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Archbishop Cupich NOT attending Dominican University dissident conference?

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Apparently, Joan Chittister, Jamie Manson, and Archbishop Cupich will not be having a get-together to “sing a new church into being.” A month ago came some eyebrow-raising news that not only was the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters’ Dominican University near Chicago to host a National Catholic Reporter dissident conference “New Faces, New Voices, New Ways of Being Church,” Archbishop Blaise Cupich himself was to be part of the festivities, celebrating Mass just after Sister Joan Chittister’s talk (at least according to conference organizers). Say what? The archbishop?! Sister Joan was the one who wrote the foreword for one of the late Sr....

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A positive Final Report on the CDF Doctrinal Assessment of LCWR

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I had been hoping (and suggesting, while being shot down by certain “experts”) the situation with the review of the US religious sisters’ leadership group LCWR was a little more positive than it looked. One reason was that when I sent my book A Report on the Sinsinawa Dominicans Today (a reform oriented work not geared toward a general readership, which can be read online or as a paperback) to the LCWR executive director Sr. Janet Mock (she has since been succeeded in that role by Sr. Joan Marie Steadman), I did get a reply and it was positive: “thank you so much for sending it to me” and “I really look forward to reading it.” I...

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On the Holy See’s Report on the Apostolic Visitation of Women Religious

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The Madison Catholic Herald has a Letter to the Editor from me this week, commenting on the recent release by the Congregation for Religious of a gently-worded report summarizing the Apostolic Visitation a few years back of all the women’s “active” religious congregations in the US. Women religious are diverse, there’s no possibility of a one size fits all assessment of all sisters. Individual communities, including the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa who received an in-person visitation team (and say it wasn’t a bad experience at all) will get an individualized report that won’t be public. This is likely to be oriented constructively...

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Sin-a-Mound: a sweet gift!

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A friend who knows me well got me the most thoughtful and funny Christmas present. Great for sharing with friends. If you eat the entire thing yourself at a sitting, you should probably go to confession. For those who need this but do not live near Sinsinawa Mound, it can be ordered through their website and shipped to you. They also have cinnamon swirl bread that doesn’t have icing on it and makes great cinnamon toast or French toast–as well as other varieties of “Mound bread”. I believe my friend probably got this from the Blessed Sacrament Parish Christmas Market at the end of November, and kept it in her freezer. Thank you to my friend, and...

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Join us in praying a Pentecost novena, for ourselves and for sisters

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My friends and I who make up the core of the Father Mazzuchelli Society have felt moved to pray a novena for religious sisters, and for those in formation in women’s religious communities, and we decided to let this be a proper novena of Pentecost, joining ourselves to the first novena or nine days of prayer of the Apostles and Mary after the Ascension of Our Lord while they waited for the descent of the Holy Spirit. We begin today and invite everyone interested to participate. Pray for yourself, and if you also feel called, pray for sisters and women in religious formation. Happily, blogging priest Father Z has decided to make daily AUDIO postings of this...

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Father Mazzuchelli and the New Evangelization article in the Madison Catholic Herald

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I have written an article which appears in this week’s Madison Catholic Herald. The Herald has had quite a few articles recently about Father Mazzuchelli, surrounding the 150th anniversary of his death which was honored with the annual memorial Mass at St Patrick’s Church in Benton, with about a dozen priests in attendance this year. I found reporter Kevin Wondrash’s photos worth looking at. I teach catechism at 9 am Sundays at the Cathedral Parish (and I don’t drive) so I could not be present for the 150th anniversary Mass–though as noted in my article below we observed the occasion at the Cathedral Parish with a reading group that...

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Father Mazzuchelli book group to meet

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I have a go-ahead from the Madison Cathedral Parish to organize a parish book group at Holy Redeemer Church to read Venerable Fr Samuel Mazzuchelli’s Memoirs beginning in January. This will be an ideal way to observe the 150th anniversary of this great priest’s death, which falls on February 23rd of 2014. I am hopeful that a lot of grace may come from this study, which is oriented toward the New Evangelization. It is a parish program but I certainly would welcome people from outside the Cathedral Parish participating. If you are interested, watch the Cathedral Parish bulletin or website, or email me. The Father Mazzuchelli Society has published an attractive...

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Happy birthday Father Mazzuchelli!

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We had a lovely birthday party for Fr Mazzuchelli on Monday the 4th, in downtown Madison! I think there were ten of us. We prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and the prayer for his Beatification, and then potluck dinner and birthday cake. A very pleasant occasion. We discussed his legacy and how we can make that better known to inspire people for the New Evangelization. The 150th anniversary of Father Mazzuchelli’s death is coming up this coming February. The Sinsinawa Dominicans will emphasize him as “social justice crusader” in their own image. He was indeed very good on social justice, but it is a serious distortion to narrow his legacy to...

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More reactions to the Report on the Sinsinawa Dominicans

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The feedback on the Report on the Sinsinawa Dominicans Today has been very good. One priest gave it a 96% on account that it is not very perfectly edited! True! A reader who purchased the book on Amazon left a nice review there: The breakdown of religious orders is something I have been studying for some time as part of the work of the Catholic apostolate I founded, and this very well researched and well written book about one specific order and how it slowly unraveled is superb. I have not found any other work that reaches such a level of specificity while connecting to the larger story–a very sad story–of the breakdown of so many orders of nuns and sisters...

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“Like” us on facebook

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The Father Mazzuchelli Society now has a “Like” page on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/fathermazzuchellisociety    

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The reaction from the Dominicans

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I received a message from Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger the Prioress General, who didn’t like this initiative or the name Father Mazzuchelli Society, and wants me not to mention the Sinsinawa Dominicans anywhere on the internet. One point to clarify is that the Father Mazzuchelli Society supports Father Mazzuchelli’s official Cause for Beatification and Canonization and does not at all represent itself as being the Cause! Monday October 7th is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, patronal feast of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary. Please pray for the Blessed Mother’s affection and care for these Sisters especially on Monday....

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Announcing: the Father Mazzuchelli Society

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Welcome. This blog will provide a space for news and updates. The Father Mazzuchelli Society goes live on October 4th, 2013.

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