12/20/98 Jesus: Head of his body, the Church
Almost 35 years ago, on Dec. 21, 1963, 1 was ordained a priest. The ordination took place in St. Pascal Church on Irving Park Road and Melvina because the pastor, Father T.J. Neckerman, was able to convince the Vicar General, Bishop Cletus O’Donnell, that he should give permission for me to come down from Canada, where I was in seminary, and be ordained at home.

12/13/98 The Word made Flesh: serving Christ in the sick and the poor
Last week, as I was writing this column about the Word made words in a new Lectionary, I also had in my mind and heart a visit to a place where the Word is made flesh in the bodies of the sick and the poor: St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center in East Englewood.

12/06/98 What is God’s name? Language in a new Lectionary
Last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, the Church began a new liturgical year, and many parishes began using a revised version of the New American Bible Lectionary which will become normative for liturgical use in this country. Advent prepares us for the celebration of Christmas, the first of the mysteries of Jesus’ life that we contemplate and celebrate throughout the Church’s year of Grace.

11/22/98 Conversion to Christ and Theological Conversation:
                  insight from Cardinal Newman
In the past two weeks, I’ve met with the national directors of Catholic Campus Ministry, an association which grew out of the Newman Clubs which have been established on the campuses of secular universities in the last two generations to strengthen the faith of Catholics studying there.

11/15/98 Prayer and schools--both Catholic and public
In the last few days, prayer has been on my mind because I was asked to write a short article for Upturn, the publication of the Association of Chicago Priests.

11/08/98 Protecting children from others and from themselves
Two weeks ago, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations spoke in New York about protecting children. He quoted back to the delegates the United Nations’ own documents on the rights of the child: “... the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.”

10/25/98 Reformation Sunday: justification and holiness
On October 31, while most Catholics might think only of Halloween, our Lutheran and other Protestant friends and neighbors also remember and celebrate Martin Luther’s posting of 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg in 1517, arguing against what he considered abuses in the Church’s teaching on personal salvation.

10/11/98 The Pope speaks about God: John Paul II as theologian
Pope John Paul II marks this month the 20th anniversary of his election to the Chair of Peter as Bishop of Rome.

10/04/98 On Respect Life Sunday: an issue defining these times
As election time draws near, the Church’s teaching on issues that are not only political but also moral takes on prominence in public debate and in the inner dialogue called formation of conscience.

09/20/98 Celebrating the millennium: A moment of conversion
Last July, I sent a letter to all the pastors of the archdiocese presenting in general terms the plans for our celebration of the Great Jubilee.

09/23/98 A conversation begins: Cardinal George's 1st column
“In the beginning was the Word...” The opening line of the Gospel according to St. John opens up for us a world created by conversation. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God speaks a word and the world comes into being.

06/07/98 Cardinal George’s remarks to the pope
Vatican City (CNS) -- Here is the text of Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George’s remarks to Pope John Paul II May 30, during the “ad limina” visits of bishops from Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.