NEWARK—Representing a vibrant cross-section of the Catholic Faith, eight men will be ordained to the priesthood for service to the Church of Newark on Saturday, May 25, at 10 a.m.

NEWARK — The Schools Office of the Archdiocese of Newark has organized the annual high school expos for middle school students and their families who are considering attending a Catholic high school in September 2013.

As most Catholics know, the American bishops have spoken strongly in defense of religious freedom with their recent statement, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.” Catholic and Protestant theologians have joined the bishops in defending the centrality of religious freedom in American life.

SOUTH ORANGE — The Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish/Christian Studies at Seton Hall University (SHU) 400 South Orange Ave., will present an original theatrical performance on Sunday, April 29, at 2 p.m., at its 19th annual “Evening of Roses” scholarship fund-raiser. SHU’s Jubilee Hall will be the site of the program.

El fin de semana del Encuentro Matrimonial es una experiencia positiva y personal que ofrece a las parejas casadas una oportunidad para aprender una técnica de comunicación amorosa que pueden usar por el resto de sus vidas. Es una oportunidad para mirar profundamente su relación de pareja y con Dios

SOUTH ORANGE—Asking the university community to join him in continuing to “strengthen our Catholic identity,” A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., formally became the 20th president in the 156- year history of Seton Hall University (SHU) at investiture ceremonies held Oct. 14. Held during the president’s first year in office, highlights of the ceremony included conferring the authority and symbols of the office. Esteban, the first Filipino-American president of a major U.S. university, was appointed in January after serving on an interim basis during the latter half of 2010 (see The Catholic Advocate, Jan. 12). In recognition of the historic event, the national anthems of both the United States and the Philippines were played at the beginning of the ceremony. 

NEWARK—Over $250,000 was raised to support the faith initiatives of the Archdiocese of Newark at the second annual Nourishing Your Faith dinner, which was held Nov. 10 at The Venetian, Garfield.

According to the archdiocese, the event was the largest fund-raising dinner of the year with proceeds benefiting the men’s and women’s commissions, evangelization efforts and Catholic education.

NEWARK-With the emphasis on pre-registration, organizers of both the annual Catholic Men's Conference and Women's Day of Reflection are making final plans for this month's consecutive Saturday evangelization events.

Following the success of last year's inaugural effort, the Catholic Men's Conference will be held at Seton Hall University (SHU), South Orange, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, "Champions of Faith" is the theme for this year's gathering. The Women's Day of Reflection will be held Saturday, March 20, at SHU's Jubilee Hall.

I smiled to myself at a pre-Christmas luncheon a few weeks ago as I listened to some of our Transfiguration Academy faculty members reminisce how, when they were children, they organized areas in or around their homes, either with dolls or other playmates, into mini classrooms where they could be the teachers. It seemed a hint of an early calling to this most noble profession, perhaps influenced in part by those who taught them.

I smiled, because it helped me think back to my own early childhood years and the minialtar I created on the top of my bedroom bookcase and the vestments cut from old sheets and marked with a simple cross that I wore, to offer a private Mass with my teddy bear in attendance. (Somehow, he didn't answer any of the Latin responses!)

Not every budding teacher creates a childhood classroom, nor does every future priest establish his own mini-sanctuary. Indeed, in these more recent decades, many teachers and priests (and deacons and Religious) only come to discern a call later in life, after having already pursued one or several other professions.

Throughout his lecture "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest Uncovers the Truth" at Seton Hall University (SHU), South Orange, on March 1, Father Patrick Desbois frequently prefaced his remarks with the phrase "you must understand" as a solemn plea to the audience of over 200. However, the words also revealed a profound sense of grief by Fr. Desbois, as though he himself was trying to comprehend the staggering horror he has uncovered in the remote farm villages of Eastern Europe.

AAA Assists Most-Vulnerable Neighbors



NEWARK-The 2009 Archbishop's Annual Appeal (AAA) will kick off "pledge week" the weekend of Feb. 7 and 8, as parishes throughout the four counties of the archdiocese gear up for this year's fundraising campaign.

On Dec. 14, 2008, an advertorial-a paid advertisement that expresses an opinion on a current events topic-paid for by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) appeared in numerous newspapers in the state. The advertorial presented the group's opinion on the subjects of school choice and educational reform.

The author, NJEA President Joyce Powell, claimed that advocates of reform are trying to both gut the state's public school system and eliminate tenure in favor of "patronage positions to be filled at the whim of administration and politicians." The author used a very broad brush to spread her words around, but she succeeded only in painting herself into a corner.

Like the other Catholic dioceses in New Jersey and a broad coalition of civil rights, faith-based and parent organizations throughout the state, the Archdiocese of Newark is a proponent of school choice. We make no apologies for this stance. None of the Catholic dioceses has taken a position on eliminating tenure.

"Based on the analysis of the results of the 2007 Full Audit of the Archdiocese of Newark, you have been found to be in compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

A few simple words, but they speak volumes and speak them loudly.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his homily on the 2006 Feast of Corpus Christi, declared that the Eucharist "constitutes the treasure of the Church. The Eucharist is the Lord Jesus...in all times and places, He wishes to encounter men and women and bring them the life of God."

to the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Men, Women Religious and all Lay Faithful "On Christian Hope."

Introduction
1.) SPE SALVI facti sumus-in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, "redemption"-salvation-is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.

Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here?

NEWARK-The Archdiocese of Newark has awarded its annual stewardship grants to five schools and six parishes-the third consecutive year that funds have been made available for much-needed maintenance and capital improvement projects.

The grants were announced as the archdiocese gears up for its annual Stewardship Day event, which will be held Nov. 3, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Paramus Catholic High School, 425 Paramus Rd.

NEWARK-Through the work of the Archdiocese of Newark's Catholic Charities' Refugee Resettlement and Human Trafficking programs, a former trafficking victim was reunited with her nine-year-old son on July 26 at Newark Liberty International Airport after more than four years of forced separation.

Inspired by this reunion, officials at Catholic Charities are hoping they will be able to report more happy endings in the near future. The group is involved in seven active cases of trafficking victims waiting to be reunited with their children.

Two years ago Lucy Magambi told her harrowing story to The Catholic Advocate (see the Nov. 23, 2005 edition), speaking under the alias "Mary." She came to America in 2003 from Kenya to work for a family in Bergen County as a housekeeper and nanny. She left her young son Brian behind with the hopes of making a new life for them in the United States.