Catholic News Around Indiana
Compiled by Brandon A. Evans
Diocese of Evansville
Students, teachers around the diocese are busy recycling
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
As you walk through the hallways and look into the classrooms at Memorial High School there are brightly-colored containers everywhere for empty plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
“Green is in now,” says Maryann Watson, a science teacher at the Evansville school. She’s the one who is largely responsible for all the recycling efforts going on there, along with fellow science teacher Kim Murphy.
The recycling efforts started a few years ago when Keep Evansville Beautiful challenged schools to collect plastic bottles. “It got the ball rolling, and once we got the hang of that we added aluminum cans, and at the same time we started recycling cardboard. The amount of cardboard that comes out of this building is unbelievable.”
At first the students in the environmental science classes were in charge of emptying the containers. That has expanded to include the National Honor Society members at the school
Overall, the response from the student body has been “pretty good,” Watson said. “A lot of it is habit.”
She believes they are learning “a great life lesson. We talk about how much comes out of this building — and we are just one school.”
She adds, “It’s a huge undertaking. It’s messy but worthwhile, to keep it out of the landfill. Hopefully the kids get the idea of the life cycle of an object, from fabrication to disposal, and they get into the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ thing.”
Principals in Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Evansville were invited to share information about recycling efforts in their schools. Here is their information.
Diocesan strategic planning process to re-energize parish life throughout the Diocese of Evansville
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger has commissioned a diocesan strategic planning process to re-energize parish life throughout the Diocese of Evansville and to establish a future direction for the diocese over the next five years.
As part of the information gathering process, interviews and focus groups are being scheduled during October and November of this year.
Focus groups will be scheduled at half of the parishes in the diocese for groups of parishioners; focus groups consisting of parish staff members will be scheduled at the other parishes.
Interviews with priests will be conducted. Interviews with other selected individuals will also be scheduled.
The individuals to be interviewed were selected by members of the diocesan Planning Team, a group of a dozen people who took the very first steps in the year-long process of planning.
(For these stories and more news from the Diocese of Evansville, log on to the website of The Message at www.themessageonline.org)
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Women from around the diocese gather for day of prayer
By Kay Cozad
LaGRANGE — St. Joseph Parish’s newly constructed activity center was put to good use on Saturday, Sept. 19, when over 200 enthusiastic women crowded the hall for the second annual Women’s Day of Prayer. The program, offered to all women of the diocese, was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Spiritual Development and Evangelization.
The sun lit morning began with introductions over a continental breakfast, prayer and hymns. The keynote speaker, Sister of St. Joseph Sister Anne D’Arcy, sister of Bishop John M. D’Arcy, spoke with humor and passion about answering the call to be in relationship with God. And prayer, she said, is a “conscious relationship with God.”
Sister Anne, who is the associate director of the Office of Worship and Spiritual Life in Boston, shared her own personal experiences of prayer, relating the blessings she received in nature as well as when she sat with her sister Mary as she lay dying.
“We can encounter him anywhere,” she said of meeting God. And she added that “we come as we are” with concerns, questions and life.
Scripture, she said, is the place to begin to know God better. “It gives us power to have those words that touch our minds and hearts.” But, she added, prayer doesn’t always require words. “We need silence in our lives,” she said.
And listening to the still small voice of God in the silence can bring surprising answers. “Prayer doesn’t always change the situation in life, But it changes us!” she said. A guided meditation closed the inspired talk.
Following Sister D’Arcy’s keynote, the participants had the opportunity to participate in two morning sessions, by choosing one of six prayer workshops presented by other inspirational women of the diocese. Presentations included talks on the rosary, the liturgy of the hours, Lectio Divino, meditation, imaginative prayer and music as prayer.
The attentive participants, both young and old, who traveled from all corners of the diocese to enrich their understanding of prayer took time to share a boxed lunch, mingle and process their thoughts.
Ugandan cathedral roof funded in part by overseas mission endowment
By Tim Johnson
FORT WAYNE — Bishop Robert Mihiirwa of Fort Portal, Uganda, may shepherd his diocese half a world away, but he is very familiar with the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
As Father Mihiirwa, he has made the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend his mission and served at St. Jude, Fort Wayne, St. Jude, South Bend, and St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend when he was a graduate student of theology at the University of Notre Dame and during the summers when he was a graduate student at Duquense University in Pittsburgh, Pa. As Bishop Mihiirwa, he continues to send mission priests to serve in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
On Sept. 15, Bishop Mihiirwa met with Bishop John M. D’Arcy, who presented to the Ugandan bishop a final check to cover a portion of construction costs of the Fort Portal Virika Cathedral roof.
A large portion of the $34,000 total donation came from the Zeiger endowment fund, established by a St. Dominic, Bremen, couple who left some money in their estate for the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to distribute to foreign mission overseas.
“Of course, we’re the mission now, and he’s the missionary,” Bishop D’Arcy noted. “Things have changed. He’s sending us priests.”
Bishop Mihiirwa has sent Father Benedict Kakwezi, who currently serves at St. Mary of the Assumption in Decatur and Father Thadeus Balinda who is the pastor at St. Mary of the Lake, Culver, and the chaplain at Culver Academy.
Photo caption: Bishop John M. D’Arcy presents a check to Bishop Robert Mihiirwa of Fort Portal, Uganda, at the Fort Wayne chancery Sept. 15. A portion of funds from the Zeiger endowment was used to pay for costs of the roof construction to the Vikara Cathedral in Fort Portal. Part of the Zeiger endowment is utilized for overseas mission activity.
