June 2008 newsletter is now online

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw Monthly Newsletter for June2008 is now available online.. Click here to sign up to have the newsletter sent each month to your e-mail.

Sports Illustrated names Nouvel as top program in state

SAGINAW - Sports Illustrated magazine this week named Nouvel Catholic Central High School's athletic program as No. 1 in the state of Michigan.

= Check of the listing of the top school in each state, according to SI.

= Read about the honor in The Saginaw News.

Bishop urges prayer for China earthquake victims

SAGINAW – Bishop Robert J. Carlson today urged all people of faith to continue to pray for the victims of the devastating earthquake in China.

“May God comfort those who have lost loved ones, and in a special way, the grieving parents who have lost their children,” he said. “We also pray for the emergency aid workers. May they be strengthened and comforted by the Lord’s grace as they continue the difficult work that is still ahead of them.”

At this time, the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is unable to accept any monetary donations for relief efforts in China. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has offered its assistance to the Chinese government. However, Chinese officials have declined emergency relief from CRS and several other organizations.

CRS is the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

International press organizations report more than 40,000 people have died as a result last week’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked China. More than 245,000 have been reported injured and hundreds of communities were destroyed.

Charity Ball earns $300K for Catholic education

SAGINAW – Bishop Robert J. Carlson announced Tuesday that the 2008 Bishop’s Charity Ball raised more than $300,000 for Catholic schools and parish religious education programs.

“Final figures are still being calculated as the last bills roll in, but we have every reason to believe that this year’s event was very successful,” the bishop said during a special “Winner’s Circle” reception Tuesday evening at the Center for Ministry in Saginaw.

During the winner’s event, raffle ticket proceeds and prizes were awarded, including the grand prize $10,000 to All Saints Central High School in Bay City; the second prize trip for two to Rome to Randy and Cathy Schafer of Mt. Pleasant; and the third prize $5,000 home improvement project to Jim Schlicker of Saginaw.

All Saints Principal J.B. Watters said the winnings will be used as down payment for needed repairs and upgrades to the school’s boiler heating system.

Eighty-seven parishes and schools received checks totaling nearly $208,500 from their portions of the raffle ticket sales. Remaining event proceeds will be invested into school endowment funds of the Catholic Community Foundation of Mid-Michigan to support the future of Catholic schools in the diocese.

The Bishop’s Charity Ball, which took place April 25, is a fundraising event designed to celebrate Catholic education and benefit Catholic schools and parish religious education programs.

The inaugural Bishop’s Charity Ball raised more than $500,000 in 2007. Those proceeds included a $250,000 anonymous matching gift.

The 2009 Bishop’s Charity Ball will take place April 24 at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw. Its premier fundraising feature will be a new endowment fund created to benefit Catholic school teachers’ salaries.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw includes 106 parishes and 26 schools.

19 new pastoral assignments announced

SAGINAW – Bishop Robert J. Carlson has announced the following changes in pastoral assignments for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, each effective July 1:

Father Craig Albrecht from pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Merrill; sacramental minister to St. Mary Parish, Hemlock, and St. Patrick Parish, Ryan; and chaplain for Nouvel Catholic Central High School, Saginaw, to pastor for St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Bay City.

Father Andrew Booms from associate pastor for St. James Parish, Bay City, to pastor for St. Michael Parish, Port Austin.

Father Robert Byrne from pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Mt. Pleasant, to pastor for Blessed Trinity Parish, Frankenmuth.

Father James Carlson from pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Bad Axe; St. Joseph Parish, Rapson; and Most Holy Trinity Parish, Smith Corners, to pastor for St. John Vianney Parish, Saginaw.

Father Nicholas Coffaro, ordained May 16, to associate pastor for St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Saginaw.

Father Christopher Coman, ordained May 16, to associate pastor for Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Bay City.

Father Jerzy Dobosz from administrator for St. Mary Parish, Parisville, and St. Anthony Parish, Helena, to administrator for St. Anne Parish, Linwood; Sacred Heart Parish, Kawkawlin; and St. Valentine Parish, Beaver.

Father Steven Gavit from pastor for St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Bay City, to pastor for St. Mary Parish, Hemlock and continue as chaplain for the Saginaw Valley State University Newman Apostolate (Catholic Campus Ministry).

Father T.J. Fleming from pastor for St. Brigid of Kildare Parish, Midland, to pastor for St. Michael Parish, Maple Grove.

Father Paul Grala SOLT from temporary administrator for St. Michael Parish, Port Austin, to chaplain for St. Francis Home, Shields.

Father Denis Heames, ordained May 16, to associate pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Mt. Pleasant.

Father Loren Kalinowski from pastor for St. John Vianney Parish, Saginaw, to pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Mt. Pleasant.

Father Frederick Kawka from pastor for Blessed Trinity Parish, Frankenmuth, to senior priest status (retired).

Father Randy Kelly from pastor for St. Michael Parish, Maple Grove, to pastor for St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Saginaw.

Father Thomas Kowalczyk from pastor for St. Anne Parish, Linwood, to senior priest status (retired).

Father Paul O’Donnell MCCJ to spiritual director for St. John Vianney Formation House, Saginaw, in addition to his assignment as chaplain for the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma.

Deacon Roger Pasionek from staff at Holy Family Parish, Saginaw to pastoral administrator for Holy Family Parish, Saginaw.

Father Daniel Roa, ordained May 16, to chaplain for St. Mary’s of Michigan hospital in Saginaw, and in-residence at St. Mary Cathedral, Saginaw.

Father Ronald Wagner from pastor for Holy Family Parish, Saginaw, to pastor of St. Andrew Parish, Saginaw and sacramental minister to Holy Family Parish, Saginaw.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw includes 106 parishes and 26 schools located across 11 mid-Michigan counties.

Bishop will ordain 4 priests on Friday

SAGINAW – Bishop Robert J. Carlson will ordain four priests for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw during a special Mass at 1 p.m. on Friday at Holy Spirit Parish in Shields.

The men to be ordained to the priesthood include:

- Deacon Nicholas F. Coffaro, 27, of Garfield Heights, Ohio. His preparation for the priesthood has included studies at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland, and Borromeo College Seminary in Cleveland. As a transitional deacon, Coffaro has served the faith community of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Bay City.

- Deacon Christopher M. Coman, 34, of Saginaw. His preparation for the priesthood has included studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He also holds degrees from Northwood University in Midland and the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Before discerning the path to priesthood, Comen was employed for about five year in the secular business world as a salesman and operations manager for an automotive company, working both in the Detroit Area and Portland, Ore. As a transitional deacon, he has served the faith community of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Beal City.

- Deacon Denis M. Heames, 35, of Chula Vista, Calif. His preparation for the priesthood has included studies at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Colo., and Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Before discerning the path to priesthood, Heames found success as a Hollywood actor. As a transitional deacon, he has served the faith community of St. Mary University Parish in Mount Pleasant.

- Deacon Daniel E. Roa, 28, of Caracas, Venezuela. His preparation for the priesthood has included studies at St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Ill., and Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo. Roa began his studies for the priesthood as a teenager and immigrated to the United States in 1999 at the encouragement of his pastor. As a transitional deacon, he has served the faith community of the St. Mary Cathedral in Saginaw.

This is the first time since 1982 that at least four priest have been ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. Four men were ordained that year by Bishop Kenneth E. Untener, however, those ordinations did not take place on the same day. June 7, 1969 was the last day in which at least four priests were ordained for Saginaw on the same day by Bishop Francis F. Reh at St. Mary Cathedral in Saginaw.

With the addition of these four new priests, the Diocese of Saginaw currently has a total of 62 active priests in its ranks. Many of the diocese’s 36 senior (retired) priests, and 17 priests from other dioceses or religious orders also serve to celebrate the sacraments for the people of 106 parishes across the 11-county region of the Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop Carlson also is set to ordain two transitional deacons during a 10 a.m. Mass on Saturday at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Midland.

Transitional deacons include seminarians in their final stages of priestly formation. They will most likely be ordained to the priesthood in the next year.

Those men to be ordained to the transitional diaconate include:

- Prentice A. Tipton, 54, of Detroit. He is enrolled at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. He holds a bachelor’s degree for education from the University of Michigan and is a convert to the Catholic faith tradition.

