Ecclesial Ministry Research Articles

Reflections on Renewal: Lay Ecclesial Ministry and the Church (review)

Reflections on Renewal: Lay Ecclesial Ministry and the Church (review)

About This Issue

About This Issue Rodger Van Allen, Co-editor Katharine E. Harmon, who recently completed her dissertation at the University of Notre Dame, contributes our lead article which examines the work of artist Ade Bethune (1914–2002) during the first decades of the liturgical movement in the United States. Harmon shows how Bethune sought to draw the holy in the ordinary and through her work gave visual and tactile realization to the deepest desires of the liturgical movement in the United States. Patrick J. Hayes, the Archivist for the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province, located in Brooklyn, New York, writes of Father John Christopher Drumgoole, himself a product of an urban slum, whose work in nineteenth-century New York saved thousands of children from the unsavory influences of New York’s streets. Cardinal Edward Egan, during the two-hundredth anniversary celebration of the Archdiocese of New York in 2008, extolled Drumgoole and proudly states that he died a true priest’s death. He “died of exhaustion.” James Silas Rogers, the editor of New Hibernia Review contributes “Someone Watching Your Back: Guardian Angels in Michael Patrick MacDonald’s All Souls.” MacDonald’s 1996 memoir All Souls: A Family Story from Southie has been highly praised for its portrayal of a white urban underclass in South Boston. Rogers’ article carefully considers the Catholic sensibilities that inform MacDonald’s narrative. Our cover essay by Thomas F. Rzeznik (Seton Hall University) tells the story of the Laymen’s Week-End Retreat League of Philadelphia on the occasion of its centennial. Now known as the Malvern Retreat House, it continues with vigor. Rzeznik notes that the League in many ways pioneered the work of lay ecclesial ministry before the term was ever conceived. Both the pictures and the narrative are worth your attention. Finally we recall that only a dozen years ago, Monsignor Timothy M. Dolan of the North American College in Rome graciously joined the Committee on Publication of American Catholic Studies. We are grateful for his continuing presence with us as we join in celebrating him as the Cardinal Archbishop of New York. [End Page 1] Copyright © 2012 American Catholic Historical Society

Theology of Ministry in the Twentieth Century: Ongoing Problems or New Orientations?

The first World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 unwittingly provided strong impetus to unprecedented endeavours to establish an ecumenically agreed theology of ministry. Between the first Faith and Order Conference in 1927 and the Fourth in 1963 an ecclesiological revolution occurred. Its distinguishing achievement was to locate the gift of ministry not in ordination or its equivalent but in baptism. This principle was established on the basis of the New Testament term for ministry, diakonia, understood as a total giving of self in service to others. Consensus to this effect developed around the work of Karl Barth, Eduard Schweizer and Ernst Käsemann, but in ecumenical circles strong tensions developed about the implications for ordained ministry. The linguistic study of 1990 Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources challenged the semantics underlying the consensus and provided a new semantic profile for an understanding of ecclesial ministry. The re-interpretation has been endorsed by subsequent lexicography and by Anni Hentschel's semantic investigation (2007). Theology of ministry in the twenty-first century has the opportunity to enrich the ministry with which the church is provisioned.

Ministry by Women Religious and the U.S. Apostolic Visitation

The concurrent investigations of women religious in the United States, begun in 2009, mark a turning point in defining women’s apostolic religious life and ecclesial ministry. Further, the investigations raise interesting questions in ecclesiology and interpretations of the Second Vatican Council. Each is directed by curial offices directly to the institutes and organization involved, rather than via diocesan bishops or, even, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.1 The January 2009 announcement of an Apostolic Visitation of US wom n religious was quickly followed by announcement of a doctrinal investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the membership group for leadership of 95% of women’s religious institutes in the country. Some commentators implied the combined events were a coordinated attempt by conservative forces in the Church, following a conference held at Stonehill College, Massachusetts at which the speakers presented a single view of apostolic religious life.2 As some women’s leadership struggled to be positive in the face of the Apostolic Visitation, even as others welcomed it, passive aggressive patterns emerged on both sides. The Apostolic Visitation “office”—really one part-time secretary and some volunteer help in addition to the appointed Visitator, Mother Mary Clare Millea, Rome-based superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—was mostly unresponsive to media as a critical mass of the 325 institutes under scrutiny reportedly refused to complete sections of the Visitation questionnaire, returning only copies of their approved constitutions. Separately, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith assigned Toledo, Ohio Bishop Leonard P. Blair “to review

