News - February 2020 RSS Feed

Last month, a young girl walked into the Inspiration Center, a non-profit health clinic in Belize City, Belize, seeking treatment for a significant eye injury unlike most seen in America. Her father accidentally caused it in a mishap with a machete — a common tool in the mostly jungle landscape of this Caribbean nation on the northeastern coast of Central America. So Alexis Dorlon, 22, of St. Luke Parish in Long Valley evaluated and developed a treatment for the girl — part of a mission trip last month to the Inspiration Center in the nation’s capital on a team of 27 physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) students and professors.

During the season of Lent, Catholics can deepen their faith by committing to more prayer, penance and sacrifice in preparation for Easter. For Frances Spilman, a parishioner of St. Bernard’s in Mount Hope, one Lenten promise allows her to do all three at the same time — participating in 40 Days for Life. 40 Days for Life began yesterday on Ash Wednesday and will continue through Palm Sunday, April 5, as pro-life advocates keep vigil across the street from Planned Parenthood, 196 Speedwell Ave. in Morristown every day during Lent during the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were presented with religious awards during the annual combined diocesan Boy Scout and Girl Scout Sunday Mass Feb. 23 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

Peacefully and with dignity, the remains of more than 2,000 aborted children were laid to rest in Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend, Ind. last week with nary a mention of it in the secular press. The remains of the children, some 2,411 to be exact, were discovered in a garage and in the trunk of a car belonging to deceased abortionist Dr. Ulrich Klopfer last Sept. 12, a little more than a week after Klopfer died.

Jason Evert, a Catholic speaker on the virtue of sexual chastity, often gets this sly question from young men in the audience, “How far [in the act of romance] can I go with a young woman” that would be allowed by the Church? In his talk, “Purified” on Feb. 13 at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, Evert told 400 young people, grades 7-12, and adults that the young men’s question not only shows what is on their minds, but also misses the point of chastity — saving themselves for marriage to love and honor their future spouses long before they exchange vows.

The Family Life award, the Servant Leader award and the Education award will be given to honorees by the Assumption College for Sisters (ACS) here at the 19th annual Caring Basket Gala on March 26 at the Hanover Marriott, Whippany.

Employees of the Paterson Diocese are being proactive when it comes to their health and are most effective in utilizing their healthcare insurance plans, according to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. For this, Gallagher has presented the Diocese with the 2019 award for “Best in Class” for healthcare costs controls recently. Gallagher is an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. More than 4,400 companies completed its survey and based upon the results of the survey, it was determined that the Diocese’s plan design and healthcare cost controls were “Best in Class.”

Chocolate surely makes the world go ’round — putting smiles on people’s faces, soothing their every “sweet tooth” and melting hearts this past Valentine’s Day. But Amanda Jo Wildey and her chocolate shop in the capital city of Peru are banking on the decadent delight also going a long way toward helping save their corner of the world from the evils of cocaine trafficking.

To mark its golden anniversary of the Murray House Dinner Dance, the Depart­ment for Persons with Disabilities (DPD) hosted its annual event at the Brownstone in Paterson Feb. 16 with 1,000 guests attending. Special guests included lifetime achievement award recipients who were recognized for making a lasting impact in the lives of people served by the DPD. Also in attendance at the event were members of the Murray family and almost all the individuals the DPD serves in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties.

In his speech at the University of Notre Dame’s Law School, U.S. Attorney General William Barr pointed out that because the Trump Admin­istration, in which he serves, firmly supports accommodation of religion, the battleground for religious freedom has shifted to the states. Barr said that some state governments are now attempting to compel religious individuals and entities to subscribe to practices, or to espouse viewpoints, that are incompatible with their religious beliefs.

With the Supreme Court deciding the fate of the blatantly anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments that have long struck a blow to the heart of religious liberty, it is good to know that we have someone who has our backs when it comes to religious freedom issues. That person is U.S. Attorney General William Barr, one of this nation’s foremost proponents of religious liberty’s vital importance to our nation.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Therese Parish in Paterson where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 8. During the visit, the Bishop installed Father Yasid Salas as pastor of St. Therese Parish.

Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Whippany welcomed Bishop Serratelli during his pastoral visit on Sunday, Feb. 9 where he was the principal celebrant of the 11 a.m. Mass to mark the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There is a reason why Bruce is smiling a lot more these days. He has been clean and sober for 20 months and he literally has a new smile after receiving a new set of dentures, thanks to the efforts of diocesan Catholic Charities and Eva’s Village here. To thank all those who have helped him, Bruce, who turns 50 years old this year, met with Scott Milliken, CEO of Diocesan Catholic Charities, along with staff members and volunteers of Catholic Charities Feb. 5 at Straight and Narrow in Paterson.

Catholics, have faith — you do not have to make the stark choice between believing in God, morality and a God-given purpose for your lives or the science of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. To reconcile the two views of the origins of the universe, people of faith might do well by looking at Creation not as a mechanical object — made by a divine designer with a design — but as a novel — an exciting ever-unfolding “drama,” which God uses to reveal himself constantly to us.

Deacon Michael Allgaier of St. Mary Parish in Denville has never lived in Colombia. But here he was in a class of fellow permanent deacons, holding up an image of the Colombian flag and declaring, “Soy de Colombia” — “I’m from Colombia” in Spanish. Then, the class with 13 other deacons of the Diocese smiled and clapped in approval at Deacon Allgaier’s correct Spanish — along with “Senora” Claudia Perez, who has been teaching them the language in a pilot program, “Conversational Spanish for Deacons” at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization in Madison.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Vincent Martyr Church in Madison where he celebrated Mass to mark the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Feb. 2. The day is also known as Candlemas Day. The Bishop, along with priests and deacons from the parish, took part in the annual blessing of the throats for those who attended the Mass.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant and homilist on Feb. 2 for his annual Mass with the Young Adults of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison. The 11 a.m. liturgy on Sunday in St. Paul’s chapel commemorated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which included the blessing and procession of candles, and included the blessing of throats to mark the Feast of St. Blaise.

Through social media, the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco are stepping into the role of digital missionaries with one of its latest initiatives called “Salesian Sunday,” two-minute weekly videos featured on the order’s YouTube channel. Using the Sunday Gospel reading and readings of the day as her inspiration, Salesian Sister Maryann Schaefer “stars” in the videos and offers a brief reflection to inspire the viewer on Sunday Scripture.

It was St. Patrick’s Day 1982, a day that changed Cathy Miller’s life forever. She was one of the thousands of pilgrims filling Paul VI Hall at St. Peter’s Square for St. Pope John Paul II’s weekly papal audience. She was with her husband, Charles, who surprised her with the trip to Italy to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and in her possession, she held a shadow box. In it was a dried floral arrangement she created specifically for the pope.