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COURAGE NEWSLETTER
April 2018
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A Message From
Our Executive Director
Dear Friends of Courage and EnCourage,
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Fr. Philip Bochanski
Executive Director
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These are the days of our Easter joy. ... As Catholics we are truly "set apart", consecrated to the Lord as his holy people. ... What a debt of gratitude we owe to the Lord for all that he has given us, especially through the Courage and EnCourage apostolates.
We have received these gifts as a legacy, as an inheritance from our founders, ... especially our beloved founding director, Father John F. Harvey, OSFS. This month, on April 14, we mark the one hundredth anniversary of Father Harvey's birth, a time of jubilee and thanksgiving for all of us. Father's wish "to be remembered as being faithful to a mission" is our watchword, throughout this year and into the future. ...
Among the most precious gifts of Divine Providence to our apostolate are you, the friends and benefactors who support our mission. ... Your most generous gift -- perhaps you will consider a larger gift than usual this time, to mark Father Harvey's 100th birthday -- will help us to remain faithful to our mission to provide pastoral care for our members and continuing formation for the Church's pastoral ministers.
I am sincerely grateful for your collaboration in the work of Courage International. ...Thank you for sharing Father Harvey's legacy with us, and for helping us to preserve and expand it for the present and the future. Be sure that you and your loved ones will be remembered in my prayers, and those of our members and chaplains.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Philip G. Bochanski
Executive Director
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Contents of this Newsletter
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Conference Registration Now Open!
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Courage/EnCourage Conference 2018
"Faithful to a Mission": Celebrating 100th Birthday of Our Founder
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Villanova University
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July 12-15 (Thursday-Sunday)
Clergy Study Day: July 11 (Wednesday)
Villanova University
In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
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Fr. John F. Harvey, OSFS
Drawn by T.K., an EnCourage member
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Come celebrate the centennial of the birth of Fr. John F. Harvey, OSFS, who co-founded the Courage apostolate in 1980. We will listen to talks in his honor and share anecdotes of personal experiences with him as we seek to carry on the spirit and mission he left to us as his legacy.
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New Chapters
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Courage and EnCourage chapters
around the world
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EnCourage Chapter: * Cincinnati, Ohio More Courage and EnCourage chapters coming soon!
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Deacon Art McGuire, EnCourage Leader, Rest in Peace
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Deacon Art McGuire
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On March 7, Deacon Arthur McGuire, Jr., a leader for the Philadelphia EnCourage group and a dear friend of Fr. John Harvey, passed away. According to Fr. Anthony Costa, the pastor of the parish where Deacon Art ministered for twenty years, he was a "humble, loving disciple of Jesus who was filled with the Holy Spirit in every sense of the word ... [and] lived the reality of what it means to love God and love others" (St. Francis of Assisi Parish bulletin, March 18). Let's give thanks to God for the blessing of his support of our apostolate and pray for the repose of his soul.
See obituary at CatholicPhilly.com
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EnCourage is Cover Story in Diocesan Magazine
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Click to view
magazine
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Last month we announced a new EnCourage chapter in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We'd like to share with you how this diocese
chose to launch this new chapter, even making it a cover story for their diocesan
magazine! The March issue included a welcome letter from Bishop David Walkowiak and an interview of the new EnCourage chaplain, along with his uncle and aunt, who just so happen to be longtime EnCourage leaders, Bob and Susan C.! This high profile magazine coverage was only one component of an impressive comprehensive communications plan, which also included a letter from the bishop to the clergy, bulletin announcements, and spots on their local Catholic radio station.
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Promote Courage to College Students, Young Adults
Promoting Your Courage Chapter in Your Diocese, Issue #4
In this issue, Karl M. offers recommendations for venues and approaches when reaching out to young people, many of whom desire to follow Church teachings, if only someone would step up and help them understand. He observes with foresight that "reaching this audience is vital to the long term health of our ministry."
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Focus on Fr. John F. Harvey, O.S.F.S.
