Podcasts 
These audio podcasts are available from FutureChurch for download. You will need an audio player capable of playing MP3 files to listen. To save a podcast to your computer, right click (or "Control-Click" on Macintosh computers) and select the appropriate option.
Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church
74 minutes (in two files) - 52.8 MB - Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
Part I (34.6 MB) | Part II (18.2 MB)
Going back to the Bible and, above all, to the teaching of Jesus, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson presents an approach to sexual morality that is profound, compassionate, and people-centered. He stresses the priority of the hierarchy of holiness over the hierarchy of power and offers nothing less than a vision for a church of the third millennium.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who has degrees in philosophy, theology, and church law, was Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney from 1984 until his retirement in 2004. In 1994 he was elected by the Australian Bishops to the National Committee for Professional Standards, coordinating the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to revelations of sexual abuse, and from 1997 until 2003 he was cochairman of this committee.
This presentation was given on June 5, 2008, in Cleveland, Ohio and was sponsored by FutureChurch.
Quest for the Living God
56 minutes - 54.1 MB - Elizabeth Johnson, PhD
“Because church reform is exhausting work . . . (and) needs to be centered in strong and deep relationship with God.” Elizabeth Johnson focuses on three theological frontiers we now face in our relationship with God: the feminist, the interreligious, and the ecological.
Dr. Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham University and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, titled her talk, “Questing for the Living God,” similar to the full title of her latest book, hot off the press, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God (New York: Continuum, 2007)
This presentation was given at the 17th annual FutureChurch benefit on October 18, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Women and the Word
52 minutes - 54 MB - Sr. Chris Schenk
Christine Schenk csj discusses the upcoming October 2008 World Synod of Bishops on the theme “the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” But what about women’s relationship to the Scriptural Word? In February the Pope gave biblical basis for women preachers and leaders in an address to 20,000 people. Yet female biblical leadership and experience are invisible in lectionary proclamation and preaching. Schenk also discusses how Jesus and Paul included women leaders who were later deleted from lectionary texts and suggests practical strategies for advancing biblical inclusiveness in your parish and diocese.
Chris is the director of FutureChurch She holds masters degrees in Theology and Midwifery and has given hundreds of media interviews and presentations about the worldwide priest shortage, women in Scripture, Eucharist, Jesus and Women, Mary of Magdala and women officeholders in the early church.
This presentation was given on November 3, 2007 at the national Call To Action conference.
Organizing to Preserve Vibrant Parishes
1 hour, 14 minutes - 71.9 MB - Sr. Chris Schenk
Christine Schenk csj is joined by panelists Fr. Gerry Bechard of Detroit’s Elephants in the Living Room; Stan Doherty of CTA New England and VOTF in the Boston archdiocese; and Dan Theil, president of Toledo’s United Parishes. Listen to learn about strategies to preserve viable parishes in your diocese and resist unjust closures. Hear the stories of the panelists who are working in the trenches to keep parishes open. Learn more about FutureChurch’s “Save Our Parish Community” project that is stirring a national discussion of best practices for keeping viable parishes open rather than closing them because of real estate values or simply because no priest is available.
This presentation was given on November 3, 2007 at the national Call To Action conference.
Canon Law and the Rights of the Lay Christian Faithful
1 hour, 53 minutes - 45.3 MB - Sister Kate Kuenstler PHJC, JCD
Canon Law is so much more than a list of "do nots," it is a positive affirmation of our rights. Especially timely for those seeking to preserve vibrant parishes. Sister Kate Kuenstler PHJC, JCD speaks from a background as a former diocesan tribunal lawyer, teacher,
parish catechetical director, and diocesan director of religious education. She is now an advocate for the laity, lecturing in
various states on the topic of the laity and their role in Catholic Church.
This lecture was recorded on May 17, 2007 at a FutureChurch program in Cleveland, Ohio.
A Voice of Their Own: The Authority of the Local Parish
1 hour, 25 minutes - 33.9 MB - Fr. William A. Clark, S.J., S.T.D.
Fr Clark discusses a theology of parish that empowers the laity to renew the whole Church through the renewal of the local community. His insights are especially valuable as dioceses nationwide are considering parish reconfigurations because of the priest shortage. William A. Clark, S.J., S.T.D., is the author of A Voice of Their Own: The Authority of the Local Parish (Liturgical Press). He is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA where he teaches courses in Catholicism, Christian prayer, and the Church. In addition to his academic work on the role of local church communities, Father Bill has extensive experience in parish pastoral work, retreat direction, and music ministry.
This lecture was given on February 27, 2007. John Carroll co-sponsors included the Institute of Catholic Studies, the Cardinal Suenens Center in Theology and Church Life, Campus Ministry, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Department of Communication and Theater Arts.
Respecting Parish Integrity in a Time of Fewer Priests
1 hour, 3 minutes - 25.2 MB - Sr. Chris Schenk
Should vibrant, solvent parishes with effective apostolic outreach be closed or merged solely because no priest is available to live on the premises? Do parish communities have theological integrity, inherent authority and rights and responsibilities to be exercised in communion with the universal church? What can pastors, parish council leaders, lay ministers, and ordinary parishioners do to claim and vindicate these rights?
Sr. Chris Schenk discusses FutureChurch’s Save Our Parish Community Project which educates about the theological basis for the inherent authority of a parish community and its canonical right to exist. The project includes discernment guidelines and canonical, spiritual and organizational resources to resist unjust closings or mergers if the situation warrants. Peter Borre, spokesperson for Boston’s Council of Parishes shares the lived experience of 15 vibrant but threatened parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston.
This presentation was given on November 4, 2006 at the national Call To Action conference.
And the Survey Says!
1 hour, 5 minutes - 26.3 MB - Sr. Chris Schenk
Wondering what progressive Catholics believe are the best ways to promote women’s full ministerial equality in the Catholic Church? Sr. Chris Schenk discusses the findings of FutureChurch’s Advancing Women in Church Leadership Survey of over 40,000 reform-minded Catholics. Learn about current trends and concrete strategies that are transforming institutional Catholicism from within and without.
Schenk is the director of FutureChurch which spearheads an annual effort to restore awareness of St. Mary of Magdala as the first witness to the Resurrection. She recently catalyzed the creation of the Save Our Parish Community Project designed to give parishioners and pastors the tools they need to discern and resist unjust closing or merging. She has given hundreds of media interviews and presentations about the worldwide priest shortage, women in Scripture, Eucharist, Jesus and Women, Mary of Magdala and women officeholders in the early church.
This presentation was given on November 4, 2006 at the national Call To Action conference.
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