Catholic Writing and Publishing – Page 44

Question: Does Safety trump Forgiveness?

July 5, 2011/5 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Larry Peterson

Maybe this is not the proper forum for this but I need some input from traditional minded Catholics about something that has been eating away at me. I need some different (if possible) takes on this and, out of desperation, thought I would take a shot and throw it out here. What better place than the CWG, right?

Okay, here goes. In their justified and necessary quest to prevent further scandals in the church the USCCB adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children & Young People (including vulnerable adults) which was modeled after guidelines established by the Dallas Charter of 2002. The bishops had to act and they did a marvelous job addressing the issues and implementing safeguards etc. So, what is my problem?

As a Eucharistic Minister who visits the home bound I was required to go through a two phase process to remain eligible to continue in this ministry. Part A) was a level 2 background check which included complete fingerprinting run through the FBI data-base. Part B) was the requirement to attend a “safe environment” training seminar. At this seminar a packet of various papers was handed out and included in these papers were three sheets listing 47 different offenses that immediately eliminated a person from any diocesan job (paid or volunteer) where children or vulnerable adults might be. Then one of the moderators happily explained how the FBI check had turned up a man with a DUI from 20 years earlier and how he was immediately relieved of his volunteer position as a school bus driver for field trips and other functions. This guy had not had a drink or been in any trouble since the DUI. I immediately was upset with this and asked about “forgiveness” and was told that “we HAVE to protect the children”. Look, I’m a parent and a grandparent. I know about protecting kids. This to me was over the top.

Second case had to do with a 29 year old man who I know very well. This guy has a learning disability and was hired as a dishwasher at a local Catholic high school. His problem was that, when he was 19, he and some of his teen aged buddies got drunk and this guy passed out behind a local restaurant. His friends left him there, the manager saw him and called the police and when the police tried to wake him he shoved the one cop. Result: “resisting arrest” and “battery on a police officer”. The FBI check pulled up these charges and he lost his dish washing job, just like that. Since then he has wound up being treated at the local mental health clinic and is severely depressed and on medication.

My question to anyone who may read this is; Does “Safety trump Forgiveness”? Did Jesus tell the woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more but stay away from kids and vulnerable adults for the rest of your life”. I don’t think so. Your convicted pedophiles and sexual deviants cannot be allowed around kids. That’s a no-brainer. But, have we stepped over the line with this and are we, as catholics, unforgiving those who have charges against them that can be of no threat to anyone. Safe Environment predicated by Zero Tolerance seems to me to be a tool that can only lead to disenfranchising many catholics and even causing scandal by rejecting forgiveness. Help me out here, PLEASE.

"Inspiration–???"

June 7, 2011/0 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Larry Peterson

Hi everyone. This is my first blog for the CWG and, since it is the first Tuesday of the month, it is supposed to provide information and inspiration for beginning writers. Okay, let me begin by saying that the word, inspiration, immediately intimidated me and I froze. (Like how am I supposed to inspire a bunch of writers?) It took four days to thaw out and then, as my blood began to recirculate, all I could do was doodle. So I doodled all over almost every piece of paper that was nearby including a prescription which I inadvertently voided by drawing the neatest little trapezoids which turned into spaceships and were dashing this way and that all over it. I was promptly inspired to spend half a day getting it replaced. Onward and forward.

It was also suggested that I write about my “journey” as a writer up to having my first book published. Well now, let me say this right away, on this journey of mine I did not use a GPS. No siree, not me. I just started going. (Hey, I’m a guy–who needs directions) Let me tell you, I got dizzy from going in circles, drove into more ditches and gulleys than I can remember, and hit dead-ends all over the place. But–I kept scribbling. I think that it is some kind of disease writer’s have called paragraphobia which is the urge to keep on writing stuff no matter what. Finally I stopped, turned off the engine, and picked up a few road maps for direction; writer’s manuals, magazines, and other various tutorials. They did help me start going in a straighter direction. I did learn to be careful with these self-help publications. No matter what I did it was never good enough and my only hope was to buy some new self-help book (at a discount) that would help me even more because I always needed help. So, there comes a point when you have to realize when to believe in yourself.

Anyway, doodle, scribble, write and suddenly I was doing newspaper commentary for several local publications. That lasted about five years and ultimately, they all went “belly-up”. (I swear to you, it was not my fault.) I had also submitted a children’s book to a MAJOR publisher (I won’t say who but they were BIG) and a few months later I received a call from their office in Florida . A sweet lady with a bubbly voice said, “Hi, Mr. Peterson, welcome to the —-family.”

