Bishop Ordains 4 Permanent Deacons in 'Historical Event'

SAGINAW - The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, today ordained four men as permanent deacons to serve the Diocese of Saginaw.

The ordination was historic in that it was the first time Bishop Cistone ordained permanent deacons since he was consecrated as a bishop in 2004 and the first "class" of permanent deacons ordained in the Diocese of Saginaw since the program was reinstated in 2006 following a 25-year stoppage.

The new deacons include (pictured above with Bishop Cistone from left to right) the Rev. Mr. James W. Damitio of Sacred Heart Parish in Mt. Pleasant, the Rev. Mr. Michael C. Smith of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Beal City, the Rev. Mr. Gary Patelski of St. Michael Parish in Pinconning and the Rev. Mr. Stanislaw Kuczynski of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Bay City.

The are 17 permanent deacons serving in the Diocese of Saginaw.

See photos from today's ordination on our Facebook Page.

Area High School Students Encouraged to say ‘YES’ to Week of Service in Saginaw

Youth Encounter Service (YES) is accepting youth applications for the weeklong service camp. Those in need of minor home repairs are also being sought.

SAGINAW — The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is looking for a few good young men and women to participate in a weeklong service camp that allows high school students to learn about and fight poverty, while reaching out to the poor.

Youth will spend five days of their summer vacation, June 19-24, sprucing up yards and making minor repairs to four homes selected in the city of Saginaw. They will even get some help from the Most. Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, who is expected to spend time working at each location during one of the project days.

In addition to mowing lawns, trimming bushes and painting, YES participants will spend part of the week volunteering at various outreach organizations in the community. Evening activities include guest speakers, prayer and reflection on the experiences of the day.

“YES offers participants an opportunity to learn more about human dignity and the effects of poverty on their neighbors. Daily prayer and reflection help the young people develop a better understanding of their Catholic faith and the social teachings of the Church,” said Terri Grierson, Director of the Office of Christian Service.

“We have been taught that to find who we are we must give the total gift of self,” said Mark Graveline, Director of Youth Ministry. “The virtue of generosity leads us to God's plan for our lives. Students don’t need to travel out of the country or even their own community to do mission work and see Jesus in their brother or sister; the YES program has been providing this opportunity for our young people for many years.”

Those in need in the city of Saginaw, and unable to make necessary home repairs, may apply to have their home selected for the effort. Projects need to be such that they can be finished in one week and may include yard work, painting, and limited construction — such as fixing entry doors and locks for safety or installing new steps. Applications for home repairs may be picked up at any Catholic parish in Saginaw.

The YES program has been in existence for more than a decade and its success is due in large part to its dedicated volunteer supervisors, Nicole Bakos and Diane Seidel. Information and applications for those interested in participating may be found by clicking here.

YES is one of many ministries and programs supported by the Catholic Services Appeal.

MCC: 6% State Earned Income Tax Credit a 'remarkable improvement'

LANSING (MCC) – With the Governor reportedly scheduled to sign into law today legislation that overhauls the state tax code, Michigan Catholic Conference President and CEO Paul A. Long offered the following comments on the component of the bill that establishes a six percent state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC):

“This is a remarkable improvement from where we were at the outset of this legislative session. While the EITC has been significantly reduced from its current 20 percent level, the fact that the credit has been preserved - in light of limited state resources - is a testament to the Legislature’s appreciation for the working poor of this state.

“Michigan Catholic Conference is especially thankful to State Representative Jud Gilbert, chairman of the House Tax Policy Committee, for his efforts to keep the EITC alive and for working within his caucus and across party lines to garner support. The Conference believes the state EITC would not have been preserved without the dedicated efforts of both Democrats and Republicans alike.

“Moving low-income workers and their children out of poverty through good public policy is a matter of justice. The inclusion of the state EITC indicates with certainty that this policy is a cornerstone for the working poor in the state’s tax code.”

Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in this state.

