Catholic News 2

Chicago, Ill., Sep 7, 2016 / 03:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Last month, a Chicago woman with a dislodged intrauterine device claimed she was turned down for removal of the device at a Catholic hospital, because her doctor said the procedure went against Catholic rules on contraception.

Melanie Jones, 28, slipped and fell in her bathroom, dislodging her copper IUD to the point that it needed removal. She visited her doctor at Mercy Medical Group at Dearborn Station, an off-site location of Chicago's Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.

She claimed her doctor said she could not remove the IUD due to the hospital's policy of following the U.S. Catholic bishop’s ethical and religious directives for health care. Jones said the doctor also told her that every other hospital in her network followed the same restrictions.

Jones then filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois against the hospital.

However, representative from Mercy Hospital told CNA on Sept. 6 that the woman’s claim “has no merit” and that the doctors at Mercy Hospital offered to remove the woman’s IUD, but Jones declined.

“This claim has no merit. The treatment Ms. Jones received at Mercy was entirely consistent with the standards of high-quality care,” Martin E. Folan, the director of mission and spirituality at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center told CNA in e-mail comments.

“Mrs. Jones described to our clinical team a dislodged or troublesome IUD. When our Mercy physician followed our protocol and offered to remove the IUD, Ms. Jones declined the removal and left the clinic.”

The ACLU has long opposed Catholic hospitals operating according to Catholic teaching. The group continually files claims against Catholic hospitals for following Church teaching in their practices.

In 2015, the ACLU sued Trinity Health Corporations, one of the largest Catholic health care operations in America and of which Mercy Hospital is a member, for their refusal to perform abortions and tubal ligations. The lawsuit was dismissed.

Folan said despite the inaccurate claim, Mercy Hospital remains committed to providing quality care to everyone they serve.

“Our priority at Mercy is the safety and well-being of the people we serve, and we are committed to the high-quality care our ministry has provided for more than 150 years.” 

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(Vatican Radio) Among the thousands of pilgrims and visitors present in St Peter’s Square for the Pope’s general audience on Wednesday was a group of Anglicans from all over the world who are taking part in a week long study course on Christian leadership.

Organised by the Anglican Centre in Rome, the course is based on Biblical scholarship, case studies of exemplary leaders, past and present, and field work in Rome and Assisi.

Participants from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Nigeria and Myanmar were among those attending the audience, while the director of the Anglican Centre, Archbishop David Moxon and Zambian Bishop William Mchombo of the Central African province were also able to exchange a few words with Pope Francis.

“Bishop William was delighted to be able to bring greetings from the Anglican community in Central Africa”, Archbishop David told Vatican Radio, adding that the Pope said how much “he values our prayers”.

The director of the Anglican Centre, whom the Pope invited to give a joint blessing at the close of Vespers marking the end of the Christian Unity week in January, said he was also thrilled by the enthusiastic greeting he received from the Holy Father. Noting that he celebrated his 65th birthday on Tuesday, Archbishop David said “it really meant a lot to me to be so warmly embraced by him”.

The Anglican leader said it was significant for course participants to see and hear the Pope in action at the audience. “It’s very important for them to see how he communicates, how he inspires, how he cares. He is one of the best role models of effective leadership for all Christians today”, Archbishop David said.

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Denver, Colo., Sep 6, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When Bayaud Enterprises was started in 1969 in Denver, Colorado, they had one thing on their mind: employment.

But not just any kind of employment. They wanted to seek out individuals with chronic mental illness and psychiatric disabilities to find them permanent jobs and an independent lifestyle.

Flash forward to 2016, and Bayaud Enterprises has aided over 7,000 individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment find full-time jobs, housing, and benefit acquisition instead of relying on local boarding and care homes.

“We think there is a real connection between people living independently and working...it provides dignity to the individuals,” executive director of Bayaud Enterprises David Henninger told CNA.

“The neat thing about employment is you really get to see a person blossom,” Henninger said, adding that the impact of finding permanent work for someone with a disability is life-changing.

Henninger has been with Bayaud Enterprises since its founding in 1969, and has been its executive director since 1973.

Although it was originally started as a Colorado-state run program through the Mental Health Institute at Ft. Logan, Bayaud evolved by starting its own program that helped patients after they left mental health centers.

“In a psychiatric hospital setting, you often see people initially at their worst – at the bottom of the barrel in terms of where they are,” Henninger said.

“As part of their recovery from a mental illness, the impact of work is really huge, in terms of ego and self-worth,” he said.

Bayaud Enterprises created a diverse work program that includes subcontracted work from the local business community. They hold ten different federal contracts in the state of Colorado and work with organizations such as the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and local hospitals and hotels.

In addition, they own a secure document shredding business with over 5,000 customers across the front range. Instead of sending the shredded paper to a landfill, Bayaud Document Services compounds the paper into bales and sends it to recycling.

With such a diverse range in businesses, Bayaud is able to place every individual seeking work at the appropriate level of employment. Henninger noted that Bayaud has aided individuals with “all sorts of ability,” from people with higher education degrees to people who have been diagnosed with aspergers.

“We outplace about 400 people a year into competitive jobs that aren’t related to Bayaud – and success stories there abound,” Henninger stated.

Henninger recalled one man in particular who came to Bayaud without permanent housing. He was placed as an administrative assistant in a small insurance company and worked there for several years.

“The owner of the insurance firm really liked him...when the owner decided to retire, he actually turned the business over to this individual and that individual is now running a small insurance company and has hired his own employees,” Henninger noted.

Bayaud Enterprises continues to serve over 1,200 individuals in Colorado every year through their employment services and benefit acquisition services. By offering resource navigation, they are also able to help individuals secure additional benefits such as social security, disability, medicaid, food supplement services, housing, and transportation.

