FOCUS E-NewsDecember 4 - 9, 2017 Edition: Correction

Please support this work! Donate $125 or more andreceived a copy of Sr. Chris Schenk's groundbreaking book,

Crispina and Her Sisters!

More than 105,000 views in the first year! Please supportCatholic Women Preach!

Please take the Catholic Women Preach survey and help usto make it better.

Sign up for our next teleconference with Jamie Manson onJanuary , 2017 as she discusses the future of religious life!

From the Executive Director'sDesk

There are few things that bringmore joy to my heart than toknow that an initiative we havehelped birth is a blessing to ourCatholic sisters and brothers.

Catholic Women Preach (CWP),an online preaching resourcelaunched just one year ago, hasgrown far beyond our initialexpectations. In the first year,Catholic women preachers fromthe United States and aroundthe world have drawn over105,000 views. This is an

affirmation that Catholics areready -- even hungry -- to hearand be inspired by the faithperspective of women in thechurch.

The numbers tell a story, but weare currently conducting asurvey to learn how our viewersare responding to CatholicWomen Preach (CWP); how theyare using it in their parishes orcommunities; and how we canimprove it.

While the survey has just beenreleased, we are alreadyreceiving responses that areexciting and encouraging.

Ninety-five percent (95%)of respondents view CWPto get the faith perspectiveof Catholic womenreflecting on Scripture.Seventy-two percent (72%)of respondents view CWPweekly.Seventy-five percent (75%)of respondents say thatCWP helps them tounderstand the untappedpotential of women aspreachers.Eighty-five percent (85%)of respondents say CWP ispart of their spiritualpractice.Ninety-five percent (95%)of respondents share CWPwith friends.Eighty-six percent (86%) ofrespondents belong to aCatholic parish.

Respondents also offeredcomments on the value of CWP.When asked what they foundvaluable responses included:

"I like to listen and I then like to

read it [the text]. Both areimportant to me."

"The fabulous DIVERSITY ofyour preachers! The timelinessof the material. I like CatholicWomen Preach the way it is!"

"All of it! I love the variety ofwomen who share the word— amore inclusive church andmessage. Everything!"

We will give a full report fromthe survey in a few weeks. Ifyou have not completed thesurvey, please help us learnwhat is of value to you and howwe can improve CWP by addingyour response.

In the meantime, don't miss ourline up as we enter a newliturgical year. Catholic WomenPreach will expand your faithperspective as you openyourself to the inspirationalwisdom of women as we prepareour hearts this Advent for thecoming of God's love into thisworld and the work of theGospel.

Deborah Rose-MilavecExecutive Director

Cardinal Marx gives moredefinition to his plan toappoint lay people to leadparishes

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt reportsthat Cardinal Reinhard Marx'sduties in Rome have notdetracted from his efforts toreshape his diocese back inBavaria. In March he announcedplans to allow lay people to leadparishes, saying a prototype

would be tried out in eachregion.

“We do not want to proceed by akind of brainstorming Metaplantechnique,” he said in his newinterview with the MünchnerMerkur.

“I want to drive by sight,proceed step by step and alsoexperiment. The whole projectmust be well prepared as we areentering unchartered territory,”the cardinal explained.

“We will be learning by doing, asit were. We will have to considerwhat relationship the leadershipteam will have with the dean andwhat roles the auxiliary bishopand the priest will play."

Marx again pointed out that thepriest would not have theleading role and would notoversee everything in thesenewly formatted parishes.

“He will, of course, celebrate theEucharist and proclaim the Wordof God, but I am convinced thatan authoritarian style ofleadership – according to themotto: one person must call theshots and the others click theirheels and obey – is no longercalled for. Modern leadershipconsists of pooling people’stalents and not getting them tocarry out one’s own ideas,” heinsisted.

The cardinal said it’s absolutelyessential to make parishes morealive, but said this means theChurch has to bring its languageup to date.

“People increasingly find itdifficult to understand what weare proclaiming and do not evenunderstand our sermons,” hesaid.

