Issue of November 12, 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

Group tells eBay not to sell relics

A California group is advocating a boycott of eBay unless the online auction house enforces its own rules against selling body parts to prohibit the sale of saints’ relics.

“They’ve had opportunities to stop the sales, and they don’t even enforce their own regulations,” said Tom Serafin, founder and president of the International Crusade for Holy Relics.

According to Serafin, even a “cursory search” of the popular site will turn up dozens of relics “often purporting to be the bones of saints” for sale. Catherine England, an eBay spokeswoman, told the Florida Catholic Nov. 6 that the auction site is aware of the organized boycott and that officials from eBay have had conversations with representatives from the International Crusade for Holy Relics in the past, but not recently.

England said eBay does enforce its policies against selling certain human body parts such as bones and organs, but that other items that are legal to buy and sell in the United States are allowed to be sold on the site.

Thomas Conway Tapped As Executive Director

The board of directors for the Catholic Press Association of the United

States and Canada has appointed Thomas P. Conway as the executive director of the Association, effective Oct. 30, 2006.Conway has 20 years of senior management experience in large associations, including the American Academy of Dermatology Association and Moose International. His expertise in developing and implementing sound strategicbusiness plans will serve the Association well at this point in its history,

according to Helen Osman, board president.

“As our member publications face more sophisticated challenges with the

ongoing ‘digital revolution,’ we need an association that is proactive and

able to respond quickly to member needs. We are confident that Tom will be

able to help us structure the CPA to become a strong, member-driven organization,” she said.

News

Pastor suspended because of sexual abuse allegations

Stepek goes to media to protest his innocence

The day it was announced that the archdiocesan Review Board had determined that there is reasonable cause to suspect that Father Robert Stepek had molested two boys more than 20 years ago, the priest went to the media to protest his innocence.

The announcement was made by Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, epsicopal vicar for the area including St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank, at weekend Masses at the parish.

Stepek, ordained in 1981, had been pastor of St. Albert for eight years.

He told reporters over the weekend that the two men who accused him were brothers who each had their own reasons for holding grudges against him—one whom he had not recommended for the major seminary, and one with whom he had a financial dispute over repair work at St. Albert.

Both were pupils in a South Side parish where Stepek worked as an associate pastor.

Stepek voluntarily stepped away from St. Albert in May, when he was notified of the allegations against him.

N.J. bishops pledge to safeguard heterosexual marriage after ruling

New Jersey’s bishops have pledged to work with state lawmakers in drafting same-sex union legislation that protects the concept of marriage “as the union of one man and one woman” and promotes “child well-being in our state.”

The pledge came after New Jersey’s highest court ruled Oct. 25 that same-sex couples are due the same rights and benefits as married couples under the state constitution’s equal protection clause.

Cardinal praises work of Zacchaeus House for men

Cardinal George praised the efforts of Bishop Joseph Perry, Deacon Abrom Salley and everyone else who has worked to make Zacchaeus House a success.

The facility, which Salley describes as a “safe house” for men who are homeless or about to become so, has sheltered between 40 and 50 men in the past four years.

Some have found their lives upended by illnesses or by family crises. Some have recently been released from prison. Some are recovering from substance abuse addiction.

CRS staffer from Ghana visits, thanks local schools

When Thomas Awiapo stood before about 100 students in the Hales Franciscan High School gym, he looked like he could have been one of them—just a little older.

But on a second look, Awiapo’s slender frame appeared slighter than the sturdy build most of the students carried, and his “Chicago” baseball cap seemed a little too new.

Awiapo, a representative from Catholic Relief Services in Ghana, visited to tell the “men of Hales” a little about what CRS does, but also to thank them.

It was because of the generosity of American parishioners and Catholic school students that Awiapo survived to adulthood, he said, sharing a personal history that was alternately harrowing and hopeful.

Catholic social activists call for increased efforts

It’s time for Catholics to move on from merely feeding the hungry to attacking the reasons people are starving in the first place, Father Michael Pfleger, TV newswoman Carol Marin, and former priest-turned-community-activist Michael Ivers agreed last week.

Speaking at an Oct. 28, social justice seminar sponsored by DePaul University and WEORC (Old English for “work”), an association of more than 1,500 former priests and religious, Ivers called for creation of an archdiocesan association of lay activists.

