December 2002 Call to Action News

Getting Around

Archbishop elected in Austria
Salzburg, Austria is one of the few dioceses where the local clergy of the cathedral chapter still have the right to elect their archbishop, from a list of three names proposed by the papal nuncio. They did so in November, choosing Alois Kothgasser, currently the bishop of Innsbruck. Kothgasser is a theological moderate renowned for his pastoral gifts. Most Austrians applaud the choice. He recently led a group that sent a set of recommendations to the Vatican on the selection of bishops, arguing for a greater local role in the process. The NCR's John Allen said he enjoyed covering a story where involving the local church, however imperfectly, in the selection of its shepherd seems to have worked.

N.Y. priests to pick bishop?
Well, not exactly. But Voice of the Ordained, a group of 140 priests in three metro New York City dioceses, sent a letter Dec. 6 to the Vatican nuncio in Washington. It requests that the priests of the Brooklyn diocese be consulted and asked to submit names before the pope picks a successor to Brooklyn Bishop Thomas Daily. The priest group was formed this year in response to the priest sex abuse scandal. But Msgr. John Powis, one of its founders, said the letter was not meant to criticize Daily, already under fire for reassigning priest offenders when he was auxiliary bishop of Boston. Powis said the priests simply want to help pick a bishop "who's familiar with the New York scene." He explained: "There are 217 parishes and only 385 active priests in the Brooklyn diocese. The new man will face an impossible situation."

Eugene Kennedy to return
Through a jumble of missed communications, psychologist-author Eugene Kennedy left Milwaukee Friday, Nov. 1 after a morning presentation, unaware that he was scheduled to speak again in late afternoon. Both Kennedy and CTA apologize to those who missed his talk. The morning address is available on tape 1 of the three-tape "Crisis in the Church" seminar (order #226 on page 7). Author of "The Unhealed Wound: The Church and Human Sexuality," Kennedy has also agreed to a return CTA engagement next fall.

WOC offers scholarship grants
The Women's Ordination Conference (WOC) is accepting applications for four $1,000 grants for the 2003-2004 academic year from the Bishop Frank Murphy Scholarship Fund for Women in Ministry. To apply, a woman must be enrolled or accepted in a graduate program preparing her for Catholic ministry. She must be or become a WOC member, and must submit a resume, personal statement, mentor's letter of recommendation, and proof of enrollment. Application deadline is Jan. 31. Scholarships are awarded in May. Get details at 703 352-1006 or grassroots@womensordination.org