Adsum: May - June 2004

Solidarity, Healing and Witness

Most of you know the story, but as people grounded in ritual celebrations, a brief retelling always puts us in touch, once again, with who we are, from whence we've come, and where we're going.

Our historical roots are grounded in the soil of the Society of Priests for a Free Ministry (SPFM). Created in 1968 to give a voice to the great number of Roman Catholic priests resigning from the clergy, SPFM lobbied for the rights of married priests to minister. By 1973 many in the society were ready to take another step, encouraging married priests to minister in small communities, supporting women in sacramental ministry, and openly allying with other Christian communities. FCM, initially the Fellowship of Christian Ministries, came to life to give expression to this expanded direction.

There was, however, an awareness of the important ministry being performed supporting those thousands of men still transitioning, and the need for active advocacy of optional celibacy within the Church. The CORPUS began simply in Chicago in 1974 as the Corps of Reserve Priests United for Service with a three-fold agenda. Solidarity: overcoming the sense of isolation and alienation experienced having been marginalized from formal ministry in the Church to which we had given our lives. Healing: helping celebrate the worth and dignity of our choices for love and ministry. Witness: offering the Catholic community a new view of priesthood through the testimony of our lives, our families, and our service. (adapted from the CORPUS mission statement)

Through the years our being in communion with other Church reform and renewal organizations has kept us from becoming self-absorbed. Encouraging certification through FCM or CITI Ministries has helped many of our members minister to those on the fringes our Church. Our collaboration with COR (Catholic Organizations for Renewal) and the International Federation of Married Catholic Priests has helped us sharpen our vision of a renewed / reformed priesthood. Our most recent regional alliance through the North Atlantic Federation for a Renewed Priesthood has encouraged several member organizations to regroup or enhance their outreach. A federation website, in development with CORPUS support, will provide a more efficient means of communication between members and increase public awareness.

CORPUS today is not the same organization it was at its founding. The core of our membership continues to be comprised of men who have transitioned from canonical ministry and their spouses / partners. With changes in society and in the demographics of those who still transition, for almost two decades we've been more than about repatriation of those who married back into formal ministry. What we seem most to have been about is a living unfolding of what a reformed and renewed priesthood means in the life of our Church for the future. Not that we've got a lock on anything. Not that we've even articulated it on paper all that specifically. But we have been grappling with some of the pieces, and I'm sure more will unfold. In fact, one of the workshops at our 2004 conference will be led by Carl Hemmer, an original 'Where is CORPUS going?'

What are some of those pieces SPFM board member, and current CORPUS board members on that have come together, though, and need to be kept in mind as we move forward?

It is unlikely as a Church that we will abandon one of our seven sacraments, Ordination. A renewed and reformed priesthood will continue to include an ordained ministry of service supporting the wider community.
Vatican II brought us a renewed understanding of being constituted the People of God through our Baptism. Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation become the foundational sacraments for ministry in our Church. As a faith community we must give better witness to the priesthood of believers we profess.
While stepping away from it all at times helps bring clarity of insight, as people we are social beings and need the support of others. Faith communities come in different sizes. There is a place for small faith communities and parishes as we've known them.
The transition of 25,000 priests and countless numbers of women religious from public ministry gave rise to increased numbers of vocations to both lay ecclesial ministry and the expansion of the diaconate. An inclusive priesthood of the future might include many of these women and men as candidates.
Many of us were taught secular subjects in high school and college by "worker priests" whose full time role was not running a parish. Significant numbers of transitioned priests maintain that same commitment to ministry in educational institutions, social service environs and corporate settings today. What is lacking is their ability to legitimately provide supply support to parishes to which they belong.
Celibacy embraced as a gift can be a valuable witness to the transitory nature of life and the transcendence of the divine. Marriage can be an incredible witness to the immanent presence of God. Neither lifestyle automatically qualifies or disqualifies a person for ordained ministry. Neither lifestyle has an automatic lock on spirituality.
Since the sacraments of Marriage and Ordination are not incompatible it should not matter which sacrament is received "first."
God has created us straight and gay, women and men. Neither gender / orientation automatically qualifies or disqualifies a person for ordained ministry.
Ministers of the gospel today must be both in touch with our history as a religious people but must also be able to communicate spiritual truth to a world where rapid globalization and science has outpaced an old cosmology worldview.
There is too much pain being generated inside and outside our Church in the name of God, tradition, religion, etc. The world in which we live yearns for people who are sources of healing, conveners of community, and witnesses to the loving presence of the Spirit of Jesus.
The Church and therefore its sacramental priesthood will always need to be reformed and renewed.

AND, lest we need be reminded also, even organizations like CORPUS need to be reformed and renewed, always seeking to appreciate the presence of the God who says: "Behold I make all things new."

Finally, if you'll permit a personal note, I'd like to close paying tribute to my wife Marian as we celebrate 25 years of marriage, and our children Joe and Katie. No one has helped me appreciate the presence of God in my life or celebrate priesthood more effectively.


Russ Ditzel

Russ would love to hear your comments and suggestions about CORPUS. He can be reached at crditzel@corpus.org