Bishop Paprocki ordains two priests

Yesterday morning, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki ordained two new priests for service in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fathers Paul Bonk and Braden Maher.

 

Bishop Paprocki shared two pictures from the "glorious day" following the Mass of Ordination via his Twitter account (@BishopPaprocki):

 

Father Maher, Bishop Paprocki, and Father Bonk

  

Father Bonk will serve as Parochial Vicar of Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville St. Alexius Parish in Beardstown, St. Fidelis Parish in Arenzville, and St. Luke Parish in Virginia. He will also serve as Chaplain of MacMurray College in Jacksonville.

Father Maher will serve as Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and as Associate Master of Ceremonies to the Bishop.

Congratulations, Fathers Bonk and Maher!

Bishop Paprocki: "There is nothing in Amoris Laetitia that changes, amends or repeals" the discipline of Holy Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried

Writing in his column in the current issue of Catholic Times, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, addresses some of the controversy that surrounded the release of Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia of His Holiness Pope Francis.

Several commentators suggested - as they insisted would be the case for nearly two years - that the there was a change regarding the doctrine and discipline of the Church concerned Catholics living in invalid marriages and their reception of the Holy Eucharist in Amoris Laetitia.

Following the release of Amoris Laetitia, Bishop Paprocki issued a statement welcoming its publication in which he said, "There are no changes to canon law or church doctrine introduced in this document."

Having had the opportunity to give a more careful reading to the exhortation, Bishop Paprocki maintains what he says and offers a sound reasoning for it:

The starting point for interpreting papal statements and ecclesiastical documents is to remember that they do not all carry the same authoritative weight. They bear different names because they carry varying levels of importance and authority. They are grouped, for example, on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va) under different categories with a variety of titles, including: apostolic constitutions, encyclicals, motu proprios, apostolic exhortations, apostolic letters, audiences, homilies, letters, messages, speeches, prayers and daily meditations. At the top of this hierarchy in terms of importance and authority are apostolic constitutions, highest in significance because they constitute papal legislation defining laws and doctrines. Among the lowest levels of authority would be extemporaneous answers given in response to impromptu questions during an in-flight press conference on an airplane. Footnotes in an apostolic exhortation would also rank low in significance, particularly since apostolic exhortations themselves simply exhort, encourage and urge the faithful to follow existing church laws and teachings. Apostolic exhortations by their very nature are not vehicles for introducing or amending legislative texts or making dogmatic pronouncements.

Thus, it is important to note that the Catechism of the Catholic Church was promulgated on October 11, 1992, by Pope St. John Paul II by means of an Apostolic Constitution, Fidei Depositum, the highest level of papal authority. In that document, the sainted Holy Father wrote: “The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved 25 June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium. I declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion.”

With regard to the question of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried, the Catechism says clearly in paragraph 1665, “The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their children in the faith.” There is nothing in Amoris Laetitia that changes, amends or repeals this doctrine.

He's right, of course. Those who say otherwise are simply reading much more - either their hopes or their fears - into the text of Amoris Laetitia than what is there. Be sure to give Bishop Paprocki's entire text a read or a listen.

Bishop Paprocki ordains 4 deacons on birthday of Augustus Tolton

Last evening, on the 162nd birthday of the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, ordained four men to the Sacred Order of Deacons in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception:

Deacon Lorilla, Deacon Pyrchal, Bishop Paprocki, Deacon Friedel, Deacon Stock
PHOTO: Paula Mattix Wand

Those ordained are Deacons Michael Friedel, Ronnie Lorilla, Rafal Pyrchal, and Wayne Stock. These men will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests on Saturday, 27 May 2017. Be sure to look for the story about the ordination in this week's issue of the Catholic Times.

Some years after he was ordained a deacon in Rome on 8 November 1885, Father Tolton said,

The day I was ordained deacon, I felt so strong that I thought no hardship would ever be too great for me to accept. I was reading for anything; in fact, I was very sure I could move mountains - in Africa.

Although, so far as we know, these four deacons will not be sent to Africa, let us pray that, through Father Tolton's intercession, they, too, will feel ready for anything as they set out to preach the Gospel in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Father Gus, pray for them! 

