This week, The Catholic New World debuts a syndicated Catholic News Service Column, “On the Record,” which discusses popular music. This edition also features stories about the music of the World Youth Day celebration in Rome and the implications of Napster on the seventh commandment.

Cardinal's Column

News:

Schools chief Schuster resigns

Elaine Schuster, archdiocesan superintendent of schools, has announced her resignation effective Dec. 1. A search has begun for a successor to run the largest non-public school system in the country.
Schuster will become chief executive officer of the Golden Apple Foundation which honors excellence in classroom teaching.
Cardinal George said, “Dr. Schuster has served the Catholic schools of the archdiocese well during a difficult period of fiscal strain and consolidation. With the work she did on the Special Task Force for Catholic Schools, she helped set the groundwork for a period of stability that will enable us to keep Catholic education available in all areas of the archdiocese. I will miss her steady and loving presence. ...”
Schuster, superintendent since 1991, said, “It has become clear to me that after about 10 years of leadership and service to the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago, it is now time for me to move on and for someone else to accept the call to leadership as superintendent of schools."

Prayer and penance: Poor Clares open new monastery after 10-year absence from Chicago

Mother Abbess Mary Francis was 25 years old when she took her first—and, she expected, her last—train ride as a Poor Clare nun, moving from Chicago to be part of a new monastery in Roswell, N.M.. That was in 1948.
Last month, the 77-year-old abbess flew back to Chicago with six nuns to re-establish the order in the Archdiocese of Chicago, 10 years after the original monastery here closed because of a lack of members. Full text available.

Black Catholics tell their stories through quilt, video

“We wanted to do something to bring people into the church in a creative way that reflects our African-American history,” said Rosanne Swain of St. Sabina Parish.
How does one piece together the patchwork of being black and Catholic? Full text available.

‘Human dignity’ at core of bioethics

Only when doctors and scientists consider the dignity of every human being can doctors and scientists tap the potential of the genetics revolution and avoid its pitfalls, Cardinal George told members of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity.
All humans are made in the image of God, the cardinal said, from the moment of conception.
Cardinal George delivered his remarks, “Christian Vision for Moral Decisions in Bioethics,” July 21 at the organization’s annual conference at Trinity International University in Deerfield. Full text available.

New, minor changes for Mass

The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments July 28 issued the first revision in 25 years of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
The new Latin-language instruction—released simultaneously in Washington in an English study translation—introduces numerous minor changes in the way Mass is to be celebrated.

Faith helps those working with HIV, AIDS sufferers in Africa ...

Harare, Zimbabwe — Lorraine Toga, an 11-year-old with a ready smile, sits on the grass outside the Mashambanzou home in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.
Despite the bright sun, she wears a pink gown and a wool hat. Underneath, her hair is withering and her frail body is still wracked by a recent bout of tuberculosis.
Little Company of Mary Sister Margaret McAllen touches Lorraine’s hand lovingly, then turns away.
“...We almost lost her last week,’’ she whispers.

...and here in Chicago

The changing face of AIDS was clearly visible at the annual National Catholic AIDS Network conference held in Chicago, where nearly one-fifth of the participants are infected—but all are affected—by the virus.
“This conference is very Catholic, not just in its religious identity, but catholic in the sense of reflecting the universality of this pandemic,” said Father Rodney DeMartini, head of the National Catholic AIDS Network.

Children to benefit from Mexico City-Chicago ties

For the five children who traveled from an orphanage in Hidalgo, Mexico, to the Chicago area, the week-long trip was a cultural exchange, a chance to see a new country and do new things.
For their host families, members of Catholic Charities' Adoptive Parents Guild, it was a chance to open their homes and share their lives with young travelers, and maybe give them a chance at a life with a family, instead of an orphanage.
And for officials from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Catholic Charities' partner adoption agency in Mexico, the journey provided an opportunity to raise awareness that there are older children awaiting adoption in Mexico, and that Catholic Charities can help facilitate adoptions for Chicago-area families. The arrangement is part of the increasing closeness between the archdioceses of Chicago and Mexico City. Full text available.

Cardinal Arinze at St. John Cantius: ‘Celebrate Jubilee’

Despite delays from storm clouds in the East and President Clinton’s arrival at O’Hare Airport earlier in the day, the air remained a buzz outside St. John Cantius Parish waiting for the illustrious speaker.
On July 30, Cardinal Arinze, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, took the time to address Catholics as part of the Near North Side parish’s ongoing Jubilee 2000 conferences, designed to edify parishioners on the meaning of this holy year. Full text available.