Clark, Matthew H.Forward in Hope: Saying AMEN to Lay Ecclesial Ministry

Clark, Matthew H.Forward in Hope: Saying AMEN to Lay Ecclesial Ministry

“Munera Liturgica” SCL Annual Conference Report 2010

155 “Munera Liturgica” SCL Annual Conference Report 2010 Daniel G. Van Slyke, S.T.L., Ph.D. The annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy convened on the evening of 28 January 2010 on the campus of St Mary’s Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Father Paul J. Keller, OP, President of the SCL, and St Mary’s pastor, Father Jay Scott Newman, welcomed approximately fifty guests to the conference on “Munera Liturgica: Liturgical Roles and Responsibilities.” The Most Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson (New Jersey) and Chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), opened the conference with a keynote address on liturgical ministries. Bishop Serratelli began by explaining the theological and scriptural framework and origins of sacred liturgy. He then commented on the meaning, value, and proper manner of fulfilling various roles in the liturgy, from usher and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion to priest-celebrant. Bishop Serratelli dwelt especially on the lector’s role in proclaiming the Word of God as a living reality in the Church. He ended by pointing out the “golden thread” that unites all these ministries: proper reverence for the thrice-holy God whom the angels never cease to praise. Presentations Father Robert A. Pesarchick, Academic Dean at St Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, delivered the first academic paper, “Contrasting Perspectives on the Participation of the Laity in the Priestly Ministry.” He compared the interdicasterial Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests (1997) with the USCCB’s Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry (2005). He insisted on the need to distinguish between the common priesthood of the baptized and the ministry of the ordained, and suggested that Co-Workers is in tension with the 1997 Vatican instruction in this regard. 156 Dr Richard H. Bulzacchelli, professor of theology at Aquinas College in Nashville, presented a paper on “The Bridegroom Typology and the Male-Only Priesthood.” He explored the male-only ministerial priesthood in a positive light within its biblical context. He highlighted the bridegroom imagery for God in Scripture, with the bride of God being humanity, the Church as a feminine entity. Dr Michael P. Foley, professor in the Great Texts Program of Baylor University, made the case for male-only liturgical service in the sanctuary on theological, anthropological, and sociological grounds. On the afternoon of 29 January, Father Gerald Dennis Gill, director of the Office for Worship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, delivered the Plenary Address, “The Munera in Chapter III of the IGMR 2002 Read through the Lens of Sacrosanctum concilium and Lumen gentium.” He began with the formula “Dominus vobiscum” and its response, “Et cum spiritu tuo,” to illustrate the hierarchical arrangement of munera within the Mass. He then addressed the various munera described in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, particularly the distinction between the munus of the baptized and that of the ordained. Fr Gill demonstrated the distinction’s origins in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. He emphasized that the ordained have the duty to lead, while the faithful have the duty to be led, to lift up their hearts to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving. Papers continued on 30 January, despite the inconvenience of a winter storm which stopped flights in and out of Greenville. Dr Daniel G. Van Slyke of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St Louis, Missouri, analyzed “The Acolyte’s Ministry in Historical Perspective: Rites of Ordination or Institution.” After tracing the development of Latin rites of ordination from the fifth century, he evaluated the 1972 Rite of Institution of Acolyte. Sister Madeline M. Grace, CVI, of the University of St Thomas in Houston, thoroughly outlined “Liturgical Roles and Responsibilities within the Early Church, Specifically as Seen within the Celebration of the Eucharist.” Dr Robert Fastiggi of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit discussed “Lay Participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.” He gave special attention to the contributions of Pope Pius XII to elaborating a theological understanding of how the lay faithful participate in the Sacrifice of the...

A Critical Reflection: Naming Lay Ecclesial Ministry—the Political and Personal Narratives

This study is an analysis of the politics of naming, as enshrined in the construction of the term, lay ecclesial ministry. Transformative Learning Theory will reveal the distorted meaning perspectives that shape the sociolinguistic and epistemological relationships within the dominant ecclesiastical structure of a dualistic caste system that supports the uncritical naming of lay ecclesial ministry. The reconceptualist tradition of religious education is offered as a mediating language, providing a public space and a vocabulary in which to conduct a creative, critical discourse that could open up new forms of mutual ministry for the Church in the twenty-first century.

A Study of Ministerial Identity and Theological reflection among Lay Ecclesial Ministers

Abstract This essay explores ministerial identity and its formation in the context of theological reflection. In particular, it discusses theological premises, the values of narrative inquiry, and the results of a qualitative study of lay ministers participating in a university-based ministry education program. By engaging in a series of interviews, the author also gives a picture of the ambiguous and evolving nature of “lay ecclesial ministry” in the United States Catholic Church. This underscores the need of lay ministers for models of conversation-based theological reflection to aid their self-construction of ministerial identity. After an overview of the study's premises and methods, the essay presents key findings from analysis of the interviews. These findings focus on the construction of ministerial identity; the emergence of ministerial “touchstones”; the dynamics of informal and formal modes of theological reflection; and remaining questions and areas for continued research.

