Good St. Anne
Novena draws hundreds each night
By Tanya Connor
STURBRIDGE – In 1982, 65 people fled Vietnam on a 40-foot boat. On the fifth night, almost out of food and clean water, they encountered a tropical storm. Many became very sick and commended their souls to God.
One of those passengers was later ordained a priest for the Worcester Diocese. He is Father Tam M. Bui, pastor of Our Lady of Vilna Parish in Worcester. He used this story – and a recent addition to it – in his homily Saturday at the Novena to St. Anne at St. Anne Shrine.
The novena, held annually July 18-26, brings in priests and musicians from various countries to share their languages and cultures, and includes prisoners and shut-ins in the prayer intentions. full story...
Panel upholds right of bishops to close any parish
By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Canon law — the legal rules that guide church operations and decision-making — allows a local bishop to close any parish as long as his decision is made with the best interests of the entire diocese in mind.
The responsibilities of a bishop regarding the opening or closing of a parish are covered in Canon 515, which was cited in a recent series of decrees issued by a panel of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, the church’s highest court, in deciding the appeals of 10 closed parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The court’s ad hoc panel is made up of five cardinals and archbishops serving on the Apostolic Signature bench. Its decrees are final with no option of further appeal under canon law. full story...
Go once, and you will want to go again
By Tanya Connor
“I think everybody who is secure in their faith – or isn’t secure in their faith – needs to go.”
Leeann Hansson, a youth minister at St. Peter Parish in Northbridge, was talking about the Steubenville East youth conference held at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston last weekend. It was a first for her and the parish, she said.
“The kids actually said, ‘We’ve got to get everyone to come next year,’” she said. It is good for them to see they’re not alone, as 2,700 teenagers from the broader area gathered to grow in faith. full story...
