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Issue of February 15, 2004
UPDATE: Guerin goes co-ed; Holy Cross to close Mother Theodore Guerin High School, an all-girls school in River Grove, will become co-educational school in August and will admit students from Holy Cross High School, an adjacent boys’ institution. Holy Cross will close in June. Holy Cross Brother James Spooner, principal and president, said the decision to close the school was prompted by declining enrollment. “We’re pleased that the spirit and traditions of Holy Cross High School will become an important part of a new co-educational college prep initiative,” he said. Cardinal George asked that Guerin consider accepting Holy Cross students when he learned of the decision to close Holy Cross, archdiocesan officials said. “Our previous work together provided the foundation for our decision to offer students a Catholic co-ed learning experience,” said Providence Sister Nancy Nolan, Guerin president.
Franzman to head evangelization Father Thomas Franzman has been named director of the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Worship for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He reports to Chancellor Jimmy M. Lago. Franzman will oversee the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Worship. In addition, he will be administrative head for several agencies, including Family Ministries, the Missions Office, Peace and Justice, Respect Life, Ecumenical Affairs, Parish Pastoral Councils, Prison Ministry, Young Adult Ministry, Youth Ministry and the Office for Divine Worship. Franzman succeeds Vincentian Father Joseph Geders, who becoming provincial treasurer for his order. “Father Franzman will bring great gifts to the Pastoral Center staff,” said Cardinal George. “I am grateful that he has accepted this important position.” Franzman was rector of Quigley Preparatory Seminary North from 1982 to 1990. From 1990 to 2003 he was administrator and then pastor at St. Michael Parish (South Shore).
NEWS: Illinois diocese settles with 28 abuse victims In a three-day mediation session Jan. 29-31, the Diocese of Springfield settled the claims of 28 clergy sexual abuse victims and family members for $3 million. New lawsuits alleging abuse were filed there and in other dioceses, however.
Dulles: Vatican II a renewal, not rupture with past Vatican II was no “revolution” in Catholic thought or doctrine, and theologians who do not read its documents in light of earlier church teaching badly misinterpret them, Cardinal Avery Dulles asserted. Dulles, a Jesuit and a professor at Fordham University in New York, presented his case at “The Theological Aftermath of Vatican II,” a Feb. 7 symposium at the University of Chicago sponsored by The Lumen Christi Institute and the university’s divinity school.
Educators stress tolerance Both Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan and former Chicago Catholic Schools Superintendent Elaine Schuster gave high marks to the level of tolerance among today’s young people during a Feb. 9, discussion on “Choosing Peace: How to Prepare Our Children for Life Together.” But like the longtime educators they are, each agreed there’s room for improvement during the second in a series of “Conversations in Faith” sponsored by the Catholic Theological Union’s Bernardin Center.
Watching television: the road to writing success? When Walter Podrazik steps in front of the junior high students at St. Barbara School in Bridgeport, he has a novel message for them: TV is good. At least, it can be. Podrazik, a 1966 graduate of St. Barbara, visited the school to share his history as a TV watcher and historian with the students.
Pope urges care for world’s children Pope John Paul II spoke against violence directed toward children, including sexual abuse, human trafficking and the use of child soldiers. In his annual Lenten message, the pope also spoke of “the tragedy of AIDS and its devastating consequences in Africa,” especially its effects on children. “Humanity cannot close its eyes in the face of so appalling a tragedy,” the pope said in his message, dated Dec. 8 and released by the Vatican Jan. 29.
Pope notes ‘alarming trend’ of anti-Semitism Pope John Paul II, meeting with the American Jewish Committee, said the Second Vatican Council’s condemnation of anti-Semitism was still urgently needed in today’s world. At the same time, the pope deplored what he called an “alarming trend” toward violence in the name of religion and said greater efforts at religious education were the key to promoting tolerance.
Faith is ‘paramount’ in play “Paramount Girl,” now on stage at the Live Bait Theater, offers a portrait of faith, commitment and love as it tells the story of Dolores Hart, who gave up a film and stage career to enter a cloistered Benedictine Monastery in 1963. The world-premiere production is a “fiction with facts thrown in,” according to playwright Sue Cargill.
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