04-17-2013 - Archdiocese of Cincinnati

E-pistle
April 17, 2013
A
NEWSLETTER
FOR THE
ARCHDIOCESE
OF
CINCINNATI
Pope Francis chooses special
group of 8 to aid Curia reform
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The eight
cardinals named by Pope Francis to begin
work on ways to reorganize the Roman
Curia are predominantly active archbishops
of very large archdioceses, but they also
have a wide range of pastoral and
organizational experiences and skills.
The Vatican announced the members of the
group April 13. The eight are:
-- Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, 70,
head of the commission governing Vatican
City State and the only Vatican official in
the group. A longtime member of the
Vatican diplomatic service, he has been
based at the Vatican only since 2011.
-- Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, 68,
speaks Spanish fluently and is known for
striving for transparency, tackling reform
and making tough, sometimes unpopular,
choices all while strengthening the church's
mission of service and evangelization
-- Sydney Cardinal George Pell, 71, has a
reputation as a plain-spoken, no-nonsense
bishop. When his appointment to the group
was announced April 13, he told the
newspaper The Australian he already has
ideas for possible changes.
-- Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of
Mumbai, 68, brings to Pope Francis' group
of cardinals his perspective not only as
leader of an archdiocese with more than
500,000 faithful, but also as president of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences,
to which 19 bishops' conferences belong as
full members and another nine belong as
associate members.
-- Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez
Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, 70, does not
work in the Roman Curia, but his
responsibilities and experience as president
of Caritas Internationalis -- the umbrella
organization of national Catholic charities
around the world -- have brought him into
regular contact with the curia and have
involved him directly in questions of the
roles and responsibilities of various curial
offices.
-- Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya
of Kinshasa, Congo, 73, preached Pope
Benedict XVI's 2012 Lenten retreat on
"communion in the church, both the
communion of the faithful with the apostles
and of the faithful and the apostles with
God."
-- German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of
Munich and Freising, 59, is an expert on
Catholic social teaching and speaks often
about the importance of reforming
economic systems to respect the human
person, solidarity and the rule of law.
-- Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz
Ossa, the 79-year-old retired archbishop of
Santiago, Chile, earned the reputation as a
reconciler when he promoted truth and
forgiveness in a nation divided and shocked
by revelations of human rights atrocities
waged during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's
military regime.
Priest Personnel announces appointments
E-pistle
Published each Wednesday by The
Catholic Telegraph and the Office of
Communications at Cincinnati, Ohio.
Publisher - Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr
Editor - Stephen A. Trosley
Director of Communications
Dan Andriacco
Send submissions to
strosley@catholiccincinnati.org and
dandriacco@catholiccincinnati.org
The Priests’ Personnel Office of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati has announced
appointments by Archbishop Dennis M.
Schnurr.
The following appointments have already
begun:
Reverend Robert Thesing, SJ, part-time
parochial administrator of St. Bernard and
Mother of Christ effective October 1, 2012;
Reverend Daniel Hartnett, SJ, pastor of St.
Robert Bellarmine, effective January 1,
2013; Reverend Alfons W. Minja, C.PP.S.,
temporary parochial administrator of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Montezoma, effective
February 27, 2013; Reverend Bonaventure
M. Cai My Loc, CMC, Chaplain/Moderator
of Sacred Heart, Dayton Vietnamese
Catholic Community effective April 3, 2013.
The Priests’ Personnel Office announces
the following appointments that will begin
this summer:
Reverend Larry Tharp, pastor of Sacred
Heart, Fairfield and St. Ann, Hamilton;
Reverend Larry Gearhart, pastor of
Champaign County Region which includes:
Sacred Heart, St. Paris, St. Mary, Urbana, St.
Michael, Mechanicsburg, Immaculate
Conception, North Lewisburg; Reverend
Daniel Meyer, pastor of St. Charles
Borromeo in Kettering; Reverend Gregory
Konerman, pastor of Holy Angels in
Dayton; Reverend Tom McCarthy, pastor
of St. Ann, Groesbeck; Reverend Michael
Hay, pastor of St. Jude and St. Aloysius
Gonzaga, Cincinnati, and Reverend James
Simons, pastor of St. Denis, Versailles and
Holy Family, Frenchtown, while remaining
as pastor of Immaculate Conception,
Bradford.
