| Three friars petition for solemn profession |
 ROME - Three friars in formation, Friars Giacomo La Selva, Christopher Gaffrey, and Alvin Te have petitioned the Province to make their Solemn Professionf vows.
Provincial Minister Robert Campagna has invited friars to send in any information that would be helpful in evaluating their readiness for this major step.
Additionally, Friars Joseph Powell, Michael Pisaturo and Francisco Soriano were instituted into the ministries of Reader and Acolyte by the Provincial Minister on January 25th. |
| Troy parish survives Albany closures |
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TROY, NY - During the weekend of January 17-18, parishes throughout the Diocese of Albany learned of the closing of 33 parishes in the Capital Region as part of the "Called to BE Church" planning process.
Our own long-time parish of St. Anthony in Troy was spared in this process and will remain open. The result of the process was to change St. Anthony's from an ethnic parish into a territorial one.
Bishop Howard Hubbard expressed sympathy for those who may be losing their church and said parishioners in both open and closed churches will need to adjust. Hubbard felt the loss as well as he even closed his family church of St. Patrick in Troy.
"Called to BE Church" was two and a half year process that included sometimes monthly meetings. Every parish tried to show how valuable it was to the area and it's parishioners. When it came to the final few months, each local planning group (LPG) had to submit a proposal of which parishes would close, which would link and which would merge.
There were 39 different parish groups (or clusters). St. Anthony's was pointed to, by many, for closure, but in the end St. Anthony's was the only parish in the downtown Troy area to meet the requirements of the manual published by the Diocese.
"We had more people in attendance on a weekend (over 600 now) than the total capacity of the parish (300). We also had each Mass filled with at least half of the capacity of the parish. We were bringing in around or over 150 people per Mass," according to Friar Mario Julian, pastor of St. Anthony.
"We also had the Daughters of Charity in the old school building running a program of outreach to the people of Troy," he said.
Their program, in the St. Anthony school building, is called the Roarke Center. This ministry to the poor and the needy is well respected by the Albany Diocese and the friars support the program by accepting very little rent and by caring for the upkeep and maintenance of the school building and the parish hall building (which the Roarke center uses).
Mario said, "The fact that we handled all the repairs and upkeep of the 2 buildings helps the Sisters put more of their money into the program instead of into maintenance."
Over the Christmas holidays, the Roarke Center cared for over 1,200 families. The center is now a part of Catholic Charities (they merged as of July, 2008) of the Diocese of Albany.
The 33 worship sites on the closure list will be closed by July of 2010.
"We are a viable parish in Troy and will be for many years to come," said Mario. |
| Friar Jim Goode speaks on inauguration |
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NEW YORK - Friar Jim Goode was interviewed by two Catholic publications - the National Catholic Register and Catholic News Service - on the inauguration of our first African-American President, Barack Obama. Below is the text of Friar Jim's statement:
Question: Father Goode what is the African American Catholic response to the election of President Barrack Obama?
Father Goode: African American Catholics are very proud, as is the entire African American community throughout the world, at the election of President Barrack Obama. He is our brother and first African American President of the United States of America. The Black community is overflowing with joy and anticipation as President Obama assumes the leadership of this great nation.
President Obama, his wife Michelle and his two daughters will be powerful role models for the African American family, especially for our young men and women. As President and Mrs. Obama hold up the value of family life it will be a source of pride, encouragement, and hope.
Living out our Catholic faith as African American Catholics, in the days to come we will be praying without ceasing for President Barrack Obama. We will call on God and Mary the Mother of God, to guide his every action, and protect him from all hurt, harm, and danger. In our daily masses, rosaries, and prayers we will include the intention that: President Barrack Obama be directed by the power of the Holy Spirit, to call for an end to the evil of abortion and all acts of violence, evil, and injustice that destroys the sacredness of life.
President Barrack Obama and family congratulations! May you be blessed by God forever. "It's all good because it's all God."
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentation 3: 22-23) |
| Committee on Work readies for next round |
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NEW YORK - The Provincial Committee on Ministry and Work is gearing up for the second round of Regional Meetings. The theme for the next series is "Embracing the Vision: Our Franciscan Identity."
The committee will lead discussions to begin to look deeper into the realities we are already aware of:
- the decreased number of friars in full-time ministry,
- the high number of Province commitments to diocesan and archdiocesan ministries deeply affects our call to Franciscan fraternity.
