December Prayer Theme - Evangelization: Good News for the Poor
Adam Cardinal Maida
As I conclude my year-long series on evangelization, this month of December, I would like to reflect on the theme “Good News to the Poor.” As we celebrate the season of Advent and prepare for Christmas, our emotions run high and we are challenged to consider the full meaning of what we celebrate at Christmas: That the Son of God took flesh and dwelt among us as a tiny child.

 

Breakthrough ends case for killing embryos for stem cell research
Robert Delaney
Detroit - News that scientists have been able to reprogram skin cells to function like embryonic stem cells was hailed as bringing to an end any possible medical case for killing human embryos, said local pro-life advocates and Church representatives.

 

Hope for the Holy Land: Franciscans work to keep the presence of Christians
Robert Delaney
Detroit - Franciscan friars have been the Catholic Church's official "custodians" of the Holy Land's holy places since 1492.

 

Traditional artwork features local, Polish churches
Kristin Lukowski
Hamtramck - Tony Wachocki had to eat a lot of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to make his representation of St. Josephat Church.

 

Carmelites continue ministry of prayer in elder years
Robert Delaney
Clinton Township - Advanced age has not kept Sr. Teresa Margaret and Sr. Mary Joseph from the ministry of prayer for the Church and its people that is the charism of the Discalced Carmelites of the Monastery of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

 

Technology has changed our daily life — and now our family gatherings
Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO
Technology changed our family Thanksgiving. It arrived without an invitation or a favorite dish to pass, but it, as any person, ended up being more than welcome.

 

 

Helping hands for the holidays: 'It's a form of evangelization when we reach out to others'
Joe Kohn
Metro area — A struggling economy, mounting foreclosures and one of the nation's highest unemployment rates has created a strong need for assistance in metro Detroit.

 

Local Chaldeans applaud Patriarch Delly's red hat
Robert Delaney
Detroit — Local Chaldean Catholics are expressing pride and approval that Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly, 80, will become the first Chaldean patriarch in history to become a cardinal of the Catholic Church.

 

Mass of unity: St. Bartholomew/St. Rita Parish celebrates first Mass as a combined parish
Robert Delaney
Detroit — Members of the former St. Bartholomew and St.Rita parishes came together last Sunday at St. Bartholomew Church in northeast Detroit for a Mass of unity to inaugurate their new life together as St. Bartholomew/St. Rita Parish.

 

New church dedicated for Brown City mission
Robert Delaney
Brown City — The dedication ceremony for the new Sacred Heart Church in Brown City began outdoors in the chilly November weather last Sunday, with the ringing of its bell.

Austin Academy plans to open for 2008-09 school year
Kristin Lukowski
Detroit — Austin Catholic Academy still plans to break ground early next year and open for class next fall despite losing support from at least two Archdiocese of Detroit parishes.

Archdiocesan AIDS ministry helped by parish giving trees
Kristin Lukowski
Detroit — Last year, the Archdiocese of Detroit was able to help 824 people with or affected by HIV/AIDS before the holiday season — and this year it hopes to help even more.

 

Change of seasons: Court ruling impact hits students, teams, coaches and gym time
Rick Schulte
Metro Area — Erica Boreczky, a senior at Shrine Catholic High School, Royal Oak, is back in the swimming pool.

 

 

Stem Cells: Awaiting a vote, Catholics urged to take action
Joe Kohn
Detroit — The Church and its allies have had their say regarding stem cells before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee. 

 

Escanaba woman gets new lease on life via adult stem-cell transplant
Angela Johnson
Escanaba — Fifty-year-old Maxine Trombley of Escanaba is a woman who strives to capture all of life's zeal.

 

St. Joseph students find their 'voice' on the Internet
Joe Kohn
Trenton — Nowadays, it's typically a hard-and-fast rule at grade schools that students and teachers stow their cellular phones during class time.

 

St. John Neumann parishioners visit Biblical era
Joe Kohn
Canton Township — "By the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man."

 

St. Cyril, St. Pascal to merge, form Our Lady of the Angels
Joe Kohn
Detroit — St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Paschal Baylon parishes will close this month. The communities of the two Taylor parishes will come together Dec. 1 to form a new parish, Our Lady of the Angels, based in what is now St. Cyril Church.

 

St. Bartholomew, St. Rita to hold unity Mass Nov. 18
Robert Delaney
Detroit — By joining together, the people of St. Bartholomew Parish and St. Rita Parish are creating a new parish that should be viable for years to come, says Basilian Fr. Ronald Borg, who will be the merged parish's pastor.