The following address changes were
announced:
Reverend Joseph Raudabaugh, 2501
Keystone Club Drive, Dayton, OH 45439;
Reverend James Fitz, S.M., Vice President
for Mission and Rector, University of
Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH
45469-1638; Reverend Gerald Niklas, c/o
3419 Kate Green’s Court, Cincinnati, OH
45211.
Around the Archdiocese
The Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is hosting the
art exhibition “Messages of Glory,” 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays
through Thursdays through May 16. The Athenaeum has partnered
with David-Flischel Enterprises to provide this exhibition of sacred
art from the coffee table book Messages of Glory: The Narrative
Art of Roman Catholicism. Photographs displayed feature
sculpture, stained glass, murals and mosaics from local churches
and at least four mosaics from the atrium and Chapel of St.
Gregory the Great, located at the Athenaeum’s Mount Washington
Campus. Robert Flischel is a career Cincinnati photographer
whose work has appeared in numerous books and publications
including Life, Time, Smithsonian, Audubon and others. His
photographs are included in the corporate collections of Procter &
Gamble, Heinz, Longaberger and Disney.
The Cincinnati Catholic Alumni (Singles) Club invites all Catholic
singles to an “Adventure in Dining” at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 19,
at Cancun Mexican Restaurant, 6383 Glenway Avenue in Western
Bowl. For more information, call Nancy at 513-574-0050.
The Jesuit Spiritual Center at Milford is hosting “Women Weaving
Wisdom,” a weekend personally directed retreat April 19-21,
facilitated by Sr. Mary Ann Humbert, SC, Sr. Wanda Smith, RSM,
and a team of spiritual directors. The weekend will include
presentations, ritual, silence and reflection, sharing, spiritual
direction and liturgy.
For more information, visit www.jesuitspiritualcenter.com or call
513-248-3500, ext. 10.
“Awakening the Dreamer” will be facilitated by the Marianist
Awakening the Dreamer Team from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday,
April 20, at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse in Delhi Township.
This symposium uses videos, personal reflection, and group
activities to explore the most critical concerns of our times.
Discover new opportunities to make a real difference in
accelerating the emergence of an environmentally sustainable,
spiritually fulfilling, and socially just human presence on this
planet. The fee is $45, with a $10 non-refundable registration fee
applied to total cost. Contact the Spirituality Center for registration
information at spirituality.center@srcharitycinti.org or
513-347-5449.
The Athenaeum of Ohio’s series of events commemorating the
Year of Faith will continue with a visit by Francis Cardinal George,
Archbishop of Chicago. He will address “Human Rights and
Religious Freedom” when he presents the Gardner Lecture in
Moral Theology at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in the Bartlett
Pastoral Center. The public is welcome.
Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood will hold a healing
service on Wednesday, April 24. It will begin with the praying of
the Rosary at 6:45 p.m., followed by Mass at 7:15 p.m. and will
end with the healing service.
Catholic Charities will present “Growing Up Again,” a parenting
and life skills workshop, at Hyde Park Health Center, 4001
Rosslyn Drive, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. starting Thursday, April
25. This four-week workshop will help parents learn a variety of
ways to reach their children and balance love with limits. Dates are
April 25, May 2, May 9, and May 16. The fee is $60 per person.
Contact Sandy Keiser at 513-421-7745 or skeiser@ccswoh.org.
Sr. Wanda Smith, RSM, will conduct a retreat on “Finding God in
All Things,” 7 p.m. Friday, April 26, until 4 p.m. Saturday, April
27, at the Spiritual Center of Maria Stein. Sr. Wanda will explore
Page 2 April 17, 2013
the mystery of searching and longing for God. Donation is $45 per
person for commuters, $89 per person for overnight guests. Please
register by April 22. For more information, call 419-925-7625, or
877-925-7625.
