Fr. Frank Eldridge, SA, is pastor at St. Odilia’s, an active
Spanish-speaking parish in Los Angeles. During the
Christmas season, the parish celebrates Las Posadas, a
yearly tradition for many Catholic Mexicans and other
Latin Americans symbolizing the trials that Mary and
Jesus endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus
could be born.
Elias D. Mallon, SA took part in a symposium on the Future of Christianity in the Middle East. The symposium, co-sponsored by the Sheptytsky Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, took place at St. Paul's University in Ottawa October 21-22, 2011. The keynote speaker was Archbishop Elias Chacour, the Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Galilee. Abp. Chacour is a world-renowned Palestinian peace and human rights activist. His book Blood Brothers, one of several books he has written, tells of his life as a Palestinian youth. He is is three time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Elias took part in a panel discussion which included the Hon. Jason Kenney, a member of the Canadian Parliament and Mr. Michael Molloy, a former official at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and with Citizenship and Immigration.
Fr. Robert Langone, SA has been assigned to the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton, Massachusetts,
which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. While not a parish ministry,
the Friars refer to it as an Atonement Center. Located just opposite the Westgate Mall,
the center’s motto is bringing “Christ to the Marketplace.” Young and old come here
to be nourished by the sacraments through daily masses and confessions, to receive
spiritual counseling, or to purchase religious items in its well-stocked and thriving gift
shop.
Minister General, Fr. James Puglisi, SA's book How Can the Petrine Ministry be a Service to the Unity of the Universal Church? was awarded second place in the Theology Category of the 2011 Catholic Press Awards. Here is what they said about your book: “Twenty outstanding Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant theologians address the biblical tradition, the ecclesial history, the theology and the ecumenical dimensions of papal ministry for the promotion of Christian unity. This is an important contribution to the evolving discussion of the place of Peter and Petrine ministry in the universal church. It is ironic, challenging and hopeful.” It
is available from the Graymoor Book & Gift Center at 845-424-2100.
Fr. Elias Mallon, SA has been appointed educational and interreligious affairs officer for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. The CNEWA, a papal agency servicing the churches and peoples of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe was co-founded by Father Paul Wattson. Fr. Elias is a member of the Friars’ General Council and the author of Islam: What Catholics Need to Know, available from the Graymoor Book & Gift Center at 845-424-2100.
Fr. James Gardiner, SA, former director of the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center who is currently on sabbatical at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, DC, joined Ven. Dr. Dhammadipa, abbot of the Chuang Yen Buddhist Monastery in Carmel, NY, on his visit to the headquarters of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC, in early June. In addition, Fr. Gardiner’s book, Quest for a Black Theology, which he coedited with Dr. J. Deotis Roberts, professor of religion emeritus at the Howard University School of Theology in Washington, DC, was re-issued in October 2010 by Augsburg Fortress Publishers. First published in 1961 and out of print for several years, the essays in this classic capture the urgency, contention, and energy of the late 1960s in the black churches. It is available from the Graymoor Book & Gift Center at 845-424-2100.
