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Issue of August 20, 2006
The following items are condensed. For the complete article, please read the print edition of The Catholic New World. To subscribe, call (312) 655-7777.
NewsUpdate
Golden wedding Mass Sept. 10
The annual archdiocesan Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass will be held Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. at Holy Name Cathedral. More than 700 couples celebrating 50 years of marriage will renew their vows during the ceremony.
Interfaith unity event Aug. 31
The Ninth Annual Interfaith Unity Banquet will be held Aug. 31 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont.
Sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, the banquet will begin a weekend of events at the 43rd Annual Islamic Society of North America Convention, which will be held Sept. 1-3 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont. The cost for both events is free but registration is required. For information visit www.isna.net or contact the archdiocesan Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, (312) 751-5325.
News
Pope discusses Middle East, morality in wide-ranging interview
Vatican City — In a lengthy and wide-ranging interview, Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to fighting in the Middle East and said he hopes to travel to the Holy Land “in a time of peace.”
The pope also explained some of the priorities of his papacy, saying he was convinced the church needs to frame its moral teachings in a positive way and shed the image of an institution that always says “no.”
The pope addressed a wide range of topics, including ecumenical cooperation, the role of women in the church, and the unifying function of the papacy. He also offered some personal insights into the burdens of being pope.
“It really is tiring,” he said of his schedule. But the 79-year-old pontiff said he enjoyed the continual encounters with bishops, politicians and other personalities “who want to talk to me personally.”
Despite having to live behind the Vatican walls, he said, “to tell the truth, I’m not that lonely.”
Getting ready for Lourdes’ 150th
Cardinal George is honorary U.S. chairman
Almost 150 years ago, a poor 14-year-old girl was gathering twigs near Lourdes, a small town in southwestern France, when the Blessed Mother appeared to her. Mary’s appearance, dressed all in white, was the first of 18 apparitions she was make to Bernadette, the poor girl who would later be canonized.
In her messages to Bernadette, Mary said that people should come in procession to the Grotto of Massabielle and that a chapel should be built there. Today, pilgrims from around the world still travel to Lourdes for physical and spiritual healing.
A year after hurricanes, dioceses still recovering
outhern dioceses from Texas to Alabama are still reeling from the swath of destruction left by last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Diocese of Biloxi, Miss., both hit hard by Hurricane Katrina Aug. 29, have taken steps toward recovery, but full-scale restoration is still a long way off as thousands of residents no longer have a place to live, churches and schools remain damaged and community service programs are no longer operational.
The coastal area of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala., is also in the midst of recovery. Church structures have been repaired, but residents of the small fishing village of Bayou La Batre, Ala., are still living in trailers and trying to salvage what they can from destroyed homes and fishing livelihoods.
‘Swapping houses, lives’
Highwood, British teachers share ultimate exchange in Fulbright program
Think “international house swap.” Think the ultimate school field trip. Think exchanging hot dogs and fries for bangers and mash.
Lindsay Tamarri, a first-grade teacher at St. James School in north suburban Highwood, will spend the year teaching in England as the first Chicago archdiocesan teacher to take part in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.
The program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, connects a network of schools in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Bishops criticize FDA for ‘morning-after pill’
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has criticized the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to consider allowing emergency contraception to be sold over the counter to women over 18 years old.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Conference of Illinois is watching what the FDA does before formally responding to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s announcement that if FDA does not make the “morning-after pill” available without a prescription, he will make it available in Illinois.
Emergency contraceptives are high doses of the hormones found in birth-control bills. When taken in two doses within 72 hours of intercourse, they are up to 90 percent effective at stopping pregnancies.
Report: ‘bishop caused scandal’
Retired Springfield Bishop Daniel L. Ryan “engaged in improper sexual conduct and used his office to conceal his activities” when he headed the diocese, said a report released by the diocese Aug. 2.
It said Bishop Ryan, Springfield’s bishop from 1984 to 1999, fostered “a culture of secrecy ... that discouraged faithful priests from coming forward with information about misconduct” by other clergy in the diocese.
