Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010.
He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, Inside the Passion, the only authorized, behind-the-scenes explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.
His most widely known books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple.
His most recent book is Spiritual But Not Religious: The Search for Meaning in a Material World.
Fr. John resides in Atlanta and serves as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.
Dear Liza, Your last note was alarming. Shocking. Disturbing. It has thrown me into severe agitation. If I had a window in this cursed cubicle, I would be screaming my
Dear Joe, I am very, very sorry to hear of your, well, your little “stumble”, as you euphemize it. I must say, however, that I’m not completely surprised. Keeping on
Dear Polly, Your complaints about your chaplain may be accurate, but they still disturb me. Faith doesn’t oblige you to call irresponsibility and scandal virtuous, but it does oblige you
Dear Frogger, I’ve got my suspicions about that psychology professor of yours with whom you’ve been spending so much time. OK, his scholarship is unquestionable and his popularity legendary, but
Dear Maggy, I know the weight of your studies is hard to bear; I know your schedule is overloaded; I know you want to pray more but can’t seem to
Dear Joseph, Persecution comes in many forms. The difficulties you described in your last note, in my opinion, are a type of persecution. So the question becomes, how will you
Dear Terry, I am duly impressed by the quantity of your good works. Getting your fellow Compass members to take shifts at the rest home and the orphanage and the
Dear Lisa, Letting “cafeteria” Catholics enrage you is almost as destructive as becoming one yourself. The devil loves division, and when faithful Catholics like yourself start angrily confronting less conscientious
Dear Jack, Some day, I am sure, you will have a chance to go to Rome. And when you do, you will have the further chance of visiting the mother
Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.
In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.
Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.
From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.
Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!
