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Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted  was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2, 1973.
He was installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, December 20,
2003. Prior to his arrival in Phoenix he served as Bishop of Wichita, Kansas,
after being ordained Coadjutor Bishop on April 20, 1999. Before serving
in Wichita, he served as the Rector /President of the Pontifical College
Josephinum, a Catholic seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1974, he
has been a member of the Jesus Caritas fraternity of priests, and thus
has been deeply influenced by the witness and wisdom of Blessed Charles
de Foucauld and by the prayers and encouragement of many brother priests.
For 16 years, Bishop Olmsted lived in Rome, Italy, where he obtained a Master
of Arts in Theology, a Doctorate in Canon Law, and worked more than nine
years in the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. During the nine years of serving in the Holy See, he resided at the Pontifical North American College
and assisted seminarians with spiritual direction. He speaks and writes Italian
and Spanish.
Having been reared on a family farm on the Kansas – Nebraska border, he attended a single-room grade school near Oketo, Kansas, and a small rural high school in Summerfield,Kansas. His first contact with Catholic schools came when he entered St. Thomas Seminary College in Denver, Colorado, from which he graduated in 1969, with a B.A. in Philosophy. His interest in nature and rural life continues, while his many years in Rome has fostered a devoted loyalty to the universal Church.
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| John La Briola |
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John LaBriola is the president and founder of Lighthouse Training, a nationally recognized training and consulting company. John has spent the last fifteen years teaching persuasion skills to businesses across the country. He is a gifted communicator whose ability to relate to various audiences is unsurpassed.
John has been involved in ministry in the Catholic Church for over twenty-years. He has spent time as a Youth Minister, Religious Education teacher, Confirmation teacher, Young Adult Coordinator and Adult Faith Formation teacher. He has delivered hundreds of missions, retreats, workshops, classes and talks at the parish and diocesan level, nationally and internationally. John uses his professional experience as a business consultant and trainer to help Catholics of all ages deepen their love and knowledge of the one, true Church. | |
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* He is the author of the apologetics book, Catholic Truth for Catholic Teens: A Guide to Embracing and Defending Your Faith. This book helps Catholics, especially younger ones, to understand not only what they believe, but also why they believe it. It is currently being revised and updated. |
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* He is the author of the book, Christ-Centered Selling: A Scripturally Based Guide to Principled, Profitable Persuasion. Its focus is to help lead business people to a deeper relationship with God, through the practice of Christian principles at work. Go to www. christcenteredselling.com for more information. |
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* His current book is entitled Onward Catholic Soldier: Spiritual Warfare According to Scripture, the Church and the Saints. Relying heavily on Sacred Scripture and the advice of the Saints, the book presents the concepts of Spiritual Warfare in a simple, straight forward and safe manner. Ignorance is not a viable option when it comes to Spiritual Warfare. |
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* He is the host of St. Joseph Radio Presents, a weekly, worldwide radio program that can be heard over EWTN Radio that helps Catholics spread the truth of the Catholic faith. He has also been a frequent guest host for Catholic Answers Live radio program. |
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* He is a frequent speaker at parish missions, Marian conferences, Days of Recollection, Men’s conferences and retreats, Legatus meetings, guest lecturer at Catholic colleges and Catholics@work meetings, often speaking on ethics and spirituality in the workplace. He has led retreats and parish missions both nationally and internationally. |
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| Joseph C. Atkinson |
Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture
B.A., English, Kings College
B.Ed., Acadia University
B.Th., McGill University
M.Div., Montreal Diocesan Theological College
S.T.L., S.T.D. Pontifical John Paul II Institute, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Atkinson's work has included foundational research in developing the Biblical and theological basis of the Domestic Church, an ancient idea which has achieved critical prominence since Vatican II. He teaches on the Biblical structure of marriage and the family, on hermeneutics and the role of symbol, on the Jewish background of the family, and on the nature and role of covenant. He has produced a 13-part series with EWTN on the Domestic Church and has authored numerous articles on Scriptural exegesis and the Biblical vision of the family including "Ratzinger's ‘Crisis in Biblical Interpretation': 20th Anniversary Assessment," "Nuptiality as a Paradigmatic Structure of Biblical Revelation," and "Paternity in Crisis: Biblical and Philosophical Roots of Fatherhood," and presented the research report, "Primordial Biblical Triptych: The Symbolic Structure of Water in the OT," at the Catholic Biblical Association. His work also includes "The Revelation of Love in the Song of Songs" in The Way of Love (Ignatius Press) and "Family as Domestic Church: Developmental Trajectory, Legitimacy and Problems of Appropriation" (Theological Studies).
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MRS. CAROL BRESLIN
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Economics.
 ¨ Earned a Masters degree in Accounting & Organizational Development from the University of Michigan.
¨ Lived in Malaysia, 6 yrs., serving as Peace Corps volunteer. Was Acting Director
in the Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Office.
¨ National coordinator of Marian Catechists. Assists in her parish with RCIA, marriage
prep. for vicariate of the diocese of Lansing, MI.; teaches catechetics at a Boy’s school.
Worked in Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen in Detroit with husband Mike and met
Fr. John Hardon.
¨ Helped publish and re-publish some of Fr. Hardon’s manuscripts, and helped him to
further develop the Marian Catechists.
¨ Both Carole and Mike serve as coordinators of the Holy Spirit Parish Home School
Group.
¨ Carole served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for 8 years,
and still serves on the board of directors. She has spoken at a number of conferences
and published articles in various newsletters(including Homelitic and Pastoral Review).
She home schools her daughters (7th grade through High School senior).
Mrs. Clare Willis
Clare Willis has been homeschooling her four children (ages 19, 16, 14,
and 10)  for 14 years. Since beginning her home schooling journey in
1994, Clare has been involved in several homeschooling groups,
including serving on the board of Sacred Heart Home Educators for the
past 4 years. Her passion to provide a stimulating educational
environment for her own children has lead to creating events and
activities for the larger homeschooling community. Despite her eclectic
approach to homeschooling, she was able to manage the intricacies of
private college admissions and present a suitable transcript that
accurately reflected her son's skills and abilities. She appreciates the
many roads there are to college/trades/careers and presents
information for guiding your child on the path to which (s)he is led.
Clare's presentation discusses options for continuing to homeschool
through high school along with the honest obstacles presented. Learn
what tests and classes are needed to document transcripts for college
admission; ins and outs of collegiate options, as well as how to determine
what path fits the need of the child.
FR. PAUL SULLIVAN
After growing up in a large family in New York and after a short career as a
CPA, Fr. Paul Sullivan was ordained in June of 2007. He completed his seminary
formation at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. After ordination, he served as
Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Glendale. He is
currently beginning his third year of ministry in the Office of Vocations where
he serves as Director of Vocations for the diocese. He has also served as
Director of Mount Claret Retreat Center, chaplain to St. Mary's High School and
chaplain to the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Guadalupe home schooling groups.
Fr. Paul has organized and will host the Vocation's Panel for the Friday Teen and
Twenties Evening.
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Speakers