The Catholic New World - News Digest 10/29/00





		10/29/00 This week, The Catholic New World includes coverage of “Faithful Citizenship,” an overview of what the church teaches Catholics they must consider when they vote in the upcoming election. It also includes the October edition of Exciting Senior Perspectives, a special section for the mature Catholic. The Faithful Citizenship document. More information is available on the Web site of the Archdiocese of Chicago: www.archdiocese-chgo.org. News: Families caught in crossfire Beit Jalla—Milad Nazzal and his family had returned from harvesting olives in their orchards when the shooting began. Bullets came in through his parents’ bedroom window on the second floor; one bullet pierced the bed headboard and landed on the mattress, and another reached a small cabinet at the entrance of the living room. Bethlehem Catholic school students troubled by violence Palestinian students at a Catholic school in Bethlehem said it is hard to live like a Christian when violence surrounds them. “I know I’m supposed to turn the other cheek like Jesus taught us, but also we cannot keep silent when our rights are not given us,” said 16-year-old Issa Stephan, a Catholic from Beit Jalla, West Bank. Chicago educator reflects on Holy Land situation Christian Brother Neil Kieffe has served as an administrator at Bethlehem University for 10 years, after spending most of his 39-year education career in the Chicago area, including a stint as principal of St. Patrick High School in the 1980s. Kieffe recently returned to the Unites States because of a family emergency. He recently wrote about the situation in Bethlehem. Full text available. Abortion tied to breast cancer: Some researchers say link can’t be denied The possibility of a link between abortion and breast cancer has been studied for decades. Now, after more than 30 studies have been completed, some anti-abortion proponents claim that the ideological views of some scientists have clouded their judgment. Full text available. L’Arche home to open here Auxiliary Bishop Raymond E. Goedert will lead an ecumenical blessing of the first L’Arche home to open in the United States since 1987. Bishop Goedert will bless the home at 1049 S. Austin Blvd., at 2 p.m., Nov. 5. L’Arche (“The Ark”) operates some 130 homes in 30 countries, where more than 4,000 persons with mental and developmental disabilities can live away from institutions. Missionaries must base work on service, John Paul II says At a jubilee liturgy to celebrate evangelization around the world, Pope John Paul II said the church’s missionary efforts must be based on service, not domination, with special attention to the poor and suffering. Pope calls for support for addicted young people Pope John Paul II offered encouragement to thousands of young people recovering from drug addiction, assuring them of his prayers as they journeyed toward a new life. “The church is with you, it walks at your side,” he told some 20,000 members of the Comunita Incontro, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping young people overcome drug addiction. Rowe comes home to church “I went crazy. There’s no other way of putting it,” said a smiling and soft-spoken Cyprian Rowe, now in his mid-60s. A strange choice of words, one might think, for this African-American scholar, who has several degrees and has been a research associate in the psychiatry department at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was talking about his decision to leave the Catholic Church and his Marist community three years ago to join a breakaway African-American Catholic community and his current fervent desire to return to his roots. Features: Black and Catholic in Chicago: a continuing series What's black, white and Catholic all over? Since the Great Migration of southern blacks up North, the answer to that question hasn't been archdiocesan parishes within the city limits. Many, but not all, of the 43 predominantly black parishes to play a role in Black Catholic Convocation 2000, Nov. 3-4 at DeLaSalle Institute, are located on the South Side or West Side of Chicago. When factored in, said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry, there are over 75 parishes throughout the archdiocese with some measurable black Catholic presence, albeit small in number. "The issues you find there among black Catholics are their desire for more participation in the parish and for the parish that feels more inclusive to people of color. These are the same issues we've gone through before," said Bishop Perry, at a recent press conference on the convocation, in reference to efforts to desegregate Catholic churches decades ago. The bishop continued, "These issues never seem to die." Full text available. Exciting Senior Perspectives: Telling one's life story provides powerful legacy to family, friends Everyone wants to be remembered after their lives on earth have ended, and for many seniors there is a special urgency to create their own special legacy. One way to truly pass down something that will forever speak volumes about those things held most dear in life is to create a written record. Simply jotting down favorite memories and/or milestones in a notebook or journal gives children and grandchildren a concrete reference of parts of a loved one’s life and a sense of history about the family's roots. Cake and kolacky from the convent Anyone hoping to buy baked goods at the annual Convent Crafts Fair in Bartlett on Nov. 11 better come early. “We usually run out of bakery by 10:30,” said Sister of St. Joseph Mary Virgiose Ozog, chairperson of the fair. "The bakery is the drawing card.” That's why the kitchen crew at the congregational home of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis has been busy for weeks. Under the supervision of Sister Augustine Krueger, they've been mixing enough dough to make 500 dozen flaky kolacky, cakes, bread and cookies. All the pastry dough goes into their large walk-in freezer until it's time to fire up the ovens and bake them fresh for the big sale. Full text available. Sister: prayer jars reflect unity of creation with God “It’s exciting to think that so many are looking to pray,” said Sister Chris March, a Sister of St. Joseph and designer of “prayer jars.” “It’s just so refreshing to know that, especially in a world where you hear about so many awful things happening,” she said. March’s jars are available through the Ministry of the Arts of the Sisters of St. Joseph of La Grange in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Commentary: Reading the tea leaves for the future of China Columnist George Weigel writes: According to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, the parties in question were guilty of “enormous crimes.” Any other reading of their lives “distorts and tramples on history, is a calumny against the Chinese people ... wounds the Chinese people’s feelings and insults their dignity. The government and Chinese people cannot tolerate it.” Cannot tolerate what? Who were the targets of this remarkable broadside? The Japanese soldiers who raped their way through Nanking in 1937? Well, no. The Chinese foreign ministry had in mind 120 martyrs, killed over a period of some 300 years, whom Pope John Paul II canonized on Oct. 1. Entertainment: Brubeck an original, no jazz Catholic jazz musician Dave Brubeck not only has a place in jazz music, he also has a place in Ken Burns’ forthcoming documentary, “Jazz,’’ which will be shown in 10 installments encompassing 18-and-a-half hours. “Let us make no mistake: Jazz was invented by African-Americans, but it was generously shared with the rest of the world,’’ Burns said. “And no one has understood the importance of the gift and struggled to master it with such artistry than Dave Brubeck.’’ Briefs: Loyola receives $2 million grant Loyola University has received a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment for “programs for the theological exploration of vocation.” Loyola is one of 20 colleges and universities in the United States and the only institution in Illinois to receive funding. Loyola’s award was based on a proposal the university developed as part of a $50,000 planning grant awarded last year. The project, called Eliciting Vocation through Knowledge and Engagement (EVOKE), aims to help all students understand what they are being called to do. “As a Catholic, Jesuit university, we reverence a person’s unique relationship to God,” said Jesuit Father John J. Haughey, the Christian ethics professor who guided the development of the program. The four-year project begins in January 2001. Parish Pride: St. Cajetan Church 11234 S. Artesian Ave. This contemporary edifice designed by architects Barry and Kay, dedicated by Cardinal Albert Meyer in 1964, radiates subdued elegance. Its deeply pitched red tile roof makes the Lannon stone church look deceptively cozy. Step into the narthex and gaze down the long broad aisles and there’s an air of an English great hall, with a slightly barreled ceiling, and walls of warm facebrick that complement the music from a 1925 Moeller pipe organ. Set in Beverly/Morgan Park on the far Southwest Side of the city, its people are rooted, not just in comfortable homes, but in faith, in parish identity and what it means to be Catholic. One group of parishioners has worked hard the past year to explore the unspoken sin of racism and how to address it in the area. An evangelization committee gets its message out and celebrates a monthly “youth” Mass that now draws people ages 2 to 92. Top Front Page \| Digest \| Cardinal \| Interview Classifieds \| About Us \| Write Us \| Subscribe \| Advertise Archive \| Catholic Sites \| New World Publications \| Católico \| Directory \| Site Map

