Here's What's New In Books!
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Translated by John Bowden
Continuum. New York. 2008. Pp. 122
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
This book is the result of pioneering work by the ‘Christians and AIDS’ organization, whose aim is to increase awareness of AIDS in Christian communities so that Christians and the Church play a part in the fight against the illness.
Christians and Sexuality in the Time of AIDS contains testimonies from people who have been affected by AIDS, in different parts of the world, alongside reflections on the issues from leading figures, including Timothy Radclifffe and Lytta Bassett, and a reaction from an African doctor — a vital voice from a sorely tried continent.
By challenging attitudes to sex and the expression of sexuality, relationships and morality, the book suggests new paths towards articulating a theology that is equipped to deal with the modern world. In parts provocative, Christians and Sexuality is essentially a message of hope with the aim that, “those Christians, those who follow the Gospel have and will have more to say, not in order to damage, imprison or kill but in order to support, affirm, give meaning. Like the Word on which it is based, an authentic Christian word is a word which saves.
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Author: Alexander J. Basile
St. Paul. Staten Island. NY. 2008. Pp. 100
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
“How do I know for real if god exists?” “How does a person come to believe in God?” “What if I still continue to have doubts?” These are just a few of the questions we all have asked ourselves at one time or another. The problem today is that society itself no longer supports a positive concrete answer to these concerns. In reply, this book takes the unique approach of finding answers — and ultimately God — through a variety of creative approaches: e.g., a visit to Las Vegas with the French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, examining the empty tomb of Jesus with St. Peter and Mary of Magdala, standing on the Shores of Lake Galilee with Jesus himself, and journeying the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard. In addition, the author has made very creative use of some cornerstone insights from St. Thomas Aquinas, Plato, St. Anselm and others in the areas of theology and philosophy to assist the reader in finding answers, from a Roman Catholic perspective, to the above and many other questions regarding the faith. In a relaxed and practical approach, the author addresses anyone and everyone from ages 18 through 80 who is looking to strengthen his or her faith and personal relationship with God.
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The Franciscan International Study Centre
Franciscans International, New York, 2008. Pp. 216
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
World Poverty — Franciscan Reflections is a unique collection of essays and stories that reveal the far-ranging impact of poverty across the globe. This anthology includes statements on topics that find common ground in the issue of poverty including development, human migration, the environment and more.
How do we understand poverty in our own communities? What does international human rights law have to say? How can the spirit of St. Francis inspire us to address poverty today? This volume provides a solid foundation to begin answering these questions.
An Excerpt from the Book:
One sees that the notion that Francis the “Poverello” had of poverty is much more complex and nuanced than one might think. There is one form of poverty — that of God and of his Christ — that every Christian is duty bound to imitate. This poverty consists in transcending of self through love, in a dependence upon others, in sharing of what one is and what one possesses, in humble service (foot-washing).
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Author: Gregory F. Augustine Pierce
Ave Maria Press. Notre Dame, IN. 2008. Pp. 126
An Excerpt from the Introduction:
The main thesis of this book is that in the Catholic Church we already have such a liturgy. It is call the Mass, which can be loosely translated as “The Sending Forth.” Specifically, the Dismissal Rite at the end of Mass is supposed to send the entire congregation out into the world: “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” This means we should carry out the mission of Jesus to proclaim and inaugurate the kingdom of God. When seen through the lens of the Dismissal, the entire Mass is aimed at this sending forth, and every single person in the congregation is being sent on a mission that is truly worthy of his or her life.
How we will carry out this mission is primarily through our work: on our jobs, with our families, and through our community and civic involvement. To accomplish this mission, we will need a spirituality that will both raise our awareness of the presence of God in our workplace and allow that awareness to inform how we will act. I call that kind of spirituality “The spirituality of work,” and this book concludes with a description of that type of spirituality.
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Author: Fulton J. Sheen
St. Pauls. Staten Island. NY. 2008. Pp. 184
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
In a wide-ranging variety of topics, Sheen brings his inimitable style to these very practical and highly pertinent thoughts for daily living. Initially published in 1955, it is amazing how very relevant these brief reflections are fifty some years later. Happiness, love, habits, environment, will, character, forgiveness, humility, communication, hope freedom, and the practice of religion are the general categories under which these thoughts are arranged. In this work, Sheen discusses fifty-nine areas of daily living and provides biblically based advice on how we can grow and prosper spiritually by putting these thoughts into practice.