Ordination to the Priesthood 2011

Video highlights from the May 20 ordination of Father Eddie Dwyer, Father Nate Harburg, Father Marcel Portelli and Father Bob Schikora at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption.

View a one minute montage from Ordination to the Priesthood below.






View Bishop Cistone's homily below.

Click here to see photos on our Facebook Page.

Bishop Cistone addresses release of John Jay Report

Diocese of Saginaw restates measures which have been taken to protect children and youth

SAGINAW – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced today the release of a major study related to the issue of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The report, The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002, follows the comprehensive study published in 2004 on the Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002. Both research studies and reports were conducted and provided by the John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York.

The Nature and Scope report provided information as to what occurred, including the number of abuse incidents, characteristics of the priests involved, and the financial impact, among other factors.

The purpose of the Causes and Context study was “to understand why the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests occurred as it did by integrating research from sociocultural, psychological, situational, and organizational perspectives.”

The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, released the following statement:

“I welcome the release of the John Jay study on ‘Causes and Context.’ It is an important contribution not only to the Catholic Church but to the broader society as well in better understanding the tragic acts of abuse against minors and developing additional ways of protecting children and young people now and in the future.”

“I encourage people to carefully read the report in its entirety. Over the past decade, so much has been said and written about the terrible abuse of minors by members of the Church and of society in general. The John Jay report is unique in its scope and depth, and supports its findings with facts and data gleaned from clinical analysis, historical records, surveys, extensive interviews, as well as contributions made by experts.”

“I realize that each and every time such news and attention is given to this issue, many victims and survivors of sexual abuse relive the painful experience and memories. I express, once again, my sincere sorrow to the victims and survivors for the harm inflicted upon them and to all the members of the Church who suffer because of this evil and criminal behavior. I wish to assure them of my prayers and commitment to protect our children and young people now and in the future.”

The Diocese of Saginaw has programs and safeguards in place to help ensure the safety and well-being of young people. In 2003, in accordance with the mandate of the USCCB’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and Essential Norms, the Diocese of Saginaw revised its own Policies and Procedures.

The Diocese of Saginaw mandates all church personnel, as well as volunteers who work with children and youth, be subject to a criminal background check, attend VIRTUS training: Protecting God’s Children for Adults, and abide by the diocesan Standards of Ministerial Behavior Policy. Since 2003, more than 7,000 adults in the Diocese of Saginaw have undergone VIRTUS training, had background checks and signed the Standards of Ministerial Behavior Policy.

The Safe Environment Programs assist church personnel and volunteers to better understand the issue of child sexual abuse, how to prevent abuse, and how to report abuse in accordance with state law. In compliance with the Charter and diocesan policies, there are also programs for children and youth which teach them how to protect themselves and report inappropriate behavior. This includes participation in the Child Lures School Program and the Michigan Model for Health Education.

Since 2003, the Diocese of Saginaw has had in place a Victim Assistance Coordinator who seeks to provide pastoral care and outreach to all victims and their families. The Church of Saginaw hopes to provide healing and reconciliation to all those in need.

The Diocese of Saginaw is also assisted by a Review Board that meets regularly and advises the Bishop on policies and procedures for the protection of children. The Review Board is a confidential consultative body that is composed of six members — five lay people who are not employed by the church and one priest — who bring their areas of expertise in the protection of children to discussions and recommendations. The board also advises the Bishop regarding any allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by clergy.

Under the direction of the USCCB Office of Child and Youth Protection, each diocese is subject to a yearly audit by an independent firm to ensure compliance with the Charter. Since the audit process began in 2003, the Diocese of Saginaw has been in compliance each year.

Those in need of assistance are urged to call or e-mail the Victim Assistance Coordinator, Janet Fulgenzi, OP, PhD, at (989)797-6682 or jfulgenzi@dioceseofsaginaw.org. For more information about the Diocese of Saginaw’s child and youth protection programs, visit saginaw.org and click on the “Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal” link.

