E-Bulletin: July 5, 2020

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Lord Jesus,

Thou who art the Way, the Truth, and the Life; hear us as we pray for the truth that will make all free.

Teach us that liberty is not only to be loved but also to be lived. Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. It costs too much to be hoarded.

Help us see that our liberty is not the right to do as we please, but the opportunity to do what is right.

- Peter Marshall

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Response to 2020 Assembly 

Congratulations on the Inspiring AUSCP 2020 Assembly! 

We, Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate of San Antonio, Texas, were deeply inspired by the Retreat led by Sr. Carol Zinn, the women and men presenters, Sr. Simone Campbell's contemplative guidance, the openness, reflections and questions in the break-out room sessions as well as the responses to the questions by the presenters. 

We believe it was a major feat for you to pull off this Assembly virtually! We applaud all your efforts in the planning and the realization of this Assembly as the Leadership of your Association.

Blessings on your ministry throughout the year and into the planning for your 2021 Assembly! 

Gratefully and Compassionately,

Sr. Loretta Armand, SHSp and the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate

- Assembly Participants

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Invitation to Become "Friends" of AUSCP

The AUSCP Friends Group now has 216 members. Please take time to invite your friends to join us!  

The majority of those who have become Friends have done so because of a personal invitation from an AUSCP member.

If you would like a flyer with the information on AUSCP Friends to print out or to email to your friends, send a request to: office@auscp.org

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Help us continue the important and critical work of the AUSCP with your financial assistance!

You can click below to donate.

Thank you!

Parish Tithing

If your parish tithes its Sunday collection and sends a monthly donation to various places please consider putting the AUSCP on the list of recipients.  Thanks! 

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Membership Renewal

If you received a reminder about your annual dues, please renew by clicking on the BECOME A MEMBER button below, or send a check to:

 AUSCP 

PO Box 676

Tiffin, OH 44883-3458

872-205-5862

Consider setting up an auto-renewal on your bank account.

For more information, visit the AUSCP website at: 

AUSCP - HOME 

If you have a problem with your credit card being accepted online, call PayPal at 888-215-5506. When asked to name your problem, say “credit card denied.”

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To access the latest information on immigration reform and Action Alerts, click on the JFI logo below:

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To access information on care of creation and Laudato Si', click below:

Catholic Climate Covenant

Direct link to Homily Resources

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 Amazon Smile 

If you shop at:

 http://smile.amazon.com/ch/45-3307327, 

Amazon donates to Association of Us Catholic Priests. 

2020-2021 AUSCP Leadership Team

At the AUSCP Annual Assembly online, elections were held by SurveyMonkey. Congratulations to the three new members who were elected to serve on the AUSCP Leadership Team:Simon Carian, Archdiocese of Santa Fe; Michael Hickin, Diocese of Fargo; Neil Pezzulo of Glenmary Home Missioners. Welcome!

 Two Leadership Team members   were re-elected to a second term: Aidan McAleenan, Diocese of Oakland, and Tulio Ramirez, MXY, Yarumal Missionaries.

The following were elected by the Leadership Team to serve as officers for 2020-2021:

Chair: Greg Barras, (Diocese of Biloxi) 

Vice-Chair: Michael Bausch (Diocese of Rochester) 

Secretary: Louie Arceneaux, CM

Treasurer: Steve Newton, CSC

Continuing their service to AUSCP are: Ray Cole, Diocese of Metuchen; Peter Daly, Archdiocese of Washington, DC; Jeffrey Ott, OP, National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus; Andy Switzer, Diocese of wheeling-Charleston; Kevin Clinton, Chair Emeritus; Bob Bonnot, Executive Director; Jackie Doepker, OSF, Executive Secretary; Paul Leingang, Communications-Media; and Gayle Uebelhor, Assembly Coordinator.

Thank you to all who offered their services as nominees, or as helpers with various aspects of the Assembly, especially the technology. We also thank all who participated in spite of the challenges of getting online with the Zoom sessions.

