Local News April 2008
STATEMENT OF THE DIOCESE OF PHOENIX
Re: The retirement of the Most Rev. Donald E. Pelotte as Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup
April 30, 2008-The Diocese of Phoenix has learned that the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has granted the Most Rev. Donald E. Pelotte, SSS, his request to retire as Bishop of the Diocese of Gallup, NM.
Until a successor is named, the Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, will continue to serve as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gallup, a position he has held since January. Bishop Olmsted assumed the duties as Bishop of Gallup when Bishop Pelotte was granted a one-year medical leave of absence.
Bishop Olmsted asks all the people of Gallup and Phoenix to pray for Bishop Pelotte in his retirement and also to pray for the Holy Father as he prepares to appoint Bishop Pelotte’s successor.
Bourgade Catholic High School Benefit Concert
PLAYPUMPS
April 25-Bourgade Catholic High School sponsored a fundraising concert to raise awareness about the increasing global water crisis and to raise money for PlayPumps International, a non-profit organization that installs wells in the poorest countries.
Please watch the video from news channel 3 on Playpumps <here>
Learn more about the concert at: www.myspace.com/bchsbenefit
Learn more about PlayPumps at: www.playpumps.org
Valley Catholics Embark on Pilgrimage to See Pope
Lawn Griffiths, East Valley Tribune
April 11- Their Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, may never get to Arizona as their last pope did in 1987, so more than 100 Valley Catholics are making a pilgrimage east next week to witness some of the pontiff's six-day visit. <read blog>
From the AZ Republic:
April 16-More than 200 Arizona Catholics, led by Bishops Gerald Kicanas and Thomas Olmsted, are taking part in Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to the United States.
Each diocese has an official delegation consisting of the bishop, the Catholic school superintendent and others. The rest are coming from various parishes and organizations. < read article>
Tempe Catholic church weathers rain damage, plans to rebuild
Lawn Griffiths, East Valley Tribune
April 5-Ominous weather forecasts make the Rev. Joe Patrick McGaffin jumpy these days.Twice in the past eight months, heavy rains have penetrated the roofs of Church of the Resurrection Catholic Community in Tempe, causing massive damage and forcing the parish to embark on a nearly $2 million repair and new building project. <read blog>
ARIZONA BISHOPS DENOUNCE VETO OF PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN
CONTACT: Ron Johnson
602-885-0113
PHOENIX (April 4, 2008) The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, in a statement released today, denounced Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s veto of legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion in Arizona. Partial birth abortion is a horrific procedure during which a live fetus is partially delivered and an incision is made at the base of the skull through which the brain is removed, and then the dead baby is delivered the rest of the way.
The veto came despite significant medical evidence that partial birth abortions are never medically necessary. The legislature was entitled to make a constitutionally correct judgment in banning a particularly gruesome procedure that blurs the line between abortion and infanticide.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of Gallup, NM, and Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson said in the statement, “Even though there is a federal law banning partial birth abortion, a state ban would have allowed Arizona prosecutors to enforce such a ban without having to rely on the federal government.”
The full text of the statement from the Arizona Catholic Conference Bishops is available at www.azcatholicconference.org.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TO HOLD GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY
PHOENIX (April 8, 2008) Students enrolled in the Catholic schools and religious education programs of the Diocese of Phoenix will honor the pastors of the parishes in the Diocese during Good Shepherd Sunday, which will be held on April 13.
Championed by the Diocese of Phoenix School Board, this special recognition Sunday is designed to honor the contributions that parish pastors have made to Catholic schools and the parish religious education programs. Students are encouraged to be creative in the ways that they honor the pastors. Recognition could range from a simple luncheon for the pastor to a special service project by students to benefit the parish.
“The opportunities that exist for our students are there because the pastors are willing to shepherd our Catholic schools,” said MaryBeth Mueller, executive director of the Division of Education and Evangelization for the Diocese of Phoenix. “The efforts our pastors make are indescribable.”
More information on what diocesan schools are doing to educate and form the children of the Diocese and additional information on the programs and services of the Diocese of Phoenix can be accessed through the Diocesan web site at www.diocesephoenix.org.
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Ambria Hammel of The Catholic Sun contributed to this story.
