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The Catholic New World
News Digest: Week in Summary
Issue of March 13, 2005

UPDATE

Oak Park kids reach way out
As part of a Lenten project, children at Ascension Parish, Oak Park, are helping to fund and build a library/religious education facility in the Philippines.
The village of Sung-an is the hometown of the Daylo family which includes the parish school’s maintenance man, Rico Daylo, and his sister, parish secretary Rose Daylo Hegarty. “The village is extremely poor,” Hegarty said. “Although I left there when I was a teenager, most of the memories of my childhood are of this village. I am so happy to be part of a parish that can do something to improve lives there.”
For information, call (708) 848-3099.

Honoring King
The Rev. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., will be the main speaker April 3 at the “Tribute in Prayer, Word and Song” honoring the legacy of the slain civil rights leader.
The program, sponsored by the archdiocesan Office for Racial Justice, will be at 3 p.m. at Old St. Mary’s Church, Chicago. Cardinal George will preside.
For information, call (312) 751-8236.


NEWS

Vatican delegate: Women’s caring roles should not put them in poverty
Mary Ann Glendon, head of the Vatican delegation to a meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, said March 7 that women face an unresolved problem of “harmonizing” their “aspirations for fuller participation in social and economic life with their roles in family life.”
Women can resolve the problem, but not without “radical changes in society,” she said.
Glendon, a Harvard law professor and president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, said no society had yet found a satisfactory way to apply the “equality principle” to the situation of “mothers and others who give priority to caregiving roles.”

Florida bishops press support for Terri Schiavo as deadline nears
With a March 18 court-imposed deadline for removal of the feeding tube that keeps Terri Schindler Schiavo alive, the Catholic bishops of Florida reiterated their plea that the brain-damaged Florida woman will continue “to receive all treatment and care that will be of benefit to her.”
In a Feb. 28 statement of “continued concerns for Terri Schiavo” released by the Florida Catholic Conference, the eight bishops said they recognize that questions about her prognosis and her wishes persist, raising doubt about what she would truly want at this point in her life.

Cardinal, others, challenge science to preserve human dignity
Science, in itself, cannot justify a belief in human dignity, but scientists can justify such a belief precisely because of their own humanity, Cardinal George said,
The cardinal offered his remarks in the introduction to “Science, Faith and Law,” the 2005 Human Dignity and Health Science Conference Feb. 28 at the University of Illinois at Chicago hosted by the Integritas Institute, a program of the university’s John Paul II Newman Center.
Science is concerned with the material world, with things that can be observed and quantified, the cardinal said. Human dignity falls outside those boundaries, he said.

Pope expects to be home for Holy Week
Pope John Paul II spent several minutes at the window of his hospital room March 6 waving to and blessing enthusiastic crowds at Rome’s Gemelli hospital and in St. Peter’s Square, and the Vatican later indicated he might be home by Easter.
The large screens in the Vatican square showed the 84-year-old pope, somewhat slumped in his wheeled throne, watching television as his delegate, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, led the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican. The pope’s posture was more erect when the blinds on his hospital window were opened and he made the sign of the cross, blessing the hundreds of faithful who waited in the rain for a glimpse of him.

Citing advances, child protection chief moving on
With child sex abuse prevention programs in place throughout the U.S. church, the next task is to test their effectiveness, said Kathleen McChesney, who spent two years helping dioceses and Eastern-rite eparchies establish the measures.
McChesney, who resigned at the end of February as executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection, said that child sex abuse can never be totally eliminated in the church or society, but effective, constantly updated programs can dramatically reduce the cases.

Reaching out
Ministry to disabled forming in Vicariate I
The Disabilities Outreach Partnership Ministry has begun in Vicariate I to develop opportunities to serve this often-overlooked community.
The group wants to work with all parishes in the vicariate, but the group is starting small. Only a handful of people turned out Feb. 27 for the opening workshop—the core committee and nine parish representatives.

Troops’ comforts of home often lacking
ather Brian Simpson, an archdiocesan priest ordained in 1972, is serving as a U.S. Navy chaplain in Iraq, ministering to marines, sailors and other personnel. This is another in his series of occasional reports from “the front.”
I should probably tell you a little about the conditions here in Iraq for our service-members.
Here in Al Anbar Province, which includes Al Asad, there are a number of Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and camps. They stretch from the Euphrates River to the borders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Some are remarkably, or should I say relatively, comfortable. Others, however, are quite primitive.

