What are the Goals of the CCC?

Our primary goals are focused in Four areas:

Personal spiritual growth

Clergy converts come from a rich diversity of spiritual backgrounds. Making the transition to Catholic spirituality can sometimes be difficult: What aspects of our spiritual pasts need to be jettisoned? What can be adapted and continued? What aspects of authentic Catholic spirituality need to be added? What aspects of contemporary “Catholic spirituality” can or should be avoided? To whom should we listen? Whom should we follow? Whom should we avoid? A key goal of the CCC is to help each member grow in holiness and fulfill our vocations as witnesses to Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Catholic truth. We will be assisted by spiritual directors, as well as mutual encouragement and accountability. This also involves helping each other accept with joy our primary vocations as lay evangelists.

Evangelization

From our wide breadth of past relationships and experiences, we bring with us unique insights and relationships that can help our separated brothers and sisters come home. We will work together to discern ways to assist them in discovering the fullness of the Catholic faith and the necessary graces to grow in holiness. In essence, we are establishing a band of lay missionaries for the New Evangelization.

Authentic renewal

One thing most clergy converts know from personal experience is that the Holy Spirit did indeed bless our work as pastors. We know that Protestant conversions are real and that lives were drastically changed by grace through our preaching, teaching, and other avenues of ministry. As encouraged by the ecumenical documents of Vatican II, we recognize that much of what the Holy Spirit did, by grace, in and through our work is intended to help in the spiritual renewal of Catholics and the Catholic Church.

Advocacy

We have learned from our past 22 years of experience that many lifelong Catholic priests, bishops, religious, and laity do not understand or appreciate the unique challenges that face non-Catholic clergy inquirers or converts and their families, or the gifts that we bring with us. The CCC is committed to conveying these concerns and opportunities to the hierarchy.

We bring with us insights and experiences that can help the Church discern which Protestant ideas and practices can be adopted and adapted, and which should be carefully avoided. With these gifts we will work together to discern ways that we can assist in enabling authentic renewal in the Catholic Church.

The Motto of the CCC

We have taken as the inspiring “charge” for our fellowship together the words of Father John Thayer from the autobiographical account of his conversion, published in 1787:

How does the CCC accomplish its Goals?

Some of our activities will be determined as members reflect, pray, and discern together, but here are a few we propose from the start:

Friendship: We commit ourselves to one another and to utilize all the means God has given us, such as email and this web site, to stay in touch, encouraging one another.

Our Private CCC Forum: We discuss, within the privacy of a carefully controlled forum, issues facing the Church as well as our lives as clergy converts.

Spiritual Direction: We are establishing regional spiritual directors, possibly convert priests, who because of their own journeys are particularly suited to helping us grow in our spiritual maturity.

Personal Apostolates: We encourage and assist each other to establish apostolates of teaching, evangelization, and renewal in our local situations.

Regional Retreats: We arrange regional gatherings and retreats where CCC members can meet face to face.

Distribution of CHResources: We write, publish, and distribute materials specifically written to help our separated brothers and sisters discover the fullness of the Catholic faith.

Prayer list: Updated monthly, this list allows us to lift each other up in prayer for specific needs and concerns.

Strengthening relationships with the Church hierarchy: We encourage all members to work with their local ordinaries to further the work.