Catholic New World - News Digest

News Update

Blue Ribbons

Five Catholic elementary schools and one Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Chicago were named No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools for 2008 by the U.S. Department of Education Sept. 9.

Blue Ribbon Schools are either academically superior or ones that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels, according to the federal education department.

The schools recognized this year are: Cardinal Joseph Bernardin School, Orland Hills; Pope John XXIII, Evanston; Queen of All Saints; St. James, Arlington Heights; St. Mary, Buffalo Grove; and St. Viator High School, Arlington Heights.

They are among 46 private elementary and three private high schools recognized in the United States.

Getting schooled in chastity

Jason Evert, a nationally known speaker on chastity, will bring his testimony, "Romance without Regret," to four high schools and two parishes Sept. 14-17, as well as speaking at the 4 p.m. Sept. 14 Life Nite IV Teen Rally at St. Frances of Rome Parish in Cicero. He will also do a presentation open to junior high schools Sept. 17 at Guerin College Prep High School, River Grove. His appearances are sponsored by the Chastity Education Initiative of the Respect Life Office. For details, call (312) 751-5355.

Holy Name shines for its re-opening

Congregation sees new art, repairs, improvements Holy Name Cathedral reopened for weekend Masses Aug. 30 with full pews, a newly-buffed shine on the wood ceiling and terrazzo floor and tapestries showcasing the "IHS" symbol of the Holy Name of Jesus and the traditional symbols of the four evangelists. Still hanging in the sanctuary were the five galeros - the red hats from each of the Chicago cardinals who died in office. By tradition, they will stay until they disintegrate, and they stayed through six months of construction and repair of the ceiling.

News Digest

Archbishop will talk with Pelosi

Calling recent nationally broadcast comments by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "in serious conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church," Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco invited the Catholic lawmaker "into a conversation with me" about church teaching on abortion, the beginning of human life and the formation of conscience. Pelosi has agreed to meet with him.

Quinceańera ritual book available

The approved Order for the Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday, the quinceańera ritual, will be published Sept. 19. Communities can celebrate this bilingual ritual both within and outside of Mass.

Men need help healing after partners' abortions

"We have to learn to love men ... that is how we are going to reclaim fatherhood." For men suffering the aftermath of abortion, Thomas Golden offers a message of healing.

Ministries offered by the Catholic Church and other faith traditions have been focused on supporting women affected by abortion, and for good reason. Women who have suffered an abortion are impacted on many levels, and deserve full pastoral care. Until recently, the grief and pain experienced by the men involved in these decisions has not been as widely discussed.

Men wondering about call to priesthood find 'In Search'

Who does God want me to be? Do we continue to ask this question today, in a culture that often doesn't support religious life? A question about God's will is not a question about a future profession. It is a question about the deepest desire of our hearts, which may be heard in a specific spiritual climate regardless of age. The Archdiocese of Chicago has reached out to the needs of men who are seriously interested in priesthood by creating such a spiritual environment. In 1991 Father Dick Miller created In Search, an organization for men who are considering becoming priests, especially those thinking of changing their previous careers.

New support groups begin for anyone affected by sex abuse

The Archdiocese of Chicago and the Office of Assistance Ministry is sponsoring a new program for family members of those who have been sexually abused as children by priests or deacons of the Catholic Church. The four-session program, which began the first week in September, is conducted by a licensed clinical social worker at no cost to the participants.

St. Paul had help taking the Gospel to the Gentiles

Saul's experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus convinced him that Jesus and his followers were one living body. Baptized into that body (perhaps by Ananias), Saul tried to join other believers in prayer and in evangelization, but he had a hard time finding acceptance. He tried to prove his faith in Christ by preaching, but that only brought more troubles upon an already beleaguered group. In Jerusalem, the trusted Levite Barnabas put his own credibility on the line and vouched for Saul. Barnabas, originally from Cyprus, had a special gift for recognizing the signs of the Holy Spirit's action, and he saw them clearly in the hapless former Pharisee.

School lunches cost more, but offer nutritional value

Lunch prices at archdiocesan schools remain reasonable despite the hike in prices in everything from fuel to wheat. "The cost of a student's daily lunch increased only about a dime," said Patricia Hofkamp, principal at St. Lawrence O'Toole School in Matteson. "It's a deal when you consider what it would cost to go to the store and buy a pre-packaged lunch and then it might not be as healthy."

Deacon takes on teaching at Leo

Former lawyer, prison minister fulfills youthful ambition When Deacon George Brooks was in high school, his goal was to teach high school math in an inner-city, African-American high school. Now, as a new theology teacher and campus minister at Leo Catholic High School on the South Side, he has come very close to his original aim - after taking a few detours.

One name, three schools

Immaculate Conceptions follow different paths to success Three schools in the Chicago archdiocese have something in common: their name, Immaculate Conception. All three follow the Catholic tradition. All three are trailblazers of sorts - but that's where the commonality stops. All are in Chicago, but in different neighborhoods with different needs.

Fenwick High School student helps victims of Iowa floods

When Fenwick High School senior Thomas Jacobs heard about the flooding that was happening in Iowa last summer, he immediately thought about his extended family members who live there. During the flooding, Jacobs was attending the summer conference for the Peacebuilders Initiative, a leadership and ministry program for high school youth run by the Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry of the Catholic Theological Union.

During the weeklong conference, Jacobs and the 50 other participants visited ministry sites, where they did service, and then the youth discussed their experiences in reflection groups. Jacobs kept thinking about his family members in Iowa and how he could help them.

Why have Catholic schools? Anti-Catholicism played role in founding system

As children return to school at this time of year, I would like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts with you about our Catholic schools. Let me start with some basic questions. Why do we have them? It is so expensive to run Catholic schools, why not just send children to public schools since we pay taxes to support them anyway?

To begin to answer these questions, we need to go back to the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. Catholic education goes back deep into American history - to at least 1606. That year, expressing their desire "to teach children Christian doctrine, reading and writing," the Franciscans opened a school in what is now St. Augustine, Fla.

Seven sisters excel at Maria

Life will be different around the Roland household come next fall. For a 21 year span, Lawrence and Elizabeth Roland's seven daughters have all attended Maria High School. Their youngest daughter, Genevieve, will complete the family legacy when she graduates from the all-girls school in the spring.

The seven sisters chose to attend Maria High School because of its small size and its many opportunities, and each of the sisters has made an impact on the school in their own unique way.

New Internet TV site aims for Catholic audience

Billing itself as the Internet's first Catholic television station, www.realcatholictv.com is up and running and looks forward to expanding operations in October. The Internet site debuted Sept. 1, and a $10-a-month subscription service will make its bow Oct. 1.

Action! Make your own masterpiece

Want your kids, grandkids or religion class to feel empowered when it comes to media and making good media choices? There's no better way to understand how media is constructed than to make media ourselves.

Creating media is one of four skills encouraged by the "media literacy" movement. All you'll need is a video camera (or digital camera that takes a few minutes of video) and a computer (all Windows programs have "Windows Movie Maker" software). You can be as simple or elaborate as you want with everything else.

Icon's crown made from jewelry donated by faithful

Thousands of Polish Catholics craned their necks as Cardinal Francis George lifted shining decorations up to the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa during a Mass at St. Hyacinth Basilica. A moment later cameras flashed, worshippers applauded and the two figures in the icon -the Blessed Mother and the Infant Jesus - bore new gold crowns.

The Aug. 31 coronation marked the culmination of the parish's Year of the Family, which St. Hyacinth's priests organized to honor the many immigrant families who are separated, with some members here and some in Poland.

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