Catholic Parish Research Articles

Fostering togetherness in superdiverse Catholic parishes

ABSTRACT This article analyses how togetherness is fostered in superdiverse Catholic settings, and develops conceptualisation of togetherness through encounter, building on long-standing work on throwntogetherness and diversity. We draw on the context of faith education in four Catholic parishes in Norway and engage with the growing body of work on migration and Catholicism in anthropology and beyond. During fieldwork in superdiverse Catholic parishes, where the parishes main faith education for children and youth was offered in a shared language, Norwegian, we found both a sense of togetherness and emphasis placed on fostering togetherness among those in charge. We therefore ask: How is togetherness fostered in such superdiverse settings, what does this look like, and how is difference and disagreement negotiated? The article contributes to current debates in migration studies (1) with conceptualisation of togetherness through encounters, emphasising the (potentially) inclusive relationality of co-presence in shared spaces, as sites of throwntogetherness; (2) by analysing shared rather than ethno-linguistically divided religious activities, transcending nationally bounded thinking; and (3) by engaging insights from interdisciplinary research on migration and Catholicism. In the conclusion we discuss the uniqueness and broader relevance of our findings and of conceptualising togetherness through encounters, beyond Catholic and other religious spaces.

Two “Fires” of Leadership: Is it Possible to Listen and Lead Parish Cultural Change?

Pope Francis has claimed that “we are living through a change of epoch, the deepest level of which is cultural.” “A change of epoch” entails much change in Catholic parishes especially across the Western world. Change can be chosen or unchosen. Actively chosen change is explored in this paper. Examples include parishes self-consciously adapting to become more mission-focused or purposefully adopting more traditional liturgical styles. Drawing on empirical case studies of British parishes undertaken in the course of my doctoral research in 2017 and 2018, this paper explores two different styles of leadership using Pope Francis’s metaphor of two “fires.” While “powerful flame” stands for bold, visionary leadership, “charcoal fire” represents more mild and tender listening. I consider questions such as: What is the cultural impact on a community when listening is engaged in, and when it is not? How might listening impact a parish’s direction of travel if intentional change is pursued? And what limitations to change might a listening approach entail?

Spirituality and Support in the Aftermath of Violence: Qualitative Empirical Research among Victims of the War on Drugs in the Philippines

Abstract Since Duterte became the president of the Philippines in 2016 and announced a ‘War against Drugs’, extrajudicial killings were happening frequently, especially in areas where many people living in poverty. This article presents empirical research based on in-depth interviews with women whose partners or sons were killed in the ‘war against drugs’ and with pastoral leaders/volunteers, related to a Catholic parish in the Philippines. The question was how these women experience spirituality and how they describe their needs and expectations from the parish. We explain how discourses about ‘sin’ or ‘spirituality’ are used in various ways in the context of the Philippines: as a legitimation for the extrajudicial killings, or in the context of supporting vulnerable persons in their flourishing. This article helps us to understand how these concepts acquire different meanings depending on the context in which they are used and how they can contribute to the flourishing of persons.

Synodal Discernment on a Catechetical Drama called “Service of Light,” Its Impact on the Integral Education and Edification of Faith of the Laity

Synodality is a vital characteristic of the Catholic Church's life and mission, highlighting joint revitalization through listening, discernment, and active participation. Inspired by this concept, researchers started a study exploring the impact of the "Service of Light," a catechetical drama observed during Easter vigil, on local parishioners within the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia in the Philippines. Employing an exploratory and qualitative approach, the researchers examined the denotative and connotative meanings embedded in images and narratives surrounding this ritual, using Roland Barthes' semiotic model for analysis. The study involved visiting five local Catholic parishes within the archdiocese, conducting purposive sampling for survey interviews, and gathering visuals. Results uncovered meaningful impacts of the Service of Light on the integral Christian education and spiritual edification of the parishioners. The catechetical drama served as a powerful teaching tool that deepened the parishioners’ understanding of Christian doctrine. It helped develop a sense of belonging within their faith community. Moreover, the Service of Light generated spiritual renewal and strengthened individual faith. The ritual's symbolism aroused a deeper connection with God, empowering parishioners to live out their faith more fully in daily life. The Service of Light was acknowledged as a tool of faith that continues to inspire the parishioners to bear fruit for years to come. In conclusion, the study underscores the significance of the Service of Light in parishioners' Christian education and spiritual journey, emphasizing its role in fostering community, deepening understanding of faith, and inspiring personal and communal growth. As a recommendation, the researchers are suggesting future research to explore the perspectives of ordained clergy for a comprehensive understanding of its impact on Christian communities.

