Bishops to Vote on Baptism Agreement with Reformed Christians at November Meeting

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Catholic bishops will vote on an agreement with four Protestant communities to mutually recognize one another’s baptism as valid when they meet for their annual Fall General Assembly, November 15-18, in Baltimore. The proposed Common Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Baptism is the result of six years of study and discussion between the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and representatives from the Presbyterian Church-USA, the Reformed Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, and the United Church of Christ.

“The U.S. bishops stand at an important juncture in affirming the unity that Christ has given to the baptized members of his body, a unity that is ever fragile and always in need of support from the pastors of the Church,” said Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory, chairman of the USCCB Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, on the importance of the agreement.

The Catholic Church has recognized the validity of baptisms of most major Christian communions since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). In 2002, concerns over certain practices (such as baptism by sprinkling) and spoken formulas (such as baptism in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier) used by some Christians led the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity to urge national bishops’ conferences to study their mutual understanding of baptism with other Christians. These questions were examined and resolved by Round Seven of the Reformed-Roman Catholic Dialogue-USA, which produced the Common Agreement, as well as a study entitled “These Living Waters.”

The Common Agreement affirms that both Catholic and Reformed Christians hold that baptism is the sacramental bond of unity for the Body of Christ, which is to be performed only once, by an authorized minister, with flowing water, using the Scriptural Trinitarian formula of “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The agreement encourages all local Christian communities to keep baptismal records. The Common Agreement has already been ratified by the Presbyterian Church-USA.

The bishops will vote on the Common Agreement and an accompanying Reception Statement that calls upon bishops and pastors in the U.S. to recognize as valid baptisms from the Reformed communities in question. This will apply to baptisms performed after the agreement has gone into effect and if a baptismal certificate is provided stating that the traditional Trinitarian formula was used.

While other bishops’ conferences around the world have entered into similar agreements with the Protestant communities of their region, this document is unprecedented for the Catholic Church in the United States. As the Common Agreement would be an official agreement with other Christians, it is not amendable. The Reception Statement, however, can be discussed and amended by the bishops.

‘Share in the Care’: Parishes to conduct annual Collection for Retired Sisters, Brothers, Priests in Religious Orders next month

Catholics in the Diocese of Saginaw will have the opportunity to "Share in the Care" of senior religious by participating in the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious (RFR), to be held December 11-12, 2010. The collection is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office in Washington and provides financial support for the day-to-day care of thousands of elderly Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests.

Last year, the Diocese of Saginaw contributed $187,156.91 to this collection. In 2010, the Sisters of St. Clare received financial assistance made possible by the RFR. Additionally, women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose institutes are headquartered elsewhere may benefit from this fund.

Since 1988, Catholics in the United States have donated $617 million to this initiative. Nearly 95 cents of every dollar is used to aid senior religious.

Despite the overwhelming generosity to this fund, many religious communities continue to lack resources sufficient to support retirement and elder care. Of 573 communities submitting data to the NRRO in 2009, fewer than seven percent were fully funded for retirement.

Traditionally, religious served for small stipends that did not include retirement benefits. Their sacrifices now leave their religious communities without adequate savings for retirement. Compounding the funding shortage are the rising cost of care and the substantial loss of income that has resulted from the declining number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry.

"As the number of wage-earning religious drops, so does income," explains NRRO Executive Director Sister Janice Bader, a member of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, Missouri.

"Census projections indicate that by 2019, religious past age 70 will outnumber those under 70 by nearly four to one. We want to do everything possible to help religious communities prepare for the dramatic income reduction that will accompany this demographic shift."

As a result of the 2009 collection, which garnered over $28.1 million, the National Religious Retirement Office was able to distribute more than $23 million in financial assistance to 477 communities, representing more than 45,000 women and men religious. By underwriting necessities, such as prescription medication and nursing support, these funds help religious communities provide for the ongoing care of elder members. Additional funding was allocated to initiatives targeted for religious institutes with the greatest needs.

Learn more at http://www.retiredreligious.org/.

President of U.S. Bishops Offers Prayers, Solidarity with Iraqi Christians, Says U.S. Has Moral Obligation to Help

WASHINGTON — Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), offered the prayers of the U.S. bishops and expressed solidarity with the suffering Christians of Iraq following the October 31 attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad that killed 58 people and wounded 75.

