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Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, is a document issued by the Second Vatican Council which deals specifically with institutes of consecrated life in the Roman Catholic Church.[1] One of the shorter documents of the Council, the decree was approved by a vote of 2,321 to 4 of the assembled bishops, and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 28 October 1965. As is customary for Church documents, the title is taken from the first words (incipit) of the decree in Latin, which mean "of Perfect Charity".[2]
The Second Vatican Council had already given an exposition of the nature of religious life in chapter 6 of the Constitution Lumen gentium, and Perfectae Caritatis reflected the principles of religious life as established therein.[3] This chapter described the essential form of religious life as a life "consecrated by the profession of the evangelical counsels" (n. 44).
The Decree Perfectae Caritatis was adopted in order to "treat of the life and discipline of those institutes whose members make profession of chastity, poverty and obedience and to provide for their needs in our time" (Perfectae Caritatis n. 1). Its scope includes societies of common life whose members do not take vows, and secular institutes, while recognising that these have certain different characteristics (Perfectae Caritatis n. 1). Franc Rodé sees the decree also as "clarifying" some aspects of Lumen gentium.[4]
Containing 25 numbered sections, the Decree established five general principles to guide the renewal of each institute. The foremost of these stated that "the ultimate norm of the religious life is the following of Christ set forth in the Gospels"; secondly, institutes should refer back to their founders' spirituality and aims. Thirdly, "all institutes should share in the life of the Church"; they should be tied to "the social conditions of the times they live in and of the needs of the Church"; and their members should "keep in mind" that "the purpose of the religious life is to help the members follow Christ and be united to God through the profession of the evangelical counsels" (Perfectae Caritatis n. 2).
Because of the broad variety of religious communities with their different histories, characteristics, customs, and missions, the Council did not give specific directions, and left to each individual order or congregation the authority to determine what needed to be changed in accord with the spirit of their founders, the needs of modern life, and the situations where they lived and worked.
Section 10 of the document made provision for religious congregations of lay brothers to have some of their members ordained into the priesthood in order to "meet the need for priestly ministrations in their own houses, provided that the lay character of the community remains unchanged". In 1995, Pope John Paul II reflected on this statement, noting that
This is a possibility to be evaluated in accordance with the needs of time and place, but in harmony with the most ancient tradition of monastic institutes, which are thus able to flourish again. The Council recognized this possibility and stated that there was no impediment to its implementation: but it lets the highest governing assembly of these institutes — the General Chapter — decide, without offering explicit encouragement in this regard, precisely because it is concerned that these institutes of "brothers" continue in line with their vocation and mission.[5]
On August 6, 1966 Pope Paul VI issued Ecclesiae Sanctae, an apostolic letter on the implementation of certain conciliar documents, including Perfectae Caritatis.[3]
The period that followed the promulgation of Perfectae Caritatis was marked by extensive change and a huge amount of experimentation in religious life. Many institutes replaced their traditional habits with more modern attire, experimented with different forms of prayer and community life, allowed religious to use their baptismal names as a religious name,[6]: 401 and adapted obedience to a superior to a form of consultation and discussion. Religious sister Mary Kenny comments that "some religious have entered generously and willingly into the work of renewal. Others, for reasons best known to themselves, have chosen to remain at the fringes or have resisted what has been happening".[6]: 407 A great number of religious have left religious life entirely,[a] and in subsequent decades there was a large drop the number of religious vocations in the western world. It is not clear how much of this change was due to the renewal envisaged by the Second Vatican Council. Historians note that western society as a whole was going through social turmoil caused by the sexual revolution.[citation needed]
A two-day symposium was organised by the Vatican in 2005 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the decree and to "review the journey made" by the Church in the intervening years.[4]
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Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, is a document issued by the Second Vatican Council which deals specifically with institutes of consecrated life in the Roman Catholic Church. One of the shorter documents of the Council, the decree was approved by a vote of 2,321 to 4 of the assembled bishops, and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 28 October 1965. As is customary for Church documents, the title is taken from the first words (incipit) of the decree in Latin, which mean "of Perfect Charity".
The Dominican Sisters of Peace is a congregation of Dominican Sisters of apostolic life, founded on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009, from the union of seven former Dominican foundations. With general offices in Columbus, Ohio, the congregation holds legal incorporation in the state of Kentucky, home of the founding community of earliest historical origin. In 2012, following a vote by their General Chapter, the Dominican sisters of Catherine de' Ricci became the eighth foundation to join the Dominican Sisters of Peace. 1822: Dominicans of St. Catharine, founded in Washington County, (later St. Catharine), Kentucky 1830: Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, founded in Somerset, Ohio; moved to Columbus, Ohio 1868 1860: Congregation of St. Mary, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana 1880: Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de' Ricci, founded in Albany, New York (later moved to Elkins Park, Pennsylvania) 1902: Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kansas, founded in Great Bend, Kansas 1927: Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Eucharist; incorporated into the Dominican Order in 1956 as the Eucharistic Missionaries of St. Dominic. 1929: Sisters of St. Dominic of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, founded in Akron, Ohio 1950: Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, founded in Oxford, Michigan. The process by which the original seven Dominican communities came together to form a new religious institute, a pontifical canonical union with formal recognition by the Vatican, is known as reconfiguration. As demographics changed following the cultural movements of the late 20th century, the seven congregations determined to collaborate in this manner so that their mission could be most effectively realized. All shared the Dominican charism and found support for this new endeavor in Perfectae Caritatis, one of the documents issued by the Second Vatican Council: "Independent institutes and monasteries should, when opportune and the Holy See permits, form federations if they can be considered as belonging to the same religious family. Others who have practically identical constitutions and rules and a common spirit should unite, particularly when they have too few members. Finally, those who share the same or a very similar active apostolate should become associated, one to the other." The deliberations that led to the merger took place over a period of seven years, culminating in the inaugural General Chapter of April 15–21, 2009. The first Leadership Team of the new congregation was elected during that General Chapter. At the time of the foundation of the new religious institute, the Dominican Sisters of Peace numbered more than 650 members, with more than 500 associates. As of 2017, the community has 510 members, and over 600 lay associates.
Ecclesiae Sanctae ([Governing] of the Holy Church) is an apostolic letter or motu proprio issued by Pope Paul VI on August 6, 1966. Paul wrote this letter on how to implement the Vatican Council, especially as regards the conciliar documents Christus Dominus (On the Pastoral Office of Bishops), Presbyterorum Ordinis (On the Life and Ministry of Priests), Perfectae Caritatis (On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life), and Ad Gentes (On the Missionary Activity of the Church).
A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order or a religious congregation. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the hermits and anchorites, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform style. Uniformity and distinctiveness by order or congregation often evolved and changed over time. Interpretation of terms for clothes in religious rules could change over centuries. Furthermore, every time new communities gained importance in a cultural area the need for visual separation increased for new as well as old communities. Thus, modern habits are rooted in historic forms, but do not necessarily resemble them in cut, color, material, detail or use. In monastic orders of the Catholic and Anglican churches, the habit often consists of a tunic covered by a scapular and a cowl, with a hood for monks or friars and a veil for nuns. Canon Law requires only that the garb of their members be in some way identifiable so that the person may serve as a witness of the Evangelical counsels. In many orders or congregations,the beginning of the novitiate is marked by the ceremony of investiture, in which the canditate is accepted as a novice and then clothed in the community's habit by the superior of the community. In some cases the novice's habit will be somewhat different from the customary habit: for instance, in certain communities it is common for the female novices to wear a white veil while professed sisters wear black. Carthusian novices wear a black cloak over their white tunics.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
