Inactive Catholics are welcomed home in New Albany Deanery

Photo caption: Members of the Catholics Returning Home team in the New Albany Deanery are shown in front of one of the many signs they display in the area to attract participants. They are, from left, Tony Aemmer, Harold Beebe, Karen Jordan and Ann Marie Camarata. (Submitted photo)

By Angela Hayes

NEW ALBANY—“I saw the sign!”

“That is what most inactive Catholics say when I ask them, ‘How did you find out about the program?’ ” said Tony Aemmer, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany.

Aemmer is a team member and one of two people who fields calls about the Catholics Returning Home (CRH) program offered at the parish.

The sign referred to is one of many yard signs and banners placed throughout the 19 parishes within the New Albany Deanery to advertise the program.

Catholics Returning Home, in its third year in the deanery, is a program offered to help non-practicing Catholics return to the practice of their faith.

“After two years, there have been approximately 70 participants who have attended the program,” Aemmer said. “We are very pleased with the success of the program.”

The Catholics Returning Home program is presented three times a year by a team of lay men and women, many of whom had been away from the Catholic Church and have returned.

The team accepts participants with love and compassion.

“Many Catholics who have been away from the Church for an extended period of time may feel uncomfortable returning, especially if they have been away prior to the changes brought about by Vatican II,” said Ann Marie Camarata, a member of the CRH team.

“We strive to be welcoming, compassionate and nonjudgmental. It sometimes takes all of the courage a returnee can muster up just to walk through the doors,” Camarata said. “We try to receive them with open arms and open hearts.”

The returnees are given an opportunity to share their stories as well as their hopes and expectations in a confidential and accepting environment.

During the sessions, a brief update of the Church since Vatican II is given along with an explanation of the Mass, reconciliation and the Nicene Creed. There are no strings attached with this program.

The team encourages, directs and facilitates in any way possible. This includes encouraging participants to talk to one of the many pastors in the New Albany Deanery.

At the end of each six-week session, the participants are asked if they would be interested in becoming members of the team for future sessions. New team members provide insight and new energy to the program.

Harold Beebe, another CRH team member, said, “One of the big advantages of this program is that it requires only limited direct involvement of the pastor. Father Paul Etienne, the pastor here at Our Lady [of Perpetual Help Parish], supports our program and the team, and is available any time, if needed.

“However, he [Father Etienne] does not attend team meetings nor is he involved in the planning of each session,” Beebe said. “He visits the program once during each

six-week session, welcoming the participants and inviting them to call if they need him for any reason.”

The Catholics Returning Home program has been approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was developed by Sally Mews, a former inactive Catholic who saw a need for a program welcoming non-practicing Catholics back to the Church.

After years of trial and error, she authored the book Inviting Catholics Home, which is used to present the

parish-based program.

“It’s cheap, easy and it works,” Mews said.

On Jan. 8, 2007, a new session begins at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish.

Program leaders have already begun preparations by making team assignments, praying for the participants and clearing their calendars for six consecutive Monday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The signs are out again at each of the New Albany Deanery parishes along with brochures, flyers and bulletin announcements.

Although the program is held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, all the New Albany Deanery parishes cooperate with advertising and promotion.

For more information, visit the Web page at www.olphna.org or call 812-945-3112.

(Angela Hayes is a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany and the Catholics Returning Home team.) †