A Catholic Tipping Point: Conversations with Fr. Helmut Schuller, Voice of the Faithful, June 3, 2013

A Catholic Tipping Point: Conversations with Fr. Helmut Schuller

Voice of the Faithful
June 3, 2013

http://votf.org/page/a-catholic-tipping-point-conversations-with-fr-helmut-schuller/18095

Fr. Helmut Schuller, the charismatic founder of the Austrian Priests' Initiative (Pfarrer-Initiative), is visiting the United States this summer. Invited by a coalition of 10 church reform organizations for a 15-city tour, July 15 to August 7, Fr. Schuller will discuss initiatives taken by the Austrian priests, why they took action, and how the international reform movement is faring.

The Austrian Priests' Initiative was organized in 2006 to address a deepening shortage of priests, which has forced many Austrian parishes to close. The priests' initiative is calling for inclusive and transparent changes to Church governance, including greater lay leadership and lay preaching in parishes without a priest. Fr. Schuller's work inspired priests to establish similar priest groups in Germany, Ireland, France, and the United States.

The coalition of Church reform organizations that invited Schuller to the United states is calling his tour a Catholic Tipping Point because priests and people worldwide are creating a critical mass to transform the Church from the bottom up. An alternate title for his talk is: "Creativity, Courage and Conscience: Re-imagining Church Governance and the Voice of the Laity."

Voice of the Faithful® is collaborating with other groups to sponsor the kick-off event in Fr. Schuller's tour. This will take palce Tuesday evening, July 16, at Judson Memorial in Greenwich Village, New York City. VOTF also is sponsoring two addtional talks. The first will be on Wednesday evening, July 17, at St. Susanna's Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, and the second will be on Wednesday evening, August 7, in Manhasset on Long Island, New York. Mark your calendars now. We will have much more information as the dates come closer.

The other U.S. cities where Fr. Schuller is speaking are Philadelphia, July 19; Baltimore, July 20; Washington, D.C., July 22; Chicago, July 24; Cleveland, July 25; Detroit, July 26; Cincinnati, July 27; Denver, July 29; San Diego, July 31; Los Angeles, Aug. 2; Portland, Oregon, Aug. 4; and Seattle, Aug. 5.