Father Jim Ferry was THE FATHER OF CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL in North NJ in the 1970s. I can think of no comparable Catholic leader in terms of depth and breath of influence on the Church in NJ in my lifetime. He was capital-Z zealous: flamingly, fiercely, explosively, recklessly, passionately in love with Christ and the Gospel. Straight-up, high-octane, uber-Charismatic-Catholicism. He was Michael Jordan in the last minutes of a tight playoff game. I loved this man. I am one of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of his proteges.
My first encounter with him was at our charismatic prayer meeting, 1973 in Christ the King Church in Jersey City. He stepped forward to deliver a talk and immediately fell to his knees, arms stretched out in "orans" position, and asked for our prayers, that Jesus anoint him with the Holy Spirit in his talk. I was stunned! I had never seen such a humble gesture by a priest! I knew I was in a good place!
He was a type A male, a man's man. High testosterone. A priest told me that early in his priesthood Ferry had a bad reputation for his temper as a CYO basketball coach: he would come close to a fist fight with referees. By the time I knew him this energy was channeled into evangelization.
A group of us Jersey City charismatics were in the house of Ferry's sister Helen in Bayonne in 1973 talking about the film Last Tango in Paris which was infamous for its graphic sex scenes. The talk was very negative against the film. I was quiet, taking it all in; basically I was in agreement. But I had read a positive review in America about the artistic quality of the film. So I was of two minds about it, but kept silent. Fr. Ferry walked in and was asked his opinion. I was delighted: What would he say? If he condemned it he might be a moralizing prude; if he approved it a relativizing libertine. He paused thoughtfully. "I haven't seen it; and do not plan to." Another intriguing pause. "But...." Another pause. "All I know...is that...what I really want is Jesus. I doubt this film will draw me to Jesus." Great answer!
His most infamous incident was that he prayed publicly over a corpse, for resurrection from the dead, at a wake. He became something of a laughing stock in the Newark clergy. The incident endeared him to me all the more. In the Renewal we were encouraged to step out and take risk; to be unintimidated by social expectations; to respond to inspirations of the Holy Spirit, even at the price of making a mistake or losing face. For me, then and (not quite so much) now, the event was an inspiration.
He was a priest's priest, with many close, strong friendships among the Newark clergy. He was a man of the Church: passionate in his loyalty and love. He was pulling the Renewal deeper into the Church and the opening the Church to the Holy Spirit. His was not the movement away from the sacraments and institutional Church into a literalist, countercultural Pentecostalism.
I recall hearing Cardinal Suenens, one of the four presiders at the Vatican Council, speak at the People of Hope center in Convent Station. This influential man was baptized in the Holy Spirit within that community (as I understand it) and later designated by Pope Paul VI to guide the movement within the Church.
I attended his standing-room-only funeral at St. Antoninus in Newark and was deeply moved. I had questions at the time. Why, approaching death, did he invite many to visit him and ask their forgiveness. This seemed a gesture of humility and contrition. But, he had done so much good! Was this really necessary? Also: why did he hand leadership of the People of Hope over to lay people and detach himself, becoming pastor in Newark. What followed was that the lay leadership, with little real Church experience, followed the guidance of the Sword of the Spirit association and got into big trouble with Archbishop Gerity. That would never have happened had Ferry remained in charge.
In November 2024, these questions were largely answered by an 8-part podcast, The Shadow of Hope, by investigative journalist Molly Crowe. The documentary is a criticism of the community as overly controlling. It showcases interviews, mostly but not all highly negative, as well as meticulous research in the archives of Seton Hall University.
A consistent theme throughout the interviews was the contrast between Ferry and what the community became. Ferry was a free spirit, spontaneous, optimistic, welcoming, warm, effervescent. Under the guidance of the Sword of the Spirit, the People of Hope became controlling, suspicious of the world, defiant of ecclesial authority, extreme in gender-roles and authority structures.
I found the podcast to be professional and credible, if one-sided in its negativity. It confirmed my own impression of Ferry and the trajectory of his community as he retired. The last, 8th episode, answered my questions. It happens that Father Jim was having a romantic affair with an adult woman participant in the movement for some time in his ministry. It was a discrete affair, not widely known beyond the inner circles. It took some delicate investigation to unveil this. According to the narration, the lay leadership of the People of Hope were stern and unforgiving. Interestingly, some of his friends at the national level wanted to show more mercy.
In any case, it was now clear why he asked so sincerely for forgiveness and why he detached from his own baby.
I was not surprised. He never presented himself as a saint. His humanity and virility were blatant; and there was a humility about him, a genuine contrition. I was not scandalized. Granting that violation of his vow of chastity is significant, it was refreshing that it involved an adult woman and seemed to be a relationship of mutual reverence and affection.
I was endeared all the more to him; and all the more inspired by him. He was sorry for his sin. He was humiliated and disciplined. This all the more exemplified the Gospel he so fervently preached: God loves you! Repent from sin. I am so grateful that even as he was apparently caught in the compulsion of desire, he did not despair or retreat from his mission. He threw himself all the more into it. Knowing all the time he was first on line to confession!
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