“I do not fear for the future ofthe faith and the GospelMessage, as it is a verypowerful message indeed. Butwe must try and find new waysof reaching people,” hestressed.The interviewer also askedCardinal Marx if he thoughtChristians could be members ofthe “Alternative for Germany”(AfD), a right-wing political partythat rejects the Church’s stanceon refugees and immigrants.Read more

The Argentines haveinterpreted Amoris Laetitiacorrectly

Marie Malzac writes that VaticanSecretary of State CardinalPietro Parolin has affirmed thatthe Argentine interpretation ofAmoris Laetitia is correct.

In more than 1,000 pagesof Acta Apostolicae Sedis, theofficial gazette of the Holy Seethat contains documents thepope wishes to make public, theparagraph in question bestowsthe character officialMagisterium – or the teachingsof the pope – on an exchange ofletters between Francis andbishops of the Buenos Airespastoral region on the subject ofthe bishops’ plans to allow, insome circumstances, remarrieddivorcees to receivecommunion...Read more

CST and Sexual Harrassment

Brianne Jacobs argues that thecornerstone of Catholic socialteaching is the defense ofhuman dignity. Every person hasinnate and infinite dignityimparted by God. All actions inand by society may be judged asjust or unjust, good or sinful,based on whether or not theyuphold this fundamental dignityintrinsic to every human life.Here are three reasons whysexual harassment violatesCatholic social teaching.

Sexual harassment violates thedignity of the person beingharassed. If you are a victim, itcommunicates that your value isnot based on your dignity as ahuman person. Your value isbased on the sexual role youplay, without your consent, forthe person harassing you. It isdiminishing: It reduces you froma full person to an object foruse by the harasser. Healthysexuality does the opposite. Ahealthy sexual relationshipaffirms agency and dignity withinthe vulnerability of desire.

There is a spectrum ofinappropriate harassment. AlFranken’s grope and MattLauer’s locked door aredifferent. But everything alongthe scale communicates thesame message: I have thepower to lock you down, thepower to make you the object Iwant. It is terrifying andhumiliating.Read more

Vatican Bank official removed

La Croix reports that theInstitute for Religious Works(IOR), commonly known as the"Vatican Bank," has launched aninternal probe into the activitiesof its former deputy directorgeneral, Giulio Mattietti. Theofficial was dismissed onNovember 27.

His sudden removal from theIOR was to ensure he does notremove documents, well-informed sources told the Italiannews agency ANSA. Theinvestigation will focus on thosedocuments and on his computerfiles, the sources said.Mattietti's office at the institutehas been closed, but not sealedoff.

Vatican spokeswoman PalomaGarcia Ovejero confirmed onNovember 29 that Mattietti hadbeen dismissed but did not giveany reasons for his removal.Mattietti was appointed deputyin November 2015 along withDirector General Gian FrancoMammi and after a successfulcareer had been tipped for thetop job.

The sources also claimedanother IOR staffer was alsosacked recently, ANSA said.

On June 20, the Vaticanannounced the surpriseresignation of Italian laypersonLibero Milone who wasappointed Auditor General of theHoly See just two years earlier.Read more

Correction: Fr. BryanMassingale considers what

the Ignatian contributionshould be in fighting racism

Jesuit Bryan Massingale knowsthat dealing with the reality ofracism in the United States is noteasy. If it were, we would bewell on our way to a more justworld. But to have an honest,adult conversation about race,people might need to feeluncomfortable—embarrassed,ashamed, fearful, angry,overwhelmed, helpless and/orparalyzed—because there arefew issues that grip and affectus emotionally more than theissue of race.

What ought to be the Ignatiancontribution to the fight forracial justice, given our missionand our values? We start bylooking at “the signs of thetimes,” that phrase from theSecond Vatican Council thatreminded theologians and churchleaders that if we are to speakwith credibility and effectivenessto our world, we have to groundourselves in what is really goingon.

A good place to start is bylooking at our world through thelens of the college students whowill graduate this spring as theclass of 2018. What has beenthe experience of this seniorclass, and our country, whenexamined through the lens ofrace?

