Happy
St. Patrick's Day |
|
|
|
Help
Wanted
Real Estate
For Sale
Vacation Rentals
Services Offered
|
|
|
Metuchen's
new bishop leaves Newark ‘home’
|
|
By
James Goodness
Packing
boxes are everywhere, and the office is both cramped and bare at
the same time. Pictures and other
decorations wait their turn to be secured for travel and to be reset
in a new place. Though still a few weeks away, it is obvious that
the change is coming, and that Bishop Paul Bootkoski is preparing
to move on.
A
reporter from the Star-Ledger is here to interview him about a businessman
who is becoming a prominent supporter of educational and other programs
in the city of Newark. The businessman and Bishop Paul have known
each other since high school, and the reporter wants to know what
makes the businessman special. What interests him? What has driven
him to see Newark as a place worth investing his company’s
and his personal time, talent and treasure? Yet at some point in
this discussion, the focus shifts to Bishop Paul’s own experiences
and feelings about the city where he was born, went to school, and
has spent almost 36 years serving as a priest of the Archdiocese.
Go
to article
|
 |
|
NJ
Bishops speak out for poor
State
guidelines for the minimum amount of income and benefits needed
by New Jersey families are “woefully underestimated,”
according to an official of the New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC).
Marlene
Lao-Collins, associate director of Social Concerns, testified before
the Department of Human Services saying the “standard of need”
fails to include “essential items such as utilities, child-care
and health care, and they also fail to establish realistic costs
for items like housing, food and clothing.” She noted that
the proposed standard of need for a family of three, set at $1,465
a month, would make it “extremely difficult for a family to
maintain a decent and healthy standard of living.”
Go
to article
|
|
|
|
Bishops
act to protect children
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — The president of the of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops expressed “profound sorrow” for the sexual abuse
of children by priests and said the harm they have caused is “immeasurable.”
In
a recent two-page statement on behalf of the bishops, Bishop Wilton
D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., said such abuse “is a reality
against which we must be ceaselessly on guard.”
Bishop
Gregory said, “We understand that your children are your most
precious gift. They are our children as well, and we continue to
apologize to the victims and to their parents and their loved ones
for this failure in our pastoral responsibilities.” He acknowledged
that there were “cases of priest abusers that were not dealt
with appropriately in the past” but said the bishops have been
working hard to take corrective measures and protect children.
Go
to article
|
|
|
|
St.
Andrew’s rector installed
The
new rector of the seminary credits two priests with providing “role
models” that helped him better appreciate and live his priesthood.
Surrounded
by family, friends and his brother priests, Father Joseph R. Reilly
was installed by Archbishop John J. Myers as rector of the College
Seminary, St. Andrew’s Hall. The installation was celebrated
Sunday afternoon March 3, in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
on the Seton Hall University campus in South Orange.
Go
to article
|
|
Newark
parade steps off March 17
The
67th Newark Saint Patrick’s Day Parade will march down Broad
Street, March 17 beginning at noon.
Leading
the way will be Grand Marshal Michael J. Slattery of Caldwell
and Deputy Grand Marshal Karen E. Golding from Essex County.
The
Newark parade is the oldest in the state.
Slattery
is a lifelong parishioner of St. Aloysius Parish in Caldwell where
he serves on the Finance Council. He is also a member of the Circle
of Stewards of the Archdiocese of Newark.
Go
to article
|
|
|
Archbishop
targets drought
With New Jersey in the grip of one of the worst droughts in history,
Archbishop John J. Myers called upon the 235 parishes throughout
the Archdiocese of Newark to take the lead in adhering to water
use restrictions in their communities.
The
governor declared a statewide emergency March 4. “Region
specific” restrictions were expected to be issued this week.
In
issuing his executive order, the governor said “New Jersey
has suffered unusually dry weather conditions since 1998, during
the past 12 months, precipitation has been among the lowest on
record.”
|
|
|
Cougars
capture conference crown
The
Caldwell College Cougars men’s basketball team secured a berth
in the NAIA National Tournament when they clinched the Central Atlantic
Collegiate Conference (CACC) regular season championship with a
73-36 victory over Goldey-Beacom College.
Go
to article
|
|
|
Local
food pantries dealing with hunger
By David Proch
Feeding
the hungry and needy in a depressed economy has become an important
concern for charities and volunteers across the state, especially
with welfare reforms on the horizon.
“What
a number of food pantries in the Archdiocese of Newark are seeing
is that, because of the changes in welfare, it’s gone from
welfare recipients to the working poor as far as serving people
who have a job but don’t necessarily have food on the table,”
said Sharon Reilly-Tobin, Director of the Emergency Food and Nutrition
Network at Catholic Community Services (CCS).
Although
there have been hearings on the hunger and welfare issue (see story
on page one of The Catholic Advocate), there is currently no legislation
being discussed in Trenton on this issue.
Go
to article
|
|
|
Paschal
Mystery embraces suffering
By Bob Dylak
The
Paschal Mystery embraces the suffering of Christ and His church
and concludes with the joy of the Easter Resurrection, Father James
Cafone told about 75 people attending the first of a series of Lenten
Lectures at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in South Orange.
The
Seton Hall University Professor of Theology reminded his listeners
that suffering, slavery and martyrdom, as commemorated in the biblical
Passover, are not a thing of the past. “Even today there are
people being martyred for their Christian Faith in the Sudan (North
Africa). Many Catholic women and children have been sold into slavery,”
he said, “They are treated as though their lives are worth
nothing.”
Go
to article
|
|