Infância, conselhos tutelares e agendas conservadoras: ativismo religioso para além das fronteiras da escola

This article analyzes the presence of religious individuals in guardianship councils and how occupying the debate on public policies for children and adolescents has become a space for producing legibility for certain individuals in politics. Thus, I intend to demonstrate that guardianship councils function as a kind of engagement technology, a place for exercising the most varied electoral pedagogies, serving as a space for training, testing, and learning for men and women who hold leadership positions in their faith communities – Evangelical churches or Catholic parishes –, without any political experience or experience as public servants.

‘For everything, the local priest is a helper in adversity’: Catholic clergy and the new order in post-Habsburg Tyrol

ABSTRACT Austrian North Tyrol – the northern part of the former Habsburg Crownland not occupied and annexed by Italy after the Great War – is often presented as a redoubt of tradition and religiosity, in which conservative powerbrokers and the Catholic Church easily wielded rural allegiances to their own ends. Such narratives, however, elide the substantial efforts necessary to maintain this system through periods of crisis. In this article, the author investigates how a key group of actors within the Catholic conservative elite – Roman Catholic parish priests – navigated one of these periods: the post-imperial transition. Identifying the Tyrolean clergy as a sub-elite that mediated between higher political elites and the wider population, the author uncovers how local resistance challenged the influence of the Church in the aftermath of the war. In response, priests led a Catholic offensive aimed at winning back their parishes and reaffirming the hierarchies that underlay conservative rule in Austrian Tyrol. Ultimately, through their multiple functions and role as mediators, Tyrolean parish clergy contributed in often-overlooked ways to shoring up Catholic conservative hegemony and extending it across the interwar period.

PROTESTANT FAMILIES IN THE PŁOCK DIOCESE IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES

ABSTRACT: Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the problems of the religious minority of Protestantism in the Płock diocese in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was one of the largest religious groups that came to Poland in the 16th century. The above-mentioned diocese of Płock was also inhabited by Protestant communities which disappeared over time in the areas of some of its Roman Catholic parishes. However, they exist to this day in some other places. Methods: The following article utilizes the historical method and reconstruction of facts. The following article benefits from the materials from the Diocesan Archives in Płock, as well as resources from archival extracts regarding the inhabitants of the Protestant denomination living in the area of ​​the Płock diocese, included in the protocols of general and deanery visitations. Results: Using archival resources, this study presents the situation of Protestant families, their number in individual parishes of the Płock diocese, religiosity, i.e. the number of prayer houses, cemeteries and the number of schools founded and run by teachers, also of the Protestant denomination, for their children. Conclusion: The 18th and 19th centuries was the time when Protestant families lived in most Roman Catholic parishes in the Płock diocese. Religious tolerance resulted in the revival of the religious and intellectual life of Protestants, hence they could freely organize their own temples, houses of prayer, cemeteries and schools in individual parishes. Originality: despite many existing studies on the Reformation in Mazovia and the Płock diocese, this study is the first to present the number of Protestants in the areas of individual Roman Catholic parishes of the Płock diocese and the places where their temples or prayer houses, cemeteries and schools were located. Keywords: Martin Luther, Protestantism, religious tolerance, Płock diocese, parish.

Guarded by Two Jaguars. A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith, written by Eric Hoenes del Pinal

Guarded by Two Jaguars. A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith, written by Eric Hoenes del Pinal

Book Review: Guarded by Two Jaguars. A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith

Book Review: Guarded by Two Jaguars. A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith

Siedem dokumentów i listów Mikołaja Krzysztofa „Sierotki” i Albrychta Władysława Radziwiłłów z końca XVI i początku XVII wieku dotyczących dziesięcin i innych świadczeń dla kościoła w Czernawczycach i prepozytury Św. Barbary w Brześciu

The present paper contains an editing of seven documents and letters concerning the tithes from Radziwiłł’s estates near Brest for the Catholic parish church in Čarnaŭčycy and St. Barbara provostry in Brest. Senders were two members of the Radziwiłł family: Mikołaj Krzysztof “The Orphan” and Albrycht Władysław and addresses parish priests and land-stewards. This documents are interesting sources of knowledge about relations between them and landlord’s activity in the field of solutions to the disputes about tithes.

