Communitywide, Interfaith Prayer Service for President-Elect Obama to be led by Bishop Clark
Bishop of Rochester Matthew Clark, with the participation of other religious leaders, will preside at a special community interfaith prayer service Jan. 19 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, on the eve of President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. The prayer service will begin at 7 p.m.
Prayers and readings will be offered for the president-elect and all recently elected public officials. Internationally acclaimed baritone Derrick Smith will perform. Leaders of many faith groups and public officials are expected to attend.
Contributions to this year’s Catholic Ministries Appeal have topped the $4 million mark. The goal of this year’s campaign, which runs through May 31, 2009, is $5.39 million.
As of today, more than 28,000 Roman Catholic households have contributed $4,057,000 to the appeal.
Contributions to the Appeal enable the diocese to provide critical support to parishes, including training and support for catechetical leaders, youth ministry opportunities, migrant ministry, grants to inner city parishes, pastoral planning, and Catholic education.
In addition, the appeal benefits Catholic Charities, which provides outreach to the poor and needy through regional offices located throughout the 12-county Diocese.
Click here to donate securely online.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester | 1150 Buffalo Rd, Rochester, NY 14624 | (585) 328-3210
More than 70 crèches from around the world will be on display at
Sacred Heart Cathedral through Jan. 5, 2009. The exhibit is free and open to the public daily from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., including weekends.
The crèches are from the family collection of Rochester-area resident Sonia Pospichal. Sonia first became interested in crèches as a college student during a visit to St. Joseph’s Oratory, a pilgrimage site in Montreal. Over the course of 15 years, Sonia has been collecting crèches on her various travels around the world. At each country she’s traveled to, she has tried to find the crèche that is most representative of that country’s particular culture.
“Crèches from approximately 20 countries have been selected to illustrate, inspire, entertain, and hopefully educate,” Sonia says of the exhibit.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is located at 296 Flower City Park in Rochester.
Blessing of Bibles this weekend (Nov 29-30) at Diocese of Rochester parishes
Catholics throughout the 12-county Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester are invited to bring their personal and family Bibles to church this coming weekend (Saturday evening and Sunday) for a special Blessing of Bibles.
The Blessing of Bibles will launch the second season of Spirit Alive! — the three-year diocesan spiritual renewal that began last year. The blessing also kicks off Project Mark, in which all Catholics will be encouraged to read the same “book” — the Gospel of St. Mark — from the first Sunday of Advent Nov. 30 through the last Sunday of Lent in March 2009.
A downloadable bookmark with weekly readings, reflection questions and other resources are available at www.rochesterspiritalive.org
Nov. 4, 2008 — Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark, Roman Catholic bishop of Rochester, successfully underwent surgical replacement of his right knee today. His surgical team was pleased with the outcome; no complications were reported.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Allen D. Boyd Jr. at Highland Hospital in Rochester. Dr. Boyd and his team replaced Bishop Clark’s left hip in the spring of this year. After a brief hospital stay and initial rehabilitative therapy, which is common in such procedures, Bishop Clark will recuperate at home. He hopes to return to work as soon as his doctor allows.
Those who want to send him get-well wishes can write to:
Bishop Matthew H. Clark
Diocese of Rochester Pastoral Center
1150 Buffalo Road,
Rochester, New York 14624.
Bishop Clark, 71, was ordained a bishop by Pope John Paul II in May 1979 at St. Peter’s
Basilica. He was installed as the Diocese of Rochester’s eighth bishop in June 1979. He
will celebrate his 30th anniversary as Bishop of Rochester in 2009.
Highland Hospital maintains a general website about joint replacement surgery and
recovery at http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/hh/services-centers/evarts/
Closing Masses have been scheduled at two Rochester churches as part of a consolidation at Our Lady of the Americas Parish from three worship sites to one.
The closing Masses are:
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 60 Woodward St.
Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, at 4 p.m. at Holy Redeemer/St. Francis Xavier, 300 Bay St.
Masses in both English and Spanish now are held at the Corpus Christi Church building at 864 E. Main St., which is now to be called Our Lady of the Americas Parish. It contains religious symbols from all three of the churches.
All are welcome to attend the final ceremonies.
Like all city churches, the churches served Rochester’s thriving Catholic immigrant families in the first decades of their existence — Irish-, Italian-, German-Americans and other groups. As these families began to move to the suburbs in the middle to late 20th century, the churches slowly have experienced a dwindling of attendance. Now, Hispanic and African-American Catholics come , as well as some of the original families or their children who commute into Mass from suburban areas.
But while once their pews were filled to the brim, only about 500 people in recent years have regularly attended Masses combined at all three churches. This shift is not unique to the Rochester community, but is happening in many urban areas, especially in the Northeast U.S. and other regions experiencing declining population and shifting dem
Men and women of law enforcement to be honored at Cathedral “Blue Mass” Oct. 19
Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark, bishop of Rochester, will preside at the annual “Blue Mass” for members of law enforcement in the Greater Rochester-Monroe County area on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Mass will begin at 11:15 a.m. All are welcome.
Representatives from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout our community will attend the Mass.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is located at 296 Flower City Park, between Dewey and Lake avenues, in Rochester.
“We offer this Mass to pray for God’s continued blessings and guidance on the brave and selfless men and women who serve our larger community through their daily work in our law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities,” Bishop Clark said. “They make our community a better, safer place to live.”
Bishop Clark launches 2008-09 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Calling on Catholics to help bolster the Church’s ministries and ensure a strong Diocese for future generations, Bishop Matthew Clark today officially launched the 2008-09 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA).
The CMA funds ministries for more than 350,000 Catholics in 12 counties. The campaign goal is $5.39 million. Every pledge received is used directly and indirectly to fund ministries affecting every Catholic and faith community in the diocese, such as:
• Welcoming new Catholics through special education programs (RCIA)
• Providing faith formation programs for youth
• Giving support to families, the elderly and the sick
• Assisting Catholic Charities and Catholic Education
• Reaching out to the poor, the homeless, the hungry
• Encouraging religious vocations
• Honoring marriage and preparing engaged couples
• Spreading the Gospel through communications media
• Teaming with other dioceses in the USA, supporting the Vatican
• Providing parishes with needed services and support
“On the 140th anniversary of our diocese’s founding, I am delighted at what we have accomplished together and envision a future full of hope,” Bishop Clark said in addressing Catholics in the diocese. “Your generous support of the Catholic Ministries Appeal fills me with confidence that many wonderful things will continue to happen in the Diocese of Rochester.”
He acknowledged tough economic times, but added that Catholics always have found a way to help the Church. “This is a mission everyone can and should support. The CMA is about taking care of one another–family, neighbors and those in need. It is about passing on the faith and spreading the Good News to others so that they, too, can receive the Light of Christ,” It is about ensuring that the Kingdom of God increases through our own good stewardship. It truly is about “Our Faith, Our Future.'”
Last year’s CMA returned the best response in its nearly 30-year history and for the first time broke the $5 million mark in pledges. In fact, the CMA has grown each year for the past four years. More than 37,000 gifts were received in the last campaign, with the average gift increasing from the previous year to $137.
Brochures and pledge cards are being distributed to the approximately 120,000 Catholic households in the diocese, and personal appeals will be made at the parish level over the course of the next several weeks. The CMA will conclude on May 31, 2009.
Bishop Matthew H. Clark will celebrate the Red Mass, invoking the help and inspiration of the Holy Spirit on judges, prosecutors, civil attorneys, canon lawyers and local government officials, on Friday, Oct. 3, 2008.
The Mass will begin at 12:15 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, between Dewey and Lake avenues. A reception will follow.
The first documented Red Mass was held at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, in 1225 A.D. and became a widely celebrated tradition throughout Europe thereafter. Cardinal Patrick Hayes of New York brought the tradition to the United States in 1928 and, since 1953, such a Mass has been celebrated at St. Matthew Cathedral, Washington D.C., often with the President of the United States and a majority of Supreme Court justices in attendance. Sacred Heart Cathedral hosted the Mass in Rochester last year, as well.
Through generous donors, dream of a world-class organ becomes a reality
ROCHESTER, New York — Roman Catholi Bishop of Rochester Matthew H. Clark tonight will formally dedicate a nearly 40-foot tall, 25,000-pound tracker organ in a ceremony expected to draw hundreds of people to the Mother Church of the Diocese, Sacred Heart Cathedral on Flower City Park.
To be called the “Halloran-All Saints Organ” and built by the renowned craftsman Paul Fritts of Washington state, the instrument was made possible by three generous gifts, one from the estate of the late Rev. Emmett Halloran (see insert) and two additional gifts by parties wishing to remain anonymous.
The public is welcome to attend the 7:30 p.m. ceremony, which will feature several choirs and an organ concert with sacred music. A reception in the Narthex will follow.
The organ, assembled in Fritts’ Washington state studio, was taken apart and carefully packed in boxes, and arrived June 8, 2008, in moving vans. More than 50 parish volunteers helped unload boxes and pipes under the watchful eye of Fritts and his associates, who have spent the past summer assembling the mammoth organ and tuning it to perfection.
“It is with great excitement and gratitude that I dedicate our new tracker organ tonight,” Bishop Clark said. “The organ, built so lovingly by Paul Fritts, is an important addition not only to the Cathedral, but our larger community, home to the Eastman School of Music and its well-regarded organ program and with which we have worked closely. As well, we hope it is a clear sign, along with other improvements here, of our investment in a city neighborhood we believe in, one that we hope the newly renovated Cathedral will help flourish.”
The Bishop added, “The Cathedral is the Mother Church of our diocese, seat of the bishop, a place where some 25,000 or more people annually come for worship, for priest and deacon ordinations, confirmations, weddings and funerals and so many other important events. We truly believe this organ is an addition worthy of its importance in our life as a Christian community. Made possible only through generous gifts, this instrument, we pray, will not only enhance our worship, but be a powerful and inspiring instrument of prayer through which we can truly honor God and ask God’s help for the whole world.”
A free and public Fall 2008 program presented by the
Commission on Christian Muslim Relations
Co-sponsored by the Muslim Catholic Alliance, Nazareth College
and the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue
“This series will use a combination of videos and outside speakers to focus on the fears non-Muslims tend to have about Muslims and Islam. These fears are often triggered by media use of words and images. We will look at these words and images to see where the problems lie and to work out together ways of addressing them.”
New York State Catholic Conference
465 State Street · Albany, NY 12203-1004
Phone (518) 434-6195 · Fax (518) 434-9796 www.nyscatholic.org
e-mail:
Statement of the New York State BishopsOn Pending Abortion Legislation
Monday, March 10, 2008
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion in all 50 states. We live with its tragic legacy –the loss of millions of innocent human lives and a trail of broken hearts and wounded souls.
Yet across the country, there is cause for hope. Public opinion is moving solidly in the pro-life direction. Ultrasound technology has opened a window to the womb, revealing the humanity of the unborn child. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a ban on the gruesome procedure known as “partial-birth abortion,” and most state legislatures have restricted abortion’s practice and reduced its incidence. Even in our State of New York, often cited as the “abortion capital” of the United States, we have made pro-life progress, with solid investments in prenatal care and abortion alternatives, and conscience protection for those opposed to the procedure.
In the midst of this hopefulness, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is attempting to move our state in a decidedly opposite direction. He has put forth a radical proposal called the “Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection” (RHAPP) Act, a bill that would elevate abortion to a “fundamental right” in our state, just like the right to free speech and the right to vote.
This bill would make abortions even easier to obtain, and would ensure that late-term abortions of fully-formed infants are available in the Empire State, no matter what prohibitions the U.S. Supreme Court might one day allow. It would endanger women by allowing non-physicians to carry out abortions and imperil children by thwarting any efforts to involve parents in the abortion decisions of their children.
No less alarming, this extremist proposal could be used to force all health care institutions, even Catholic hospitals, to provide abortions or risk the loss of their operating certificate. It could be used to compel every insurance company to pay for abortion and every health care provider to perform abortion.
The extremism of this proposal is couched in euphemisms like “choice” and “reproductive health care for women.” The words have become unmoored from their meaning; they cannot mask the fact that the bill attempts to legislate approval for a procedure that is always gravely wrong. A legal system that violates the basic right to life of one human being on the grounds of the “choice” of another is fundamentally flawed.
We do not relish a public fight with the Governor or the state legislature on this issue. However, we would be failing in our responsibility as bishops if we did not oppose it strongly. This proposal threatens the life-affirming work we do day in and day out in our hospitals and charitable agencies, in our schools, in our maternity centers and health care clinics, in our adoption and foster care programs. Compliance with such a law would violate every principle that we hold sacred.
So oppose it we will — from our pulpits, in the media, through our advocacy network, in the legislature, and in collaboration with others who value and defend life.
We call on all New Yorkers to contact their legislators and the Governor to make their voices heard. Offer support for those legislators who stand with us, and let those who stand with the abortion industry know that they have chosen them over you. Stand up to defend the inviolable sanctity of human life, from the first moment of creation until natural death. Pray for an end to abortion and the conditions that force women into this terrible dilemma. Let us all assist those who are pregnant, frightened and in need, to help them choose life.
Edward Cardinal Egan
Archbishop of New York
Most Rev. Howard J. Hubbard
Bishop of Albany
Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio
Bishop of Brooklyn
Most Rev. Edward U. Kmiec
Bishop of Buffalo
Most Rev. Robert J. Cunningham
Bishop of Ogdensburg
Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark
Bishop of Rochester
Most Rev. William F. Murphy
Bishop of Rockville Centre
Anne Willkens Leach appointed Schools Superintendent
A longtime educator and schools administrator has been named new Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. Anne Willkens Leach will begin in her new position in mid-August.
Willkens Leach, who lives in Penfield, currently is principal at Nazareth Hall Middle School (grades 6-8), as well as Nazareth Academy (9-12) in Rochester. She has served in that role for the past year.
Previously in her career, she was deputy superintendent of schools from 2001-2007 for the Genesee Valley BOCES in LeRoy. From 1999-2001, she served as assistant superintendent for instruction for the Wayne Central School District and in a number of positions at Monroe BOCES #1, including director of curriculum and staff development from 1989-1999, training coordinator (1983-1989) and as a district-based classroom teacher (1979-1983).
She also was director of physical education for School of the Holy Childhood and girls’ physical education instructor for Rochester School for the Deaf.
Willkens Leach holds a certificate of advanced study in education administration from SUNY Brockport, a master’s degree in education from Nazareth College, a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Empire State and an associate’s degree from Monroe Community College. She also holds permanent certification from New York State as a school district administrator, school administrator and supervisor, nursery school-6th grade and common branch subjects, special education and recreation.
Sr. Janice Morgan, SSJ, who has served as interim superintendent of Catholic Schools since January 2008, will assist in the transition.
“I am delighted at the opportunity to serve as superintendent and to help our Catholic Schools thrive,” Willkens Leach said. “I have a deep faith and a strong, strong feeling that Catholic Schools must and will thrive and grow. They have so much to offer. Working together, we can accomplish this.”
For more information about Diocese of Rochester Catholic Schools, visit www.dorschools.org
Bishop Clark to ordain Edison M. Tayag as newest diocesan priest
Edison M. Tayag will be ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Rochester on Saturday, June 28, 2008. His ordination Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, Rochester. All are welcome.
Bishop Matthew H. Clark will preside at the Mass, which also will be attended by many of the diocese’s priests and deacons.
Tayag, who is 34, was ordained as a transitional deacon in June 2007. He has completed his final year of major seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He was born in the Philippines and raised with his two sisters and brother by parents Eduardo, a woodworker, and mother Ofelia, an elementary school teacher.
