Hi people. I am not a Catholic but I enjoy going to Catholic service sometimes. The church that is near me is of Newman order and they are extremely liberal in what the church is involved with (having an LGBT center and condoning the lifestyle) I would like to find a more conservative church that would associate with Franciscans more. I ahve no idea how the orders are setup and what the difference is. There is a Dominican chapel vs. Franciscan vs Newman. Can someone point out some good source where I can learn about this?
Need some help learning about Catholic orders
- Thread starter Anti-Fear
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Maggie893
It is what it is.
Anti-Fear said:
Hey Anti-Fear, Welcome!
From what you have said, I am guessing that you are at or near a college campus and are going to a Newman Center. This isn't actually an order in and of itself. The Newman Center's are college parishes so to speak and can be facilitated by either Diocesan or Religious priests. So I can't quite tell which order the priest running the center is of. If you don't mind letting us know which Newman Center we might be able to research the priests affiliation.
As to the liberal nature of the Newman Center, that often varies by campus due to the priest that is leading the Center. This is unfortunately true of all parishes.
I would suggest you look at the parishes in your area and look for certain factors. These are not always indicators of conservatism on the part of the parish and/or priest but it is a helpful guide. There is no rule of thumb for identifying orthodox orders. You will find the range of Liberals to Traditionalist in each order. Not all orders do parish ministry either.
Things to look for:
An active number of ministries from the parish for the poor, children and the elderly. (If you see that they have ministry to the LGBT look to see if it is in the fashion of "welcoming" them regardless of their sexual preference or if it is "reconciling" them to the Church through healing and chastity.)
An emphasis on the sacraments. A Parish that offers regular opportunities for confession tends to be more orthodox.
An emphasis on devotional practices. Parishes that have groups dedicated to the Rosary, the Divine Mercy and Third Order groups tend to be more orthodox.
Adoration is another thing to look for. I find that parishes that regularly offer Adoration tend to have a more orthodox view.
I'm sure others will have additional suggestions for identifying orthodox parishes. In all cases I would suggest that you introduce yourself to the priest of a parish you wish to attend so he can help guide you in your understanding of the Mass (we actually don't call them services usually) and your ability to participate fully in the Mass.
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The church's website is www.calnewman.org as to their "lgbt" center they say "they welcome students of all faiths to reconcile with their sexuality etc"
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Maggie893
It is what it is.
Ok. I did a bit of research. Please realize that I live on the opposite coast so my speculations are based soley on my experience and what I've read on the parish websites so I could be way off.
The Paulists which is the order of priests that are running that Newman Hall are not known for their orthodoxy. That is not to say that some Paulists wouldn't be "conservative" but overall they tend to desire a more "American Church". Overall there weren't a lot of glaring red flags. The LGBT meeting was difficult to discern because it's written in such a way that it could actually be calling them to a more Christian lifestyle but I also read the queer.berkeley site and that clearly showed that Newman Hall was providing a safe haven for discussion and not really trying to bring them to a Catholic perspective. I also noticed an absence of devotional practices.
Interestingly enough it appears that your diocese has a new bishop who is considered "conservative" and appears to be causing a bit of a ruckus in the "liberal" community.
I looked at some other parish sites for your city and here's my two cents on those.
St. Ambrose This parish is tied to the Salesian Institute and run by the order of Salesians of Don Bosco priests. Salesians usually do great ministry. They are very outreach oriented especially toward youth. I didn't have any major red flags when looking at their site. They do have a charismatic meeting weekly which may or may not bother you. They also have opportunities for rosary and adoration.
St. Joseph the Worker Church This appears to be a diocesan priest run church. They have a ton of Masses which is nice. I love it when I see a daily Mass on Saturday. They didn't seem to have a lot of devotional practices or events. I did notice that they have a bible study. It appears that they have a strong hispanic presence and there is an international eastern Catholic rite that occurs there periodically. No major red flags but hard to tell based on their site.
St. Mary Magdelan Parish This parish is run by the Dominican order. They tend to be mostly traditional but I have run into a few that were more liberal. Personally I like the Dominicans. They are known as the Order of Preachers hence the O.P after their names. This parish has a plethora of Masses and First Friday adoration. They also pray the liturgy of the hours daily which is pretty neat. I didn't see any red flags. Pretty normal ministries such as St. Vincent de Paul Society which is outreach to the poor. This parish actually has a meeting weekly called Why Do Catholics...? It seems to be separate from the normal initiation classes and is intended to help non-Catholics and Catholics understand why Catholics do what we so. This might be an interesting group for you to try out.
It actually looks like you have some decent options in the area. I would highly recommend that you attend a Mass or two at each and definitely speak to the priest there about the parish and your attendance. That will give you a better feel for the parish and whether it's a place you'd like to frequent.
As the Catholic Church's Mass is so different from most protestant services, please don't hesitate to ask questions around here on things you don't understand that we do. There is usually a simple explanation and most folks here are pretty friendly.
The Paulists which is the order of priests that are running that Newman Hall are not known for their orthodoxy. That is not to say that some Paulists wouldn't be "conservative" but overall they tend to desire a more "American Church". Overall there weren't a lot of glaring red flags. The LGBT meeting was difficult to discern because it's written in such a way that it could actually be calling them to a more Christian lifestyle but I also read the queer.berkeley site and that clearly showed that Newman Hall was providing a safe haven for discussion and not really trying to bring them to a Catholic perspective. I also noticed an absence of devotional practices.
Interestingly enough it appears that your diocese has a new bishop who is considered "conservative" and appears to be causing a bit of a ruckus in the "liberal" community.
I looked at some other parish sites for your city and here's my two cents on those.
St. Ambrose This parish is tied to the Salesian Institute and run by the order of Salesians of Don Bosco priests. Salesians usually do great ministry. They are very outreach oriented especially toward youth. I didn't have any major red flags when looking at their site. They do have a charismatic meeting weekly which may or may not bother you. They also have opportunities for rosary and adoration.
St. Joseph the Worker Church This appears to be a diocesan priest run church. They have a ton of Masses which is nice. I love it when I see a daily Mass on Saturday. They didn't seem to have a lot of devotional practices or events. I did notice that they have a bible study. It appears that they have a strong hispanic presence and there is an international eastern Catholic rite that occurs there periodically. No major red flags but hard to tell based on their site.
St. Mary Magdelan Parish This parish is run by the Dominican order. They tend to be mostly traditional but I have run into a few that were more liberal. Personally I like the Dominicans. They are known as the Order of Preachers hence the O.P after their names. This parish has a plethora of Masses and First Friday adoration. They also pray the liturgy of the hours daily which is pretty neat. I didn't see any red flags. Pretty normal ministries such as St. Vincent de Paul Society which is outreach to the poor. This parish actually has a meeting weekly called Why Do Catholics...? It seems to be separate from the normal initiation classes and is intended to help non-Catholics and Catholics understand why Catholics do what we so. This might be an interesting group for you to try out.
It actually looks like you have some decent options in the area. I would highly recommend that you attend a Mass or two at each and definitely speak to the priest there about the parish and your attendance. That will give you a better feel for the parish and whether it's a place you'd like to frequent.
As the Catholic Church's Mass is so different from most protestant services, please don't hesitate to ask questions around here on things you don't understand that we do. There is usually a simple explanation and most folks here are pretty friendly.
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RichSpidizzy
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