(For these stories and more news from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, log on to the website of Today’s Catholic at www.todayscatholicnews.org)
Diocese of Gary
Finally, ‘home’ court advantage for Cal College
By Steve Euvino
WHITING — In what is being hailed as an opportunity for educational and economic development, Calumet College of St. Joseph unveiled its Student Activity/Community Center Sept. 17.
In introducing the first new building in the college’s 58-year history, CCSJ President Dr. Dennis Rittenmeyer said the $4.5 million, 26,527-square-foot athletic facility “represents a milestone in the history of our college and a great commitment to our growing population.”
He added, “With this new facility, our students and student-athletes will finally have a place they can call home.”
Although the dedication took place on a Thursday, the CCSJ community “christened” its new gym two days earlier with a home volleyball game against Judson University. Despite losing to their guests, the Crimson Wave drew a crowd that filled much of the seating for 500 fans. That number will double when bleachers arrive for the other side of the gym.
In addition to the gym, the center features a weight room, locker rooms, offices, and a conference room. Although the center’s showcase sports are volleyball and basketball, the facility will be available for training for all of CCSJ’s 19 sports. The two newest, added this year, are wrestling and competitive dance.
Until now, the CCSJ “nomads” have been using the Hammond Civic Center and other venues for home games. “It’s good to have a place called home,” said Precious Blood Father Angelo Anthony, provincial director of the religious order that sponsors the college. Bishop Dale J. Melczek, prior to blessing the facility, cited the generosity of all those “who believed in what we are trying to accomplish here with the help of so many people.”
Photo caption: Bishop Dale J. Melczek leads a prayer service prior to blessing the $4.5 million Student Activity/Community Center at Calumet College of St. Joseph, Whiting, Sept. 17. The athletic facility represents the first new construction in the college's 58-year history. (Tim Hunt photo)
(For this story and more news from the Diocese of Gary, log on to the website of the Northwest Indiana Catholic at www.nwicatholic.com)
Diocese of Lafayette
Reaching out to those away from the Church
By Kevin Cullen
KOKOMO — Lorene Hanley Duquin can relate to a troubling statistic: According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 10 percent of all Americans are former Catholics.
Duquin fell away from the Church after her confirmation. An encounter with a priest helped lead Duquin back to the faith. Her husband eventually became a convert.
Now she coordinates the “Come & See” program for the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., and speaks all over the country on how to reach out to those who want to reestablish a relationship with God and the Church. She wrote the book, When a Loved One Leaves the Church.
Duquin was the guest speaker at a “Catholic Homecoming: An Evening for Catholics Worried About Family and Friends Who Have Left the Catholic Faith,” Sept. 8 at St. Joan of Arc Church. “Beginning the Journey,” an opportunity to invite family and friends back to the faith, is set for Oct. 20.
Duquin’s practical advice “equips us with the potential — if you will, the tools — on how to speak with those we love and know who are not necessarily practicing the faith with us, so that those souls will be touched by our faith,” said Father Ted Dudzinski, pastor of St. Joan of Arc and St. Patrick parishes in Kokomo.
“You never realize what impact you might have planting seeds,” said St. Joan parishioner John Christensen, one of approximately 100 people who attended the program.
Catholics leave for many reasons, she said: they’re too busy; they don’t feel welcome; they didn’t like a certain priest they once knew; they are cohabiting; they married outside the Church; they are divorced and mistakenly believe they’ve been excommunicated.
Others say they don’t need organized religion, or rebel against a faith imposed upon them as children. Some blame God for some personal tragedy, or move so often that they never join a parish. Some have little spirituality, worshipping only money and possessions.
All those explanations create “a really frustrating situation” for practicing Catholics who know and love them, Duquin said. Many feel guilty or awkward and seek advice on what to do.
Prayer is essential. “Ask God to shower his love on the people you love who are away from the Church,” she said.
Duquin said that several things tend to draw lapsed Catholics back: A crisis makes a person see he can’t deal with everything alone; a spouse persuades a mate to join the family at Mass; a middle-aged person recognizes his own mortality and thinks more deeply about the meaning of life.
Good liturgy and preaching bring people back, as does a friendly parish community.
Photo caption: Lorene Hanley Duquin, author of When a Loved One Leaves the Church, speaks at a “Catholic Home-coming” event at St. Joan of Arc Church, Kokomo, on Sept. 8. (Photo by Kevin Cullen)
New president installed at Saint Joseph's
By Kevin Cullen
RENSSELAER — The third lay president in the history of Saint Joseph’s College was officially installed on a sunny Sept. 18 in a ceremony filled with music, symbolism, blessings and hope.
The leadership style of President F. Dennis Riegelnegg was described as “very Precious Bloodish.” He was challenged to push for unity, inclusiveness and the development of human potential.
“I want us to challenge ourselves like we’ve never been challenged before,” Riegelnegg told approximately 150 faculty, students, family and friends.
The liberal arts college with more than 1,000 students has been sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (CPPS) since 1889.
Riegelnegg began as president on July 1, succeeding the retiring Ernest Mills, who had held the post for eight years. The Sept. 18 installation was held in the chapel, a twin-domed landmark at the heart of campus.
“This is a glorious day and a glorious day in the history of Saint Joseph’s College,” said Bishop William L. Higi, principal celebrant at the Mass of Installation. “… It is a time of hope and a time to look to the future with great enthusiasm.”
Riegelnegg, the 17th president in the college’s history, was formerly vice president for student and community development at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. A native of Pennsylvania, he holds a doctorate in administration and policy studies in higher education from the University of Pittsburgh.
Photo caption: “We here are a close family. Close families do not fail,” said newly installed President F. Dennis Riegelnegg. He is the third lay president in the history of the college sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
(For these stories and more news from the Diocese of Lafayette, log on to the website of The Catholic Moment at www.thecatholicmoment.org)