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The Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully
Author: Joan Chittister
Blue Bridge. New York. 2008. Pp. 222
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
The Gifts of Years looks at the many dimensions of aging, the purposes and concerns, struggles and surprises, the potential and joys. It deals with the sense of rejection that comes from feeling out of it. It reflects on the temptation to isolate oneself from the changes taking place, and on the need to stay involved. It discusses what happens as old relationships end and shift, change and disappear in favor of the many new people and new challenges that come to take their place. It talks about the fear of tomorrow and the mystery of forever — and how to cope with it all. It is a panoply of central issues that emerge with age to bring us to the fullness of life, to make us new again.
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Author: Bernard F. Evans
Liturgical Press. Collegeville, MN. 2008. Pp.98
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
Voting your conscience can be a challenge. In our emotionally charged political environment, many people are asking about the role of faith in elections. Of course, faith should inform the political choices we make and the way we use our time to try to improve the world. Yet, it seems the loudest Catholic political voices fall in one of two choruses — that of “the left,” advocating for social justice issues, and of “the right,” claiming abortion as the single most important issue.
In Vote Catholic, Bernard Evans helps us get beyond the sometimes deafening din of these choruses. He takes us to the heart of an important third voice — Catholic social teaching — and shows how this teaching can inform Catholics as they wrestle with political choices. Without putting forward a particular platform or advocating particular candidates or positions, he presents a clear set of principles from the teachings to guide our decision-making process. With special attention to the Catholic position on life and human dignity. Evans shows that the issues and the solutions are more complex than our “headline news” world suggests. Complex though the issues are, Evan’s straightforward presentation will help readers go to the polls with faith and confidence.
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission
to Promote Peace One
School at a Time
Author: Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin
Penquin Books. New York. 2006. Pp.349
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do
business, the first you are a stranger, the second you become a
friend, and the third, you join the family, and for our family we are
prepared to do anything --- even die."
In 1993 a mountaineer named Greg Mortenson drifted iinto an
impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram mountains after a
failed attempt to climb K2. Moved by the inhabitants' kindness he
promised to return and build a school. Three Cups of Tea is the story
of that promise and its extraordinary outcome. Over the next decade
Mortenson built not just one but fifty-five schools --- especially
for girls --- in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the
Taliban. His story is at once a riveting adventure and a testament
to the power of the humanitarian spirit.
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Courtesy of Susan Vogt, MA, CFLE
July 31
Have a "plastic party for two." If you can't keep track of your expenses, or are spending too much, spend an evening cutting up all but one (or two) of your credit cards. Keep the one with the lowest interest rate.
July 30
Whose marriage do you admire? It's good to have healthy models of marriage. Hang around with other couples who value their marriage.
July 29
Noting that his grandparents have been married 50 years, Charlie Brown observes, "Grampa says it isn't luck; it's skill" (Classic Peanuts, 9-26-01). Marriage starts with love but skills can make it work. Consider taking a communication class.
July 28
Some spouses need to hold (bite) their tongues more; others need to loosen their tongues and talk more about their feelings or thoughts. Which best fits you?
July 27
"How blessed is the husband of a really good wife; the number of his days will be doubled" (Sirach 26:1). Recent medical research confirms that married men live longer than single men. Sharing life's stresses makes them more bearable.
July 26
"Everyone has part of the wisdom. Everyone has a different part" (Mary Benet McKinney, OSB, Sharing Wisdom). When arguing with your spouse, look for your spouse's part of the wisdom.
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By John L. Allen, Jr.
National Catholic Reporter
Pope Benedict XVI continued to paint his distinctive shade of green in Australia yesterday, repeatedly voicing environmental concerns while linking them to a broader range of Christian doctrines and moral teaching.
In a session with leaders of other religions held in the Chapter Hall of Sydney’s St. Mary’s Cathedral, the pontiff said religions have a unique capacity to foster “sacrifice and self-discipline,” including “a moderate use of the world’s goods.”