 

Catholic Campaign for Human Development is Nov. 17-18
Robert Delaney
Detroit — The annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development – the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic bishops – will be taken in churches throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit Nov. 17-18.

 

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 November 9, 2007

 

Economic crisis' impact on parishes, people studied by archdiocese
Robert Delaney
Detroit — The Archdiocese of Detroit is investigating how the "rolling thunder" of mortgage foreclosures, job losses and loss of health insurance is affecting the local Catholic community and Catholic charitable agencies.

 

A Gift of Life: 'It was obvious to us that we made the right decision'
Kristin Lukowski
Metro Area — Every year, heart recipient Ronald Hawkins writes a letter to the family of the person who donated his heart, thanking them for a new chance at life — to golf, spend time with his wife, and watch his grandchildren grow up.

 

'We all truly believed we would find him': Navy ATC Roland Ronald Pineau's sisters see him buried after 40 years of praying that he'd be found
Kristin Lukowski
Berkley — First through the loss of their beloved brother, and then through 40 long years of trying to bring his body home, Mary Pineau and sister Lynn Kalil never, never stopped praying.

 

Catholic school students in Detroit focus on leadership
Joe Kohn
Detroit – "There's a big difference between knowing what's right and doing what's right."

MCC to address Michigan House committee on stem-cell research
Joe Kohn
Detroit — The Michigan Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Church in Michigan, was to have testified before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee Wednesday regarding research that destroys human embryos.

 

St. Vincent Ferrer marks 50 years, a million memories
Kristin Lukowski
Madison Heights — Former priests and past and present parishioners came together at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, Madison Heights to celebrate "50 years and a million memories."

Cardinal Maida: Catholics won't forget Armenian genocide
Robert Delaney
Southfield — Cardinal Adam Maida placed himself squarely on the Armenian side of the issue of whether the Turkish government committed genocide against the Armenian people during and after the First World War in his Oct. 31 remarks at a luncheon for the Armenian patriarch.

 

Faith Formation Article: We are called to be grateful — all of the time
Sr. Janet Schaeffler
Many years ago, a pastor visited a family with a young child who had severe curvature of the spine. Years ago, children with this physical condition were placed in a Phelp's Box, a device that resembled a shallow coffin, and strapped as flatly as possible.

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November Prayer Theme - Evangelization: Expressing our thanks, sharing our faith
Adam Cardinal Maida
As Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly explained, our fundamental human posture is being a receiver of the gifts of God. As we humbly accept all that God gives (and does not give), we are challenged to give thanks.

 

We remember All Souls: For three generations, monument makers leave their mark etched in stone
Joe Kohn
Southfield — Grave monuments at most Catholic cemeteries are solid, simple, to the point, and can offer comfort to those who mourn.

 

Chaldean boycott brews a victory: Miller agrees to not support events offensive to religious beliefs
Robert Delaney
Detroit — Chaldean Catholic Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim believes support of Chaldean Catholics in metro Detroit for a boycott of Miller Brewing Co. products played a major role in convincing the huge brewer to pledge to never again support events that insult and offend religious sensibilities.

 

Women gather to examine God's love in our lives
Kristin Lukowski
Warren — Love was the theme of this year's women's conference, and the many speakers addressed love of God and love of others during a day that drew hundreds of women from around the archdiocese.

 

Mass celebrates restoration of desecrated church
Robert Delaney
Detroit — Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores celebrated a Mass of Reparation last Friday at St. Andrew Church to undo the spiritual damage caused by the theft earlier that week of the tabernacle from the church's old high altar.

 

St. Aloysius, Romulus, completes church overhaul
Joe Kohn
Romulus — For parishioner Peggy Black, what the St. Aloysius Church building looks like after its recent renovation doesn't matter nearly as much as the people inside.

 

St. Patrick, Wyandotte, celebrates 150 years
Joe Kohn
Wyandotte – In the mid-1800s, long before the Detroit area was considered an archdiocese, a small Catholic mission was formed here, stemming from St. Francis Xavier Parish in Ecorse.

 

Muslim-Catholic talks were fruitful, participants say 
Robert Delaney
Detroit — Both Catholic and Muslim participants said the latest round of the Midwest Muslim-Catholic Dialogue, held Oct. 21-23 in Dearborn, yielded progress.

 

Bond sales OK'd for proposed school
Kristin Lukowski
Detroit — A future north Macomb County high school took another step forward for funding, putting it closer to a projected opening date of fall 2009.

 

Former bookkeeper to pay fine and will serve one day in jail
Kristin Lukowski
Detroit — A St. Clair Shores resident convicted of embezzling thousands of dollars from St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Hazel Park, was able to pay $30,000 toward restitution Tuesday.