7 minute read
Bishop Bill Muhm
The Road Less TraveledMost
BY BISHOP JOSEPH L. COFFEY
One of my duties as Vicar for Veterans Affairs for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA is to make pastoral visits to the Catholic priest-chaplains at the 153 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) all over the U.S.A. Each of these fine Catholic priests, like the priests serving as Military Chaplains in the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force, have been endorsed by the Archbishop for the Military Services, The Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio.
My assignment involves a lot of travel by planes, trains, and automobiles. Like Archbishop Broglio and the three other Auxiliary Bishops for the AMS, Bishops Spencer, Buckon, and Muhm, we are very conscious of the generous donations of the benefactors of the AMS so we are frugal when we are traveling. There have been many changes brought on by the pandemic: you get used to wearing the masks, more driving (I do like to drive. It is a great way to see this beautiful country.) One benefit of the pandemic is the cost of flights have decreased.
Recently, I flew to San Diego and drove from San Diego to San Francisco and back to visit the priest-chaplains and the veterans at the VAMCs in La Jolla, Loma Linda, Long Beach, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. You can be very proud of our priest-chaplains who care for the veterans, their families, and the staff members working at the VAMCs. They are ready, willing, and able to continue providing the sacraments. The pandemic has brought new challenges, but the priest-chaplains have fearlessly put on all the required personal protective equipment (PPE) – especially face masks, gloves, gowns, booties, hairnets, etc. – to give Viaticum (Latin for Food for the
L-R: FATHER JEFFREY BLANGIARDI, BISHOP JOSEPH COFFEY, AND FATHER BENJAMIN CHINNAPPAN AFTER MASS AT THE VAMC LAJOLLA, CA
Journey, our last Holy Communion), confession, and the anointing of the sick to seriously ill COVID-19 patients. I am honored to be their Vicar and represent Archbishop Broglio and the AMS. The Vice Chancellor for Veterans Affairs at the AMS, Ms. Deborah Stevens, worked for many years at the VA and has become a great part of our team. Deborah is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and takes care of much of the administration work involved with the endorsement of the priest-chaplains, freeing me for more pastoral duties. I think we make a great team. Thank you to all of the veterans and benefactors of the AMS. I look forward to meeting many of you in my travels. V
The New Directory for Catechesis BY MARK MOITOZA, TH.D.
The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization released the English edition of the new Directory for Catechesis in July 2020. It is the third catechetical directory since the Second Vatican Council. The General Directory for Catechesis (1971), emphasized systematic teaching that emerged from the council. The General Directory for Catechesis (1997), stressed the pedagogical and formative requirements of catechesis. This new DirectoryforCatechesis calls attention to the necessity of kerygmatic catechesis as articulated in the Introduction: “Kerygmatic catechesis which goes to the very heart of the faith and grasps the essence of the Christian message, is a catechesis which manifests the action of the Holy Spirit, who communicates God’s saving love in Jesus Christ and continues to give Himself so that every human being may have the fullness of life” (no. 2). Catechesis is more than introducing content. The kerygma centers upon the person of Jesus Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, which brings forth new life.
The new Directory emphasizes the process of evangelization, recognizing catechesis as a part of that process, which is above all a spiritual action. It responds to the evolving digital culture along with the globalization of culture by highlighting the need for witness, mercy, and dialogue. There is a reaffirmation of the role of the Christian community as the natural setting for the generation and maturation of Christian life. Catechesis has a necessary dynamic of evangelization that leads toward missionary transformation, which drives conversion. “These encounters allow us to experience the presence of God in each one of us,” as articulated in the 25 June 2020 Vatican Press Conference introducing the new Directory.
The Directory for Catechesis consists of three parts. Part One: Catechesis in the Church’s Mission of Evangelization emphasizes the foundation of the revelation of God and its transmission in the Church. The identity and ongoing formation of the vocation of catechist receives essential attention. Part Two: The Process of Catechesis explores the paradigm of God’s pedagogy in salvation history. The theological-catechetical significance points toward a methodology of relationships that builds upon the CatechismoftheCatholicChurch and the evolving experiences of human life at all ages. Part Three: Catechesis in the Particular Churches underscores the whole Christian community as participants in catechesis. Theological and pastoral principles provide guidelines and universal norms for the interactions found in the concreteness of ecclesial life today.
Chapter eight: ‘Catechesis in the Lives of Persons’ warrants particular attention. Emphasis of catechesis in the family, with the family, and of the family provides a foundation that builds upon catechesis among varying age groups and unique needs. These include catechesis with children and teenagers, with young people, with adults, with the elderly, with persons with disabilities, with migrants, with emigrants, as well as with those living on the margins. Obtaining a copy of the new Directory for Catechesis enables rich opportunities to pray and reflect upon how the faith may be shared with others. V
A copy of the new Directory for Catechesis may be ordered through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Publications store, https://store.usccb.org/directory-for-catechesis-p/7-669.htm
Farewell 2020
BY FATHER CHRISTOPHER ARMSTRONG
The chaplains are my heroes.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve them as they serve our men and women in uniform.
I am profoundly and deeply grateful to Archbishop Broglio for allowing me to share in this particular aspect of his ministry as the Archbishop for the Military Services and to my own Archbishop of Cincinnati, Dennis Schnurr, for releasing me for this service.
Iwanted to start with the end in view, my awe for our chaplains and my gratitude for the opportunity to serve our Church and country as the Judicial Vicar for Archbishop Broglio. Although I did not have previous military service, my father, a member of that greatest generation, served in the Army during the Second World War. My oldest brother served in Vietnam. My father worked as a civilian at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Logistics. My father was very patriotic, in the very best sense of the word, and loved our country and our Church. He died a week after my mother and was buried next to her. That was 6 June 2014.
Although, as a parish priest, I had participated in the funerals of veterans, I have to say my father’s ceremony was one of the best, with a live bugler, a very crisp folding of the flag, and a twenty-one gun salute. Afterwards, I was wondering how I could honor my father with a kind of living memorial. I toyed with becoming a chaplain, but I was too old and too fat (!) and thought nothing would ever come of it. Exactly a week later, Archbishop Broglio called and asked me to be his Judicial Vicar. I said I was inclined to say yes but needed to seek permission from my own Archbishop. Archbishop Broglio said, “I already have.” It seemed to be a done deal so I accepted! And I am glad I did.
The very nature of the Tribunal does not allow me to say much about the work it does. Almost everyone knows that the Tribunal oversees the trials for declarations of nullity for putative marriages. The AMS Tribunal oversees prenuptial matters as well. I could not have done my job without my two assistants, to whom I am and will be grateful for their expertise in running the office and managing the flow of paperwork associated with the individual cases. I am also grateful, more than I can say, to a volunteer whose considerable skills helped the Tribunal to locate and interview witnesses. And what can I say in regard to all of my colleagues who assist the Archbishop in his ministry except to say that I am proud to be counted among them.
Above all, the chaplains are my heroes and will remain so long after I have finished my service as the Judicial Vicar. May Father Capodanno watch over them, keep them safe, and increase their number as they tend to sheep entrusted to their care! V