That ethos, the pope said, leads men and women “to regard the environment as a marvel to be pondered and respected, rather than a commodity for mere consumption.”
“It is incumbent upon religious people,” the pope said, “to demonstrate that it is possible to find joy in living simply and modestly, generously sharing one’s surplus with those suffering from want.”
Benedict XVI also called upon the religions to challenge “sinister and indiscriminate forms of violence,” promoting peaceful conflict resolution and respect for human dignity. Benedict defined himself as an “ambassador of peace.”
The pope challenged religious leaders to make “goodness, compassion, freedom, solidarity, and respect for every individual an essential part of our vision for a more humane future.”
At the same time, the pope cautioned against defining inter-religious relations exclusively in terms of practical cooperation towards social aims. Dialogue should also focus, he said, upon efforts to understand “the
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By Mary Ann Wyand
Catholic News Service
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- A popular saying reminds people that "good things come in threes."
That saying could apply to "Pathways to Prayer," a three-volume set of CDs featuring guided imagery meditations by Father James Farrell, the new director of Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House in Indianapolis.
The recordings of Father Farrell's soothing voice are set to background music elements with nature sounds to enhance the listener's meditation experience.
They were created to help people grow closer to Jesus by spending quiet time listening for God's voice, Father Farrell explained in an interview with The Criterion, Indianapolis' archdiocesan newspaper.
Since October of 1975, the Indianapolis archdiocesan priest has been a frequent retreat presenter at Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House and has conducted a number of parish missions. Through the years, his guided imagery meditations have become popular with retreatants.
A note on the CD jacket suggests that people "try to create a space for solitude" while listening to the CDs, whether at home or during walks in nature.
"Do not use while driving a car," the jacket information recommends. "Have some tissues nearby if you are prone to tears."
Each guided meditation concludes with calming instrumental music to give listeners time to slowly return to the present moment after their virtual spiritual journey.
"In 'Pathways to Prayer,
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All Things Catholic by John L. Allen, Jr.
Last week brought a Vatican appointment that didn't exactly cut in the direction of what I call "affirmative orthodoxy," meaning Pope Benedict XVI's strong defense of the faith coupled with a gentle, positive style. Archbishop Raymond Burke, named as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, instead has a profile as something of a cultural warrior.
This week Benedict XVI returned to form, with a nomination to a post arguably more consequential than Burke's. On Wednesday, the pope named Jesuit Fr. Luis Ladaria, a Spaniard, as secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The vacancy was created when, on the same day, Benedict appointed Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the CDF since December 2002, as the new prefect of the Congregation for Saints. The move puts Amato, 70, in line to become a cardinal, a typical Vatican way of rewarding loyal service. Given that the result has long been taken for granted, the more interesting question was always whom Benedict would tap as Amato's successor. In many ways, serving as secretary of the CDF -- traditionally known as La Suprema, or the "supreme" congregation -- is one of the most important jobs in the Vatican, especially under a pope who cares passionately about the theological underpinnings of policy choices.
A Jesuit, Ladaria was born in 1944 in Manacor, Spain, part of the Balearic Islands off the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula. He took a law degree at the University of Madrid in 1966, then a theology degree at the Jesuit-run Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt. He earned a doctorate in theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, also run by the Jesuits, with a dissertation on "The Holy Spirit in St. Hillary of Poitiers." That background may have recommended Ladaria to Benedict XVI, very much a man of ressourcement, or a return to the sources of the church,
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Sometimes things need to be said, and said, and said, until they don't need to be said any more. Margaret Atwood wrote that and its truth is the reason why, each year, I write a column on suicide. We still have too many misconceptions about suicide.
I won’t try to be original in this column, but will simply try to re-state, as clearly as possible, what needs to be said over and over again:
What are our misconceptions about suicide?
First, that suicide is an act of despair. Too common still is the belief that suicide is the ultimate act of despair - culpable and unforgivable. To commit suicide, it is too commonly believed, puts one under the judgement once pronounced on Judas Iscariot: Better to not have been born. Until recently, victims of suicide were often not even buried in church cemeteries.
