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The Catholic New World
News Digest: Week in Summary
Issue of February 2, 2003

Update

Big Greeley gift funds schools
Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago will benefit from a $420,000 gift from Father Andrew M. Greeley.

Greeley, a Chicago priest, sociologist and writer, said the gift will bolster the new Catholic Schools Endowment Fund established by the Office for Catholic Schools.

Proceeds of the endowment fund will provide a scholarship pool to help “make Catholic education a reality for families who … do not have the means to afford tuition,” said Nicholas Wolsonovich, superintendent of schools.

Greeley, 75, graduated from St. Angela elementary school on the West Side. He was presented a special “Heart of the Schools” award Jan. 29 by Cardinal George during ceremonies honoring outstanding teachers during Catholic Schools Week.

Greeley said, “Catholic schools in the inner city are the most important, most generous and most Christian activity in which American Catholicism has ever engaged.” He said the gift is a way of repaying the church for what he received as a child.

Greeley’s “generous contribution will help make a difference in the lives of our young people,” said Cardinal George.

Tax time again
It’s income tax time again, and the Archdiocese of Chicago is reminding parents and guardians of the school tax credit that’s available.

The credit could save parents of qualifying children in parochial and others schools up to $500 on Illinois income taxes, said Thomas Brennan, archdiocesan financial services director.

The tax credit was passed in 1999 and allows a credit for certain education expenses.

For information, get tax advice or visit www.revenue.state.il.usa/taxforms/Incm2002/ind/IL1040ED.pdf

 

News

Life-march mourns Roe at 30
Jean Healey said she came to Washington for the Jan. 22 March for Life “to show the world there are citizens who love life, see this as a human rights issue and want to see justice for women and babies.”

“I like to think of us as the abolitionists of the 21st century,” she said before stepping off for the 30th annual march marking the Supreme Court’s companion decisions, Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, legalizing abortion.

Groups—including scores of people from Chicago—gathered across the city in the morning, then proceeded to the area between the White House and Washington Monument before marching to the Supreme Court.

 

Rachel offers hope
Chicago-area commuters will soon see haunting images of women looking out at them from billboards and transit cards, reminding them that women are victims of abortion too.

The month-long ad campaign, with the tag line, “Something inside dies after an abortion,” promotes Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing program. All the ads, whether on billboards, transit cards or radio stations, will include the program’s toll-free number, (888) 456-HOPE.

 

Women lead St. Vincent de Paul Society into future
Claudia Pieske and Mary Van Wazer say they first came to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul because they wanted to help other people.

Now the women know better.

“A person becomes a Vincentian for the spiritual growth of that person,” said Pieske, who became the society’s executive director Jan. 2. “I don’t think most people in the society think that is the reason they are becoming members when they join. But it’s the spiritual growth that keeps you doing this work.”

 

Abstinence education tells kids to say yes to life, positive values
“You’re not the only one.”

For teens that battle with peer pressure on a daily basis, that is an encouraging statement. Especially for those who want to wait until marriage before having sex.

That type of support plays a role in abstinence education in some parochial and public schools.

Since 1985, a group called Project Reality has provided a framework for schools to promote sexual abstinence and character building. The nonprofit organization based in northwest suburban Golf provides its program free to schools, through a state grant. It offers “Game Plan” for grades seven to 10 and “I Can Do That” for grades four to seven. It is working on a program for grades nine through 12.

 

WTTW relives ‘Angels’ painful past
The Irish have a saying, “It would knock a tear from a stone.” The first full-length documentary about the 1958 Our Lady of Angels School fire, “Angels Too Soon,” isn’t easy to watch. Narrated by John Callaway, it premieres a new season of WTTW11’s “Chicago Stories” at 8 p.m. Feb. 6.

No therapists helped the traumatized survivors. Many were hospitalized, some badly burned or with bones broken in their leap for life. It was another era. The kids were expected to tough it out and many weren’t allowed to express feelings or persistent fears. Airing these survivors’ stories today helps put a human face on the tragedy. Each gives a glimpse of the nightmares that still haunt them after the deaths of 92 of their fellow students and three BVM sisters who taught them 45 years ago.


