The Council of Parishes asked me to attend the USCCB convocation called "Life, Justice & Family: Partners in the New Evangelization" today (Friday). Held at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, Bishop Galante was a defacto host of the event (along with Cardinal Rigali, who I believe will help close the event on Sunday). Attendance at the conference, in my view anyway, was quite pricey so it was no small wonder that it was not as well-attended as it might have been. Only people whose organizations could help defray the cost (or, perhaps, who are extremely interested in the subject matter) would attend such an event. However, I noticed that there were people from a variety of places in attendance, including Oregon (by way of the Bronx) and Kansas, among other places.
Mass
Friday's portion of the conference began with mass, which was pretty much what one would expect from a typical novus ordo mass, except that it was in a ballroom-type location, with the altar on a stage, etc. Msgr. Frey, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Haddon Heights, co-officiated with Bishop Galante. (I am a fan of Msgr. Frey and it was good to see him, but didn't see him at the presentations afterwards.) As a total estimate, I would guess that the number of people attending mass was about 50, but I did not do a head count or anything.
Given the theme, an unusual thing about a conference like this is that it seems to attract people on either end of the Catholic spectrum. In attendance were both the very orthodox "pro-life" activists as well as the more liberal "peace and justice" types. So on one side of me during mass there were two women kneeling during mass (and myself as well) and on the other side of me were two women standing even during the consecration (I think they may have been sisters in street-clothes).
Mass-wise, there were only a couple of oddities. One was that there was a "worship leader" type person who kept exhorting us to give her an "Amen," an "Alleluia," or a "Praise the Lord," particularly before mass began. Although I appreciated the enthusiasm, this is not the type of thing I personally am accustomed to at mass. I'm used to having quiet time to pray before mass. And given the very sterile, controlled, corporate environment of the conference location it seemed even stranger.
The second noticeable oddity were the lyrics to the song that the swaying, clapping choir sang during communion. The song is called "A Communion Hymn" and is attributed to Nolan Williams, Jr. Since the hymn was in our little booklets, I can share them with you. Here are the lyrics I found somewhat startling:
Speakers
The first speaker was Bishop Lori of Bridgeport, CT Diocese. Though I know very little about him, I was impressed not only with his talk, which centered on the encyclical Humanae Vitae, but even more so with his answers to the questions posed afterwards. Unfortunately I cannot tell you precisely what was said because, strangely, my notes were taken along with my name tag, but I can mention a few things I liked. For example, he alluded to the very rift in the Church I mention above that sometimes exists among the pro-life and social justice contingents. He said, though, that we "are not an either-or Church, we're a both-and Church." He also discussed the Diocese of Washington (DC) and how they instituted a program called, "The Light is on for You" which promotes all churches in the diocese having confession in coordination. "Promoting the role of priest as confessor" is something he feels is hugely important in bringing people in to the Faith and in to a closer relationship with Our Lord. Bishop Lori also discussed the importance of good catechesis in Catholic high schools and colleges because if parents are paying for a Catholic institution they ought to be sure what they're getting is truly Catholic! He said that Catholic schools are very important and afford a very significant opportunity that must not be passed by--to integrate Catholic religious teaching with all subjects. In addition, Bishop Lori mentioned the importance of teaching NFP and Theology of the Body in marriage preparation courses which will at least cause couples to think about the Church's teachings regarding the marital act. He said so many great things, was clearly extremely intelligent and orthodox, and as a bonus was very accessible and approachable afterwards.
After his talk was a presentation by Marie Smith. (Who, by the way, mentioned that her husband is Congressman Chris Smith, whose very nice website I link to here. I see among other things that he is doing autism awareness too, which I am personally affected by because of my son.) Mrs. Smith's special calling is her work in human rights. She is a true crusader for a topic that has long been close to my heart as I was a human rights campaigner back in high school and college. Going into the presentation I confess I was not expecting much since "human rights" is such a vast topic, I assumed it was way to broad to be covered in any useful way. I was wrong. Her presentation was an overview of the human rights violations in the world today with a special focus on children and women, who are much more likely to have their rights violated in so many ways. Though at times it was hard to listen to the facts she presented, such as her discussion of child soldiering, genderscide, infanticide, stoning of women, etc., her presentation was simply excellent. I'd encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go hear her speak.