What is more true is that the propensity for suicide is, in most cases, an illness. We are made up of body and soul. Either can snap. We can die of cancer, high blood pressure, heart attacks, aneurysms. These are physical sicknesses. But we can suffer these as well in the soul. There are malignancies and aneurysms too of the heart, deadly wounds from which the soul cannot recover. In most cases, suicide, like any terminal illness, takes a person out of life against his or her will. The death is not freely chosen, but is an illness, far from an act of free will. In most instances, suicide is a desperate attempt to end unendurable pain, much like a man who throws himself through a window because his clothing is on fire. That's a tragedy, not an act of despair.
Given the truth of this, we need to give up the notion that suicide puts a person outside the mercy of God. God's mercy is equal even to suicide. After the resurrection, we see how Christ, more than once, goes through locked doors and breathes
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By Anna-Patrice Bitong
Catholic News Service
MADRID, Spain (CNS) -- More than 100 aid workers for the Catholic Church in Spain explored ways to eradicate poverty and other social problems by focusing on people's spiritual and mental health as well as their physical problems.
Juan Antonio Almonacid, coordinator of the July 3-16 program held outside of Madrid, said the program aimed to "promote humanity" by training Caritas Spain employees and volunteers from 49 dioceses to care for the needs of the whole person.
"If there is poverty, we do not just look to see if a person eats or does not eat. We also try to help with the person's mental and emotional health and fight against human weakness," Almonacid said.
The program also sought to create a common culture among people who dedicate their lives to helping the marginalized. Caritas Spain is the local affiliate of Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization of Catholic aid agencies worldwide.
Jesus Sil, a Caritas employee who works with underprivileged youth, said he benefited from exchanging knowledge and experiences with others in his field.
"I was looking for new techniques to deal with the most difficult part of my job, which is to make young people believe in their capabilities," he said.
Rosa Maria Martin, secretary-general of the Caritas office in Tenerife and a volunteer who works with people affected by AIDS, said the program gave theological answers to social dilemmas and made her feel better equipped to face the "hard reality" of people living with AIDS.
"As Christians, we are sustained by our hope the world will change. We try to give that hope to everyone that comes to" Caritas, Martin said.
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Responding to editors' requests for a regular sampling of current commentary from around the Catholic press, here is a commentary titled "Paul VI versus Playboy," which appeared in the July 20-26 issue of the National Catholic Register, a national Catholic newspaper based in North Haven, Conn. It was written by Donald DeMarco, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.
In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of the University of Notre Dame wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine's fragmented view of human sexuality.
Citing "Humanae Vitae," this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once "the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity." If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, "There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes."
Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned "Humane Vitae" back in 1968. For Playboy, however, the letter was treated as an object of ridicule and its content irreverently dismissed: "Brother, you sound like St. Thomas' lawyer," wrote the Playboy editor, who went on to bless "both kinds" of sexual relations.
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By John Nagy '00M.A.
The Notre Dame Magazine
Every afternoon around 4, a wiry, bespectacled man wearing a faded blue floppy hat with a faded, interlocking yellow ND on the front emerges from the gap in the chain-link fence that surrounds all but the front steps of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. He ambles down the sloped wedge of lawn tethered to a thigh-high German shepherd-mix with a squared jaw whose eyes reassure the stranger, "I won't hurt you."
The pair waits for the light to change at the corner of 28th and River. To their right is that flimsy fence, the friary with barred windows, the long brick-and-glass face of Saint Anthony of Padua School as weather-beaten as the man's cross-trainers, and the abandoned shell of a house in which an almost-abandoned neighbor lived until shortly before he died. To the left, three simple project homes share a streetscape with aging rowhouses and storefronts. Some are burned out and boarded up, others shelter businesses, churches, services, people.
This could be any bare-knuckled neighborhood in a hundred cities in the Northeast, but it isn't just anywhere. It's Camden, New Jersey.
