News

View the production of our November 2023 webinar on Nonviolence and Peace:

The Reality of Jesus Today, with Fr. John Dear, peace activist and founder of The Beatitudes Centre for the Nonviolent Jesus and Sr. Teresia Wachira IBVM, co-president of Pax Christi International.

Our Publisher meets the Pope

With One Accord’s publisher, Morgan V. Rice C.S.B., along with fellow Basilian Fathers received a private audience with Pope Francis on June 9 2022 at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. The occasion marked the Bicentenary of the founding of the Congregation of St. Basil. Representatives from Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States received a papal blessing as part of their Bicentennial Pilgrimage to France and Italy.

Movements in Synodality

From Francesca Baldini in Rome

Don Ciro Miele's decision two years ago to appoint an all-woman parish council is viewed by some as either extreme or plain revolutionary. The parish of Saints Peter and Paul Apostles in Casalvecchio, Puglia, Italy is now guided by himself and the twelve women he personally invited. Don Miele's step came after a long reflection, and exemplifies the needs of today's Catholic Church in the light of synodality. A prophetic gesture that highlights not only the importance of female presence in his community, but also recalls the 'female genius' of which St John Paul II often spoke. Although a necessary step for the priest, it did not meet with broad approval. He explained: "My decision has aroused criticism, but I believe that in order to initiate real processes of renewal in the Church, to which Pope Francis call us, it is essential to take courageous action.” Such renewal he said is not just a step towards the inclusion women but everyone.

”It is essential to address our reality today in order to understand the real problems in our communities and to resist all forms of clericalism,” Don Miele stated, a journalist and priest for over twenty-five years, who lectures in ecumenicism and theology. His vision for the Church begins, he said, with an eye to the least as stated in the Vatican II conciliar constitution Lumen Gentium. Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters reflect the variety of the women on his council, not only in terms of age, but also in personal and professional experience. Appreciated for their gifts, the women wholeheartedly embraced the trust extended to them by their parish priest.

Undoubtedly this move not only reflects future possibilities for our Church but also confirms that women, once again, can be prophetic bearers of hope for tomorrow.

A Synodal Prayer

Gracious God, we gather together in your name, from across the world.

Grant us the peace of mind and heart to experience walking together as Church.

May you bless our listening, dialoguing, and discernment.

We are your Church on earth, striving to live out its missional call to holiness and service.

May we have the courage to speak, and the humility to listen.

May we have the spirit to act, and the quiet resolve to contemplate your will.

Guide us in our journey, as we lovingly walk the synodal path as one Body of Christ,

United in spirit and prayer.

Amen.

A With One Accord Webinar

Honouring

Prof. Dr. Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz

Heartfelt congratulations to our colleague in feminine theological research, for being this year’s female recipient of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology.

Presented by Pope Francis in Rome on 13 November 2021, he stated that the fruits of art and research don’t ripen and mature just by chance or without sustained effort. He paid tribute to “not only the depth of thought and writings, or to the beauty of artistic works, but also to the work generously and passionately given and shared over the course of many years.” Thus, he surmised, our human and spiritual heritage is greatly enriched.

Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz has been a Lecturer in four German universities and at the University of Trento (Italy). From l993-2011 she held the New Chair for Philosophy of Religion and for Religious Studies at the Technical University of Dresden. Since 2011 she has been Head of the Institute for European Philosophy and Religion at Hochschule Benedikt XVI in Heiligenkreuz, Vienna.

She has published in the fields of cultural anthropology, feminism and gender, philosophy of religion (as well as philosophy of the l9th and 20th centuries) and in phenomenology with special focus on the works of Edith Stein and Romano Guardini. She is President and Vice President of three Catholic societies, among them Rote Rose e.V. where she is involved in developing a new concept of sexual pedagogics for teachers.

Prof. Gerl-Falkovitz was a member of the organizing committee of the Magdala-sponsored series of international seminars in Rome Towards an Intrinsic Feminine Theology (2016-2018) where she contributed many presentations.

Remembering

Mariann Dunsmore (1956-2021)

It was her curiosity that first impressed, a curiosity about God in all things. A mystical mien that could relate to the presence of mystery in the everyday, accompanied by a constant invitation to participate. A childlike wonder she had about her, who plainly delighted in God, a playful encounter with the surprises of grace expressed permanently upon her face. This book and that—have you read it? You might need to! This person, this insight, what do you think of it? Come share the joy of discovery, the goodness of God. A cornucopia of ideas, of images, of light. Beyond words, look to the sky, what form do you see, what eye?

With Mariann earth and heaven were in continual embrace. She cherished the small, the exquisite sea shell in a palm of the hand, and saw where each thing was placed and needed to go. She touched each soul the same way. When you are called, the saints are there. Holy heartbeat, always to share. Where we venture God meets us there.

Mariann at home everywhere.

Mariann was a founding member of the Magdala Conciliary and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Basil’s Church, Toronto. Previous to that she spent 23 years as a lay member of Madonna House. An accomplished artist and iconographer her works were influenced by the rich traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy, African (Coptic and Ethiopian) and Western sacred art. Her contributions of support, prayer and suggestions for the publications of With One Accord have been invaluable. She is deeply loved and profoundly missed by her friends, communities and the families she guided in faith.