Former Bishop Finn now chaplain in K.C.

 

Read more by clicking on the following:  http://journalstar.com/news/local/disgraced-k-c-bishop-starts-anew-in-lincoln-convent/article_1e73ef3e-f2fe-5e41-b3e0-2d90c9f1552f.html

Weekly Collections for weekend of January 10, 2016

 

No new report this week.

Fraternite of Notre Dame sues McHenry County Board over Marengo permit rejection

 

 

 

 

Fraternite of Notre Dame sues McHenry County Board over Marengo permit rejection

Published: Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 11:08 p.m. CST • Updated: Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 11:09 p.m. CST

Matthew Apgar - mapgar@shawmedia.com Nuns with the Fraternite of Notre Dame sit silently inside a McHenry County Board meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at the McHenry County Administration Building. The congregation was hoping to pass a conditional use only or a variation only zoning petition for the building of a gift shop, a winery, and a nursing home, but was met with 20 votes for no with only three votes in favor. Neither motion passed, which resulted in a large eruption of applause from residents opposed to the petitions.

By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@shawmedia.com

MARENGO – A French Christian order denied a permit to expand operations on its rural McHenry County property has filed a federal lawsuit to get the County Board’s rejection overturned.

The Fraternite of Notre Dame earlier this month filed a six-count lawsuit alleging that the County Board discriminated against it as a religious institution when it voted in September against granting it a permit to add a boarding school, nursing home, winery, brewery and gift shop to its 95 acres at 10002 Harmony Hill Road, south of Marengo and Union.

The lawsuit alleges that the board’s decision, based in large part on the conclusion that the proposed use is an inappropriate fit for a rural agricultural area, is discriminatory because the board has granted permission to build for other uses. It singles out the nearby Marengo Ridge Golf Course, the county-owned Valley Hi Nursing Home west of Woodstock, as well as two public schools, a private Lutheran school, and several churches with gift shops.

“You can’t say no to [the Fraternite] when you’ve said yes to everyone else,” Fraternite attorney Jim Geoly said.

The County Board first granted the Fraternite a permit in 2005 to build a chapel, convent, monastery and bakery on the property. Neighbors have alleged the Fraternite has not been a good neighbor when it comes to work hours and construction, and have argued that adding a school, hospice and brewery would make the property a worse fit for the rural area.

More than 800 people signed a petition opposing the expansion, and the Coral Township Board opposed it as well.

The Fraternite’s request after months of testimony passed the Zoning Board of Appeals on a 4-3 vote, which was one vote shy of the five needed for a recommendation to approve. It then went on to the County Board, which soundly rejected the request on a 20-3 vote. While board members praised the Fraternite and its work helping the poor and downtrodden, they concluded the expansion request was inconsistent with the county’s land-use plan and development ordinances.

However, the lawsuit states the County Board had granted such permits for similar uses in similar areas, and alleges that the rejection of the Fraternite’s permit violates the equal protection clauses of the U.S. and Illinois Constitutions, as well as the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to rule that the Fraternite can build its requested expansion with the variances to size and height it had requested, and compensate it for attorney’s fees.

Bad blood between the Fraternite and the neighbors have simmered in the decade since the retreat was first built. Neighbors have chafed at allegations of religious and racial bigotry by the Fraternite and its supporters – most of the order’s works are done in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. And the Fraternite has been the victim of vandalism in past years, most notably in 2005 when its statues of Jesus and Mary were defaced with spray paint.

Fraternite of Notre Dame was founded in 1977 by French Bishop Jean Marie, who claims he received divine inspiration from the Virgin Mary to help the disadvantaged. The order identifies as Catholic, but is not recognized by the Vatican.

ABOVE IS FROM:  http://www.nwherald.com/2015/12/22/fraternite-of-notre-dame-sues-mchenry-county-board-over-marengo-permit-rejection/a3ageqp/

Vatican OKs loan of relic for Anglican primate meeting

 

 

By NICOLE WINFIELD 5 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is loaning a deeply symbolic religious relic to a meeting in Britain discussing the future of the 80 million-strong Anglican Communion that has been badly divided over issues of female bishops and same-sex marriage.

The ivory top of the pastoral staff of St. Gregory the Great — the 6th-century pope who dispatched missionaries to England to spread Christianity — will be displayed in England's Canterbury Cathedral before and after the Jan. 11-16 meeting of Anglican primates.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has summoned the 37 primates to discuss how the Communion can keep working together after it has been splintering for years over issues such as the ordination of female and gay bishops and the blessings of same-sex marriage.

The Vatican has watched from afar but nevertheless with alarm as the rift has widened, fearing that schism within the Anglican Communion will only complicate its own efforts at promoting Christian unity.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, authorized the loan of Gregory's pastoral staff last month, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. He wrote that it was a "highly symbolic" relic and a "mark of the bond that spiritually unites the Catholic and the Anglican churches."

Gregory, who was pope from 540-604, sent a mission to England in 597 to bring Christianity to the region. The mission leader, Augustine, became the first archbishop of Canterbury, and both Augustine and Gregory remain important figures to the Anglican Church.

View gallery

Father Guido Innocenzo Gargano, prior of the San Gregorio church, lifts the ivory top of the pastora …

The dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the Very Rev. Robert Willis, said the loan of Gregory's crozier was a sign of "ecumenical encouragement" during the primates' meeting, as well as a link to Gregory.

The Catholic and Anglican churches split in 1534 after English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. A half-millennium later, the two churches remain divided on a host of issues, including the same ones that are dividing the Communion itself: female bishops and gays.

The idea to send the relic came from the Rev. Robert McCulloch, the Australian procurator general of the St. Columban Catholic missionary order. McCulloch — who has been active in interfaith and ecumenical relations, most recently the round of cricket matches between the Vatican's cricket club and the Church of England's team — will personally take the relic to Britain on Friday.

In an interview, McCulloch said it was remarkable how quickly the loan was approved by the Vatican and the Italian governments, with support from the British.

"It's a gesture of support, of unity and harmony from the Catholic Church for the Anglican Church," he said.

The crozier is usually kept at the San Gregorio al Celio church in Rome. The church has long played a role in Anglican-Catholic affairs. Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams celebrated a vespers service at San Gregorio in 2012, and their predecessors, John Paul II and George Carey, celebrated vespers together there in 1996.

ABOVE IS FROM:   http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-oks-loan-relic-anglican-primate-meeting-150332341.html

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Illinois college moves to fire professor who said Muslims, Christians worship same God

Reuters) - Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian university outside of Chicago, said on Tuesday it was taking steps to fire a tenured political science professor after she wrote in a Facebook post that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

 

Related Stories

1. College begins effort to fire professor for comment on Islam Associated Press
2. On Worshipping the Same God Huffington Post
3. To Dr. Larycia Hawkins, With Solidarity & Love: An Open Letter from Black Muslim Women Huffington Post
4. Christian professor wearing headscarf seeks reconciliation Associated Press
5. Dr. Larycia Hawkins and More Wheaton Woes Huffington Post

 

Dr. Larycia Hawkins wrote on the social media site on Dec. 10 that she was donning the hijab head scarf during the period of advent before Christmas as a sign of solidarity with Muslims. In her post she said "we worship the same God."

Hawkins was placed on administrative leave after the comment drew criticism, and on Tuesday the school said in a statement Wheaton's provost had delivered a notice to President Philip Ryken recommending her employment be terminated.

"This Notice follows the impasse reached by the parties," the statement said. "Dr. Hawkins declined to participate in further dialogue about the theological implications of her public statements," it said.

The school has said that Hawkins was not placed on leave because she wore a hijab, but because her "theological statements seem inconsistent with Wheaton College’s doctrinal convictions."

After a hearing with a faculty committee and other reviews, The Wheaton College Board of Trustees will make a final decision regarding Hawkins' employment.

Hawkins could not immediately be reached for comment about the notice to recommend her termination.

On her website, Hawkins said she received an emailed notification on Jan. 4 that her employment was up for review and she planned to address the issue at a Chicago-area church on Wednesday.

"Dr. Hawkins maintains Christian support for the Muslim community amidst the ongoing anti-Muslim climate," the site said.

On her Facebook page on Dec. 10, Hawkins said she would wear the hijab in solidarity with Muslim neighbors. "I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book."

The solidarity gesture comes as Muslims around the United States report worries of a backlash and growing Islamophobia after a couple who had pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State killed 14 people in California in early December.

Hawkins, who has written on race, religion and American politics, said she had consulted with the local chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, to make sure that it would not be seen as offensive for a non-Muslim woman to wear the headscarf.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles)

Above is from:  http://news.yahoo.com/illinois-college-moves-fire-professor-said-muslims-christians-055627127.html

Weekly Collections for the weekend of January 3, 2016

 

Since December 14, 2014 three additional pledges; a total of $19,672 addtional pledged.

Fr. Brennan retrial set for Oct. 24

 

Joe Slobodzian

Posted: Monday, January 4, 2016, 9:48 PM

After six postponements, former Roman Catholic priest James J. Brennan has a new retrial date – Oct. 24 – on the 2011 charges of attempted rape of a 14-year-old boy in 1996.

The new trial date was agreed on Monday by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Goddard and defense lawyer William J. Brennan [not related to his client], working with courtroom staff for Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright.

Some 3-1/2 years have passed since June 22, 2012, when a Philadelphia jury announced it could not reach a verdict in the case against the 52-year-old. This time, a seventh date may be the charm: Bright ordered Brennan – a busy, high-profile criminal defense lawyer -- and Goddard attached for trial. That means that the judge has dibs on Goddard’s and Brennan’s time for what is estimated will be a three-day jury trial.

Just to be sure, Bright has set a status hearing for March 4 and a “trial readiness conference” on Oct. 17.

Brennan, who is charged with attempted rape and child endangerment, was one of the five original people – a monsignor, three priests and a parochial schoolteacher -- charged in 2011 following a county grand jury investigation into how officials of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia handled child sex-abuse complaints against priests.

This was the same trial in which Msgr. William J. Lynn, an archdiocesan official, was convicted of child endangerment for his supervisory role investigating and recommending discipline against priests found to have sexually abused children.

Lynn, who turns 65 on Jan. 5, was the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004. He is serving a three- to six-year prison term in the state prison at Waymart in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

On Dec. 22, a Superior Court panel reversed Lynn’s conviction a second time and ordered a new trial. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office has asked the full Superior Court to reconsider that decision, which is pending.

The other three charged with Lynn and Brennan were convicted and sentenced. Brennan remains free on $95,000 bail while awaiting retrial.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/crime_and_punishment/Fr-Brennan-retrial-set-for-Oct-24.html#aYaAjkJHRaWbFOJT.99