“We stand with the bishops, Church and people of Iraq in their urgent search for greater security, freedom and protection,” said Cardinal George in a November 1 statement. “We call upon the United States to take additional steps to help Iraq protect its citizens, especially the most vulnerable.”Cardinal George echoed the recent expression of sorrow of Pope Benedict XVI, as well as the pope’s concluding message from the recent Synod of Bishops on the Middle East: “Peace is possible. Peace is urgent. Peace is the indispensable condition for a life of dignity for individuals and society.”

Cardinal George noted that, at the Synod on the Middle East, Iraqi bishops addressed the challenges facing their people, including kidnappings, bombings and threats against businesses and livelihoods.

Cardinal George also said that, while the U.S. bishops welcomed the end of U.S. military operations in Iraq, “we share the Iraqi bishops’ concern that the United States failed to help Iraqis in finding the political will and concrete ways needed to protect the lives of all citizens, especially Christians and other vulnerable minorities, and to ensure that refugees and displaced persons are able to return to their homes safely. Having invaded Iraq, the U.S. government has a moral obligation not to abandon those Iraqis who cannot defend themselves.”

Read the full statement.

Come, March for Life with us!

Join Bishop Joseph R. Cistone and hundreds more from the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw on January 22-25 at the 2011 March for Life in Washington, D.C., marking the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade. Adult accommodations are available. All participants age 18 and over must have completed VIRTUS safe environment training, a Background Check, and signed Standards of Ministerial Behavior for those Working with Children and Young People.For more information, go to www.saginaw.org/marchforlife.

More than a month: Bishop says respect for life must be ‘like a fire burning within us, part of who we are’

SAGINAW — As Respect Life Month draws near to its close this coming Sunday, the Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, is reminding Catholics across the 11-county Diocese of Saginaw of the challenge he issued on the first Sunday of the month: to live out the convictions of their faith more deeply and more publicly.

During the Respect Life Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw on Oct. 4, Bishop Cistone encouraged the faithful who were gathered – and the entire Catholic community – to develop their own faith to the point that the mind and heart of Jesus becomes a very part of who they are.

In this way, he noted that it becomes self-evident that "abortion is wrong, euthanasia is wrong, (and) embryonic stem-cell research is wrong … we could not possibly see life differently because we are seeing it through the eyes of the Lord."

Earlier this year, Bishop Cistone led a group of more than 400 young people to Washington D.C. to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States. He is expected to travel with another group of pilgrims to the nation’s capital for the March for Life in January 2011. Those interested in joining Bishop Cistone for this annual pilgrimage can find more information and a video highlighting the experience on the diocesan website, http://www.saginaw.org/.

"We need to publicly demonstrate and fight for legislation that protects all human life from conception until natural death." Bishop Cistone said. "My dear friends, it must be more than just a project, it must be like a fire burning inside us that is a very part of who we are as Catholics."

In July, Bishop Cistone joined more than 150 other protesters in prayerful witness outside an abortion clinic in Saginaw. This month he led the opening prayer during the 20th annual Focus on Life Dinner in Saginaw County and he has also been a featured speaker for Central Michigan Right to Life.

Next month, the bishop will celebrate a special Mass for individuals and families who have lost a child to abortion or miscarriage as their children are remembered with dignity and respect. The annual Mass of Remembrance will take place at 5:30 p.m. on November 7 at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw.

To learn more about respect life activities and initiatives in the Diocese of Saginaw, contact Sandy Buza, the diocese’s respect life coordinator, at (989) 797-6652.

Stay tuned...

Due to technical difficulties on the diocesan center’s computer network, the DoS News (Blog) and Bishop’s Blog have not had regular updates in the last few weeks. Please continue to check back as work is being done to address the problem. In the meantime, stay connected by visiting the Facebook pages for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw and Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone.

Preview of Nouvel's Game to Remember on NBC25

SAGINAW - The Nouvel Catholic Central High School varsity football team will host its first ever Game to Remember. The story was recently featured on NBC25. Families, fans and the community will have the opportunity to make a $25 donation in honor of someone who has made a difference in their lives, a chance to remember someone special. Players will wear the names of honorees on their helmets during the game.

Funds raised at the game on Friday, October 8, will help fund a marker in Nouvel’s memorial garden for Adam Puvalowski, who was killed in an automobile accident last spring. The rest of the funds will be donated to St. Mary’s of Michigan Seton Cancer Institute. The donations will be presented during a special ceremony during half-time.

The Game to Remember kicks-off at 7:00 p.m. as the Panthers take on the Warriors of Westside Christian Academy on Boyd Field.