblate School of Theology
Click Here to learn more
Archbishop Hebda encourages homework in uniting Catholics and Lutherans (2017)
Most Rev. Bernard Hebda, Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul/Minneapolis, delivered these remarks at the joint serve led by two Lutheran bishops at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN on Jan. 22, 2017. His remarks set the spirit, though, for the entire year to come when on Jan. 21, 2018, one of the Lutheran bishops will speak at Hebda’s cathedral. Read of his inspiring and joyful presentation. Click Here to learn more
Oblate School of Theology Reformation Achievement: (2017)
Rev. Paul Ziese, Pastor of San Antonio, Tx’s MacArthur Lutheran Church: “There is probably more openness among Catholics to the need for reformation, and more Protestants recognize the wound of the Reformation.” Click Here to learn more
Witnessing to Jesus, and Ecumenism at Royal Wedding of May 19, 2018
African-American Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at the royal wedding is a marvelous combination of witnessing to Jesus, and Christian Unity. His quoting Jesuit theologian Teilhard de Chardin is unprecedented in such a world-wide event. Click Here to learn more
Jim Holland, Praised Indigenous Oblate Missionary, to dismissed oblate, to Honary Oblate?
When our superior general, Louie Lougen, wrote his article for the Catholic Digest on Oblate Spirituality, he mentioned how Oblates are not only specialists in difficult missions, but specialists in making missions difficult (see Dialogue/Islam Page for his article). Click Here to learn more
For Lucien Bouchard OMI’s Ministry to Hmong in Laos
I’m writing these notes about my missionary life in Southeast Asia and will relate especially about my 18 ½ years stay in Laos from Nov. 17, 1956 to May 8, 1975. After I was forced out of Laos by the Communist Lao regime in 1975, I then joined six French ex-Laos missionaries and went with them to Indonesia where we arrived at the end of January, 1977 in the city of Jakarta. Click Here to learn more
Fr. Greg Gallagher, OMI Re-Elected Presiddent of U.S. Catholic Mission Association (May 2016)
Fr. Greg Gallagher, OM, Administrative Councilor/ Office of Mission and Ministry/Assistant Treasurer for the U.S. Province has been I re-elected president of the U.S. Catholic Mission Association. Click Here to learn more
Fr. Gallaher’s role in the choosing the new Executive Director of the US Catholic mission Association.
The Board of Directors of the United States Catholic Mission Association is pleased to announce the selection of Donald L. McCrabb, D.Min, as the new Executive Director for the USCMA, effective Dec. 7, 2015. Click Here to learn more
The Manhattan Decoration, an Oblate Connection (2009)
For most Oblates of a certain age, “Manhattan” means either the island borough in N.Y. City, or the “project” which developed the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But on Nov. 20, 2009, an ecumenical group released a statement pledging their commitment to defend human life, traditional marriage, and the rights of conscience. Click Here to learn more
Buffalo New York, Holy Angels Church, 2 Bishops Statements
Personal Disclosure: the photo to the right shows Episcopalian then Father William Franklin with Father Harry Winter, O.M.I. and Father Franklin’s father-in-law, Joseph Vircillo, at the home of Joe and his wife Catarina Vircillo, in Fr. Winter’s Buffalo, NY parish, St. Rose of Lima, for the Christmas Eve traditional Italian fish dinner, 1998. Also at table but not in the photo is Father Franklin’s Catholic wife, Carmela Vircillo Franklin, a classical Latin scholar, who served as Director of the American Academy in Rome from 2005-10. During that time, Father Franklin served at several Episcopalian and Anglican Churches in Italy. They have two adult daughters.
Such marriages between leaders of two Christian Churches, once very rare, are becoming increasingly frequent. Are we Oblates prepared to work with such leaders?
Catholic and Episcopal Bishops of Western New York Issue Joint Call for Shared Prosperity March 4, 2016 2:57 pm
The Right Rev. R. William Franklin, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, and Most Reverend Richard Joseph Malone, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo issued am inspiring joint pastoral letter late last year, which we would like to share more widely. Our thanks go out to Fr. Harry Winter, OMI for bringing. Click Here to learn more
Priestless County Adapts (1977)
How does a former Oblate parish covering an entire county, adapt to being priestless? Several very significant elements have developed in Monroe County, West Virginia, to help the faith grow. Jim MacGee OMI became the first resident priest in Monroe County, in 1977.
Click Here to learn more
Newman DeMazenod, Bede
In the last issue of VieOblateLife (68,#1),, Bishop Gilles Cazabon OMI explained that St. Eugene visited Blessed Newman in 1859, at Maryvale, England (p. 41). As in many things, St. Eugene was ahead of his time, recognizing Newman’s holiness and insights. Do we need to continue our ecumenical conversion as a congregation? Click Here to learn more
November 22, 2013: Ecumenical and Missionary Aspects of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.
