Cardinal Seán's Blog

 

Greetings and welcome back,

Last Saturday we hosted the Catholic New Media Celebration here at the Pastoral Center. It was a gathering for Catholic bloggers, podcasters, and producers of other digital media formats.

It was very successful and well-attended. About 200 people from around the United States and around the world came to this.

Jeff Nielsen of SQPN and Dom Bettinelli from our media office work on the video feed

The group that organized it was Star Quest Production Network (SQPN). They create all sorts of digital media content aimed at evangelizing in the Catholic faith and building a worldwide Catholic community through Internet media.

Keynote speakers for the day were our own Father Robert Reed of CatholicTV, and Lino Rulli, who hosts “The Catholic Guy” radio program on Sirius satellite radio’s Catholic Channel. The day also featured talks on podcasting and blogging.

 

Father Reed giving his address

Lino Rulli

The blogging sessions were given by Thomas Peters, blogger for American Papist, and a panel of other Catholic bloggers. Podcasting sessions were given by SQPN’s CEO Father Roderick Vonhögen and Cliff Ravenscraft, who has produced various Catholic podcasts.

Cliff Ravenscraft and Father Vonhögen

I think it was very encouraging to see how much is being done to get the Catholic message out to young people using technology and the new media. The enthusiasm of the participants for this particular ministry was very encouraging.

 

Talking with Scot Landry, head of our Catholic Media secretariat and Lino Rulli

Chatting with Tom Peters, who writes the American Papist blog

In my remarks, I talked about my own experience in using different forms of media to reach my flock in my 40 years as a priest and bishop. I talked about our Spanish radio program and newspaper, El Pregonero, in Washington; starting a television station and a diocesan newspaper in the West Indies; and coming here and having a wonderful Catholic television station and the oldest Catholic newspaper in the country, The Pilot which of course is now on Kindle and the iPhone.

Also I talked about starting this blog and the very important need to reach the younger people through these new forms of media.

You can see a video of my talk here:

 

And here are some links to videos of the other talks and workshops.

A group photo with the folks from SQPN

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I was pleased to join Mayor Thomas Menino and many of the priests ministering in Boston for lunch on Monday. It was held at the Parkman House on Beacon Street, just across from the Boston Common. Parkman House is a historic home that was given to the city and is now used for receptions, meetings and other functions.

The mayor hosted a very lovely lunch for the priests. I think it really demonstrates his appreciation for the work the priests do in the city. Mayor Menino talked about his gratitude for the priests, and we thanked him for recognizing what the priests are doing.

Mayor Menino has always been very supportive of the work that is done by the Church in the city such as at the Teen Center at St. Peter’s in Dorchester, the shelter at Holy Redeemer in East Boston, the food pantry at the Cathedral, and in so many of our Catholic schools. The mayor has a great appreciation of the quiet and constant service the priests of the archdiocese give to the people of Boston, particularly in the inner-city neighborhoods where there are great challenges and sometimes violence.

Historically, most of the Catholics of the archdiocese lived within the city of Boston. When we had many different ethnic groups and large numbers of immigrants coming into places like Dorchester, many parishes sprang up and our institutional presence in the city grew.

Though we have had to amalgamate things over the years to preserve and strengthen our presence, our commitment to being present in the city is paramount and a very important part of our mission as the Church.

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On Wednesday I was interviewed by FoxNews Channel’s religion correspondent, Lauren Green, about the upcoming Catholics Come Home program in our archdiocese.

She was interested in learning more about the program, why we were doing it and what we hope to accomplish.

Here in our archdiocese, we try to contextualize Catholics Come Home with the other things we are doing, such as The Light Is On For You, the ARISE program, the Office of the New Evangelization, and the reorganization of our new Catholic Media Secretariat. All of these things are different components in our mission of the New Evangelization — the challenge of re-evangelizing post-Christian, Western secular society.

You can read the text of the story on the Fox News website.

During the interview she also asked me about the plan to build a mosque in New York, very close to Ground Zero.

I told her it is a sign of the value we have for freedom in this country, and for religious freedom in particular. We certainly do not want to support groups that promote terrorism, but there are many American citizens who are Muslim, and they have a right to practice their faith. Having a mosque near the site of the attack can be a very important symbol of how much we value religious freedom in this country.

