Tag: Catholic Hierarchy

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Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George has Died

The man who figured so prominently in my ordeal with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate is dead. Despite the fact that he and I never saw eye-to-eye; Rest In Peace Francis.

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“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history” ― Cardinal Francis George

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After a long bout with cancer, he is gone. It occurs to me, remembering that quote of his (and more on it, here), that we now have an intercessor for our times — an intercessor on the issue of Christian Persecution.

First report, out of the Chicago Tribune:

Cardinal Francis George, the first Chicago native to serve as the local archbishop and a man who during that 17-year tenure became the intellectual leader of the American church, has died after a years long struggle with cancer. He was 78.

Archbishop Blasé Cupich is expected to make an announcement at 2 p.m. at Holy Name Cathedral.

Monsignor Michael Boland, president of Catholic Charities for the archdiocese, released a statement saying, “Today we mourn the loss of an incredible leader, guiding spirit and loyal friend. Cardinal George had compassion for all. You saw this compassion in his eyes as he visited with the poor and most vulnerable in our communities.

Please read the whole story about the fascinating life of this extraordinarily accomplished priest and pastor. I always loved how expressively he shared his thoughts. One of my favorite stories about him was shared by Father Robert Barron, in his excellent book, Catholicism, and which I quoted here:

Fr. Robert Barron recalls a comment made by Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, who had been asked what he was thinking as he stood on the balcony of St. Peter’s after the election of Benedict XVI. George said, “I was gazing over toward the Circus Maximus, toward the Palatine Hill where the Roman Emperors once resided and reigned and looked down upon the persecution of Christians, and I thought, ‘Where are their successors? . . . But if you want to see the successor of Peter, he is right next to me, smiling and waving at the crowds.’”

There is a wonderful meme I once saw on George that very succinctly spelled out how very impressive he was, in faith, and gifts and life-story. I will try to find it, so check back, because I will have more thoughts and links, shortly.

In the meantime, let us pray: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon him!

Watch his successor, Archbishop Cupich’s statement, and live coverage.

John L. Allen, Jr: The “American Ratzinger” Dies:

George’s abiding passion was the relationship between faith and culture, and especially the urgency of a “New Evangelization,” meaning a new missionary zeal in Catholicism.

After his appointment as archbishop of Chicago in 1997, and especially during his three-year term as president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2007 to 2010, George was the Vatican’s go-to figure in the United States and one of just a handful of American prelates whose reputation and influence reached around the Catholic world.

Among other aspects of his résumé, George will be remembered as the architect of the US bishops’ battles with the Obama administration over contraception and health care reform, and the leader who made religious freedom a signature concern for the bishops.

His legacy also will be tied to the child sexual abuse scandals in the American Church, both his championing of a “zero tolerance” policy and allegations that he failed to apply that policy himself in a high-profile Chicago case.

Read it all.

Commonweal has full video of George’s last homily.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of USCCB, has released a statement:

“The death of an exemplary churchman such as Cardinal Francis George brings much sadness at a time of joy and resurrection. We find peace in knowing that, after so much suffering, he has been raised up with our Lord. As archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Cardinal George led as a kindly servant and unmatched intellectual, a man who encouraged everyone to see how God makes us all brother and sister to one another. I join with my brother bishops in thanking God for the gift of his witness and invite all to pray for the faithful repose of his soul.”

Here is the meme I mentioned,

created by Patrick Thornton at Word on Fire

 

Complete Article HERE!

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Homeless At Saint Mary’s Cathedral Intentionally Drenched With Water While Sleeping

File under: Absolutely astonishing.  Just like Jesus would do.

By Doug Sovern

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways.

The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night.

“They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert.

But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night. Water pours from a hole in the ceiling, about 30 feet above, drenching the alcove and anyone in it.

The shower ran for about 75 seconds, every 30 to 60 minutes while we were there, starting before sunset, simultaneously in all four doorways. KCBS witnessed it soak homeless people, and their belongings.


A homeless man uses an umbrella to hold off the water. (CBS SF)
A homeless man uses an umbrella to hold off the water. (CBS SF)

 

“We’re going to be wet there all night, so hypothermia, cold, all that other stuff could set in. Keeping the church clean, but it could make people sick,” Robert said.

The water doesn’t really clean the area. There are syringes, cigarette butts, soggy clothing and cardboard. There is no drainage system. The water pools on the steps and sidewalks.

A neighbor who witnessed the drenching told KCBS, “I was just shocked, one because it’s inhumane to treat people that way. The second thing is that we are in this terrible drought.

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homeless said, “It’s very shocking, and very inhumane. There’s not really another way to describe it. Certainly not formed on the basis of Catholic teachings.”

A cathedral staff member confirmed to KCBS the system was installed, perhaps a year ago, to deter the homeless from sleeping there.

Chris Lyford, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said cathedral staff tries hard to help these people.

“We refer them, mostly to Catholic Charities, for example for housing,” Lyford said. “To Saint Anthony’s soup kitchen for food, if they want food on that day. Saint Vincent de Paul if they need clothes.”

But he says they keep coming back, and most seem to have serious substance abuse issues.

“We do the best we can, and supporting the dignity of each person. But there is only so much you can do.”

Some of the homeless bring waterproof gear, even an umbrella, to try to stay dry. Frustrated cathedral employees tell us they don’t have the staff to police the doorways, which are used by churchgoers during services.

Lyford, who says he didn’t know about the water system until we showed it to him, admits it doesn’t seem to be an effective deterrent.

