Two bishops dialogue with Catholic peace activists

Baltimore Catholic peace activist Tony Magliano, in a November 25 article, describes the recent supper and dialogue involving his city’s Catholic Worker community and two bishops who were present for the U.S. Catholic bishops’ annual meeting (the plans for this dialogue were reported here).

On the evening of Nov. 12, several blocks away from the Waterfront Marriott Hotel, where the bishops were meeting, Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis and Bishop John Michael Botean, head of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy (diocese) of St. George in Canton, Ohio, sat down with us to talk about war-making, peacemaking, poverty and military chaplains in light of the teachings of the compassionate, nonviolent Jesus.

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Bishops, at annual meeting, invited to Catholic Worker dinner for peace

Joshua J. McElwee | Nov. 11, 2013

Baltimore

As the U.S. bishops start their annual meeting here Monday morning, they are facing a number of tough choices: who to elect as their new president, what tone to adopt in the new Pope Francis era, and how to engage the wider culture.Another hard decision: Where to eat dinner each night, and with whom.

If the stakes on this one seem a bit more personal, perhaps they are. But Tomas Murray, a member of a Catholic Worker community in Ohio, thinks where the bishops choose to eat also sends a significant message about how they see the role of the U.S. Catholic church.

Murray is one of several people hosting an alternative dinner option for the prelates Tuesday night. They want the focus of their meal, held on the night of the annual assembly at which the bishops are also invited to a dinner in support of Catholic military chaplains, to be focused on peacemaking.

Read the rest of McElwee’s article at National Catholic Reporter.

John Dear describes his experience at a Catholic Worker house in California, quotes Mennonite volunteer

In a two-part series on National Catholic Reporter, John Dear, SJ writes about his current experience as a short-term volunteer at Kelly Avenue Catholic Worker house in Half Moon Bay, California.

In part one (available in full here), Dear quotes Mennonite volunteer Katerina Friesen as she explains what motivates her involvement there:

I came to the Catholic Worker because, as a follower of Jesus, I wanted to learn how to live a different way of life…. The Catholic Worker tradition of resisting war and serving the poor made sense to me, and it’s turned out to be a really liberating experience. Now, when I see a homeless person, I feel free to talk with him or her, to ask what they need rather than walking past or feeling afraid. And I used to be bound by anxiety about my life, but now I see how my needs are taken care of even as I help care for other people’s needs. Continue reading “John Dear describes his experience at a Catholic Worker house in California, quotes Mennonite volunteer” →