Bishop Paprocki Welcomes Reforms of Pope Francis

In his statement following the release of the two letters motu proprio of the Holy Father Pope Francis given to reform the canonical procedure for declaring the nullity of marriage, the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, has welcome the reforms, saying he is "happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect" in the tribunal.

Indeed, part of these reforms have already been in place in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Bishop Paprocki noted that "we have for over thirty years made use of a provision which is now being made normative for the whole world: that cases are usually to be judged by a single judge who is an ordained person, instead of by a panel of three judges."

we have for over thirty years made use of a provision which is now being made normative for the whole world: that cases are usually to be judged by a single judge who is an ordained person, instead of by a panel of three judges - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

Back in February, the Bishop expressed his desire to eliminate the standard fee for the processing of petitions for the declaration of the nullity of marriage and asked the faithful to be generous to help bring about this desire. I expressed this same desire in November of 2014.

In keeping with the Holy Father's desire that the fees be eliminated, Bishop Paprocki said, "We are happy to do this," noting that "we have never delayed the administration of justice because of non-payment on a petitioner’s part." What is more, he expressed his desire for the assistance of the faithful in this regard, saying, "We rely upon the continued generosity of Catholic Christians so that we may meet the expenses associated with this judicial work."

Within the statement, Bishop Paprocki also provides a helpful explanation of the reality of declarations of marriage nullity and, first, about the reality of marriage:

The Catholic Church continues to teach that a marriage, once validly entered, is permanent and cannot be dissolved by the mere will of one of the parties.  We understand that marriage comes to be through the spouses’ act of consent to bind themselves to one another in a marriage bond which is in accord with God’s plan for a permanent, exclusive union, open to the possibility of the generation of children.  We presume in favor of the validity of all marriages, but we recognize, in our theology and law, that a party’s marriage consent may have been insufficient in some fundamental way.  Therefore, we enumerate reasons for possible nullity of marriage, and we apply legal procedures by which a party, following a civil divorce, might seek to prove the nullity of a marriage and, having proved this fact, proceed to enter a new marriage which can be recognized by the Catholic Church.

Be sure to read the entire statement here.

happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

Bishop Paprocki on Planned Parenthood videos: "We should be shocked and appalled at this moral depravity"

Responding to the horrific activities of Planned Parenthood exposed in recent days in a series of undercover videos, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki said in a video of his own that "we should be shocked and appalled at this moral depravity."

After describing the revelations detailed in a series of recently released videos, the Bishop of Springfield in Illinois prayed that we might "never grow apathetic to the plight of unborn babies" and that "government officials act decisively to put an end to this gruesome practice."

Please watch his video and listen carefully to his words:

How anyone can watch what Planned Parenthood does in its clinics and not be disgusted and heart-broken is quite beyond me. Let us join our prayers to those of Bishop Paprocki.

+Paprocki seeks consultation for the Synod of Bishops

The 14th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will meet this October in Rome to discuss "the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and contemporary world."

As part of the preparatory work for the Synod and in response to the request of the Holy See for "a broader consultation," His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, has invited the faithful of his Diocese to reflect on a series of questions under the following themes:

1. Listening: The Context and Challenges of the Family
2. Looking at Christ: The Gospel of the Family, and
3. Confronting the Situation: Pastoral Perspectives

The survey will be available online through the end of this month.

The questions first require a reading of the lineamenta that will guide the work of the Synod, which can be found here. It will take some time to answer the questions, but you can save your progress and completing the survey will be a help to the work of the Synod. And for those not inclined to take surveys, it could be a good Lenten penance.

+Paprocki: If contributions to the annual appeal increase sufficiently, tribunal fees will be eliminated

Some weeks ago I considered the question of whether the fees associated with petitions for a declaration of nullity (a.k.a. annulments) should be ended. I answered, in short, that the fees should be ended:

I think this is wise because it completely dispels the urban legend that receiving "an annulment" depends on how much money you pay (as I'm sure you've heard). This, of course, is not true. If a tribunal did not require or request a fee for the processing of the petition, this common misconception would necessarily fade away.

