Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott discussed the news headlines of the week, including the ordination of a former Anglican priest to the Catholic priesthood in Beverly; progress reported on the causes of canonization for Blessed John Paul II and Archbishop Oscar Romero; and the appointment of a new principal for Lawrence Catholic Academy. Also, the Spring fund drive for WQOM has started this week. To support the work of WQOM and The Station of the Cross, which brings Catholic programming like The Good Catholic Life to the Boston area, please be as generous as your means permit with your gift or pledge.
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Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott
Links from today’s show:
- The Anchor
- The Pilot
- Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links.
Today’s topics: Ordination of former Anglican priest; progress on canonizations; new principal for Lawrence Catholic school
1st segment: Scot Landry Welcomed everyone to the show and noted that producer Rick Heil has a birthday today but we can’t celebrate with him with cake because he is in Buffalo for the Station of the Cross’s spring fund drive. They said the size of Rick’s cake will depend on how much people give to the fund drive this hour.
Scot said in the Pilot this week is the story of a new priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, Fr. Jurgen Liias, who was an Anglican priest for 40 years and this past Saturday he was ordained by Cardinal Seán a Roman Catholic priest in the Anglican rite.
Susan Abbott said in her own parish they have Fr. Richard Bradford who was an Episcopal priest who was ordained for the Church in the late 1970s, and served in her parish.
Scot quoted Cardinal Seán at the seminary:
“Jurgen, we thank God for your generous response to this second calling and commend you to the loving care of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, so that your ministry
as a Catholic priest will draw people closer to the Lord and to one another, as we strive for the unity that Christ prayed for at the Last Supper, and so that we will experience the fellowship of those first disciples who were of one mind and one heart,” he said.
Scot quoted Fr. Jurgen and then Fr. Jurgen’s wife. She noted he retired for about five minutes from the Episcopal church and then felt God tell him that the time was right for his conversion.
“He is a bundle of energy and vision. He is a wonderful preacher. He is a great pastor, and I am excited for him. He retired for about five minutes, from the Episcopal Church and thought he might garden, and travel, and hike, but then he thought that this is something he has been wanting to do. God told him the time was right,” she said.
Scot said Fr. David Barnes and the people of the Catholic parishes in Beverly were eager to welcome Fr. Jurgen to the priesthood.
Break for Fund Drive Appeal. To support the work of WQOM and The Station of the Cross, which brings Catholic programming like The Good Catholic Life to the Boston area, please be as generous as your means permit with your gift or pledge.
2nd segment: Scot said two stories this week are about two causes for canonization, including Bl. John Paul II. Earlier this week, it was reported that some Vatican doctors concluded that a healing attributed to his intercession had no natural explanation, meaning it’s a miracle and if this report is true, it clears the way for him to be canonized as St. John Paul II. Susan talked about all the talk at the time of his funeral in 2005 of his sanctity. While the Church usually moves slowly in such causes, this process has moved rapidly. There is some hope to have the ceremony during the Year of Faith and in October, which is the 35th anniversary of his election to the papacy.
Scot said he feels a little like the Year of Faith has lost a little attention because of all the other events, like the election of Pope Francis. He thinks a canonization would bring the attention back to it.
Also, related to canonization, the cause for Archbishop Oscar Romero was “unblocked”. The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints had to determine if he was martyred or not, given that he was assassinated by a government death squad in the cathedral in El Salvador. Scot said in his opinion that the question is ridiculous. He also thinks that the fact that Pope Francis is from Latin America and is himself a fan of the archbishop might have had something to do with it. Susan recommended the movie “Romero” as an introduction to the archbishop.
Break for Fund Drive Appeal. To support the work of WQOM and The Station of the Cross, which brings Catholic programming like The Good Catholic Life to the Boston area, please be as generous as your means permit with your gift or pledge.
3rd segment: Scot said a big appointment was made this week. Jorge Hernandez, one of the assistant superintendents in the Catholic Schools Office, was hired as the new principal of Lawrence Catholic Academy. Susan said in the article in the Pilot, Fr. Paul O’Brien, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish, said Jorge will be respected by the people in the area because he is one of them. Scot said he wishes he could clone Jorge because of his talents that will be missed in the Pastoral Center and will serve him well in Lawrence. Susan said Jorge was previously a dean of admissions at Merrimac College.
Scot noted that the students at Lawrence Catholic Academy do very well in school compared to their public school counterparts and one of the reasons is that the Catholic schools can care for the whole person.
Break for Fund Drive Appeal. To support the work of WQOM and The Station of the Cross, which brings Catholic programming like The Good Catholic Life to the Boston area, please be as generous as your means permit with your gift or pledge.
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