Then, suggests this church neighbor, turn it off. “I would hope that they would stop doing this, both for environmental reasons and for common decency.”

KCBS has also learned from a review of city permit records that the system was installed illegally, and may violate water use regulations.

The Archdiocese issued a new statement Wednesday morning about the story, saying the church will address the situation at the Cathedral immediately and will have further comment later in the day.

The statement goes on to say, “Catholic organizations in San Francisco serve thousands of homeless people every year, providing shelter, food, and critical services.  That is the true picture of compassionate Catholic care.”
Complete Article HERE!

Shame on you Sal! ArchbishopCordileone

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Bishop opposed to same-sex marriage struggled with sexuality

File under: What this guy doesn’t know about sex is a lot!

Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran: Use of the title “marriage equality” for the May vote is misleading. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran: Use of the title “marriage equality” for the May vote is misleading.

Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran says some people genetically predisposed to being gay

By Ciarán D’Arcy

Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran believes some people may have a genetic disposition towards being gay and admitted that he was confused about his sexuality as a teenager.

In a wide-ranging radio interview on Newstalk Breakfast he also implored women who had been raped to avoid having abortions as a way to “get back” at their attacker.

“Some people perhaps have a predisposition genetically to being gay; perhaps in some cases people are gay because of contexts, circumstances related to their own experience of life as young people.

“One of the things I would suggest also from my own experience working as a university chaplain would be that many young people in their late teens are confused about their sexuality, understandably I think. I’d have to say I was myself,” said the cleric, who is one of the leading advocates for a No vote in the upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.

Bishop Doran said that the use of the title “marriage equality” for the May vote is misleading, before adding that parents are not really parents despite being entrusted with the care of children.

“They’re not parents, they may have children . . . but people who have children are not necessarily parents.

“The whole relationship between life-giving and parenthood is being separated . . . Children lose the right to have a relationship with their parents,” he said.

Responding to Bishop Doran’s comments, Michael Rose from the Campaign for Civil Marriage Equality said such views are “unfortunate”, and reiterated his organisation’s belief that civil marriage and religious marriage are two distinct entities.

On the topic of fatal foetal abnormalities, Bishop Doran said that terminations serve only to devalue human life and should not be looked upon as a viable solution to dealing with such situations.

“To suggest that the life of the child should be terminate because it will not live is to suggest that there’s no value to that life.

“Objectively speaking, to kill another human being is always sinful . . . The child is still a human being, you don’t destroy a life in order to get back at the mother’s rapist,” he said of cases involving non-consensual sexual assault.

Complete Article HERE!

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Catholic school quits Boston St. Patrick’s parade over gay marchers

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

By Elizabeth Barber

BOSTON (Reuters) – A Roman Catholic grammar school located near Boston has pulled out of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in protest over organizers’ decision to allow a gay veterans’ group to march in next month’s event.Brother Thomas Dalton

The Immaculate Heart of Mary School, which traditionally sends its marching band to the South Boston route, said on Friday it would withdraw following a decision by the Allied War Veteran’s Council, the parade’s organizers, to admit a group of gay and lesbian veterans called OutVets to participate.

“We can’t associate with that,” Brother Thomas Dalton, principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, said in a phone interview. “It would appear we were condoning it.”

For decades the organizers of the New York and Boston St. Patrick’s Day parades excluded openly gay groups from participating in their events, contending that allowing them to march would violate the beliefs of their Catholic faith, which holds that homosexual acts are immoral.

Both parades’ major sponsors, Diageo PLC’s Guinness in New York and Boston Beer Co’s Sam Adams in Boston, withdrew their support last year over the issue.

Boston parade organizers said they would admit the OutVets group because its members were veterans. New York’s parade this year opted to allow a group of gay and lesbian employees of NBC Universal, the unit of Comcast Corp that broadcasts the event, to participate.

IHM schoolImmaculate Heart of Mary School, in the town of Harvard, about 25 miles northwest of Boston, also withdrew from the parade last year, when it appeared that a gay rights group would be allowed to join the march. The rights group did not walk in the end.

Dalton, the principal, said the school did not consult with the archdiocese in Boston before withdrawing from the parade this year, which will be held on March 15. Archdiocesan officials did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, a conservative group, called the school’s withdrawal “an act of courage.”

In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said he will serve as grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, despite conservative criticism that he should withdraw over the inclusion of gay marchers.

Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, has sought to move Church discussions towards social justice issues and focus less discussion on sex, even as Church dogma on homosexuality has remained unchanged.

Complete Article HERE!

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Norway Police Raid Catholic Diocese Premises

Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig is charged with aggravated fraud.

Norway Police Raid Catholic Diocese Premises

Photo: Jan-Erik Løken | Bishop Bernt Ivar Eidsvig

Finance and Environment Crime Section of the Oslo police raided administration premises of Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo (OKB) this morning at 9.00.

After Dagbladet revealed that the Catholic church has registered unsuspecting persons as members and received public support on the basis of inflated membership figures for several years, County Governor of Oslo and Akershus decided to start an investigation in November.

This morning, Oslo police raided the administration building of Roman Catholic Diocese and two residents this morning in the frame of the fraud allegations.

Oslo Catholic Diocese and two people including the bishop are now charged with aggravated fraud, summing 50 million NOK, said prosecutor Kristin Rusdal to Dagbladet.

Bishop Bernt Eidsvig previously rejected that the suspicious membership registration that the church practices may be illegal.
Complete Article HERE!