Friday, November 30, 2012

The Latest from National Catholic Reporter

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

NCR editorial on Roy

From my vantage point, it seems Maryknoll takes the brunt of this whole affair. The Vatican will not budge. Roy will do OK and will no doubt add the talk-show circuit to his speaking engagements. Maryknoll holds its tongue and loses support. *sigh*


http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/roy-bourgeois-they-finally-got-him


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More dust stirred up

In case you haven't had enough, here's more;

http://ncronline.org/node/39751


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I thought it was too quiet...

Former superior general, Fr. John Sivalon, weighs in on the latest development between the Vatican, Maryknoll and Roy.


http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/former-maryknoll-head-decries-vatican-interference-bourgeois-case


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Impromptu gathering

After word went out yesterday via email to Society members about the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dismissing Roy Bourgeois from Maryknoll and laicizing him, Fr. Jim Lynch, vicar general, invited Society members to an impromptu meeting in the Asia Room at 7:00 p.m.

Word of mouth informed those who, like me, hadn't yet checked my email, and 45 of the house's 85 residents attended (many having already left for the holiday.)

So we'd all be on the same page, Jim read the official Maryknoll statement to those present. Then he opened the floor to questions.

The mood ranged from sadness to anger, but I don't think anyone was surprised. The anger, too, was spread around from anger at the Vatican for taking this extraordinary step to anger at Roy for dragging Maryknoll through this mess. Several points of clarification surfaced.

• As with other members who leave the Society, Maryknoll will continue to financially assist Roy "in his transition" (meaning for as long as Roy needs and requests it).

• Although Maryknoll is under the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples, because of Roy's public action at the "attempted ordination" of a  woman, the CDF felt it had cause to directly intervene in his dismissal and laicization, even though the canonical requirement of a "decisive majority" of Council Members (two to dismiss, three abstentions) had not been met.

• Since Roy gave up directing the School of the Americas Watch some time ago, the action by the CDF should not prevent the SOAW from requesting funds to help with their many newsletters, all of which emphasize peace and justice issues in the Latin America.

• We do not know what canonical recourse Roy has and only he can answer whether he will continue to employ the services of Fr. Tom Doyle as his canon lawyer.

For what it's worth, Roy has already changed his voicemail message, stating his affiliation with the School of America's Watch and WomenChurch

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Here is the Maryknoll statement:



The Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith
Canonically Dismisses Roy Bourgeois
Maryknoll, New York – November 19, 2012 – The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on October 4, 2012, canonically dismissed Roy Bourgeois from the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, also known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. The decision dispenses the Maryknoll priest from his sacred bonds.
As a priest during 2008, Mr. Bourgeois participated in the invalid ordination of a woman and a simulated Mass in Lexington, Kentucky. With patience, the Holy See and the Maryknoll Society have encouraged his reconciliation with the Catholic Church.
Instead, Mr. Bourgeois chose to campaign against the teachings of the Catholic Church in secular and non-Catholic venues. This was done without the permission of the local U.S. Catholic Bishops and while ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful across the country. Disobedience and preaching against the teaching of the Catholic Church about women’s ordination led to his excommunication, dismissal and laicization.
Mr. Bourgeois freely chose his views and actions, and all the members of the Maryknoll Society are saddened at the failure of reconciliation. With this parting, the Maryknoll Society warmly thanks Roy Bourgeois for his service to mission and all members wish him well in his personal life. In the spirit of equity and charity, Maryknoll will assist Mr. Bourgeois with this transition.



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Fiddling around

Under the pretext of attending a matinee performance of Fiddler On The Roof at Westchester Dinner Theater in Elmsford, NY, members from our assisted living group hold an unsanctioned "90 Years And Under" gathering to plot the overthrow of Maryknoll.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Results of the other election

Congratulations to Frs. Dave Smith and Larry Lewis on being elected Third and Fourth Consultants to Regional Superior Fr. Mike Duggan and First Consultant Br. Wayne Fitzpatrick.