Features:

CD, internet sites aim for World Youth Day audience

Young people around the world will be able to participate in some of the World Youth Day activities without leaving home, through Internet and music CDs.
Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Co. has been contracted by the Vatican to create a Web site -- www.WorldYouthDay.com -- that will carry information about the Aug. 15-20 events in Rome. The site will be Web-casting some of the events live.
Gaylord also will be co-marketing an official World Youth Day CD titled “One,” which will feature popular Christian artists, including: Gabriel’s Harp, Rachel Lampa with Aaron Neville, Marie Brennan with Booley, Sixpence None the Richer, A Ragamuffin Band, Jaci Velasquez, Burlap to Cashmere, Cindy Morgan with Luis Fonsi, Winans Phase 2 and Salvador.

Napster: Redefining ‘Thou Shall Not Steal’?

Whatever the outcome in this case brought against Napster by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a group that represents the interest of record companies, many recording artists and songwriters, a new question has arisen: Have technological advances redefined the seventh commandment?
On July 26, Chief Judge Marilyn Patel of United States District Court in San Francisco ruled that Napster, an online music site that allows computer users to exchange copyrighted CD and other materials compressed in an MP3 format, to shut down its service at midnight on July 28. Full text available.

The Interview:

Palos Heights pastor laments mosque dispute

This week, Catholic New World staff member Michelle Martin talks with Father Edward Cronin, pastor of St. Alexander Parish in Palos Heights.
When news first broke that a Muslim group planned to buy a church building and turn it into a mosque in Palos Heights, Father Ed Cronin bided his time before saying anything. But Cronin, pastor of St. Alexander Church in Palos Heights, broke his silence in a Pentecost homily. Since then, he has worked with other religious leaders to urge more than tolerance—rather, he urged residents to welcome the mosque. Full text available.

Commentary:

Senior housing beacons of hope for poor

Father Michael Boland, administrator of Catholic Charities, writes: In his 1999 “Letter to the Elderly,” Pope John Paul II beautifully expressed his spiritual closeness to elderly people of all languages and cultures. He reminded us that younger generations must protect and treasure the elderly who generously bless us with their gifts of experience, wisdom, and unwavering faith.
Catholic Charities’ commitment to caring for the elderly has inspired us to take the responsibility to plan, construct and secure the funding for low-income senior housing. During a 90-day period this summer, we are dramatically expanding our present 600 apartments in nine buildings to 935 apartments in 12 buildings, and we have four more buildings under construction. In July, we dedicated St. Ailbe Faith Apartments in Chicago’s Burnside neighborhood; on Aug. 4, we dedicated Bernardin Manor in Calumet City; and in September we will dedicate St. Sabina Elder Village on Chicago’s South Side.

Briefs

Loyola to study role of religion

Loyola University of Chicago has received a $600,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to examine the role of religion in the lives of Chicago’s 1 million immigrants.
The grant is for a three-year study on “Religion, Immigration and Civil Society in Chicago.” The project will be based at Loyola’s McNamara Center for the Social Study of Religion, established in 1999.
“Immigrants are changing the shape of American religion,” said Fred Kniss, associate professor of sociology at the Jesuit-run university.

Parish Pride:
Queen of the Rosary Church
680 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove Village

“Anyone who has no church, always has our church.” That’s the unofficial motto of this welcoming parish, surrounded by lush parks beautifully maintained by the Village of Elk Grove. The parish school rose first in 1961, with its gym utilized for worship. The modern church, with its distinctive angular roof, designed by Del Bianco, Schwartz and Donatoni, was dedicated in 1969. Famous far and wide is QR’s “Bistro on the Blvd.” The tented, two-day fund-raiser takes place on Sept. 15-16, and, needless to say, everyone’s welcome!

Church Clips:

‘Praise the Lord’ — St. Dorothy Church (S. Eberhart) was barely able to contain the many well-wishers present at a Mass of Thanksgiving on July 23 honoring Joyce Gillie’s 25 years of lay ministry and faith-spreading. She is busy now in her new missionary vineyard at St. Peter Claver’s (Robbins).

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