May the Spirit continue to guide us in all that we do!

2020 Assembly Presentations

Many inquiries have been received regarding the availability of the excellent Assembly presentations. The technologists are preparing the recordings for publishing online in the near future. When they are available, the links will be published on the AUSCP website, www.auscp.org, and in the e-bulletin. The text of Sr. Carol Keehan's presentation has been received and is attached.

Sr. Carol said, in part: We are in a very challenging and pivotal moment in US history and the ride to November promises to be rough. We have to reinforce our healthcare system, our public health system, our economic system, our racial justice reality and protect the most vulnerable who have been hurt the most by the pandemic and all in an election year.

We will not make progress in these without changing the modis operande in our country today. We must find a way to help stimulate public conversations on mutual respect and civility in public discourse. We must be examples of respectful listening even to those we profoundly disagree with. We cannot seek to win by crushing others or refusing to believe there is any good in them.

Working Groups for 2020-2021

The AUSCP Working Groups will be re-organizing for the coming year. The Anti-Racism Working Group has been revived and is looking for members who are interested in participating. Anyone who wishes to be part of this group, please contact Greg Barras: gregmbarras@gmail.com.

AUSCP Responds to Racist Remarks by Pastor in Diocese of Lafayette

AUSCP issued a Press Release on July 2nd, in response to the derogatory racist remarks by a pastor in the Diocese of Lafayette. Calling for acknowledgment of 'virus of racism,' the release expressed the following hope: We hope the bishop and his priests will go beyond the scandalizing words of one priest on one weekend, and attack the systemic racism that allowed one priest to think such words were acceptable. All of us in the Church need to do the same.

White Jesus Is a Problem

NCR Editorial Staff (June 30, 2020) published a thought-provoking article about the problems associated with making depictions of Jesus white. The editorial said, in part: As a Palestinian Jew, Jesus was not white, and the ubiquitous depiction of Jesus as not only white, but often blonde-haired and blue-eyed as in the famous Warner Sallman illustration "Head of Christ," is not without consequences, both theological and psychological.

An exclusively white Jesus not only narrows our understanding of him, it sends a message that connects Jesus to the powerful, not the oppressed.

To read the rest of the article, click HERE.

 Changes in Membership Dues 

The AUSCP LT has decided to change the schedule and structure of membership dues. Until now, members could renew for a year at any time. This is confusing for members trying to remember when it is time to renew. Beginning in January of 2021, members will be asked to renew in the month of January for the calendar year. Because of this, anyone who is due to renew between now and then can renew at $25 (or more) until January 1, 2021, when a new dues structure will be put in place.

Recommended Resources

Book: White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson 

"DiAngelo brilliantly names a whiteness that doesn’t want to be named, disrobes a a whiteness that dresses in camouflage as humanity, unmasks a whiteness costumed as American, and fetches to center stage a whiteness that would rather hide invisible invisibility."  (Quoted from the Forward by Michael E. Dyson)

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The Spirituality and Practice website has a wealth of resources for your spiritual journey – practices, e-courses, films, books, Practicing Democracy Project, etc.

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/

From Practicing Democracy Project: The Freedom Pledge

People who walked through the Freedom Train in 1947  were invited to sign this Freedom Pledge:

"I am an American. A free American.
Free to speak — without fear
Free to worship God in my own way
Free to stand for what I think right
Free to oppose what I think wrong
Free to choose those who govern my country
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold
For myself and all people."

Mark your calendar!

The 10th ANNUAL AUSCP ASSEMBLY

Minneapolis, MN: JUNE 21-24, 2021

 Where do we go from here?

Change in Website, Email, and Mailing Addresses

The new website address is: www.auscp.org.

The new office email address is: office@auscp.org.

The mailing address is: P.O. Box 676, Tiffin, OH 44883.

Please use these addresses from this time forward. Thank you!

For  links to articles of interest on various topics, visit the AUSCP Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/AUSCPriests

For more information and photos, visit the AUSCP website at: AUSCP - HOME  

 ©2017 Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP)