Category Archives: News

Deacon John McDermott to head Providence Housing

June 27, 2013 — Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester today announced the appointment of former WS Packaging-Label World General Manager John R. McDermott, Jr. as executive director of Providence Housing Development Corporation. McDermott begins his new duties July 1.
A Roman Catholic deacon, McDermott, of Fairport, brings to his new role more than 20 years of executive leadership and management experience with both WS Packaging-Label World and Eastman Kodak Company. He succeeds Monica McCullough, who led Providence Housing for six years.
“I first became aware of John’s remarkable abilities when he created a formal partnership with the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” said Jack Balinsky, director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. “ I’m certain he will apply his considerable talents and skills to help continue the strong momentum of Providence Housing Development Corporation as it seeks new and innovative ways of providing affordable housing for the poor and disabled of the diocese.”
About his new position, McDermott said, “ My career has been a progression of increasingly responsible roles, all in the private sector. I am pleased to be able to now redirect my leadership and management abilities to a position of human service for those who need it most.”
Providence Housing Development Corporation is an affiliate of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester and is operated by Catholic Charities of the diocese. The organization’s mission is to strengthen families and communities by creating and providing access to quality affordable housing enriched by the availability of supportive services.

Our Newest Priests

Three men ordained to priesthood

Hundreds of well-wishers and clergy turned out to witness the ordination of our newest priests at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, Saturday,  June 22, 2013.

Pictured here with Bishop Robert J. Cunningham after the Mass are (left to right) newly ordained Fr. David Tedesche, Fr. Peter Mottola and Fr. Michael Costik.

Courier article

News Release

Bus trip to Albany June 12 to oppose abortion expansion

Governor Cuomo introduced legislation that if passed, will expand access to abortion and  permit abortion through the ninth month of pregnancy in New York State.  Our NYS Senators need to here our opposition to the Women’s Equality Act for so long as it contains the abortion expansion provisions. Go to http://www.nysenate.gov/senators to find your senator and telephone the Senator to voice your objections to abortion expansion.

Read Bishops’ statement on abortion expansion bill

Statement of the Bishops of New York State on the abortion expansion bill

Following is a statement of Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the Bishops of New York State:

June 4, 2013: We are profoundly distressed by the introduction of a bill in New York State today that would ease restrictions in state law on late-term abortion and runs the serious risk of broadly expanding abortion access at all stages of gestation.

This legislation would add a broad and undefined “health” exception for late-term abortion and would repeal the portion of the penal law that governs abortion policy, opening the door for non-doctors to perform abortions and potentially decriminalizing even forced or coerced abortions. In addition, we find the conscience protection in the bill to be vague and insufficient, and we are concerned about the religious liberty of our health facilities.

While the bill’s proponents say it will simply “codify” federal law, it is selective in its codification. Nowhere does it address the portions of federal laws that limit abortion, such as the ban on taxpayer funding, the ban on partial birth abortion or protections for unborn victims of violence.

As the pastors of more than 7.2 million Catholic New Yorkers, we fully oppose this measure, and urge all our faithful people to do the same, vigorously and unapologetically.

We invite all women and men of good will to join in this effort and defeat this serious attempt to expand abortion availability in our state and to codify the most radical abortion proposals of any state in the nation.

We support the first nine points in the Governor’s agenda that enhance the true dignity of women. We commit ourselves to examining those proposals and working with the legislature on any and all efforts that help guarantee real equity for all women and men.

Our position on these issues will be consistent with all the efforts of the Catholic Church throughout the world to enhance the dignity of women. The direct taking of the life of a child in the womb in no way enhances a woman’s dignity.

Instead of expanding abortion and making abortions even more prevalent, we would like to protect both the woman and the child in the womb. In New York, where one in every three pregnancies ends in abortion (and upwards of 6 in 10 in certain communities), it is clear that we as a state have lost sight of that child’s dignity. We pledge all our efforts to defeat this proposal.

We call on all pro-life New Yorkers to stand together with us and with all the leadership in Albany who share our conviction that we have no need for such a bill to become law.