Movies at a Glance
Capsule reviews of movies from the U.S. Catholic Conference's Office for Film and Broadcasting, judged according to artistic merit and moral suitability. Go to reviews
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Church Clips by Dolores Madlener
    
Dolores Madlener
a column of benevolent gossip

Chicago Connection — Suellen Hoy, guest professor of history at Notre Dame University, has sleuthed another Chicago religious women’s story and it’s the cover feature of the Fall 2002 Chicago Historical Society magazine, “Chicago History.” While giving kudos to the Protestant lay women who worked in enterprises like Hull House, Hoy has researched the trail-blazing white (and black) Catholic nuns who followed the footsteps of Mother Katharine Drexel (now a saint). They dedicated their lives to educating and caring for Chicago’s growing black population starting in 1912 when Drexel came to open St. Monica’s (later as St. Elizabeth’s). Hoy has filled 20 pages with historic photos (many from The Catholic New World files), also unfurling with pride the self-sacrifice and dedication of communities besides the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1933 the Franciscan Sisters from Dubuque, Ia., came to Corpus Christi Parish. Hoy says few of these sister-missionaries had completed high school. Many had been impoverished factory workers. Hoy interviewed a number of Chicagoans, including TV anchor Warner Saunders, who praised his education at Corpus Christi. Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth opened St. Joseph’s on Loomis in 1933 and later five African-American Oblate Sisters of Providence taught at Holy Name of Mary School from 1941 until last year. If you lived in the neighborhoods, went to one of the schools, or just like hearing sisters get praise, you can obtain this issue for $5 by calling the society at (312) 642-4600.

 

Milestones — Brother Eamon Gavin, 1942 alum of De La Salle Institute (S. Wabash), just celebrated 60 years of service as a Brother of the Christian Schools. In his third tenure at the school, Gavin, with a lifelong interest in sports, is in a number of sports Halls of Fame, including the Illinois High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. . . . John Simmerling, ’57 alum of the University of Notre Dame, received an award for his achievements in fine and visual arts from his alma mater Jan. 24. He’s an expert on Chicago architecture and history (especially the Beverly area) and in the preservation of churches like Holy Family (S. May) and the church he attends, Sacred Heart (S. Church).

 

Scoping out the pope — Pauline Books & Media has a new, informative Web site: www.johnpaulpapacy.org It celebrate’s our Holy Father’s contribution to the church and culture and spotlights one of his thoughts each day from homilies and talks. It also has a number of fascinating clues on how a pope is chosen, where the cardinal-electors bunk in Vatican City, who are excluded from voting, new secrecy regulations because of modern technology, and what happens should the cardinals not be able to agree on a new pope. The Web site is a good homework tool for youngsters as well.

 

Super-duper pride — Mt. Carmel High School can brag that an alum played in Super Bowl XXXVII: Simeon Rice, champion defensive end for the Tampa Buccaneers. Carmel’s head and assistant coaches, Frank and Dave Lenti, just happen to be cousins of Oakland Raiders Coach Bill Callahan, who was raised in Roseland and is a Mendel Man.

 

Perfect ‘pipe’ line — Historic St. James Church (S. Wabash), whose cornerstone was laid in 1875, is the site—and its 1891 Roosevelt organ is the sound—for a new CD recording. A first for the prestigious Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, it features works played by William Aylesworth, Wolfgang Rübsam, and Michael Surratt. sonatas by Joseph Rheinberger and Alexandre Guilmant are included, as well as vintage works by Chicago composers. There are even selections written by Frederic Archer, organist of Saint James from 1890 to 1895. Proceeds from the disk will assist in eventual restoration of the wonderful instrument. CDs may be purchased at the church, or ordered for $17.95 each (postage and handling included), by check or m.o. payable to Chicago-Midwest Chapter OHS and sent to: Robert E. Woodworth, Jr., 6007 North Sheridan Road, #39B Chicago, IL, 60660. Stay tuned—the chapter plans to issue others recordings featuring historic organs in the arch in the future.

 

‘Locks of Love’ — There are some new short hairdos these days at Regina Dominican High School (Wilmette). Over a dozen seniors were inspired to cut their locks when a classmate, Carolyn Shepard, got leukemia in 2001 and lost her hair after chemo treatments. Fellow student Kieran Welsh-Phillips donated 14 inches and was the first to get hers cut on Sept. 28, the first anniversary of Carolyn’s diagnosis and of her survival. “Locks of Love” is a non-profit organization that will make hairpieces from human hair for financially underprivileged kids or teens 18 and under. A donation must be 10 inches or longer. Everyone says the Reginites’ new short cuts look “lovely.”

 

Artists against the odds — Chicago’s Catholic Guild for the Blind is seeking serious submissions of two- and three-dimensional works by artists who are blind or visually impaired. It’s a great opportunity to make others aware of their work. Over half the pieces available for sale at the Guild’s first successful art exhibit were sold. Applications and more details are available by phoning (312) 236-8569. To view some of the earlier exhibit pieces and learn more about the artists, visit: www.guildfortheblind.org

 

Land of the free — Let’s thank the Knights of Columbus for their monetary grant that helped underwrite EWTN’s upbeat and complete coverage of the 30th annual March for Life in Washington D.C. Jan. 22. Ave Maria University and Law School were also big contributors.

Send your benevolent gossip to Church Clips, 721 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60610 or via e-mail to: [email protected]

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