Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Elect New Minister General and Councilors

GARRISON, N.Y. - June 23, 2014 - PRLog -- On Tuesday, June 17, 2014, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement elected Rev. Brian A. Terry, S.A., to serve as Minister General at their General Chapter meeting.  Elected to the General Council were Rev. James Loughran, S.A., Vicar General and First Councilor; Rev. Bernard Palka, S.A.,  2nd Councilor, Rev. Dan Callahan, S.A., 3rd Councilor, Rev. Charles Sharon, S.A., 4th Councilor. The four Councilors assist the Minister General in his duties and serve as the Board of Directors for the friars worldwide; all will serve a five year term.

Following the tradition begun with St. Francis of Assisi, the General Chapter is held every five years.  The meeting brings together friars dispersed throughout the world to elect administration and to set the course for their future.

“I set before you life or death. Choose life…  (Dt. 30:19)” was the theme of this General Chapter which gathered 31 delegates to pray and reflect on their heritage and to make decisions that will lead them into the future, wherever God calls.   At the Chapter’s retreat day, Minister General The Very Rev. James Puglisi, S.A., who is completing his second five-year term, read a letter from Bishop Angelo Becciu, Substitute of the Secretariat of State for the Holy See. “His Holiness is confident that the present Chapter, inspired by Moses' admonition to "choose life", will provide sure guidance to the Friars in their daily efforts to reappropriate the fervor of their first love and to express it in a radical embrace of the evangelical counsels in the spirit of St. Francis and his first followers,” Bishop Becciu wrote. “As the Congregation strives to grow in fidelity to its founding charism of prayer and service to the noble cause of Christian unity, he encourages each of the Friars to be a living witness to the joy of the Gospel and a messenger of reconciliation and peace which the Lord wills for his Church and, through her, for the whole human family (cf. Evangelii Guadium, 244-245).”

At the Chapter delegates reconfirmed commitments to the heart of evangelization and the witness of faith and charity; to seeking vocations and developing strategies for forming their friars for the future; to creating quality of community living; to spiritual renewal; and to developing leadership at all levels of the Fraternity.  The friars also reaffirmed Fr. Paul Wattson’s “Union-that-Nothing-Be-Lost” principles,—to waste nothing, to use all their time, talent, substance, and opportunity for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humanity—will guide the fulfillment of their mission to reconciliation, healing and peace.

During the Chapter, word arrived that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed to send a letter to Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the New York Archdiocese so he can begin the formal Vatican process of the cause for sainthood of Fr. Paul Wattson, an apostle of Christian Unity and charity who founded of the Society of the Atonement.  “Our Society’s founder, Father Paul Wattson, now called a Servant of God, guided us throughout the Chapter as did the spirit of St. Francis,” said Fr. Terry. “Delegates came away with a renewed sense of their role in the Church, their work of Christian unity and in the spiritual lives of our fraternity.” He added, “Our Friar delegates truly showed a great courage and commitment to their vocations as ambassadors of reconciliation in our meeting. The fire in their hearts was evident as we all challenged ourselves to be sent forth by the Spirit with a renewed sense of our role in the Church, our work of Christian unity, extending our hands out to those who suffer from addictions and poverty and joining hands--walking day by day--seeking peace and justice with the People of God in our parishes and many ministries. Servant of God, Fr. Paul of Graymoor, pray for us.”

The newly elected Minister General and Councilors bring many years of pastoral, ecumenical and social ministries to their new roles.Fr. Brian Terry has been Novice Director in Assisi for the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement since 2005.  A native of Washington, DC, he received his habit in 1989. Fr. Terry was ordained to the priesthood in 1997.  He had earned his B.A. in Psychology and Theater from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and began his theological studies at Pontificia Università Gregoriana. At the Pontificio Ateneo Sant’Anselmo, he completed his license and doctorate in Sacramental Theology with an interdisciplinary study on the psychology and theology of dialogue in the Rite of Penance. In addition to his present work with friars in formation, he is an invited professor of Ecumenism at the Angelicum, Rome.  He began his ministerial life as a Youth Minister at St. Luke's Parish, McLean, Virginia, before entering the Order.

Elected Vicar General & First Councilor, Fr. James Loughran, S.A., is currently Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII), a ministry of the friars located in New York, NY, and editor of its monthly journal, Ecumenical Trends.

Fr. Bernard Palka, S.A., 2nd Councilor, a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC), has been Chaplain for the Connecticut Department of Corrections serving four facilities since 2012.

Rev. Daniel Callahan, S.A., 3rd Councilor, is currently serving as Pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Rev. Charles Sharon, S.A., 4th General Councilor, most recently served as Secretary General and 3rd General Councilor.  Since 2006, he has been Associate Treasurer for the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and has served as Personnel Director for the last 10 years. He is General Council liaison for the health care committee at Graymoor.

Pictured from left to right, Rev. Charles Sharon, S.A., 4th Councilor, Rev. Dan Callahan, S.A., 3rd Councilor, Rev. Brian Terry, S.A., Minister General elect, Rev. James Loughran, S.A., Vicar General and 1st Councilor, and Rev. Bernard Palka, S.A., 2nd Councilor.

For more information about the friars, visit http://www.atonementfriars.org .

(Photo credit: Brother John O’Hara, S.A.)