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Keeping on, keeping on — Mary Ann Hannon of Divine Providence (Westchester) recently retired after 17 years as a sacristan at her parish. After keeping things ship-shape from the priests’ vestments to thuribles, she’ll now be in charge of packing luggage for all the trips she and husband Bill will be making. . . . Judith Scholl Lee has been an industrious member of the House of Good Shepherd Woman’s Board for the last 20 years. Lee, of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish (Glenview) worked some magic recently and got 20 members of the 100-year-old Vienna Symphony Orchestra to perform at a Nov. 5 brunch benefit at the Four Seasons Hotel for the shelter operated by the Good Shepherd Sisters for battered women and children.

Marilu Henner

Chicago Connection — Marilu Henner, star of the current run of “Annie Get Your Gun” at the Shubert Theater, is home! Henner hails from St. John Berchmans Parish (W. Logan) and is a Madonna High School (W. Belmont) alum. Her mom was a dance teacher on the Northwest Side so talented Henner had a good start for Broadway musicals early in her career. She became a hit in the TV sitcom “Taxi” and then “Evening Shade” with Burt Reynolds and movies. From a family of six siblings, Henner is now married and the mother of two boys, that she takes with her “on the road.” Her first book, “By All Means Keep on Moving,” was autobiographical, but she has been very successful writing how-to books as well, like, “Marilu Henner’s Total Health Makeover,” “I Refuse to Raise a Brat,” and she’s now working on “Healthy Kids from Conception to College.” When “Annie” closes here, it’s on the road to Boston and 14 other cities. For tickets, call (312) 977-1710.

Wags’ corner — Helpful tip from John J. Lyons: “Sunday Oct. 29 The Bears are going to turn the clock back eight games!”

Honk or Toll if you’re pro-life — The Women’s Center, a pro-life outreach and counseling center, has been serving in the arch for 16 years in several area sites. They counsel some 5,000 young women a year and while saving about 2,000 babies, assist families in numerous ways. Whether it’s distributing gently used maternity clothes and baby items, or giving post-abortion counseling, volunteers are on the job. The Center can always use things like cribs, bassinets, infant car seats, playpens, strollers, high chairs or disposable diapers. For their upcoming benefit dinner-dance they are hoping for a donation of a new quilt, crochet coverlet or lappad. Just call Pat at (773) 794-4777… “For Whom the Bells Toll” is the name of a national initiative to have religious organizations around the country toll their bells for two minutes at 6 p.m. on the date of an execution of someone on Death Row. Sponsors say it can serve as a reminder that these are acts of state-sponsored “murder.” Cardinal Jaime Sin of the Philippines first asked that Catholic churches in his country toll the bells and Bishop Walter Sullivan of Richmond, Va., made the same request in the States. For more info, e-mail Sr. Dorothy Briggs, OP, at [email protected]. Bells can’t toll for each infant abortion because there are 4,000 a day in our country!

Beautiful breads — Father Dominic Garramone, host of TV’s “Breaking Bread With Father Dominic,” will be back on Ch. 20-WYCC at 12:30 p.m. Sundays, beginning Oct. 29. Born in Peoria and living now at St. Bede Benedictine Abbey in Peru, Ill., he dishes out light-hearted wisdom with every loaf. The successful PBS show, in its second season, will have episodes ranging from Latino yeast breads for the Day of the Dead or scones and Irish Soda Bread, to a kids’ baking boot camp at the Kitchen Conservatory in St. Louis. Father Dominic says, don’t sweat, “It’s bread. It’s going to forgive you.”

Election 2000 — Besides exercising your privilege to vote on Nov. 7, you can unite with prayer groups around the country by saying the rosary anytime during that day to intercede and lift the hearts and minds of voters.