Celebrating the 100th Birthday Jubilee of our Founding Director
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Edited by John F. Harvey, OSFS, and Gerard V. Bradley
This month's featured resource from Fr. Harvey
From
the publisher, Augustine's Press:
"This work addresses parents whose children believe themselves to be attracted sexually to persons of the same sex, and it involves many aspects of the complex issues surrounding homosexuality and the homosexual movement. Renowned scholars in scripture, dogmatic and moral theology, philosophy, canon and civil law, pastoral theology, and psychology and psychiatry address the many aspects of the subject with care, sensitivity, and clarity."
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Second director of Courage honors founding director
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Fr. Paul Check
Executive Director of Courage 2008-2016
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"... For Fr. Harvey, homosexuality was not first a cultural issue or a political matter to be debated, but a personal daily struggle in the lives of many. The Church had given him a mission in the name of Christ, which he cheerfully and manfully embraced, and his sturdy faith never faltered, irrespective of the controversy, the resistance, or the seemingly modest results ... and so he did not lose his peace. And Father believed, as Our Lord taught us, that there is no conflict between charity and truth, and this further deepened the tranquility of order in his soul, which then manifested itself in his work as the founding director of Courage. ...
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Delivered at National Catholic Bioethics Center 2011 Workshop for Bishops.
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Focus on Bishop Thomas Olmsted
2018 conference speaker to exhort men to "stand in the breach"
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Click to view Bishop Thomas Olmsted
in the Into the Breach trailer |
We are honored that the Most Rev. Thomas Olmsted, Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, and a member of Courage's Episcopal Board, will be joining us at our July conference to present to the men in attendance. His topic will be "Into the Breach," which is also the title of his powerful
2015 Apostolic Exhortation
written to "his spiritual sons," the men of his diocese. His exhortation was so well-received that Catholic men across the country have been inspired by reading it.
Read or
listen to Bishop Olmsted's
Into the Breach
And I sought for a man among them
who should build up the wall
and stand in the breach
before me for the land ...
Ezekiel 22:30
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"Whatever you do to me, I will not stop loving you."
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| Click to view Fr. Bochanski at EWTN |
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In March our director celebrated a Mass which was aired on EWTN television. He delivered a beautiful homily filled with a deep assurance of the love of God for each of us, no matter what!
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Courage Team Gives Several Presentations in Yucatán
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From left to right:
Fr. Alejandro Alvarez, Courage chaplain;
Rossana Goñi-Cuba, Courage-Latino Coordinator;
Miguel and Susana, EnCourage; Fr. Bochanski; Archbishop Rodríguez; Bishop Mena
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The Archdiocese of Yucatán, Mexico, in conjunction with local members of EnCourage and Courage, invited Courage to provide several days of presentations this past February.
On the first day, Fr. Philip Bochanski presented a Clergy Study Day to more than twenty priests and some religious sisters. Archbishop Gustavo Rodríguez and Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Mena were present throughout the entire day.
Next the Courage team conducted two days of workshops for more than 120 religious and lay pastoral ministers. Finally, Fr. Bochanski presented a
workshop for forty diocesan seminarians. Their day was concluded with a Mass in the seminary, concelebrated by Fr. Bochanski, Fr. Jose Perez (seminary rector), and Fr. Alejandro Alvarez (Courage chaplain).
We'd like to extend our special gratitude to Susana and Miguel plus Dr. Julio (EnCourage) as well as Leandro (Courage) for organizing this series of presentations and spreading the good news of the Courage apostolate in Latin America.
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EnCourage-Latino On-Line Chapter
Capítulo de EnCourage En-Línea
In April we began an EnCourage online chapter in Spanish, headed by Fr. Richard Samour, chaplain of Courage and EnCourage in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas. If you would like to participate, please contact Rossana at
[email protected]
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Pastoral and Catechetical Resources
For clergy, parish and diocesan staff, catechists,
mental/medical health care professionals, and other pastoral ministers
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Come to the pre-conference Clergy Study Day ...
