by
Fr. David F. Wright. O.P., Representative to the Priests'
Fraternities
hen
I entered the Order in 1961 the canonical distinction
between solemn and simple vows was what defined the "Third
Order." Those who did not take solemn vows were considered
members of the "Third Order," whether they were
"regular" (living in community as our sisters
in congregations) or "secular" (lay men and
women or clerics). In the post-Vatican II era, the Order
began to see itself in terms of Dominican Family and the
older canonical distinctions were no longer used. Today
the term sister has come to refer to our active Dominican
women and what we now know as Dominican Laity has emerged
with a renewed vigor.
However,
during the past twenty-five years the way in which secular
clergy might associate themselves with the spirit and
charm of the Dominican order has for all practical purposes
been overlooked. The General Chapter of Tallaght (1971)
did provide a Rule and a skeletal structure for what they
called the Priests' Fraternities of St Dominic. But its
existence seems to be largely unknown in the Province
of St. Albert the Great. I first discovered their existence
in the fall of 1993 when Don Goergen asked me to be a
liaison to several priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago
who were interested in an association with the Dominican
Order. In February, 1994, the Provincial Council approved
the establishment of the Priests' Fraternities within
the Province, and in December, 1994, Cardinal Bernardin
approved the establishment of a chapter of the priests'
Fraternities in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Since then
I have been actively working with three priests from the
Archdiocese who wish to establish such a chapter.
The
whole purpose of the Priests' Fraternities is to provide
diocesan clergy, who find in the spirit and charism of
St. Dominic an appropriate and helpful framework for their
own personal priestly spirituality, the means of associating
themselves with the Order and becoming members of the
Dominican Family.
The
Rule of the Priests' Fraternities very clearly sees the
lives of such priests rooted in two fundamental realities:
the daily priestly ministry of the diocesan priest and
Dominican spirituality. The formation program for members
which has been tentatively set up so far approximates
the process of entering a religious community -- an Initiate
Phase ['pre-novitiate'], Candidacy I Phase ['novitiate'],
Candidacy II Phase ['temporary profession']. Final profession
simply marks a lifetime of on-going formation. Once members
have made profession a chapter can be formed. Chapters
are self-governing bodies such as local chapters are with
the Friars or the Dominican Laity.
On
the feast of St. Dominic, August 8, 1995, the three priests
from the Archdiocese of Chicago began their Candidacy
I Phase. This formal ceremony took place at St. Thomas
Aquinas Priory, River Forest, IL, in the course of the
celebration of the feast. 
(Source
: Dominican
Central)