I was stunned—WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HOLY MOLY! One of the biggest publishers in the world and they were going to publish my book. Two weeks later I received a letter in the mail from the publisher. Oh wow–maybe it is an advance. Not really—it was a standard rejection letter from their office in California. Can’t be! No way! Must be a mistake. So I called the nice lady in Florida who had even given me her personal number and she apologized over and over and over. She had a miscommunication. Imagine that. Anyway, one person on the editorial board out in sunny California decided against it. OH well–that was that. Talk about being smacked upside the head.

I know this. Once you have created your brilliant piece of work and have rewritten it a half dozen times and polished it and honed it and are sure you have nailed it there is one final step. DA-DA—submission. This is when you expose yourself to the insensitive, uncaring, publishing piranhas who, more likely than not, will devour you. They won’t tear your flesh from your bones, no, they will gently filet you you with “no thank you” and” good lucks” and the like. Well, better get over it. It is simply part of the business. They have a job to do and what you presented them with was material that would not help their company. Hey, it might have been the greatest piece of writing since Shakespeare or it may have been just plain lousy, they are not going to tell you that. If they give a bit of a critique that means you piqued their interest. That is a good thing.

Okay–lessons learned by me: a) Be prepared for rejection and DO NOT take it personal. It is the “nature of the beast”. Learn from it and move on; b)Be tenacious—like a pit-bull holding onto a hunk a raw meat, you have to hang on. You love to write, don’t you? So—write; c)learn from rejection. Editors want quality stuff that fits their needs. You may have picked the wrong market for your work or maybe it needs improvement. You have to decide; d) finally, believe in yourself. You should know in your gut when you have it right. Then, run with it.

To finish up this “inspirational” discourse le me say that the book that was accepted and rejected sat on a shelf for more than 15 years. I finally picked it up again, re-wrote it, changed the story line and now it is published as “Slippery Willie’s Stupid Ugly Shoes” you can find it at www.slipperywillie.blogspot.com in case you want to check it out. I also have a novel at the publishers at the moment and when I hear something back, I’ll post about it.

The best advice I can give anyone reading this is to, foremost, trust in God and give it all over to HIM. And remember that there is no time frame in HIS world and that HE always has your back.

It’s Mary’s Fault I Write

May 4, 2011/2 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing/by Karina Fabian

May is Mary’s month, and I can’t help but reflect in this space about how it’s Mary’s fault that I write.

Yes, I blame her. Writing was a dream of mine years ago, when I was a wee girl living in the country and filling notebooks with terrible tales, but I never thought I’d actually do it as work.

The reality of writing, though, is such that I can only shake my head and surmise that, surely, only God’s MOTHER could be responsible for this.

I was going to be so! much! more! The image of me frantically pecking at a keyboard while kids are bouncing off the walls or while racing the nap times and potty breaks and snack times is so far from what I had planned for myself that I can’t help but laugh…still…all these years later.

It all started when Father was out of town and I was holding down the parish office fort by myself. During that week, I had what felt like a whole series of weird “Mary signs.” I don’t know what else to call them. They were significant to me at the time, but if I shared them with you now, you’d laugh (and I wouldn’t blame you).

I was so moved by them that I started a list and bombarded Father with them when he returned.

“Well,” he said. As I rambled on and on and ON, he sat there and probably tried not to smile.

It was later that year that I started blogging, which was intended to be a daily writing exercise. The feeling that I was supposed to write was…uncomfortable. It’s not that I didn’t think I could do it, it was that I really had no training for the craft, for the networks, for all the ins and outs.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my big “break” into writing came as a result of a column about Mary’s various titles over at Catholic Exchange. And then there was the opportunity to join the Catholic Moments show with a “Mary Moment.”

Opportunities kept growing and expanding. In fact, my Marian writing is what seems to always attract people, to get the leads, to keep my writing alive.

So I guess the least I can do is keep plugging along, relying on her (and her Son!) for help and strength on the journey.

Do you have a patron for your writing endeavors? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!

—
Sarah Reinhard, author of Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent & Christmas Reflections for Families, is a Catholic wife, mom, and certifiably addicted blogger who can be found online at SnoringScholar.com.

Question: Does Safety trump Forgiveness?

"Inspiration–???"

It’s Mary’s Fault I Write

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