Who fears God is never afraid

VATICAN CITY, (VIS) - On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"In today's Gospel," he said, "we find two invitations from Jesus: on the one hand, 'to have no fear' of men, and on the other 'to fear' God. Thus we are stimulated to reflect on the difference that exists between human fears and fear of God. Fear is a natural aspect of life. From childhood we experience forms of fear that then reveal themselves as imaginary and disappear; later other fears emerge which have specific roots in reality, these must be faced and overcome with human commitment and trust in God.

"But," the Pope added, "there exists - and above all today - a deeper form of fear, an existential fear, which sometimes spills over into anguish. It is born of a sense of emptiness, associated with a certain culture that is permeated with widespread theoretical and practical nihilism. Faced with the broad ... panorama of human fears, the Word of God is clear: those who 'fear' God 'are not afraid.' Fear of God, which Scripture defines as 'the beginning of true hope,' means to have faith in Him, and sacred respect for His authority over life and over the world."

"Those who fear God are serene even amidst the storms because God, as Jesus revealed to us, is a Father full of mercy and goodness. Those who love Him are not afraid. ... Believers, then, are afraid of nothing, because they know they are in the hands of God, they know that evil and the irrational will not have the last word, but that the one Lord of the world and of life is Christ, the Word of God incarnate."

Finally, the Pope turned his attention to St. Paul who, "strong in the presence of Christ and comforted by His love, did not even fear martyrdom."

Then, recalling that on June 28 he will inaugurate a Jubilee Year commemorating the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle of the Gentiles, the Holy Father concluded: "May this great spiritual and pastoral event also arouse in us a renewed faith in Jesus Christ Who calls us to announce and bear witness to His Gospel, without fear."

SAGINAW -- A crew from the Midland-based Bierlein Construction works to bring down the final corner of the former St. Mary Cathedral School building on Wednesday afternoon. The school, which was raised in 1920, closed its doors to students in 1984 when it merged with Saginaw's SS. Peter & Paul and St. Stephen high schools to form Nouvel Catholic Central High School on Wieneke Road in Saginaw Township. It was later sold to a tri-city jobs program in 1988, but has sat abandoned since 1990. The demolition is part of the on-going St. Mary Cathedral campus renewal effort, the Restoration & Design Project for the Cathedral Campus.

5 priests to celebrate jubilees on June 23

SAGINAW – Five Catholic Diocese of Saginaw priests will be honored during a special Mass to mark significant jubilee anniversaries of their ordination at 4 p.m. on June 23 at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Bay City.

This year’s jubilarians include:

• Father Michael L. Maher, 60 years


• Father Joseph W. Roach, 60 years


• Father Richard C. Ratajczak, 50 years


• Father Joseph D. Ryan, 50 years


• Father Peter J. Gaspeny, 25 years

2 new pastoral assignments announced

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

Carol Hale from staff at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Essexville, to pastoral administrator for St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Ithaca, and St. Martin de Porres Parish, Perrinton.

Father Robert Howe from pastor for St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Shepherd, St. Leo Parish, Winn, and St. Patrick Parish, Irishtown, to pastor for Sacred Heart Parish, Bad Axe, St. Joseph Parish, Rapson, and Most Holy Trinity Parish, Smith Corners.

Nineteen other pastoral assignments were previously announced May 20.

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

Events marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Pius XII, the World War II pope

VATICAN CITY, (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present two initiatives to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Servant of God Pope Pius XII: a congress on his Magisterium and a photographic exhibition.

Participating in the conference were bishop Salvatore Fisichella, rector of Rome's Pontifical Lateran University; Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda S.J., rector of Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University; Msgr. Walter Brandmuller, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences; Giovanni Maria Vian, director of the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper, and Giovanni Morello, president of the Foundation for the Artistic Patrimony and Activity of the Church.

Referring to Pius XII and the years of his pontificate (1939-1958), Bishop Fisichella highlighted the Pontiff's "great stature, especially in spiritual terms, but also intellectually and diplomatically."

"Various different historical situations of great significance came together in the life of Pius XII," he said: "the genocide of the Jews, the communist occupation of various Christian nations, the Cold War, new advances of science, and the innovations of certain schools of theology."

Bishop Fisichella pointed out that, although many aspects of the pontificate have already been studied, "what remains largely unknown is Pius XII's influence on Vatican Council II." In this context, he mentioned the 43 Encyclicals "which marked his pontificate, and the many discourses in which he examined the most controversial questions of his time.

"In this Magisterium,",Bishop Fisichella added, "it is easy to identify certain particular traits which we may summarise in three points: firstly the promotion of doctrine, the definition of the dogma of the Assumption in 1950 being particularly memorable; ... secondly defending doctrine and indicating errors," such as in the Encyclical Humani Generis of 1950 where Pope Pius examines "the serious problem of theological relativism. ... Finally," said Bishop Fischella, "Pius XII never failed to make his voice heard clearly and explicitly when circumstances required it."

Read the entire Vatican Information Service story here.

All Saints freshmen rank top MEAP scores among Catholic schools in state

Forty-four ninth-grade students at All Saints Central High School have proven they have the right stuff when it comes to history, geography and civics.

That's because 97.7 percent of them met or exceeded state standards on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program social studies test - more than any other Catholic school in Michigan, making them No. 1 in the state.

Read all of Patti Brandt's story in The Bay City Times.

Demolition of former St. Mary Cathedral School will begin Monday

Bierlein construction workers remove a “St. Mary’s” name stone from its perch over an entrance to the former St. Mary Cathedral School in Saginaw. Bierlein crews will begin demolition of the building on Monday, June 16. The school, which was built in 1920, closed its doors to students in 1984 when the city’s three Catholic high schools merged to form Nouvel Catholic Central. It was later sold to a tri-city’s jobs program in 1988, which abandoned the property in 1990. The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw repurchased the property in September 2007 with the help of Neighborhood Renewal Services. An extensive renovation feasibility study determined the building was beyond repair and would have to be demolished. The school’s corner stone, “St. Mary’s” name stones and concrete crosses that overlooked the building’s entrances are being saved. The diocese also will put aside a limited number of bricks from the demolition to make available to St. Mary Cathedral School alumni. The razing of the former school is part of an ongoing Cathedral Campus Renewal Project.