Pope replaces divisive Vatican figure with top diplomat - Yahoo! News

 

He was previously a Vatican envoy to Mexico and Nigeria and has worked on sensitive issues for the Church, including diplomatic relations with Israel.

Religious affairs expert Gianni Valente, writing for the Vatican Insider website, said Parolin was cast "in the true spirit of Vatican diplomacy".

Valente said Parolin would ensure that the Church "will once again be well placed to offer its wisdom and foresight in order to promote peace" in the world.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said Parolin's appointment would help "enrich" relations between Italy and the Vatican and promote joint work between the two "to protect peace and justice".

Bertone has held the post since 2006 when he was named by the pope's predecessor Benedict XVI and has proved a highly controversial figure in the hierarchy

Read the entire story by clicking on the the following:  Pope replaces divisive Vatican figure with top diplomat - Yahoo! News

Repost: St. Charles Borromeo, Hampshire, Illinois: A stalled attempt at building a Gothic church

September 2013: 18 months since previous posting.  An additional $20,051 is pledged.  Only $36,882 paid during those months.  How much of $1.4 MILLION unpaid pledges will ever be paid?

This was originally posted on September 7, 2011.  Based upon  recent traffic to this item,  I am reposting and updating on what appears a dormant building campaign.

Latest update February 5, 2012.  It appears that reporting is only being done once a month. The has been only $111,227 of additional pledges since July 3, 2011.  Actual building has been put on “hold”; see yellow highlighted statement.

Here is a brief history  and description of the project and the reason for the hold on building.

Below is taken from: http://www.scbparish.org/

The new red brick, Gothic style church was designed by the architect Herman Gaul of Chicago and was constructed for a cost of $25,000. The old church was then remodeled into a social center and renamed the "Forester Hall." In July of 1915, Fr. Charles Mertens became the pastor and it was at this time the beautiful 'Munich' stained glass windows were installed in the church.

SEE what $8 million buys in Hampshire. Note the proposed building site is on 24 acre which will have water and sewer. The original price appeared to be $6 million but was increased to $8 million during the campaign. (The campaign is now stopped by “the economy”.)

There was a ceremonial groundbreaking:

Ceremonial Groundbreaking

Our Pathway to Our Future -

On Sunday, September 27, 2009, we held a very special ceremony on the property of our new church - our first official groundbreaking ceremony. This groundbreaking ceremony is making the pathway and driveway to our new church property possible.

The following art contest postings from May 2011 indicates that the church will cost $10 million. This is taken from: http://team-art.org/2011/05/25/st-charles-borromeo-parish-sanctuary-art-design-competition/

Pastor Joseph P. Nicolosi, Jr. goes on sabbatical. This is taken from the June 26, 2011 bulletin, currently available at: http://content.seekandfind.com/bulletins/01/0274/20110626B.pdf see page 3.

Father Nnaso new pastor in Hampshire

By Denise Moran For The Courier-News September 7, 2011 3:30PM Taken from: http://couriernews.suntimes.com/lifestyles/7408632-423/father-nnaso-new-pastor-in-hampshire.html

In discussing his goals for the St. Charles Borromeo parish, Nnaso said: “Every parish has spiritual and temporal needs. The spiritual needs are under control for the most part. I would like to establish an engaged parish where everyone sees our parish as a home for his or her family. Right now, I am working on establishing a parish office and a storage facility for the parish and the school. More than 65 percent of the parish rectory has been turned into the parish office and storage. With the support of parishioners and school staff, I would like to increase our student enrollment. This year, we have already gained 43 new students. I will keep working on this until there is a waiting list of students wanting to get into our school.”

Plans to build a larger Catholic church in Hampshire have been put on hold due to the poor economy.

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of August 26, 2013

Total Pledges returns to amount stated as of August 12, 2013.Number of Families pledges remains at the 788 as reported last week.

Reported last week.

Archdiocese announces plans to market nursing homes for sale and seek outsourced management for cemeteries - Main Line Times - Main Line Media News

 

Archbishop Chaput has decided to market the six nursing homes and one assisted living facility operated by Catholic Health Care Services for potential sale. He has also decided to pursue a possible outsourced management and leasing agreement for the 11 active Archdiocesan cemeteries and two sites designated for future cemetery development.
In making this announcement, Archbishop Chaput said, “Our difficult financial situation must be addressed and the actions that we need to take may be painful ones. I understand this fact fully, but it is of critical importance that we rebuild our financial foundation so that we can continue our collective good works.

Click on the following to read the entire story: Archdiocese announces plans to market nursing homes for sale and seek outsourced management for cemeteries - Main Line Times - Main Line Media News

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of August 18, 2013

 

Two additional pledges, however total amount pledges decreased $1,805.

LCWR meets with Vatican overseer under lock, with guards | National Catholic Reporter

 

archbishop given expansive oversight by the Vatican of U.S. Catholic sisters met Thursday here with some 825 of their representatives, speaking for about 40 minutes in a closed-door session held under lock and key.

Standing outside the assembly hall where Sartain was speaking, the prelate’s voice could be heard faintly for about 37 minutes. Afterwards, there was about a minute of clapping before voices of individual sisters could be heard intermittently until a scheduled break 90 minutes into the meeting.

LCWR members have been asked by the group’s leaders not to discuss Thursday’s meetings with members of the press. Additionally, the doors into the convention hall where Sartain was speaking were locked with uniformed guards placed near them to prevent unauthorized entry.

