a column of benevolent gossip
‘Family that prays together’
— June 2 marked the 15th anniversary of the passing of the “Rosary Priest,” Father Patrick Peyton. His cause for canonization opened in 2001. It is also the 60th anniversary of his enjoyable dramatic series on TV that attracted top stars. “Star Wars” producer-director George Lucas got his first film credit as an assistant cameraman on Peyton’s Family Theater Productions, and Princess Grace’s last three film appearances were in Family Theater programs in the early 1980s. Family Rosary ministries continue in various ways today.Lemons and lemonade
— Angel Guardian Orphanage “alums” are publicizing a reunion coming up July 13-15 at the Best Western in Elk Grove Village. Mary Beth Wiley, on the committee, included the numbers “43-27” after her name. She says, “it signifies which cottage I was in at AGO. We all remember our cottage number and our individual number in that cottage. So I was in Cottage 43 and the 27th child.” It was marked on everything, from toothbrushes to “the beanies we wore to Mass everyday.” She says the numbers have remained a part of their lives. Some use it in their e-mail address or for passwords. Former AGOers can find reunion info at www.angelguardianorphanage.com. The photos on the site are a tribute to the nuns—numbers, names, whatever—the kids look like they had a sense of stability in a very rocky world.Evoking vocations
— Each week from June 8 through August, a different family from the Family Mass at St. Joseph’s Parish (Libertyville) will bring home a chalice with a suggested prayer to be said for vocations. The chalice was donated by retired Father Vic Ivers, resident at the parish, and has been on display in the church narthex in a protective glass case. At week’s end the chalice will be returned for another family’s experience. The thought is: “It is in the family that we will sow the seeds of vocations to the priesthood, religious life and lay ministries.” The program will be evaluated in August.Parish potpourri
—Each year on the last Saturday of April, parishioners from St. Alexander’s (Palos Heights) gather with other south suburbanites to work with “Rebuilding Together,” a not-for-profit program that helps repair homes for the needy. About 30 adults and Life Teen volunteers from St. Al’s did a great job on a house in Markham this year. . . . St. Nicholas Parish (Evanston) knows how to organize a picnic. After a bilingual Mass June 24, parishioners will head for the lakefront. Last names from A-K bring a side dish; names from L-Z bring dessert. Incidentals are “on the parish.” . . . St. Dorothy’s (S. Eberhart) first block party will feature an outdoor “Reggae Mass.” . . . Dominic Clemente, Jr., of St. Celestine Parish (Elmwood Park) is a cast member in the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” 7 p.m. June 23 at the outdoor amphitheatre at Our Lady of the Snows Shrine, in Belleville, Ill. The show is free. . . . Father Dom Grassi, pastor of St. Gertrude (N. Glenwood) had his book “Bumping Into God in the Kitchen,” go into paperback production the other day. These 26 stories, blend favorite Italian recipes with humor and nostalgia. It’s on amazon.com. . . . St. Catherine-St. Lucy Parish (Oak Park) has a new bike rack-loop in front of the church for pedaling worshippers, thanks to the village.Faith is his flagman
— Mike Roman (named for St. Michael), 41, is a Buffalo Grove native, where his late Mom taught for years at St. Mary’s. Mike, shortly out of college, was felled after a staph infection followed routine knee surgery. Thirty-three surgeries later, they had to amputate Mike’s leg. Chronic pain made him addicted to pain killers. Ten years later a doctor got the pain to recede and he’s been allowed to live a normal life. That’s if you call dreaming of becoming an Indy Race car driver “normal” for an amputee. Indy is two or three years away. He’ll race in Milwaukee June 23 at Road America. (His race car is specially made.) Mike, married with children, is national spokesperson for a group called “The Race Against Pain.” Purpose is to educate 50 million chronic pain patients about the importance of pain specialists and to provide them with peer-to-peer support.This ‘n’ that
—June 16 is the anniversary of Catholic Extension’s first chapel car, called the St. Anthony. It left the LaSalle Street Station in 1907 to spread the Gospel in the hinterland. And the good news is still being told from coast to coast. . . . As of June 7, Misericordia’s Hearts & Flour Bakers will be selling breads, cookies, brownies and more at the weekly Thursday Farmer’s Market at Daley Plaza (Washington and Dearborn). Its Greenhouse Inn Restaurant is open for Sunday breakfast or brunch, and Tuesday-Friday for lunch, at 6300 N. Ridge. Call (773) 273-4182 for reservations.Works of mercy
— When the pope and president spoke recently, Benedict XVI expressed concern about the fate of Christians in Iraq and other danger zones in the Middle East. Chaldean Rite Assyrian Catholics have been especially targeted. Their ancestors were among the first people to adopt the faith after the death of Jesus. Now forced out of their homes and churches, some have been held for ransom by local extremists. Two elderly nuns were murdered recently and a 30-year-old priest was kidnapped June 8 in a district of Baghdad. Aid to the Church in Need (a papal charity) is trying to ease the hardships of these Christian refugees fleeing persecution. You can earmark donations for this cause when you call (800) 628-6333.-
Internet wisdom
— Evolution vs Creative Design Test: Which item is more complex? A. the faces on Mt. Rushmore / B. a 747 C. your cell phone / D. a worm If you guessed “worm,” you’re right. The DNA structures, digestive system and reproductive system are far more complex than those other things that obviously had a designer. So maybe someone designed that worm, too!