- José G. Parra, 31, of Colombia. He is enrolled at Saginaw Valley State University and comes to the Diocese of Saginaw following priestly formation with the Messengers of Peace religious institute at the Pacem in Terris Mission, established by Bishop Carlson in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, in 2005.

The Diocese of Saginaw was established in 1938 and includes an estimated 132,000 faithful worshiping in 106 parishes across Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.

McKune becomes diocesan development director

SAGINAW – Bishop Robert J. Carlson announced today that Development Director Daniel P. McKune has joined the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw staff.

As diocesan development director, McKune also will serve as executive director of the Catholic Community Foundation of Mid-Michigan (CCFMM) and lead major gift initiatives for the diocese.

McKune comes to the diocese from Chemical Bank in Midland, where he was a vice president and trust business development officer for more than 10 years.

Prior to that, he held trust officer positions with NBD Bank (now Chase bank) in Saginaw, Old Kent Bank (now Fifth Third Bank) in Grand Rapids and Citizen’s Trust (now KeyCorp) in Ann Arbor. He also served as a linguist in the United States Air Force National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md.

He holds a bachelor’s degree for sociology from the University of the State of New York (now Excelsior University); an associate’s degree for human resource management from the University of Maryland and an associate’s degree for linguistics from the Community College of the Air Force.

Dan has been and currently is involved with parish and diocesan ministry. He has been chairman of the diocesan Inter-Parish Deposit and Loan Committee, a member of the Planned Giving Council, and participated in the CSA Review Board.

His involvement with his parish, SS. Peter & Paul, Saginaw, includes being an RCIA team member and sponsor; jail ministry and men’s service leader; SS. Peter & Paul School Endowment Trustee (from inception to present); and more.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw includes 106 parishes and 26 schools across 11 counties in mid-Michigan.

Diocese will assist relief efforts in Myanmar

SAGINAW – The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw will assist Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in supporting the emergency relief and response efforts in the wake of last week’s deadly cyclone that ravaged the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, Terri Grierson, director of the Office of Christian Service, announced today.

According to latest CRS reports, there are around 60,000 dead or missing and 1 million people have been left homeless due to the devestation of Cyclone Nargis. The storm tore through the nation’s densly populated rice-farming Irrawaddy Delta region late Friday and into Saturday.

CRS officials say the tragic numbers demonstrate dire conditions in which basic food, shelter
and water are urgently needed. Assessment of the devastation is still underway as communication remains difficult and news trickles out of Myanmar. CNN.com reported today that U.S. diplomats estimate the death toll will exceed 100,000.

“It could not have happened in a worse stretch of land. With the tidal surge at 12 to 15 feet, presumably thousands of people living along the [Irrawaddy] Delta were simply washed away,” said Pat Johns, director of the CRS emergency response team.

CRS is assisting the Caritas Internationalis network to offer relied support the most heavily affected areas of Myranmar, which also is know as Burma.

For more than 60 years, CRS has supported long-term development programs and emergency relief efforts — including responses to cyclones and other natural disasters — in the regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. CRS is the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw will collect funds on behalf of CRS for disaster relief in Myanmar. Contributions can be made to the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, 5800 Weiss St., Saginaw, MI 48603-2799, Attn: Cyclone Relief. Donations also can be made directly to CRS online at http://crs.org/myanmar/cyclone-nargis/.

For more information, contact Terri Grierson at (989) 797-6650.

FAITH now available online

Check out highlights from the Spring 2008 issue of FAITH Saginaw magazine now online at faithsaginaw.org.

The Church is alwasys in a state of Pentecost

VATICAN CITY (VIS) - In the general audience, held this mornings in St. Peter’s Square in the presence of 20,000 faithful, the Holy Father used the occasion of the visit to Rome of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, to focus his remarks on ecumenical dialogue. The Patriarch, who was present at the audience, also made a brief address in which he reflected on the same theme, also dwelling upon the history of the Armenian people.

Greeting the Patriarch in English, Benedict XVI referred to the statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Church, which is located in a niche of the Vatican Basilica and "serves to remind us of the severe persecutions suffered by Armenian Christians, especially during the last century. Armenia's many martyrs are a sign of the power of the Holy Spirit working in times of darkness, and a pledge of hope for Christians everywhere."

