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Some Things to Know

Salus Infirmorum   Father Brian Brennan, Monsignor John Brinn, Father Edmund Burke, Father Patrick Curley, Monsignor Hugh Curran, Father Robert Dunn, Father John Fanning, Monsignor John Farley, Monsignor William Foley, Father Hugh Grace, Father Bernard Heter, Father Jack Hunter, Father John Kostek, Father Thomas Lynch, Father Joseph McAndrew, Monsignor Edward McCorry, Monsignor John Meehan, Father Angelo J. (“AJ”) Micciulla, Father Joachim Olendzki, Father James O’Shaughnessy, Father Philip Quealy, Monsignor Edward Weber.

Requiescat in Pace   Father Thomas Curley, Father Lawrence Quinn.

Papal Blessings   This is the season when requests for parchments in recognition of sacraments, special birthdays or anniversaries are made.  These can now be obtained either in Rome or  online at https://www.elemosineria.va/papal-blessing-parchments.  Apostolic blessings now come in a selection of designs and languages and you can pay online via Visa or Mastercard.  Parishes or individuals can set up an account with the Elemosineria Apostolica (Office of Papal Charities).  Parchments are shipped via DHL Courier.

Synod 2021 – 2023   The 12 in-person deanery listening sessions were successful with more than 2,000 attendees. For those who were not able to attend, we are holding an online listening session on Wednesday evening, May 4 at 6:30. Your parishioners may register at www.archny.org/listeningsession.  We also have a page on our website where individuals may submit responses to the questions at www.archny.org/synod/contact-us.  This page will be available until May 1.  If you are a dean looking for help in submitting responses from your listening session, revisit the vicar general’s memo from Friday, March 25.  Next steps are the sending of thank you emails to attendees and the process of analyzing responses from your sessions for submission online.

Confessors Needed for NYCYD: Return Mark 1:18.  Can you help with confessions at the New York Catholic Youth Day on April 23 at Dunwoodie?  This annual event gathers hundreds of teens for a day filled with inspirational talks, lively music, the sacrament of reconciliation, Mass with Cardinal Dolan, service opportunities and time for teens to get to know each other.  Call the youth faith formation office at (646) 794-2821 to volunteer.

Required Announcement on the Protection of Children   The Archdiocese of New York is committed to doing all that is can to protect children and young people from sexual abuse.  As part of that effort, we periodically write to the Catholic community to advise them whom they may contact and what steps they can take if they have suffered abuse by someone representing the Catholic church.

Please include this announcement in both English and Spanish in your Sunday bulletin.  Its wording was approved by the presbyteral council.  If your parish uses another language, i.e., Chinese, French, German, Italian or others, I am asking that you have it correctly translated and send a copy of your bulletin with these translations to my office. Additionally, publish this announcement every May, September and January.

“To report an alleged incident of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest, deacon, religious or lay person serving in the Archdiocese of New York may contact the victims assistance coordinator, Mrs. Eileen Mulcahy at 646-794-2949 or [email protected].  Information can also be found on the archdiocesan website www.archny.org.  In keeping with archdiocesan policy regarding sexual abuse of minors, this is provided to ensure that our children remain safe and secure.”

“Cualquier persona que necesite reportar algún incidente de abuso sexual de un menor por un sacerdote, diacono, religioso/a, o laico sirviendo en la Arquidiócesis de Nueva York, se le pide que por favor contacte al coordinador de asistencia a las víctimas, Seňora Eileen Mulcahy al 646-794-2949.  Ella también pueden ser contactada vía correo electrónica: [email protected].  Para más información pueden visitar la página en la red de la arquidiócesis:  www.archny.org.  De acuerdo con las normas de la arquidiócesis sobre el respeto al abuso sexual de menores, esta información se provee para asegurar que nuestros niños permanezcan seguros.”

