Nov 1997 v.p. Report from National CTA Conference p. 6
Cordaro, VP, Vol. 21, No. 4, Report from National CTA Conference, 1997
THE CALL FOR CHURCH JUSTICE
By Frank Cordaro
Report from National CTA Conference
This year’s National Call To Action (CTA) Conference in Detroit (November 14-16) was a great spirit-lifter for me. Three thousand five hundred people attended the conference, the theme being “A Spirituality for the 21st Century”.
Twenty-five folks from Iowa attended the conference. Helen Oster, IA CTA’s chairperson and long time supporter of the Des Moines Catholic Worker, was my traveling companion. We used Helen’s car and shared the driving. Helen stayed in a hotel across the street from the conference site and I took advantage of the generous hospitality of the Detroit Catholic Worker.
As usual, there were many great speakers and workshop presenters. To name just a few, they were Sr. Joan Chittister, Fr. Charles Curran, Sr. Maureen Fiedler, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Sr. Christine Schenk, Ched Myers, Rosemary Ruether, Jim Wallis and Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, the excommunicated Catholic theologian from Sri Lanka. This year’s CTA Award went to Pax Christi USA.
I was very happy with my two presentations on “Following the Nonviolent Jesus – A Call for a Resistance Church”. I received positive feedback from many who attended my presentations. I am grateful for the chance to present my understanding of Jesus and the nonviolent resistance movement he started almost 2,000 years ago.
The best part of the weekend was meeting and sharing with other CTA folks from all over the country. Working for Church reform can be a very lonely and discouraging endeavor these days. Just getting together with others who share the same vision and hope was an empowering and spirit-lifting experience.
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A Visit to Saginaw Catholic Worker
Some things I did find interesting at this year’s conference were the many different ways that local CTA groups are treated from one diocese to the next. In some dioceses, CTA groups are welcomed by their local bishops and allowed to use Catholic Church property.
This is true in the Diocese of Saginaw, MI. That is why I welcomed an invitation from Rosalie Reigle and the Saginaw Catholic Worker community to visit and speak at their Catholic Worker on Monday night after the Detroit CTA Conference.
While in Saginaw, I also paid a visit to the local diocesan offices. I was invited to share at a noon roundtable discussion for diocesan employees. They asked me to talk about my struggle for reform in the Catholic Church and why I stay in the priesthood. About ten people participated.
At the Catholic Worker on Monday night, more that 20 people showed up for my talk, including Bishop Ken Untener. It was an honor to have him present!
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