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PENTECOSTAL AUTHOR CHARGES
PAGE 7—The Southern Cross, January 31, 1974
Some Charismatics Deemphasize Their Catholicism
WASHINGTON (NC) - A Pentecostal
theologian and author has called a major
group in the Catholic charismatic
renewal movement “more Pentecostal
than Catholic.”
At the same time Dr. Josephine
Massingberde Ford insisted that most
charismatic Catholics emphasize their
Catholicism over Pentecostalism and
that these people could “deeply enrich
the Church. ”
Dr. Ford, a theology professor at
Notre Dame University, objected to
certain practices and beliefs of many
“covenant communities” modeled after
the Word of God Community, Ann
Arbor, Mich., and True House and
People of Praise communities in South
Bend, Ind. In a covenant community,
members agree to various commitments
to prayer, community living, service and
often financial obligations.
Speaking at a two-day conference on
charismatic renewal at Washington
National Cathedral, Dr. Ford charged
that some covenant communities were
becoming rigidly organized, adopting
rules even beyond the scope of those
used by religious orders prior to Vatican
Council II.
She faulted the communities for
deemphasizing sacramental life in their
orientation manuals and for attempting
to build up their own systems of
religious practice. Some members of
covenant communities, she said, tend to
see the charismatic community as the
only environment in which the fruits of
the Holy Spirit can develop.
Dr. Ford said she sees emerging in
some covenant communities a “strong,
rigid, male, white non-rotating” power
structure in which women are
subordinate and the leadership of priests
is deemphasized.
The gift of tongues (a charismatic
prayer form in which an individual
utters sounds that seem like a foreign
language) is highly emphasized by some
covenant communities, Dr. Ford said,
and daily praying in tongues has been
advocated rather than daily Mass
attendance.
“I do believe in a genuine gift of
tongues bestowed without human
intervention,” said Dr. Ford. But she
said that by overemphasizing tongues,
covenant communities run an
“enormous risk” of tongue-speaking
through hypnosis and transference of an
individual’s ego to the group leader,
rather than as a true gift of the Spirit.
In contrast to the rigid covenant
communities, Dr. Ford praised the
majority of charismatic Catholics who
belong to more loosely structured
prayer groups for their belief that “all
that is good and beautiful in the world
is open to the influence of the Holy
Spirit.”
These groups, she said, do not
normally demand allegiance to a group
leader as the covenant communities do.
They recognize the involvement of
priests and welcome help from
non-charismatics and from professional
people like psychologists. Except for
priestly powers, women are equal in
these groups, she said.
Instead of the gift of tongues, these
groups advocate use of the Jesus Prayer
(a repeated prayer invoking the Holy
Name) or the Rosary to achieve the
same results as tongues, she said. The
Eucharist is emphasized and confession
is “readily available,” Dr. Ford added.
The theologian praised the covenant
communities for the success in
converting people from drug use and
serious sin, but she called on them to
stop looking inward and to take these
techniques “into the highways and
byways.” If they did, she said, “their
conversion technique could bring
thousands” into the Church.
Among other conference speakers
was Dr. John P. Kildahl, author of “The
Psychology of Speaking in Tongues.”
The clinical psychologist and professor
at New York Theological Seminary said
that the gift of tongues could be a
spiritual gift, “depending on whether it
is used constructively” for the good of
the community.
The Lutheran professor identified
several behavioral traits associated with
speaking in tongues. Among them were
that for most charismatics, their own
BY JOHN MUTHIG
WASHINGTON (NC) - Pentecostal
Catholics must integrate charismatic
elements into the institutional Church,
an archbishop associated with
charismatic renewal said here.
Canadian Archbishop James M. Hayes
of Halifax, Nova Scotia, told
participants in a charismatic day of
renewal at the Catholic University of
America that not everyone in the
Church is meant to be charismatic, but
that the whole Church is meant to
profit from the charismatic gifts given
to some members. Among charismatic
gifts are prophecy, the gift of tongues,
healing and interpretation of tongues.
What charismatics are doing, said
Archbishop Hayes, is introducing a new
spirit into the Church, not new
structures. He told a clergy workshop
that “generally speaking, people
involved in charismatic renewal tend to
be more orthodox and faithful to the
sacraments than the average Catholic.”