From 1941 to 2006, Oblates ministered in Appalachia, especially in West Virginia. At that time, the Catholic population of the state was less than 5%; Protestants made up about 45% and were considered very anti-Catholic. John F. Kennedy could only win the presidency of the USA if he won his party’s primary election in WV. Click Here to learn more
The following statement, Please click here, is not only a celebration of Maryknoll’s Centennial, but more importantly for Oblates, how to refocus with diminishing numbers. Please consider especially the fourth principal, Mission and the Mass
Vatican 2
Short and incisive explanation of why Vatican II is a “pastoral” council, in which John O’Malley, S.J., summarizes the impact of Vatican II.
From the moment the Second Vatican Council opened, it has consistently been described as a pastoral council, sometimes so insistently and unthinkingly that the expression has become a cliché. The word cliché implies that while the description might well express a truth, it at the same time trivializes the council and produces yawns. Click Here to learn more
For Pope Francis on Vatican II and Ecumenism See Pope Francis Page
Did Seminarians and Student Priest in Rome Influence Vatican II? For Fr. Harry Winter’s Documentation click on the following Chapter links:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
The Four Oblates Who Influenced Vatican II the Most
The first session of the Second Vatican Council began on Oct. 11, 1962 with 33 Oblates listed as “Fathers of the Council,” 5 as periti (experts) and 6 as theologians accompanying individual bishops.1 The number of “Fathers” would change only slightly during the next three sessions, but the number of experts would significantly grow, as each Council Father would change his expert for each session, so more priests could experience the Council. Click Here to learn more
Vatican II and Anti-Clericalism from Paul VI to Pope Francis by Way of the Catacomb Pact
The major helping professions, Medicine, Law and Religion, all face professional deformation. Doctors need a strong bedside manner, or they fail in improving the health of their patients. Lawyers need to be approachable, or they will fail in defending their clients. And pastors must “smell like the sheep,” to use a favorite expression of Pope Francis. Yet the lengthy training of all three professions leads to a separation between the helpers and the helped.
Clericalism is the term applied to clergy who climb higher up than their people. Anti-clericalism is the effort which from time to time the Church develops to return pastors to being one with their people. One important warning: there are Catholics who want their clergy to be clerical, making all their decisions for them, and making their lives easier. As we speak about anti-clericalism, it is important to be on one’s guard against such parishioners.
Pope Paul VI during Vatican II, begged the bishops to simplify their life style and to become more approachable. He himself led the effort.
Walter Abbott SJ, in his edition of the Documents of Vatican II, has observed, in the discussion of the Decree on Bishops, that “During the Council, there was much criticism of the sign of pomp and wealth seen in the lives of bishops. The subject was as delicate as the proper age for episcopal retirement. But as the fourth session closed, Paul VI made an adroit gesture, full of his own generosity, but pointedly symbolic of this ‘humility and simplicity of life.’ He gave each bishop a ring, simple in form and tasteful in design, bearing no jewel nor decoration except a small engraved miter. The ring spoke more eloquently than a hundred decrees” (commenting on #15, p. 407, n. 45).
The final text of the Decree on Bishops, promulgated during the fourth session on Oct. 28, 1965, did contain the expression Abbott refers to: Bishops “should also be mindful of their obligation to give an example of holiness through charity, humility, and simplicity of life” (#15, p. 407). In retrospect, the effort for simplicity was buried in more theological questions in the decree: the relation of bishops to the pope, the development of episcopal conferences, and the compulsory retirement of bishops at a certain age.
One of my close childhood friends, a lieutenant colonel in the USA Armed Forces, arrived in Rome with his wife on Nov. 20, 1964, the day before the third session ended. Word had gone around the seminaries (I was in my fourth year of theological studies and my seventh year in Rome ) that Pope Paul had told the Council Fathers in no uncertain terms to “approach the people.” So when J.J. and Helene and I went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major for the pope’s visit in the afternoon of Nov. 21, after the third session had closed that morning in St. Peter’s, we found cardinals standing uncomfortably in the piazza, waiting for people to approach them. Unaccustomed to this, many Italians stood at a respectful distance.