 

Click on the following to read the entire article:  LCWR meets with Vatican overseer under lock, with guards | National Catholic Reporter

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of August 11, 2013

No change in pledges.

 

The Tablet - Cardinal defends coalition split

 

Cardinal Francis George has forcefully defended his decision to require Catholic organisations to break with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) after the Coalition's board decided to publicly support a same-sex marriage proposal in the Illinois legislature….

Several prominent Catholic lay people, including the former Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley, published an open letter to Cardinal George in the Chicago Tribune calling on the cardinal to "retract his threat to withdraw funds from Catholic organisations that are members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights."

Click on the following for more details:  The Tablet - Cardinal defends coalition split

Date set for appeal of priest's conviction

Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer

Sept. 17 for oral arguments on the appeal by Msgr. William J. Lynn, convicted last year of child endangerment for his role supervising Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse.

Click on the following for the complete story:  Date set for appeal of priest's conviction

Milwaukee archdiocese ordered to release documents on ties with judge in cemetery case : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

 

In bankruptcy court, Judge Susan Kelley ordered the archdiocese to produce any documents relating to interests that Judge Randa and his family might have in archdiocesan cemeteries. Judge Kelley stressed that in granting the plaintiffs’ requests for the documentary evidence, she was not ruling on whether Judge Randa should have recused himself from the case.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Milwaukee archdiocese ordered to release documents on ties with judge in cemetery case : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Nuns warily anticipate session with Sartain | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

 

Sartain has spoken not a word to the Seattle Archdiocese about his Vatican assignment.

But the archbishop’s flock has spoken to him.  Last year, each week in May, “Support the Sisters” demonstrators congregated on the steps of St. James Cathedral.  The demonstrations included a prominent Seattle pastor as well as nuns.

A summer demonstration brought more than 400 people out, and saw nuns speak in witness to their ministry.

The nuns want to take their case to the very top — Pope Francis.  “It could be helpful if Pope Francis were willing to sit down with the LCWR leadership and listen to the concerns and inaccuracies that were made in the Doctrinal Assessment,” McDermott said.  “The story needs to be told and the leadership of our church need to receive it. Whether they’ll agree with it, I don’t know

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Nuns warily anticipate session with Sartain | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of August 4, 2013

Decrease in number of pledges by one, $200 less pledged.

Milwaukee Archdiocese creditors seek order to review whether judge has conflict

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

In a highly unusual move late Friday, lawyers representing the archdiocese's creditors — primarily sex abuse victims — filed a motion asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to compel the release of any records showing whether Randa and his wife, Melinda, have purchased any plots or crypts in one of the archdiocese's cemeteries, or whether they have any interest as heirs or beneficiaries of several relatives known to be buried in them.

Read more:  Archdiocese creditors seek order to review whether judge has conflict

More financial statements published by Archdiocese of Philadelphia

 

Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Friday published audited financial statements for 15 education, social-services and health-care entities with aggregate revenue of $408 million in the year ended June 30, 2012.

The disclosures, building on a newfound openness about its financial state, did not include any balance-sheet bombshells like those in last month’s report on the archdiocese’s central financial office.

Click on the following for more details:  More financial statements published by archdiocese

Cardinal George Defends CCHD Canceling Group’s Funds Over Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ | Daily News | NCRegister.com

by CNA/EWTN NEWS

Cardinal Francis George has defended the Churchʼs decision to cut off funds from a state immigrant coalition, and he accused its leaders of betraying both the Church and their own members by openly supporting the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

Cardinal George said that CCHD did so in order to not betray its donors. He said Catholics “give to this anti-poverty organization with the understanding that their money will be passed on to organizations that respect the teachings of the Catholic faith.”

An open letter published in the Chicago Tribune on July 29 had accused CCHD of “turning her back on the poor.”

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-george-defends-cchd-canceling-groups-funds-over-same-sex/#ixzz2auFEF42P

Vatican-appointed overseer to attend LCWR gathering | National Catholic Reporter

 

The apostolic delegate appointed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to oversee its mandate to LCWR, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, will be present for the entire assembly," says a notice on the third page of those materials.

"Archbishop Sartain will speak with the assembly on the mandate, and will have an opportunity to hear from and respond to the LCWR members," it continues.

Click on the following for more details:  Vatican-appointed overseer to attend LCWR gathering | National Catholic Reporter

Dolan: Pope's remark on gays does not change church teaching | National Catholic Reporter

 

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a guest Tuesday on "CBS This Morning" to discuss the pope's impromptu news conference on a papal flight the previous day, stressed that Pope Francis "would be the first to say, 'My job isn't to change church teaching; my job is to present it as clearly as possible.' "

Dolan: Pope's remark on gays does not change church teaching | National Catholic Reporter

Religious order files reveal decades of LA abuse | California | San Francisco Examiner

by The Associated Press

The papers, which were released under the terms of a $660 million settlement agreement reached in 2007, are the first glimpse at what religious orders knew about the envoys they posted in Roman Catholic schools and parishes around the Los Angeles area. The archdiocese itself released thousands of pages under court order this year for its own priests who were accused of sexual abuse, but the full picture of sex abuse in Los Angeles remained elusive without the religious orders' records.

Several dozen more files are expected to be released by the fall.

The files cover five different religious orders that employed 10 priests or religious brothers and two nuns who were all accused in civil lawsuits of molesting children while working within the Los Angeles archdiocese. Among them, the accused had 21 alleged victims who alleged abuse between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  Religious order files reveal decades of LA abuse | California | San Francisco Examiner