July 11, 2018, at Villanova University in Archdiocese of Philadelphia
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Villanova University
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This day of presentations for priests, deacons, and seminarians includes talks on the following found
ational topics as they relate to same-sex attractions:
- Catholic anthropology and sexual ethics
- Insights from psychology
- Sexual identity confusion (gender dysphoria)
- Testimony
- Preaching
- Pastoral care
No charge! We want to make it easy for you to come.
... and then stay for the Courage Conference
July 12-15, 2018, also at Villanova University
"Faithful to a Mission": Celebrating 100th Birthday of Our Founder
For Clergy Study Day and/or Conference
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Truth & Love Conference: Save the Date
October 22-24, 2018
St. Thomas Seminary Conference Center
Bloomfield, Connecticut
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St. Thomas Seminary
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The
Truth & Love Conference offers sound, practical, and pastoral guidance on the topics of homosexuality and sexual identity, addressed to clergy, religious, and those lay faithful working in ecclesial ministry, as well as medical and mental health professionals.
- Testimonies of persons who experience same-sex attractions regarding how chaste friendships and the Church have helped them on their journey toward chastity and sanctity.
- Experts talk on Christian anthropology, natural law, the psychological aspects of homosexuality, Scripture, and chastity.
- Discussions on how pastors, family, and friends can best love those who experience same-sex attractions or confusion regarding sexual identity.
- Practical recommendations and tools for communicating the Church's teaching on homosexuality and sexual identity to parishes, schools, and students as an integral part of the New Evangelization.
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In pastoral care, mysteries of Triduum offer hope in the face of obstacles
Fr. Philip Bochanski writes for the Truth & Love blog:
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Our proclamation of the Resurrection is good news for the whole world, and offers consolation and hope to our brothers and sisters who are living with the experience of same sex attraction, in their own lives or in the lives of loved ones. In particular, the mysteries of the Triduum provide a definitive answer to many of the objections that we often hear, when people insist that the Church's teaching is too idealistic, or that the obstacles to receiving God's grace are insurmountable."
Receive weekly Truth and Love blog posts like this one
by clicking "Update Profile" at the bottom of this email.
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"Strengthening Our Families & Understanding Loved Ones"
April 21, 2018, in Somers, New York (Archdiocese of New York)
With Daniel Mattson
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Fr. Jim Lloyd's 70th Anniversary of Ordination: Mass and
Celebration
April 30, 2018, in New York, New York
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Courage Men's Sports Camp
May 24-27, 2018, in Pennsylvania
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Midwest Living Waters Leadership Training Seminar
July 7-13, 2018, in Kansas City, Kansas
With Andy Comiskey and Desert Stream Ministries.
Equips attendees for effective ministry to the sexually and relationally broken.
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Pre-Conference Clergy Study Day - No Charge
July 11, 2018, in Villanova, Pennsylvania
(Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
Includes talks on Catholic anthropology and sexual ethics, psychology, preaching, pastoral care, and sexual identity confusion, plus a testimony.
Registration
No charge!
Open to clergy and seminarians only.
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Courage/EnCourage Annual Conference
July 12-15, 2018, in Villanova, Pennsylvania
(Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
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Gender Matters: Fighting for a New Generation
September 15, 2018, in Kalispell, Montana
With Andy Comiskey and Desert Stream Ministries.
Discover compassion and clarity of Jesus towards persons facing sexual identity issues.
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Courage/EnCourage Canada Shrines Pilgrimage
October 6-11, 2018
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Truth & Love Conference
October 22-24, 2018, in Bloomfield, Connecticut (Archdiocese of Hartford)
For
clergy, religious, lay faithful who work in ecclesial ministry, medical and mental health professionals. Please share the dates with those who serve in your diocese and parish.
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East Coast Living Waters Leadership Training Seminar
November 3-9, 2018, on Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut
With Andy Comiskey and Desert Stream Ministries
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Courage does not necessarily fully endorse all of the ideas included in resources that are not produced by Courage, but we still like to share items that we and our members have found to have considerable helpful content.
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