In Search of the Emerging Church

My story about Fr. Michael Doyle and Sacred Heart Parish in Camden, N.J., which appeared in the Dec. 11 issue of National Catholic Reporter can be found here: A Love For Transformation.

My extended interview with extraordinary priest can be found here: A conversation with Fr. Michael Doyle.

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One of the privileges of getting out and around the Catholic community reporting on The Emerging Church series has been the opportunity to meet up with a new generation of Catholics who carry a deep witness to some of the most troubled corners of the country.

Patrick Keenan is one of them. He comes out of a Franciscan formation and a serious understanding and experience of the Catholic social justice tradition.

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For Jesuit Fr. Jeff Putthoff, his ministry at a Camden, N.J., a technology training center, is his declaration about the future of the church as well as his answer, for the moment, to unsettling questions he poses to himself about what it means to be a priest and to be a Jesuit. They become particularly pressing questions in this era of dwindling numbers and resources, a time he refers to as a period of “diminishment.”

Read the full story here: Hopeworks 'n Camden

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Though separated in age by at least two generations, and worlds apart in life experience, Sara Nolan and Sr. Bernice Garcia represent some of the strong impulses within the Catholic community that are shaping its future: the growing role of laity in the church, especially women; the conviction reinforced by the Second Vatican Council that Catholics, by virtue of their baptism, have an essential part to play in salvation history; and the rising awareness of the social dimension of a life of faith.

I spoke at length to both women during my recent visit to New Mexico, Garcia in the Santa Fe archdiocese, covering the central and northern portions of the state, and Nolan in the Las Cruces diocese, which stretches across the state's southern tier.

Read the full story here: Old meets new in faith lives of two New Mexico women

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Albuquerque, N.M. -- Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and Action in Albuquerque, NM. Rohr believes that the contemplative tradition, the third of what he describes as four pillars of the emergent church and his point of entry into the discussion, is precisely the sort of tradition that allows one to see "with a different set of eyes" and perhaps shift the focus a bit.

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In interviews earlier this year with young Catholics (most were in their 20s and 30s, two were in their mid-40s) at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in Jersey City, N.J., it seemed clear that some ideas about church membership are definitely age- or generation-specific. Younger Catholics appear reluctant to use such labels as conservative or liberal in describing themselves or others, while traditional pieties and the church's tradition itself can play an important role in someone's decision to become Catholic.

Those around the table, all of whom had chosen to become active in a particular Catholic community, said they spent little time worrying about hierarchical matters or many of the hot-button issues that might concern those of an older generation. In general terms, they had opted for Catholicism for a host of reasons and, while not ignoring the problems or controversies, did not allow them to get in the way of their participation in church life.

Read the full story: Young Catholics accept the church as is

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Our Lady of Vietnam Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Md., is a soaring representation of that ethnic group's presence in the Washington area and in the larger U.S. church. Though a tiny minority in the overall church, Vietnamese are well represented among religious and diocesan clergy.

While Asian Americans make up just 1 percent of the Catholic church in the United States, "they account for 12 percent of all Catholic seminary students nationwide. And the majority of those are Vietnamese."

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Last month, I found myself in the National 4H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md., where 230 people from 17 states and the District of Columbia were gathered to talk about eucharistic communities.

According to the organizers, intentional eucharistic communities "are those small faith communities, rooted in Catholic tradition, which gather to celebrate Eucharist on a regular basis. Through sharing liturgical life and mutual support for one another, members are strengthened to live Gospel-centered lives characterized by spiritual growth and social commitment."

I found groups of people Carving out a spiritual home. Read the full story.

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Here is another story from my visit to Newark, N.J. I spent an hour with Newark Archbishop John Myers and Auxiliary Bishop Edgar da Cunha. The discussion was wide ranging: Financial problems, demographic shifts and continuous waves of new immigrants create particular problems as well as opportunity for the church in Newark. We also touched a bit on science fiction.

Today's story is titled: Myers, da Cunha discuss problems, promise of Newark.