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It is with sadness and prayerful concern that the Catholic community has witnessed the continued rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 infections and deaths. We stand in solidarity with the rest of the people of our state in trying to bring this pandemic to a rapid end. To that end, city and state officials have found it necessary to extend various restrictions in order to keep residents safe. With great sadness, this means that we will have to extend our current practice of celebrating Mass without the physical presence of the faithful until April 24, 2020. Until that date, no one is allowed to host gatherings of more than ten people and in various places in the state and diocese, the restriction is even tighter.

Bishop Konderal issues an official decree today suspending all public Masses and liturgies throughout the Diocese of Tulsa beginning Friday, March 20, 2020 until Wednesday April 8, 2020.

El Señor nos vuelve a conceder este año un tiempo propicio para prepararnos a celebrar con el corazón renovado el gran Misterio de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús, fundamento de la vida cristiana personal y comunitaria. Debemos volver continuamente a este Misterio, con la mente y con el corazón. De hecho, este Misterio no deja de crecer en nosotros en la medida en que nos dejamos involucrar por su dinamismo espiritual y lo abrazamos, respondiendo de modo libre y generoso.

This year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind and heart, for it will continue to grow within us in the measure that we are open to its spiritual power and respond with freedom and generosity.

Harrison Garlick. Chancellor and In-House Counsel for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, announced today that Bishop Konderla, in consultation with a diocesan search committee, has hired Dr. Christine Myers as the new Director of Religious Formation for the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma.

In his letter promulgating the Policies & Procedures for the Protection of Children & Young People (“Policies”), Bishop David Konderla states, “Our children, youth, and vulnerable adults are treasures to the Church, and as such the Diocese of Tulsa has a sacred obligation to protect them.” As part of that obligation and in adherence to the Policies, in May 2019, Bishop Konderla opened a preliminary investigation into an allegation of sexual abuse against a minor lodged against Father Joe Townsend, a priest of the Diocese of Tulsa.

Father James Martin, S.J., spoke at St. Joseph’s University earlier this week (Tuesday, September 17) on themes related to his book Building A Bridge. And as I expected, quite a few emails arrived in my inbox questioning his teaching on same-sex related issues and urging me to prevent his appearance. A local bishop is typically unable to do that, since most Catholic universities operate under the authority of the religious community that sponsors them. Father Martin has also, at times, been the target of bitter personal attacks. As I’ve said previously, such attacks are inexcusable and unChristian.

On July 5, 2019, the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma (“Diocese”) announced that Father Joe Townsend, a priest of the Diocese, had been placed on administrative leave due to a non-frivolous allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor. After several weeks, the still ongoing third-party investigation has provided the Diocese with a better understanding of the allegation lodged against Father Townsend and what needs to be done to proceed with the investigation.

At 3pm today, Harrison Garlick, Chancellor & In-House Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma released the following memo: As the head of the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma ("Diocese"), Bishop Konderla is fully committed to the Policies & Procedures for the Protection of Children & Young People ("Policies"). As part of that commitment, Bishop Konderla has placed Father Joe Townsend, a priest of the Diocese, on administrative leave due to a non-frivolous allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Bishop David Konderla announces second round of new priest assignments as well as the reestablisment of vicariates and the according assignments of priests to serve as Vicars Forane in addition to their present duties.

Today, Bishop David Konderla announced the following priest assignments to be effective on July 15, 2019:

Cada año, a través de la Madre Iglesia, Dios «concede a sus hijos anhelar, con el gozo de habernos purificado, la solemnidad de la Pascua, para que […] por la celebración de los misterios que nos dieron nueva vida, lleguemos a ser con plenitud hijos de Dios» (Prefacio I de Cuaresma). De este modo podemos caminar, de Pascua en Pascua, hacia el cumplimiento de aquella salvación que ya hemos recibido gracias al misterio pascual de Cristo: «Pues hemos sido salvados en esperanza» (Rm 8,24). Este misterio de salvación, que ya obra en nosotros durante la vida terrena, es un proceso dinámico que incluye también a la historia y a toda la creación. San Pablo llega a decir: «La creación, expectante, está aguardando la manifestación de los hijos de Dios» (Rm 8,19). Desde esta perspectiva querría sugerir algunos puntos de reflexión, que acompañen nuestro camino de conversión en la próxima Cuaresma.

Each year, through Mother Church, God “gives us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed… as we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ” (Preface of Lent I). We can thus journey from Easter to Easter towards the fulfilment of the salvation we have already received as a result of Christ’s paschal mystery – “for in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24). This mystery of salvation, already at work in us during our earthly lives, is a dynamic process that also embraces history and all of creation. As Saint Paul says, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom 8:19). In this perspective, I would like to offer a few reflections to accompany our journey of conversion this coming Lent.

In a Feb. 5 letter to his brother priests, Bishop David Konderla introduced a new vicariate structure for the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. A vicariate is a group of parishes within the Diocese that are defined by geographic region for the purposes of support and administration.

Now that some days have passed since the November meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, I want to share some of my personal thoughts on our deliberations and what I think it means for the Church going forward. I believe that the work of the bishops and the issue of clerical abuse is unfolding between the two poles of fatalism and faith. The fatalism was aptly represented by one of the many emails that came to me during the week of the bishop’s meeting. It read: “Proud of yourself and the papacy? Did fine work this week. God ____ you all. Resign

Bishop David Konderla issued letters to the clergy and to all parishioners of the diocese announcing that he is joining the U.S. bishops in Seven Days of Prayer and Reparation in response to the tragedy of clergy sexual abuse in the Church.

As the annual celebration of Halloween approaches, we are reminded of the importance of maintaining the Catholic meaning and purpose of all holy days, especially those which have been adopted and adapted by the culture around us. Over time, popular culture has made it difficult to discern the authentic spirit of this great feast, an important time when we, God's pilgrim church on earth, rejoice in the lives of all God's saints whom we wish to follow into eternal life.

Earlier this year, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George (FSGM) from St. Catherine School and Parish were selected by Bishop David Konderla to be the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma’s 2018 Lumen Christi “Light of Christ” nominee. Today, Catholic Extension announced that the Sisters were selected as one of eight finalists out of 47 nominees from 87 mission dioceses across the country.

It was during the "long Lent of 2002," that the Church in America was forced to acknowledge both the fact of sexual abuse within the Church's clergy, and the systematic attempt, extending back over decades, to hide this abuse.

On Sunday, August 26, 2018, the Most. Rev. David A. Konderla, Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma, commented on his personal Facebook page concerning the eleven-page testimony given by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. The full statement, which included a link to the testimony, follows: