Fr Jonathan Mitchican on being ordained in the midst of scandals

Photo credit: supplied to Aleteia.org

Newly ordained Ordinariate priest Fr Jonathan Mitchican shares his experience of being ordained to the priesthood in the midst of scandals in this article on Aleteia.org. 

I have had a devotion to St. Mary of Egypt for a long time. I see in her story a powerful narrative of grace that resonates with my own sense of gratitude for the way that Jesus has changed my life. She ran about as far away from God as she could and she wounded herself deeply in the process. Her transformation from sinner to saint was not instantaneous but took humility and a willingness to suffer over a long period of time. It is that kind of humility that we need in the Catholic Church today if we are going to heal from decades of dark secrets and broken promises. It is a patient, slow stripping away of our defenses that will be the only cure for what ails the willful and battered Bride of Christ.

As the news stories began to break during the week of my ordination, I wondered if I was really in the right place. Yet as a new priest, I remain hopeful—optimistic even—for the future of the Catholic Church in my lifetime.

Click to read the entire article.

Corpus Christi Updates: the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Click the image for updates from Corpus Christi Catholic Community for this week.

Letter from Fr. Allen - September 20, 2018

+JMJ+

Dear Friends,

Well, my vocabulary has increased by one neologism: "hurrication." Last week when we were confidently informed that Hurricane Florence would be making an unwelcome and extended visit to the Lowcountry, Fr West and I decided to cancel all activities through the weekend, and my family and I skedaddled to Atlanta. I'm grateful for the time we had with family and old friends there, but I am sorry to have missed being with all of you at the Lord's Altar. In any case, this Sunday we will together give thanks for having been spared the storm's rain and winds, and also pray for our neighbors (quite near) who have suffered so terribly. [Here] you will see information for donating to relief of those impacted by Florence, and I encourage you prayerfully to consider making a gift.

After a week's weather-imposed delay, things are very suddenly getting very busy for us:

• This Friday, 9/21, is Ember Friday in September, a day of abstinence for Ordinariate members. I encourage you to join me for a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament in reparation for the sins of abuse in the Church and for the healing and wholeness of victims. The Holy Hour will be from 7 - 8.00PM.

• Our Wednesday School program of family supper, class for adults, and catechesis of the Good Shepherd for children begins next week - Wednesday, 9/26; supper at 5.30PM; class at 6.00PM.

• Next Sunday, 9/30, at 4.00PM will be our first Evensong & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament of the fall.

Finally, we are in need of nursery workers for Wednesday nights. These are paid positions; if you or anyone you know of might be interested, please email me.

God bless you,
Fr Allen

USCCB: Turning to the Lord

September 19, 2018

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Administrative Committee has issued the following statement today in response to the recent sex abuse scandals.  In the statement, the bishops say they pledge to "heal and protect with every bit of the strength God provides us."

Turning to the Lord

"When each of us was ordained as a bishop, we were told:

'Keep watch over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you to shepherd the Church of God.'

We, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, assembled last week in Washington at this time of shame and sorrow.  Some bishops, by their actions or their failures to act, have caused great harm to both individuals and the Church as a whole.  They have used their authority and power to manipulate and sexually abuse others.  They have allowed the fear of scandal to replace genuine forgiveness from both the Lord and those who have been harmed.  Turning to the Lord for strength, we must and will do better.

The Administrative Committee took the following actions within its authority:
...

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Passion to Evangelize Drives New Ordinariate Catholic Communities

NATION | SEP. 17, 2018

Passion to Evangelize Drives New Ordinariate Catholic Communities
 

Young Catholics, invigorated by the ordinariate's English-Catholic expressions of faith, are actively 'church-planting' and inviting people into their fledgling Catholic communities.

Peter Jesserer Smith

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- At 22 years old, Sarah Rodeo, a Catholic graduate student at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, is engaged in work more associated with evangelical Protestants than Catholics in the Northeast: building a new church community from the ground up.

Rodeo belongs to the Ordinariate Fellowship of Connecticut, one of the nascent groups that aspire to become an official community-in-formation for the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a diocesan structure established by Benedict XVI that reunited the Anglican patrimony to the Catholic Church.

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is one of three established dioceses under the Holy See that reintegrate the Anglican patrimony with the Catholic Church.  In North America, the ordinariate began with a wave of Anglican and Episcopal communities that entered into full communion with the bishop of Rome.  But the ordinariate is seeing its own communities grow, and new communities develop, through active evangelization built on common prayer, fellowship, hard work and perseverance.

...

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Corpus Christi Updates: the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Healing of a Deaf-Mute by unknown artist. Public domain.

Click the image for updates from Corpus Christi Catholic Community for this week.

