blogtcs.com

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted wrote extensively in The Catholic Sun about the Diocese of Phoenix at 40, namely the impact of Vatican II, which ended shortly before the diocese was established.

Those articles are below, but first here’s a look at what other church leaders had to say about the impact of Vatican II on the Phoenix Diocese:

• 

  Fr. Fred Adamson, vicar general, moderates a 2008 incoporation meeting with laity.

  Fr. Richard Felt, who was ordained in 1969, said there was a lot of excitement. Mass was being offered in English, the altar faced the congregation and lay ministry involvement grew exponentially, though some were still hesitant. “When we started to get lay extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, it was, ‘Oh. I’m not worthy to do that,’” he recalled.

• Ministries and parish councils became popular. “That sense of involvement of the laity really caught fire and that’s always been the case,” Fr. Felt said.
• “There was great education of the people of the diocese,” Msgr. Eugene O’Grady said or adult education, or the priesthood of the laity.
• Sr. Raphael Quinn, principal of Ss. Simon and Jude School, recalls a series of lectures in the ‘70 for priests, sisters and the laity to study the Vatican II documents together and discuss their relevance.

Now, link to some deeply reflective thoughts from Bishop Olmsted:

• 

  Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted blesses the laity at the 2009 Rosary Sunday event.

  Part I includes a look at what life inside and outside the church (like who won major sporting events and what key items cost),

• Part II – the impact of Vatican II
• Part III – Building on Vatican II and what went wrong after it
• Part IV – Vatican II’s teaching
• Part VI – (a two-issue hiatus seemed to confuse the part numbers) focuses on God’s Word
• Part VII- the Virgin Mary. May make good reading in preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8
• Final part – interpretation and application