The Patriarch's presence, said the Pope, "revives our hope for the full unity of all Christians," and he noted the well-known "commitment of the Armenian Apostolic Church to ecumenical dialogue."

"These days of preparation that immediately precede the Solemnity of
Pentecost stimulate us to renew our hope in the help of the Holy Spirit to advance along the path of ecumenism. We have the certainty that the Lord Jesus never abandons us in our search for unity, because His Spirit is tirelessly at work to support the efforts we make to overcome all forms of division."

Benedict XVI went on: The Holy Spirit is "a power for the forgiveness of sins, for the renewal of our hearts and our lives. It renews the earth and creates unity where before there was division". When it descended upon the Apostles they spoke in tongues, a sign that "the Babylonian dispersion, fruit of the pride which divides mankind, was overcome in the Spirit, which is charity and gives us unity in diversity."

"Since the first moment of her existence the Church, thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit, has spoken in all tongues and lived in all cultures. She destroys nothing of their history and gifts, but assumes them all in a great and new unity, which reconciles unity with the multiplicity of forms. With its power, the Holy Spirit ... unites divided man in divine charity and thus creates ... the great community which is the Church in all the world."

Pope Benedict then went on to highlight how "the Church is always, so to say, in a state of Pentecost. Gathered in the Cenacle, she prays incessantly to obtain ever new effusions of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, ... and is not afraid to announce the Gospel to the furthest confines of the earth. This is why, faced with difficulties and divisions, Christians cannot resign themselves or give way to discouragement.

"This is what Christ asks of Christians: to persevere in prayer in order to keep alive the flame of faith, hope and charity, and the longing for full unity,” the Pope added. He then went on to mention his recent apostolic trip to the United States during which he had made reference "to the centrality of prayer in the ecumenical movement. In this period of globalisation and, at the same time, of fragmentation, 'without prayer ecumenical structures, institutions and programs would be deprived of their heart and soul'," he said.

Finally, the Holy Father quoted St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians where it is written that "the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Today," he concluded, "we too invoke these gifts of the Spirit for all Christians, so that in the joint and generous service of the Gospel they may be a sign in the world of God's love for humanity."

Migrant Food Pantry in urgent need

BAY CITY – The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw’s Migrant Food Pantry is in dire need of food for the coming migrant season.

Donations are down and the food pantry shelves are critically under stocked, said Maria Cepeda, Office of Hispanic Ministry director and pastoral administrator at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Bay City.

Items that are needed include pinto beans (dry or in jar), rice, spaghetti, corn, green beans, pancake mix, syrup, white flour, shortening, cooking oil, dish detergent, wash detergent, baking powder, salt, black pepper; baby food and formula, diapers, baby clothes, and personal hygiene items.

Monetary Donations may be forwarded to: Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, Office of Hispanic Ministry, 5800 Weiss St., Saginaw, MI 48603-2799

Food and other items may be dropped off at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, 1619 Broadway St., in Bay City. Please call ahead (989) 894-0661 for drop-off times.

MCC praises state medical society’s ‘neutral’ position on embryo destructive research

Lansing – Michigan Catholic Conference President and Chief Executive Officer Sister Monica Kostielney, R.S.M., released the following statement regarding Michigan State Medical Society's decision of May 4 to move its position on embryo destructive research from support to neutral:

"The 'neutral' position adopted by the state's most prominent and trusted medical society on embryo destructive research further illustrates how divisive and controversial the proposed constitutional amendment truly is. Michigan Catholic Conference welcomes the medical society's decision to abandon its support for embryo destructive research, and enthusiastically greets MSMS' efforts to educate its members on the possible ballot proposal.

"Stem Cell Research BQC, the organization promoting embryo destructive research in Michigan, has suffered a significant blow in its campaign to further mislead and deceive Michigan voters. Every moment spent discussing the destruction of human embryos is a moment lost promoting the dozens of therapies and cures continually realized by adult stem cell research."

The MCC is the official public policy voice of the Catholic church in this Michigan.

Diocesan newsletter for May 2008 now available online

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw Monthly Newsletter for May 2008 is now available online.. Click here to sign up to have the newsletter sent each month to your e-mail.