Father Betancourt As Auxiliary Bishop
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD NOVEMBER 2018 WWW.ARCHDIOCESEOFHARTFORD.ORG GROW + GO Taking the first steps pg. 7 ANNIVERSARY Archdiocese celebrates 175th anniversary pg. 14 ALL SAINTS’ DAY Our parishes and colleges honor the saints pg. 24 FATHER BETANCOURT AS AUXILIARY BISHOP SERVING THE COUNTIES OF HARTFORD, NEW HAVEN AND LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT MARK YOUR CALENDAR The fall 2018 Adult Confirmationwill take place on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Pastoral Center, 467 Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield. Archbishop Leonard P. Blair will preside. Thanksgiving Day prayer St. Ambrose Parish will hold its annual Fall Craft O God, ever good and merciful, Show on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at look graciously upon us as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. St. Monica Church Hall, 1321 Middletown Ave., Our nation has been richly blessed, Northford. The show will feature handcrafted items by local artisans, raffle baskets, baked goods and more. and we thank You for the necessities of life Breakfast and lunch will also be available. The event is that so many of us enjoy in abundance. being sponsored by the St. Ambrose Ladies Guild. May we never take these gifts for granted or forget that they come from You, the Creator and Author of Life. A lecture titled “Sharing Truth and Community with Young Adults: Dominican Spirituality for a We pray for those among us who suffer Meaningful Life” will be held at 5:15 p.m. on Wednes- day, Nov. 14 in the Atrium of the Tagliatela Academic as a result of material, spiritual or moral poverty. Center, located at 871 Winchester Ave., on the main Enkindle in us a greater charity toward our neighbor in need, campus of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. and help us as a people to build Theresa O’Keefe, associate professor in theology and a more just and peaceful society and world. ministry at Boston College, will speak as part of the We pray in a special way for those who are persecuted Thomas Aquinas Lecture Series at Albertus Magnus. for their faith throughout the globe. Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish will be hosting its Thank you, Father, for all Your blessings, Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. in the Name of Christ Our Lord. Amen. to 3 p.m. at the Holy Angels Center, 585 Main St. in Meriden. For more information on setting up a craft table, contact Cheryl Raffile at 203.238.0199. On Nov. 28, the Archdiocese of Hartford will be 175 PROMISE TO PROTECT years old. On that day in 1843, Pope Gregory XVI cre- ated the new diocese to include all of Connecticut and Catholic Transcript magazine, like many other color magazines, Rhode Island. To commemorate this momentous occa- is in production for months, written long before it is printed. sion, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair will celebrate a Mass To find up-to-the-minute information on the Catholic Church’s of Thanksgiving on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 2 p.m. at response to the recent clergy abuse scandal, visit: the Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 134 Farmington Ave. in Hartford. All are invited and encouraged to https://promise.archdioceseofhartford.org share in this special day of gratitude and grace on the anniversary date of the founding of the diocese. Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Safe Environment, 467 Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield, CT 06002 HOW TO REPORT AN INCIDENT OF SEXUAL ABUSE TO THE ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD If you have knowledge or suspect that a minor or vulnerable adult (an adult with an intellectual disability) has been sexually abused, in any manner, by personnel of the Archdiocese of Hartford, you are urged to report this information to: Kathleen D. Nowosadko, Victim Assistance Coordinator • 860-541-6475 • [email protected] Incidents involving sexual abuse Incidents involving sexual abuse of vulnerable Incidents involving sexual abuse of minors (persons under the age adults aged 18 – 59 should be reported to the: of vulnerable adults aged 60 and over of 18) should be reported to: Connecticut Department of Developmental should be reported to: State Department of Children Services – AID Division for Persons Department of Social Services and Families Care-line with Intellectual Disabilities for the Elderly 1-800-842-2288 1-844-878-8923 1-888-385-4225 2 Catholic Transcript | NOVEMBER 2018 | WWW.ARCHDIOCESEOFHARTFORD.ORG CONTENTS 4 7 4 ARCHBISHOP’S DESK Charting a way forward with the synod 7 GROW + GO Grow and go: Taking the first steps 8 CATHOLIC LIFE A