Our Guest Columnists Columns
The Georgia Bulletin features guest columns and spiritual reflections from laypeople and clergy from the archdiocesan community.
Our Guest Columnists
“What pastors and parishes can do to combat systemic racism in the church”
BY FATHER JOSH JOHNSON, Catholic News ServiceEnglish
“What can our parishes do to combat the sins of racism in the geographical boundaries of our community?” This is a question I am frequently asked when I travel the nation to speak on the topics of racial justice and reconciliation.
Previous Columns by Our Guest Columnists
When conscience meets the common good
Regarding the vaccine to protect life, consideration of the common good cannot be set aside when making moral decisions.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIThe gift of silent moments
You have no doubt noticed that silence is in short supply these days. The options for adding sounds to our lives increase day by day. And rather than repel them, we grasp at them …
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.A journey toward Jesus, the friend
As many do, I abandoned the practice of Christian faith in my adolescence. I was a precocious, bookish, science-minded child, and because my catechesis was interrupted, faith (as I understood it) quickly became unbelievable, then intolerable. I quietly slipped away.
By FATHER BILL NOE, SJPublished: September 14, 2021
The invitation of the Ignatian Year
This year marks the 500th anniversary of a powerful moment in the life of a saint–a grave injury that caused St. Ignatius of Loyola to re-examine his life. The Jesuits celebrate this important anniversary as “An Ignatian Year: To See All Things New in Christ.” What does it offer each of us?
By KAY SATTERFIELD, CommentaryPublished: August 19, 2021
The Eucharist commits us to the poor
Like the source of a river, the Eucharist is intended to inspire in us a dynamic, incarnational faith that flows and develops into a life lived for and with others.
By JAYNA HOFFACKERPublished: August 6, 2021
An invitation to prayerfully consider prison ministry
“Shelter in place” has impacted the lives of all of us during the pandemic but has been more profoundly felt by those who live in facilities, such as hospitals, assisted living centers and prisons.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER III, CommentaryContinued commitments to healing and prevention
There is an understandable concern for some Catholics and others that the matter of clergy sex abuse will fade from the list of priority topics that church leadership is monitoring or seeking to address, especially in light of the effects of the recent pandemic and political and societal turmoil.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, SMThe saving gift of fatherhood
If sin, as St. Augustine notes, may be described as a curving in upon the self, God was inviting me, through my son, to attend to the rest of the human family around me rather than gazing inward at my own self.
By TIMOTHY P. O'MALLEY, Catholic News ServicePublished: June 6, 2021
Paper chains hold this year together
The loops take up three walls, swooping gracefully from their hooks and finally spilling onto the floor where they pool in the dust, waiting for one more hook to be added to the wall.
By MAUREEN SMITH, CommentaryPublished: May 29, 2021
‘They all ate and were satisfied’
It is easy to postpone the deepening of one’s personal relationship with Christ for the sake of spending more time problem solving. In my pastoral ministry as a bishop, I often feel tempted to become a manager of crises rather than a man of faith.
ByAn invitation to find comfort in Mary
As Mother’s Day approached this year, St. Ignatius of Loyola was strangely on my mind. Ignatius lost his own mother at a very young age.
By SARAH OTTO, M.Div.Published: May 26, 2021
A shorthand for how the faith is lived
The letters after Archbishop Hartmayer’s name (OFM Conv.) and after my name (S.M.) are not academic but religious references. In his case, the abbreviation tells that he is a member of the Conventual Franciscans. In my case, the designation says that I am a member of the Society of Mary—Marists.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.Will forgiveness win out in the end?
There is growing “cancel culture” in our world, which is very popular among those who are communicating through social media.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIThinking with the church
When he wanted us to have second helpings, my grandfather used to say, “You have two legs. You have to eat for both of them.” These days, when I think of two legs, I don’t think of eating. Instead, I am given to think about being a faithful Catholic…
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, SMCOVID-19: Inside the senior experience
St. Pius X High School student Lauren Ashe writes about her senior year experience against the backdrop of COVID-19.
By LAUREN ASHE, Special to the BulletinPublished: March 18, 2021
The source and summit of Christian life in a pandemic
Now that people are venturing out to venues such as restaurants while COVID vaccinations are increasing, the general dispensation from the Sunday obligation may soon expire for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER, CommentaryMoving from spectators to participants
I have had the privilege of offering Mass recently in some of our churches that are as full as they can be under the current restrictions. It is a joy and a relief—a relief because last Easter’s experience of celebrating an Easter Vigil Mass in an empty church was a nightmare.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, SMThe Man of the Year for 2021
The life and mission of St. Joseph stands forever as a shining example of how quality of character gives meaning to the quality of life.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIThe spirit of Epiphany
Let us zero in on the Solemnity of Epiphany. In the Roman Church we have come to associate this celebration with the adoration of the newborn Jesus by the visitors “from the East.”
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, SM