Page 1813 – Archdiocese of Baltimore

SEATTLE – A court of appeals in Seattle has rejected a request to dismiss two lawsuits against a former Sulpician seminary that trained a priest who sexually abused minors. The U.S. Sulpicians argued that the seminary cannot be held responsible for the abuse committed by former priest Patrick O’Donnell following his ordination. If successful, the lawsuits could be the first in which a seminary is found legally liable for having recommended the ordination of someone who subsequently molested children. O’Donnell studied at Sulpician-run St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore, a Seattle suburb, and was ordained a priest of the Spokane Diocese in 1971. He has been accused of molesting at least 65 minors between 1970 and his permanent removal from ministry in 1985. The lawsuits contend that seminary officials knew O’Donnell had molested boys but recommended him for ordination anyway. They allege that the seminary sent him to sexual deviancy counseling while he was still in the seminary.

Loyola’s campaign saved useable items from dumpster fate

Five years ago on graduation day, dumpsters at Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, were filled with lamps, Swiffer mops, unopened food, and kitchen supplies. But thanks to the Good Stuff Campaign developed by Loyola’s Center for Community Service and Justice, the college’s dumpsters remained nearly empty and the donation collection bins were full as undergraduates and graduates moved out of campus dorms. “There was a concern about the number of good, usable, sometimes like-new items which were being thrown out in dumpsters in the rush to move out,” said Dennis McCunney, assistant director of the center and a 1998 Loyola alumnus. “These were things students didn’t want to lug home.”

IND Hall of Fame; John Carroll coach

The Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore, inducted five graduates into its Athletic Hall of Fame, May 16. The inductees were Eileen Doyle Wintz ’44 (basketball); C. Karen Dabrowski Gephardt ’67 (basketball, badminton, softball); Mary Ellen Bowers Glorioso ’69 (basketball, badminton, softball); Donna Wiedorfer ’80 (coach – basketball, badminton, lacrosse; and athlete – basketball, badminton, softball); and Robin Johnson ’96 (basketball, softball, volleyball, cross country). John Carroll School, Bel Air, recently named John Cooney as the varsity women’s basketball head coach. Mr. Cooney coached the varsity women’s basketball team at The Seton High School from 1983-1988 as well as several teams in the Baltimore Neighborhood Basketball League. Mr. Cooney has been the chairperson of the Bel Air Recreation Girls Basketball program for the past six years and coaches three A.A.U. teams.

Sweet victory for the Saints and Cardinals

What Oriole Park at Camden Yards has lost to greed and lackluster performance, Ripken Stadium, Aberdeen, has made up for in supporting youth baseball in a fan-oriented setting. Ripken Stadium was, again, home to the MIAA A and B Conference Baseball Championships and fans were not disappointed. Under clear, blue skies, the American flag stood tall from center field, with a west wind blowing out toward left. It was baseball at its best, with down to the wire action, team hustle and the obvious sense that the 2,000 fans present loved their teams. The afternoon opened with B Conference action as 18-5 St. Mary’s, Annapolis, faced the Boys’ Latin, Baltimore, Lakers in the first of the day’s double-header.

Vatican expands mission to saving planet, not just souls

VATICAN CITY – Expanding its mission from saving souls to saving the planet, the Vatican is going green. A giant rooftop garden of solar panels will be built next year on top of the Paul VI audience hall, creating enough electricity to heat, cool and light the entire building year-round. “Solar energy will provide all the energy (the building) needs,” said the mastermind behind the environmentally friendly project, Pier Carlo Cuscianna, head of the Vatican’s department of technical services. And that is only the beginning. Cuscianna told Catholic News Service May 24 that he had in mind other sites throughout Vatican City where solar panels could be installed, but that it was too early in the game to name names. Even though Vatican City State is not a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, a binding international environmental pact to cut greenhouse gases, its inaugural solar project marks a major move in trying to reduce its own so-called carbon footprint, that is, the amount of carbon dioxide released through burning fossil fuels.

Father Hurst named new president-rector of seminary

Father Thomas R. Hurst, S.S., a 60-year-old Albany native and alumnus of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park, has been named the new president-rector of his alma mater. The Provincial Council of the U.S. Province of the Society of St. Sulpice (Sulpicians) announced the new seminary leadership May 25, noting that the appointment was made by the Sulpicians with the approval of Cardinal William H. Keeler, chancellor of St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s was founded by Sulpician priests from France in 1791 as the first Catholic seminary in the United States. Father Hurst has been the rector of Theological College, the national seminary of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., since 2001. He begins his new role at St. Mary’s on July 1, succeeding Father Robert F. Leavitt, S.S.