He stressed, however, that priests and
bishops must be involved in the renewal
to maintain that orthodoxy. The
“charism of charisms” is discernment, a
judgment which priests and especially
bishops are called to give for the good
of the whole community, according to
the archbishop.
Often in the past priests asked the
Holy Spirit to “fill the hearts of the
faithful,” the archbishop said. “But
many were really saying, ‘Fill the heads
of the faithful.’ Our approach was too
cerebral and neglected emotional
needs.”
The archbishop asserted that the two
types of ministry needed in the Church
are administration and inspiration.
Both, he said, “are the warp and woof
of the fabric of the Church. ”
Life and living things “have both
dynamism and order,” he pointed out.
“If there is no dynamism then life
ceases; if there is no order then the
continuation of life becomes
impossible.” But he cautioned against
expecting priests and bishops to supply
the order and the people the dynamism.
“The most healthy situation prevails
when both administration and
inspiration coincide in the same
person,” he said.
No formula or rule book exists for
starting a charismatic prayer group or
community, said the archbishop, who
feels that the renewal should not be
“institutionalized,” but rather follow
the Spirit’s lead. Each group, he said,
must be sensitive to discover that the
Spirit gives “to one, a gift of leadership,
to another the gift of music and to
another perhaps the gift of physical
healing.”
The archbishop said that baptism in
the Spirit, the initial Pentecostal
experience, is “not a substitute or
repetition of Baptism or Confirmation,
but a prayer to the Lord to submit to
and accept the graces of those
sacraments and allow their power to be
released. ”
Asked about charismatics who say
they were once Catholics but after
receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit
they become Christians, Archbishop
Hayes said he is annoyed by the phrase.
But he added that even “some bishops
would do well to become Christians.”
Clearly many people are
feelings are the ultimate validator of the
genuineness of the tongue speaking
experience; that a “magnetic”
relationship usually exists between the
leader of the charismatic group and the
tongue-speaker, and that
tongue-speaking usually begins when the
institutionally Catholic by receiving the
sacraments, he explained. But they have
not experienced a conversion in which
the powers and graces of these
sacraments are released. The ideal
phrase for charismatics to use would be;
“Katie” LaRose is dead. She died
peacefully on January 17, 1974 after a
brief illness. Funeral services were held
at St. Francis Xavier Church in
Brunswick, Saturday, January 19.
The Rev. Robert Baker, S.M., pastor,
and his assistant, Rev. Thomas Dowling,
S.M. were joined in a concelebrated
Mass of the Ressurection, by Fathers
James Cummings, S.M., Michael Collins,
S.M. (two former pastors under whom
Katie worked), and Fathers Joseph
Costello, S.M. and Francis Keany S.M.
of St. Williams Church on St. Simons
Island. Katie was truly among her Marist
priests whom she loved so well.
Father Cummings, who was
instrumental in bringing Katie to
Brunswick from Atlanta to serve as
housekeeper for the Marist priests, paid
homage to Katie, citing her love for the
Blessed Virgin and her untiring efforts
in bringing happiness to the priests
whom she diligently served for almost
thirteen years.
Father made particular mention of
Katie’s love for the late Rev. Andrew
Walls, S.M., stressing that she had
refused to allow the aging priest to be
committed to a home for the elderly,
but insisted on keeping him at the
rectory where she could serve him day
and night with personal dedication.
Born in New Foundland, of Irish
parentage, Catherine LaRose, known
throughout the diocese as “Katie,” has
left a mark that will not be easily
erased. Ladies of the diocese will
particularly remember her attending
Deanery meetings throughout Georgia,
as well all of the National Conventions,
where with her endless Irish wit she
managed to keep the group in an
amiable state of mind.
She was sharp-witted, but never
sharp-tongued; humble, but never
exploiting her humility. Gloom never
pervaded her thoughts and she managed
to make an amusing quip out of the
most minute remark. But, never at the
expense of hurting anyone.
The first time I came face to face
individual’s personal identity is
fundamentally shaken.
Dr. Kildahl observed that the “feeling
of well-being” experienced by
tongue-speakers is caused “by the belief
that this is God’s act” -not by the
“I am a Christian because I have
received the sacraments and I know that
Jesus is Lord of my life,” said the
archbishop.