When the class of 2018 werefirst-year students, buying theirschool supplies, packing up theirbelongings and moving intoresidence halls in August of theirfreshman year, Michael Brown

Jr. was killed on the streets ofFerguson, Mo. That summerignited a series of protests,epitomized by the slogan “Handsup. Don’t shoot.” But MichaelBrown was simply one of many—all too many—people who werekilled: unarmed African-Americans, men and women,killed for doing nothing exceptshopping in a mall, ringing adoorbell in the middle of thenight to ask for help, or sittingon a playground swing andplaying with a toy gun.Read More

Why Sacramental RigorismFails

Cathleen Kaveny argues thatmany conservative Catholicsremain opposed to relaxing thecanonical prohibition againstgranting Communion to thedivorced and civilly remarried.And many progressive Catholicsperceive their more conservativecounterparts as caring moreabout abstract legal rules thanflesh-and-blood human beings.

In my view, however, thisparticular perception ismisplaced. Most Catholics whooppose relaxing the rules onCommunion are neitherheartless nor unmerciful. Theythink that a more lenient practiceis inconsistent with Jesus’ wordsin the gospels—a debatablepoint, and one on which manyscholars disagree. But morethan biblical interpretationshapes the approach of suchconservatives.

They also believe the best wayfor the church to help weak and

sinful human beings flourish inthe long run is to hold the lineon the canonical prohibition. Thisbelief also needs to bechallenged, because it rests onan unrealistic notion of thepower of legal norms, includingcanonical norms.

As I understand theconservative Catholic case, itruns like this. Lifelong maritalcommitment increases one’schances of personal happiness.

Perseverance during the toughtimes is difficult but essential;studies show that most marriedcouples who weather theirstorms find themselves in abetter place in a few years’ time.The canonical prohibition has acarrot; it promotes the blessingsof a lifelong sacramental union.But it also seems to have a stick—the threat of denyingCommunion incentivizes marriedcouples to stick it out.

In the view of conservativeCatholics, while the prohibitionmay appear cruel, it is actuallykind. They admit that a fewtragic cases may slip through thecanonical cracks.Read more

African-American Catholicsare the future

As an African-American Catholic,I often feel like the unnamedblack man from RalphEllison’s Invisible Man, presentbut not really seen.

I was raised steeped inCatholicism—from my name,Mary Cecelia, to my education. I

grew up in Maryland in the1960s and ’70s. I attended thenow-shuttered St. Pius VCatholic School, where I wastaught by teachers from theOblate Sisters of Providence, anorder founded in 1829 toeducate and care for African-American children. I wore myfaith proudly, even when thebonds of it were strained. Whenmy classmates and I got theside-eye from the white Catholicschool kids at citywide field daygames held in Patterson Park, orwhen some members of theDaughters of Charity of St.Vincent de Paul at thepredominantly white Seton Highattributed my high test scores todivine intervention rather thanintellect, I remained proud ofboth my heritage and my faith.

My Catholic education continuedat Fordham University, wherethe Jesuits offered a fineeducation. It was at Fordhamwhere I met my husband, andthough he has strayed from thefold, our son would not havebeen baptized in any other faith.Read more

Does signing a petitionsupporting the Pope help?

In October, Anthony Ruff wrotea thoughtful article about thepetition that is circulatingsupporting Pope Francis.

Ruff writes that a petition insupport of Pope Francis hasarisen from the Czech Republicand Austria and is now circlingthe globe.

Are these petitions a good idea?

Is this a constructive way topromote discussion and dialoguein the Church? If one supportsPope Francis, should one signthe petition?

I admit that I’m a bit uneasywith this thing. It feels to memore like competition thandialogue. I fear it becoming aproxy war, but at the wronglevel. Discernment in the Churchhappens at the level of thehierarchy, which of course wehope is deeply in touch with theentire People of God includinglay people, clergy, religious, andtheologians. (The Middle Ageshad it right when they held thatthe magisterium consists ofthose who teach – bishops andtheologians.) What is the realmeaning of a petition, and whatvalue does it derive from havingmore rather than lesssignatories?

