Challenging times now the norm, says NCEA keynoter

Published: 2006-04-24

ATLANTA (CNS) -- "Challenging times are here to stay," Dominican Father James Marchionda told Catholic educators April 21, but "challenging times do not define the Gospel. Challenging times do not define the good news of Jesus Christ. Rather, Jesus Christ defines the challenge." Father Marchionda, a traveling speaker who has recorded several collections of liturgical music, gave the keynote address on the closing day of the April 18-21 convention of the National Catholic Educational Association in Atlanta. The priest's address was titled "Telling the Good News in Challenging Times." It echoed the convention's theme, "Charting the Future in Challenging Times." Challenges affect all areas of life, according to Father Marchionda. "Challenging times are no longer the exception, they are the norm," Father Marchionda said, citing corporate scandals, honesty in government, the clergy sex abuse scandal and the prosecution of war. Still, "there is a power inside each one of us that is unexplainable by human standards," he said.

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