2004: Catholics pray for peace, unity in times of division

By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

In some ways, 2004 was déjà vu all over again. Many of the top stories for Catholics—the sexual abuse crisis; the war in Iraq; ongoing efforts to address poverty and health care—were continuations of the stories from previous years. An added wrinkle this year was the divisive nature of the federal elections, especially for Catholics.

Here are some of the stories that filled the pages of The Catholic New World in 2004:

 

Abuse crisis

The year began with anticipation of the Feb. 27 release of two national reports on the sexual abuse crisis, showing that about 4,400 Catholic clergymen, or about 4 percent of those who served from 1950 to 2002, were accused of sexually abusing children during that period.

In the archdiocese, records show reason to believe 55 priests sexually abused children during the same period, or about 2 percent of those in active ministry.

While many people found the numbers shocking, the release of the studies showed the bishops were serious about dealing with the issue, said archdiocesan Chancellor Jimmy Lago.

“The bishops asked for this report because they are serious about dealing with it,” Lago said of the study conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “They are serious about keeping them (abusers) out of ministry.”

Later in the spring, Illinois Appellate Court Justice Anne Burke announced her decision to step down as interim chair of the National Review Board; board member Nicholas Cafardi, dean of the law school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, succeeded her in November.

Also in November, Lago announced that the archdiocese was found to be in full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and its accompanying norms in the 2004 audit.

By the end of August, the archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and mYoung People said it had trained 20,000 staff members and volunteers to recognize situations that could put children in danger of being abused—“40,000 eyes” looking out for God’s children, according to Jan Slattery, office director. The archdiocese had also completed background checks of about 30,000 employees and volunteers and was working on finishing the project.

Social justice

Parishes in some of the most violence-plagued areas of the archdiocese continue programs to stem the bloodshed, whether by offering residents computer training and connecting them with the outside world or simply reminding them that violence is wrong.

At the same time, violence, housing and poverty were among the topics addressed at the first annual archdiocesan Justice Day, held July 24 on the Lakeshore Campus of Loyola University Chicago and at the Social Justice Summer Institute, a weeklong conference for social justice workers from dioceses around the country.

Racial unity was the theme of the Catholics United for Racial Justice rally May 2 at the Chicago Historical society. The event included performances by African-American Gospel choirs, Mexican mariachis, a Polish children’s choir and Irish step dancers, among others. The performances were interspersed with prayers for racial harmony from Catholic school students.

 

Elections

While the presidential campaigns virtually ignored Illinois during the 2004 elections, preferring to focus on about 10 so-called swing states, Catholic voters here took seriously their duty to weigh the issues before deciding on a candidate.

Debate over whether it is ever permissible for a Catholic voter to support a politician who holds pro-abortion views, whether such politicians or the voters who support them, and the place of issues such as poverty, war and health care in the decision making process raged for months, with several workshops and conferences on the issue.

Evangelization

As “Spreading the Holy Fire” took hold across the archdiocese, several parishes began making efforts to reach out to their neighbors.

At St. Gerald Parish in Oak Lawn, the effort took the form of a door-to-door canvass of the parish community, inviting everyone, from non-practicing Catholics to members of other faiths or none at all—to the church.

Participants reported a more positive response than they had expected.

“I can’t believe the openness I see in people,” said Leonard DeClue, who organized “Gerald’s Heralds.”

 

Financial scandals

In September, archdiocesan officials announced they had recovered more than $1 million from Father Brian Lisowski, who skimmed the money from St. Bede Parish over more than five years. Lisowski, 49, stepped down as pastor of the Southwest Side parish in July after being found by police with a woman believed to be a prostitute. No charges were filed in that incident, but Lisowski acknowledged that he was an alcoholic who had relapsed after a period of sobriety.

Theft charges were later filed against Lisowski, who was able to return $1.22 million—the original $1.14 million Lisowski is believed to have taken, plus interest.

In October, Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller announced that Father Robert Wielosinski, former pastor of Our Lady of Snows Parish, had been accused of misappropriating funds. The evidence showed that Wielosinski had taken $43,528.99 starting in 2001, the bishop told parishioners.

Wielosinski, who was placed on administrative leave in November 2003 and resigned as pastor Aug. 27, repaid $20,000 and has made a commitment to repay the remainder, Bishop Garcia-Siller said.

Health care

The Catholic responsibility to provide care for those suffering from ill health took center stage in June, when the Catholic Health Association held its 98th annual assembly in Chicago. The four-day meeting focused on the ethics of health care, taking in everything from end-of-life issues to the scandal of more than 44 million Americans without health insurance.

End-of-life issues broke into the news in the spring, when Pope John Paul II said feeding tubes should not be removed from patients in persistent vegetative states in a March 20 talk to a conference of physicians and medical ethicists. Chicago-area bioethics experts said the pope’s words must be weighed carefully.

Health issues were addressed on a more local level when Cardinal George joined other religious, community and civic leaders calling for reform of the health care system at a press conference for “Cover the Uninsured Day” at Saint Anthony Hospital in Pilsen.