Tempe Catholic church weathers rain damage, plans to rebuild
Lawn Griffiths, East Valley Tribune
April 5-Ominous weather forecasts make the Rev. Joe Patrick McGaffin jumpy these days.Twice in the past eight months, heavy rains have penetrated the roofs of Church of the Resurrection Catholic Community in Tempe, causing massive damage and forcing the parish to embark on a nearly $2 million repair and new building project. <read blog>
ARIZONA BISHOPS DENOUNCE VETO OF PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN
CONTACT: Ron Johnson
602-885-0113
PHOENIX (April 4, 2008) The Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, in a statement released today, denounced Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s veto of legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion in Arizona. Partial birth abortion is a horrific procedure during which a live fetus is partially delivered and an incision is made at the base of the skull through which the brain is removed, and then the dead baby is delivered the rest of the way.
The veto came despite significant medical evidence that partial birth abortions are never medically necessary. The legislature was entitled to make a constitutionally correct judgment in banning a particularly gruesome procedure that blurs the line between abortion and infanticide.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of Gallup, NM, and Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson said in the statement, “Even though there is a federal law banning partial birth abortion, a state ban would have allowed Arizona prosecutors to enforce such a ban without having to rely on the federal government.”
The full text of the statement from the Arizona Catholic Conference Bishops is available at www.azcatholicconference.org.
STATEMENT OF THE DIOCESE OF PHOENIX
Re: The illegal immigration controversy in the Phoenix area
April 4, 2008- The Diocese of Phoenix understands that law enforcement officials are given the mandate to uphold the laws of the state and nation.
The respect and dignity of every human being is a fundamental teaching of our Catholic faith. We ask that local law enforcement act in a manner that respects the human person and does not target any specific ethnic community.
During the Easter season, we pray and hope for a peaceful resolution of the present crisis.
COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION STATEMENT
Former Jesuit priest Donald J. McGuire
(April 2, 2008)-The Diocese of Phoenix has learned that Donald J. McGuire, a former Jesuit priest of the Chicago Province, has been indicted on child molestation charges by a Maricopa County grand jury. The indictment alleges that McGuire victimized two boys between 1988 and 2002 during visits McGuire made to Arizona.
A little more than five months ago, the Diocese of Phoenix published a “Community Notification Statement” regarding McGuire as a result of a civil lawsuit that was filed in Cook County, Illinois, in October 2007 by the same two men whom McGuire is accused of molesting in the indictment announced in Maricopa County. That lawsuit accused McGuire of sexually abusing the two men in Illinois and in Arizona between 1988 and 2002 when they were minors. The Diocese of Phoenix is not a party to that lawsuit.
McGuire, 77, has never been a priest of the Diocese of Phoenix. He is a former Jesuit priest who was found guilty in 2006 in Wisconsin of molesting two students from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, during the 1960s. He had been allowed by the court to live on probation in suburban Chicago, pending appeal of his conviction, but after his arrest on April 1, 2008, on this indictment, he has been in a Chicago hospital under the supervision of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, pending extradition proceedings to Arizona. McGuire has other indictments from other jurisdictions pending against him as well.
In February 2008, Fr. Edward Schmidt, SJ, Provincial of the Chicago Province Jesuits, announced in an official statement that “Donald J. McGuire was informed of his dismissal from the clerical state; this dismissal effectively confirms his dismissal from the Society of Jesus. This dismissal is final and cannot be appealed. Donald McGuire no longer has the rights and privileges of the duties and obligations associated with priesthood in the Catholic Church.”
The Diocese of Phoenix has no record of McGuire asking for or receiving faculties to administer sacraments in the Diocese at any time. However, the Diocese learned that McGuire conducted several privately-sponsored retreats for adults over the age of 21 at Mt. Claret Retreat Center in Phoenix in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001. Those retreats were not sponsored by or conducted by the Diocese of Phoenix, but were held at
a Diocesan facility, which was rented out by a private association not affiliated with the Diocese. McGuire is believed to also have conducted privately sponsored retreats in Casa Grande, Arizona, in the 1980s and 1990s as well as a privately sponsored retreat in Payson, Arizona, in 2002.
To date, the Diocese of Phoenix has not received any other complaints or reports of abuse or improprieties on the part of McGuire within the state of Arizona. The Diocese takes this matter very seriously and urges anyone who may know of any sexual abuse or misconduct by Donald J. McGuire or who may have any information about him to contact the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office at 602-506-3411 and the Jesuit Order Chicago Province at 773-975-6363.
As always, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and the Diocese of Phoenix encourage anyone who has experienced sexual misconduct or abuse by a member of the clergy or by any worker of the Church to make a report to local law enforcement and to contact Jean Sokol at the Office of Child and Youth Protection at 602-354-2396.
