Issue of June 21st – July 4th
Court says priest can’t sue accusers for defamation
When the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court ruled June 10 that Father Robert Stepek could not sue two men who accused him of sexual abuse for defamation, it was a victory both for the First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion and for the rights of victims of sexual abuse by clergy, according to attorneys for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Priest moves a win-win
Come July, 37 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago will be getting to know new pastors, and another couple of dozen will welcome new associate pastors.
Birthday music for Franciscans
This year one of the most recognizable Catholic religious orders — the Franciscans — turns a monumental 800 years old. And in honor of that special birthday Dominican University in River Forest will hold the “Celebration of Hope and Peace” concert at 7:30 p.m. June 26 and 27 at the Performing Arts Center, 7900 W. Division St. The event is sponsored by Chiesa Nuova, a Franciscan ministry for the performing arts in Chicago, and the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart.
Come, let us adore him
Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago offer time for adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist
Every Monday, after the 6:30 a.m. Mass at Queen of the Rosary Parish in Elk Grove Village, Father Edward Pelrine places a consecrated host in a golden monstrance on the main altar of the church.
Kolbe House creates sanctuary with art
For Victor Lopez, painting became a kind of spiritual therapy while confined in prison for more than two decades.
Founder headed to sainthood
Little Sisters of the Poor ‘thrilled’ about canonization
The Little Sisters of the Poor in the Chicago area and worldwide are thrilled about the upcoming canonization of their founder, Blessed Jeanne Jugan, on Oct. 11. Pope John Paul II beatified Jugan in 1982, and Pope Benedict XVI gave final approval for her canonization on Feb. 21.
‘Stoning’ is devastating, triumphant
The Stoning of Soraya M” is a disturbing, devastating, yet triumphant film. The truth got out. The book was written, and now the film was made.
Improving how we serve immigrants
Catholic immigrants are helping other Catholic immigrants through the new St. Toribio Romo Center housed at Assumption Parish, 2434 S. California Ave., in the city’s Little Village neighborhood.
Catholic kids come to city to serve community
It was a cool week in June when 115 teenagers moved into Gordon Tech High School to spend a week getting to know one another, helping people they had never met and, at the same time, strengthening their faith.
They called her ‘Holy Rosary Irish’ — Their first church was built for Catholics (mainly poor Irish) employed at the Pullman Works. George Pullman refused to sell them land in his “model town” on the East Side, so the founding pastor bought property in 1882 in nearby Roseland. That winter day the church was dedicated, parishioners shoveled snow drifts from the Illinois Central station so they could pull Archbishop Feehan’s sled.
It’s a new era in our household: Caroline has a cell phone.
It wasn’t that long ago that we were a relatively gadget-free family. Sure, my husband and I had cell phones, but they were oldschool, not good for much more than making and getting calls.
Almost half of Catholics calling the Archdiocese of Chicago home are Hispanic or Latino, and that percentage only continues to grow. But this is not something new to leaders.
Since 1984, the archdiocese recognized the need to encourage and form lay leaders in the Hispanic community to help this population thrive in faith and love of Jesus. That year, it started the Instituto de Liderazgo Pastoral, or the Institute for Pastoral Leadership, and since then has graduated more than 1,000 lay leaders who now work in the parishes throughout the archdiocese.
