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Some Things to Know

Salus Infirmorum   Father Richard Adams, Father John Boehning, Father Harry Burke, Father Edwin Cipot, Monsignor Charles Coen, Father Patrick Dunne, Father John Fanning, Monsignor John Farley, Father Francis Gorman, Monsignor Robert McCabe, Monsignor John Meehan, Monsignor Walter Niebrzydowski, Father Edward O’Neill, Father Philip Quealy, Father Andrew Walsh, Monsignor Edward Weber

Requiescant in Pace   Monsignor Martin Geraghty [Brooklyn], Father Bernard Heter

Required Announcement on the Protection of Children   The Archdiocese of New York is committed to doing all that it 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 about whom they may contact and what steps they can take if they have suffered abuse by someone representing the Catholic church.  Include an 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, have it correctly translated and send a copy of your bulletin with these translations to the office of the vicar general. Additionally, publish this announcement every May, September, and January.  [Initiatives: Protection of Children].

Upcoming National Collections   Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be taken on May 14 to express care and support for people throughout the region, especially in times of crisis and disruption. The combined collection for Latin America and the Home Missions will be on June 11 to strengthen the Church there and in our own backyard.

Scallywags and Scoundrels   Be advised that Francisco Cales, formerly a permanent deacon and employee of the Diocese of Rockville Centre has been dispensed from the clerical state as of January 20, 2023.  He is no longer permitted to present himself as a cleric. He is also not to present himself as a representative of or as affiliated in any way with any office, parish, or ministry of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.  We cannot assume that a priest or deacon has faculties for the celebration of the sacraments.  A letter of good standing from the proper ordinary or provincial is required for any activity associated with the parish.  Should you encounter him, notify the office of the vicar for clergy immediately at 646-794-3360 or [email protected].

Towards a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood   Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect emeritus of the dicastery of bishops, in partnership with several other institutes, is organizing a symposium in North America, “Towards a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood,” at the Catholic University of America on May 16.  This is our follow-up to the Vatican’s Symposium on the priesthood held last year, which featured a major address by Pope Francis as well as addresses from cardinals, bishops, and theologians.  You can find more information, and the link to register, here.  In order to make this available to as many people as possible, there is no cost to attend.  

Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter   for June, July and August are included in this month’s combined mailing.  [Updates: CDW Newsletter]

Cathedral College/Cathedral Prep Annual Alumni Association Memorial Mass on Thursday, June 1 at 6:00 will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 59 East Main Street, Elmsford.  Dinner will follow at Casaletto Ristorante, 15 South Central Avenue at 7:00.  Donation for the Mass and dinner is $70 (plus $20 annual dues).  Visit these Internet resources at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1031291000372044/; http://stlukes-parish.org/cathedral; and http://www.cpcc555.org. [Events: Cathedral College Mass]

Good Newsroom Sign Up Sunday   Refer to the April 11 memo about promoting The Good Newsroom in your parishes on Sunday, April 23.   [Initiatives: GNR Sign Up]

Personnel in the Cardinal’s Office   Father Stephen Ries, vice chancellor and secretary to His Eminence has issued a new directory of the staff working in the office of the cardinal which is included within.  [Updates: Office of the Cardinal].

Confessors Needed for New York Catholic Youth Day and Middle School Youth Rally   If you have ever gone to NY Catholic Youth Day, one of the remarkable images you will see is young people lined up to go to confession. These great days help them encounter Christ in worship, in service, in each other, and in the sacraments. We need additional priests hear confessions. Can you spare a couple of hours to minister to our young people on either April 22 from noon to 5:00 or April 23 from 1:00pm to 5:00 at Dunwoodie?  To volunteer, you may visit https://form.jotform.com/230314029248045

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.

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, generally, are 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.  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.

Monthly Combined Mailing   The marketing office recommends that, when the combined mailing arrives in your inbox each month, download it rather than preview it.

  • Below “Read this Issue” you will see “To view the entire newsletter on the Archdiocese of New York website, click here.”
  • In the shaded box, look for the down arrow ↓
  • Click on it and open the document.

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 in which many mission dioceses and religious and lay organizations make an appeal for prayer and financial support.  This helps to increase mission awareness and to learn about mission life today.  When the visiting missioner calls your parish to arrange for a date, welcome him or her warmly.

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 18, 2023; December 16, 2024; December 15, 2025; December 21, 2026.
  • Lenten Reconciliation Monday: March 25, 2024; April 14, 2025; March 30, 2026; March 22, 2027.

Ordination to the Priesthood The class of 2023 will be ordained to the sacred order of priesthood at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday, May 27 at 9:00 am. On behalf of His Eminence and Bishop James Massa, rector of the seminary, you are warmly invited to concelebrate at this liturgy and receive first priestly blessings from the newly ordained.

For the Archdiocese of New York 

  • Reverend Mr. Zachery Alspaugh [St. John XXIII] 
  • Reverend Mr. Collins Ashu [Dunwoodie] 
  • Reverend Mr. Carlos A. Germosen [Dunwoodie] 

For the Pontifical Congregation Oratory of St. Philip Neri [Oratorians] 

  • Reverend Mr. Steven P. Neier, CO 

For the Order of the Pious Schools [Piarists] 

  • Reverend Mr. Abner González Bonilla, SchP will be ordained at the Church of the Annunciation, Manhattan on Saturday, May 13, 2023 
  • Reverend Father Christian Javier Santiago Torres, SchP was ordained at the Church of St. Helena, Bronx on Saturday, March 25, 2023 

Curia Report   The revised, streamlined and renamed curia report, with information about the activities of the archdiocesan pastoral and administrative offices that serve you is included in this mailing.  Refer any questions to the office of the vicar general. [Updates: Curia Report]

Desfile Mariano de New York   This group is continuing to fail to comply with the policies and procedures of the Archdiocese of New York and they are distributing information inaccurately suggesting that they are affiliated with us.  Announcements for your parish bulletin are included in this month’s mailing.  [Updates: Marian Parade]

Share the Word   Give access to all your priests and staff members to the material which is pertinent to them, enclosed in the monthly 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 parish office.

Just One More Thing  A man was struck by a bus on a busy New York City street. He lay dying on the sidewalk as a crowd of spectators gathered around.  “A priest; somebody find me a priest!” the man gasps.  A policeman checked the crowd and found no priest, no minister, no man of God of any kind.  “A priest, please!” the dying man says again.  Then, out of the crowd stepped a little old Jewish man of at least eighty years of age.  “Mr. Policeman,” said the man, “I am not a priest. I am not even a Catholic.  But for fifty years now I have been living behind St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, and every night, I listen to the Catholic litany. Maybe I can be of some comfort to this man.”  The policeman agreed and brought the octogenarian over to where the dying man lay.  He knelt, leaned over the injured and in a solemn voice said, “B-4 . . . I-19 . . . N-38 . . . G-54 . . . O-72”.

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