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Developing Robust Human Formation For Ministerial Training, Mary L. Parks Jun 2026

Developing Robust Human Formation For Ministerial Training, Mary L. Parks

Obsculta

The Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis recognizes that effective ministerial formation is holistic, attending to all aspects of a minister’s being. The document therefore outlines four pillars of formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. In Co-Workers In the Vineyard of the Lord, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) extends the same four pillars of formation to the development of lay ecclesial ministers. The USCCB also applies these pillars to diaconal formation in The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States of America.


Called From Within The Community: The Vocation Of Undocumented Hispanic Men To The Diaconate, Anisabel Palma Jun 2026

Called From Within The Community: The Vocation Of Undocumented Hispanic Men To The Diaconate, Anisabel Palma

Obsculta

This paper examines the discernment of undocumented Hispanic men to the diaconate within a diocese facing growing Hispanic populations and a shortage of Spanish-speaking clergy. Using ethnographic research, theological reflection, and historical analysis, it argues that this reality should be discerned not as a pastoral problem but as a response to concrete community needs. Interpreted through four theological perspectives (sacred vocation, divine initiative, unconventional divine choice, and the community-oriented nature of diaconal ministry) the study proposes that welcoming undocumented men into formal discernment and formation for the diaconate constitutes a faithful and ecclesial response to the Church’s mission.


The Culture Of The Convent: How Recruitment Shapes Success In Religious Life, Elizabeth A. Minneci May 2026

The Culture Of The Convent: How Recruitment Shapes Success In Religious Life, Elizabeth A. Minneci

Honors Theses

Catholic nuns in the United States have experienced a substantial decline in membership, with an 80% decrease in new members from 1965 to 2023 (CARA, 2023). Sisters impact their communities in a multitude of ways, often through education or volunteerism efforts (CCUSA, 2026; Levin, 2011; Sisters of Mercy, 2025). Previous research on Catholic nuns has not qualitatively explored Catholic nuns’ recruitment efforts, with most research providing quantitative data insights (CARA). Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify the recruitment methods convents utilize to identify pain points and avenues for improvement. Seven religious sisters were recruited for this study. …


Contributors Jan 2026

Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Our Contributors Jan 2026

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


A Journey In Prayer With Father Libermann, Marc Whelan Cssp Nov 2025

A Journey In Prayer With Father Libermann, Marc Whelan Cssp

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.


How Can The Enneagram Shed Light On Sin And Spiritual Abuse To Bring Healing To The Catholic Church?, Connie Burianek May 2025

How Can The Enneagram Shed Light On Sin And Spiritual Abuse To Bring Healing To The Catholic Church?, Connie Burianek

Religious & Theological Studies Student Work

When critically approached and combined with modern understanding of brain function asymmetry, the Enneagram can shed much-needed light on how humanity attempts to evade a unique and intimate relationship with God through forms of self-deception, personally and collectively, regarding sins and virtues. The more profound understanding of personal human nature, which results from awareness of this self-deception, can shed light on the paradoxical truths of Christianity and what the universal call to holiness means for the world. Without this understanding, Christianity is often reduced to an ideology unable to match the challenges and realities of our modern world. This narrow …


Peter Maurin As The New St. Benedict: A Review Essay, William J. Collinge Mar 2025

Peter Maurin As The New St. Benedict: A Review Essay, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.


Contributors Jan 2025

Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Contributors Jan 2025

Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Our Contributors Dec 2024

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Review Of John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer, Michael Sean Winters Mar 2024

Review Of John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer, Michael Sean Winters

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.


Contributors Feb 2024

Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Hand In Hand, Winter 2023 Dec 2023

Hand In Hand, Winter 2023

Hand in Hand

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Milwaukee, WI

Hand in Hand Finding Aid


Our Contributors Dec 2023

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


“Doing Something New” With Venerable Francis Libermann, Bill Cleary Cssp Oct 2023

“Doing Something New” With Venerable Francis Libermann, Bill Cleary Cssp

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.


Revisiting “Sites Of Spiritan Spirituality, May 14-June 3, 2023” (Supplemental Content), Dora Janeway Odarenko Oct 2023

Revisiting “Sites Of Spiritan Spirituality, May 14-June 3, 2023” (Supplemental Content), Dora Janeway Odarenko

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.


