President's bioethics panel has a physician, a [Franciscan] friar and a professor, all in U. of C.'s Daniel Sulmasy

[Beau_Ouiville]

I think I’ve seen this friar at Mass – he lives in my parish. Now, I guess this is another one on the list of administration appointees who is anti-abortion. Which is contrary to what some folks here state.

"Daniel Sulmasy spends his days working in both the medical and religious fields. And though he only sees a fraction of his salary, he couldn’t be happier.

“It’s wonderful. I have to say not many people have it as good as I do,” said Sulmasy, a doctor, University of Chicago professor of divinity and a Franciscan friar who has taken a vow of poverty. “I directly service patients, I teach medical students, I teach divinity students, I write and I speak throughout the country and outside the country.”

Sulmasy, 54, is also one of the nation’s leading bioethicists and was recently named to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues — a panel that advises the president on issues that emerge from advances in biomedicine, science and technology. This week he joined other commission members and experts in the fields of science, medicine and spirituality for a two-day conference in Philadelphia to examine synthetic biology…

A strong anti-abortion advocate, Sulmasy says there is no conflict between his personal views and the panel’s mission. His religious views will not affect synthetic biology discussions as they will other issues the commission will address, such as end-of-life decisions and stem-cell research, he said."

chicagotribune.com/health/ct-x-sulmalsy-bioethics-panel-20100915,0,7176852.story

 

[St_Francis]

I think I’ve seen this friar at Mass – he lives in my parish. Now, I guess this is another one on the list of administration appointees who is anti-abortion. Which is contrary to what some folks here state.

"Daniel Sulmasy spends his days working in both the medical and religious fields. And though he only sees a fraction of his salary, he couldn’t be happier.

“It’s wonderful. I have to say not many people have it as good as I do,” said Sulmasy, a doctor, University of Chicago professor of divinity and a Franciscan friar who has taken a vow of poverty. “I directly service patients, I teach medical students, I teach divinity students, I write and I speak throughout the country and outside the country.”

Sulmasy, 54, is also one of the nation’s leading bioethicists and was recently named to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues — a panel that advises the president on issues that emerge from advances in biomedicine, science and technology. This week he joined other commission members and experts in the fields of science, medicine and spirituality for a two-day conference in Philadelphia to examine synthetic biology…

A strong anti-abortion advocate, Sulmasy says there is no conflict between his personal views and the panel’s mission. His religious views will not affect synthetic biology discussions as they will other issues the commission will address, such as end-of-life decisions and stem-cell research, he said."

chicagotribune.com/health/ct-x-sulmalsy-bioethics-panel-20100915,0,7176852.story

While I’m glad he appointed this friar to his panel, I am wondering about the other pro-life appointees you mention? I was unable to find any mention of them online, but sometimes my search parameters don’t work well and I can’t fix them.

 

[JReducation]

Br. Daniel is a very good man and a very respect brother in the order and in the Church. He’s an expert in medical ethics, a theologian and a physician with a very compassionate heart, especially for the poorest of the poor, which obviously includes the most vulnerable members of society.

The entire Franciscan family (all 25 branches) are praying that his presence will make a difference in the hearts and minds of those who make laws regarding life and death. Brother is not a push-over. Some people underestimate him, because he’s a non-clerical brother. He can tackle anyone on the moral issues of our day with half of his brain tied behind his back. He’s an excellent preacher too. The best part about him is that he is obedient.

The article fails to mention that he does not see any of his salary. Like all of us Franciscans, he never sees a pay check. The article also fails to mention that he prays the Liturgy of the Hours five times a day with the other brothers, eats meals with them, recreates with them, and does his fair share of laundry, cooking, housekeeping, and other forms of manual labor, while teaching at the university, seeing patients, writing and lecturing. He is passionately in love with our Holy Father Francis.

We’re very proud of him and we must pray for him. This is a very challenging appointment for a mendicant who has to stop everything eight times a day for community life.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

While I’m glad he appointed this friar to his panel, I am wondering about the other pro-life appointees you mention? I was unable to find any mention of them online, but sometimes my search parameters don’t work well and I can’t fix them.

Alexia Kelley and (Transportation Sec’y) Ray LaHood are both Catholic and anti-abortion. They are also both administration appointees.

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

The article fails to mention that he does not see any of his salary.

I think I saw a mention of that.

For some reason my parish seems to have a plethora of Franciscans who live and work around here.

 

[JReducation]

I think I saw a mention of that.

For some reason my parish seems to have a plethora of Franciscans who live and work around here.

This is part of the return to the roots that is taking place within the entire Franciscan family, especially the men and the cloistered nuns. We’re gradually closing parishes, reducing the number of men that we ordain, creating more fraternities like those of the 13th century when the family was founded, dedicating more time to living together as brothers among God’s people and attending mass and services at the local parishes run by others, as did our early friars.

People have to remember that the early Franciscans were not Franciscans. Now that sounds funny, but it’s true. That word, Franciscan, was coined long after the death of our Holy Father Francis. There were simply the Little Brothers, the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, and the Poor Sisters.

