Online Edition
January 2015
Vol. XX, No.7
Letter to Adoremus Members
Dear Friends in Christ,
Helen’s unexpected death has been quite a shock to all of us. There are several loving tributes to her in this issue of the Adoremus Bulletin and she will be greatly missed. But her departure leaves us with obvious practical problems, difficulties you may help us solve.
I served on the Executive Committee of Adoremus with Helen and Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, and thus I am exploring the possibilities for the continued operations of the important Adoremus apostolate. After many conversations with friends, including ranking churchmen, I’m persuaded of the need to keep Adoremus up and running in the years ahead. Now more than ever we need to keep Pope Benedict’s vision of authentic liturgical reform in focus.
But losing an editor with Helen’s competence and stature means that if we continue the Adoremus Bulletin, there will almost certainly have to be changes. We don’t know yet what these changes will entail or who will take the helm (although I have some ideas and I’ll be running down the possibilities in upcoming weeks). But we are trying mightily to keep our apostolate afloat and productive.
While we cannot promise what the future will hold, we hope that you will consider continuing your financial support. Your contributions help with a very important transition if we can pull it off — and I think we can.
In the meantime it is important to recognize that Helen’s work has become a truly invaluable resource for bishops and priests in the years ahead. Nearly all of the back issues of the Adoremus Bulletin are available on our website, adoremus.org. And we fully intend to keep an archive of the important work of Adoremus over these past 19+ years. That in itself is worth supporting with your contributions.
We know that so many of you have relied on us for accurate and timely information on all things liturgical. And we will insist that Helen’s successor will be of her “blood type,” faithful and eager to maintain the apostolate grounded primarily on the liturgical vision of Pope Benedict. We can’t settle for anything less. At the moment, I’m optimistic, even as we exercise great care in our search.
There will likely be publishing delays going forward. But you will hear from us again as we navigate the choppy waters of this unhappy disruption and necessary transition.
In the meantime, please keep our apostolate and the small Adoremus staff in your prayers. Hilary, Gina, Sean, and Susan have been loyal employees for so many years and I’m personally grateful for their assistance during this transition. May God reward them for their loyalty and hard work.
If you have the means, Father Fessio and I and our loyal staff would be grateful for your financial support.
Merry Christmas to you and yours and may the New Year bring you and your family many blessings, good cheer and joy in the Lord.
Sincerely in Christ,
The Reverend Jerry J. Pokorsky
Member, Executive Committee
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