Fr. Satish Joseph will talk on “Money, Sex, Death, and
Christianity: What Paul wanted Corinthians to Know” from 7 to
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at Monsignor Sherman Hall of
Immaculate Conception Church, Dayton. In this free talk, Fr.
Joseph will discuss St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. It is
one of the longest letters of St. Paul, and perhaps one of the most
exciting ones.
“The Art of Reading the Bible” will be presented by Sr. Joan Cook,
SC, on from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, at the Sisters of
Charity Motherhouse in Delhi Township. This presentation will
have us look, listen, and be attentive to the symbolic language of
the Bible and its creative interpretations in art and music. The fee
is $15, due at time of registration. Contact the Spirituality Center
for registration information at spirituality.center@srcharitycinti.org
or 513-347-5449.
Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz, the moving, live production
performed by Leonardo Defilippis of Saint Luke Productions, will
be presented at the St. Maximilian Kolbe Church gymnasium in
Liberty Township at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27. Experience the
story of this heroic priest, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, who courageously
fought the forces of evil and offered his life for a family man in the
concentration camp of Auschwitz during World War II. Filled with
all of the elements of professional theater – a majestic orchestral
soundtrack, full professional lighting, and a video backdrop – the
program runs 90 minutes and is suitable for ages 10 and up.
Admission will be a free-will offering. For additional information,
contact the St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish Office at 513-777-4322 x
105, lkodros@saint-max.org or visit www.saint-max.org.
The Unbound Freedom in Christ Seminar presents a practical way
to address these topics and lead us to greater freedom and fullness
in our lives. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday,
April 27, at the St. Joseph Parish Center of Our Lady of Good
Hope, in Miamisburg. Breakfast snacks and lunch provided.
Contact chrisjasek@gmail.com or call 937- 865-0342 to register.
Cost is a donation to cover materials and food.
Sr. Joyce Ann Zimmerman, C.PP.S., will speak on “Cross and
Eucharist: Precious Blood Way of Life,” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday, April 27, at the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics.
The cost for the day – which will include the presentation, Mass,
lunch, and reflection – is $15 per person. Register at the Shrine at
a.mcguire@mariasteinshrine.org or 419-925-4532.
“How to Stay Catholic on Campus” will be the topic of seminar
sponsored by Regnum Christi from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April
27, at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood. Designed
for students at least 16 years old (with parental permission), the
day-long program will include speakers, frank discussions led by
Catholic college students, testimonies by students, Mass, Adoration
and the opportunity for confession. The cost – $65 for those preregistered by April 21; $75 at the door – includes two meals,
workshop materials, and a college survival kit. To register or for
more information, contact Machel Kroner at
mparkskroner@yahoo.com or 513-218-2459.
Your Catholic World
‘House of Horrors’
Prosecutors seek death penalty against abortion clinic operator
in deaths of seven infants, woman who died during abortions
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When a team of health officials and
investigators looking into illegal drug use raided Dr. Kermit
Barron Gosnell's Women's Medical Society Feb. 18, 2010, they
happened upon what many are calling a "house of horrors."
"There was blood on the floor. A stench of urine filled the air. A
flea-infested cat was wandering through the facility, and there
were cat feces on the stairs," said a grand jury report about the
conditions found in the clinic Gosnell ran in West Philadelphia.
The two surgical rooms resembled a "bad gas station restroom,"
according to Agent Stephen Dougherty of the federal Drug
Enforcement Agency. The team went on to recover the remains of
45 fetuses "in bags, milk jugs, orange juice cartons, and even in
cat-food containers," the report explained.
Three days later, the Pennsylvania Department of Health
suspended Gosnell's license. He was arrested in January 2011 and
charged with seven counts of infanticide and one count of murder
in the case of a Nepalese woman who died during an abortion.
Gosnell's trial on those charges began March 18 of this year. By
the fifth week, beginning April 15, prosecutors were continuing
to call witnesses, including several patients and several former
employees, who testified about the squalid conditions they saw at
the clinic. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against
Gosnell.
It was a "meat-market-style of assembly lines of abortions,"
Mallory Quigley, a spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List,
told Catholic News Service April 15, referencing the words of
two nurses who recently left a Delaware clinic for similar
reasons. "The Gosnell case is a lot more common than people
realize," Quigley said.
