My World of Religion, Politics, Entertainment and Social Issues

Dear Friends: I wanted to wait until this article was published, before sharing it with you. In the article, I answered the three primary questions I continue to be asked: MY ROAD TO ORDINATION By Ray Grosswirth, CORPUS Media Liaison March/April, 2007 Edition of ‘CORPUS REPORTS’ Having been part of the CORPUS community for several years, this is my very first article written as a married priest. The road to ordination was indeed long, with a few bumps along the way. However, in the end, my faith has been enriched as a result of my finally saying YES when the Holy Spirit beckoned. Much has been written and said already in the mainstream media about my ordination. So, rather than restating all the particulars, what follows will be what can perhaps be described as a reflection on what my ordination means in terms of my future with CORPUS and how I intend to carry out my ministries in the diaspora. I wish to begin by thanking the CORPUS community for...

Dear Blog Visitors: I was deeply moved by a feature story that appeared in our local newspaper this morning. It focused on a group of volunteers who donate their time to the Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center. The Mental Health Center is just one of many outreach ministries offered by Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester, New York. This is a parish that truly walks the talk, in that it takes the Gospel message of Jesus Christ very seriously. Jesus instructed us to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, take care of the disenfranchised, and welcome the stranger. Spiritus Christi continues to be a model for those of us who wish to be true disciples of Jesus. For those of you not familiar with the story, Spiritus Christi began several years ago, as an offshoot of Corpus Christi Church (diocesan parish). Through its independent status, the parish has two ordained female priests (Mary Ramerman and Denise Donato), in addition to having the services of Fr. James Callan, who moved from his...

Dear Blog Visitors: People continue to ask me what I intend to do, now that I am a married priest. The short answer is that I continue to be a Roman Catholic, and my primary ministries will be via certification from the Federation of Christian Ministries (baptisms, weddings, funerals). A question that continues to surface from time to time is what the relationship between CORPUS and 'The Married Priests Now! Prelature' will be. After some careful dialogue/negotiation, both organizations have released statements that are respectful of each other's goals and initiatives. Since both CORPUS and 'Married Priests Now!' have posted these statements to their respective websites, I thought it would be appropriate to post the statements here as well. At the heart of all organizations that work toward inclusivity in the priesthood is the reality that while the Roman Catholic Church is growing in terms of numbers, the celibate priesthood is shrinking, which places the availabil...

Dear Friends: I just thanked Marketta Gregory of the Democrat & Chronicle for the wonderful article she wrote on Mike Krupiarz. I am posting this to my blog and to the CORPUS ( www.corpus.org ) forum, because several of Mike's seminary classmates from St. Bernard's are members of CORPUS. Mike Krupiarz was a great guy and was very instrumental in my faith formation and choices I eventually made. Back in 1990, when I was discerning the priesthood as part of a group for older men, Mike was my initial spiritual advisor. (He prepared for the priesthood himself, but had left the seminary without getting ordained, due to the celibacy issue. He became a married deacon instead.) Mike was very helpful in my discernment over celibacy and other issues facing persons who are discerning the seminary process. Some of my memories of Mike have an element of humor. When he was a pastoral associate at St. Mary's Church downtown, he asked me to attend a peaceful rally outside the Senec...