When asked if he felt that the gift of
prophecy is being restored to the
with Katie LaRose was at daily Mass in
the old St. Francis Xavier Church
almost thirteen years ago. An aura of
mystery lingered about her as the sun
danced on the faces of the saints on the
stained-glass windows.
What I though first attracted me to
her was her pretty red hair pertly
peeping from behind a blue scarf. But,
was that really the reason I stared at this
slim woman seated across from me, her
rosary beads slipping through her small
hands?
I knew instinctively there was
something different and special about
her. There was marked tranquility on
her face and in her manner. As the
rosary slid through her fingers, a smile
played about her lips.
Her eyes were smiling too as though
she carried a deep secret within her with
the One to whom she was speaking.
I wasn’t aware we were getting a new
housekeeper for the rectory. So after
Mass was over I made it my business to
introduce myself to this woman who
seemed to come from nowhere. Though
small in statue, I sensed that she was ten
feet tall in virtue. Hers was beauty so
deep; beauty radiating from the soul.
When Katie came to Brunswick she
was already a member of the Third
Order of Mary (lay branch of the
Society of Mary). Some of Katie’s
humor flashes through my mind today
as I write. At one of our meetings Katie
was modeling the Third Order of Mary
habit. She quipped: “I don’t know
about the rest of you, but I wouldn’t be
caught dead without my burial robe.”
How true these words became. As she
had requested, she was laid to rest in her
gown of blue and white, the habit of the
Third Order of Mary. And in her still
hands a pair of sky blue rosary fc Is
were entwined. Beads that Katie had >
often recited. A smile of peace swe;
over her face as friends knelt to pray.
The night of the rosary, the funeral
home was filled to capacity. And on the
day of the funeral, a bright, sun-shiny
day, with no white sheep in the sky, the
church wa.j c rr> wded with Catholics and
Protestant^ alike. A f*rpwell to Katie.
actual act itself.
Tongue-speaking is a "learned
phenomenon” which has been taught by
linguists and exists in other cultures, Dr.
Kildahl said. He added that he knows no
linguists who claims that tongues is a
language spoken anywhere in the world.
Church, the archbishop answered that
“I don’t think the Lord ever took it
away.”
The term prophecy has changed
meaning since the Old Testament when
prophets were called to tell of the
Katie, who took such good care of
what she called, “her Fathers”; Katie,
who never had an unkind word for
anyone; Katie, who rode her big
three-wheel tricycle through the streets
of Brunswick making new friends each
day; Katie, who, when seated under the
dryer at the beauty shop, let her rosary
beads slip through her fingers; Katie,
who, at her expense made cancer pads
for the ill and for those who could not
afford the cost of the material; Katie,
who generously offered her eyes to the
Lion’s Club Eye Bank that someone
could be brought out of a life of
darkness; Katie, who in her modest
manner and unselfish labor brought
Speaking in tongues often leads to a
greater intensity of religious faith and a
greater love for mankind, said Dr.
Kildahl. But he also observed that the
practice has sometimes led to “rather
histrionic displays of emotion” and to
division in Christian communities.
Church
future coming of Christ, the archbishop
said. “Today the prophet’s role is to tell
us that God is in our midst and to show
us what He is doing. If there is any gift
never taken away from the Church, it’s
prophecy,” he asserted.
blessings on those who needed her.
When notified of Katie’s death, the
only comment I could make was: Well,
“Father, God needed someone with a
sense of humor.”
Note: All of the priests will miss Katie. But
we know that a sharp pang permeated Father
Thomas Dowling’s heart. He only knew her
for seven weeks, then went to Rome to study.
He returned home on January 16
(Wednesday) very happy to be reunited with
Katie. The next day he found her
unconscious, a condition from which she
never recovered. There were so many things
Father Dowling wanted to say to Katie.
Somehow, I feel that she knows what they
were.
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Charismatic Gifts
CHARISMATICS AT PRAYER -- An impromptu ecumenical prayer session is held during a break at a conference on charismatic renewal at
the Washington D.C. National Cathedral.
TRIBUTE TO “KATIE”
‘Someone With a Sense of Humor’
BY TICKI LLOYD
Belong to the Whole