Eschatology And Christian Ethics: An Argument For Disabled Beatitude, Marco Peter Spataro May 2023

Eschatology And Christian Ethics: An Argument For Disabled Beatitude, Marco Peter Spataro

Religious Studies Honors Theses

Catholic eschatology studies four elements of the afterlife: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. The primary purpose of this paper will be to evaluate the prerequisites for beatification, the state of being for souls elevated to heavenly status. This paper will seek to argue in favor of disabled beatification, particularly for the souls whose mental illness prohibited their use of right reason in this life, through an examination of malignant theology, mental illness, a Catholic definition of God, and the implications such a definition has on the wider study and care of the mentally ill. I will then suggest a path …


Principles For Managing Burnout Among Catholic Church Professionals, Thomas G. Plante Nov 2022

Principles For Managing Burnout Among Catholic Church Professionals, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

While a large body of research literature has explored the assessment, treatment, and prevention of worker burnout, much less research has focused on the unique issues associated with burnout in religious organizations, especially within the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic Church employees, whether clerics or laypersons, are embedded within a 2,000-year-old global hierarchical structure and organization that is unique in that it includes clerics with vows of chastity, obedience, and often poverty as well as ongoing crises related to clerical sexual abuse scandals, significant financial stressors, and a faith tradition that often overvalues sacrifice and suffering. The purpose of this brief …


The Church And Ethnopolitical Conflict In Kenya: 1982-2013, David Tarus Jul 2022

The Church And Ethnopolitical Conflict In Kenya: 1982-2013, David Tarus

The Journal of Social Encounters

The chapter examines the role of the church in addressing the problem of ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya from 1982 to 2013. Though ethnocentrism within the Kenyan Christian community goes beyond the years cited to the colonial period and the immediate years following independence, the intensity of the problem after 1982 calls for special attention. The single event that marks political change in Kenya is the 1982 attempted coup. Although this was not successful, the coup heightened opposition against Moi’s rule and thus, 1982 marks the beginning of the recent history of Kenya, a history in which three phases may be …


Our Contributors Jun 2022

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.


Vision, Spring 2022 Mar 2022

Vision, Spring 2022

Vision

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in USA

VisionFinding Aid


2022 Ncod Pastoral Week Program Jan 2022

2022 Ncod Pastoral Week Program

National Catholic Office for the Deaf (NCOD) Conferences

Documents from the 2022 NCOD Pastoral Week held in Savannah, GA in 2022

Five Spiritually Based Tools For Clinical Practice During Challenging, Stressful, And Apocalyptic Times, Thomas G. Plante Jan 2022

Five Spiritually Based Tools For Clinical Practice During Challenging, Stressful, And Apocalyptic Times, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Stress in America and across the globe is high with so many ongoing societal problems. The COVID-19 global pandemic along with accelerating climate change, increasing economic instability and inequality, divisive politics and an increase in authoritarianism, racism, and discrimination against those who are oppressed and marginalized are just a few current examples. Evidence suggests that mental health problems and demand for services have exploded as well. Psychotherapists who are well versed in spiritual and religious integration in their clinical work can help. While therapists cannot solve the country’s and world’s numerous problems, they can help their clientele better cope and …


Religion Has A Public Relations Problem: Integrating Evidence-Based Thinking Into Clinical Practice, Thomas G. Plante Jan 2022

Religion Has A Public Relations Problem: Integrating Evidence-Based Thinking Into Clinical Practice, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Religion and religious institutions receive a great deal of negative, rather than positive, attention and press. This creates an impression, for the casual observer, that religion and associated institutions are a plight on the planet. It is critically important for evidence-based research and best practices in clinical services to be well known and utilized within professional psychotherapy practice. Clinicians must be mindful of the many advantages of religious engagement for physical, mental, and community health and wellness. Psychologists, and other mental health professionals, tend to be secular and nonreligious and receive little, if any, training on religious diversity that may …


Vatican Ii, Liberation Theology, And Vernacular Masses For The Family Of God In Central America, Bernard J. Gordillo Oct 2021

Vatican Ii, Liberation Theology, And Vernacular Masses For The Family Of God In Central America, Bernard J. Gordillo

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) instituted reforms in the Catholic Church that included changes in language and music employed in the liturgy, inspiring a proliferation of sung vernacular masses throughout Latin America. Drawing on archival and ethnographic research undertaken in Nicaragua and the United States, this article examines three Central American vernacular masses—Misa típica panameña de San Miguelito (1967), Misa popular nicaragüense (1969), and Misa campesina nicaragüense (1975). Each mass emanated from communities founded as part of the transnational Familia de Dios (Family of God) movement, which established programs of religious education, leadership training, and community building among impoverished …


Apprentis D’Auteuil: A Place Of Spiritan Mission, Marc Whelan C.S.Sp. Oct 2021

Apprentis D’Auteuil: A Place Of Spiritan Mission, Marc Whelan C.S.Sp.

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.


Libermann’S Understanding Of Suffering And The Challenges Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Africa, Kenneth Ofoma C.S.Sp. Oct 2021

Libermann’S Understanding Of Suffering And The Challenges Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Africa, Kenneth Ofoma C.S.Sp.

Spiritan Horizons

No abstract provided.


Vision, Fall 2021 Sep 2021

Vision, Fall 2021

Vision

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in USA

VisionFinding Aid


Catholic Deaf Community Newsletter, February 16, 2020 Sep 2021

Catholic Deaf Community Newsletter, February 16, 2020

Catholic Deaf Community Newsletter

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Portland, OR

Catholic Deaf Community Newsletter Finding Aid