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Archbishop Chaput: Time to ‘refocus on the basics’
of encouragement among parishioners,
For all the opportunity the World Meetbut not everywhere.
ing of Families presents to strengthen
“It depends on where I go. People are
families and invigorate the Archdiocese of
genuinely and understandably upset about
Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles Chaput
losing parishes, and some people have not
is looking forward to one thing in particuaccepted that yet in places where we’ve
lar this September.
found it necessary to (merge parishes),”
“I’m looking forward to it being over
he said. “Other places, I get a lot response
with,” he said during a wide-ranging recent
from people saying they’re happy we’ve
interview in May. “I say that jokingly but
made the decisions we have, in terms of
I mean it. It’s an extra responsibility that
trying to get some order in the chaos of
requires a whole lot of my time. I haven’t Archbishop Charles Chaput discusses the our finances.”
had a normal year yet as a bishop (of Phila- Philadelphia Archdiocese and the coming
Identifying the crux of the issue for the
World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. 219 parishes of the archdiocese, the archdelphia).”
Archbishop Chaput looked back over his (Photo by Sarah Webb)
bishop said, “We have an excessive amount
past four years leading the Philadelphia Archdiocese during perhaps
of buildings for the number of practicing Catholics today. And it’s rethe most tumultuous period in its 200-year history, and ahead to the
ally important that we don’t let all our resources go into maintaining
historic World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis to
unnecessary buildings. We have to make sure the resources are going
the city this September.
into preaching the Gospel, and new initiatives of evangelization and
He recalled two crises since his 2011 installation as archbishop of
re-evangelization.”
Philadelphia: the fallout from the second Philadelphia grand jury reHe said the events coming this September hold promise for a
port on sexual abuse of children by some priests and the revelations
boost in Catholics’ confidence.
of tens of millions in annual operating losses for the archdiocese’s
“I think the World Meeting of Families does present us with a great
central administration plus hundreds of millions in underfunded
opportunity not only for the strengthening of family life, which is
obligations to pensions, insurance and other funds.
basic to all of us, but also in having confidence in ourself as a church,”
Last year and this were consumed by planning for the Sept. 22-25
he said.
families’ congress expected to draw at least 20,000 people from 150
“To pull this off, to be the host for the World Meeting of Families
countries and up to 2 million for the papal Mass on Sept. 27.
at a very important time in the history of the world regarding what
“I’m looking forward to 2016 as an ordinary year in the life of a
family means and what family life is all about, I think we’re going to
bishop,” Archbishop Chaput said. “I hope that I can do the things
do a great job and it’s going to give us confidence because we should
bishops ordinarily do rather than handle specific kinds of crisis sitube grateful for the opportunity and proud of what we’re able to do.”
ations.”
He said he hopes the congress “convinces everybody in the diocese
Among them, “I’d like to refocus on the basics,” he said. “We need
... that we need to focus on supporting and strengthening families.
to reorganize our family life ministry and our marriage preparation
Everything else — whether it’s schools, youth ministry, care for the
ministry, and I want to give personal attention to those kinds of
aged, helping poor families — all of it really flows from family life.
things, not just delegate that to the Family Life Office.”
“We have a great opportunity here to formally connect all those
One of the stated goals of the World Meeting of Families is to rein our minds as well as our actions. It will be interesting to see what
juvenate the Catholic community in the archdiocese. Besides the fihappens.”
nancial crisis and the challenges to priestly morale over the past four
He said he was “deeply grateful” for the enthusiasm of people in
years, parishioners have endured painful parish mergers. All of these
the archdiocese who “want to be part of this great adventure.”
elements created an underlying crisis of confidence among many
***
Catholics in the archdiocese.
Read a longer version of this story and a full transcript of the interAs he travels among parishes Archbishop Chaput sees some signs
view at CatholicPhilly.com.
