Old Roman Catholic Church in North America -- New Perspectives, Volumn II Issue 1

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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