Issue of June 5, 2005

UPDATE

Justice Day set for June 25

The Office for Peace and Justice will sponsor “Archdiocesan Justice Day 2005: Networking for Change” June 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Ignatius College Prep.

This event will be an opportunity for parishioners and parish leaders to learn about the social ministry of the church, to share parish social justice work ideas, and to network between one another. The cost is $15, and registration must be made by June 17. For more information, call (312) 751-8390 or email [email protected].



Youths gather in advance of WYD

More than 3,500 youths, youth ministers and priests attended the Neo-Catechumenal Way Gathering at the McCormick Place Arie Crown Theater on May 21 in preparation for the World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany in August.

The participants came to Chicago from places throughout the country to praise and give thanks to God during this event. The event included a proclamation of the Gospel, a vocational call to the youth and a speech by Cardinal George.

NEWS

Archdiocese cuts jobs

to ease fiscal shortfall

The Archdiocese of Chicago will reorganize its Pastoral Center services in an effort to better serve the needs of Catholics in Cook and Lake counties, and to reduce the Pastoral Center operating budget in order to improve the archdiocese’s financial health. The plan includes the elimination of 40 staff positions.

“We spent significant time over the past four months examining our programs and agencies to determine what is essential and necessary to the ministry of the Archbishop of Chicago and the mission of the Archdiocese,” noted Archdiocesan Chancellor Jimmy Lago. “Responsible stewardship requires prudent use of resources and dynamic models of service to meet the needs of the practicing Catholics of the Archdiocese. We also looked at infrastructure and support services. In addition, financial realities warrant an allocation of resources to support parishes, schools and ministerial programs that have long-term viability.”



Courts divided on lawsuits against dioceses

Courts across the United States are divided when it comes to handling civil suits against dioceses because of harmful behavior by priests, such as in child sex abuse cases, said Mark Chopko, general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Given the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, the differences involve how deeply courts want to go or feel they can go in trying to regulate the employer-employee relationship of a bishop and a priest, he said.



Vatican must offer compassion

to victims, former official writes

The Vatican needs to engage in “acts and words of compassion” to clergy sex abuse victims, said the former head of the U.S. bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection.

“The victims and their families are deserving of overdue apologies from the highest levels of the church,” wrote Kathleen McChesney in the May 30 issue of America, a New York-based national Catholic weekly magazine of news and commentary run by the U.S. Jesuits.



Catholic press honors for TCNW

The Catholic New World was among Catholic newspapers to take home awards at the 2005 Catholic Media Convocation held May 25-27 in Orlando, Fla.

Staff writer Michelle Martin won a first place award for newswriting on local and regional events in the 40,000-plus circulation category for her coverage of the Rainbow Sash events of Pentecost, 2004.

She also won a third place for her regular Page Four column in the family life category. Editor and general manager Tom Sheridan’s Page 1 column, Observations, was awarded second place in the general commentary section.

The Catholic New World also was given an honorable mention for general excellence.

Chicago Catolico, the archdiocese’s Spanish-language newspaper, also was honored.

Writers from that newspaper won several awards for articles and the newspaper received a third place for general excellence among Hispanic newspapers.

The Catholic Media Convocation was the opportunity for hundreds of journalists serving Catholic newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and other outlets to learn how to better serve the church.



New marriage guidebook offered

The archdiocesan Family Ministries Office has released a new and improved guidebook called “How to Get Married in the Archdiocese of Chicago.”

Elsie Radtke, Family Ministries associate director, said the book is “in response to the new marriage ministry guidelines that will take effect July 1.”

For more information about the guidebook or the new marriage ministry guidelines, call (312) 751-8351 or e-mail [email protected].



Lay leadership program graduates 29

The Called and Gifted Lay Ministry Program graduated 29 people May 22 as part of it 25th graduating class. Cardinal George celebrated the Mass at St. John Brebeuf Parish, Niles.

The program strengthens leadership skills of lay volunteers. Participants study for two years, taking weekly classes and attending monthly days of prayer and learning.



In her honor: Volunteer brings faith to life for Girl Scouts, other girls

When Laurie Styrcula’s daughter wanted to find a way to combine her Catholic faith with her Girl Scout activities, Styrcula knew there was a way.

Having grown up as a Girl Scout herself, and being active as an adult since her daughter was a Daisy Scout in kindergarten, Styrcula knew there were Catholic medals for Scouts. Styrcula, a parishioner and volunteer at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Gurnee, just didn’t know how to go about it—and it took about two years to find out.

She called the Archdiocese of Chicago, and someone sent her information about finding a Catholic school. She called the Illinois Crossroads Girl Scout Council, and they sent her back to the archdiocese.

Finally she found the Catholic Medals Committee for Youth Organizations, and she hasn’t looked back.



All Catholics must do the church’s work of justice

“This work must be the work of the whole body,” said Jimmy Lago, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago and keynote speaker at a Peoria Diocese Catholic Charities dinner May 14.

The fundraising dinner was attended by 250 people and followed a Mass offered at St. Mary’s Cathedral by Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky.

Lago told the gathering that “the tasks of addressing social injustice cannot be relegated to parish committees or Catholic Charities or other religious gatherings alone. We must invest in the serious, long-term work of including and inviting the broader Catholic community to share these sacred tasks.”



Pope celebrates Eucharist as love and unity

On the shores of the Adriatic Sea, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his first Mass outside Rome as pope, encouraging Catholics to demonstrate to the world the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, “the sacrament of his love.”

The May 29 Mass, celebrated under a hot sun on the seashore, marked the conclusion of the weeklong Italian eucharistic congress.

Pope Benedict, who spoke of the importance of celebrating the Eucharist as a community united in faith, used the Mass as an opportunity to affirm his commitment to promoting Christian unity.



New Vatican doctrine chief a theologian, pastor

Archbishop William J. Levada of San Francisco, newly named head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is a theologian with pastoral experience honed by involvement in several debates over Catholic moral teaching and public policy.

He has been a national or international figure on questions ranging from gay marriage to theological dissent in the church, from abortion to euthanasia, from ecumenical dialogue to women in the church, from catechetical teaching to how the church should deal with Catholic politicians who support legalized abortion.



CRS marks record aid for tsunami victims

Donations to Catholic Relief Services to aid victims of the Dec. 26 tsunamis in Southeast Asia topped $150 million, believed to be a record for a single appeal by the Catholic Church.

Catholics in Chicago contributed more than $1 million.



New program ministers to ‘neglected’ young adults

Faith is not often a focus for young people, 18-23. That’s evident looking around many Catholic Churches on Sunday morning.

A program called ReCiL is out to change that.

ReCiL—Reclaiming Christ in Life—is a new program in the archdiocesan Ministry in Higher Education office, formed to help 18 to 23-year-olds reconnect with the church and their faith through social activities, faith discussions and mentoring.



‘Shadow mural’ gets design award

Farrodyne USA, the Chicago company that made the pieces for “The Mandatum” and came up with a way to assemble the mural, recently received the Construction Technology Award at the Construction Specification Institute’s Show & Convention.

Farrokh Patell, Farrodyne’s president, said the company worked with the artist, Vicentian Brother Mark Elder, to make Elder’s vision for the 153-by-33-foot sculpture a reality. It was commissioned by Catholic Charities of Chicago.



Catholic League raps ‘obscene’ Mother Teresa show

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has condemned a television program on Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, “Holier Than Thou,” broadcast several times during the week of May 23 on the premium cable channel Showtime.

In a May 25 statement, William A. Donohue, league president, called the program “a frontal assault on Mother Teresa and her order,” the Missionaries of Charity, and a “vicious attack on Catholicism.”

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