I compared the situation to a historical situation in Ireland: During the Easter Revolution the Irish were very careful to protect the rights of the Protestants in the Free State. They did not take back their cathedral or close their churches. Instead, they wanted people to see they believed in freedom of religion.

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Also on Wednesday, I had lunch with George and Mary Ryan and their family. They are celebrating their 65^th wedding anniversary.

George is an officer in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which is also known as the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. He and Mary have maintained a longtime involvement with the organization, and he is part of its central governance in Rome. George was the former Vice-Governor General of the Equestrian Order, and continues to serve as Vice Governor General of Honor.

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has its roots almost 1,000 years ago in the time of the Crusades, when a group of knights gathered to protect the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church built on the site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial. In 1122, Pope Callistus II established the order as a lay community charged with guarding the church and the city of Jerusalem.

Today, the Order still performs many great works to support the Church in the Holy Land. They participate in and fund many projects and activities aimed at preserving Christian landmarks there.

George and Mary have always been great witnesses of the faith and strong supporters of the archdiocese. And that legacy of faith had been passed down to their children and grandchildren. For example, their daughter, Mary, is on our Finance Council and she is also on the board at Carney Hospital in Dorchester.

We congratulate them on this wonderful milestone of 65 years together!

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That evening I attended our annual Vianney Cookout at St. John’s Seminary, which is a gathering for our priests.

 

The event is named after St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, and consists of a talk, vespers and barbeque.

Father Tom Nestor, pastor of St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester, began the day with a lecture on the importance of hope. I understand it was very well-attended and very well-received.

Then I led our priests in a vespers service in the seminary chapel. There were probably 200 priests and some seminarians there.

 

 

The music for vespers was wonderful. Father Paul Rouse played the organ and piano and Fathers Oscar Pratt and Mark Barr sang.

After my homily, I invited Bishops-elect Arthur Kennedy and Peter Uglietto to make their Oath of Fidelity and Profession of Faith in the presence of their brother priests.

They recited their Oath of Allegiance each separately and then they did the profession of faith together. I then signed as witness to both documents for each of them.

Normally, the Oath of Fidelity is done privately, but I thought it was a nice to take occasion of the Vianney gathering and have the priests be a part of it.

We were fortunate to have an English translation of the Oath for the ceremony. At one point I teased Bishop Hennessey because he had to do the whole thing in Latin when he became an auxiliary four years ago. I joked that I wasn’t sure he understood everything!

Then we had a lovely dinner outdoors and the weather was perfect.

  

I could see they had to take out more seats to accommodate everyone, so I think more people showed up than we planned for.

I also got to see the new bus Regina Cleri just acquired to help our retired priests get out to different activities. It’s brand new and has a lift on it for wheelchairs. I understand they’ve only had it for about a week now.

In fact, when I saw some of the retired pastors at mayor’s luncheon, I wondered how they had gotten there with their wheelchairs, etc. It was only Wednesday when I realized they had the new bus.

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Though we had our Vianney cookout, Wednesday was actually the Feast of St. Clare, which is significant for me because I said my first Mass 40 years ago for the Poor Clares in Cleveland, on Rocky River Drive.

The Poor Clares are a contemplative, cloistered order of nuns who were founded by St. Clare about 700 years ago in Italy. There are about 20,000 nuns scattered in monasteries in over 70 countries. The order has had a monastery in Cleveland since 1877, and today is served by 21 cloistered nuns and three extern sisters.

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Yesterday afternoon I attended a meeting of the committee planning our second annual Priest Appreciation Dinner.

 

Proceeds from the event go towards the Clergy Benefit Trust, which provides for the medical and retirement needs of our priests.

One of our big challenges is the priests’ retirement fund, and we are anxious to have people support this effort. One of the things that we do is to have a Priest Appreciation Dinner, the proceeds from which are used for the priests’ retirement fund and medical expenses.

 

Some photos from last year’s dinner

 

This year’s event is on Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Seaport World Trade Center.

Tom Martin, CEO of Cramer Online in Norwood, and Kathleen Driscoll, president of the Campaign for Catholic Schools, are serving as co-chairs for the event. We are very grateful to Tom, Kathleen and all the volunteers who are helping to put this event together.

With Father John Unni, Kathleen Driscoll and Tom Martin

Last year’s event was a huge success, with over 100 parishes purchasing tables and over 1,600 people attending the dinner. Many vendors also support the event through donations and purchasing tables.

