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Winter 2001
Proloquium
Welcome to year two
of New Perspectives! We continue to grow, bringing
on new subscribers from as far and wide as India
and Tanzania. To them and to our faithful renewed
subscribers, I extend on behalf of all us of here
at NP heartfelt appreciation.
During our first year of
publication, we devoted each issue to one or more
"crises" within Catholicism and indeed,
Christianity. Among the topics we covered were
Christian disunity, the question of papal
authority, the sacrifice of reverence to relevance,
the banishment of faith from the public square,
Catholic-bashing, the feminization of Christianity,
and the ordination of women. We endeavored, as much
as possible, to present a variety of perspectives
on various issues in the hope of encouraging what
our publisher, Bishop Facione, has called for:
reasoned discussion. Evidence that we may be
succeeding in bringing people with divergent views
who are nevertheless all people of faith to a forum
come to us from Roman Catholic theologian, Fr.
Anthony R. Kosnik. In his opening remarks at
"Crisis in the Church" in Louisville, Kentucky last
fall, Fr. Kosnik congratulated the symposium's
sponsors-the ORCCNA and New Perspectives, saying,
"I really appreciate your openness to outside
voices. The diversity of the group here indicates
that you're open to new and exciting ideas."
Indeed, we can state that
some of the views presented at the symposium were
most assuredly not the views of the Old Roman
Catholic Church in North America. But, as you will
read in the excerpts from our Bishop Adams'
conference address, "All destinies are
communitarian in nature . . .we can only find
ourselves together with others. . . and we can only
find others if we search for them in God." To this
powerful insight I would add only the caution that
togetherness, while necessary, can also lead to
friction. But that's okay. Through friction we may
find heat to warm our hearts and light to guide our
way. We certainly hope that you'll find both in NP
in 2001, beginning with this issue.
The first thing you'll notice
about it is that we've changed our look. We have a
new nameplate that clearly identifies us as a
Christian publication, improved cover design, and a
re-designed contents page. We've also added a new
department, Epiphanies, in which readers like you
will share special moments along their own faith
journeys. To give you an idea of what we're looking
for, see p. 23.
While our feature covers
"Crisis in the Church" (p. 12) with excerpts and
photos, they can't convey the symposium's depth and
breadth, from Dr. Gregory Holmes Singleton's
powerful keynote address on the identity-and
whereabouts¯of the Church, to the Reverend Sue
Eaton's moving testimony of her call to ministry
(published in the Fall 2000 issue of NP), to Bishop
Raphael J. Adams' unforgettable exploration of the
meaning of it all: vocation, Church, life in
Christ. These speakers stirred our hearts, minds,
and souls not only with what they said, but by how
they said it. I urge you to experience their
messages through the audio and video tapes that are
available by mail order (order form on p. 32).
Moreover, you won't want to miss the lively-to say
the least-debate yours truly sparked in the
afternoon forum on the roles of men and women in
the Church.
Also in this issue, just in
time for Lent, are: Bishop Francis Facione's Deus
Caritas (p. 4) message on the implications of this
penitential season not only for each Christian, but
for the Church, and more specifically, for the Old
Catholic Movement; and "Practicing Prayer" (p. 8)
by Bishop Patrick H. King. In a style so
inspirational that we can hardly wait to get
started, Bishop King leads us to an understanding
of the various forms of prayer and how to
incorporate them in our daily lives.
Father Norman A. Sieme, who
in our last issue offered his perspective on
Christian re-unification, continues that theme in
this issue in an interview I did with him on the
Church of Sweden ("The Great Lesson of a Little
Known Church, p. 6).
In Secrets of the Saints,
"She Kept Her Eyes on the Prize" (p. 24), Father
Charles Wolff presents a perspective on the life of
medieval mystic Catherine dei Ricci, who was in the
world butdefinitely not of it.
On p. 27 , I'm back in my
Notes from the PFZ (Postmodernism-free Zone) on
subjects ranging from the Anti-Christ to marriage
to what it means to be and have a "daddy".
Bookshelf (p. 25) also returns with "A Very
Catholic Hope," in which Chris Duthie-Jung
entertainingly reviews William J. Baush's Catholics
in Crisis?: The Church Confronts Contemporary
Challenges. As Director of Youth Ministry in the
Archdiocese of Wellington, New Zealand, Mr.
Duthie-Jung lends a new, international flavor to NP
(I've even retained his British spellings).
Moreover, he comes to us by way of Amazon. com,
where I discovered his review on and subsequently
e-mailed him for use permission-proof that the
Internet has the potential to knit the Body of
Christ. I'm delighted to welcome him to
NP.
As always, Bishop Adams has
The Last Word (p. 28). This time, he treats us to
his Theory of Developmental Curmudgeonliness. If
you've ever wondered if you or someone you know is
a bona fide curmudgeon, here's what will surely one
day be regarded as the definitive authority.
Finally, we hope to hear from
more of you in the coming year, in letters to the
editor and as contributors. If you have an idea for
a story, please send a query. And again, if you'd
like to share a special moment in your faith
journey, one in which you were given an insight or
witnessed an event that deepened your relationship
with the Lord, please write about it in 500 words
or less and send it to "Epiphanies", New
Perspectives, P.O. Box 58273, Louisville, KY 40258,
or info@orccna.org. If we publish it, we'll send
you a complimentary copy of the next issue of NP or
add an issue to your subscription.
In 2001, may all our walks
with the Lord be bolder, more purposeful, and may
they cover more ground!
-- Valerie
Kane
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