Massimo Faggioli stated onsocial media why he did notsign:

I understand the temptation tosign it, but it’s ecclesiologicallywrong and ecclesially-politicallymisguided. The Catholic Churchis a Church of reception, not ofpetitions (right or left,conservative or liberal).

And this:

“They” need to count how fewthey are, “we” do not need to dothat.

But Joseph S. O’Learyresponded:

This is a subtle point of

ecclesiology. Offhand I can’tthink why petitions should not bepart of church life. The citizensof Ghent addressed petitions toJulius II and Leo X. A glance atGoogle indicates the Jews, andthe citizens of Bologna,addressed petitions to the pope.No doubt many individuals andgroups have petitioned the popewith various requests. …It’s hardto see why even this should bean ecclesiological no-no.

When asked whether the popereally has any need of such apetition, co-organizer Fr. PaulZulehner of Vienna saidthis to katholische.deAsztrik Várszegi, archabbot ofPannonhalma and also a bishop,told us that of course he wouldsign – although he finds it veryregrettable that such a thing iseven necessary.

And I feel a bit the same way.

On the other hand, we knowfrom the pope himself that heloves pluralism and the openexchange of opinions and doesnot suppress them. In this light,the engagement that we want isabsolutely creative for the life ofthe Church.

Asked about the aim of thepetition, Zulehner said this:I don’t know what will come fromthis. But I sure am amazed athow quickly it is going. That injust a few days, so much firehas flamed up, so to speak. Thissays that the ground wasalready very dry and ready toburn. The detail of how manypeople it will ultimately be isprobably not really so important.

In any case, we will gainunbelievably many supporters. Ifit continues as now, I foreseeover 10,000. And the media willnot be able to ignore this.“Radio Vatican” has alreadyreported on it.

I suppose this petition has a bitof official recognition in thatseven bishops have signed it:Beer, Vac, Hungary; Dowling,Rustenberg, South Africa; Iby,Eisenstadt, Austria (retired);Krätzl, Vienna (auxiliary);Lobinger, North-Aliwal, SouthAfrica (retired); Malý, Prague(retired); Várszegi OSB, titularbishop and Benedictine abbot ofPannonhalma, Hungary.

I haven’t signed. If enoughbishops and superiors andmainline theologians sign on, willI reconsider? I don’t know. ButI’m not there yet.Read more

Burlington, VT diocese plansfirst synod since 1962

The Bennington Banner reports thatBurlington Bishop Christopher J.Coyne has announced plans toconvene the first diocesan synod inVermont since 1962.

Its purpose is to establish a pastoralplan for the immediate future of theCatholic Church in Vermont and toestablish particular laws and policiesto do so. This will be at least ayearlong project and is "a seriousundertaking by the Church," he said."It is not a simple convening ofmeetings."

The Roman Catholic Diocese ofBurlington serves a population of

118,000 Catholics.

There are 65 active priests (45diocesan and 20 religious order or extern) and 43 permanent deaconsministering in 73 parishes and 23missions. The diocese includes 14Catholic schools (including St.Therese Digital Academy) and acatechetical system with anestimated 4,700 students. ThroughVermont Catholic Charities' socialservices and homes for the aged,the Diocese of Burlington assistedmore than 6,000 Vermonters lastyear.

The bishop will serve as theconvener and presider of the synod,and membership will contain both ex-officio members of the clergy andlaity as well as representatives ofreligious communities, lay fraternitiesand at-large representation such asyoung people, parents and minoritycommunities.Read more

Are you interested in being a part ofthe synod? Consider contacting toBishop Coyne on the website at:http://bishopcoyne.org/

The French agree, God doesnot throw banana peels infront of people to see if theywill slip

It took the French churchdecades of theological debate,years of waiting and a few daysof last-minute controversy tochange one phrase in itstranslation of the classic prayer"Our Father."

