Catholic New World - News Digest

News Update

WYD Mass set

Anyone going to World Youth Day 2008 in Australia July 15-20, and anyone celebrating World Youth Day "Chicago style" is invited to a special Mass celebrated by Cardinal George at 6 p.m. June 25 at St. John of the Cross, 5005 S. Wolf Road, Western Springs.

The Mass will include a special blessing and sending forth of the World Youth Day pilgrims. It will be followed by refreshments and a concert featuring John Angotti, a pop "music missionary," and Jorge Rivera, Hispanic Young Adult Ministry Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Donations are being accepted to defray the cost of the concert. For information or to RSVP, contact Maria (Cooky) Perez-Eraci, coordinator of youth ministry for Vicariate V, at (708) 370-3674 or meraci@ archchicago.org.

Disaster relief

Catholic Relief Services is supporting the emergency relief and response efforts of the Caritas Internationalis network in the most affected areas of Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis brought a deadly tidal surge across the low-lying coastal areas of the country on May 3.

United Nations Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief agency officials say the death toll from the cyclone could top 100,000, far in excess of the 22,000 deaths reported by the Myanmar government.

Meanwhile, CRS has not asked for donations to help efforts following the May 12 earthquake, whose death toll has exceeded 34,000, but CRS has a presence in China and donations are gladly accepted, said Adrienne Curry, CRS director for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Send donations to: Catholic Relief Services, 155 E. Superior. Chicago, IL 60611.

News Digest

2008 university commencement speakers spark fewer protests than in past years

College graduation speeches are expected to be almost a right of passage for college seniors. Almost equally predictable is the inevitable attention some commencement speakers get well before graduation day, especially when students or activist groups loudly protest their selection. As of May 16, the Cardinal Newman Society, which monitors speakers on campuses of Catholic colleges and universities, listed just seven schools where it found the speakers and/or honorary- degree recipients objectionable - primarily for their support for keeping abortion legal.

Many new U.S. priests are in their 30s and foreign-born, study says

The age and nationality of many of the new priests to be ordained in the United States this year continues a trend of recent years as more foreign- born men in their mid-30s are entering the priesthood. The average age for this year's ordinands is 36 for diocesan priests and 39 for priests joining religious orders. About 30 percent of new priests are between 25 and 29 years of age and about 39 percent are in their 30s, according to a national study.

Making the Tridentine Mass more accessible to priests

They're coming from the Philippines, Italy, Canada and around the United States to rediscover an old tradition that's bringing a new richness to the church. More than 40 priests and seminarians will meet at the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House in Mundelein May 19-23 for Sancta Missa, a workshop explaining the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Chicago Madonna, Polish style

The Virgin Mary has many faces and fills many roles for many people in many places. It is exactly this broadly accessible humanity that makes it possible for an artist born in Poland to create a Madonna for Chicago with a face the color of the Earth. Krzysztof Wasko brings an international sensibility, a love of his adopted home and a personal Marian devotion to his Chicago Madonna painting, on display at the Chicago History Museum as part of the "Catholic Chicago" exhibit.

Catholic Courage

When the challenge to act in courage surfaces in the complex life of today teens, wouldn't it be nice if they simply opened their catechisms for understanding and then turned to their elders for wisdom? Christian Smith, chair of the National Study on Youth and Religion, provides convincing evidence that this is not the case for Catholic teens in the United States. Out of all the groups being studied in this monumental national survey, Catholic youth are by far the most impoverished when it comes to articulating issues related to their faith.

Old St. Pat's parishioner finds niche with WWII vets

For Mary Pettinato, helping take World War II veterans to see the memorial for their war in Washington D.C., is an almost religious experience.

Pettinato is working with Honor Flights Chicago to take former service members from "the Greatest Generation" to the nation's capital June 11, free of charge and with enough help to make the trip go smoothly.

If the organization can raise enough money, up to four more flights could be scheduled this year, said Pettinato, a member of Old St. Pat's Parish.

Economic toll of health care crisis threatens all, CHA president says

Adding up the economic toll on the nation caused by the health care crisis, the head of the Catholic Health Association urged the United States to "act in its own best interest and in the interest of its people" to solve the problem.

Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO, spoke on "Health Care Reform That Is Worthy of the American People" May 16 at the City Club of Cleveland.

Jesuit magazine criticizes 'Big Brother' TV show

The "Big Brother" television series risks creating a new generation of gladiators, when people act not according to ethical standards but according to what is necessary to survive, said an influential Jesuit journal.

The influence the reality television show has on today's culture and future generations means alternative ways must be found that teach young people "more dignified" role models, it said.

Veterans find faith, hope after year at St. Leo's

Leaving their homes behind, they fought overseas under the American flag, but later found themselves living on the streets of the same country for which they'd risked their lives. For some, however, that lifestyle ended with the creation of the nation's first facility for homeless veterans, St. Leo's Residence, 7750 S. Emerald. St. Leo's recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. The former site of St. Leo the Great Church offers 141 studio apartments for transitional housing, a job training office, a community health center and an adjacent home for disabled veterans. It is operated jointly by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Archdiocese forges partnership with Nigerian schools

At 10 minutes to four on a Wednesday afternoon, Esther Hicks of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Catholic Schools and Chicago architect Chuck Newman were watching people from the Nsukka Diocese in Nigeria measure the rooms of the Holy Infant Kindergarten and Primary School. It was the second stop for the day. They had already led a team of the Nigerian colleagues on a trip to St. Catherine Secondary School for Girls, a high school with more than 1,000 students.

"The needs are very great," said Newman, whose firm, Newman Architects, has worked on several Catholic school projects in the Chicago area. Newman also co-founded a non-governmental organization called Building Schools for the Children of the World 11 years ago, so when Hicks came looking for people to help provide technical assistance to Catholic schools in Nsukka, Newman was a natural choice.

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