News - November 2018 RSS Feed

As a small group of children played outside, the noise from the dining hall at St. Anthony of Padua overflowed with dozens of conversations. Seated at long rows of tables, a few hundred men and women talked Monday Nov. 5 over trays of beef stew, rice and salad or lingered over cups of coffee.

PHILADELPHIA – Acting on his promise to find new ways to support survivors of clerical sexual abuse, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced Nov. 8 that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is creating a new reparations program open to anyone abused by clergy in the archdiocese.

Concern about an aging church and loss of faith among the young has concentrated many Catholics’ minds on the need for evangelization. At an Oct. 30 lecture, more than 100 people turned out to hear about how a parish community can meet that need.

The St. Vincent de Paul Conference of St. Robert Parish, San Bruno, has been awarded a $3,561 grant from the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County is running up to the holidays much with the help of volunteer Peggy Cooney.

Anyone interested in cultivating a “sense of living in eternity now” should open themselves up more intentionally to the communion of saints and souls, said the leader of an All Souls weekend contemplative retreat at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Bolinas Nov. 3.

In the heart of a city becoming as well known for the size of its homeless population as it is for its golden-hued bridge, about 200 people gathered at St. Patrick Church Nov. 8 to pray for the eternal rest of the human lives ended unceremoniously on the streets of San Francisco.

On Sunday, Oct. 28, devotees of a centuries-old Peruvian tradition attended Mass and participated in a solemn procession escorting the image of the Lord of Miracles, patron of Lima, Peru, at St. Timothy Parish in San Mateo.

TIJUANA, Mexico – As caravans of Honduran and Guatemalan immigrants traveled through Mexico toward the U.S. in a cacophony of media reporting and political rhetoric, a group of California and Mexican bishops met quietly in Tijuana in their annual meeting of prayer and friendship Oct. 22-23.

As I read a recent issue of Catholic San Francisco, I was disappointed to see the headline, “Crisis response tops agenda for bishops’ fall meeting” (Oct. 25) rather than what I would have hoped for, “Helping abuse victims heal tops agenda for bishops’ fall meeting.”

I wish to thank Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone for the listening sessions provided regarding clergy sexual abuse. I attended the St. Mary’s Cathedral Oct 17 session. It was truly heartbreaking listening to these narratives of betrayal: a nun abused by a priest, children, altar boys, and more.

The sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania and Archbishop McCarrick’s alleged sexual misconduct is disheartening to say the least. It has shocked and angered many people in this country.

After reading Gemma Hon’s rebuttal (“Commending Pope Francis on China deal,” Oct. 25) to my letter (“Questions on the China deal,” Oct. 11) the following questions require answers: Where is the language in the ‘deal’ that would support Hon’s assertion that, “the spread of Catholicism will not be impeded in China” despite over 70 years of Communist rule in China that has been unequivocally intolerant to religious freedom? Does Hon have firsthand knowledge of the “deal” since the terms of the “deal” have not been disclosed by Beijing or the Curia?

It is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation from the Catholic Church.

I opened up Catholic San Francisco just now and eagerly expected an enlightened view of the plight of the thousands of refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Central America to combat their vilification by Donald Trump. Trump has called these people dangerous, diseased and bad. I figured that there would be something from the bishops’ conference or from other prominent Catholic clergy.

Thank you so much for your outstanding article on Fathers Green and Quinn. They are truly wonderful men bringing counsel and comfort to our wonderful first responders. Their selfless dedications have brought peace and understanding to those in pain and conflict.

I do not want to die from some medical condition; I want to die from death!

The annual Guadalupana Pilgrimage, a more than 10-mile walk from South San Francisco to St. Mary’s Cathedral, commences Dec. 8, 6 a.m., from All Souls Church. More than.3,500 worshippers are expected to join the journey at points including Holy Cross Cemetery and Holy Angels Church in Colma, and St. John the Evangelist Church in San Francisco.

Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, founder of “Homeboy Industries,” one of the largest gang intervention programs in the country, speaks Nov. 18, 4:30 p.m., St. Raymond Church, Menlo Park.