How a priest and teams of homeless people are transforming Detroit

Detroit, Mich., Dec 31, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Many homeless people of Detroit already recognize Father Marko Djonovic’s white Ford Excursion.

When Djonovic rolls up with his friend Marcus Cobb, it’s probably because they’ve got a job to offer, in exchange for lunch and some pay.

“Word is getting out on the street about us,” Djonovic said of his new ministry, which he dubbed Better Way Detroit.

“So when they see the white Ford Excursion they come up to us, asking, are you going to pick us up for work?” he told CNA.

Djonovic and Cobb are the two-man crew behind Better Way Detroit, and since May they have been teaming up with the city of Detroit and willing homeless workers to clean up the city’s parks, overgrown alleys, and vacant lots.

continue at CNA

Michigan AG Schuette opens Catholic priest sex abuse investigation

The Michigan Attorney General's Office announced Friday it has launched a statewide investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The office posted on its website that it now has an open investigation into whether clergy in the Catholic Church in Michigan committed acts of abuse against children. It will examine possible abuse in all of the seven Catholic dioceses in Michigan, which has about 2 million Catholics.

"The Michigan Department of Attorney General has determined that a full and complete investigation of what happened within the Catholic Church is required," it reads on the Attorney General's website. "This investigation is and will continue to be independent, thorough, transparent, and prompt. My department and this investigation will find out who knew what, and when."

continue at Detroit Free Press

Detroit archdiocesan paper to cease publication after 146 years

The Michigan Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Detroit, will publish its last issue Aug. 24. Taking its place in November will be an online-only news service called Detroit Catholic.

The archdiocese, in announcing the newspaper’s closure Aug. 1, said it will introduce what it called a “multichannel” service early next year that will include mailed publications focusing on evangelization and faith formation.

The Michigan Catholic, founded 146 years ago when the then-Detroit Diocese’s territory covered the entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan, was the second-oldest newspaper in the state, behind only the Detroit Free Press, which is the highest-circulation paper in Michigan.

continue at The Compass

Photos of Bp. Sample's Pontifical Mass at Assumption Grotto

Courtesy of Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS

Continue at Te Deum Blog for the whole set

Great, great photos!

.... Someone get Bp. Morlino on the phone :)

Bp Sample celebrates Pontifical Mass at Assumption Groto in Detroit

There was a conference this weekend at Assumption Groto in Detroit, Michigan.  Bishop Sample gave the keynote, and it turns out celebrated a Pontifical Mass the following day! 

Fr Z has some photos there and His Excellency's homily.

Diane at Te Deum I'm sure will have more details and photos forthcoming. 

What a fantastic looking conference! 

Green Bay abuse case could bring Cdl. Maida, Bp. Ricken to the stand

Cardinal Adam Maida

from MKS JS

Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in a fraud trial against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay after an Outagamie County judge denied the diocese's latest attempt to have the case dismissed.

Two brothers, Troy and Todd Merryfield, sued the diocese in 2008, contending it committed fraud by repeatedly transferring priest John Feeney without telling parishioners about Feeney's history of abuse.

The diocese has said it had no knowledge of abuse and also said the Merryfields have not presented enough evidence to support their claim.

WLUK-TV reported that Circuit Judge Nancy Krueger denied the diocese's latest request to have the case dismissed.

The Merryfields could testify in the case, which is expected to last two weeks. Former Green Bay bishop and now Cardinal Adam Maida - now retired in Detroit - is listed as a potential witness, as are Bishop David Ricken and Bishop Robert Morneau.

Feeney was convicted in 2004 of assaulting the brothers when Feeney was stationed at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Freedom in 1978. Feeney has been defrocked and was recently released from prison.

 photo

Some photos from Cdl Burke's Detroit visit

Almost 1,000 people attended the 15th Annual Lenten Symposium. Archbishop Vigneron graced us with his presence. His Eminence, Raymond L. Cardinal Burke opened the program with the Holy Mass. Fr. Lee Acervo closed the program with Benediction.

 Holy Trinity Apostolate

Diane at Te Deum has some great photos over there.  Here's a couple:

HT LC

In Detroit, Catholics are allowed to eat muskrat on Fridays during Lent because of historical dispensation from 1700s.

There's another culinary option for Catholics abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent — for the adventuresome and traditionalists only.

The custom of eating muskrat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent apparently goes back to the early 1800s, the time of Fr. Gabriel Richard, and when he was ministering to trappers. Legend has it that because trappers and their families were going hungry not eating flesh during Lent, he allowed them to eat muskrat, with the reasoning that the mammal lives in the water. The story varies on just where the dispensation extends; along the River Raisin, along the River Rouge, all of southeast Michigan and Monroe County are among the areas mentioned.

The Archdiocese of Detroit's communications department said there is a standing dispensation for Catholics downriver to eat muskrat on Fridays, although no documentation of the original dispensation could be found. However, a 2002 archdiocesan document on Lenten observances, in addition to outlining the laws of fasting and abstinence, explains that "there is a long-standing permission — dating back to our missionary origins in the 1700s — to permit the consumption of muskrat on days of abstinence, including Fridays of Lent."

continue at Archdiocese of Detroit
Now that's penance!

HT nwarikoo

Invalid Baptism praised by Detroit seminary publication

As [Deacon] Jim lay dying, we brought holy water from the hospital chapel to his bedside, along with a borrowed deacon stole and a crucifix. We placed the crucifix on Jim’s chest. My daughter, Jennifer, and I cupped Jim’s hand to hold the holy water while I pronounced the words of baptism, and we guided Jim’s hand to pour the holy water onto Matthew’s forehead.

Read the whole thing at Acts of the Apostasy 


Photo from Fr Z

Cdl. Burke to speak at Sterling Hights, MI Lenten Symposium

"The Christian Vocation: The Call to Martyrdom"
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Ss. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church
41233 Ryan Rd. Sterling Heights MI 48314

Raymond L. Cardinal Burke – Prefect, Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura – Vatican
The Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda – Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan – Topic:   ‘White Martyrdom’
Rev. Msgr. John A. Abruzzese, S.T.D. – Vatican Official General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, Topic:  Becoming the Instrument of Your Martyrdom:  Reflections on the Life and Spirituality of St. Francis de Sales
Fr. John G. Dumas – St. Isidore’s Catholic Church
Mother Margaret Georgina Patton, O.S.B. – Contemplative Nun – Abbey of Regina Laudis
Mother Olivia-Frances Arnold, O.S.B.- Contemplative Nun – Abbey of Regina Laudis

Details at Holy Trinity Apostolate