Update

Big Greeley gift funds schools
Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago will benefit from a $420,000 gift from Father Andrew M. Greeley.

Greeley, a Chicago priest, sociologist and writer, said the gift will bolster the new Catholic Schools Endowment Fund established by the Office for Catholic Schools.

Proceeds of the endowment fund will provide a scholarship pool to help “make Catholic education a reality for families who … do not have the means to afford tuition,” said Nicholas Wolsonovich, superintendent of schools.

Greeley, 75, graduated from St. Angela elementary school on the West Side. He was presented a special “Heart of the Schools” award Jan. 29 by Cardinal George during ceremonies honoring outstanding teachers during Catholic Schools Week.

Greeley said, “Catholic schools in the inner city are the most important, most generous and most Christian activity in which American Catholicism has ever engaged.” He said the gift is a way of repaying the church for what he received as a child.

Greeley’s “generous contribution will help make a difference in the lives of our young people,” said Cardinal George.

Tax time again
It’s income tax time again, and the Archdiocese of Chicago is reminding parents and guardians of the school tax credit that’s available.

The credit could save parents of qualifying children in parochial and others schools up to $500 on Illinois income taxes, said Thomas Brennan, archdiocesan financial services director.

The tax credit was passed in 1999 and allows a credit for certain education expenses.

For information, get tax advice or visit www.revenue.state.il.usa/taxforms/Incm2002/ind/IL1040ED.pdf

News

Life-march mourns Roe at 30
Jean Healey said she came to Washington for the Jan. 22 March for Life “to show the world there are citizens who love life, see this as a human rights issue and want to see justice for women and babies.”

“I like to think of us as the abolitionists of the 21st century,” she said before stepping off for the 30th annual march marking the Supreme Court’s companion decisions, Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, legalizing abortion.

Groups—including scores of people from Chicago—gathered across the city in the morning, then proceeded to the area between the White House and Washington Monument before marching to the Supreme Court.

Rachel offers hope
Chicago-area commuters will soon see haunting images of women looking out at them from billboards and transit cards, reminding them that women are victims of abortion too.

The month-long ad campaign, with the tag line, “Something inside dies after an abortion,” promotes Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing program. All the ads, whether on billboards, transit cards or radio stations, will include the program’s toll-free number, (888) 456-HOPE.

Women lead St. Vincent de Paul Society into future
Claudia Pieske and Mary Van Wazer say they first came to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul because they wanted to help other people.

Now the women know better.

“A person becomes a Vincentian for the spiritual growth of that person,” said Pieske, who became the society’s executive director Jan. 2. “I don’t think most people in the society think that is the reason they are becoming members when they join. But it’s the spiritual growth that keeps you doing this work.”

Abstinence education tells kids to say yes to life, positive values
“You’re not the only one.”

For teens that battle with peer pressure on a daily basis, that is an encouraging statement. Especially for those who want to wait until marriage before having sex.

That type of support plays a role in abstinence education in some parochial and public schools.

Since 1985, a group called Project Reality has provided a framework for schools to promote sexual abstinence and character building. The nonprofit organization based in northwest suburban Golf provides its program free to schools, through a state grant. It offers “Game Plan” for grades seven to 10 and “I Can Do That” for grades four to seven. It is working on a program for grades nine through 12.

WTTW relives ‘Angels’ painful past
The Irish have a saying, “It would knock a tear from a stone.” The first full-length documentary about the 1958 Our Lady of Angels School fire, “Angels Too Soon,” isn’t easy to watch. Narrated by John Callaway, it premieres a new season of WTTW11’s “Chicago Stories” at 8 p.m. Feb. 6.

No therapists helped the traumatized survivors. Many were hospitalized, some badly burned or with bones broken in their leap for life. It was another era. The kids were expected to tough it out and many weren’t allowed to express feelings or persistent fears. Airing these survivors’ stories today helps put a human face on the tragedy. Each gives a glimpse of the nightmares that still haunt them after the deaths of 92 of their fellow students and three BVM sisters who taught them 45 years ago.