Monsignor Myles McGowan celebrates 70 years as a priest in June.

Nearly 70 years after he was ordained to the priesthood, Monsignor Myles McGowan is still completely devoted to his vocation. The oldest priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore continues to celebrate Mass, hear confessions and help out whenever needed in local parishes. The 94-year–old Irish priest will celebrate his 70th anniversary in the priesthood on June 17. His actual anniversary is June 20. In 1937, he was ordained in Dublin, Ireland, by Archbishop Michael J. Curley, who was a friend of the family, for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “I had a feeling I had a vocation and I wanted to pursue it,” said Monsignor McGowan who entered a missionary seminary after graduating high school at the age of 18. After serving two years in Limerick, Ireland, the 26-year-old priest arrived at St. Gregory the Great, Baltimore, ready to serve and soak in American culture. Monsignor McGowan said one of the biggest challenges in his priesthood was the culture shock and slight language barrier.

St. Patrick parishioner honored by alma mater

John Hesterly, a parishioner of St. Patrick in Havre De Grace, has received many honors and awards in his lifetime, but on May 11 he was truly humbled and privileged to accept a Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, Henderson State University in Arkansas. “I was thrilled beyond words,” said Mr. Hesterly. “I’m still floating a foot off the ground. There are many distinguished people who have won this award.” The award, created in 1972, is a way to recognize those who have attained outstanding and valuable achievements throughout their life and Mr. Hesterly has a laundry list full of them.

Fishing a lifelong passion for Parkville priest

Growing up on the Eastern Shore, Monsignor James P. Farmer, pastor of St. Ursula in Parkville, learned how to fish at age 2 under the watchful eye of family members. Since then fishing and crabbing have been hobbies he thoroughly enjoys, especially when in the company of others. “Fishing forms great friendships and great memories,” said Monsignor Farmer. “Jesus chose fishermen to be his disciples.” Maryland is a great place for fishing because of the ocean, the bay, lakes and rivers, said Monsignor Farmer, who added that Marylanders are blessed to have both fresh and salt water to fish in. “When we fish we connect with nature and see the beauty of creation. The splendor of creation reflects the splendor of the Creator,” said the seasoned fisherman. “Fishing teaches us patience and a lot about faith.”

Honey is like a taste of heaven for Vermont priest

WEST RUTLAND, Vt. – When Father Adam Krempa sits down for a light meal, he enjoys a bowl of cottage cheese drizzled with honey, seeded rye bread lightly toasted with butter not margarine and a cup of coffee with a heaping teaspoon of honey. “It’s like dying and having lunch with the Lord,” said the pastor of St. Raphael Church in Poultney. It’s not the toast or even the butter that makes the meal special; it’s the honey. For 40 years Father Krempa has been keeping bees at his family homestead on Valley View Lane in West Rutland, and the honey they produce and he processes and sells is pure. He also likes honey drizzled on his cornflakes, oatmeal or Cream of Wheat cereal. “You know you’re living” when you taste the honey, he told The Vermont Catholic Tribune, newspaper of the Burlington Diocese. Father Krempa has five hives on the south side of his two-car garage, protected from the strong winter winds that sweep across the hillside property. “This is where I find my relaxation,” he said, noting that he often sits in the yard and watches the bees busily flying to and from the hives. “It’s God’s creation.”

N.Y. Cardinal’s Scholarship Fund gets $22.5 million donation

NEW YORK – A New York philanthropist has donated $22.5 million to the Archdiocese of New York for its inner-city scholarship program, the archdiocese announced May 23. The donation, from former Wall Street investor Robert Wilson, will enable 3,000 children to attend Catholic schools in New York City through the scholarship program launched two years ago to provide needy students with partial- or full-tuition grants. Wilson, an 80-year-old atheist, told reporters after the donation was announced that he had no problem supporting a fund for Catholic school students. “Shunning religious organizations would be abhorrent,” he told Bloomberg News. “Keep in mind, I’m helping to pay tuition. The money isn’t going directly to the schools.”

Woman charged with stealing $525,000 from school