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Issue of August 31, 2003
Update Chancellor asks to meet alderman Following media reports that community activists continue to challenge the planned demolition of the closed and deteriorating St. Gelasius Church, archdiocesan Chancellor Jimmy Lago said he was willing to meet with Ald. Arenda Trautman about the issue. Statements in the media said that Trautman wanted the meeting, though Lago said his office had asked for just such a meeting a month ago and had no response. “Maybe now Ald. Trautman will respond to the request ... to meet with her regarding the reasons for the demolition, the need to retain the property for future ministerial use and, most important, to explain the significant presence that parishes, schools and Catholic Charities programs have in her ward.”
Bland honored Michael Bland, a therapist noted for his groundbreaking work with those who have been sexually abused by Catholic priests, is the winner of the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, from which he graduated in 2001. Bland, a therapist at the Center for Psychological Services in Oak Lawn, also works with the Archdiocese of Chicago and is a member of the National Review Board appointed to assess the U.S. bishops’ response to the sex abuse crisis.
News Muted response greets murder of pedophile The brutal murder in prison of defrocked Boston priest John J. Geoghan, a serial child molester whose case sparked a national scandal and forced the U.S. church to adopt major policy changes, drew a muted response from victims, attorneys and the Boston Archdiocese. Authorities said Geoghan, 68, was bound, beaten and strangled to death in his cell Aug. 23 by inmate Joseph L. Druce, who is already serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder of a gay man. The attack occurred in the protective custody unit at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum security prison in Shirley.
Vatican to discuss English liturgical translations The Vatican has convened a meeting with church leaders from English-speaking countries to discuss and clarify questions about the translation of liturgical texts. The Oct. 21 encounter will cover a wide range of topics, including the principles of translation used under new Vatican norms, the respective competencies of the Vatican congregation and bishops’ conferences, the role of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, known as ICEL, and the function of the Vatican-instituted Vox Clara Committee.
Sentimental journey to Fulton Sheen birthplace “Welcome, pilgrims from the North!” That was the greeting from the effervescent Karen Fulte, founder of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Communication Room in El Paso, Ill., as she hugged each pilgrim getting off the bus from Chicago. Forty-eight of us from 18 different parishes had departed the parking lot of Queen of Martyrs Church in Evergreen Park two hours earlier in a chartered bus, heading south on I-55 for the restored train depot/museum in this quiet town 28 miles from Peoria, where the famed communicator was born in 1895.
Starting out small, but Korean Catholics look to future Father Simon Lee has a favorite expression: “Small is beautiful.” It’s very fitting for the Korean Jesuit priest. Last October, Lee was given the mission to establish a Korean Catholic community in the North Shore area, and its beginnings were very small. “I started from almost nothing,” said Lee. “There are now about 120 Koreans in the parish. But we’re not really trying to attract large numbers. I’m more interested in encouraging the education of those who want it.” Lee is a resident at Immaculate Conception Church in Highland Park, and it is here that the Korean community celebrates Mass and participates in a growing number of events and groups.
St. Denis to celebrate work and the labor movement Worshipers at St. Denis Parish on the Southwest Side will pay tribute to their community’s long-time blue-collar makeup Aug. 31 with a “Mass for Workers” at 10:30 a.m. The Mass—and a procession beforehand and “Call for Workers’ Solidarity” following—mark the importance of Labor Day as more than the ritual end of summer, said Dominican Sister Norine Burns, the parish’s pastoral associate. “Work is so much a part of all of our experiences,” Burns said. “Everyone has stories about work, and it touches our lives in so many ways. It touches our families, it touches our churches. … Work is relating to other people. It’s more than just putting food on the table or making money to pay the rent. There’s a sense of pride that goes with it.”
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Rockaway’s also been home to generations of NYC firefighters; 496 were on active duty with the FDNY that fateful day. They lost 70 neighbors on Sept. 11, and two months later Flight 587 crashed in their backyard. Many experienced both events firsthand, including Boyle. His book, “Braving the Waves” is about the personal heroism of ordinary people—not just firemen—facing two catastrophes. It tells stories of courage, strong Catholic faith and a belief in resurrection. The NY Daily News said, “reading it is like shaking hands with the people who form the heart, soul and spine of the kind of place you’ve always wanted to call home.” It’s available at amazon.com discounted, and other bookstores at around $20. . . . Our Lady of the New Millennium statue will be part of the Sept. 11 observances at Villa Scalabrini Nursing and Rehab Center, 480 N. Wolf, Northlake, honoring police, firefighters, the armed forces and those who lost their lives in the attacks on 9-11, 2001. A candlelight procession and living rosary will follow the 7 p.m. Mass.