This week The Catholic New World readies itself for the June 24 Eucharistic Celebration 2000 at Soldier Field.

CNW also asks, “What are you reading this summer?” Let us know by e-mail, [email protected]

Bishop's Column

Field of Faith, Eucharistic Celebration 2000
The Light in a field of faith

Fireworks may burst into the afternoon sky above Comiskey Park on June 24, but their glow might not compare with that of the tens of thousands expected to spend their Saturday in fellowship, singing hymns of celebration of a different type of illumination: the Light of the World.
At Soldier Field, for the feast of Corpus Christi, Catholics will come together to let their light shine.
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Don’t miss it!

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Lago named 1st lay chancellor of archdiocese

Cardinal George has named Jimmy M. Lago the first lay chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The move was one of several major personnel changes the cardinal announced last week. These appointments, he said, will improve administrative functions at the Pastoral Center; help solidify the financial stability of economically troubled Catholic schools; and increase focus on racial conciliation in church and society.
Lago currently is archbishop’s delegate for operations and government relations. Father John P. Smyth, executive director of Maryville Academy, has been appointed special assistant for grant schools; and Heart of Mary Sister Anita P. Baird, executive assistant to the archbishop, will become director of the Office for Racial Justice.
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Cease Fire

On June 3, Gov. George Ryan and Mayor Daley joined the parishioners of St. Adrian Church in a march on Chicago’s Near Southwest Side against gun violence in the neighborhood.
There have been seven shootings in the area since March 1, said Father Ted Ostrowski, pastor of St. Adrian.
“Our hope is to get the message out that gun violence is a problem that we all—especially parishes— must work together with our neighbors to solve,” said Ostrowski.
The march is an extension of the parish’s participation, along with the Southwest Organizing Project, in “CeaseFire: The Campaign to Stop the Shooting” launched by the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention. Members of nearby St. Clare Church also marched against gun violence.

Catholic New World, Catolico, earn press awards

The Catholic New World, and its sister publication, Chicago Catolico, were among the honorees recognized by the Catholic Press Association at its annual convention held May 24-26 in Baltimore.
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School on Wheels brings lessons to students

“When we started, we found that a large number of people could not attend literacy classes because they couldn’t get transportation,” said Sister Marybeth McDermott. “We decided to bring the school to them.”
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Interview

Faithful journeys in Chicago, Lebanon and beyond
This week, Catholic New World talks with Dominican Sister Joan McGuire, archdiocesan director of ecumenical and interreligious affairs.

Feature

Summer Books: What are you reading?

The Catholic New World asked a dozen Chicagoland Catholics what they were reading over the summer. There responses ranged from Saul Bellow and Stephen King to the eternal bestseller, the Bible.
But that still doesn’t answer the question: What are YOU reading?
E-mail us at [email protected] and let us know who you are and what books and authors you’re reading.
Responses will be published in our June 25 issue.

Papal books: fact and fiction

“Man of the Millennium: John Paul II” by Luigi Accattoli, reviewed by Father Edmund Siedlecki, pastor emeritus of Five Holy Martyrs Parish, Chicago.

“The Plot to Kill the Pope” by Tad Szulc, reviewed by Father William P. Murphy, pastor emeritus of Queen of Martyrs Parish, Evergreen Park.
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Bringing the message home
Father Leo Mahon returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago from Panama 25 years ago, but his experiences bringing the Gospel to the slums of Panama City resonate through "Jesus and His Message: An Introduction to the Good News."
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Parish Pride
St. Barnabas Church
10134 S. Longwood Drive

This is a city parish, nestled among Beverly Hills’ tree-canopied streets and rolling lawns, while an occasional Metra train snakes by to the Loop. But parish life is bustling, preparing to celebrate its 75th jubilee with Cardinal George at an 11 a.m. Mass June 11, their patron’s feast day.
Parishioners take pride in gently blending generations, races, other faiths and ethnic cultures. Like St. Barnabas in Scripture, they welcome the stranger and “take him by the hand.”

Church Clips

Chicago connection — The new St. Joan of Arc Church, a “modern Gothic,” in Phoenix, Ariz., has a lot of Chicago in it. The sacristy has a massive solid oak vesting cabinet, originally built for (our) Cardinal Samuel Stritch while he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, and rescued from a church that closed in 1994. Its Blessed Sacrament chapel also features the personal altar of Blessed Katherine Drexel. Hand-carved of solid walnut and originally in the private chapel in her home, she was praying before this altar when she received her vocation. After Blessed Katherine’s canonization in October, the altar will become a second-class relic and a place of pilgrimage.

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