Helene was the niece of the superior general of a small religious order, and had no awe of cardinals. With American directness she walked up to one of the cardinals and instead of kissing his ornate ring, shook his hand and started chatting with him. Quickly others followed. It was a great lesson that change could happen. Sadly, the next great step forward in declericalizing the Church, the Catacomb Pact, seems to have been forgotten until the cardinals chose Pope Francis. On Nov. 16, 1965, 40 bishops descended into the Catacombs of Domitilla and signed a radical pact: they vowed to forego expensive limousines, glorious palaces and even honorific titles. In internet items concerning a documentary made in 2012 for German tv and called “Pact of the Catacombs–The Secret Pact of Vatican II,” we learn that 500 council fathers would sign the pact and present it to Pope Paul VI as the council ended. Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife , Brazil , seems to have been the inspiration, joined by Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro of Bologna , Italy .
The only complete text of the pact is furnished by Boaventura Kloppenburg OFM, in his book The Chronicle of Vatican II. (Kloppenburg was an expert at Vatican II and later a bishop in Brazil ). In six paragraphs, the signers not only pledge themselves to personal simplicity, but to remake their diocesan administration into social works based on charity and justice for all and led by competent laypeople.
Is there a direct connection between Helder Camara and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires , now Pope Francis? Attempts are being made by Oblates in Brazil to see if either Camara or Bergoglio mention each other in their writings.
A final piece which shows the great interest in this matter was begun by the Franciscan columnist for the national USA Catholic review America , edited by the Jesuits. Daniel P. Horan OFM never expected in his one page article “Lead Us Not Into Clericalism” to stimulate the discussion he did (Oct. 21, 2013, p. 33). There was an explosion of blog responses, letters, and a status update in the Nov. 18 issue, pp. 6-7. Another blog response was printed in the Nov. 25 issue, p. 7; Horan responded in general in the Dec. 9-16 issue, p. 7. He has touched a nerve, and Pope Francis keeps exposing that nerve, in order to address the issue.
As with so many advances, new questions are raised. What does professionalism mean and how does it differ from clericalism? Is the number of pastors who value parish councils increasing? It would seem to be in the monthly parish council meetings that both the substance and style of a new relationship between the pastor and the parish are shown. Reports on this are very mixed.
It would also seem that the leadership of the pope is crucial. Bishops will follow his example; priests will follow the example of their bishops. May Pope Francis, guided by the Holy Spirit, show us what Jesus would have us do regarding clergy lifestyle and example
It would also seem that the leadership of the pope is crucial. Bishops will follow his example; priests will follow the example of their bishops. May Pope Francis, guided by the Holy Spirit, show us what Jesus would have us do regarding clergy lifestyle and example
Secularism
I. John Allen, “Support for “Healthy Secularism”
During Benedict XVI’s Sept. 2008 trip to France, he endorsed what French President Nicolas Sarkozy has dubbed “positive laicite”—a French term for which there is no exact English equivalent, though the usual translation is “secularism.” The basic idea is that religious freedom and church/state separation are positive things, as long as they mean freedom for, rather than freedom from, religion.
The emergence of Islam as the church’s central interfaith preoccupation has turbocharged support for “healthy secularism.”
Proof can be found in the Middle East. Squeezed between two religiously defined behemoths, Israel and the Muslim states which surround it, the tiny Christian minority has no future if fundamentalism prevails. Their dream is to lead a democratic revolution in the region. That outlook reflects a basic law of religious life: secularism always looks better to minorities who would be the big losers in a theocracy.
Momentum towards healthy secularism in Catholic thought has implications well beyond the Middle East.
In both Europe and the States these days, there’s considerable debate about the political role of the church. Critics, including many Catholics, sometimes argue that bishops are “too political.” Americans, for instance, are still chewing over the role the U.S. bishops played in the health care reform debate.
If there is a force in Catholicism capable of balancing the scales, it’s likely to be the relationship with Islam, and the perceived need on the Catholic side to offer a credible model of the separation of religion and politics. That points to a keen irony: The specter of shariah might do more to give Catholic leaders pause about blurring church/state lines than a whole legion of liberal Western theologians. National Catholic Reporter blog, “Pondering Islam and its discontents,” Nov. 5, 2010.
II. May 27-30, 2008 Forum was partly to help the Secularity Team in Indiannapolis develop its program.
Click on Mission with Secularity for the link to more information on the team.
III. The following document was submitted to the participants in the May, 2008 meeting.
Missionary Ecumenism and the May 27-30, 2008 Forum on Secularity
by Harry E. Winter, OMI, hewomi@aol.com, May 4, 2008
…The division among Christians damages the most holy cause of preaching the gospel to every creature and blocks the way to the faith for many (Vatican II, Decree on Missionary Activity, #6; Decree on Ecumenism, #’s 1, 4; Catechism, #855).
