Atonement Friar To Lead Conference Of Men Religious

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Father Brian Terry, S.A., minister general of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, whose motherhouse is at Graymoor in Garrison, was elected president-elect of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) at its annual assembly this month.

Father Brian Terry will serve as president-elect for one year and then serve two years as conference president. The current president is Father Jim Greenfield, O.S.F.S.

The annual assembly was held Aug. 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C. The leaders of the CMSM represent more than 17,000 Catholic religious priests and brothers in the United States.

Father Terry’s job as president will be to work with the members of the group so they come to an understanding of what God is calling religious orders to do in the world today. “With all these great resources and different charisms, we can bring a lot more prayer and love to the world,” he said.

At the same time, doing God’s work sometimes involves struggles. “It can be tiring on the front lines,” he said. However, he sees the CMSM as a way to reinvigorate men religious. “Together and united to the Church, we are able to go and teach one another different things and be of service.” The conference also exists to provide support and resources to leaders of religious congregations so they can do the work of the Church effectively.

“It’s also a great chance for us to stand up and say religious life makes a difference and is worth doing,” Father Terry said.

In fact, Father Terry has seen a lot of religious groups celebrating and showing gratefulness for the gifts they have received, especially during this Year for Consecrated Life declared by Pope Francis.

“People are trying to do more looking toward the future,” he said. “There is something in the air since Pope Francis has started the initiative and there’s been a lot of interest in religious life.”

“Pope Francis called us to take a long, loving look at who we are as religious. He said to look to the past with gratitude, to live the present with passion and to embrace the future with hope,” he said, summarizing the pope’s November 2014 letter to religious communities.

The Holy Father’s visit to the United States and Cuba in September will be another wonderful and exciting way to celebrate religious life, he said. “Since Pope Francis had been in religious life also, it is an affirmation to us,” he said of the pontiff who was ordained as a Jesuit priest.

“Going out to the margins is important to him, and so many religious communities were founded like that,” he noted.

The CMSM is connected with the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, among others. The conferences and groups engage in dialogue and collaborate with one another to “live God’s vision, to fulfill God’s dream,” Father Terry explained.

He went on to explain exactly what that vision and dream was, saying, “We are pro-Gospel. We are all about the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

Father Brian Terry was elected minister general of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in June 2014. He previously had served as novice director for the order in Assisi, Italy, since 2005.

A native of Washington, D.C., he entered the Atonement Franciscans in 1989 and professed final vows in 1994. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1997. He celebrated his silver jubilee as a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement June 27.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and theater from The Catholic University of America, and earned his licentiate and doctorate in sacramental theology from The Pontifical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome.