Issue of July 20, 2003

Archbishop Rigali to Philadelphia

Pope John Paul II July 15 accepted the resignation of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua of Philadelphia and named Archbishop Justin F. Rigali of St. Louis to succeed him.

Cardinal Bevilacqua, who turned 80 in June, has headed the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 1988. Archbishop Rigali, 68, has been archbishop of St. Louis since 1994. Before that he spent 30 years in Vatican service, culminating in posts as president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, 1985-89, and then secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops.

In Philadelphia he will lead an archdiocese of 1.5 million Catholics—nearly triple the St. Louis Catholic population—in 282 parishes. Philadelphia’s last four archbishops have been cardinals.

Since his move to St. Louis, Archbishop Rigali has had an active role in international affairs and quickly became involved in national affairs as well. Cardinal Bevilacqua, originally a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been a bishop since 1980. He headed the Pittsburgh Diocese from 1983 until 1988, when he was made archbishop of Philadelphia. Pope John Paul made him a cardinal in June 1991.

Changing roles at Maryville

Father John Smyth has turned over day-to-day administration of Maryville Academy, the much-vaunted 21-campus child-welfare operation, to Dr. James Guidi.

Guidi, who previously ran Maryville’s psychiatric hospital, will report to Smyth, who will spend more time fundraising.

Guidi will assume full control of an operation which has been criticized in recent months for lack of control over wards at Maryville, where troubled children, often victims of abuse or suffering from psychiatric problems, are placed by the state. Department of Children and Family Services officials had warned it might remove its wards unless changes were made.

Smyth, legendary for his compassion and willingness to never turn away a child in need, has led Maryville for four decades.

 

News

The archdiocese, by the numbers
It’s the Archdiocese of Chicago by the numbers: 375 parishes, 248 elementary schools, 42 secondary schools, 21 hospitals and whole lot more.

The numbers are part of the annual Data Composite released this month by archdiocesan Office of Research and Planning.

 

Settlements made in old clergy sexual abuse cases
Attorney praises archdiocese’s openness
Four victims of sexual abuse by former priest Vincent McCaffrey will share in a roughly $4 million settlement from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

The settlement was announced July 9 by Minnesota-based attorney Jeffrey Anderson at a press conference that included one of the victims, Eddie Vincent; Barbara Blaine, the founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests; and Chicago attorney Marc Brown.

 

Serrans meet, press vocations
From as far away as Thailand and as near as downtown Chicago, 750 religious and laypersons attended the 61st Serra International annual convention here to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Serra clubs in more than 800 dioceses worldwide make it one of the most popular lay apostolates. This year’s convention in early July was themed “Put Out into the Deep—Vocations for the New Century.” Each year’s convention serves as “the spiritual font for the next year,” as well as an opportunity to focus on organizational aspects of the group, said John Woodward, executive director of the Chicago-based organization.

 

U.S. Catholic aid made a difference: Chicago priest
In the past dozen years Msgr. R. George Sarauskas, a priest ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago, has overseen the channeling of nearly $73 million in aid from U.S. Catholics to the churches of post-communist Russia and Central and Eastern Europe.

“The material needs of the church in this part of the world still exist, though they’re certainly not where they were 13 years ago,” the outgoing executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Office to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe said.

 

Camp turns tragedy of burns into a future of hope
“I was burned when I was four years old,” said Sophia Panos of west suburban Lisle. “I pulled a pot of boiling water off of the stove and it fell on me.” She underwent several surgeries to correct the burns on her face, chest and legs.

Twelve years ago she first attended the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance’s “Camp I Am Me” for burn victims. Now, at 20, she is a junior counselor for other campers.

This year, 90 children from 8 to16 attended the June 22-28 camp near northwest suburban Fox Lake.

“The camp gives children the opportunity to be children again,” said Barry Bennett, a social worker at Loyola University’s Burn Center, who has volunteered at camp for nine years. “It is also a chance to emphasize that the campers are children, not burn victims.”

 

Young adults find ‘ministry in the mountains’
Two Chicago-area women were among a score of Catholic young people who gathered to learn, pray and reflect on careers in ministry last month.

Gilmarie Garay, a member of St. Sylvester Parish in Logan Square and a student at Dominican University in River Forest, and Elizabeth Lehnerer, who grew up in Our Lady of Knock Parish in Lansing and attends Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, both attended “Ministry in the Mountains,” a weeklong experience in Colorado Springs sponsored by the Aquinas Institute of Theology.

 

Cyclists pedal anti-poverty message in Chicago
Escorted by a phalanx of Cook County Sheriff’s Police squad cars, more than two dozen bicyclists wheeled their way from South Michigan Avenue into the parking lot at Old St. Mary’s Church.

In orange, white and gray cycling jerseys, the 20 riders on the cross-country bike trek welcomed the chance to dismount, grab ice-cold bottles of water and cartons of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and share the story of poverty in America.

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s “Brake the Cycle of Poverty” bicycle tour left California June 1 with the goal of spreading awareness of poverty and CCHD’s efforts to help. The riders plan to arrive in Washington D.C. Aug. 1 after 3,838 miles on the road.

 

Priests, religious decline, but U.S. Catholics gaining
While the number of priests and religious in the United States continued to decline, the number of Catholics kept pace with the U.S. population growth in 2002.

The 2003 edition of the Official Catholic Directory, known as the Kenedy Directory, showed that Catholics increased by about 2 percent to 66.4 million, on par with overall population growth. Catholics represent about 23 percent of the U.S. population.

 

An ‘American adventure’ for NDHS girl
At first glance, Miyuki Iguchi appears to be a fairly typical member of Notre Dame High School for Girls’ class of 2003: She’s a member of the choir, treasurer of one of the school’s ethnic heritage clubs and will attend college next year.

But as the first international student to graduate from the 65-year old Catholic school on the city’s Northwest Side, Iguchi, 19, has gained a valuable perspective on Christianity, Catholic education and American culture.

 

No respect
Book details new anti-Catholic bias
Anti-Catholicism is enjoying a renewed lease on life in the United States. So says Philip Jenkins in his latest book, “The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice” (Oxford University Press).

A professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, Jenkins starts off by explaining that he left the Catholic Church and since the late 1980s has belonged to the Episcopal Church. “I have no vested interest in defending the Roman Catholic Church, nor can I fairly be described as an uncritical defender of Catholic positions,” he writes.

    

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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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