Association of U.S. Catholic Priests' assembly embraces Vatican II

SEATTLE, June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Priests from across the U.S. gather in Seattle this week for The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests' (AUSCP) second national assembly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. (www.uscatholicpriests.org)  

Almost a thousand priests across the U.S. are members of AUSCP. They will consider 15 resolutions representing their broad concerns and determine together what action will be taken on resolutions that pass.

There are resolutions that address the processes by which church authority is exercised; others address how bishops are selected; and some on the expansion of ordination. Particular initiatives include evangelization, general absolution, and the use of the 1974 Sacramentary.

Fr. David Cooper, AUSCP board chair, says, "AUSCP is committed to open and transparent discussion and to the careful consideration of the important proposals put forward by our members. We are encouraged that the array of these resolutions reflects the broad concerns of our membership. It should be an exciting assembly." 

Assembly speakers on Vatican II will be: Fr. Patrick Brennan, author of The Mission Driven Parish; Catherine Clifford, professor of theology at Saint Paul University, Ontario, Canada; Fr. James A. Coriden, canon law professor at Washington Theological Union; Robert Blair Kaiser, author and journalist for Time Magazine, and an award winning reporter on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965); and Robert Mickens, current Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, an international Catholic weekly magazine.

AUSCP will award its Blessed John XXIII Award to Bishop Donald W. Trautman, Diocese of Erie, PA. Known as "The Lion of Liturgy," Trautman served as chairman of the Liturgy Committee for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. He championed "accessible, intelligible, [and] proclaimable" liturgical language, reflecting style of contemporary mainstream Catholics. Trautman is honored for his dedication to the love of the liturgy and for his devotion to priestly and episcopal ministry in the liturgical renewal envisioned by the Second Vatican Council.

AUSCP is a forum where priests across the U.S. relate to one another; foster dialogue with clergy, bishops, religious, laity, and with their organizations. AUSCP continues to celebrate and implement the visionary concepts of the Second Vatican Council; to be servant leaders in a servant Church; to minister with humility, mercy, and faithfulness; to revitalize the Body of Christ through contemplation and witness to the goodness among fellow pilgrims; to be a voice of hope; and to preach and act prophetically.

SOURCE Association of U.S. Catholic Priests