7,000 optional celibacy letters delivered to U.S. bishops
The Campaign for Optional Celibacy stirred national media attention Nov. 11 in Washington when over 7,000 letters were delivered to the U.S. bishops' meeting urging them to discuss the matter. Campaign spokespersons at the news conference were Dan Daley and Crystal Chan of CTA National, Sr. Christine Schenk of FutureChurch, Anne Harter from Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity, Jim and Sally Orgren of CTA Buffalo and Fr. Jack O'Malley of the Association of Pittsburgh Priests. The group also met with two staff members of the bishops' conference who assured them that "you are clearly concerned people who love the Church."

Media outlets covering the story included USA Today, CNN, the Fox Business Show, and public radio in Milwaukee and Nebraska. The PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly featured CTA's Linda Pieczynski on clergy sexual misconduct and Chris Schenk on optional celibacy. Religion News Service put a feature story on the national wire. Newspaper stories appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Buffalo News, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Harrisburg Patriot News, the Green Bay Press Gazette, the Dallas Morning News, and the Toledo Blade.

The media blitz was not lost on the bishops. For the first time, two bishops went on public record supporting the recent request of 163 Milwaukee priests for discussion of optional celibacy: Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo, Texas.

The next target date for the campaign is June 13, the feast of Corpus Christi and a day of prayer and education about the priest shortage. It is also the first deadline for petitions to the International Synod on the Eucharist. For an organizing kit and resources, developed by FutureChurch in partnership with Call To Action, click here.

CTAers survey priests
Ever since the optional celibacy letter of the Milwaukee priests in August, the Orgrens of CTA Buffalo wondered just how many priests in their own diocese also wanted to discuss celibacy. They mailed an anonymous survey to all the priests, and within two weeks received significant results: 28 percent of priests responded. Sixty-eight percent supported open talks on making celibacy optional. CTA Syracuse soon followed suit, and got even higher response rates.

The survey materials were available for local CTA chapters at the national conference. Since then, regional CTAs are planning to survey priests in 11 dioceses, and more chapters are picking up the project every week. If your chapter or informal group is interested in conducting the survey, check with Crystal Chan to sign up, to learn if anyone else in your diocese is doing it, and to receive necessary supplies. 773-404-0004 x285 or crystalchan@cta-usa.org