Bishop Listecki installed as ninth bishop of La Crosse
The first time Bishop Jerome E. Listecki came to St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral, he was a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago and professor at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary.
That visit was occasioned by a significant event in the life of his old friend then-Bishop Raymond L. Burke. As Bishop Listecki tells the story, he was on his way to Winona on Feb. 22, 1995, but wanted to stop at the cathedral witness the installation of Bishop Burke as the eighth bishop of La Crosse.

Clements: A lenten lesson testifies to the power of one
“The one thing my leader Jesus strongly urged his followers to do was go out there and try to do something about one,” said noted black priest Father George Clements during a lunchtime talk Feb. 11 at Spelman College in Atlanta.
The Chicago archdiocesan priest told his listeners they needed to understand something important about social justice.
“You do not have to get out here and try to save the world, or try to save America, or save Georgia, or Atlanta, or even your own neighborhoods,” he said. Instead, he told them, they need to focus on “one.”

Some cruise lines all at sea over chaplains
Over the years, many Catholic cruise ship patrons have returned from their travels with complaints—not about the food or the service — but about the suitability of the priest serving as cruise chaplain.
These travelers have been quick to call or write their local bishop, complaining that the cruise priests were not well-suited for the job because either they were married, they had been suspended from ministry or, in one case, even pretending to be priests.

Death-penalty ban on juveniles praised
The Supreme Court’s March 1 ruling overturning the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles was hailed as validating the position of religious, child advocacy, legal and medical groups that had urged the court to find such executions unconstitutional.
In a statement issued the same day the court’s 5-4 decision was announced, Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee, said the bishops’ conference “is very encouraged that the Supreme Court has recognized that executing juvenile offenders is indeed cruel and unusual.”

Media, church must learn to co-exist
The church must be more open to the media while journalists must become more competent in their coverage of religious issues, U.S. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta told a Vatican meeting.
“The church must work with this significant human institution in ways that serve the church itself as well as the broader human family,” the archbishop said.

Catholic schools among ‘lessons’ of Chicago’s history
Chicago historian Ellen Skerrett watched the media coverage about the closure of nearly two dozen parish schools and could only shake her head at how things have changed.
Not that there are no longer enough students or enough financial resources to keep the schools open, but that the decision to close them marks a loss that will be felt by the city as a whole.
That wasn’t the case in the 19th century, Skerrett said, when well-to-do Protestants, even well-meaning social reformers, questioned the ethics of poor immigrants pouring their money into elaborate churches and sending their children to religious schools—which non-Catholics feared were incompatible with encouraging U.S. citizenship.

 


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Church Clips by Dolores Madlener
    
Dolores Madlener
a
column
of
benevolent gossip

Language barrier? — The Sacred Heart Auto League in Mississippi will be 50 years old this year. Its cream colored plastic statues reminding drivers to pray and not swear on the road existed before freeways. The Priests of the Sacred Heart survived Paul Newman singing “Don’t care if it rains or freezes, long as ah’ve got m’ plastic Jesus, sittin’ on the dashboard of m’ car,” in 1967’s “Cool Hand Luke.” They adjusted to plastic dashboards by changing to an adhesive emblem. Now to mark its golden jubilee, the league is issuing a limited number of the collectible statues as well as emblems—free (donations accepted). Call (800) 232-9079. Enjoy the kitsch, but don’t cuss.

‘Mangia’ — Maybe the best Italian food in the arch can be found between the pages of “The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii Cookbook.” Over 300 recipes capture “the foods and flavors of Italy” just in time for St. Joseph’s Day. The mysteries of stuffed artichokes, spaghetti neck bone gravy and tiramisu are unveiled by the family cooks of Taylor Street and beyond. Available for $12.95 + $2.50 s&h, from the shrine, at (312) 421-3757.