Camden makes headlines at least once a year as one of the poorest and most dangerous cities in the United States. Cramer Hill, Saint Anthony's neighborhood, may be the "nicest" section of the city, but the man on the corner tells me
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The story about Brian's death is true -- but he isn't the author of the essay as the story indicates -- still -- it must have been a favorite of his -- and it has a lot of food for thought and meditation --
17-year-old Brian Moore had only a short time to write something for a
class. The subject was what Heaven was like. "I wowed 'em," he later
told his father, Bruce. "It's a killer. It's the bomb. It's the best
thing I ever wrote.." It also was the last.
Brian Moore died May 27, 1997, the day after Memorial Day. He was
driving home from a friend's house when his car went off Bulen-Pierce
Road in Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He emerged from the
wreck unharmed but stepped on a downed power line and was electrocuted.
The Moore's framed a copy of Brian's essay and hung it among the family
portraits in the living room. "I think God used him to make a poin t. I
think we were meant to find it and make something out of it," Mrs. Moore
said of the essay. She and her husband want to share their son's vision
of life after death. "I'm happy for Brian. I know he's in heaven. I know
I'll see him."
The Room
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the
room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall
covered with small index card files.
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All Things Catholic by John L. Allen, Jr.
Since news of St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke’s appointment as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura was announced June 27, I’ve received numerous telephone calls and e-mails, from both sides of the Atlantic, posing some version of the following question: Was this a case of what the Italians call promuovere per rimuovere … promoting someone in order to get rid of him?
It’s a reasonable question, given Burke’s profile as a lightning rod in St. Louis. Not only is he the American bishop most identified with the push to deny Communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians, but he also engaged in very public spats involving rock star Sheryl Crow and basketball coach Rick Majerus. Basically his last act as archbishop was to issue canonical penalties for Sister of Charity Louise Lears for her support of women’s ordination. While most of Burke’s fellow bishops, and certainly the Vatican, would share the substance of his positions, not everyone applauds his pugnacious way of advancing them.
So, was this a face-saving way of easing Burke out?
To be completely frank, my wife and I are in the middle of a move to Denver, so over the last few days my time has been more occupied with programming our garage door opener and selecting patio furniture rather than the machinations of ecclesiastical appointments. (Someday I’ll try to sort out which I find more puzzling.)
The following, therefore, is not based on any insider insight.
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Bread and wine are ambiguous, both in life and in the Eucharist.
On the one hand, bread is perhaps our primary symbol for food, health, nourishment, and community: Give us this day our daily bread! Let us break bread together! Bread is a symbol for life and coming together.
Few things speak as wonderfully about life as does the smell of fresh bread. The fragrance of fresh bread is the smell of life itself! Yet there is another story to bread. Out of what is bread made? Kernels of wheat that had to be crushed in their individuality to become something communal, flour, which then had to endure fire to be baked into the substance that gives off the smell of life. As St .Augustine once said in a homily:
"For surely this loaf was not made from one grain of wheat? The grains were separate before they came together to became one loaf. They were joined together by water, after first having been ground (contritionem - the Latin verb he uses here). For if the many kernels are not ground and are not moistened by water, they could not come to this form, that we call a loaf. ... And then without fire, there is still not a loaf of bread." Bread must be baked too in a fierce heat. Bread then speaks of both joy and pain.
Wine too speaks in this double way: On the one hand, it is a festive drink, perhaps our foremost symbol for celebration. Wine has nothing to do with basic nourishment or necessity. It is not a protein needed for health, but an extra that speaks of what lies beyond the hard business of making and sustaining a living.
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Frances Omodio, CSJ, LCSW-C, is a Continuing Care Therapist at SLI
Case Study: Fr. Paul
Fr. Paul is a diocesan priest who was treated at Saint Luke Institute for panic attacks, depression and Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stemming from early childhood sexual abuse. The panic attacks, brought on by perfectionism, overworking and memories of childhood trauma, had a serious impact on his
daily life.
Fr. Paul’s panic attacks were especially debilitating while presiding at Mass. His symptoms of severe sweating and trembling made his whole body shake so that he could no longer preside. He experienced a sense of terror, impending doom, a feeling of physical weakness and a loss of control. Over time, these panic attacks, along with his worsening depression and PTSD symptoms, reduced his capacity to “bounce back” in response to life stressors. He was losing the internal resource of resilience.