Still, there is a caution I mentioned:

The lack of such fees, however, would require dioceses to make up for these fees elsewhere, probably through greater annual appeals. If properly presented, though, I think the faithful would gladly make up this new shortfall because the benefit gained in the popular imagination would outweigh the financial constraint.

I was happy to see that His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, took up this same question in his recent column in the Catholic Times.

After considering the various ways the costs of the Tribunal might be lowered to allow for the removal of the fee while still meeting expenses, he came to this conclusion (with my emphases):

The current year budget for Tribunal is $174,356 in total expenses with $44,400 in revenue or a net subsidy from the ACSA of $129,908. While we already cover nearly 75 percent of the cost of these cases, completely eliminating the fees would require another $44,400 to be covered by our ACSA or other extraordinary donations.

Keep in mind that ACSA also funds the education of our seminarians. Since 2010 we have more than doubled the number of seminarians, from 11 to the present 23. The cost of tuition, room and board and other expenses (including stipends, books, fees, insurance and travel) is about $32,000 per year for each seminarian. We have not seen a commensurate income in ACSA or the seminary collection to cover the increased number of seminarians.

The bottom line is that we can only provide as much as we have the resources to do. If we want more priests, we will need more funds to pay for their education and formation. I would hate to have to cap the number of seminarians and turn away qualified candidates because we could not afford them. Similarly, if the people of our diocese value providing annulment processes for free, then we would need to see increased giving to make this possible. So I leave it up to you, our faithful and generous donors: If there is a sufficient increase in our ACSA and extraordinary donations to cover our larger number of seminarians as well as make up the difference of lost fee income from annulment cases, I will direct our Tribunal to eliminate the fees for processing marriage nullity cases.

Be sure to read the entire column. If you do, you'll find out why I'm in Rome.

Rabbits, Hockey, and More: High School Q&A with Bishop Paprocki

As part of Catholic Schools Week, which is currently being celebrated in the United States of America, the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki recently sat down for a live web chat with the seven Catholic high schools to answer fourteen questions posed to him by the students in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

The questions posed to him reflected a variety of topics:

1. What is our best strategy for reversing Roe vs. Wade?
2. What are some bits of advice or strategies to help those who struggle with their faith?
3. Do Catholic schools have a common curriculum?
4. What can I do to keep my faith and not lose sight of God in our changing society?
5. How should the Church better show compassion for those in the LGBTQ community?
6. Is Pope Francis' recent statement about not breeding like rabbits a contradiction of Church teaching?
7. What changes have you seen in the Church in the last five years and what changes do you predict will happen in the next five years? 
8. What do you say to those who do not believe in God because of evil, illness, and unanswered prayers?
9. What is your advice for those preparing for college?
10. How do you feel about the country wanting to take the word God out of the pledge of allegiance?
11. Blues or Blackhawks?
12. What are your plans to address the post-Confirmation to pre-marriage age group?
13. Who is your favorite male and female saint, and why?
14. Is it possible for a lay person to perform an emergency exorcism?

You can watch the Q&A session here:

Paprocki to write new pastoral letter on growing the Church

While presenting Joy and Grievance in an American Diocese: Results from Online Surveys of Active and Inactive Catholics in Central Illinois last evening in Springfield, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki announced that he is working on a new pastoral letter that will incorporate the findings of the two surveys:

My next pastoral letter, on "Building a Culture of Growth in the Church," will outline a vision and a strategy for the Church to grow qualitatively by deepening the faith of individuals and the commitment of the community, and quantitatively by increasing the number of active practicing Catholics.

Bishop Paprocki's first pastoral letter, "Ars Celebrandi et Adorandi," addressed "On the Art of Celebrating the Eucharistic Liturgy Properly and Adoring the Lord in the Eucharist Devoutly."

Shortly after he arrived in Springfield, Bishop Paprocki noted a decrease in overall Mass attendance in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois over the previous 15 years of 30%. He commissioned the two surveys to find out why Catholics stopped attending Mass and to find out why others continued in the regular practice of their faith.