"Americans as a whole think that abortion clinics are sanitary
decent clinics," said Jeanne Monahan, president of the March for
Life Education & Defense Fund. But, she said, the "majority of
abortion clinics in our country are held to very minimal
standards: legally the same standards as beauty parlors and vet
clinics."
According to Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman
Kait Gillis, because of "tougher regulation and new leadership,
today, abortion facilities are being held accountable to higher
standards to better protect the health and safety of women."
"We have a far deeper understanding of these facilities now than
we did then (when Gosnell's abuses were uncovered) and conduct
regular annual and unannounced inspections, not only because
the law tells us to, but because we are committed to doing what is
right," she told CNS in an emailed statement April 15.
Pennsylvania law requires that abortions be done under 24
weeks of pregnancy because of the risks to the mother, but the
grand jury report showed Gosnell routinely flouted that law. "The
bigger the baby, the more he charged," it said.
He is accused of sticking a pair of medical scissors into the back
of the necks of prematurely born babies and cutting the spinal
cord, a procedure he called "snipping." Court records show he
destroyed most of the documentation on his use of "snipping,"
but pictures taken by employees and other evidence are being
used by prosecutors.
Page 3 April 17, 2013
"Over the years, many people came to know that something was
going on here. But no one put a stop to it," the report explained.
The clinic went unchecked by the Department of Health for 16
years until its horrors were accidentally uncovered by the drug
raid.
Several employees face similar charges. The grand jury report
said Gosnell hired untrained, uncertified nurses, and taught them
to view ultrasound pictures at an angle so that unborn babies to
be aborted looked smaller than they actually were. It also said
Gosnell and his wife performed late-term abortions on Sundays
when no other staff was present.
In an April 16 statement on the Gosnell trial, Dayle Steinberg,
president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern
Pennsylvania, said: "Gosnell is a criminal who preyed upon
vulnerable women, and committed illegal acts.
"As health care providers who work every day to protect
women's health and safety, we are outraged by his criminal
behavior and hope he is held accountable," she continued. "All
health care providers must be regulated, and these regulations
should be based on health care needs -- not on politics.
"Planned Parenthood insists on the highest standards of patient
care and has rigorous safety guidelines in place," Steinberg
added.
"As long as these clinics enjoy such privileges -- privileges no
health department would ever grant to any hospital -- we will
never know how many Kermit Gosnells are out there. And every
time we find the next one, it will be too late," Lila Rose,
president of Live Action, told CNS in an emailed statement.
Rose, a 24-year-old Catholic convert, officially became
involved with the abortion cause at 15 when she founded Live
Action, a pro-life nonprofit specializing in investigative
journalism. Since then she has received national recognition for
her hidden-camera exposes of the Planned Parenthood abortion
industry, which she calls "reckless (and) unregulated."
"Just because abortion is legal doesn't make it safe," Kristan
Hawkins, executive director Students for Life of America, told
CNS.
"Abortion doesn't help women," added Quigley. She explained
the pro-life movement operates more than 3,000 pregnancy
resource centers for mothers and families in need, offering them
assistance so they do not feel abortion is their only alternative.
"Those are the places we need to be building up," she said,
noting that more than 90 percent of the funding for such centers
is private.
While Monahan acknowledged the Gosnell case is a somewhat
extreme case, she told CNS that it highlights the violence of the
abortion procedure, which she describes as being "deeply
invasive" to the woman. She said it also shines a light on what
she termed is the sad reality of the abortion business.
"There is no constitutional right to maim and kill women and
girls nationwide," Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for Americans
United for Life, told CNS in an emailed statement. "One woman's
death is too many. ... The mere existence of protective laws is not
enough. State officials must also consistently enforce these laws,"
she said.
Around the Archdiocese
Cincinnati policies
displace urban
poor says author
Courtesy Photo
Cincinnati Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Binzer speaks with Father David
Vincent and Precious Blood Sisters Marla Gibson and Martha Bertke at a
Martha Dinner April 8 at St. Denis Parish in Versailles.