Annual Meeting and Minutes of the Board of Trustees   To ensure that your parish is in compliance with the New York State Religious Corporation Law, make certain that the names of your two lay trustees are on file with the chancery office and that the minutes of the annual meeting of the board of trustees are kept on file at your parish office.  For a quorum, it is permissible for the archbishop and vicar general to be excused.  New trustee nomination forms for 2022-2023 will be coming your way at the beginning of the summer.

Guidelines for the Monthly Combined Mailing Packet   This service of the office of the vicar general provides a brief summary of relevant and timely information from various archdiocesan offices and is sent via Flocknote at midday on the third Monday.  Submission of material should be sent to Dorothy Francke by noon on the first Monday.  It has been used effectively for many years, first by USPS mail, and now, electronically.  Apart from exceptional circumstances, a notice cannot be placed in the mailing after the submission date because the marketing office needs time to put it together.  Keep your notices brief and to the point.  In some cases, bulletin entries may be edited or shortened.

Announcements Mailbox Twice a Week   Back in the fall of 2008, the archdiocese implemented an email system to share information more rapidly and efficiently with its priests.  For the past few years, these transmissions have been on Tuesday and Friday, and more frequently for emergencies.  Remember that we strictly monitor who has access so that you will not be deluged with mail from the various departments of the Catholic Center.  All email to priests is approved by the vicar general.  If a priest or deacon would like to receive this official email from the Announcements Mailbox to his personal address, he should contact the data center at [email protected] or call 646-794-3380.  This will ensure that you receive important information from the chancery without interruption.

Time Away from the Parish   Priests engaged in a full-time assignment in the archdiocese are entitled to four weeks of vacation (either continuous or interrupted) which, as a general rule, are to be taken during the summer months.  Those days which are spent once a year in spiritual retreat are not computed in the vacation.  Time away from the parish ought not interfere with the priest’s pastoral ministry and/or the spiritual needs of the parish, office, institution, or agency to which he has been assigned.  In order to be absent from the parish for more than seven days, however, the local ordinary is to be informed.  For our purposes, local ordinaries include the vicar general or the priest’s regional bishop/episcopal vicar.

What Takes So Long?   When mailing a letter to the pastoral or administrative offices of the Catholic Center, like requests for dispensations, for example, to ensure fastest service, include the name of the recipient on the outside of the envelope.  Otherwise, it may take longer than usual for your message to arrive where it belongs.

OCP Parish Grants Program   For nearly 100 years, Oregon Catholic Press (OCP) has partnered with parishes across the country, helping them to rediscover the beauty of the liturgy.  Since 2001, more than $3.3 million has been donated through the OCP Parish Grants program in support of parishes seeking to enhance their worship experience.  To apply, complete the online application at www.ocp.org/parish-grants, providing information on the parish.  Applications for 2022 grants are now open; recipients will be announced in August.  The deadline for application is May 30.  Applications are only accepted online.  For more information, you may call 1-800-548-8749.

Society for the Propagation of the Faith   In 1853, with the opening of the New York office, the church has been seeking to foster an ever-deeper spirit of universal mission, to inform Catholics of the life and needs of the missions and to encourage prayer and financial help.  Each year, every parish in the archdiocese, at the direction of the Archbishop of New York participates in the Mission Cooperative Plan.  Many mission dioceses and religious and lay organizations can personally appeal for prayer and financial support.  This helps to increase mission awareness and to learn about mission life today.  When the visiting missionary calls to arrange a date, welcome him or her warmly.

Bishops for Confirmation   As we are in the midst of the 2022 confirmation season, know that each auxiliary bishop maintains his own schedule and wishes to be responsible for his particular area.  A master schedule is maintained at the office of the vicar general.  Bishops are the ordinary ministers of confirmation for previously baptized and catechized Catholics, whether children or adults.