Defining Resilience
Resilience is defined as the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. It can also be understood as the process of adapting well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or stress. Resilience involves maintaining mental flexibility and emotional balance in dealing with stressful circumstances. Resilient individuals have the freedom to seek support from others and to rely on themselves. They have the mental flexibility to step forward to take action to deal with trauma, stress, and daily demands, or to step back to rest, reflect and re-energize. The ongoing process
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All Things Catholic by John L. Allen, Jr.
National Catholic Reporter
Benedict XVI is back in Italy (at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, to be exact), following the ninth, and longest, foreign trip of his papacy. In Australia, the pope turned in what was, by most accounts, another bravura performance.
A measure of the success of these outings, at least at the level of public relations, is whether the local media feels obliged afterwards to run a feature story along the lines of "Erstwhile enforcer shows human face." The Germans wrote such stories in 2005 after World Youth Day in Cologne, the Spaniards did them after the pope's visit to Valencia in 2006, and the Americans followed suit three months ago.
Sure enough, Monday's Sydney Morning Herald featured the now-predictable headline: "From theologian to pope of the people."
Such glowing reviews, to an extent, may reflect the touch of the church's PR machine, as well as civic boosterism - local authorities invest considerable resources in hosting a papal visit, so no one wants them to fail. In Australia, the current estimate is that federal, state and local governments poured almost $155 million into subsidizing World Youth Day.
All spin aside, however, Benedict XVI really does strike most people as kind and candid, and those two qualities are usually enough to generate positive impressions. Combine that with Benedict's erudition, as well as the elaborate choreography and massive turnout associated with a World Youth Day, and it's little wonder the Aussies were impressed.
Beyond good vibes and great pictures, however, the analytical question in the wake of the pope's July 12-21 trip is whether we saw or heard anything new, anything that might offer clues as to the future direction of the Catholic church or Benedict's papacy.
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A Good Article for Priests and People who live alone and tend to never throw out things --- whose homes are nothing but clutter.
By Brandy Wilson, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- People's clutter can say a lot about their mental health, researchers said at a June 26 symposium on hoarding at The Catholic University of America in Washington.
Among the attendees were social workers, mental health professionals and emergency medical technicians, sharing stories and solutions for helping compulsive hoarders.
"It's easy to look at a hoarder's life and judge, but it's more helpful to come together and help," said Jennifer Berger, a lawyer with the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly in Washington and one of the symposium panelists.
According to the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation Web site, as many as 1.4 million people in the United States are compulsive hoarders.
The condition, defined on the site by Smith College professor Randy Frost, is an obsessive need to acquire and save objects without discarding anything, accumulating so much that living spaces cannot be used for what they're intended and the clutter causes impairment or distress.
But the hoarder isn't always the distressed one. Excessive hoarding can create public safety or health concerns, like fire hazards, pest infestations and other unsanitary conditions.
At the symposium, code enforcers and property managers spoke of instances they intervened at the request of others affected by someone else's massive quantity of hoarded items.
"We sometimes have to go to court at the request of
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PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- When Father Joseph Donnelly became pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, Conn., in 2003, there was "no 'parish staff' to speak of" except a secretary and a religious education director, he said.
Since his arrival he has hired "a full-time pastoral associate, full-time director of religious education, associate religious education director, administrative assistant in faith formation, custodian, secretary/business manager and director of music ministry," along with "a part-time youth minister."
Father Donnelly reviewed his 2,200-household, suburban Catholic parish's recent history during the June 26-27 annual meeting of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management in Philadelphia. Through team-building, he and parish staffers have made themselves accountable to one another, he said.
Another speaker, Leisa Anslinger, who is on the pastoral staff at a Cincinnati parish, described how leaders at her parish have fostered a sense of belonging among parishioners, leading to more ministries and increased stewardship in last 10 years.
The Philadelphia meeting drew business leaders and bishops, philanthropists and pastors, educators, lay pastoral ministers and others to discuss managerial excellence and leadership in Catholic dioceses and parishes.
"Through weekly staff meetings, an annual staff retreat day and job descriptions," Father Donnelly has "tried to encourage an atmosphere of collaboration and team work" in his Connecticut parish. Last year he initiated annual staff reviews in the parish -- reviews he does not conduct alone, but in a collaborative manner with the other staff members and during which even he is reviewed.