The Little Brothers, also known as the Friars Minor and the Brothers of Penance, also known as the Third Order Friars, lived in small fraternities where only one or two were ordained. Their vocation was to: obey absolutely and blindly, detach from all things and people, bear witness to the apostolic life by living together as the Apostles lived with Jesus, to pray and do penance, and to convert the Catholic man and woman. Gruadually, bishops asked the Franciscan orders to take on other duties and missions, this included ordaining men to cover parishes and go to the foreign missions.

Pope John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI commanded the entire family to go back to the 13th century life and mission of the framily. So you will see a growth of Franciscans, from the many branches of the framily, converging in neighborhood and showing up in parishes for different functions and ministries, but not taking over those parishes.

You’re going to see many more friars like Br. Daniel. We have three very famous friars in the USA who are very much like Br. Daniel. Cardinal Sean of Boston, who has never been a parish man, but was always a scholar and a servant to the poor; Fr. Benedict Groeschel, who has always been a psychologist, professor, and retreat master; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, who was not a parish man, but was a sociology and history scholar, a vocation director, spiritual director and itinerant preacher. It’s those friars who are “non traditional” in their ministry who are bringing back the Franciscan charism to the forefront of Catholic life. As of today, there are 12 Francisan obediences in the USA who do nothing but pro-life work.

This appointment is important for the nation, but also important for the Church, because it places the friar where a friar belongs, in the midst of the local culture, while living according to the Rule. This appears new to many people, but it’s really quite old. This is what friars did from the 13th century to the 19th century. It’s good for the American Catholic to see men who put their Catholic identity and their vocation to serve ahead of their national allegiance.

When looking at someone like Br. Daniel, it is our hope that the American Catholic will be moved to set aside his or her nationalist thinking and take up his mission to evangelize the nation. Chrisian patrotism is not about nationalism, but about converting a nation to the Gospel according to the mind and vision of the Church. There are many good things that we can do for the nation and be Catholic.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

The Little Brothers, also known as the Friars Minor and the Brothers of Penance, also known as the Third Order Friars, lived in small fraternities where only one or two were ordained.

I think my mom was in the Third Order of St. Francis, for lay people. The Third Order Friars must be something else.

 

[JReducation]

I think my mom was in the Third Order of St. Francis, for lay people. The Third Order Friars must be something else.

As I said above in another post, our Holy Father wrote a rule for the Brothers and Sisters of Penance. The Brothers and Sisters of Penance came to be known as the Third Order of St. Francis, because they were founded third. It’s not a ranking.

The Third Order has friars, sisters, secular clergy, and married men and women. It’s the same order. Their mission is to live a life of penance for those who do not do penance. The order grew so fast and it became so large, that the Holy See asked them to regroup into smaller obediences. Each group elected their own superior general and general council. The seculars, which include people who are married, secular deacons, secular priests, secular bishops, and secular popes have their own superior general called the Minister General, who governs them from Rome, with a council, just like the friars.

The friars in the Third Order were grouped into several obediences, according to their ministries and the geographical locations. Each is also governed by a Minister General.

All of them follow the same rule and live the same life of penance. The differences are in their ministry, also the way that they live chastity. Those who make a vow of chastity are called Regular Franciscans and those who make a promise of chastity are called Secular Franciscans. The promise of chastity can include celibacy, but it is not required. The vow of chastity always includes celibacy, because the person surrenders his right to a biological family in exchange for a family of brothers or sisters.

But we are all sons and daughters of our Seraphic Father and we follow one of the four rules that he wrote. The difference among us stem from those things that are not mentioned in the rule, which the Church allows us to regulate for ourselves as a community, never as individuals. One of the curious details about the Franciscan life, whether you’re a friar, nun, sister, or a secular is that you surrender your mind, desires, wishes and thoughts to the will of St. Francis. This is done when you make profession.

Even the seculars promise to observe the Gospel in the manner of St. Francis, to see the world through the eyes of St. Francis, to seek their salvation according to the plan of St. Francis, to serve the Church as dictated by St. Francis. This is where poverty becomes the identifying charism of the Franciscan family. The greatest poverty is not material, but the total surrender of one’s will and life to God and the Church, guided not by your thinking, but by the inspiration of St. Francis who knew the mind of Christ and understood the message of the Gospel better than we do. St. Bonaventure would later explain describe the relationship between Francis and Christ as that of the Master and the Perfect Disciple. The goal is to be the perfect disciple of Christ and Francis is the teacher.

This takes us back to the OP. As a student of St. Francis, Br. Daniel has a grave moral responsibility on his shoulders here. He must bring to the table the vision of Christ as it is understood by St. Francis without deviating from the mandate of St. Francis to obey him (Francis). He must seek to influence national policy along those lines. You can see this when Brother speaks about Franciscan love for the created world and how it influences his ministry and his understanding of theology, medical ethics and the practice of medicine.

This is an encounter between some very serious ethical questions, legislation and the power of obedience Francis’ instruction on how the Gospel must be lived by all people, not just his sons and daughers. Francis insisted that the entire Church live the Gospel according to a very specific plan. He wrote rules for the leaders of governments as well. Brother now has to take those rules that Francis wrote for civil leaders and bring them to the table in a manner that is clear, charitable, persuasive, but never aggressive.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF