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Mexican-born, dixie bred coastal scholar Cardinal Bernard Law has taken New England by storm as the Archbishop of Boston

     We continue with this new series that debuted the beginning of the year, bringing you on a regular basis three times a week the Princes of the Church. Our sixty-seventh red-hat we feature, in alphabetical order is Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archbishop of Boston who, though he lacks international experience, has international ties having been born in Mexico and providing an American refuge for the Vietnamese. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John Paul II in the Consistory of May 25, 1985. For more on Cardinal Law, click on COLLEGE OF CARDINALS COLLECTION

67.   Cardinal Bernard F. Law

      Cardinal Bernard F. Law is well traveled. He was born in Mexico, studied on the east coast and the west coast and began his bishopric in the heart of America. Today he is the Archbishop of Boston. The son of a United States Air Force Colonel, he was born on November 4, 1931 in Torreon, Mexico. After receiving his degree from Harvard, he realized a calling to the priesthood and traveled all the way across the country to enroll at St. Joseph's Seminary in Los Angeles. In 1955 he transfered his studies to the Josephinum Pontifical College in Columbus, Ohio and he was ordained on May 31, 1961 in Mississippi in the Jackson-Natchez Diocese where he became director of the Diocesan paper there. In 1968 he was appointed Executive Director for the Council of Bishops for Ecumenical Affairs even though he was not yet a bishop. That came on October 22, 1973 when Pope Paul VI named him Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, a diocese that covered all of southern Missouri in the foothills of the Ozarks. He was installed on December 5, 1973.

      Two years later, with the cooperation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Bishop Law invited the Vietnamese Order of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix to establish a central seminary in America at Our Lady of the Ozarks in Carthage, Missouri. The Oblates, through the direction of Father Edwin Goetz, OMI and the Central Provincial Father William Coovert, OMI, gave their thirty-acre property on the south side of Carthage to the Vietnamese priests who had fled persecution in their country. Under Bishop Law's guidance, they firmly established themselves in the old Civil War town east of Joplin. In fact, Bishop Law ordained twelve of the seminarians over the years and provided assistance for the Congregation to establish Marian Days around the Solemnity of the Assumption every summer when tens of thousands Vietnamese from all over the US would migrate to Carthage and camp out for a special three day celebration of Our Lady and to acknowledge the founder of the Order. He also approved of a Christmas light extravaganza each year that has become a regular tourist attraction in southwest Missouri.

      The people in the foothill of the Ozarks were despondent when he left Springfield-Cape-Girardeau but happy for him for Pope John Paul II elevated him to Archbishop of Boston on January 11, 1984 and a year later bestowed the honor of the cardinalate on him in his Consistory of May 25, 1985. Cardinal Law received his red-hat and the titular church of St. Susanna as a cardinal priest. He has remained very active in the NCCB and the Roman Curia where he holds membership in the Congregation of the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the Congregation for Catholic Education plus the Pontifical Council for Culture. He resides at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue, in Brighton, Massachusetts just outside of Boston proper. Now sixty-eight, he is not one of those Americans who would be considered as papal material because of his age and limited experience internationally, but he has been a strong pro-life force in the United States.

Events this weekend in Church History

     One thousand, six hundred and seventy four years ago Saturday is the anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, the one convened by Pope Sylvester I on June 19, 325 in Nicaea in which the Council Fathers condemend Arianism and declared the Son "consubstantial" with the Father and formulated the Creed in the Mass. Since then there have been twenty other councils, the most recent being Vatican II. For other events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history this weekend, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for June 18:

1155 A.D.


Pope Adrian IV or Hadrian IV, the only English Pope in the history of the pontiffs, crowns Frederick I Barbarossa as Holy Roman Emperor after the German king repented for refusing to hold the bridle of the Pope's mule, a tradition that Frederick broke and Adrian had retaliated by refusing him the kiss of peace at Mass. Though the Pope coronated Frederick, any benevolence between the two soon dissipated and for over a century there would be distrust and intrigue between the German kings and the Holy See.

1164 A.D.


Death of Saint Elizabeth of Schonau, Benedictine abbess who experienced ecstacies, visions, and messages of prophecy. She also suffered greatly from bruises received in confrontations with the devil throughout her life.

1464 A.D.


Pope Pius II becomes the first pope to lead a crusade, but his own personal crusade against Islam and the Koran never materializes as he died two months later, thus ending the last possible chance of an organized crusade. Since it never occurred, it is not included in the list of crusades.

1859 A.D.


Pope Pius IX released his encyclical Qui nuper on Pontifical States.

Historical Events in Church Annals for June 19:

325 A.D.


Pope Saint Sylvester I opens the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea where the Nicene Creed would be adopted by the Church.

1097 A.D.


Crusaders capture the city of Nicea from the infidels during the First Crusade, called by Pope Urban II.

1341 A.D.


Death of Saint Juliana Falconieri, virgin and foundress of the Servite nuns who died in Firenze at the age of 71 and was canonized by Pope Clement XII in 1731.

1856 A.D.


Death of Saint Emily de Vialar, daughter of a baron who was left a fortune by her grandmother and used it to purchase and build several facilities to help the poor and sick, founding the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition in 1832. But politicis came into play with Bishop Dupuch of Algiers which closed the houses there, as well as seizing the motherhouse in Toulouse. No matter her struggles, she accepted all as God's Will, always claiming that she had plenty of trials, but that God was always there for her. Despite her struggles there were 40 houses operating when she died. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

Historical Events in Church Annals for June 20:

840 A.D.


Death of King Louis I "the Pious", Holy Roman Emperor and son of Charlemagne, who worked closely with Pope Gregory IV in spreading the faith to the region of Gallia known as France. He was the last of the "pure" Holy Roman Emperors for on his death three claimed the throne - his son Louis, the notorious Lothair, and Louis I's brother Charles the Bald.

981 A.D.


Death of Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg, bishop and Benedictine who was sent to Russia by Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great and became known as the great missionary to the Slavs.

1499 A.D.


Queen Isabella, on the strong advice of Christopher Columbus and his findings, condemns the enslavement of the Indians discovered in the New World. Sadly, many avaricious men discarded her order and mistreated the "savages" for their own purposes.

1632 A.D.


Lord George Calvert Baltimore receives the Charter to found the colony of Maryland, named after the Blessed Mother and open to all faiths, but especially a refuge for persecuted Catholics. To this day Baltimore remains a Catholic stronghold on the eastern seaboard.

Orthodox Church trying to convince Serbs to stay in Kosovo which could create problems internationally

     While an international arena is being formed to soothe the tensions between Serb and Kosovar, the Orthodox Church, in an effort to hold onto it roots in Kosovo is urging the Serbs not to abandon their homes in Kosovo - not to give in to the Albanians returning and hold their ground. This can definitely cause resentment and with the peace accord so brittle as it is we don't need the added tension of the Orthodox Church coaxing a standoff. For more, click on short fuse in Kosovo

      BELGRADE (CWNews.com) - Kosovar Serbs, streaming north out of the region as hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees returned to their homes, were urged to remain in their homes by the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch, despite threats of revenge against them.

      Patriarch Pavle appealed to both Serbs and Montenegrins in Kosovo not to abandon their heritage, history, and holy sites in Kosovo, adding that he would himself move to the Pec Patriarchate in western Kosovo, the chief see of the church since 1253. The patriarch said he would seek assurances from the Yugoslav government and NATO peacekeepers that the Serbs would be safe.

      "I will plead with all responsible organs of our state and the highest representatives of the international forces in Kosovo for your lives and property, for your protection and safety," he said. He added that these assurances would be sought for everyone in Kosovo, regardless of religion or ethnic background.

      Church sources in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, are reported by the Belgrade media to have said that the Monastery of Sveta Trojica (The Holy Trinity) at the village of Musutiste has been burnt down and 13 Orthodox churches in Kosovo were abandoned in the face of violence by the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army.

Cali Archbishop demands release of all hostages as rebels demand ransom

    The situation in Colombia with the Cuban-backed National Liberation Army guerrillas of Colombia and the Colombian government and Church are getting testy. When the rebels failed to deliver all the hostages as rebel leader Gabino had personally promised the Vatican last week, Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino has said enough is enough. He excommunicated the rebels after the May 30th kidnapping at Mass. For more, click on Release or ransom.

      CALI, Colombia (CWNews.com) - Despite assurances by Colombian rebels that they took more than 160 people hostage from a Catholic church almost three weeks ago to highlight their desire for peace talks, Church officials in Cali said the rebels are instead seeking ransom for some captives.

      Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino of Cali said on Wednesday that he had been informed that the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels had demanded ransoms from some of the families of their victims. Most of the captives have been released, but at least 20 from the church remain in custody. "They want to make money at the expense of the pain and suffering of the hostages," said the archbishop.

      Although some relatives have admitted privately that ransoms have been demanded, none were willing to say it publicly. "We who were freed think that those who remain captive are going to have to pay ransoms -- although the guerrillas never told us as much," said freed hostage Rafael Posada, adding that those still held were "people of means."

Earthquake takes its toll of Mexican churches as Pope sends his condolences

     Because many of the ancient churches and temples in Mexico are not retrofitted, the damage caused by the earthquake Tuesday in Puebla was extensive to many of the structures. Fortunately, the death toll was minimal compared to what it could have been. The Holy Father, through his Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, sent his condolences to the Archbishop and the people of Puebla. For more, click on Earthquake.

      MEXICO CITY, 17 (NE) The earthquake that shook Mexico on Tuesday, leaving more than 200 wounded and killed seven people, has also caused serious damage to several historic churches and religious buildings. "Puebla de los Angeles," together with its old temples , was the city that most suffered with the earthquake.

      Different chapels along the state have also been damaged. The temple of "La Santisima" has been practically deprived from its entire facade, and "San Andres Cholula's" dome fell completely. Also the temples of "San Roque," "San Mateo Cuanala" and "Las Casas Coloradas" have suffered considerable damages in their structure.

      After knowing about the earthquake that affected the south of Mexico, Pope John Paul II, through Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, manifested his grief and his solidarity with the victims. The message, that was asked to be transmitted to the affected places, invited institutions and people of good will to lend effective help with charity and spirit of Christian solidarity to those affected by the earthquake

KC's set all time record for charity for 1998 with well over one hundred million in donations

    The Knights of Columbus Supreme Headquarters in New Haven, Connecticutt released Wednesday the 1998 records of charity giving by the Church's largest fraternal organization which totaled 110.7 million. In addition, the aggregate total of hours of volunteer charity work put in by the KC members worldwide totaled over 55 million hours which amounts to an an excellent use of a Knight's time in service to others. For more, click on KC dedication.

      NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (CWNews.com) - The Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal order announced on Wednesday that it had given a record $110.7 million to charitable causes in 1998 in addition to 55 million hours of donated time by members.

      Of the approximate $111 million, $90 million was raised by state councils and local units which donated directly to charitable causes of their own choosing, including church and community projects and youth programs. The remaining $21 million was given by the Supreme Council and Knights of Columbus designated funds.

      Assistance to church organizations, such as parishes, schools, religious education programs, seminaries/seminarians, vocations, promotional efforts and miscellaneous church projects, totaled $33.3 million in 1998 and $289 million in aggregate over the past ten years, the group said.

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and ZENIT International News Agency. These news services are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

SITE OF THE DAY

     We've all seen the sites that feature a few Diocesan sources on-line but this weekend we bring you a straight listing, probably the most comprehensive internationally of Dioceses on-line worldwide. The site is CATHOLIC DIOCESES with worldwide diocesan on-line listings maintained by John Mark Ockerbloom out of Spokane, Washington.

Click here to return to SECTION ONE and SECTION TWO or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

June 18-20, 1999 volume 10, no. 118   DAILY CATHOLIC