PCS Forum: September 15, 2022 - Unpacking the Aramaic Prayer of Jesus - Presented by Rev. Dr. Patricia Fresen, RCWP

PCS FORUM: 

Unpacking the Aramaic Prayer of Jesus
Presented by Rev. Dr. Patricia Fresen, RCWP

Thursday, September 15, 2022

1pm EDT – FREE

Video Recording of forum:

https://youtu.be/m8gVvo2FxEo

Rev. Dr. Patricia Fresen was born in South Africa, studied theology in
Rome at the University of St. Thomas and the Gregoriana, and was then invited to join the faculty of the National Seminary in Pretoria.  She later completed the Doctorate in Theology and after that she taught theology at the Catholic University in Johannesburg.   However, as a direct result of her ordination to the priesthood in 2003, Dr. Fresen was forced to leave the Dominican Order, of which she had been a member for 45 years; and she had to vacate her position at Catholic University. She subsequently left her homeland to take up residence in Germany.  In recent years, Dr. Fresen has returned to South Africa.  Ordained a bishop in 2005, Dr. Fresen has ordained many women priests in Europe, Canada the USA and now South Africa.  She has been a well-respected conference speaker and retreat leader in all those countries.  At present, her most frequently-requested topics are on the translation of the Gospels from the original Aramaic, which was the language of Jesus.  She did a course with Prof. Neil Douglas-Klotz on the Aramaic of the Gospels and she says it was life-changing.   She will speak in a PCS forum on 15^th September about the Our Father translated from the Aramaic.

Message from Dr. Fresen about the Forum:

The language Jesus spoke was Aramaic, and the original texts of the New Testament were written in Aramaic, but unfortunately this is not generally known in the Western world.  In all our Western languages, we have used the Greek translation of the New Testament – and we forget that it was in fact, a translation from the original Aramaic.  Greek is a very different language from Aramaic, so translation is difficult.   In Aramaic, a word or phrase can often be translated in several ways, and usually all those meanings are held together, whereas in Greek the meaning is much more precise and the richness of the layers of meaning is absent. 

There is an Aramaic bible in existence, called The Peshitta, which the Christians in the Middle East use.  Some Aramaic scholars today are rediscovering the Aramaic text and translating it into English, German and other Western languages.  It is often astounding and very beautiful to read a translation directly from the Aramaic.  Because that was the mother-tongue of Jesus, a translation from Aramaic is obviously closer to what Jesus actually said and meant and it gives us a better understanding of Jesus and of his spirituality.  I use the translations by Prof. Neil Douglas-Klotz and some of these have been put to music by Christian Bollman, which you will hear.

I will try to open up for you the beauty of the “Our Father” as translated from the Aramaic language.  You will be amazed at the difference there is between our well-known version, translated from Greek, and the translation directly from Aramaic. This discovery has given me, I believe, a different, deeper understanding of Jesus which I feel compelled to pass on to others.  I am delighted to have the opportunity of sharing this with you.

PCS Forum: September 27, 2022 - A Conversation with James Carroll

PCS FORUM: A Conversation with James Carroll 

author of The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost Its Soul

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

7pm EDT

Free to members of ARCWP, RCWP and faith communities

https://youtu.be/Yk3TOcHT-og

James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy. 

Carroll argues that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the sexual abuse crisis. The power structure of clericalism poses an existential threat to the Church and compromises the ability of even a progressive pope like Pope Francis to advance change in an institution accountable only to itself. Carroll traces this dilemma back to the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, when Scripture, Jesus Christ, and his teachings were reinterpreted as the Church became an empire. In a deeply personal re-examination of self, Carroll grapples with his own feelings of being chosen, his experiences as a priest, and the moments of doubt that made him leave the priesthood and embark on a long personal journey toward renewal - including his tenure as an op-ed columnist at The Boston Globe writing about sexual abuse in the Church. 

Ultimately, Carroll calls on the Church and all reform-minded Catholics to revive the culture from within by embracing anti-clerical, anti-misogynist resistance and staying grounded in the spirit of love that is the essential truth at the heart of Christian belief and Christian life.

Please read the book before participating in the forum. James will be focusing on his Epilogue: A Catholic Manifesto. 

Many thanks to Ann Harrington, ARCWP, for her recent letter to the editor on the same theme:

June 13, 2029 Dismantle Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church

For many years I was a faithful reader of Maryknoll magazine and in its pages, I met a dynamic Catholic priest and Navy veteran, Roy Bourgeois.  He exuded the love and compassion of Jesus. In 2013 when I learned he was coming to Raleigh, I found myself much like the woman in Jesus’ parable who only wants to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment.  

Much to my delight I was asked to be Roy’s driver and take him to Pullen Church where he was going to tell the assembled of his work as a Maryknoll missionary for 40 years, how he became a human right’s activist and how following his conscience led to his excommunication and his dismissal from the priesthood.  If you are wondering what his crime was, it was his support of women’s ordination.

Roy has recently written an excellent memoir, “Male Supremacy in the Catholic Church” that I highly recommend.  Roy paid a high price in following the teachings of Jesus.  A price he was willing to pay.  He is a rare man and I know you will be enriched by reading his story.  I agree completely with these words of his: “This crisis in the Catholic Church is not complicated.  If the patriarchy that dominates the church is not dismantled and women are not treated as equals, the church will continue to diminish and, eventually die.”

I am an ordained Roman Catholic priest and founding pastor of Free Spirit Inclusive Catholic Community in Greenville.  If you would like to be part of the reform of the Church, consider visiting us.  All are welcome to participate fully in our services.  Email me for more information, all826@suddenlink.net