This completes the election for the US Regional Council.

According to Mike, just a few votes separated the four men also on the ballot: Frs. Bob Jalbert and Kevin Hanlon.

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Best of luck, chef!

Chef Mike McLoughlin, who supervised our Sodexo kitchen for the last three and a half years, is moving to greener pastures with Sodexo in Connecticut.

The last three chefs were all named Michael, so that might be a requirement since it's easier on the men here.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Nor'Easter on top of Sunday

A little over a week after Hurricane Sandy slammed into our area leaving death, homelessness, blackouts, gas shortages and fallen trees in its wake, we are facing this snowstorm.

Tabulating the vote

Poll watchers count the votes after the polls closed at 9:00 p.m. last night. More than 500 people are registered to vote here at Maryknoll (a.k.a. Ossining Voting District #24) but most live overseas.

The vote here was: Obama 53; Romney 22

51 absentee ballots were also received, but these are counted in White Plains.

Many thanks to our faithful poll watchers who were here from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Health Finances tricked out for Holidays

Spellbinding

Representing Halloween (I hope!) is Laura Johnson with Kathy (Cupid) Pankey. Missing is Pilgrim Sandra Hawthorn who helped put together the winning display, but whose Mayflower got blown off-course by Sandy.

Signs of the times

This way to a Year of Holidays

Halloween, finally

Hurricane Sandy forced us to postpone our annual parade and office-decorating competition till today, when I guess they figured that election day was just as scary.

Winning the office category is Health Finances with an elaborate presentation of "Year of Holidays."

Pictured below (with Br. Don Miriani and Fr. John Moran) are (left to right)
Eileen Lomei (Easter bunny); Cindy McIntosh (Betsy Ross/4th of July); Kathy Pankey (Valentine's Day) and Robert Cabrera (Santa).

Delectable, diabetes-inducing sweets and artery-clogging munchies were offered throughout the day, along with health-conscious choices such as vegetables and fruit, for those planning to live forever.

Voting @ Maryknoll

Once again, members voted early in the Spellroom room. About 135 people are registered to vote here, some overseas by absentee ballot.

Gone are the traditional voting machines. In their place are ballots with circles next to each candidates' name to be manually filled in, á la those old SAT tests. These are scanned and counted. The results will be announced at 9 p.m.

On a topic of more import: the Cablevision has finally been restored, so I can watch my DirectTV undisturbed.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Reverse mission

The residents of St. Teresa's returned home this morning after electricity outages forced their relocation last Friday to the main building: their home away from home. Once again members and staff coordinated their efforts to re-relocate the men.

Around the area clean-up continues. Long lines for gasoline still await drivers in the city. The morning commute was a nightmare as packed trains by-passed crowded platforms. A cold snap made life more unbearable for people with homes or heat. And a Nor'easter is scheduled to bring more winds and rain this Wednesday.

P.S. Cablevision is still out in our building, even though a rep came, looked and acknowledged there is a problem. They do have Maryknoll on record as having a problem but insist all available technicians are working on other cases and they will get to us as soon as they can. Among other things, Sodexo Food Service is dependent on that system to operate their computers to do their ordering.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Blessing of columbarium

Following the Mass celebrating All Souls, the community processed down to the crypt to participate in a brief ceremony to bless the new columbarium. Fr. John Kaserow lead the prayers and invited those present to extend their hands in blessing.

The columbarium has four x eight rows of compartments to house the created remains of 32 members.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Safe haven

US Regional Superior Fr. Mike Duggan and Maryknoll Superior General Fr. Ed Dougherty are among the members welcoming residents of St. Teresa's who arrived after their power failed a second time.

About eight residents who required medical monitoring were sent to a local hospital as a precaution.

Many Maryknoll employees stayed after hours to help, notably housekeeping, physical plant, security and the nursing staff. St. T's Sodexo staff came over to help deliver meals to those members no longer ambulatory.