We need instead to enhance and promote the life and dignity of all human beings from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

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E&C team wins national award

Evangelization & catechesis team wins national award

Evangelization and Catechesis team wins
national award for technological innovations in ministry
(May 31, 2013) The staff of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s Department of Evangelization and Catechesis has been honored with a national award by the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, based Washington, D.C. The award was presented at NCCL’s recent Annual Conference in Cleveland.
The E&C team received the Diocesan Award for its multi-faceted initiative Technology for Mission and Ministry.The award highlights and celebrates extraordinary achievement occurring in a diocese in the ministries of evangelization and catechesis and reflects the New Evangelization promulgated by Pope John Paul II.
In its letter to the E&C staff announcing the award, the NCCL noted that “in its deliberations, the Selection Committee affirmed the potential of your program to not only reach far beyond the borders of the Rochester diocese, which it already has, but to be an inspiration to others in connecting evangelization and catechesis for people on their journey of faith regardless of where they are on that journey. Your team, even more so than your initiative, is a source of inspiration. You have reminded us that the challenges facing catechesis today requires a commitment of time, a readiness to learn new things and a willingness to change accepted and familiar ways of doing things.”
Key elements of Technology for Mission and Ministry include:
  • An online Learning Center and Virtual Office (http://ec.dor.org)
  • Alive in Christ, a catechist formation initiative (hosted on http://ec.dor.org)
  • The Spiritual Pilgrim, Evangelization website (http://spiritualpilgrim.dor.org)
  • Homelinks, a Family Faith Formation website (http://homelinks.dor.org)
  • Forgiven, a website to promote celebration of the Sacrament of Penance (http://forgiven.dor.org)
  • Online initial training and re-training for volunteers in Creating a Safe Environment, the diocesan training for abuse prevention.
  • Online marriage preparation
  • Webinars for professional and ministerial development
For more information about the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis, click here.

Retreat for Fathers June 15

Retreat for Fathers June 15
A retreat for fathers,  “A Father’s Heart,” will be offered on Saturday morning, June 15, 2013 in the Newcomb Friendship Center at St. Cecilia’s Church, 2732 Culver Road, Rochester.
The program will begin with Mass at 9:30 a.m. and end at noon.
The focus of the retreat will be the reflection of Pope Francis on the mission of St. Joseph.
Presenters will be Deacon Tim Sullivan, co-author of “Signposts: How To Be a Catholic Man in the World Today,”
and Kevin Spears. There is no charge for the retreat.

Summer Congress 2013

Summer Congress features nationally known speakers

Summer Congress will help ministers,
volunteers build Households of Faith

ROCHESTER, New York – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis will hold a special Summer Congress called “Households of Faith: Rooted and Grounded in Love,” featuring nationally known speakers and more than 30 workshops geared to help parish staffs and volunteers in their outreach ministries to families.

This 2013 Catechetical Congress on Family is for professional ministers, catechists and volunteers who desire new knowledge and new tactics to building stronger, faith-based households.

The Congress will be held at Aquinas Institute, 1127 Dewey Ave., Rochester, on Friday, August 2, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, August 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Keynote speakers are:

·         On Aug. 2, Rev. Michael White and Tom Corcoran, authors of Rebuilt: The Story of a Catholic Parish, who will speak about “Music, Message and Ministry: Keys to Bringing New Disciples to the Church.” This keynote is open to the public.

·         On Aug. 3, Dr. Jo Ann Paradise will speak on “Rediscovering the Sacredness of Family Life: The School of Love.” This keynote is open to the public.

Other featured presenters are Dr. Timothy Hogan, Dr. Susan Grenough, Dr. Greg Mosier, Susan Vogt and Michael Theisen — each of whom will offer insights for those in ministry to help people create healthier, happier, faith-filled families in today’s challenging culture.

Workshops will cover a variety of topics on the family, including “Understanding and Ministering to Hispanic Families,” “Talking About Materialism and Generosity,” “Prayer and Family,” the “Household, the Bible and the Church,” “Family Friendly Parishes,” and “Overcoming Obstacles of Stress to Grow Your Family in God’s Glory,” among many others.

Detailed information about how to register, workshop fees and a complete agenda for the Congress is available online at homelinks.dor.org/summer or by calling 585-328-3228, ext. 1295. An early-bird discount is available to those who register by June 30.

Schools Golf Tournament info

The 17th Annual Diocesan Catholic Schools Golf Classic will be held on Monday, June 24, 2013, at Greystone Golf Club in Walworth, Wayne County.

Proceeds will be used to provide tuition assistance for exceptional hardship cases for students in any of the 20 schools in our 12-county diocese.

Teams, sponsors and donations of auction items and raffle prizes are being sought to help raise funds. For more information, please call 585-328-3228, ext. 1294, or e-mail .

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