Send your benevolent gossip to Church Clips, 640 N. LaSalle St., #390, Chicago, IL 60610; or e-mail to [email protected].
Issue of June 24 – July 7, 2007
The following items are condensed. For the complete articles, please read the print edition of The Catholic New World. To subscribe, call (312) 655-7777.
News Update
Haymarket holds Summer Institute
Haymarket Center’s 13th annual Summer Institute on Addictions, June 27-29, will draw more than 200 professionals to Drury Lane Oakbrook. Co-sponsored by the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, six addiction therapists will lead keynote sessions.
Workshop topics will range from clinical aspects of chemical dependency, and the psychology of addiction, to recovery. Three concurrent workshops will take place each morning and afternoon.
Fees begin at $90 per day with advance registration, and discounts for multi-day registrations; fees include continental breakfast and lunch each day. For information, call Carol at (312) 226-7984, Ext. 314.
Conference on climate change
Some accuse the Catholic Church of attempting to be trendy by weighing in on global warming, a church official noted at a climate change conference in Anchorage, Alaska. In fact, the church is actually being fairly conservative and old-fashioned, said John Carr, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ secretary for social development and world peace. “For us this begins in Genesis,” he said at the June 2 meeting. “The Lord said the earth is good. If it is good, then we have an obligation to care for it.” The daylong Catholic Climate Change Conference was the third of its kind this year sponsored by the USCCB. Earlier conferences took place in Ohio and Florida. These gatherings explored the specific obligations and duties that Catholics and other religious groups have toward people who are most affected by climate change, namely the poor
News Digest
Pope and Bush discuss a wide range of issues
Meeting for the first time, Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President George W. Bush spoke about the precarious situation of Christians in Iraq and a wide range of other foreign policy and moral issues.
The pope and president looked relaxed as they greeted each other and spoke briefly in front of reporters before their 35-minute private encounter June 9. Bush later held a separate 40-minute meeting with the Vatican’s top foreign policy officials.
A Vatican statement described the meetings as “cordial” and said they had focused in part on “the worrisome situation in Iraq and the critical conditions in which the Christian community finds itself.” Tens of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq over the last four years to escape violence
Catechists, leaders certified
Four hundred parish catechists and 48 parish catechetical leaders are to be certified in a ceremony led by Auxiliary Bishop John R. Manz at 2 p.m. June 24 at Divine Infant Church in Westchester.
They will be joined by 26 graduates from the Chicago Catholic Scripture School and the Escuela Bíblica, both four-year scripture study programs offered by the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Corpus Christi procession for justice
Members of many Archdiocesan parishes joined “Welcoming the Stranger,” the June 10 Corpus Christi procession for justice for immigrants. The procession ended at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, where walkers were greeted by Cardinal George.
The cardinal said: “Our relationship with and in Christ compels us to reach out in solidarity to others. Genuine solidarity flows from an encounter with those whom we recognize as one with us, even in their difficulties. It is grounded in the belief that every human life demands respect individually and also collectively. ... Our Catholic faith fosters a broad perspective. We look at the bigger picture and see that, in a global economy, we cannot ignore the poverty of developing countries, nor can we remain oblivious to economic policies that can breed the conditions that force people to emigrate in order to survive. ... The undocumented are working here because of the unjust, arbitrary and haphazard enforcement of laws in the last two decades.”
2 parishes will close June 30
Two parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago will close and merge with neighboring parishes, effective June 30.
Both parishes had seen their congregations decline in numbers, according to the decrees closing them by Cardinal George.
St. Peter Canisius Parish, 5057 W. North Ave., will close and merge with St. Francis of Assisi/Our Lady of the Angels Parish, 932 N. Kostner Ave., according to a May 25 decree. Servite Father Lawrence Choate has been administrator at both parishes since December. He will continue to serve as administrator at St. Francis of Assisi/Our Lady of the Angels Parish.
The buildings belonging to St. Peter Canisius Parish will be managed by the archdiocesan real estate office and will be available for other religious purposes.
St. Ethelreda, 8754 S. Paulina St., will close and merge with St. Kilian Parish, 8725 S. May, according to a June 4 decree. Father William Venecko has been pastor of St. Kilian and a non-resident pastor at St. Ethelreda. He will continue his duties as pastor of St. Kilian.
St. Ethelreda was slated to close in January but due to improper closing procedures the parish was able to remain open. After this initial announcement, parishioners initiated a fundraising campaign but this was not enough to prevent the closing of the parish.
Restructured office looks to encourage vocations
This summer will bring a major expansion of the Archiocese of Chicago’s efforts to find and encourage men who have a vocation to the priesthood.
The move comes in the wake of the closure of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the recognition that the archdiocese needs to find new ways to reach out to men—from high school age up—who think God is calling them, Vocation Director Father Joe Noonan said.
A restructured Vocations Office opens in the Pastoral Center in July, with Noonan moving downtown from University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.