glimpse of our past in faded pages 8 9 9 WORK LIFE Setting priorities for our lives 10 ARCHBISHOP’S LETTER A response to the sexual abuse scandal 12 ANNIVERSARY MASS An invitation to all 14 16 14 ANNIVERSARY Archdiocese celebrates 175th anniversary: 1843—2018 16 COVER STORY Pope Francis appoints Father Betancourt as auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese Archdiocesan employees rejoice at the news 20 20 WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES Local pilgrims attend World Meeting of Families in Ireland 24 ALL SAINTS’ DAY Our parishes and colleges honor the saints 26 BEATIFICATION A grain of wheat bears abundant fruit 24 27 27 MINISTRY God's farm 29 AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE 30 IN YOUR COMMUNITY COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON JOSEPH 3 ARCHBISHOP’S DESK CHARTING A WAY FORWARD with the synod s archbishop of Hartford, I am in a position to get an overview of the life of our local Church in all its many aspects, whether A it be worship, charity, education or stewardship. We do not al- ways do a good enough job of “letting our light shine,” as Jesus says, not for vainglory, but to give glory to our Father in heaven. This is all H P E S O the more important in a world that is increasingly skeptical of religion. J N O R A A We are to be Christ’s hands, feet and voice in the face of the great BY Y PH RA TOG spiritual, moral and material poverties of our time. PHO Today, we have to ask: What are we and focused discussion on where we are How can we reinvigorate Catholic faith doing well? What are we not doing so and where we are headed. and practice in our parishes and schools, well? What are we not doing that we Nov. 28, 2018, marks the 175th anni- and in lifelong faith formation? How should be doing? versary of our archdiocese. can we bolster the quality of liturgy and The ultimate criterion of our answers We can look back with admiration and preaching and the work of our charitable has to be: Are we drawing people to gratitude to the clergy, religious and laity outreach and institutions? Christ and to shared communion with us who have gone before us and from whom These are vital questions for each and as Catholic believers? we have inherited our parishes, churches, every one of us, and that is why, on June I am reminded of the words of our Holy schools and charitable institutions. 29, 2017, I convoked a synod to be pre- Father, Pope Francis, who speaks of “a The pastoral plan of 2017 was meant pared for now, and which will be celebrat- missionary option, a missionary impulse to reconfigure the parochial structures ed in 2020. capable of transforming everything, so in keeping with the realities of today. It will be the third synod in our 175- that the Church’s customs, ways of And the central service offices and year history. doing things, times and schedules, agencies of the archdiocese are also In Church law, a synod is an assembly language and structures, can be being revamped along the same called by the diocesan bishop to assist in suitably channeled for the evangeli- lines. But structures and agencies charting a way forward for the life and zation of today’s world rather than are only tools at the service of what mission of the local Church. her self-preservation.” must be a profoundly spiritual and It is my hope and prayer that the synod Today, in the midst of a culture ARCHBISHOP mission-oriented understanding of will be able to recommend to me priori- LEONARD that is generally less inclined to who we are and what we are called ties and practical steps to promote the life P. BLAIR belong to a church or to religious is the 13th to do as Christ’s disciples. and mission of our archdiocese. The cho- practice, not to mention the grave bishop of What are our goals and how can sen theme says it all: Grow as a Disciple challenges posed by sexual abuse, the Catholic we best accomplish with God’s help of Jesus and Go Make Disciples! we, as an archdiocesan family of Archdiocese the mission entrusted to us now Please join me in praying for the suc- faith, need to have a very serious of Hartford. and in the immediate future? cess of this synod! SYNOD PRAYER Lord Jesus Christ, May the synod inspire us to missionary discipleship, In the Gospel we hear the voice of the Father so that filled with the faith and boldness of the apostles telling us to listen to you. and first Christians, we may draw others to you and to your body and bride, It is your voice that we heed. the Church. It is your way that we follow. It is your spirit who leads us into all the truth. At Pentecost, Mary, your mother, joined the apostles in imploring the gift of the Holy Spirit. Look kindly upon your church in the Archdiocese of Hartford By her prayers and those of her spouse, St.