Priest who stood with his community will speak in Columbus

Fr. Robert Marrone, who faced excommunication in 2010 for standing with his parish when the diocese tried to close it, will speak on Wednesday in Columbus about the state of community in our Church and what the future may hold. Our CTA chapter in Columbus will host Fr. Marrone on Wednesday to speak on the topic of "Ecclesial Climate Change: What's Melting, What's Gone, and What May Survive?"  He will look back at the past 25 years in our Church and the effect of polarization on our communities, then explore the directions we as Catholics can take our Church in the years to come.

"We are looking forward to discovering how he kept his parish alive after it was ordered closed by the archbishop and thus gaining any insight into how break-away groups might succeed,” says Ann, who helped organize the event. "Fr. Marrone was praised by Fr. Donald Cozzens when he was here recently so we are hoping to gain a realistic picture of what the future might hold."

Fr. Marrone is the pastor of the Community of St. Peter, a Catholic church in Cleveland which is unrecognized by its diocese. The parish of St. Peter had existed for over 150 years when the Bishop attempted to close it; a large number of the parishioners, and their pastor Fr. Marrone, chose to stay together as a parish despite the order to close. They continue to celebrate the Sacraments together, work for social justice in their neighborhood, and support one another as a faith community.

For more information about Wednesday's informative and inspirational discussion, check out our events calendar!