  • Bishop Edmund Whalen is in Episcopal Region I (Manhattan) with residence at St. Stephen the Martyr rectory.
  • Bishop Joseph Espaillat is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua and covers Episcopal Region II (Bronx).
  • Bishop Peter Byrne is pastor of Blessed Sacrament.  His area is Episcopal Region III (Staten Island).
  • Bishop John Bonnici is pastor of Ss. John and Paul and St. Augustine, Larchmont in Episcopal Region IV (Rockland and Westchester).
  • Bishop Gerardo Colacicco is pastor of St. Mary, Wappingers Falls and is covering Episcopal Region V in the Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Orange, Putnam).
  • Retired Bishops Josu Iriondo, Dominick Lagonegro, John O’Hara, and Gerald Walsh are actively confirming.  Bishop-emeritus Jenik is fully retired and living at the Egan Pavilion at the St. John Vianney Clergy Residence in Riverdale.

If you are intending to invite a bishop from outside the archdiocese, you need to request permission beforehand from the vicar general.  When listing this confirmation in your parish registry, kindly include the words “cum licentia Ordinarii” together with the date of the letter of consent.

When May a Priest Confirm?   The 1983 code of canon law states (c.882): “The ordinary minister of confirmation is a bishop; a presbyter provided with this faculty in virtue of universal law or the special grant of a competent authority also confers this sacrament validly.”  It is often asked, “Under what conditions now that the quarantine is over?”

  • Unbaptized children (age 7+) and adults enrolled in the catechumenal process who will be fully initiated at the Easter vigil;
  • Baptized Protestant teens and adults who seek to become Catholic, are enrolled in the catechumenal process and who make a profession of faith, may receive confirmation and first communion from a priest anytime of the year;
  • Baptized, uncatechized Catholic teens and adults who seek preparation for first communion and confirmation and are enrolled in the catechumenal process may, in individual cases and with delegation from the vicar general, be confirmed and receive first communion from a priest within the Eucharistic liturgy during the Easter season (c. 137 §3). Since questions of validity may arise when the sacrament of confirmation is administered by a priest (c. 882), a notation should be made in the registry of the parish that the faculty to confirm under the above-listed conditions is expressly delegated, i.e., “delegatus.

Corpus Christi Processions   This Corpus Christi Sunday kicks off our three-year Eucharistic Revival. In conjunction with that, there will be annual processions at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and in many of our parishes.  Share your schedule by writing to [email protected].  The listing will be included in Catholic New York in the weeks leading up to the day.  Eucharistic Procession booklets from the Knights of Columbus are included in this month’s mailing.  Since Corpus Christi falls on Father’s Day this year, a good resource at www.catholicfathersday.com will help to strengthens Catholic fatherhood.

Catholic Telephone Guide   For more than 80 years, the Catholic Telephone Guide has served the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut tristate area as the only complete and up to date directory of churches, schools, hospitals and thousands of other Catholic organizations.  Most of the listings change from year to year.  Be sure to keep the information current and accurate by submitting your revisions by the mid-June deadline using the form and the self-addressed envelope that churches and schools received earlier this month.

Reconciliation Monday Dates   In your pastoral planning, add the following dates to your parish calendar:

  • Advent Reconciliation Monday:  December 19, 2022; December 18, 2023; December 16, 2024; December 15, 2025.
  • Lenten Reconciliation Monday: April 3, 2023; March 25, 2024; April 14, 2025; March 30, 2026.

Share the Word   Please give access to all your priests and staff members to the material which is pertinent to them, enclosed in the monthly combined mailing from the office of the vicar general.  For it to succeed, we recommend that this Some Things to Know be posted in the public area of the general office.

Just One More Thing   A town decided to form a clergy group to have Catholics, Jews, Protestants and Muslims gather to talk about various issues facing their places of worship.  The rabbi went first and said he was having a terrible issue with squirrels who were hanging around outside of church and aggressively begging for food and frightening the children.  The preacher said he was having the same issue; in fact, a few of the squirrels had actually gotten inside of the church and had done some damage to the roof.  The Imam agreed, saying that one of the squirrels had bitten a few people at the mosque.  The priest then spoke up and said he used to have the same issue but had solved it. He took all of the squirrels, baptized them, confirmed them, and now they only come around on Christmas and Easter.

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