“The work of the church is not on the mountaintop, but at the bottom,” said Pfleger, longtime pastor of St. Sabina’s parish. “Church is the huddle time. Nobody goes to a game to see a team huddle. They want to see what happens when you come out of the huddle.”

Unfortunately, the church has sometimes grown far too comfortable with the status quo, hobnobbing with presidents and acting as if the only major moral issues are abortion and gay marriage, said Pfleger.

Benefit event raises $30,000 for immigration reform advocacy

At a fundraising event in support of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform Nov. 4, Father Larry Dowling of St. Denis parish said, “Tonight, I’m preaching to the choir about immigration reform. However, even choirs have to learn new songs. We need to continue to find creative ways to raise awareness of this issue.”

Dowling was one of approximately 40 people in attendance at the Union League Club event that raised more than $30,000 for immigration reform.

Celebration of Giving brings holiday cheer to needy

The holiday season isn’t complete without sharing our blessings with those in need. Catholic Charities provides a number of opportunities to donate to needy families and children this Christmas.

Donate Toys: Catholic Charities annual Toy Shower invites children to experience the joy, magic, and spirit of the holidays by providing each child with gifts, something to learn from, something to play with, and something to cuddle. New, unwrapped toys in their original packaging are collected from Dec. 3 through Dec. 7. Visit Catholiccharitues.net for locations.

Dominican, San Miguel School build bridges

San Miguel School’s Gary Comer Campus in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood is less than a 10-minute drive from Dominican University’s River Forest campus, but it might as well be a world away.

San Miguel’s Gary Comer Campus serves fifth- through eighth-grade students in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Chicago. Ninety-four percent of the students qualify for free- and reduced-price lunches, and the median family size is 4.2 people with a median family income of $20,300—nearly the same as Dominican University’s annual tuition.

The two Catholic schools are building bridges between their communities and finding that the main benefit to their students is the same: a feeling of being respected and valued for who they are and what they can contribute to the world.

“It’s the fact that they are valued—that they are important enough to take an interest in,” said Gary Comer Campus minister Vivian Gaulding. The San Miguel students especially like trips to Dominican’s campus, she said.

4 schools get Blue Ribbons

Four archdiocesan Catholic Schools were named No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools this year, accounting for 26 percent of the 15 Illinois schools so honored.

“This recognition demonstrates the total commitment to academic excellence that is integral to our mission of fostering lifelong learning while developing students’ talents, skills and Catholic faith,” said schools Superintendent Nicholas Wolsonovich.

The four archdiocesan schools are St. Anne, Barrington; St. Lawrence O’Toole, Matteson; St. Theresa, Palatine; and St. Thomas of Villanova, Palatine.

Nuns a common sight at Regina

Being taught by religious sisters is a reality for students attending Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette. The all-girls school claims 16 religious sisters and one Adrian Dominican associate on the faculty and staff.

That makes one out of five school staff members.

“We are proud and pleased to have so many sisters here at Regina especially when most schools are lucky to have one or two on staff if that,” said Sister Adrienne Pienette, president of the school.

St. Rita makes cyber-connection

When St. Rita High School opened its new compute r lab, it wasted no time taking advantage of its new capabilities.

Students had the chance to attend a video conference with John B. Harlow, founder of FreedomCalls.org, and with Army Specialist Steve Davis at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq Oct. 11, the day before the new lab was officially dedicated.

The lab, built with funding from Comcast, will be open to military families who want to see and speak with their family members in Iraq through Freedom Calls, as well as to area elementary schools, who can use the lab to take “virtual field trips” to institutions around the United States and the world, said Paul Harrington, director of techology at St. Rita.

Comcast also funded a similar lab at Maria High School, an all-girls school in Marquette Park.

Harlow said he got the idea for FreedomCalls after reading that military servicemen and women were racking up cell phone bills in the thousands of dollars to stay in touch with their families.

The organization offers satellite phones and videoconferencing free of charge at five military bases in Iraq. In the two years it’s been up and running, soldiers and airmen have been able to see their babies for the first time, attend graduations from afar and catch up with their families.

Schools embrace new technology

Take a walk into any Catholic school and find innovative ways of using technology to teach students, keep them safe and help others.

Seton Academy in South Holland this year joined St. Joseph High School in providing every student and faculty member with their own wireless-equipped laptop computers, to be used for class and homework, tests and even in some classes as an electronic textbook.