> Front Page
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a column of benevolent
gossip
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In Little LaCrosse? — “Miracles” are happening two miles south of LaCrosse, Wis. An amazing Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been taking shape since groundbreaking in 2001. Dedication of its Byzantine-Romanesque style church will take place July 31, 2008, on the sixth anniversary of the canonization of St. Juan Diego. In the meantime it is worth a jaunt by Chicago-area pilgrims to see what is already completed. Sprawled on 100 acres of beautiful woodlands, there is a rosary walk and unique stations of the cross, a pilgrim center for Mass and religious ed, and a votive chapel with the largest candle rack in the country. (It holds 576 votive candles and measures 14 feet by 12 feet on four sides.) A delightful restaurant open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, with catering available for large groups, boasts good food, spirits and a House Margarita. You can even light a votive candle online and take a virtual shrine tour at www.guadalupeshrine.org. Call (608) 782-5440 for a brochure and more info. The arch’s own Bishop Jerome Listecki is bishop of LaCrosse. His predecessor, Archbishop Raymond Burke ,founded the shrine.
Parish potpourri — It’s eclectic, ecumenical and economical. It’s one of the largest rummage sales on the North Shore, and includes Immaculate Conception Parish (Highland Park), Trinity Episcopal, and Highland Park Presbyterian. Items include an antique French crib, an old pinball machine, camera equipment, a new shower unit (still in the box), desks, Royal Doulton figurines, two organs, a 23-foot cutty cabin boat and trailer, two kayaks, working computers, and other stuff. Proceeds go to church charities. Circle Sept. 8, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sept. 9, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., (847) 433-0130. . . . Father Joe Mulcrone will celebrate Mass in sign language every fourth Sunday at 4 p.m. starting Aug. 27 at St. Mary of Vernon Church (Vernon Hills). The liturgy will also be voice interpreted. Refreshments follow. You don’t have to be deaf or hearing impaired to enjoy the Mass in this additional dimension. Awesome. . . . St. Emeric Parish (Country Club Hills) has a new director of liturgy and music. Franklyn Busby’s distinguished sacred music background also includes serving over the years as organist for sports teams like the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. . . . Joe Rakosky of St. Martha Parish (Morton Grove) was honored in the village recently for his 52 years of volunteerism. . . . The Knights of Columbus are organizing a new council at Nativity Parish (S. Union). They are looking for men of Bridgeport and beyond. They’ve held their first meeting, but call pastor Father Dan Brandt at (773) 927-6263 for more info, or visit www.nativitybridgeport.org and come on board.
No lazy days of summer — At Seton Jr. & Senior High School in Manassas, Va., there’s no rest for the scholars. Kids will be tested this fall on their summer reading list. Seventh-graders, for instance, are required to read “Where the Red Fern Grows,” “Tom Sawyer” and “The Miracle Worker.” They’ll get extra credit for reading Kipling’s “Kim,” and St. Therese’s “Story of a Soul.” Eleventh-graders must read some Jack London, Hemingway and Edgar Allen Poe. Extra credit? Willa Cather’s “My Antonia.” Going to be a senior? You’re reading “Pride and Prejudice,” “Screwtape Letters,” and Vietnam’s late Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan’s, “Five Loaves and Two Fish.” Students are expected to write a 200-word plot summary and 100-word discussion of each book’s main theme. The school has 350 students, is 30 years old, and is in the Arlington Diocese. Maybe there’s something in the water?
Pro-woman vs Pro-choice — Suffragist Susan B. Anthony’s New York birthplace was sold at auction Aug. 5 and purchased by Carol Crossed, a member of the board of directors of Feminists for Life’s New York branch. Crossed was named FFL’s “Remarkable Pro-Life Woman” in 2003. While Feminists for Life of America won’t own the house, it will take care of the edifice and aims to renew public awareness of the early feminists who fought for women and children—born and unborn. FFL, established in 1972, works with people on both sides of the contentious debate. Focusing on needs of pregnant and parenting students on college campuses, it works for passage of supportive legislation. FFL’s slogan: “Women deserve better than abortion.”
Help them help others — Tag days for the St. Vincent de Paul Society are Sept. 8 and 9 in Lake and Cook counties. Volunteers will wear blue and white vests, hold collection cans, and give out candy donated by the American Licorice Company. To help, call (312) 655-7181. What’s amazing about the society is NOT that there was a Republican mayor in the city of Chicago when they organized here in 1857. Vincentians have served locally from Civil War years, helping Confederate prisoners at Camp Douglas on the lakefront, to serving down-and-outers during the Depression, to today. Last year their three thrift stores and a warehouse distributed $416,000 in free clothing and furniture to people through the society’s vouchers. (Blessed Frederick Ozanam, a husband,
father, and lawyer, founded the society in Paris under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul in 1833.)
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.
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