Advertisements ad

News Digest

Issue of May 11 – May 24, 2008
The following items are condensed. For the complete articles, please read the print edition of The Catholic New World. To subscribe, call (312) 534-7777.

News Update

Immigration advocates march

Catholics from the Archdiocese of Chicago will join members of other faiths to walk with immigrant families as part of "We Are God's Family," a march and vigil from 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 29. Marchers will meet at the University of Illinois at Chicago's John Paul II Newman Center, 700 S. Morgan, and walk together to Holy Family Parish, 1080 W. Roosevelt Road, where Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo Garcia- Siller will lead prayers in celebration of our call to be one family.

Participants are asked to bring family photographs that will be used during the celebration and then delivered to the Chicago offices of the presidential candidates to remind them of the need to keep families together through comprehensive immigration reform

For information, contact Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform at (312) 751-7991 or e-mail [email protected].

New principal for Marian Catholic

Dominican Sister Judine Hilbing will take over as principal of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights July 1.

She replaces Dominican Sister M. Paul McCaughey, who will become the archdiocesan superintendent of schools.

Hilbing, who is currently administrative assistant to the principal at Immaculate Conception School (88th Street), has a long history in elementary school administration in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including 11 years as principal at St. Michael School (S. Exchange) and six years at St. Christina School.

She was asked to take the position by her congregation, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, who sponsor the high school.

News Digest

Chinese Catholics pray for Olympics as torch arrives

Catholics in China prayed for God's blessing on the Olympic Games as the Olympic torch arrived in Hong Kong en route to the capital Beijing.

Poll shows pope's U.S. visit influenced attitudes toward church, faith here

Pope Benedict XVI's U.S. visit impacted public attitudes toward the pope, the church and people's willingness to live their faith more fully, according to a poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus.

The nationwide poll of 1,013 adults was conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., April 22-24, just after the April 15-20 papal visit. Marist conducted a similar poll prior to the pope's visit. Both polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Vatican theologians see miracle in Hawaiian woman's cure

Theological consultors to the Vatican Congregation for Saints' Causes have ruled that the cancer cure of a Hawaiian woman was due to Blessed Damien de Veuster's intercession, Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva announced April 29.

The decision represents a major step forward in Father Damien's cause for canonization. The final actions required to declare the priest a saint are the endorsement of the congregation's committee of cardinals and bishops and the approval of the pope.

Bill would allow detainees access to religious counselors

Sisters of Mercy JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy didn't know too much about the system faced by immigrants who are about to be deported when they started praying outside the Bridgeview detention center last year.

But their community, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, had committed itself to stand in solidarity with immigrants, and when they asked what they could do, Elena Segura, director of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform for the archdiocese, suggested they join the regular Friday morning prayer vigil in Broadview. Friday is the day detainees are deported, and they leave from the Broadview holding facility.

Archdiocese sees need for home-grown priests

None of the 11 new priests the Archdiocese of Chicago is expected to ordain May 17 was born in the archdiocese, or even in the United States. Five are from Poland, products of the Bishop Abramowicz Preparatory Seminary program that brings Polish seminarians and forms them to be Chicago priests. Two are from Mexico, one from Ecuador and one from Colombia, all products of Casa Jesus, a house of formation for Spanish-speaking young men considering the priesthood. And two are from Tanzania, and came through Tuite House, a program at St. Joseph College Seminary for African and African-American young men who are discerning whether they have priestly vocations.

While the archdiocese welcomes the foreign- born priests with open arms - and invests time and money in helping them learn about American culture, the American church and American English - they won't have the familiarity with the people of many native born priests, according to priests who work with them and with native- born Catholics who are considering the priesthood.

'Why did you become a priest?'

For most priests the most often asked question is "Why did you become a priest?" This is true no matter the culture, the country or the situation. People are curious about the things that they do not understand and the things that touch their lives.

Sometimes this question is asked out of a true sense of respect for the office and ministry and a desire to learn about the priesthood and the ideas that draw men to it. Sometimes, and increasingly more often in the present age, the question is asked in a challenging manner.

It seems to say "Of all the good things that a man can do in his life - why be a priest?"

JUBILARIANS - Gold and Silver Archdiocesan priests celebrate jubilees

The priests featured on these pages have given a total of 925 years of service to the church, most of them in the Archdiocese of Chicago. The members of the class of 1958 were ordained April 12, 1958, by Cardinal Samuel Stritch. Most of the class of 1983 was ordained May 7, 1958, by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Mundelein Seminary. Assisting Cardinal Bernardin was then-Father James P. Keleher, the seminary's rector, now archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kans., and a golden jubilarian this year. To all of them, the Catholic New World offer thanks and congratulations.

Sacrament of reconciliation is good soul medicine

At times illness leaves us weak, unable to work or function normally in life. Some sickness is even life-threatening. At these times we see a doctor, submit our symptoms to his or her scrutiny, and then, willingly, take the medicine that is prescribed. The process may not be enjoyable, but the outcome is welcomed: We are restored to health. Sin weakens us in our spiritual life. It saps our spiritual strength and makes us less effective as disciples of Christ. If the sin is serious and is neglected, it can be life-threatening - eternallife- threatening. So Christ instituted a sacrament to help us with spiritual sickness. It is called the sacrament of penance or reconciliation or, more popularly, confession.

Archdiocese misses its 'symbol of unity' As scaffolding sprouted along the sides of Holy Name Cathedral and word spread that the 1875 building would not reopen before the end of July - and quite possibly, much longer, those responsible for planning liturgies from weddings to ordinations of priests and deacons were left to find alternative sites. But for Todd Williamson, director of the archdiocese's Office for Divine Worship, having the cathedral closed is more than an inconvenience to be coped with. It's a blow to the symbol.

Church recognizes Marian apparitions in France

The Catholic Church has officially recognized 17th-century Marian apparitions to a 17-year-old peasant girl in a southern Alpine village in France.

"Three centuries have passed since Benoite Rencurel testified ... about what Christ and Mary, his mother, had revealed concerning God's love for men, as well as his infinite mercy and his appeal for conversion," Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseille, France, said during a May 4 Mass at the Marian basilica in the town of Laus.