John Jay College Reports No Single Cause, Predictor of Clergy Abuse

WASHINGTON (USCCB)— A landmark study by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, which examined the causes and context of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church, concluded that there was no single cause or predictor of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. The report added that that situational factors and opportunity to abuse played a significant role in the onset and continuation of abusive acts.

“The bulk of cases occurred decades ago,” said Karen Terry, PhD., John Jay’s principal investigator for the report. “The increased frequency of abuse in the 1960s and 1970s was consistent with the patterns of increased deviance of society during that time.” She also stated that “social influences intersected with vulnerabilities of individual priests whose preparation for a life of celibacy was inadequate at that time.” Terry also said that neither celibacy nor homosexuality were causes of the abuse, and that priest candidates who would later abuse could not be distinguished by psychological test data, developmental and sexual history data, intelligence data, or experience in priesthood. The development of human formation components of seminary preparation for priesthood is associated with the continued low levels of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the United States, she said.

The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010 report by a John Jay College research team was made public May 18 in Washington. Terry presented the report to Diane Knight, CMSW, Chair of the National Review Board, a group of lay Catholics who oversaw the project and to Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, who chairs the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.

The study also found that the initial, mid-1980s response of bishops to allegations of abuse was to concentrate on getting help for the priest-abusers. Despite the development by the mid-1990s of a comprehensive plan for response to victims and the harms of sexual abuse, diocesan implementation was not consistent or thorough at that time. Yet, the decrease in incidence of sexual abuse cases by clergy was more rapid than the overall societal patterns.

Knight, a social worker from Milwaukee, lauded the work of John Jay. “Through its extensive processes of data collection and statistical analyses,” she said, “the researchers found that the crisis of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests is an historical problem.”

She added that “researchers also concluded that much of what has been implemented through the Charter is consistent with a model response to the prevention of child abuse. However, this in no way should lull us as a Church into complacency.”

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002 and has guided their response in dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

Bishop Cupich found hope in the documented progress that shows that “what we are doing works” in addressing child sexual abuse. He said that the inability to predict individual sexual deviance “makes the safe environments programs valuable and necessary.” He added that “the Catholic Church has taken a position of zero tolerance of any cleric who would sexually abuse a child.”

“Such a position protects children,” he said. “But it also protects the tens of thousands of priests who have suffered greatly in this crisis, all the while quietly serving with honor and self-sacrifice every day of their lives.”

The way forward for the bishops must be marked by humility and partnerships with others, Bishop Cupich said. “The shame of failing our people will remain with us for a long time. It should. Its sting can keep us resolute in our commitments and humble so as to never forget the insight we came to nearly a decade ago in Dallas. We cannot do any of this on our own.”

Established in 1964, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York is an international leader in educating for justice. It offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law.

Bishop will ordain 4 new Saginaw priests on Friday

SAGINAW - The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, will ordained four men to the priesthood at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption.

The four include Deacons (pictured with Bishop Cistone from left to right) J. Marcel Portelli, Robert P. Schikora, Nathan E. Harburg, and Edwin C. Dwyer.

Following their ordination, the new priests will report to the following parish assignments, effective July 1,

• Father Edwin C. Dwyer, to Parochial Vicar, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Midland. Father Dwyer also will assist Father Steven Gavit in ministry to Nouvel Catholic Central High School and Saginaw Valley State University Newman Apostolate.

• Father Nathan E. Harburg, to Parochial Vicar, St. Michael Parish, Port Austin, and St. Mary / St. Edward Parish, Kinde.

• Father J. Marcel Portelli, to Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Chesaning, St. Michael Parish, Oakley, and St. Cyril Parish, Bannister, with primary responsibility to St. Cyril Parish. Father Portelli will reside at St. Cyril Parish.

• Father Robert P. Schikora, to Parochial Administrator, St. Denis Parish, Lexington, and St. Patrick Parish, Croswell. Father Shikora will reside at St. Denis Parish.