After ordination, Tayag will be assigned for the summer to Our Lady of the Lakes in Penn Yan, before returning to Rome this fall to complete his studies.
Before becoming a seminarian, Tayag, an avid hiker and kayaker, was a physical therapist for almost 10 years, working in Manila, the Philippines; Florida; Connecticut; Brooklyn; Brockport and Montour Falls, N.Y.
“In 2001, I took part in a diocesan retreat for young men interested in the ministerial priesthood called “Twenty-four Hours with the Lord,” Tayag says. “At the time, I was a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul in Churchville. I continued my discernment while a parishioner of St. Mary of the Lake in Watkins Glen. In 2002, I moved in to Becket Hall and started taking courses in philosophy and religious studies at St. John Fisher College, in preparation for seminary.”
“Summer pastoral assignments have brought me to a Central-American Immersion Program in El Salvador, a parish in the Philippines, and to Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in the town of Greece.”
Tayag says his road to the priesthood has been one in which he has found love and support from the community of believers. “With such overwhelming encouragement and prayerful support, I definitely and honestly can say that I am not responding to God’s call simply on my own, but that an entire community of faith affirmatively responds with me to God’s call,” he recently told the diocese’s Catholic Courier newspaper.
First time exceeding $5M; fourth straight year of growth
The Diocese of Rochester announced today that more than 37,000 Roman Catholic households pledged more than $5 million to the 2007/2008 Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) – an all-time record since the campaign began 27 years ago.
Approximately $5.1 million had been collected at the campaign’s official close on May 31 of the $5.2 million pledged; subsequent gifts will be credited to the 2008-09 annual appeal that begins this fall. Although the total fell just short of the campaign’s $5.3 million goal, there are many signs of continued growth:
The total is more than $300,000 over the amount raised last year and marks the first time in the appeal’s history that contributions have topped the $5 million mark.
This marks the fourth straight year that the campaign has seen a significant increase in the total amount of money raised.
In addition to a nearly 5 percent increase over last year’s final total, the average gift for this year’s campaign increased to $140, as compared to $132 last year.
The number of parishes that reached their assigned goal climbed to 42, with another 20 parishes bringing in more than 90% of their goal.
“This represents a wonderful outpouring of generosity from the people of our diocese,” said Bishop Matthew H. Clark. “Their gifts help us to respond to the needs of our local church, and allow the Church to reach out and help in many, many ways. With economic pressures affecting so many, especially the poor, the generosity is meeting real needs for ministry and outreach.”
“I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of those volunteers and pastoral leaders who worked so hard on this year’s campaign,” Bishop Clark added. “Your efforts have resulted in a record-breaking year for the CMA and will be felt in every corner of our diocese. I am very grateful to all.”
Contributions to the Appeal enable the diocese to provide critical support to parishes, including training and support for catechetical leaders, youth ministry opportunities, migrant ministry, grants to inner city parishes, pastoral planning, and education, among other ministries.
In addition, the CMA benefits Catholic Charities, which provides outreach to the poor and needy regardless of religious affiliation through regional offices located throughout the diocese. As well, the appeal delivers support to the diocesan Catholic Schools, by helping to fund administrative services for Catholic schools.
The Diocese of Rochester serves 12 New York State counties with 7 Deaneries and a Catholic population of approximately 300,000.
Monroe, Wayne, Livingston, Steuben, Ontario, Seneca, Cayuga, Tompkins, Schuyler, Chemung, Tioga, Yates
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Most Rev. Matthew H. Clark, bishop of Rochester, will preside at the annual “Blue Mass” for members of law enforcement in the Greater Rochester-Monroe County area on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Mass will begin at 11:15 a.m. All are welcome.
ROCHESTER, New York — Roman Catholi Bishop of Rochester Matthew H. Clark tonight will formally dedicate a nearly 40-foot tall, 25,000-pound tracker organ in a ceremony expected to draw hundreds of people to the Mother Church of the Diocese, Sacred Heart Cathedral on Flower City Park.
A longtime educator and schools administrator has been named new Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. Anne Willkens Leach will begin in her new position in mid-August.
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