Courage And Encourage -- New Outreaches

I have written about Courage before and I just learned that it is coming to my diocese, which is very exciting. Here are the highlights from our diocesan newspaper.

Diocesan Office of Family Life, and the Rev. Donald Timone, Archdiocese of New York Courage, a spiritual and pastoral outreach that supports men and women who experience same-sex attraction to live in accordance with the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality and the virtue of chastity, is being established in the Diocese of Wichita. A related spiritual outreach, Encourage, for families and friends who have a loved one struggling with same-sex attraction is also being established.

The Courage and Encourage chapters in the Diocese of Wichita will begin regularly scheduled small group meetings beginning in January. The identity of Courage and Encourage members as well as their meetings times and locations are kept strictly confidential. One-on-one counseling may be recommended in some instances, prior to or in addition to attending the small group meetings. The two organizations fit the Pastoral Priorities of the Third Synod of the Diocese of Wichita to give the faithful a clarion call to “Build hope that holiness is accessible for everyone through participation in the community of Jesus, the Church.”

Interested? Those interested in learning more about Courage are invited to call the spiritual director for Courage in the Diocese of Wichita, Fr. John Brungardt, at the Chancery (316) 269-3900 (mention this is about “Courage”). To find out more about Encourage, please contact the facilitator, Sara Splichal, at the Office of Family Life (316) 744-0167. Other helpful information on Courage & Encourage may be found at http://www.couragerc.net.

History of Courage

Courage was founded in 1980 by Cardinal Terrence Cooke in the Archdiocese of New York. Cardinal Cooke appointed Rev. John Harvey as the founding director. Fr. Harvey discerned that Courage, as a spiritual support group, should reflect the Twelve-Step model. There are five goals, which animate the members of Courage: To live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality. To dedicate their lives to Christ through service, prayer, spiritual reading, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and frequent reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. To foster a spirit of fellowship so that difficulties are not faced alone.To be mindful of the truth of chaste friendships, necessary for the Christian life.To live lives that serve as good examples to others.In 1994 the Holy See gave official endorsement to Courage, and today the outreach is in seven countries and has over 100 chapters.

Encourage History

Encourage was established in 1990 and has goals to aid the spiritual growth of parents and friends: To help members to grow spiritually through developing a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, as authentically taught in our Roman Catholic Tradition. To enable members to gain a deeper understanding of the needs, problems and issues experienced by men and women with same-sex attractions. To assist other parents and friends not to reject but to reach out with compassion and truth to their loved one with same-sex attraction. To witness to loved ones through their own lives that a happy, wholesome life is to be found in union with Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church.

In 1986 Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) reaffirmed the dignity of every human person and the universal call to holiness in a letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church: The human person, made in the image and likeness of God, can hardly be adequately described by a reductionist reference to his or her sexual orientation. Everyone living on the face of the earth has personal problems and difficulties, but challenges to growth, strengths, talents and gifts as well. Today, the Church provides a badly needed context for the care of the human person when she refuses to consider the person a “heterosexual” or a “homosexual” and insists that every person has a fundamental identity: a creature of God, and by grace, His child and heir of eternal life.

Ourtreach

Reaching out to our brothers and sisters through Courage and Encourage involves speaking the truth of Christ, but always with the compassion of Christ. Chastity is the goal for the members of Courage, hence, spiritual growth, not “change”. In addition to the goals of Courage and Encourage mentioned above, members are invited to be involved in giving of themselves through their parishes and to regularly attend spiritual support meetings.

**More reading

-- Rev. John Harvey, The Truth About Homosexuality, Ignatius Press, 1996-- Catholic Medical Association, Homosexuality and Hope, www.cathmed.org

-- The Holy See, On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, Vatican City, 1986

-- Alan Medinger, Growth into Manhood, WaterBrook Press, 2000

-- David Morrison, Beyond Gay, Our Sunday Visitor, 1999

-- The Holy See, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Vatican City, 2nd Edition, 1997

-- Rev. John Harvey & Gerard Bradley, Same-Sex Attraction: A Parent’s Guide, St. Augustine’s Press, 2003

-- N.A.R.T.H., National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, www.narth.com(12/16/05)
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