St. Teresa's evacuated

After the second power generator failed this morning at St. Teresa's, the decision was made to evacuate all 60 residents and bring them to the main building starting around 4:00 p.m. today. Fr. Ernie Lukaschek, paster coordinator, left that message on our voicemail, along with a call for volunteers to assist with the resettling in of members around dinner time.

Complicating things further, now the Maryknoll Sisters are also without power because Con Ed is  trying to fix some downed wired in the area. No word how long this will take or how the Sisters plan to cope, since their nursing facility is on the fourth floor of their main building.

Rte 133 (Ryder/Pinesbridge Rd.) remains closed in front of the Potter House.

Around the area, gasoline shortages brought about by gas stations not having electricity to run their pumps has created a commuter's nightmare.

NYC  Mayor Bloomberg has imposed a minimum three-person per car limit for all bridges and tunnels leading into Manhattan. This will be in forced till at least Monday. (Bloomberg lifter the 3-person restriction tonight (Friday) at 5 p.m.

This morning President Obama has declared both Westchester and Rockland Counties as disaster areas,  opening up FEMA funds for those who lost houses during this on-going crisis.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

More downed trees at MK

As the weather settles and we venture farther afield from the safety of Fortress Maryknoll, more of Superstorm's destructive ways can be seen.

Remember that wonderful, huge, old red maple that dominated the first and oldest section of our cemetery? Gone. Reduced to smithereens, pictured here.

The walkway down to that section is also blocked by three downed trees.

The roadway down to the lower sections has been blocked by top half of a spruce tree that broke off.

MetroNorth in Ossining is still closed due to a huge boat Sandy lifted up from the river and deposited across the tracks.

Yet we were only inconvenienced. People lost loved ones, homes, cars, boats ...and lives.

Fr. King finally laid to rest

After the storm and its aftermath forced postponement for the burial of Father King, a small group gathered for the simple ceremony. The grave first needed to be drained of water, an apt gesture for our cruise-loving priest.

One of the grounds crew, new to the staff, mentioned he had met a Maryknoller who served as chaplain on cruises and who took pictures. When we pointed out that the grave he had dug was for that same priest, he was visibly saddened.

Storm + 3 Days

Bethany remains without power, as does much of the surrounding towns and villages, although more and more employees report that they are coming back on-line.

Still, the MLMs are here for meals and showers, and some employees are staying over who have either no electricity or who live in NYC and have no way to get to work, as many subways are still closed. Buses are free, but Mayor Bloomberg has restricted vehicles with less than three occupants from entering the city.

The 39th Street House remains powerless, forcing guys there to walk up flights of stairs in total darkness. Apparently the very expensive generator that was installed a few years ago requires fuel to operate. Who knew?

Some groups scheduled to come here in the next few days have cancelled. I cancelled my Friday Night Meeting at the Queen church and we had to cancel the Junior High retreat this coming weekend as the retreat house in Glen Cove remains without electricity.

The transformer across from the Potter House (where Ryder Road was officially roped off because of the down tree across the power lines) blew yesterday. Thankfully the Ossining Fire Department was on hand and put out the blaze, but such incidents prolong the darkness for our neighbors.

Fr. Jack King was finally interred yesterday afternoon when the cement vault finally arrived. Remaining family and about five Maryknollers were present along with our hardworking grounds crew.

Fr. Emile Dumas was finally able to make it out of JFK at around 1:30 this morning on his way to Asia to give a retreat. Similarly, Father Mike Duggan, US regional superior, is due back tonight from Texas. LaGuardia airport was the last to reopen once the runways re-emerged from the water.

In the city and nearby, long lines of cars await gasoline—presuming the stations have power to operate pumps and they don't run out of gas. No gouging—yet.

I think it is useless to ask when life here in the Northeast will "get back to normal." Rather we would do well to accept the fact that the definition of normal has changed.