Summer 2019
Happy Summer to all. Hope you are managing this crazy weather of heat, floods and wind. I recently heard that Las Vegas had been hit with swarms of grasshoppers. Is this a sign??!!
Thought for the Day – Be there. Be open. Be honest. Be kind. Be willing to listen, understand, accept, support, and forgive. This is what it means to love. – Lori Deschene
Regional Coordinators
We are still looking for regional coordinators! Please consider being our point person in your area; you would keep in contact with local members to create some camaraderie. It would be great to find someone in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, NY Metro area and Florida. If anyone is interested in becoming a regional coordinator, please let me know at mallory@citiministries.org
Our Back-Up Plan
Recently, on a Friday evening, CITI Ministries received a SOS from the Chicago area. One of our men, Greg Zimmerman, had a medical emergency and was hospitalized the night before he was to witness a wedding. His wife, Jane, ever aware of brides and ceremonies and a roomful of dismayed guests did a very cool thing. She called our hotline 301-464-5690 and asked for help. Phone calls were made and Jeff Long (our Chicago coordinator) found another member to cover for Greg. We are happy to report that the couple were happily wed by Bob Scanlan and Greg has recuperated nicely. This highlights why we need regional coordinators and why it is good to know your fellow priests for back-up!
Podcast Launch
Joe Wadas in GA has launched Positively 365, a series of podcasts to bring more positivity to your life. Join Joe as he brings hope, motivation, and inspiration to life’s daily challenges. You can choose to live your best life, beginning today, every day! Here’s the link https://anchor.fm/joseph-wadas You can listen to this using Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Overcast, Pocket Casts and PublicRadio.
In Memoriam
We are saddened to report the passing of Fr. Peter Szafran from Michigan. Pete was a member since 2000. We send our thoughts and prayers to his family. Fr. Pete was known and loved by many in the Buffalo NY area for his work during the 1970’s with the Cursillo movement.
CITI Spotlight
Progressive Catholic Coalition and School of the Americas Watch
For many years, John Wentland in CT has served as coordinator of the Progressive Catholic Coalition. Since 2007, CITI Ministries has continued as one of six sponsoring organization of this coalition. The PCC, founded in 2004, brings a justice-based Church-reform presence to the gathering of thousands of activists at the School of the Americas Watch gathering (SOAW) each year. From 2016 to 2018, that gathering took place at the U.S./Mexico border in Nogales, on both sides of the border wall.
The PCC, recognizing the SOAW emphasis on the effect of militarism—beyond the School of Americas (now renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) training of Latin American soldiers all the way down to border-enforcement and immigration policy—has, for the past 3 years, brought its presence to that SOAW Border Encuentro. That presence is now returning to the gates of Ft. Benning to display the PCC banner with sponsoring organizations listed at the information table and providing an “Inclusive Catholic Eucharist”—women and men priests leading the liturgy. All these services provide SOAW participants— especially young people—with a clear message that there exists a “reforming Church” dedicated to promoting justice and peace on both church and world issues—topics they do not hear about in their home parishes—that touch their hearts and lives.
Recently, news broke that Fort Benning — home of the School of the Americas / WHINSEC — is now being considered as a detention center facility for children. Recently, the US has dubbed as “humanitarian aid” its effort to “halt immigration” by convincing Guatemala to serve as a detention country for these fleeing their violent lands. The U.S. State Department’s Overseas Security Council reports “Crime in Guatemala generally stems from widespread corruption, an inadequate justice system and the prevalence of both gang and narco activity across the country.” Guatemala is one of the major countries from which families are fleeing.
On November 15-17, 2019, CITI again joins with the PCC at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia to bring the presence of the reforming Church to the thousands of SOAW participants who will gather there. The third weekend in November coincides with the massacre at UCA of six Jesuits and their co-workers by the Salvadoran military under the command of SOA-trained officers in 1989. Thus this milestone year of the SOAW’s gathering commemorates the atrocity that was the impetus for Father Roy Bourgeoise and friends to begin the movement that meets each year to oppose U.S. militarization in Latin America.
The long-term effort of SOAW is to close the SOA/WHINSEC while an investigation into the record of human rights violations by its graduates can be carried out. Related to that goal, SOAW opposes the growing militarism promoted through the SOA/WHINSEC. Training military officers for Latin American forces as well as officers for U.S. Border Patrol creates a vise-grip pressure on people attempting to save their lives from repressive government policies in their own land only to face destructive militaristic enforcement at our border. The PCC endorses this effort to close the training school located in Columbus, Georgia, and to oppose U.S. militarism used to enforce a destructive corporation-favoring foreign policy. The PCC encourages its sponsoring organizations as well as other activists to mobilize their communities to join the SOAW in its activities and sponsoring legislation opposing U.S.-based militarism destroying the lives of our sisters and brothers in Latin America.
For more information, visit www.soaw.org Also follow the PCC on Facebook @pcc4churchjustice
Resource Corner
We occasionally get questions about the changes in the Catholic Rites over the past several years. Here is a list of the current “official” versions of the Ministry books being used by the Institutional Church, in case you were wondering…. (compiled by Jeff Long)
Marriage
Old translation: Rite of Marriage – 1970 – Catholic Book Publishing Co.
New translation: Order of Celebrating Matrimony – 2016 – Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
Funerals
Old translation:1) Order of Christian Funerals – 1990 – Liturgy Training Publications – Chicago
2) Order of Christian Funerals including Cremation – 1998 – Catholic Publishing Co.
New translation: Order of Christian Funerals – 2018 – Liturgy Training Publications – Chicago
Baptisms
Old translation: Rite of Baptism of Children – 2004 – Catholic Book Publishing Co. New translation: Approved by Bishops and will be published soon
Sacramental Database Update
We are sorry to report that the Sacramental Database is no longer functioning. The server that housed our data failed to maintain our files and our data was lost. Unfortunately, we cannot recover these files. We have been maintaining the hard copies that have been sent to CITI over the years. Please keep hard copy records of your weddings, baptisms and confirmations. If you would like, feel free to send us your copies and we will add them to our archive.
Read the full newsletter here:
CITI Newsletter Summer 2019