Both campuses of De La Salle Institute employ the usual firewalls and filtering systems to protect their students while on the Internet. But De La Salle now requires freshmen to have their own computer. Students and parents can either purchase a laptop outright or lease one. Upper classmen may buy a unit outright.

“Being a college-prep high school we recognize that when our students are seniors, they will have to be computer literate in order to succeed in higher education,” said Jorge Peña, associate principal at De La Salle Institute. “Many universities now require computer literacy for in-coming freshmen. We are the only school I know of doing this. It’s just a matter of time before all schools do similarly.”

National catechism available

In an October letter to all archdiocesan priests, Cardinal George encouraged parish ministers to make use of the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

The new national catechism. which was published in July, can be used for individual study as well as to prepare catechumens and candidates in the RCIA, to guide the faith formation of adult Catholics, parents, teachers and catechists, and to instruct those desiring to return to the practice of the faith.

“The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults” is an adaptation of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” for an American audience. Together with Scripture and the universal catechism, it serves as an important instrument for learning and formation.

Scripture School offers event on basics of fundamentalism

Developing a genuinely Catholic identity is one of the best ways to respond to the challenge Protestant fundamentalism presents to U.S. Catholics today, according to Franciscan Father Leslie Hoppe, who offered an afternoon of instruction and insight on fundamentalism to 90 people at a Chicago Catholic Scripture School Special Event Oct. 28 at Queen of All Saints Basilica.

Nativity BVM School holds event aimed at encouraging ‘good starts’

Junior high students from five South Side schools—Catholic and public—got an earful Oct. 27 from Vance Henry, executive director of the Chicago Police Department’s CAPS program.

Henry’s message to the young people was simple: the choices they make now matter to the rest of their lives.

“There are young people today who are not going to make it because they are not starting off right,” he said. “You can’t start off at sixth and seventh grade, fussin’ and cussin’, and get where you want to go.”

Henry was the keynote speaker for the first annual Youth Violence Prevention Conference at Nativity B.V.M. School in Marquette Park.

The school already emphasizes conflict resolution with students as young as preschool, said campus minister Deborah Muldrow, who organized the conference. Students in the third and fourth grades can be selected to be “Take Ten: Ambassadors,” teaching other students how to get along and defuse anger, while junior high-age students can be selected to be peer mediators, helping other students come to mutually acceptable resolutions to their conflicts.

Making a legacy visible

The Sinsinawa Domincans who founded Rosary College—now Dominican University—in River Forest no doubt left a legacy, a legacy clear in the new-Gothic buildings, the mature trees, even the new multi-story parking garage.

But their legacy of supporting the arts, trying to educate the whole student, embracing the world around them, that’s a bit more ephemeral, not something easy to portray in the solidity of, say, stainless steel.

Yet that’s the assignment the university gave to Illinois artist Ed McCullough, whose 9-foot abstract sculpture was dedicated Nov. 2. It would have been the 200th birthday of the congregation’s founder, Dominican Father Samuel Mazzuchelli.

Safety issues affect public, Catholic schools alike

Recent deadly school shootings shattered an illusion that some schools are immune from violent attacks.

The incidents, two of them involving intruders, sparked an Oct. 10 summit convened by the White House.

Summit participants, who included educators, police officers, White House officials and students, discussed ways to combat school violence, but they were leery about offering any sweeping solutions. Speakers emphasized the need to have crisis plans in place and to practice them, to take bullying and threats seriously and to have open communications with school parents

St. Symphorosa pilgrims head to Poland after all

Forty-three parishioners from St. Symphorosa Parish on Chicago’s South Side who were supposed to go on a pilgrimage to Poland and Rome in October now have the opportunity to travel to Poland next March.

Mike Schields of Globus, an international travel company, read about the group’s plight in Chicago-area newspapers and decided his company would be able to help.

Worldwide missionary fraternity spreads word

Maureen Blackburn discovered her vocation by following her thirst. “Often, people feel a great thirst for…something. They don’t realize that their deepest thirst is for God.” For Blackburn, her “thirst” first led her to discover theology in college. After graduating with a degree in the subject, she continued to search for a way “to bridge the gap between the way we live as humans and the life to which God calls us.”

Thinking a degree in psychology might be the answer, she started coursework, but changed directions after meeting some missionaries from the recently created Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. They taught her to pray in a way she had never prayed before, using Scripture as prayer.