In his prepared remarks, the Bishop of Springfield in Illinois addressed the concerns raised by the respondents, but also noted reasons to hope:

I note that the 2013 October Count indicated a 1.5 percent increase in Mass attendance, marking the first increase since 2000! While that may seem small, it is significant in that it breaks a negative trend. In the past four years, we have also doubled the number of seminarians studying to become priests for our diocese! So I am encouraged by these hopeful signs that, with the help of God’s grace, we can rebuild and renew a community of dedicated and intentional disciples of Jesus Christ, always grateful for God’s gifts as faithful stewards of His beautiful creation!

Though the Bishop did not indicate when he will publish "Building a Culture of Growth in the Church," I am already looking forward to it.

I have previously written a few thoughts concerning of the results of Joy and Grievance in an American Diocese, which I will continue to do in the weeks ahead.

Paprocki asks Catholics to pray the rosary to turn the tide - and hearts - of jihadists

Blessed Pope Pius IX once said, "Give me an army saying the rosary and I will conquer the world." He was not, of course, speaking of a political or temporal conquest, but a spiritual conquest, a conquest of hearts.

The same Pope referred to the rosary as "a weapon to put demons to flight" and urged Catholics to take up the rosary each day:

If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.

The Catholic Gentleman offers several quotes from holy men and women regarding the rosary as, the words of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, "the 'weapon' for these times."

In his weekly column in the Catholic Times in which he examines "how some define the word 'jihad'," the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, has echoed, in a certain sense, these words of the holy Pope, urging the faithful of his Diocese to take up their rosaries to turn the tide of jihadists:

While it pertains to Muslims to address and renounce such matters of Islamic teaching, I suggest for us Catholics that we turn to our Blessed Mother for her intercession by praying the rosary. Many parishioners pray the rosary together in church before Mass, a practice that I heartily encourage. Prior to the naval battle of Lepanto to repulse the westward expansion into Europe by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century, Pope St. Pius V called on Catholics to pray the rosary. After the battle was successfully won near the west coast of Greece on Oct. 7, 1571, the pope attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and declared the Feast Day of Our Lady of Victory, which we now observe as Our Lady of the Rosary each year on Oct. 7. Let us pray to the Queen of Peace for her intercession, that the whole world may be led to the peace promised by her son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace [more].

Let us answer Bishop Paprocki's call and ask Our Lady to intercede especially for the Middle East, the land in which she lived and walked and prayed, a land she loves very much.

Is her teaching on homosexuality really the main reason people leave the Church?

In a piece of incredibly lazy journalism, Springfield's (IL) WICS-TV reports - for an unclear reason - John Freml ceased the practice of the Catholic faith and chose to join what is called the Holy Family Inclusive Catholic Community (which isn't actually Catholic at all, but the report does not both to note this rather important detail). Normally this simply would not be news.

At any rate, the only possible reason for the report - aside from a very slow news day - is because Freml left the Church because of her teachings on homosexuality, that and because "Freml believes the church not accepting the LGBT community may be to blame" for a decrease as much as 30% in some parishes in Mass attendance between 1996 and 2011. Never mind that some parishes also saw an increase of as much as 82% in the same time period, but, again, this is not an important detail for the story.

WICS quotes Freml:

Probably I think that's the primary reason, but of course Catholics simply don't agree with the hierarchy of a lot of social teachings. Not only on LGBT issues but contraception or on women's ordination.

In his assumption, Freml is quite incorrect.

The report references "a survey sanctioned by the church." Had the reporter bothered to consult this report - Joy and Grievance in an American Diocese: Results from Online Surveysof Active and Inactive Catholics in Central Illinois - he or she would have clearly seen that Freml is only correct that LGBT issues (where's the Q?) are not the only reasons why Catholics have fallen away from the Church or lapsed in the practice of the faith.

In fact, on page 18 of this report, a chart clearly gives the theological disagreements behind people's decision to leave the Catholic Church:

As you can see, the Church's teachings on homosexuality ranked as the 6th reason why people chose to distance themselves from the Church. The main theological difficulty people have with the Church is her teachings on artificial contraception.

What this shows is that homosexuality is not as prevalent in people's thoughts as the leaders of the gay movement would like us to believe. Only among those younger than 35 years of age was homosexuality the principle reason why someone chose to leave the Church.

