New job continues department head’s ‘fight for justice’

STAR STATUS: Sixth graders from St. Ignatius College Prep’s Father Sauer Academy were in the audience at the Orpheum Theater to see SI alumnus Adam Jacobs in his role as Aladdin. The actor/singer has been with the role through all of the show’s development and played the role on Broadway from the show’s first preview in 2014 until leaving in February 2017 to star in the national tour. Pictured are Adam Jacobs with longtime SI set designer Katie Wolf, whose sets Jacobs worked from at SI in his years there, and Peter Devine, an SI alumnus who directed 100 plays in 25 years at SI including many starring Jacobs, and still teaches English at SI. (Courtesy photo)
 
February 8, 2018
Tom Burke
 
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone has appointed Valerie Schmalz as head of the Department of Human Life and Dignity of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Most recently, the fourth-generation San Franciscan has served as assistant editor of Catholic San Francisco newspaper.
 
“I became a journalist because I love the fray, and because it is a way to work for justice,” Valerie told me via email. “This job is a new direction but for me builds on that desire.”
 
Education and experience have prepared Valerie well for her new post. She holds an undergraduate degree in government from the University of San Francisco and a graduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She has served as a secular journalist including work in print and television news in Alaska, Delaware and Maryland.
 
She and her husband, Pat, are parents of four sons ages 18-26.
 
Supporting Archbishop Cordileone “in his public policy and social justice priorities” will be Valerie’s first front in the new job, she said.
 
“We are fortunate in the Archdiocese of San Francisco to have a leader who is truly faithful and courageous as a man and as an archbishop, and I hope to help in whatever way I can to support his priorities,” Valerie said.
 
“Social justice begins with the dignity of the human person, the protection of life from conception to natural death and is preserved in society by creating an atmosphere where the family based on the marriage of one man and one woman can flourish,” Valerie said. “From those principles flow all our social justice priorities as a Catholic Church including immigration reform and accompaniment of immigrants, religious liberty, care for creation, opposition to all forms of social and economic injustice, and the full spectrum of pro-life issues.”
 
Valerie is opening the department’s arms to all who want to have a voice or hand in its work.
 
“My first steps are to listen to the people who are on the ground, working for life and justice, in the archdiocese and the human life and dignity department, and to reach out to our partners in community action organizations, Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and perhaps most importantly, our pastors,” Valerie said.
 
“Pray for us, pray for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, pray for the archbishop. Let us know what you are doing and what your social justice priorities are. We might be able to support you. Watch for us on social media – we will be live very soon.”
 
Contact schmalzv@sfarch.org; (415) 614-5571; http://sfarchdiocese.org/human-life-dignity.
 
 
REQUIEM: A Christmas Remembrance Service at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, again helped people mourning loss of a loved one. Msgr. John Talesfore, pastor, St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo, presided over the liturgy as he has since its inception near a decade ago. Pictured from left after the service are John Holtz, a reader for the day; cemeteries director, Monica Williams; Kathy Lorentz, a music minister of the day with her husband Dave; reader Julie Balestrieri and her fiancé Doug Samora. The dog is Barley Soup, the pet of John’s late wife Evelyn. (Courtesy photo)
 
 
CRS RICE BOWL: This longstanding Catholic Relief Services Lenten program takes place in dioceses around the country March 14-April 1. In a letter circulated to parishes and schools, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said the Rice Bowl effort helps us connect “with our brothers and sisters in need around the world.” In addition, CRS Rice Bowl provides a unique opportunity to connect with the global migration campaign, “Share the Journey,” launched by Pope Francis and the church last fall, the archbishop said. Participants journey through the 40 days of Lent with a collection of daily reflections and activities included in the Rice Bowl calendar and on the mobile app. Rice Bowl provides funding for CRS food security projects which support agriculture, nutrition, education, and self-sufficiency in communities worldwide with 75 percent of the donations remitted to CRS for overseas projects and 25 percent retained in the diocese for local anti-poverty programs.
 
Contact Carolina Parrales, Archdiocese of San Francisco CRS Rice Bowl coordinator, at parralesc@sfarch.org.
 
Email items and electronic pictures – hi-res jpegs - to burket@sfarch.org or mail to Street, One Peter Yorke Way, San Francisco 94109. Include a follow-up phone number. Street is toll-free. Reach me at (415) 614-5634; email burket@sfarch.org.