French Catholics finally wentahead with it Dec. 3, the firstSunday of Advent, and

Massgoers said, "Let us notenter into temptation," ratherthan the original wording, "Donot submit us to temptation,"chosen after the Second VaticanCouncil.In the end, the switch wentrelatively smoothly, even if someparishioners mumbled the wrongphrase. But it came only afterboth long discussions about thetranslation and delays due to theword-for-word wrangling withRome over other liturgicaltranslations.

As has happened with severalother language groups, Frenchbishops are still working on anew translation of the RomanMissal — the book of liturgicalprayers that priests use — afterVatican officials said their 2007translation was not close enoughto the Latin original.

Pope Francis' recentloosening of the tight translationguidelines laid down in the 2001Vatican instruction LiturgiamAuthenticam have promptedEnglish- and German-speakingCatholics to consider going backto earlier translations. The issuewas never as contentious inFrench, which is based on Latin,but some changes may be made.On Sunday, many parishespassed out sheets containing thenew French text, with thechanged words in bold, to helphesitant parishioners along.At Saint-Ignace, the Jesuitchurch in Paris, the new wordingwas written across a largebanner for all to see.

Fr. Emmanuel Schwab, pastorof Saint-Léon Parish in Paris,

said the new translation was"less ambiguous" than theearlier wording.

"The version 'do not submit us totemptation' made some peoplethink God threw banana peels infront of people to see if theywould slip and fall, but that isabsolutely not the biblical viewof God," he said after Mass.

Text Link

Guadalupe continues toinfluence America

Nicole Flores writes that therange of values and visionsmapped onto Our Lady ofGuadalupe reveals her contestedmeaning for Catholicism, cultureand the common good.

As I was growing up in aMexican-American family,Guadalupe was everywhere, butmost notably in the face of mygrandmother, María GuadalupeGarcía Flores. A humble womanwithout much formal education,her faith guided her as sheraised 12 children amid immensepoverty in rural Nebraska. Mygrandmother embodied adistinctly Guadalupan presence:prayerful, patient, joyful andstrong. Whether nurturing achild, a friendship or a garden,she knew how to help thingsgrow.

In her habits of magnifying theLord and lifting up the lowly, sheemulated Guadalupe byilluminating God’s pervasivebeauty and good news to thepoor. It was my grandmother’s

witness to beauty and justicethat led to my own fascinationwith Guadalupe. Beginning withthe presentation I made inseventh grade about my family’shistory and continuing in myacademic research in theologyand ethics, I have longed toknow more about mygrandmother’s namesake andwhat her symbol means for thechurch and the world.Read more

More women are sharing their stories of being called to thediaconate. Share your story at our 100 Women Deacons

campaign!

You won't want to miss theseFutureChurch events!

Please support this work!

Be inspired! Catholic Women Preach!

Please support this effort!

Add your name to our 100women deacons list!

Start a conversation withDeaconChat

Write a letter to our U.S.cardinals asking them tosupport Cardinal AndersArborelius' idea of a Collegeof Women advisors to PopeFrancis

Honor the Mary of Magdala in your life by having hername added to our list on Catholic Women Preach!

Learn what you can do to saveyour parish community

New! International priestsstatistics!

U.S. Priest statistics

New! Emerging Models ofParish and Community Life2017 - 2018 SERIES

Get the latest scholarship on the role of earlyChristian women by Christine Schenk, CSJ. Receive a

copy of Crispina and Her Sisters when you donate$125 or more to FutureChurch!

Crispina and Her Sisters willopen your eyes to the rolewomen played in the shapingand expanding Christianity

As co-founder of FutureChurch,Christine Schenk, CSJ spentdecades researching and writing

about women in earlyChristianity. Like many feministswho have recovered the historyand importance of women'sauthority, ministry andleadership in early Christianity,Schenk's book, Crispina and HerSisters unearths new evidencethat women held prominent rolesin shaping and spreadingChristianity. The book hasalready received accolades fromprominent scholars such as GaryMacy, Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ,and Joan Chittister, OSB.

The book will be released onDecember 15. FutureChurch willbe offering a free copy ofChris's book for a donation of$125 or more. Learn aboutwomen in early Christianity andsupport FutureChurch at thesame time.

Opportunities from our friends