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Author: William L. Droel
Acta Publications. Chicago, IL. 2008. Pp. 126
An Excerpt from the Jacket:
Church, Chicago-Style is a celebration of the history of active leadership and lay involvement in the Catholic Church over the last fifty years. By profiling some of the grassroots figures in the Chicago Church and excerpting some of their key writings, author William L. Droel has painted a picture of the passion and personalities that have made the Catholic spirit in Chicago admired and acclaimed around the world.
Included in this book are writings by:
Sr. Patricia Crowley, OSB
Russell Barta
Msgr. John Egan
Fr. Dennis Geaney, OSA
Msgr. George Higgins
Ed Marciniak
Mary Irene Zotti
National Center for the Laity
An Excerpt from the Book:
A Warning From Chicago
Monsignor George G. Higgins
The highly praised Chicago Declaration of Christian Concern, a statement issued in 1977 by a group of Chicago area Catholics [and reprinted in this book], warned that the Catholic church may have lost a generation of lay leadership because of its preoccupation since Vatican II with internal “Churchy” affairs and its consequent devaluation of the laity’s social responsibility.
In particular, the statement pointed to three recent developments among American Catholics. The first was the movement to involve lay persons in the Church’s official
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Author: Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Origins. Vol. 38. Number 5. June 12, 2008
An Excerpt from the Introduction:
“The desire for self-realization can at times enter into conflict with community projects; the search for personal well-being, be it spiritual or material, can render total dedication to the service of the common mission difficult; visions of the charism and of apostolic service that are too subjective can weaken fraternal sharing and collaboration,” the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life says in a new document on authority and obedience. In the instructions released May 28 the congregation also notes that “in some settings the opposite problems are prevalent, determined by an unbalanced vision on the side of collectivity and of excessive uniformity, with the risk of stifling the growth and responsibility of the individuals. The balance between the individual and community is not an easy one and thus neither is that between authority and obedience.”
The congregation says that while many today see any kind of dependence as “humiliating,” religious obedience shows that all are dependent on God and that “to seek the will of God means to seek a friendly and benevolent will that desires our fulfillment.” The congregation says authority and obedience are “two complementary ways of participating in the same oblation of Christ” since these traits are personified in Jesus.
Excerpts from the Document:
“The culture of Western society, strongly centered on the subject, has contributed to the spread of the value of respect for the dignity of the human person, positively fostering the person’s free development and autonomy.”
“When freedom tends to become arbitrariness and the autonomy of the person, independence from the Creator and from relationships with others, then one finds oneself before forms of idolatry
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By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI is known to the world as the successor of St. Peter, the first pope. But for the next 12 months he'll be turning the spotlight on St. Paul, the church's archetypal missionary.
The jubilee year marks the 2,000th anniversary (more or less) of the apostle's birth, and it fits nicely into what has become an important theme of Pope Benedict's pontificate: the Christian duty to evangelize.
As the pope told the Roman Curia last December, the idea of all religions getting along harmoniously does not negate the task of leading others to Christ.
"Whoever has recognized a great truth, who has found a great joy, should transmit it. He cannot in fact keep it to himself. Gifts so large are never destined for just one person," he said.
The pope has pointed to St. Paul as a model of evangelizing energy. Known as the "Apostle of the Gentiles," he preached across a vast swath of Mediterranean lands and helped move the early church into the larger world.
Born in Tarsus, in what is today part of modern Turkey, St. Paul grew up in a Jewish family and became a tent-maker by trade. Said to be present at the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr, he became a zealous persecutor of Christians throughout the Roman lands of the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor.
On the way to arrest Christians in Syria, as recounted in Scripture, he was blinded temporarily by a vision of Jesus Christ. As he recovered in Damascus, he was "filled with the Spirit" and was baptized.
St. Paul eventually made a series of four major missionary journeys that stretched from Jerusalem to Rome, where he was finally put to death by Roman authorities.
Pope Benedict has held up the life of St. Paul as a lesson to modern Christians, a theme he is certain to expand upon during the jubilee year.
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