Last year, a coalition of Catholic progressive and reform organization sponsored "The Catholic Tipping Point: Conversations," a 15-city tour featuring Austrian Fr. Helmut Schüller, who gained international attention in 2011 for his "Call to Disobedience."
This year, the tour is back, and the featured speaker is Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery, founder of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland. He has been a popular writer and speaker in Ireland and has publicly questioned official church teaching on celibacy for priests, contraception, homosexuality and women's ordination.
For most of 2012, Flannery was forbidden to minister as a priest as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reviewed his writing. In January 2013, he said he was threatened with excommunication unless he made a clear and public statement -- preapproved by the doctrinal congregation -- fully supporting official church teaching.
According to tour organizers: "Fr. Tony will tour the U.S. this fall, from October 22 - November 18, 2014, visiting 18 cities and speaking with Catholic laity and leadership on topics of women in the Church, the future of ministry, the problem with infallibility, and the sexual teachings of the Catholic Church. "
Visit the website for more details: www.catholictippingpoint.org
Here's the tour cities in chronological order:
Father Flanner Tour Dates: October 22 – November 18, 2014
Washington, DC * Baltimore * Philadelphia * New York City * Boston * Providence * Syracuse * Cleveland * Detroit * Minneapolis * Memphis * Sarasota * San Antonio * St. Louis * Phoenix * Sacramento * Portland, OR * Seattle
Wednesday, October 22, 7 PM: Washington, DC
Augustana Lutheran Church
2100 New Hampshire NW
Washington DC 20009
Contact: Katie Breslin 202.203.0931
kbreslin@catholicsforchoice.org
Thursday, October 23, 7 PM: Baltimore, MD
Faith Presbyterian Church
5400 Loch Raven Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21239
Contact: Sr. Jeannine Gramick 301.864.3604
gramick@verizon.net
Contact: Frank DeBernardo 301.277.5674
director@newwaysministry.org
Friday, October 24, 7 PM: Philadelphia, PA
University of the Sciences
McNeil Science and Technology Building
723 S 43rd Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4495
Contact: Regina Bannan 215.545.9649
reginab317@gmail.com
Saturday, October 25, 2 PM NYC
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Contact: Francis Piderit 917.916.7575
pideritVOTF@piderit.com
Sunday, October 26, 3 PM West Warwick, RI
Emanuel Lutheran Church;
9 New London Ave.
West Warwick, RI 02893
Contact: Kathleen Pannozzi, kduffy6@yahoo.com
Tuesday, October 28, 7 PM Boston, MA
First Church of Dedham
670 High Street
Dedham, MA
Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke 617.669.7810
execdir@dignityusa.org
Wednesday, October 29, 7 PM Syracuse, NY
May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society 3800 E. Genesee St.
Syracuse, NY
Contact: Meg Ksander 315.673.1401
ksander@allsaintssyracuse.org
Saturday, November 1, 7 PM Cleveland, OH
Independence Middle School
6111 Archwood
Independence OH 44131
Contact: Deb Rose-Milavec 513.673.1401
debrose@futurechurch.org
Monday, November 3, 1 PM Detroit, MI
IBEW Union Hall
1358 Abbott St.
Detroit MI 48226
Contact: Fr. Tom Lumpkin 313.963.4539
dayhouse@flash.net
Wednesday, November 5, 7 PM Minneapolis, MN
St. Frances Cabrini Church
1500 Franklin Ave S.E.,
Minneapolis, MN
Contact: Art Stoeberl 651.278.6630
stoeberl@bitstream.net
Saturday, November 8, Call to Action Conference, 8:30 AM & 2:15 PM Memphis, TN
Contact: Ryan Hoffmann 703.531.9203
ryan@cta-usa.org
Monday, November 10, 7 PM Sarasota, FL
St. Andrews UCC
6908 Beneva Rd,
Sarasota, FL 34238
Contact: Bridget Mary Meehan, 703.505.0004*
sofiabmm@aol.com
*This is correct phone number. Earlier number was incorrect.
Wednesday, November 12, 7:30 PM San Antonio, TX
Viva! Bookstore at Viva Galleria
8407 Broadway
San Antonio, TX
Contact: Deb Myers 210.585.6254
prosaemail@yahoo.com
Thursday, November 13, 7 PM St. Louis, MO
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church 1413 N. 20th St.
St. Louis, MO
Contact: Jenn Reyes Lay 314.7077313
can@catholicactionnetwork.org
Saturday, November 15, 6 PM Phoenix, AZ
Shadow Rock UCC Church
12861 N. 8th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85029
Contact: M. J. Benton 480.948.2028
Sunday, November 16, 2 PM Sacramento, CA
St. Marks’ United Methodist Church
2391 St. Mark’s Way
Sacramento, CA
Contact: Caryl Callsen 209.295.2151
Tuesday, November 18, 7 PM Portland, OR
Central Lutheran Church
1829 NE 21st Ave
Portland, OR
Contact: Nancy Barrett-Dennehy 508.238.1942
ndbdpdx@comcast.net
Wednesday, November 19, 7 PM Seattle, WA
St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
1245 10th Ave E. Bloedel Hall
Seattle, WA
Contact: Pat and Julie Callahan 206.329.1234
revcall@aol.com
The Catholic Tipping Point partners are:
American Catholic Council
Call To Action
Catholics For Choice
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
CORPUS
DignityUSA
FutureChurch
National Coalition of American Nuns
New Ways Ministry
Quixote Center
Women's Ordination Conference