Models for Adolescent Ministry: Exploring Eight Ecumenical Examples1

This study addresses eight models for “doing” ecclesial adolescent ministry in the United States from both a Catholic and ecumenical perspective. The article offers youth ministers in the field with creative insights to further enhance their ministry with adolescents. The eight models represent an inclusive theological and pastoral framework on three levels that youth ministers will find helpful. First, the study examines theologically each model under consideration. Second, the article provides pastoral insights for integration into the youth ministry. Third, the essay will address the possible strengths and limitations that a parish youth minister may encounter and find useful. Evangelical, Protestant, and Catholic youth ministers will find each model appropriate and applicable to adolescent needs and church demands as they embark on their valuable and important work. 1This article is a lucid overview articulating the thoughts and premise of his forthcoming book Models for Youth Ministry: A Contemporary Catholic and Ecumenical Understanding of Adolescent Ministry that Works¡ Tentatively to be released in Summer 2007.

Base Ecclesial Communities and Community Ministry: Some Freirean Points of Comparison and Difference

This article will expound the influence of Paulo Freire on Base Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in Latin America, and will examine if and how his work might be appropriated by middle-class Christians in the UK. Recognizing that the majority of churchgoers in Britain are middle-class, the article explores the idea that, if they really wish to ‘love their neighbour’, these Christians need to learn to dialogue in a Freirean manner with the marginalized, but in so doing they must be prepared to have their own thoughts and faith challenged, and must be prepared, with the poor and marginalized, to ask political questions of society, aware that such questioning is likely to invite conflict.

El padrino del Bautismo y su recuperación jurídico - pastoral

The article tackles the role which baptismal sponsors should fulfil in present circumstances, where the figure has lost its Christian character to the point of becoming, in not a few cases, a mere social convention. The author develops from a historical and canonical pint of view the relevance of this figure in Christian tradition from the earliest centuries, both with regard to the baptism of adults and of children, although with greater impact in the latter, and the whole problem involved. Given that the child is baptised in the faith of the Church and must be educated in that same faith by parents and god-parents so that in adult life he/she may desire to live out the commitments received at baptism, the Church must supply all necessary means to guarantee this later formation. The author, in order to clarify these aspects, treats the conditions for suitability which can be expected of a catholic who wishes to undertake this ecclesial ministry in accordance with what is established in current legislation; he proposes some means of revitalising the role of sponsor in the present circumstances. Along with these principal ones he deals with other secondary issues, which are not lacking in interest: number of sponsors, choice of name for the child, the presence of non-catholic witnesses in the celebration, sponsors by proxy, change of sponsors after the celebration ... which concludes the study. Francisco Navarro Ruiz, Particular aspects of the celebration of Baptism. The author tackles several particular aspects of the celebration of baptism, basically referring to the canonical regulation of the baptism of children, to what is established about the time and place of celebration, with special reference to the importance of the parish and the proof and registration of the baptism. The whole question which is raised by the baptism of children, is framed by the real pastoral situation of the Spanish ecclesial community, characterised by an increasing decline in religious belief and practice; as a consequence there is an ever greater phenomenon of parents who were baptised as infants but who are now unbelievers and, in their great majority, non-practicing, but who continue to ask for baptism for their children, to which they have a right according to c.96 and, in principle, an obligation according to c.867,1: the fictio iuris, legitimate in principle, which permits us to baptise children in the faith of the Church, looses its raison d'etre when the parents cannot bring their child up in a faith which they themselves lack. This is a problem which must be tackled pastorally with all honesty. Attention is also given to the conflict with civil legislation regarding parental legal competence and the canonical regulation of baptism of children over seven years of age or in danger of death; there is also a conflict over the public nature of registered data and the civil registration of religious freedom. The article therefore looks at the computerisation of baptismal registers and the documentary proof of formal abandonment of the Church, because of the canonical consequences it has that affect the validity of some acts. All of this demands an adequate particular legislation from the Spanish Episcopal Conference.

Vatican II and the Ecclesial Ministry of Women: Ongoing Challenges in the Roman catholic Church

In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council called us to a new way of being church. Concurrently, Pope John XXIII identified the shift in women's consciousness occurring in society as one of the signs of our times. In the last thirty-five years, these two horizons have fused and the resulting fresh perspective has given rise to new theological reflection, new pastoral practice, and new challenges, especially concerning women and the exercise of ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.