The speakers enhanced the convocation with thoughtful and provocative lectures which encouraged the idea of a restored married priesthood. At the opening dinner, Peter Paul Brennan spoke of the need for a married priesthood and set the theme of the conference as a celebration of the married priesthood. Brennan said that the only goal of our Married Priests Now! was the restoration and the recall of married priests to full ministry in the church. He introduced Archbishop Stallings who greeted the assembly and introduced Archbishop Milingo. +Emmanuel Milingo and his wife greeted the participants and told the story of their marriage. Milingo gave an enthusiastic call for the church to recognize its own married priests and for married preists to join together in unity.

On the second day, Dr. Anthony Padovano gave a clear and practical analysis of ministry and the suitable theology of the renewed married priesthood. Dr. Leonard Swidler spoke of the way to restore a married priesthood through a change in the laws because such a change was the only permanent and long lasting method. It must be written into church law.
After lunch, Archbishop Milingo gave a spirited response to the letter of Cardinal Re which threatened him with suspension for continued work with Married Priests Now! Archbishop Milingo said that he is and remains a Roman Catholic archbishop and will always be, but that he will continue to work with married priests because the church has treated them so badly that they need to experience some Christian love and experience. If the institutional church fails to do it, he in good conscience must extend the hand and embrace of love to the married priests. He was followed by Peter Manseau who spoke of the children of married priests from his perspective of growing up in a married priest family which he has written about in his book Vows. Manseau spoke of the sense of loss that is part of the ethos of the family of a married priest and how children experience it. Dr. Sal Trozzo gave few incites into developing communities and future church forms.

In the evening Archbishop Brennan facilitated an open session for priests and their wives to tell their stories and to tell about ministries they have developed. Many of the international married priests told of their ministries and continuing work as married priests. The Independent Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil which has 5,000 married priests was represented by Bishop Edson Luis Campos da Silva, a former Capuchin priest. He was accompanied by Fr. Marcelo Pires. Pietro Ceroni and Dr. Giuseppe Serrone, with his wife Albana, came from Italy. Other international priests came from Peru, Paraguay, Africa, Mexico, and Canada.

The third day began with a special Eucharistic Celebration of Healing in which the priests and bishops extended raised hands to one another to offer healing from the injuries caused by the institutional brutality of the Church and the hierarchy towards married priests. Archbishop Milingo pointed out that the Eucharist is the heart of the priests ministry and that each priest should keep the blessed sacrament reserved in his family home chapel. He spoke of his own devotion to the Eucharist and of its role in the life of the priests, their families and the church.
The next session was an ecumenical sharing of the ministries of the American Clergy Leadership Conference, the Federation of Peace and the role of marriage and family. The convocation was funded by the American Clergy Leadership Conference and by contributions from other churches. Rev. Michael Jenkins, President of ACLC, Dr. Chang Shik Yang, and Rev. Phillip Schanker who told the story of Maria Sung Milingo's encounter with the Vatican.

The final luncheon featured Archbishop Milingo who gave a farewell comments and thanked all the priests who came to share this special celebration of the married priesthood. Brennan read the MPN response to Cardinal Re's letter, gave a few comments and invited the participants to keep in contact through the website and the E-group. Archbishop Stallings introduced Archbishop Patrick Trujillo who gave a keynote talk on the Future of the Married Priesthood and suggested conference resolutions.
The most significant benefit of this convocation was that married-priests celebrated mass together and experience priestly fellowship with their wives and with the assembled community. The exchange of experiences and the meeting of other priests and bishops brought great hope for a real change in church law and policy. Married priests ought to be recalled. The Pastoral Provision given for Lutheran and Episcopal Church ministers needs to be extended to include the Church's own married priests.

fonte: MarriedPriestsNow@yahoogroups.com

"Married Priest Now".
For further information about "Married Priests Now" please
call (+1) 202-577-3544

marriedpriestsnow@simail.it