Something green — Derek Warfield, historian, singer, songwriter, mandolin player and former leader of the legendary Wolfe Tones hits the Irish American Heritage Center stage (N. Knox), 5 p.m. March 20, call (773) 282-7035, Ext. 10 for tickets. . . . Tenor Danny Doyle, a fixture in Irish music for decades, heads for Gaelic Park (Oak Forest) for an 8 p.m. show March 26, call (708) 687-9323 for tickets and other star performers.

Needlers — Phyllis Cossarek and Trudy Tonelli, members of St. Joseph Women’s Club (Wilmette), knitted more than 75 pairs of mittens and scarfs this winter for homeless families helped by the Night Ministry. Other members are sewing 500 neck scarves for soldiers in Iraq. With a special polymer gel in each scarf, their necks will be “cool” in the desert heat. . . . Margaret McLean, parishioner of St. Mary of the Woods (N. Moselle), 93, keeps herself busy knitting lap robes for the women and men veterans at Hines Hospital.

Junior Clips — St. Alexander’s (Palos Heights) youth hosted an all-you-can-eat fish fry Feb. 11. More than 100 young people prepared and served 400 pounds of whitefish, fries and sides. The fundraiser will benefit their August pilgrimage to Cologne, Germany, for World Youth Day. . . . Students at St. Joseph School (Homewood) raised $1,335 for Ronald McDonald House charities through a month-long spare change collection. Ronald himself came to pick up the check. . . . Girl Scout Megan Barnish of Sacred Heart Parish (Melrose Park) is one of those who received the Puella Mariae religious medal at Holy Name Cathedral (N. State) March 6. . . . Students in grades six through 12 can enter the Polish Constitution Day art contest, “Books Bring Us Knowledge.” It will honor the 90th anniversary of the library of the Polish Museum of America. Poster board size is 24x36 inches; creativity counts; use any medium and title your artwork with the title of your book and author’s name. Deadline is April 19. Call (773) 384-3352, Ext. 104 for entry form and more info.

Recalling ‘The Passion’ — Father Don Woznicki of St. Norbert Parish (Northbrook) took 15 pilgrims during Lent 2004 on a journey of reparation. Highlights included a tour of Matera, the prehistoric city in Italy where some of the most moving scenes of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” were filmed. They travelled on to Padre Pio’s shrine, then to pray at Lanciano, the site of an 8th century Eucharistic miracle. From Assisi and the aura of St. Francis they went to Rome itself. At each “station” the theme was particular: Grace, Perseverance, Faith, Charity—and at the tomb of St. Peter, Fidelity. The parish will have screenings of “The Passion” March 18 and 20.

People potpourri — It was 20 years ago that Mariann Keegan Hrycko lost her class ring. A 1980 grad of Resurrection High School (W. Talcott), the ring slipped off as she played softball at Dunham Park on the Northwest Side. She searched hard but never found it. Recently John Fitzpatrick was using a metal detector at the park and unearthed the buried ring. He’s a member of the Midwest Historical Research Society; retrieving lost valuables and returning them to their owners is what they do. Fitzpatrick’s daughter, Julie, an ‘88 Res alum herself, contacted the school. The lost-and-found notice appeared in their winter newsletter. Hrycko got the gold ring and Fitzpatrick won an award at his club’s monthly meeting. . . . Sacred Heart Schools (N. Sheridan) honored Sister Rosemary Connelly, RSM of Misericordia recently with the Sacred Heart Goal Award for her work to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. By the way, Misericordia Candy Days are April 29-30 this year. To volunteer for a corner on your lunch hour, call (773) 273-2768.

‘Author! Author!’ — The authors of “Chicago’s Nurse Parade” will be signing books from 5-8 p.m. March 15 at Loyola Library reading room, 25 E. Pearson. Also on hand will be Mary Ann McDermott, recently elected Midwest regional rep for the National Association of Catholic Nurses USA. McDermott, professor emerita of Loyola’s Niehoff School of Nursing and a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes (N. Ashland), is urging Catholic nurses to unite to co-create “an alternate vision of health care for the 21st century.” For information on local associations, call (773) 792-6363. . . . Spiritual authors Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr have just introduced their latest book, “The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons.” Rupp, a “spiritual midwife” and Wiederkehr a Benedictine Sister, with a gift for
“everyday spirituality,” added the
full-color artistry of Sister of St.
Joseph Mary Southard to
complete their tribute to nature
and the human spirit.

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

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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