A new ministry to lead Penn Newman Center

The Penn Newman Center will be undergoing a change in leadership on July 1, 2014.

For the first time in its history, the ministry will be under the direction of a group separate from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. According to Associate Director of the Newman Center Jeff Klein, the Newman Center has been under the direction of a priest for over 100 years. Father Jim McGuinn has been the pastor and director of the Newman Center since it was merged with the parish in 2010. He, along with the parish’s other three priests, will be transferred and replaced by a new religious order.

Klein said that the Archdiocese did not specify the reason for the change.

The Christian Life Movement (CLM), an order of the Catholic Church, will assume leadership of the parish and the Penn Newman Center by the summer of 2014. There will be one priest and four consecrated laymen from the order put in charge of the parish and the Newman ministry.

Typically, the priest is in charge of the lay people, but with the CLM, it is not quite the same. These five individuals, including the priest, will report to their local supervisor and consecrated layman, Brian Shannon. The priest will still be the pastor of the parish, however.

The implications of this new order are not yet certain, Klein said.

“The CLM has their own type of spirituality,” he added. “Within the Catholic church, different orders emphasize different things.”

According to Klein, the CLM is known for Christian solidarity with those who are in need or marginalized, evangelization of young people and evangelization of culture. The CLM, Klein added, places a great emphasis on college students which is part of the reason they were chosen to head the parish, of which the Newman Center is a ministry. They are also devoted to promoting the family and the defense of life.

The CLM was not available for comment as of press time.

Although functional implications are still uncertain, Klein is optimistic about the structural changes. One of the five men coming will be assigned specifically to be a campus minister to the Penn Newman Ministry. Until now, Klein has been the only full-time campus minister to the Penn Catholic community.

The arrival of the order had originally raised issues as to whether or not Klein would keep his position, but as of yesterday, it was confirmed that he would remain the associate director. Klein said no other staff positions were at risk.

The Newman Center is funded by the parish and receives a subsidy from the Archdiocese. Klein said this will continue to be true regardless of change in leadership.

McGuinn’s transfer location has yet to be decided and may not be until the spring, Klein added.

The Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput became familiar with the CLM while he was the bishop in Denver, Colorado, and he decided to bring them to Philadelphia because of his admiration of their ministry.

“Archbishop Chaput has said that college campus ministry is the most important ministry of the church,” Klein said. “There aren’t many bishops who would say that, so that’s a pretty big deal.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.