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T.K. Gorman library dedicated
By SUSAN DE MATTEO
TYLER – A good library is the point at which faith and reason intersect
and enrich each other, Bishop Álvaro Corrada, SJ, said at the Sept. 12
blessing of the newly renovated Holy Family Library at Bishop T.K.
Gorman Catholic Schools.
Libraries
are essential, Bishop Corrada said, because "faith in Jesus Christ
seeks understanding. The person of faith is called to inquire, to
cultivate reason, to be able to make sense, at least at the human
level, of faith and to understand, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
God's law and God's love for us."
Libraries also are a source of
freedom "so that people are not enslaved by ignorance," he said, but
must also be an antidote to the tyranny of reason, "which makes reason
alone the sole measure of everything.
"A library is a sign, a
symbol, of freedom, of conscience, of the search for truth More>>
'Your brother would be proud,' Herzigs told
By JO ANNE FLORES EMBLETON
TYLER – Their brother “would be proud” of the growth of his former
diocese, said family members of Bishop Charles Herzig, the first bishop
of the Tyler Diocese.
“I think he would have been very surprised at the growth and
development” of the Tyler Diocese, said Ron Herzig of Houston, who
along with several family members from Houston and San Antonio attended
a Sept. 7 memorial Mass for Bishop Herzig at the Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception in Tyler.
“But I think he would be even more ecstatic at how the people he was
helping” became so heavily involved in their diocese, he said, alluding
to the growth in clergy and ministers in the 20-year history of the
East Texas diocese. “It's a two-way street: You've got to have the
helpers that make (growth) happen. And I think that's what made him
such a good bishop, his helpers. He would be proud of them, and really
surprised at how well (it's going).”
His sentiments were echoed in a homily by Bishop Álvaro
Corrada, SJ, who described his predecessor's love for Christ and the
Church. More>>
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Jacksonville breaks ground for sanctuary to seat 650
JACKSONVILLE – Beckoning to the youngest members of Our Lady of Sorrows
Parish at a Sept. 15 groundbreaking, Bishop Álvaro Corrada, SJ,
reminded them that the new church was theirs. “Come,” he invited as he
held out a shovel, then told their parents, “you are building the
church for them, for your children and their children.”
But, he reminded them, “the Catholic Church always builds for the
community at large, not just for itself, but to serve the whole city,
the whole county, the whole world because the Catholic Church is
universal in its intent of service.”
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St. Mary graduate killed in Iraq
By JO ANNE FLORES EMBLETON
LONGVIEW – Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Sept. 15 for Marine
Staff Sgt. John Christian Stock at St. Mary Church in Longview. He was
buried with full military honors in Rosewood Park in Longview.
Father Gavin Vaverek, St. Mary's pastor, was the celebrant.
Stock,
26, died Sept. 6 while conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar
province in Iraq. He initially served a fouryear stint in the Marines
and was out for six months before reenlisting. Stock was deployed to
Iraq last March with his unit.
More>>
Bishop celebrates life of Deacon Bill Kennedy
By SUSAN DE MATTEO
NACOGDOCHES – Bishop Álvaro Corrada, SJ, celebrated a Mass of Christian
Burial for Deacon William C. Kennedy III Sept. 17 at Sacred Heart
Church in Nacogdoches.
Deacon Kennedy, 57, died Sept. 14 after a lengthy illness.
He
had been a prison chaplain since 2000 and was a narcotics investigator
with the Deep East Texas Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force.
He
was born May 22, 1950, to William C. Kennedy II and Mary Shannon
Kennedy in Johnson City, NY. He joined the Marine Corps in 1968. In
1974, he married Susan Yaw. That same year he began a lifelong career
in law enforcement.
"I've always wanted to be a cop," he said in
a 1998 profile in Catholic East Texas. "I was interested in police
work, so it was either go become a cop or go become a crook."
More>>
Marshall administrator suspended, pending probe, physical check
By SUSAN DE MATTEO
TYLER – Blessed Sacrament Father Denzil Vithanage, administrator of St.
Joseph Parish in Marshall, was arrested the night of Sept. 14 and held
overnight in the Upshur County Jail on a charge of criminal trespass.
Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd said officers were called to
a private residence after Father Vithanage refused to leave.
"The officers arrived on the scene and found (Father Vithanage)
on private property, where he was being detained by an individual,"
Byrd said. "By 'detained,' I mean simply that he was being kept from
leaving until deputies could arrive. There was no force or physical
restraint used, and officers found no sign of a firearm at the scene."
Officers
gave Father Vithanage "the opportunity to leave," Byrd said, "but he
refused. He also said they could not keep him from coming back, that he
could return to the residence whenever he chose. The officers gave him
one more chance to leave, but when he refused, they had no choice but
to arrest him."
More>>
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