Issue of May 22, 2005

UPDATE

Opposition grows on stem cells

Most Americans oppose using federal funds for stem cell research that involves the destruction of live embryos, and they support, instead, using federal funds for adult stem cell research.

These are the primary findings of a poll commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The national survey was conducted by International Communications Research which polled more than 1,000 American adults during May.

“Given the overwhelmingly favorable media that embryonic stem cell research receives, this is a significant development,” said Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the legislative arm of the Catholic bishops of Illinois.



Pilsen school survives cuts

Archdiocesan officials announced that St. Paul-Our Lady of Vilna School, which had been slated to be merged into nearby St. Ann School at the end of this school year, would remain open.

The Pilsen school was threatened because of financial and other considerations, including building repairs.

Supporters came up with funds and financing arrangements to give “reasonable assurance” of viability, said an archdiocesan spokesman.

NEWS

Abuse issues on U.S. bishops’ agenda in Chicago

Note: In order to report on the USCCB meeting in Chicago June 18-19, The Catholic New World will delay publication of its June 19 issue to June 26. Following that, the paper will be on a summer schedule, publishing editions dated July 17 and Aug. 14. Regular biweekly editions will resume Sept. 11.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will face revisions in its “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and the accompanying “Essential Norms” when the bishops meet this June in Chicago.

They will also be asked to approve spending up to $1 million from USCCB reserves to fund an in-depth study of the causes and context behind the decades of clergy sex abuse of minors that exploded into a national church crisis in 2002.



Bishops kick off immigration reform effort

A Catholic call for justice challenges ‘broken’ system

The stories are heartbreaking: airport workers who have lived and worked in the United States for years, buying homes and paying taxes, being deported after middle-of-the-night raids on their homes. A pregnant mother separated from her husband and children—all U.S. citizens—because of her undocumented status.

For legal residents of the United States, it can take years for family members to get permission to join them: the average wait is eight years for people from Mexico and 22 years for those from the Philippines.

“Our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed,” said Auxiliary Bishop John Manz, a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services Committee in a May 9 press conference. “This broken system forces many immigrant families to be separated from loved ones for years, even decades. We, especially, need to change laws that separate families.”

Bishop Manz and Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo García-Siller, himself an immigrant from Mexico, spoke in support of “Justice for Immigrants,” a multiyear Catholic campaign designed to educate Americans, especially American Catholics, about the need for comprehensive immigration reform.



Even those who have nothing still need God

When Jesuit Father Bill Creed did his first retreat for homeless men in Chicago seven years ago, it opened his eyes and his heart.

A long-time spiritual director and retreat master, Creed had given hundreds of retreats: for priests and nuns, even bishops; for high school and college students; for single people and married people. “I had been doing retreats my whole life,” said Creed, who has now directed more than 50 such retreats. “I went to the chapel that Saturday night and asked God, ‘Why is it that I’m being so deeply moved?’ I had the sense of God saying, ‘Trust me.’”

When Creed developed the idea of retreats for homeless people, not many of his peers had faith in the idea. He was coming off a sabbatical following a stint directing a retreat house in Indiana when his provincial called and asked him to find a way to bring Ignatian spirituality to the economically poor.



Pope names U.S. prelate to lead doctrine office

Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the agency charged with protecting and promoting the church’s teachings on faith and morals.

The appointment, announced May 13, marked the first time a U.S. prelate has headed the congregation, considered primary in responsibility and influence.

Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was prefect of the doctrinal congregation from 1981 until the death of Pope John Paul II in April. The appointment of his successor was closely watched.



Cardinal goes to Springfield

When Cardinal George went to Springfield May 4 for a day of meetings with the governor, legislative leaders and other state lawmakers, he did more good for the Catholic agenda than anyone else could have.

Television and daily newspapers reported on the cardinal’s appeal to Gov. Rod Blagojevich to allow pharmacists to follow their consciences when it comes to filling prescriptions for emergency contraceptives and his objections to a proposal that would give state funding to embryo-destroying stem cell research, but the meetings were about more than that, said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.



Shrine to explore drunk driving, healing

A June 5 event at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii will focus on support and healing for those affected by drunk and drugged driving.

