In this "Special Issue on Addiction Ministry" newsletter from the Office of Family Ministries of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, there are two articles of note.
On page 1 is the above title of an article by Dan Sarell that provides a useful introduction to Matt Talbot and briefly notes the influence of Matt's life on the eventual work of Indianapolis priest, Fr. Ralph Pfau, generally recognized as the first recovered priest in AA and founder of the National Catholic Council on Alcoholism and Drug Related Problems in 1948. (Note in this article that the author may be in error in reporting that Pope Benedict XVI wrote a paper on Matt when he was a boy; most sources state that it was Pope John Paul II who wrote such a paper as a boy and had hoped to be able to proclaim Matt as a patron saint of alcoholics during his life.)
The second article, "Standing on the Shoulers of a Giant," by Tom Meier on page 2 focuses solely on Fr. Ralph Pfau, who wrote Sobriety Without End and Sobriety and Beyond under the name of Fr. John Doe, which was originally published by the "Society of Matt Talbot Guild" and is now available at Hazelden.
He also wrote a series of Golden Books on recovery as well as his autobiography, Prodigal Shepherd.
OFM Newsletter Fall 2007
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