Letter from Fr. Allen - September 6, 2018

+JMJ+

Dear Friends,

I'm very much looking forward to the beginning of our Fall Christian formation program - "Wednesday School" - and hope you will consider participating if you have not in the past. We have a simple supper in the parish hall beginning at 5.30PM, our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for children and class for adults start at 6(-ish)PM, and we make sure everyone is on their way home by 7PM. Read here for more about our offerings.

Parents of children in Catechesis must register their children and also attend the Safe Environment workshop this coming Wednesday (9/12) at 5.30PM in the church. Please read more about the Safe Environment meeting here.

If you would like help by volunteering to provide one of our Wednesday evening meals or a portion thereof (let us not neglect dessert as is the habit of some!), please contact Judi.

We are also hoping to provide a nursery for children below Catechesis age. If you or someone you know would be interested in staffing the nursery, please let me know.

God bless you,
Fr Allen

Required Safe Environment Workshop

Christ Child as the Good Shepherd by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

UPDATE 16Sep2018: This workshop is rescheduled for Wednesday, 19 September, due to Hurricane Florence. Our regular schedule of 5.30PM family supper and 6.00PM classes for adults and children will resume on Wednesday, 26 September.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at Corpus Christi
Safe Environment Workshop

Wednesday, September 12, 5.30PM
at St. Mary's (Church)

Dear friends,

At Corpus Christi, we are excited to offer Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for the formation of our children, so that they may grow with their Good Shepherd "in stature and in wisdom and in favor with God and man" (Lk 2.52).

We are also completely committed to the safety of our children. To that end, we ask that at least one parent of each child participating in Catechesis attend our Safe Environment Workshop next Wednesday evening. The meeting will be brief, about 30 minutes. Scarlett Crawford, out Director of Religious Education, will present important information about our Safe Environment program, both for you and your child. As required by our certification process, you will be asked to sign a form stating that you have received the information. To participate in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, it is essential that you attend the workshop, receive the information, and sign the form.

There will be a short and fun Bible lesson for children during the workshop. We do not offer the "Teaching Touching Safely" program for children. Instead, we provide you the parents with age appropriate information for your children - you know your children best and how best to communicate that information to them.

Again, the workshop will be brief, and following the Safe Environment presentation, I will be available to respond to questions and discuss with you the current issues surrounding abuse in the Church.

Our first classes for children and adults will be on Wednesday, September 19, in the parish hall: Family supper at 5.30PM; class at 6.00PM.

Thank you for your interest in Catechesis! I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday - in the meantime, if you have any questions, please do let me know (email; 843.261.4188).

Faithfully in Christ,
Fr. Allen

P.S. If you haven't yet registered your child for Catechesis, please do so now!

Ordinariate Community in the News

image by Jeff Witherow for Catholic Courier

Bishop Lopes recently visited the Fellowship of St Alban, an Ordinariate community in the Rochester, NY, area. The Catholic Courier covered the visit:

Among the distinct liturgical elements in the Aug. 26 Mass were Bishop Lopes facing ad orientem(liturgical east) rather than toward the congregation for most of the prayers; a large portion of the Mass being sung; worshipers kneeling in the first row of pews to receive Holy Communion; and prayers featuring the words “thee,” and “thy” in place of “you” and “your.” For instance, “The Lord be with you” was followed by the response “And with thy spirit.”

Father Simington said the Fellowship of St. Alban comprises approximately 10 families, and that an average of 30 people attend the fellowship’s weekly 11:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Cecilia. However, he said many lifelong Roman Catholics “who have sort of found an attraction to what we do” also have become connected with the fellowship. The Aug. 26 Mass attracted more than 100 people, and the Meet the Ordinariate event drew about 80.

Read the full article here.

Benedict, Viganò, Francis, and McCarrick: Where things stand on nuncio’s allegations

J.D. Flynn, Catholic News Agency
 

In a testimony released Aug. 25, Archbishop Carlo Viganò wrote that in 2006, he sent a memo to his Vatican superiors, which said that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had a history of sexual misconduct with seminarians and priests and that an example should be made of him for the good of the Church.

Viganò claimed that his memo was ignored, and so he sent a second one in 2008. That one, he said, had its desired effect. His testimony said he was told that Pope Benedict XVI imposed “canonical sanctions” on McCarrick in 2009 or 2010, forbidding him from living in a seminary, celebrating sacraments publicly, and from making other kinds of public appearances.

Finally, Viganò alleged that Pope Francis knowingly ignored Benedict’s sanctions on McCarrick, and made the cardinal one of his closest advisors. For that, Viganò said, Pope Francis should resign.

The story is simple, but the the fallout from the Viganò testimony has become quite complex... (keep reading)