By the time of the third talk, my body was getting very stiff from having sat there in that chair so long and I needed a break. Each presenter had been at least 1.5 hours, plus there was breakfast in the same chair and mass before that, so I skipped out on the third speaker who discussed bioethics. Having a philosophy background, I'm interested in this subject, but my brain and body were a little sore. Based upon the quality of the first two speakers, I now wish I had gone.
Protest
In the early morning and late afternoon, rallyers were in attendance with signs protesting Bishop Galante's actions in the diocese. Since Bishop Galante had left the premises in the morning, when he returned in the afternoon he met the protesters at the door. It never ceases to amaze me how the timing always seems to work out that way. The protesters were asked to leave the premises both times since the area they were standing on was private property, but it took them quite awhile to decide to ask them to leave. In the afternoon they were asked to leave about 20 minutes after they arrived and after the bishop had already passed through them. However it was particularly unfavorable looking for the bishop to send someone out to ask a young man with his infant son in arms and an older woman with a walker (among others) to leave. Frankly, it just makes the bishop look bad and elicits public sympathy. (There were a bunch of people from the conference looking on from a window inside.) As a prime example, since I was inside at the time, I overheard some people say, "Here come the protesters. Well, you really can't blame them. Who wants their church to be closed?" Since the crowd was so geographically diverse, overall they seemed unaware of the whole scandal involving the bishop here in the Diocese of Camden, but that is not a surprise. Nevertheless there is certainly a lot of sympathy for our cause simply because every Catholic can relate to the horror of having their church taken from them. Really there is very little the diocese can do, in my opinion, to make the proposed largest church closure in American Catholic history palatable, particularly now with the shadow of the Follieri scandal hanging over it. The financial motivations seem so very clear now to those following the ordeal.
Mass
Friday's portion of the conference began with mass, which was pretty much what one would expect from a typical novus ordo mass, except that it was in a ballroom-type location, with the altar on a stage, etc. Msgr. Frey, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Haddon Heights, co-officiated with Bishop Galante. (I am a fan of Msgr. Frey and it was good to see him, but didn't see him at the presentations afterwards.) As a total estimate, I would guess that the number of people attending mass was about 50, but I did not do a head count or anything.
Given the theme, an unusual thing about a conference like this is that it seems to attract people on either end of the Catholic spectrum. In attendance were both the very orthodox "pro-life" activists as well as the more liberal "peace and justice" types. So on one side of me during mass there were two women kneeling during mass (and myself as well) and on the other side of me were two women standing even during the consecration (I think they may have been sisters in street-clothes).
Mass-wise, there were only a couple of oddities. One was that there was a "worship leader" type person who kept exhorting us to give her an "Amen," an "Alleluia," or a "Praise the Lord," particularly before mass began. Although I appreciated the enthusiasm, this is not the type of thing I personally am accustomed to at mass. I'm used to having quiet time to pray before mass. And given the very sterile, controlled, corporate environment of the conference location it seemed even stranger.
The second noticeable oddity were the lyrics to the song that the swaying, clapping choir sang during communion. The song is called "A Communion Hymn" and is attributed to Nolan Williams, Jr. Since the hymn was in our little booklets, I can share them with you. Here are the lyrics I found somewhat startling:
You said: Take this bread and eat of MeAttributing a symbolic or representational meaning to the Eucharist is not what I understand to be Catholic, so I found the selection of this hymn surprising. (It reminded me of what I read here--scroll down to the last paragraph before "consecration of a bishop.") Other than these things, the mass itself was not out of the ordinary in any negative way.
