THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF December 10, 2007...
Provincial’s time Fr. Tom Cassidy is in the office for most of the week. On Wednesday and Thursday he has council meetings, and then it is off to the Cincinnati area for the ordination of Dn. Mark Mastin to the priesthood. Homily available Fr. Cassidy was the homilist at last week’s funeral for Fr. Tony Kelly. The text of the homily is available by clicking HERE. Condolences Many people have asked for Margaret Kelly’s address (Fr. Tony Kelly’s sister) to send condolences. It is: 303 Hammond St., Apt. 19, Bangor, Maine 04401 Updates Fr. David Szatkowski Cell phone: 001-39-39-347-9224 Please note that the phone is based in Italy. Lower Brule Community House The phone number that appears on p. 15 in the Personnel Directory is correct. However, under the individual listings for Frs. Burke and Wonch it is incorrect. The correct number for the community house is: 605-473-5487. Fr. Ed Zemlik E-mail: EdZemlik@aol.com Also, Fr. Ed sends his thanks to SCJs for remembering his mother in prayer. She is now home, recovering well from a broken hip. Elected Congratulations to Fr. David Szatkowski who was elected as representative of the third-year canon law students and will serve as a student representative on the Council to the Faculty of Canon Law. Please remember… Bishop Joseph Potocnak who was attacked last week. The incident took place at the post office at approximately 6:15 p.m. Two men robbed him. He was left with two black eyes and a few other bruises, but is recovering well. This is the second time in the past year that the bishop has been attacked. Fr. David Maher, who is suffering from malaria. He is at Villa Maria. Frank Mannion, the son of Fr. Jim Walters’ cousin. His newborn daughter died of what is believed to have been a brain aneurysm. The family has dealt with much tragedy recently –– last year Frank’s father (Fr. Jim’s cousin) died at 47 of esophageal cancer. The sister of Fr. Jerry Clifford who is very ill. Back to Indonesia Fr. Mark Fortner recently attended the 30th Anniversary of the founding of St. Stephen’s Parish in Jakarta. Fr. Warjito, formerly a member of the General Council and now the pastor of the parish, invited Fr. Mark for the occasion as its founding pastor. While in Indonesia, Fr. Mark was able to visit the SCJ major seminary in Jogyakarta and the area of Bengkulu in South Sumartra, the area severely hit by the September 12th earthquake, where Fr. Dwijosukarnois pastor over an area covering some 560 miles from north to south. “It was a real treat,” Fr. Mark wrote, “meeting Archbishop Sudarso and many other SCJs and seeing how well the Church, in general, and the Indonesian Province, more specifically, are doing.” India remembers... Fr. Tom Fix recently e-mailed to share information about the Indian District’s commemoration of Fr. Tom Garvey, who died December 2, 2002. During a community gathering “Fr. Martin van Ooij, our district superior, recalled the many benefits and graces that Tom channeled into the founding of the district and how his unexpected death called for a deep act of faith on the part of his confreres, especially from Fr. Martin himself. It was a terrible loss.  Yet God is faithful, which can be witnessed by the fact that the legacy Tom left behind continues to contribute to the well-being and growth of this District. “Fr. Martin said that never a day passes that Tom is not thought of, his memory not reflected on. “Fr.Tom had once remarked in passing that he would be happy to pass his final days in India. Although he died too soon, that’s exactly what he did. “How great Fr. Tom’s impact was on this area was evident at the original funeral Mass. There were three bishops leading at the altar, dozens of priests concelebrating, and clergymen from diocesan, religious, Latin Rite and Syrian Rite. Fr. Tom had taught in the major seminary over the years, and many of his former and present students were there, dressed in the garb of the religious or diocesan communities they belonged to. Many congregations of sisters were also represented, whom Tom had ministered to for spiritual direction. And then there were the neighbors, only a small portion of whom are Catholic; Tom had made it a point to become acquainted with everyone in the whereabouts of our establishment. “Fr. Tom’s last diary entry is often quoted among us: “All for love, for him, as he has been all for me.” One could say that Tom’s SCJ vocation reached truly holy proportions during the final six years of his life, here in India. He once told me that he had always wanted to be a member of one of our SCJ foreign missions, but, like Fr.Dehon, could only be present there in the persons of those he helped prepare, and in some cases sent, for such ministry. But at last, having concluded his six years of duty as provincial superior, he did get his opportunity. How well he used it.” Communiqué A letter from the Generalate is available by clicking HERE.