The criteria for the relationship between ministry and fraternity has been set. Our ministries must:
- Foster and enhance fraternity (sustain a local fraternity, life of prayer, fostering vocation)
- Must reflect our Franciscan charism
- Ministry must be sustainable and adequately support the community it is meant to serve.
- Can this ministry support the friar community?
- Is there are commitment on the part of the friars and the province to this ministry?
Given these things, the Committee will begin the difficult task of leading an evaluation of our ministries, so that recommendations may be given (and possibly implemented) by the next Provincial Chapter.
Currently, there are 55 friars in the Province involved in full-time Provincial ministry. This includes friars who are currently involved in such important ministries as administration, initial formation, and vocation recruitment. It is obvious that this number will drop even more by the time we convene for our next Chapter.
The Committee will once again hold meetings throughout the Province as part of this second round of the process. |
| Friar Andre Cirino contributes to book on Franciscan Intellectual Tradition |
CANTERBURY , ENGLAND - The Franciscan International Study Centre in Canterbury, England has announced the publication of a new book, A Pilgrimage Through the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, edited by Friar Andre Cirino and Joseph Raischl, SFO.
Below is the desciption of this book: The early years of this millennium have witnessed a remarkable effort by Franciscans in the English speaking world to become better acquainted with the distinctive intellectual tradition that underlies the movement.
In 2006 the Franciscan International Study Centre initiated a joint programme of two pilgrimages delivered in conjunction with Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs (FPP). These two pilgrimages visited sites connected to the giants of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition in England, France and Germany, hearing from eminent scholars at each of them. The talks given at these various pilgrimage sites are now gathered together in this volume to give an understanding of the key figures of the tradition and the insights that they brought forth.
With a foreword by Br. Joe Chinnici OFM and input from scholars such as Nicole Bériou; Br. Andre Cirino OFM; Br. Johannes Freyer OFM; Br. Seamus Mulholland OFM; Dr. Amanda Power; Br. Michael Robson OFMConv; Br. Hermann Schalück OFM; and Br. Philippe Yates OFM; this collection of articles represents a true pilgrimage through the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition and a great insight into that tradition.
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| FI speaks about Gaza tragedy |
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NEW YORK - In a January 8th statement, Franciscans International spoke out against the recent difficulties in Gaza. Below is the text of their statement:
Franciscans International is appalled by the recent events in Gaza and Southern Israel. The escalation of violence has completely disregarded the most basic principles of International Humanitarian Law leading to the present humanitarian tragedy. FI calls the government of Israel and the Hamas leadership for an immediate cessation of all violence. We call on the government of Israel to allow full access to Gaza for humanitarian agencies and the lifting of the blockade. The ceasefire is absolutely necessary in order to prevent the further suffering of the civilian population on both sides. This is particularly for: · those living in southern Israel towns (Ashkelon, Ashdod, Netivot and other cities), who are victims of rocket attacks; · those in Gaza who are victims of a disproportionate military offensive by the Israeli Defense Force.
The military operation has led to the death of well over 600 Palestinians (according to the UN a large number of them are civilians); and has damaged essential civilian infrastructure including hospitals, electricity and water. It adds further suffering to the civilian population in Gaza enduring a long blockade, which prevents the arrival of food and medicines and makes their humanitarian situation even more difficult. Franciscans International calls upon the government of Israel and Hamas leadership to cease the hostilities.
FI also calls upon the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the United States, the Russian Federation and all concerned actors, to pressure both sides for an immediate ceasefire. While the immediate emergency calls for intense diplomacy to bring about a cessation of all violence, reciprocally, international actors must not think that they will have met their responsibilities by brokering a localised cease fire in this instance. Rather their greater responsibility is to bring about a genuine peace treaty between the Israeli and the Palestinian Nations, within a regional framework, which alone can make such a peace possible and secure.
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National Day of Prayer for the African American Family February 1 |
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NEW YORK - Friar James Goode has announced the annual National Day of Prayer for the African American Family to be held on Sunday, February 1.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of this important event.
The National Day of Prayer was created by Jim in 1989. It is a day set aside to give special thanks to God for our families and place our every care in the arms of Jesus.
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