“Journey to Hope, Healing and Restoration” will begin at the shrine, 1224 W. Lexington St., with an 11 a.m. Mass followed by a lecture by motivational speaker Bobby Petrocelli.



‘Bring your parish to life!’

Bring Your Parish to Life! That’s the theme which lay leaders, parish staff, deacons and pastors will be considering as they gather for the first Chicago Institute for Evangelization June 2-4.

The Office for Evangelization, collaborating with the archdiocesan Evangelization Committee and Paulist Evangelization Ministries, has designed an intensive workshop that will help participants develop practical ways to bring evangelization skills to the parish level.



Rainbow Sash-wearers denied for protest, not for orientation

People wearing rainbow sashes to show support for gay and lesbian Catholics were denied Communion in the Archdioceses of Chicago and St. Paul-Minneapolis on Pentecost Sunday, May 15.

In the Los Angeles Archdiocese, meanwhile, members of the Rainbow Sash Movement did not wear their sashes at Masses because of the “warm welcome” they said gays and lesbians receive there.



Catechesis brings everyone together

If you measure success of a pilot program by the enthusiasm and number of participants, the intergenerational, whole community model of catechesis at St. Alphonsus Parish, Lemont, was a success.

After attending a series of Generations of Faith training sessions, parish staff members—including the director of religious education, principal, youth director and pastoral associate—came away excited about a vision of faith formation that is lifelong, for all ages, and rooted in the life of the church.



Bishop Gorman, others cited for catechesis work

Retired Auxiliary Bishop John R. Gorman received the Chicago Medallion for Excellence in Catechesis at the 10th annual Catechetical Ministry Awards Banquet May 3. The Office for Catechesis (OFC) hosted this event at Avalon Banquets in Elk Grove Village.

OFC officials also honored several others during the event with Catechetical Ministry Awards. The awards were presented by Cardinal George, who acknowledged about 60 other catechists and catechetical leaders receiving archdiocesan certification in the past year.



New catechetical directory ‘more muscular, confident’: consultant

Father John Pollard is a man on a mission. And for good reason.

The archdiocesan priest has several speaking dates around the country lined up to talk up the newly released National Directory for Catechesis, the document designed to guide those responsible to improve the way the faith is passed on to future generations.

Pollard, now pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmette, is more than qualified: he was the sole consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which wrote the new volume.



Scandal film misses a point

“Law knew but did nothing. It’s huge,” says a Boston Globe reporter, referring to Cardinal Bernard F. Law’s alleged awareness of priests within his archdiocese molesting young boys, as the sexual abuse scandal was about to explode.

The scene is critical in “Our Fathers,” the Showtime pay-cable channel’s dramatization of David France’s book, “Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal.” The show premiered May 21 but will air several times over the next weeks (check local listings).



‘Kingdom’: Fair to Muslims, hard on Christians

Although Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven” revisits the medieval Christian Crusades against Muslims in the Holy Land, it portrays Muslims fairly and is not likely to stir up anti-Muslim feeling in the West, Catholic scholars involved in that field said.

On the other hand, they found that the film stereotyped Christians as violent.

The main message of the movie is a post-Enlightenment opposition to violence carried out in the name of religion, said Jesuit Father Leo D. Lefebure, a theology professor at Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York and author of “Revelation, the Religions, and Violence.”



Reese quits under pressure

Jesuit officials in Rome said Father Thomas Reese resigned as editor in chief of America magazine after repeated complaints from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith objected to the magazine’s treatment of sensitive church issues.

Jesuit Father Jose M. de Vera, spokesman for the Society of Jesus in Rome, said Reese decided to resign after discussing the situation with his Jesuit superiors, following Cardinal Ratzinger’s election as Pope Benedict XVI. De Vera denied reports that Reese was forced to resign, but he acknowledged that pressure had been coming from the Vatican for several years.



Chicago parishes like ‘high-tech’ collection basket

Both churchgoers and churches say they are benefiting from a service that allows people to have their weekly offering deducted electronically by debit or credit card, instead of them having to put money into the collection basket at Mass, according to a survey by ParishPay, a program offered in 60 Chicago-area parishes.

The New York-based firm describes itself as “the largest religious donation and tuition handling organization in the country.”

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