By Matthew Gambino
NEWS BRIEFS
See more Catholic news at our website, www.CatholicPhilly.com
Archbishop ordains 7 new
priests for archdiocese
It was a joy-filled Mass for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Archbishop Charles
J. Chaput ordained seven men to the
priesthood at the Cathedral Basilica of SS.
Peter and Paul on Saturday, May 16.
Five of the new priests, Fathers Daniel
J. Arechabala, Alexander Gibbs, Steven
W. Kiernan, Addisalem T. Mekonnen and
Joseph S. Zaleski, received their formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
The other two, Fathers James J. Cardosi
and Kevin T. Mulligan, studied at Pope St.
John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass., a
seminary for men age 30 years or older.
All will begin their priestly life as parochial vicars in the archdiocese.
The first two readings from Scripture
at the liturgy centered on the role of the
priest. The Gospel, taken from the Gospel of St. John, echoed the words of Jesus Christ, the High Priest: “…I am the
Good Shepherd, and I know mine and
mine know me, just as the Father knows
me and I know the Father; and I will lay
down my life for the sheep.”
Basing his homily on Christ the Good
Shepherd, Archbishop Charles Chaput
said, “Like the shepherd, Jesus leads us,
feeds us and protects us.”
Priests, he told the men about to be ordained, “are chosen to carry out the ministry of the one Good Shepherd in the
life of our Christian community. In other
words you will be called to lead, to go before God’s people, to feed them with his
word…. You will unite your lives and your
wills to Jesus, so that your actions become
one with his actions.”
After the ordination Mass Archbishop
Chaput thanked the parents for giving their
sons to the church and issued a plea for the
promotion of vocations to the priesthood,
noting that every year more priests retire
than are ordained.
The archbishop also gave his newly ordained priests their first parish assignments
as parochial vicars.
Father Arechabala will serve at Mary
Mother of the Redeemer, North Wales; Father Cardosi at St. Denis, Havertown; Father Gibbs at St. Mary Magdalen, Media;
Father Kiernan at St. Anthony of Padua,
Ambler; Father Mekonnen at Nativity of
Our Lord Parish, Warminster; Father Mulligan at Our Lady of Calvary, Philadelphia
and Father Zaleski at St. Katherine of Siena,
Philadelphia.
Some facts about the newly ordained: Three
— Father Arechabala, Father Mekonnen and
Father Zaleski — attended St. Charles Seminary for both college and theology while four
received their bachelor’s degree from secular
institutions, including Father Cardosi, the
U.S. Naval Academy; Father Gibbs, Temple
University; Father Kiernan, Penn State University and Father Mulligan, Slippery Rock
State College.
Two, Father Arechabala and Father Kiernan, celebrated their first Mass on May
17 at the same church — Mother of Divine
Providence in King of Prussia. Two others
celebrated in Norristown but at different
churches: Father Cardosi at St. Titus and
Father Mulligan at Visitation B.V.M.
Father Gibbs celebrated at Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, North Wales.
There were two Philadelphians — Father Mekonnen, who celebrated at St.
Francis de Sales Church, and Father
Zaleski, who celebrated at St. Martin of
Tours Church.
Father Zaleski is almost certainly the
first priest in the history of the Philadelphia Archdiocese to have his own father
preach the homily at his first Mass. His
dad, Deacon Stanley Zaleski, is a permanent deacon assigned to St. Martin’s and
a retired teacher at Father Judge High
School.
As to what he would tell his son in the
homily, “I’ll tell him we love him,” Deacon
Zaleski said after the ordination Mass.
“That is something every priest needs to
hear.”
That was certainly the general sentiment of the families and friends who attended the ordination.
“I feel so great, God has given me a
great gift,” said Tsadu Mekonnen, the
mother of Father Mekonnen.
John Mulligan, the father of Father
Mulligan, said his ordination was “a wonderful gift from God. I hope he is setting
the example for more young or older men
to become priests.”
“I’m so happy and thrilled,” said Father
Gibbs’ godmother, Diana Stricker. “Alex
is going to be a wonderful priest because
he is a wonderful fellow.”
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