…As Oblates with many scattered resources in missionary ecumenism, how can we bring these resources to bear on the challenge of secularity? The recent statement of Cardinal Walter Kasper that “certain features of the Christian mystery have at times been more effectively emphasized by other Churches or Ecclesial communities ” (A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism, New City Press, 2006, #10, highly recommended) applies to both Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
I…Eastern Orthodoxy
…..A friend who visited a state-owned art museum in Moscow not long ago was surprised to observe people kneeling, bowing their heads and praying reverently in public before the icons and other Christian works on display. Some worshipers left a flower or a candle on the floor beside a work. Apparently such gestures are commonplace. That these Christians had encountered the art outside a church seemed to matter not at all, since the art itself was seen in that culture and among the Orthodox as worthy of veneration (Karen Sue Smith, “Artful Contemplation,” America, March 3, 2008, p. 16).
…..With the recent thawing of contact with the Orthodox (“Ravenna Was ‘Breakthrough’ in Orthodox-Catholic Ties,” Zenit, 2/19/08), we need to take advantage of our Oblates who are bi-ritual. In the past two years, the Polish-Canadian pre-novices in Buffalo, NY have shown a great interest in the work of Father Waclaw Hryniewicz, OMI, the Polish Oblate who served for many years on the International Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue. Our Oblate College in Washington, DC, trained many priests of the Maronite and Ukranian Rites.
…..Many Eastern Orthodox leaders have recently indicated a new interest in working with Roman Catholics on secularity. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I has a special concern for environmental issues. “The Green Patriarch” and his actions in this area have the support of the Vatican. Environmental concern is an area where secularists and people of faith can work together.
II. Protestantism
…..”It seems that the evangelical and Pentecostal movements have the most energy in our time” (Dean Hoge, “Challenges Facing the Priesthood in America,” Origins 37 [April 17, 2008, #44] :710). Catholic charismatics have led an amazing convergence with Pentecostals and evangelicals. Although some Pentecostals (and fundamentalists) would still not be caught dead with an RC, the amount of cooperation today is growing by leaps and bounds. Oblates have a strong presence within the charismatic movement, and within earlier movements which also stress the same adult conversion experience (Cursillo and Marriage Encounter, for example).
…..One cannot forget how the Presbyterian Reformed centers of Taizé and Iona have resulted in greater cross-fertilization, for mission and evangelization, especially among the young. Even the late Francis Schaeffer’s center at L’Abri, Switzerland, took the lead in cooperation on reducing abortion, in addition to attracting thousands of young people to its various centers on different continents.
…..Hispanic bishops Ricardo Ramirez CSB (Las Cruces, NM) and Placido Rodriguez CMF (Lubbock, TX) have shown initiative in working with Hispanic evangelicals and Pentecostals. Efforts by World Vision International to build bridges to Catholicism are slow in Latin America, but they are trying. Pentecostal leader Juan Sepulveda has written movingly of ecumenical progress at the Fifth Latin American Bishops Conference (Aparecida, Brazil, 2007): Ecumenical Trends 37 (April, 2008, #4): 9/57-11/59.
…..Ron Rolheiser’s sketching of conservatism versus liberalism (Secularity and the Gospel, pp. 49-50, 85-87) reminds us of the phenomenon of red states and blue states. Red states not only tend to vote Republican and have conservative values; they also have higher rates of religious practice and are rural oriented. When Harvey Cox wrote his classic Secular City, he explained how urbanization is related to secularity (rev. ed., 1966, pp. 3-12). Can our three person secularity team, residing in Indianapolis, IN, also alert Oblates working in more rural and small town areas, to the differences between faith practices in red and blue states?
…..Cox’s ch. 9 “Sex and Secularization” has this marvelous view:
…..If Americans had consciously set out to think up a system that would produce maximal martial and premarital strife for both sexes, we could scarcely have invented a more sexually sabotaging set of dating procedures than we have today (p. 180).
…..Modesty, chastity, and a mature Christian view of sex are important elements in our exploration of secularity.
…..Since Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on social Justice Rerum Novarum (1891), observers have noted that the papacy is liberal in matters of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), and conservative in matters of doctrine. On the Protestant side, Jim Wallis and his journal Sojourners is the latest in a line of evangelical liberals, conservative in doctrine and liberal in JPIC.
…..Here in Buffalo, NY, a growing number of African-American Protestant pastors are discovering the courses in spirituality at the inter-diocesan seminary. Our resources in spirituality at Oblate School of Theology, and Lebh Shomea should be attractive to Hispanic evangelicals and Pentecostals.
III. Proclamation and Dialogue exist in creative tension. The following article from Columban Missions, Nov. 2007, p. 11 challenges us. See the Assisi Page for this article