Activities of religious creeds in culture and education in the Bielsko poviat district in the years 1918-1939

The Bielsko poviat is known to have had a complex denominational situation. Key denominations of the region included Catholics, Protestants and Jews. In the city Bielsko itself lived followers of all three religions. The relations across the various religions of the region were heavily influenced by the nationalities of the population. In the inter-war period there were twelve Catholic parishes, four Protestant churches and one Jewish community in the Bielsko poviat district. The article presents the cultural and educational activities in the Bielsko poviat district in the years 1918-1939 against the backdrop of the above-mentioned religious groups.

Innovation in Christchurch Church Architecture

Several church buildings erected in Christchurch in the 1960s signalled significant departures in the city's established traditions of church architecture. They included three Roman Catholic parish churches – St Matthew's Bryndwr, Our Lady of Victories, Sockburn, and St Anne's, Woolston. This paper focuses on the most innovative and striking of these three churches, Our Lady of Victories, Sockburn. It sets the building in the broader context of post-war church architecture in Christchurch. Innovation in Christchurch church architecture had begun in the 1950s with a number of brick churches, but significant departures from established church building forms did not occur until the 1960s. Our Lady of Victories reflected with particular drama the impact on church architecture of the changes in Roman Catholic liturgy associated with the Second Vatican Council. The paper describes the process through which the radically new design emerged, paying particular attention to the interaction between the architect, C.R. Thomas, and the new Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Brian Ashby. The paper also sets the design of the church in the context of New Zealand, and international, architectural trends in the late 1950s and 1960s.

‘The Lord defends refugees, protects the orphans and widows’ (Psalm 146:9). Emerging Challenges in Supporting People after Loss and Traumatic Events

This study, rooted in patristics and social sciences, delves into the historical evolution of support for orphans and widows in the Christian and Catholic tradition, underscoring its profound significance in the identity of these faith-based communities. Tracing the modes of assistance from pre-Christian times through the Old and New Testaments and the teachings of the Church Fathers, the paper elucidates various aspects of the caregiving process. Additionally, it explores the evolving sensitivities across different epochs in modernity, encompassing the contemporary, postmodern and recent years, with a specific focus on the periods before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of this analysis, a fundamental question arises: What are the primary pastoral responsibilities of Catholic parishes in Poland regarding support to individuals who have experienced the loss of loved ones, borne multiple losses or endured severe traumas (such as war refugees from Ukraine in local communities)? This work provides guidance to over 10,000 Catholic parishes in Poland, considering the context of an aging society and the lessons derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. It extends an invitation for further research and the initiation of practical endeavours by pastoral theologians and specialists in social and healthcare, to ensure the highest quality of care in parish communities and local societies.

Forming Consciences into Collective Parish Actions: Catholic Parishioners’ Struggles for Institutional Change

This article examines how Catholics form their consciences together in parishes particularly on topics of gender and sexuality. The data for this project stems from ethnographic observations and forty interviews from a 2010 to 2012 study of two Catholic parishes in Chicago. The first is a progressive parish promoting inclusion of gay and lesbians as well as women’s ordination. The second had a small but active Respect Life group attempting to change their parish culture to be more committed to Respect Life issues. The paper suggests that cultural inertia (or lack there of) is one mechanism that drives or halts conscience formation. These collective consciences lead to differing understandings of what it means to be Church and to be a person, and they may motivate actions to change the Catholic Church hierarchy or local parish. Forming consciences together has implications for understanding the role of culture and structure in the Catholic Church. Specifically, these formed consciences, parish cultures, and actions produce different boundaries and partnerships with the Archdiocese which determines what actions are legitimate by setting the conditions for parish actions and constraining parish actions with threats of sanction.