Maryville

Father John Smyth, the face of Maryville Academy and father figure to countless troubled young people, stepped down as president/ executive director at the beginning of the year, being replaced by Father David Ryan as interim executive director and then by School Sister of St. Francis Catherine Ryan Dec. 1.

“For 30 years, I’ve been one of the people knocking on Maryville’s door, asking, ‘Can you take this kid?’” said Ryan, who had been leading the Juvenile Justice Bureau of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. “They never said no. Maryville is too important to lose.”

Maryville was once the largest residential provider of care for troubled youth in the state. However, the Department of Children and Family Services removed all children under state care from the agency’s Des Plaines City of Youth campus after an investigation following the 2002 suicide of a teenage girl.

Rededication of
archdiocese to the
Immaculate Conception

The Archdiocese of Chicago, which boasts six parishes named for the Immaculate Conception, was rededicated to Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The feast marked the 150th anniversary of the solemn proclamation of Mary’s freedom from original sin as Catholic dogma by Pope Pius IX.

Saint Martin de Porres High School

The archdiocese saw a new high school open with the creation of St. Martin de Porres High School in Waukegan. The school, which operates on the Cristo Rey model, opened with 100 freshmen and sophomores. Like Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, which pioneered the model, students attend class four days a week and spend the fifth at a corporate internship, getting real work experience and helping to defray the cost of their education.

At the same time, Holy Cross High School in River Grove closed its doors, Mother Theodore Guerin High School in River Grove became Guerin College Prep and opened its doors to boys for the first time, and six southeast suburban elementary schools became one school with two campuses.

Stewardship

Several archdiocesan parishes and schools continued to emphasize stewardship as a way of life.

By reminding all the faithful that everything they have is a gift from God, and that they must share those gifts generously, proponents say, parishes and schools will find themselves with enough resources to minister to their people.

Bon Voboril, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Wichita, Kans., visited the archdiocese several times to explain the model of stewardship in action there. The difference is that all parishioners are asked to share a portion of what they have in order to provide for all instead of asking users to pay directly for services, such as school tuition, he said. Such a change makes schools truly “parochial,” or a ministry of their parishes, rather than private educational institutions, said Voboril, who spoke at Parish Leadership Day Nov. 6.

Immaculate Conception Parish (S. Exchange Avenue) went to a stewardship model in September, and several other parishes took steps in that direction.

 

War in Iraq

At least two archdiocesan priests serve as military chaplains in Iraq, including Father Brian Simpson, a Navy chaplain ministering to Marines, and Army chaplain Father John Barkemeyer. Barkemeyer shipped out in November, barely two months after completing chaplain’s training.

Meanwhile, parishes and schools collected items for care packages and continue to pray for the troops and for peace.

Archbishop Jean Sleiman of Baghdad brought the perspective of Iraq’s Christian and Catholic communities to the archdiocese when he visited in July for a Carmelite conference. While the situation is bad, the archbishop said, now is a time of hope.

 

West Side restructuring

Members of 10 West Side parishes learned in September that they would be reorganized into four worship centers, although some ministries could remain at the sites of closed parishes. Exactly what shape the restructuring will take will be decided in June 2005.

The announcement came more than three months after the final meeting of a two-year planning process, at which several options were given.

The planned centers are: St. Malachy Parish, 2251 W, Washington Blvd., serving the Near West Side and taking in parishioners from Precious Blood Parish, 2411 W. Congress Parkway; St. Martin de Porres Parish, 5112 W. Washington Blvd., itself the product of an earlier three-parish merge, will serve the Austin neighborhood, taking in parishioners from St. Angela Parish, 5758 W. Potomac Ave., and Our Lady Help of Christians, 832 N. LeClaire Ave; St. Agatha, 3147 W. Douglas Blvd., will be the center for North Lawndale, taking in parishioners from Blessed Sacrament, 2153 S. Millard Ave., Presentation, 734 S. Springfield Ave, and Our Lady of Lourdes, 1444 S. Keeler Ave. Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, 3121 W. Jackson Blvd., will remain the center for the Garfield Park neighborhood.

The decision followed a more than two-year planning process, with clergy and lay members of all 10 parishes giving input.

“The goal of the West Side planning process was to create and sustain a vital and vibrant Catholic presence on the West Side,” Auxiliary Bishop John R. Manz wrote to parishioners Sept. 8. “We will focus on creating four vibrant, strong and engaged Catholic communities, utilizing existing physical structures and resources in the most effective and efficient manner possible.”

 

Obituary

Bishop Edwin M. Conway

Auxiliary Bishop Edwin M. Conway, archdiocesan vicar general, died of esophageal cancer at Loyola University Medical Center Aug. 9.

Conway, 70, had been ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 1960. He spent nearly all of his priestly ministry at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, serving as the agency’s administrator from 1983-96. He served as episcopal vicar for Vicariate II, which includes the North Side of Chicago and several north suburbs, before being named vicar general in 2003.

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Goedert, the former vicar general, took the post on an interim basis until Father George Rassas was named in November. Rassas had been pastor of St. Mary Parish in Lake Forest.