This might have been important to include in the report, but it wouldn't, of course, support the aim of the "story," which is really nothing more than yet another attack on the Catholic Church in general and on Bishop Paprocki in particular.

The reporter then makes the odd suggestion that "change could be coming" to the doctrine of the Church regarding homosexuality, which is, of course, impossible.

Lisbeth Melendez Rivera of the Human Rights Campaign is quoted as saying:

We hope that Bishop Paprocki pays attention to our prayers. That he listens to what he has to say so when he is discerning. He goes through the same journey the cardinal took when the become Pope Francis.

Maybe someone should tell her that Pope Francis did not actually the journey she thinks he did.

Paprocki: No one is riding to the rescue of the Iraqi Christians

The Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, turns his attention this week to the pleas of the Iraqi Christians in his column in the Catholic Times. His Excellency writes (with my emphases):

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

The back window on the north wall of our cathedral in Springfield depicts John Sobieski III, King of Poland, kneeling on the battlefield giving thanks to God for his victory over the Turks after the siege of Vienna. By the late 17th century the Turkish army was penetrating deep into Europe. In the summer of 1683, 140,000 Turkish troops surrounded Vienna. Sobieski, leading an army of about 75,000, defeated the Turks at Kahlenburg, effectively ending Turkish military expansion into Europe.

In our times, the Christian people of Iraq are not so fortunate. There is no one riding to their rescue. After our troops were summarily withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, a jihadist group known as the Islamic State or ISIS has moved into the void. Violence there has escalated as the Islamic State has taken control of large sections of Iraq, destroying, burning and looting churches, homes and businesses. The Islamist terrorists are ruthlessly slaughtering Christians and others who chose not to convert to Islam. Tens of thousands have fled their homes since the extremist militant group Islamic State overran large swathes of northern Iraq in June and gave Christian residents an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a special tax, or be killed. Faced with such a dire situation, most Christians have fled for their lives. The Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk said that the latest advance has nearly purged northwestern Iraq of its Christian population. “There is not a Christian town left standing,” the archbishop said.

We should not dismiss the situation in Iraq as a far-away matter of no concern to us. U.S. intelligence officials said last month that the gains made in recent months by the Islamic State have bolstered its long-term ambitions in the West, including the United States. Indeed, in a chilling video message aired last week, an ISIS soldier proclaims that their goal is to “raise the flag of Allah in the White House.”

In light of this situation, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has called for all people to pray for peace in Iraq. Catholics are also encouraged to let their elected representatives know of their concern for Christians and other religious minorities who are in dire straits in Iraq, Syria, Egypt and other countries. As Pope Francis said on Aug. 9,  “I ask the international community to protect all those suffering violence in Iraq.”

Pope Francis recently wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. In his letter the Holy Father decried how “Christians and other religious minorities have been forced to flee from their homes and witness the destruction of their places of worship and religious patrimony.” Pope Francis placed before the Secretary General “the tears, the suffering and the heartfelt cries of despair of Christians and other religious minorities of the beloved land of Iraq.”

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a letter last month to President Barack Obama, saying, “More must be done.”  Noting that Pope Francis had called upon the international community “to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities,” Archbishop Kurtz pleaded with President Obama for “the United States to answer this call in concert with the international community.”

The jihadist genocide in Iraq calls to mind the speech given by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in 2006, in which he quoted the 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, saying: “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The pope was harshly criticized for quoting this statement. Yet in light of the violence of the jihadist terrorists seeking forced conversions to Islam, it is good to recall the point that Pope Benedict was making by repeating this quote, namely, that “spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul.”

In 2007 Pope Benedict published a book entitled Jesus of Nazareth that provides the proper approach to spreading the faith, that is, through reason and persuasion, not violence. In the book the Holy Father asks the question, “What did Jesus bring to the world?” The answer is very simple, Pope Benedict says. Jesus has brought God to the world. He has told us about God, whom he calls “the Father.” He has shown us that in looking upon Jesus we are looking upon God in human form. As he said to the apostle Philip, “To have seen me is to have seen the Father.”
May God give us this grace. Amen.

Bishops Silva and Paprocki: Priests may use the Mass for Persecuted Christians this Sunday

The Roman Missal contains texts for the offering of the Holy Mass for a great many intentions, from a prayer in thanksgiving for the gift of human life to a petition for a happy death (and nearly every occasion in between in the life of the Church and of the world).