This symbol broken represents My body
You said: Take this cup of sacrifice,
It represents My blood which gives you new life
Speakers
The first speaker was Bishop Lori of Bridgeport, CT Diocese. Though I know very little about him, I was impressed not only with his talk, which centered on the encyclical Humanae Vitae, but even more so with his answers to the questions posed afterwards. Unfortunately I cannot tell you precisely what was said because, strangely, my notes were taken along with my name tag, but I can mention a few things I liked. For example, he alluded to the very rift in the Church I mention above that sometimes exists among the pro-life and social justice contingents. He said, though, that we "are not an either-or Church, we're a both-and Church." He also discussed the Diocese of Washington (DC) and how they instituted a program called, "The Light is on for You" which promotes all churches in the diocese having confession in coordination. "Promoting the role of priest as confessor" is something he feels is hugely important in bringing people in to the Faith and in to a closer relationship with Our Lord. Bishop Lori also discussed the importance of good catechesis in Catholic high schools and colleges because if parents are paying for a Catholic institution they ought to be sure what they're getting is truly Catholic! He said that Catholic schools are very important and afford a very significant opportunity that must not be passed by--to integrate Catholic religious teaching with all subjects. In addition, Bishop Lori mentioned the importance of teaching NFP and Theology of the Body in marriage preparation courses which will at least cause couples to think about the Church's teachings regarding the marital act. He said so many great things, was clearly extremely intelligent and orthodox, and as a bonus was very accessible and approachable afterwards.
After his talk was a presentation by Marie Smith. (Who, by the way, mentioned that her husband is Congressman Chris Smith, whose very nice website I link to here. I see among other things that he is doing autism awareness too, which I am personally affected by because of my son.) Mrs. Smith's special calling is her work in human rights. She is a true crusader for a topic that has long been close to my heart as I was a human rights campaigner back in high school and college. Going into the presentation I confess I was not expecting much since "human rights" is such a vast topic, I assumed it was way to broad to be covered in any useful way. I was wrong. Her presentation was an overview of the human rights violations in the world today with a special focus on children and women, who are much more likely to have their rights violated in so many ways. Though at times it was hard to listen to the facts she presented, such as her discussion of child soldiering, genderscide, infanticide, stoning of women, etc., her presentation was simply excellent. I'd encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go hear her speak.
By the time of the third talk, my body was getting very stiff from having sat there in that chair so long and I needed a break. Each presenter had been at least 1.5 hours, plus there was breakfast in the same chair and mass before that, so I skipped out on the third speaker who discussed bioethics. Having a philosophy background, I'm interested in this subject, but my brain and body were a little sore. Based upon the quality of the first two speakers, I now wish I had gone.
Protest
In the early morning and late afternoon, rallyers were in attendance with signs protesting Bishop Galante's actions in the diocese. Since Bishop Galante had left the premises in the morning, when he returned in the afternoon he met the protesters at the door. It never ceases to amaze me how the timing always seems to work out that way. The protesters were asked to leave the premises both times since the area they were standing on was private property, but it took them quite awhile to decide to ask them to leave. In the afternoon they were asked to leave about 20 minutes after they arrived and after the bishop had already passed through them. However it was particularly unfavorable looking for the bishop to send someone out to ask a young man with his infant son in arms and an older woman with a walker (among others) to leave. Frankly, it just makes the bishop look bad and elicits public sympathy. (There were a bunch of people from the conference looking on from a window inside.) As a prime example, since I was inside at the time, I overheard some people say, "Here come the protesters. Well, you really can't blame them. Who wants their church to be closed?" Since the crowd was so geographically diverse, overall they seemed unaware of the whole scandal involving the bishop here in the Diocese of Camden, but that is not a surprise. Nevertheless there is certainly a lot of sympathy for our cause simply because every Catholic can relate to the horror of having their church taken from them. Really there is very little the diocese can do, in my opinion, to make the proposed largest church closure in American Catholic history palatable, particularly now with the shadow of the Follieri scandal hanging over it. The financial motivations seem so very clear now to those following the ordeal.