Women religious share experiences
with single women at Martha Dinner
VERSAILLES, Ohio – There was
plenty of socialization and laughs at St.
Denis Parish on April 8 as Sisters from
nearly a dozen women religious
communities met with single women to
discuss vocations to religious life at a
Martha Dinner.
The event, sponsored by area vocations
directors and the Cincinnati
Archdiocese Vocations Office, was
designed to give women an opportunity
to meet Sisters and learn more about
their lives in a relaxed, social setting.
The Sisters of the Precious Blood were
among the communities represented and
several Precious Blood Sisters attended.
Cincinnati Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R.
Binzer and Jill Swallow, a Consecrated
Woman of Regnum Christi, were
keynote speakers.
In remarks during mealtime prayer,
Bishop Binzer noted that the Blessed
Virgin Mary embraced God’s call to
bear God’s son. In his own call to the
priesthood, the bishop explained that he
was working as a certified public
accountant when a co-worker simply
mentioned that Bizner would make a
good priest. The bishop encouraged the
women to listen to God’s call for each
of them.
“God, I feel, has a plan for all of us.
God calls us in ways that might seem
Page 4 April 17, 2013
hidden,” the bishop said. “We are all
part of the body of Christ.”
RC consecrated woman Jill, who grew
up in Versailles, explained that she
helped lead a retreat at Moeller High
School in Cincinnati when she first
heard a call. She noticed the priests and
Sisters at the retreat seemed so happy
and at peace. It got her thinking about
religious life. She soon met the
Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi
and found a fit.
“Everybody’s path is different,” she
said. “(God) gives us the grace we need
to fulfill the vocation he’s given us.”
After dinner, the women visited each
congregation to interact with the Sisters
and get more information about the
different communities. Sisters explained
the various charisms and ministries in
which they are involved.
Amy Pequignot said she was impressed
when Swallow explained that God
doesn’t call those equipped for a
religious vocation, but equips the
people called.
“I don’t know where God is calling
me,” Pequignot said. “Instead of closing
the door, I want to explore all my
options.”
Another Martha Dinner is being
planned for the fall.
How has Cincinnati’s pursuit of economic
development and housing policies hurt the urban
poor and left them out in the cold?
Alice Skirtz will explain how the Cincinnati
c o m m u n i t y ’s u s e o f l e g i s l a t i o n a n d
administrative policies have privatized public
assets and displaced people without economic
assets or political power.
Skirtz will share her research and observations
at a program on Thursday, April 25, 2013, 7:00
P.M. at the St. Anthony Parish Center, 5122
Chapman Street in Madisonville. The program is
sponsored by St. Anthony’s Peace & Justice
Committee.
Skirtz draws on more than 40 years of working
with programs serving homeless and
disadvantaged people as well as extensive
research. She was director of social services for
the Salvation Army from 1969 -1999 during
which she observed with concern the major
changes that took place in Over the Rhine.
She was recognized for her years of service
when she received the Enquirer’s Women of the
Year Award in 1986. She is author of the popular
book, Econicide: Elimination of the Urban Poor.
Father Bill Farris OFM to leave
Roger Bacon after 12 years
Father Bill Farris, OFM will conclude twelve
years as President of Roger Bacon High School
at the end of the school year.
He joined the Franciscan order 42 years ago,
serving as a formation director and in parish
ministry before coming to Roger Bacon in
2001. Father Farris will become pastor of
Transfiguration parish in Southfield, Michigan
in early July.
Father Farris, OFM was assigned as the first
President of Roger Bacon High School 12 years
ago. He worked with the Board of Trustees
search committee and hired Tom DeVolve ’82
as Principal a few months later. Using the
President/Principal model Roger Bacon has
been able to meet the many challenges facing
Catholic education.
“Words cannot express how much Father Bill
has done for Roger Bacon. We will miss his
leadership, his positive outlook and his caring
attitude,” Anne McKinney, President of the
Roger Bacon Board of Trustees, said.
Roger Bacon has begun the search for a new
President with the goal of naming Father
Farris’ successor by June 1st.