We are so grateful to all those who are supporting this effort either financially or through donating their time and talent to organize it and make it a success.

It is just such an important cause. Our priests have given their lives to help people and guide them through some of the most joyous and tragic times of their lives. Now they need us to help them. We pray that everyone in the archdiocese will respond generously to this vital need.

Peace be with you,

Cardinal Seán

Hello everyone, and welcome back.

This week, we announced that our archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, is now available on Kindle and iPhone. I also understand it will be available soon on iPad and smart phones.

Obviously, we’re delighted. Amazon reports that the majority of its hardcover books are now being sold on Kindle. More and more people are using e-readers and mobile devices, so it’s a wonderful way for us to be present in this new technology.

Also, I think it’s very fitting that the oldest Catholic newspaper in the United States is the first to appear on Kindle!

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On Friday, I attended the episcopal ordination of Bishop David O’Connell at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey.

Bishop O’Connell, a Vincentian and the longtime president of Catholic University, was named by our Holy Father Coadjutor Bishop of Trenton. It was a beautiful and joyous celebration. The bishop’s mother and brothers were there, as were many bishops and cardinals. Of course there were also many people connected with the Catholic University of America, including the new president, John Garvey, and his wife.

Trenton is a large diocese with about 800,000 Catholics. I am sure Bishop O’Connell’s great pastoral zeal and administrative ability will be put to good use there. He is serving now as coadjutor bishop to Bishop John Smith. Upon Bishop Smith’s retirement he will become the ordinary.

Coadjutor bishops are installed and ordained at the same time, so he is already installed as coadjutor bishop. His succession becomes automatic upon the retirement of the present bishop.

In some cases where a coadjutor becomes the ordinary, there will be a Mass of welcome or other event to mark the occasion, but that is only ceremonial. The reality is that the installation has already taken place.

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I returned to Boston to celebrate a Pontifical Mass for the Vietnamese community in honor of Our Lady of La Vang at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro on Saturday. It was the closing Mass of a Vietnamese pilgrimage to the shrine.

La Salette Shrine is a wonderful Marian shrine, not far from Boston in the Diocese of Fall River.

They have many pilgrimages for various ethnic groups. They always have an annual celebration for the Vietnamese community that attracts thousands of Vietnamese Catholics. I understand that nearly 4,000 people from 13 different Vietnamese communities were there for the pilgrimage this year.

It was a spectacular day. They had a beautiful procession carrying Our Lady of La Vang and a float to represent the 117 Vietnamese martyrs canonized in 1988.

These martyrs were killed in the 17^th, 19^th, and 20^th centuries — the most recent as a result of the Communist insurgence that occurred in the mid 1900’s. There are estimates that as many as 300,000 Vietnamese were martyred in the country’s long history.

They had many, many different youth groups at the pilgrimage Saturday. There were children dressed in beautiful traditional clothing.

It was an amazing day in the midst of this hot summer. It was a sunny day, about 70 degrees with a cool breeze, perfect for an outdoor Mass.

We are especially grateful to Father Andre Patenaude and the La Salette Fathers, who are always very hospitable to us. It really was a spectacular event and I was delighted to be a part of it.

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After that I travelled to Washington to attend the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus.

While I was there we had a Memorial Mass for Father Armando Llorente, the former leader of the Agrupación Católica Universitaria.

Father Llorente passed away in April and I went down to Miami for the funeral, but the community in Washington had not had the chance to memorialize his death. So, I celebrated the Mass for the members of Agrupación Católica Universitaria, a group with which I have been associated for over 40 years.

We had a wonderful turnout at St. Matthew’s Cathedral and many of the priests who celebrate Mass with the Agrupación were there to concelebrate.

My friends Manela and Tony Diez, who helped Father Llorente establish the Agrupación some 40 years go

Msgr. Jameson and Father Marc Knestout, the brother of the auxiliary bishop, were very, very gracious in making all the arrangements.

We were happy so many members and friends of the Agrupación Católica were able to come and offer prayers for this great priest whose ministry touched so many lives. He was truly an icon, a Good Shepherd and a faithful son of St. Ignatius.

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The opening Mass of the Knights of Columbus’ annual convention was held Tuesday morning in the Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Having the convention in Washington was very special because, ordinarily, they would have had the opening Mass in a hotel ballroom, but here they were able to bring the people together at a shrine that has many associations with the Knights of Columbus: the tower of the shrine was built by the Knights of Columbus, and more recently the Redemption mosaics in the dome were paid for by the Knights of Columbus.

In fact, Archbishop Wuerl, at the end of the beautiful celebration of the liturgy, dedicated a commemorative plaque to the extraordinary contributions by the Knights of Columbus to the shrine.

The music was spectacular, but particularly the communion hymn that was sung in Polish. It received many compliments from the people.

After the initial Mass, we went for the business session of the Knights of Columbus that was held at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park on Woodley Road. There, Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, gave us an extraordinary report on the achievements, goals and aspirations of the Knights over this last year.

The Knights of Columbus continue to grow throughout our country. The membership has grown to 1.8 million men. The organization has given more than 68 million hours of time and donated $144 million to charity. There are 14,000 active councils and, in this last year, there were 16 new councils at colleges and universities.

The Knights of Columbus are striving to give a deep spiritual formation to their members, and to promote family life, vocations, and the Gospel of Life.

During the convention, they briefed us on some important new initiatives that have been begun by the Knights — one for relief efforts in Haiti and the other to support the organization’s commitment to fostering a culture of life.

In the last couple of months, Carl Anderson and the leadership of the Knights of Columbus sent 1,000 wheelchairs to Haiti, and are scheduled to send another 1,000 in the coming months.  Now they have announced that the Knights also stand ready to provide prosthetic limbs and therapy for all of the children who have lost arms and legs in the earthquake. This is a wonderful humanitarian effort on their part.

The other initiative they are undertaking is supplying crisis pregnancy centers with ultrasound equipment so that pregnant women can see the images of their unborn children. Studies have shown that over 80 percent of women who see their children on the ultrasound will decide against abortion.

So, it is a wonderful tool to promote the Gospel of Life and is one more way in which we see the creative and resourceful endeavors of the Knights of Columbus to build a civilization of love in our country.

Bishops Uglietto and Hennessey at the States Dinner

The Knights have been supportive of so many different initiatives like this — the Special Olympics, blood donation, Habitat for Humanity, scouting — and they have provided millions of dollars in support of seminarians throughout the country.

They do so much good, but it is only at the convention that we are all made aware of these wonderful things.

One of the things that Carl Anderson said was that although the official Year for Priests is over, for the Knights of Columbus every year is a year for priests. They want to stand in solidarity with our pastors and our priests. I hope that our priests realize this and promote the Knights of Columbus in their own parishes.

We are very anxious to see new councils established in our own archdiocese, particularly since the councils that are being founded now are parish-based and are a great support for Catholic men. They also provide a cadre of able and willing volunteers for the pastors.

We hope that the Knights of Columbus continue to grow in our own archdiocese. Father Kevin O’Leary, rector of the Cathedral, is working to begin a council there, and we are very enthused about that.

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My friend, Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana, was honored by the Knights with their highest honor, the Gaudium et Spes Award, at the convention. He is only the eighth person to receive the award since its inception in 1992.

They noted his great faith and courage in leading the Church in Cuba through what has been some very difficult times and his role in the recent release of a number of political prisoners.

It was very good to be able to see him again. Cardinal Ortega had a chance to update us on their new seminary, which they have been working on for over 10 years. That will probably be dedicated in November in Havana.

He also spoke to us about his work trying to facilitate the release of political prisoners in Haiti.

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It was also great to see Msgr. Bill Cuddy at the Knights of Columbus convention; he was there with the attendees from the Archdiocese for Military Services.

Msgr. Cuddy will soon complete more than 40 years of service as chaplain to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and will return to the Archdiocese of Boston for an assignment here.  He was looking very official in his summer dress uniform!

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Finally, I am sure you have heard by now of a Federal judge’s ruling that Proposition 8, an initiative that was approved by California voters to uphold traditional marriage, was determined to be unconstitutional.

We understand this is a very emotional issue, but we were very disappointed to see that the judge did not recognize the rational arguments in favor of traditional marriage, which has been such a great source of good for humanity and for society.

Hopefully as the debate continues, people will try to understand all of the consequences of same-sex marriages for children and for society.  I pray that this debate which is so important for the good of our society will be productive, respectful and civil.

Until next week,

Cardinal Seán