Paternalism, petitions and the politics of church construction in Alsace, c. 1850–1885

Abstract This article builds on recent works which challenge the dichotomy between religion and modern urban planning. The article focuses on a case-study in the Alsatian city of Mulhouse during the nineteenth century. Over a period of 30 years, Catholic parishioners and clergy repeatedly petitioned the town’s Calvinist industrial and municipal elite for a church to be built in the paternalist cités ouvrières housing district, culminating in the eventual construction of the church of Saint-Joseph by 1883. Through a close analysis of the archival records of these petitions, the discussions they sparked and the shifting local and national political dynamics of the city, this article argues that religious groups used myriad tactics to engage in modern planning and that municipal authorities were won over by these tactics if they were politically expedient.

Exploring the Relationship Between Parental Practices and Child Outcomes in Selected Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya.

Exploring the Relationship Between Parental Practices and Child Outcomes in Selected Catholic Parishes in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya.

СМЕСЬ ПЛЕМЕН И НАРОДОВ ИМПЕРИЙ: О СПРАВОЧНИКЕ "ВОЕННОПЛЕННЫЕ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ: МЕЖФОНДОВЫЙ ИМЕННОЙ УКАЗАТЕЛЬ К МЕТРИЧЕСКИМ КНИГАМ ХРАМОВ ОМСКОГО РЕГИОНА (1914-1920 ГГ.)"

The article analyzes the scientific reference publication “Prisoners of war of the First World War. An inter-fund name index to the metric books of the temples of the Omsk region (1914–1920)”. The work was prepared as part of the book series “Open Archive”. Based on the study and analysis of the act records of the metric books kept in the Historical Archives of the Omsk region, biographical information was collected with the search data for the documents on the military personnel of the German and AustroHungarian armies who were prisoners of war in the Omsk region in 1914– 1920. The publication presents the data from the civil records of the metric books of the Omsk Ecclesiastical Consistory, the Omsk Roman Catholic Parish Church, the Omsk Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Synagogue of the Omsk Jewish Society. Turning of the authors’ team to the study of the church documents for understanding the social and political processes seems justified in connection with the special role of the religious factor in the military revolutionary period. The publication contains detailed biographical data, and a personal search record is compiled for each person. It is noted that the procedure described by the Omsk researchers can be adopted by other archival institutions. The analyzed church records open up new opportunities for studying the specific pages in the history of the First World War and expand the possibilities for biographical (genealogical) search.

The practice of faith in everyday life based on the metrical books of various denominations in the period of Galician autonomy (as illustrated by Rzeszów)

This article aims to highlight aspects of religious life based on metrical records. The research focuses on religious communities in Rzeszów: the Roman Catholic parish of Farna, the Jewish metrical district, and the Greek Catholic parish in Zalesie. In all of these communities, the choice of wedding dates was in accordance with the liturgical calendar, including holidays and fasting periods. Illegitimate births indicated that relationships typical of marriage were also established before the formal wedding ceremony. Illegitimate births were more common among Jews due to marriages concluded only according to their own ritual. Illegitimate births were also more prevalent in the urban-like Farna parish compared to the rural Greek Catholic parish, where their percentage was the lowest. Records of administering sacraments to the dying were also indicative of religiousness.

Guarded by Two Jaguars: A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith

Guarded by Two Jaguars: A Catholic Parish Divided by Language and Faith

Dr. Gyárfás Elemér státusgyűlési tag beszámoló jelentése egyházi és iskolai ügyekben Bukarestben folytatott tárgyalásainak eredményéről

In communist Romania, building a church was an almost impossible undertaking, and building permits were rarely granted to anyone who wanted to build a church. The state law that stipulated that a new church could only be built if an existing one ceased to exist provided the opportunity taken by the Diocese of Timisoara to build the new church in Orsova. The state authorities allowed the new church to be constructed in Orsova because of the number of believers (there were Hungarian, German and Czech believers living in the town at the time) and because the construction costs were entirely financed from abroad. The construction of the new Roman Catholic parish church and the priest’s residence in Orsova was one of the greatest achievements of the administration of Konrád Kernweisz, Ordinary of the Diocese of Timisoara – and perhaps of Communist Romania. The speech published here for the first time in print is not a sermon but was certainly delivered at the end of the consecration mass of the church in Orsova. The interesting detail about this text is that it is the first time that the symbolism of the church in Orsova was mentioned.