Fr. John Zuhlsdorf will emcee the Oct. 13 conference at Immaculate Conception School in Warren, and be the keynote speaker at the dinner that evening.
Fr. Zuhlsdorf, whose blog, “What Does the Prayer Really Say?” has been named one of the top 10 Christian blogs in the world by Britain’s New Statesman magazine, will speak on “Vatican II and Our Catholic Identity.”
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Archbishop Allen Vigneron said in a message to Call to Holiness, “Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has described the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council as ‘the great grace bestowed on the Church in the 20th century.’ It is a blessing that all of you will come together to consider once again the great riches of the council’s teaching, which come to us as a gift of the Holy Spirit Himself.”
Also addressing the conference will be Louie Verrecchio, author of the “Harvesting the Fruit of Vatican II” series of study materials, and Fr. John Trigilio Jr., author of “Catholicism for Dummies.”
Monica Migliorino Miller, professor at Madonna University and founder/director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, will speak on “Bioethics and the Church in a Post-Vatican II World.”
Also speaking will be Fr. Frank Phillips, CR, and Fr. Brian Harrison, OS. Fr. Phillips is pastor of St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago; Fr. Harrison is co-editor of Living Tradition, the journal of the Roman Theological Forum.
Conference participants will travel a short distance to St. Josaphat (Ukrainian-Byzantine) Church for a 6 p.m. celebration of the Divine Liturgy (as the Mass is called in the Eastern rites). The Ukrainian-Byzantine Catholic Church is in full communion with the Holy See, and Latin Rite Catholics may receive Communion without any special permission.
Dinner will follow in the parish’s banquet center.
St. Josaphat is a co-sponsor of Immaculate Conception School, along with Immaculate Conception (Ukrainian-Byzantine) Parish in Hamtramck.
Call to Holiness sees its conference as another opportunity to explore the gifts of the Second Vatican Council rather than as competition for the Vatican II conference being held this weekend (Sept. 21-22) at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, said Deborah Bloomfield, a board member who is coordinating publicity.
“In fact, since theirs is already sold out, we’re hoping they’ll send some people our way,” Bloomfield said Sept. 10.
This year’s conference is the first hosted by an Eastern rite parish, but marks a return to Macomb County, after several conferences in other parts of the Metro area, she said.
It also marks a return of the parallel children’s conference, which was once a feature of Call to Holiness conferences during the years in Sterling Heights, Bloomfield noted.
She said she expects many attendees will also want to attend noon Mass the following day, Oct. 14, at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto) Church, when Bishop Sample will celebrate a Solemn High Pontifical Mass, with choir and orchestra.
The setting for the Mass will be composed by the parish’s pastor, Fr. Eduard Perrone.
Assumption Grotto is at 13770 Gratiot Ave. in northeast Detroit.