These texts for ritual Masses, as they are named, are not used very often because, on the one hand, many days in the liturgical calendar already contain the memorials of the Saints and, on the other hand, because priests do not often think about them. Among these texts is that of a Mass for celebrated for persecuted Christians.

This Sunday, the day on which His Excellency the Most Reverend Richard E. Pates, Bishop of Des Moines and chairman of the Committee for International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, that we in the United States of America pray for the persecuted Christians in Iraq this Sunday, priests in the Hawaiian islands and in central Illinois may use the texts from the Mass for Persecuted Christians together with the readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

His Excellency the Most Reverend Clarence "Larry" Silva, Bishop of Honolulu, granted this permission in a letter of August 13, 2014; His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, granted this same permission in an e-mail message of August 14, 2014. I hope other Bishops will also grant this permission in their dioceses.

Both Bishops also kindly referenced the homily I preached this past weekend, which I hope others will find helpful for their own preaching. If you haven't been following my continually updated post with links to news stories regarding the persecution of Iraqi Christians, I encourage you to do so.

Bishop Paprocki encourages Eucharistic adoration by directing tabernacles be restored to the sanctuary

We've all been there before at one time or another. You enter a Catholic church to spend some time in  prayer before the tabernacle to speak with Jesus present in the Eucharist. You look to the sanctuary but realize the tabernacle is not there. Looking around the church you do not see a sanctuary lamp or a sign or other indication as to where the tabernacle is. At that moment you make the words of Saint Mary Magdalene your own: "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him" (John 20:13).

In the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, I'm happy to say, such a situation should soon come to an end.

In his first pastoral letter since his installation four years ago, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki has written about the importance of celebrating and adoration the Eucharist. When discussing the placement of the tabernacle within in churches, he writes:

...I direct that in the churches and chapels of our diocese, tabernacles that were formerly in the center of the sanctuary, but have been moved, are to be returned as soon as possible to the center of the sanctuary in accord with the original architectural design. Tabernacles that are not in the center of the sanctuary or are otherwise not in a visible, prominent and noble space are to be moved to the center of the sanctuary; tabernacles that are not in the center of the sanctuary but are in a visible, prominent and noble space may remain (Ars celebrandi et adorandi, 23).

In the same pastoral letter, Bishop Paprocki encourages the faithful to spend time in Eucharistic adoration because, as he reminds us, "We are never far from Jesus" who waits for us (7-8).

Bishop Paprocki's pastoral letter now online

Ars celebrandi et adorandi, the first pastoral letter of His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, is now online. Please give it a read.

Happy anniversary, Bishop Paprocki!

Today marks the fourth anniversary of His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.

Shortly thereafter Bishop Paprocki set about visiting the seven deaneries of the Diocese and meeting his new flock. In his homily for these Masses, he outlined his vision for the future of the Diocese:

I see a local Church where Catholics take their faith seriously, seek to grow in virtue and holiness, go to Mass every Sunday and participate regularly and actively in the sacramental life of the Church and the activities of their parishes; love God with all their heart and mind and soul and love their neighbor as themselves; bear witness to Christ in their daily lives; and promote respect for all human life from conception to natural death.

I see a diocese where there is an abundance of vocations of young people willing to answer God’s call to follow Him and dedicate their lives to carrying out His mission in the world; where there are sufficient priests to staff our parishes and serve their parishioners with virtuous commitment and impeccable integrity; devoted deacons, nuns and religious brothers dedicated to teaching the faith and caring for the sick, the poor, and the dying.

I see communities where family life is valued, homes with a mother and a father who love their children and whose children love them; parents who educate and form their children and themselves in the Catholic faith.

In short, I see a glimpse of God’s Kingdom already foreshadowed in the life of the Church and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in the Eucharistic feast.

Let us this day implore the aid of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, so that, strengthened with his seven-fold gifts, we may cooperate ever more fully with our shepherd in building up the Kingdom of God in the twenty-eight counties of central Illinois.

Happy anniversary, Bishop Paprocki! Ad multos annos!