Well, not really an update, but some interesting information on the Staten Island parish in which the pastor expelled the 300 non-Mass attending families from religious ed.

Bill Cork found this article, from the NCR(egister), in which the pastor in question describes the positive effect Communion and Liberation has had on his parish.

Father Michael Cichon, pastor of St. Joseph and St. Thomas, approved the movement’s establishment there after speaking with Father Veras. He says Communion and Liberation has been a welcome addition to the parish. Living a Catholic way of life “is something the Gospel calls us to do” and groups such as Communion and Liberation are proof that the Holy Spirit is working in the Church today, he said.

The movement’s members at the parish “have opened themselves to a greater living of the Catholic lifestyle,” Father Cichon said. “They continually expand and invite other people through their devotion, their study of scripture, their active ministry and the style of their life.”

He said it’s especially important that younger members of the parish be involved in movements such as Communion and Liberation.

“It’s absolutely essential, not just of for the sake of the future but for the sake of what God offers a community like our parish today,” Father Cichon says. “We are people who need the graces of our young people to meet the challenges of what the Gospel calls us to do. They have insight that comes out through their enthusiasm and their sense of freedom. We can learn from that.”

I really would be interested in hearing more about what led up to his decision…if anyone runs across an article that’s helpful, please post.

By “decision,” I mean the original religious ed decision..not the C & L decision. To clarify.