“When people approach Bayaud, they are unemployed. So, people are finding some differences in their own personal lives that are significant,” Henninger stated.

Bayaud Enterprises is also focused on remaining community-centric by being involved in local community and emphasizing permanent employment and housing. They have cultivated relationships with local homeless shelters, such as the Samaritan House, by placing homeless residents in long-term jobs.

Their program also boosts local economy by generating annual payrolls of about $5 million every year.

“Our longevity of 10+ years of all of our staff says that they believe in our mission of providing hope and opportunity and choice...we do make a difference and we see it,” Henninger continued.

“Really, these jobs become transformational.”


This article was originally published Feb. 23, 2016.

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Denver, Colo., Sep 7, 2016 / 11:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Julia Greeley was a familiar sight on the streets of Denver in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Wearing a floppy hat, oversized shoes, and dabbing her bad eye with a handkerchief, Greeley was often seen pulling her red wagon of goods to deliver to the poor and homeless of the city. She had a particularly special devotion to the Sacred Heart, and would deliver images and information about the icon to firefighters throughout Denver every month.

Her charitable work earned her the title of a "one-person St. Vincent de Paul Society" from one writer, and has made her the local model of mercy for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Born a slave in Hannibal, Missouri sometime between 1833 and 1848, Greeley endured some horrific treatment – once, a whip caught her right eye and destroyed it as a slave master beat Greeley’s mother.

One of many slaves freed by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Greeley’s work with the family of William Gilpin, Colorado’s first territorial governor, brought her to Denver in 1878.

After leaving the Gilpins' service, Greeley found odd jobs around the city, and came upon the Sacred Heart Parish of Denver, where she would convert to Catholicism in 1880. She was an enthusiastic parishioner, a daily communicant, and became an active member of the Secular Franciscan Order starting in 1901. The Jesuit priests at her parish recognized her as the most fervent promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Despite her own poverty, Greeley spent much of her time collecting food, clothing and other goods for the poor. She would often do her work at night, so as to avoid embarrassing the people she was assisting.

“She stood out because of how extraordinary she was,” David Uebbing, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver, told the Denver Catholic.

“Even though she was only earning $10 to $12 a month cleaning and cooking, she was using it to help other people who were poor,” he said.

“That spoke volumes about the charitable heart she had. In addition, she had great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and was known for walking (monthly) to 20 different firehouses to give (felt) badges of the Sacred Heart and tracts to firemen. That brings to life the corporal and spiritual works of mercy this holy year is dedicated to.”

Julia Greeley died on June 7, 1918 - the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Although her death came unexpectedly, she was able to receive last rites. It is estimated that she was around 80 years old, though because she was born into slavery, her exact age was never known.

After her death, her body lay in state in a Catholic parish for five hours, during which a constant stream of people came to pay their last respects to the well-known, well-loved woman.

A documentary about Greeley, based on the book In Secret Service of the Sacred Heart: The Life and Virtues of Julia Greeley, has been produced by the Archdiocese of Denver for the year of Mercy.

Mary Leisring, president of the Julia Greeley Guild, told Denver Catholic that she was happy about the recognition Greeley was receiving during the Year of Mercy.

“We had a saint walking the streets of Denver, yet very few people know about her.”

This article was originally published Jan. 28, 2016.

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Port au Prince, Haiti, Sep 7, 2016 / 12:52 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the world turned its focus on Rome for the canonization of Mother Teresa last weekend, another religious sister lost her life while caring for the poor in Haiti.

Sister Isabel Sola Macas, 51, from the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, was killed while she was driving on the Port-au-Prince highways Sept. 2. Several unidentified individuals fired on the car in which she was traveling. The motive for the attack is still unknown, but attempted robbery is being considered.

Originally from Barcelona, Sister Isabel had worked in Haiti for at least eight years with the poorest and most disadvantaged.  During the time she lived in the country, she survived the terrible earthquake that took place in January 2010 and left more than 200,000 dead.

Following the earthquake, Sister Isabel had worked to help rebuild homes, rendered her services as a nurse, and tried to relieve the suffering of those who had undergone amputations because of the earthquake.

Sister Mónica Joseph, Superior General of the congregation, released a statement saying that all the sisters are “in a state of shock” about the news they have received “with great sadness and pain.” She asked for prayers for Sister Isabel, “for her family and the sisters in Haiti.”

The director of the Pontifical Missionary Works in Spain, Father Anastasio Gil, sent a message of condolence “on behalf of the 13,000 Spanish missionaries spread throughout the world,” joining in “the pain and prayers of Isabel Sola's family and of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, for the terrible murder of this missionary who was giving her life for the poorest, and which finally culminated in the shedding of her blood.”

Pope Francis asked for prayers for Sister Isabel before praying the Angelus on Sunday, following the canonization of Saint Teresa of Calcutta.

He referenced “those who give themselves in service to their brothers and sisters in difficult and risky contexts. I am especially thinking of so many religious sisters who give their lives without reservations.”

The Holy Father asked for prayers “particularly for the Spanish missionary sister, Sister Isabel, who was murdered two days ago in the capital of Haiti, a very tired country, for which I am asking that such acts of violence cease and that there be greater security for all.”

Francis also asked people to remember “the other sisters who recently have suffered violence in other countries. We do this turning in prayer to the Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of all saints.”

The Pope then thanked all the participants as the Mass for the canonization of Mother Teresa and  entrusted to her protection those performing works of mercy, so that she may “teach them to contemplate and adore every day Jesus crucified, in order to recognize and serve him in the brothers and sisters in need.”

 

 

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