
Father Glenn Kohrman
Appointed by Bishop John Michael D'Arcy as the eleventh pastor in 1998.
The following is by Mark Weber:
Why does a young man who likes golf, girls, billiards, motorcycles, family, and who has an engineering degree from Purdue University get off the bike, kiss the girls goodbye and say, I want to follow Jesus?
That's what Glenn Kohrman, from New Haven did, and his explanation of his urge to follow the holy footsteps was because he observed that "Christ went to others to let them know how the Father had sent Him to redeem us and open the doors of salvation to us."
Now, as a priest for 17 years and pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish, Elkhart, where he offers Mass in Spanish and English, he feels that his priesthood is specially enriched by the Mass and Confession and says, "...in Confession, you can help people really experience the mercy of God in a very real and tangible way."
In response to the question, "What can be done to encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life?", Father Kohrman says, "If we live our faith, it will be very attractive. God wants us to be happy and if we follow His perfect will, we will simply be more perfectly happy! We must encourage everybody to seriously ask the question, What does God want me to do with my life, to serve my spouse or serve the Church to be Christ's servant through religious life." He goes on to say, "Seminarians come from families, the best place to grow...(seminarian comes from the word seed) seminarians are in good Catholic families!"
As a challenge facing the Church, Father Glenn Kohrman observes that many today confuse pluralism with denying that which is true. People are often afraid to proclaim the richness and the beauty of all the Church's teachings. The only reason why something is sinful is because it hurts the person or hurts society; from abortion to contraception, these have done profound damage to the Culture of Life!
As to the greatest hope for the Church, he sees what seems to be an awakening among the youth to the richness of the Church and her mission and a tremendous vigor in areas of the Church that are recapturing the beauty of the Faith.