Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin – Saint

I would like to introduce you, surfers, to a leader in empowerment. It has been a year since he passed from this world, but I was late discovering him. I think you will like what he had to say, and what he stood for. The person I speak of is Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin.

Like many maligned Church leaders, his praises are sung in the rear facing diatribes of those who would have him silenced.

Msgr. Joseph M. Champlin, a widely published author, exchanged pulpits with a local rabbi two years ago, preaching in the synagogue, while the rabbi spoke at a Sunday Mass. This was a first for both their 150-year-old congregations. Last year, Msgr. Champlin invited Dr. Anis Obeid, raised as a Druze Muslim, to describe the basic articles of that religion at a Sunday Mass at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Syracuse, New York, where the author is rector. Those exchanges and the tragedy of September 11 led to this article.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr2002/Feature2.asp

His praises are also sung by those who knew him, and his work.

Just for your review, have a look at Michael McGough’s recent op-ed. If you have a comment about Msgr. Champlin or Michael’s piece, feel free to leave it here.