Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 2
Thursday, November 11, 1999
Hfeadlme Hfopseotelh
Father Walker sentenced to probation in misappropriation case
By Barbara D. King
O n November 8, a Bibb County Superior Court
judge sentenced Father James B. Walker to 15
years probation for his misappropriation of funds
from Saint Peter Claver Church in Macon.
Father Walker pleaded guilty to misappropriating
$332,471. The court order stipulates that he make
restitution in that amount and that he cooperate
fully in providing the names and addresses of the
persons to whom he gave the funds.
On hearing the outcome of the sentencing hear
ing, Bishop J. Kevin Boland said it was “a sad day
for the diocesan family” but he recognized that
“the civil law must be upheld by all citizens no
matter what their status.” The bishop also said he
was grateful for the professional and courteous
manner in which both the police and court officials
handled the situation.
The bishop added, “Father Walker will continue to
receive the full spiritual support of the Diocesan fam
ily and also the material means to take care of his
basic needs.”
Bishop Boland removed Father Walker from
active priestly ministry last July after a diocesan
audit discovered the misappropriation.
Bishop Boland said that he and other diocesan
officials would discuss Father Walker’s future now
that his case has been adjudicated.
The bishop added, “Efforts will continue in the
all-important area of healing, forgiveness and rec
onciliation. All are requested to pray for and be
mindful of those who were deeply hurt by this
breaking of the bond of trust. We pray for Father
Walker and his need for forgiveness and reconcilia
tion.”
“As we approach the Jubilee Year 2000, one of
the key elements is the forgiveness of debt.
Keeping this in mind, we will all work together, so
that out of this sad happening there will be new life
and new hope, based exclusively on God’s love for
each of us.”
Archbishop Pilarczyk
HOSPITALIZED
Cincinnati (CNS)
A rchbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of
Cincinnati was hospitalized
November 8 and scheduled for
surgery November 9 for an occluded
artery. The archbishop, 65, under
went angioplasties on four separate
occasions earlier this year, in May,
July, September and October, to clear
arterial blockages following chest
pains or mild heart attacks. After
each earlier episode he was released
from the hospital within a few days
and returned immediately to work.
Fie has headed the Cincinnati
Archdiocese since 1982.
Pope asks Georgia’s
minority Catholics to
COOPERATE WITH
Orthodox
Tblisi, Georgia (CNS)
P ope John Paul II asked his tiny
flock of Catholics in Georgia to
help the neediest in their struggling
society and to cooperate with the
Orthodox majority. Georgia is “a
model of respect and tolerance”
toward all religions, the pope said
during a Mass at an incense-filled
Tbilisi sports stadium November 9,
where an overflow crowd of some
10,000 Catholics and Orthodox
Christians gave him a rousing wel
come. Flanked on a small altar plat
form by priests and bishops from
Georgia, Russia, Armenia and
Turkey, the 79-year-old pontiff
looked and sounded good but
coughed several times as he presided
over the two-hour liturgy.
Pope John Paul II stands next to
an Orthodox icon at the resi
dence of the Patriarch Ilia II of
Georgia November 8.
Holy Land Christians
ANNOUNCE PROTEST
CLOSURE OF HOLY SITES
Jerusalem (CNS)
T he heads of Christian churches in
the Holy Land announced they
would close all Christian holy sites to
protest an Israeli government deci
sion to allow a mosque next to a
Catholic basilica in Nazareth. “To
express the disapprobation of all the
churches at the way that their rights
have been summarily violated ... all
the sanctuaries of the Holy Land will
be closed on November 22-23,” said
the November 4 statement signed,
“with a heavy heart,” by Latin-rite
Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jeru
salem, Franciscan Father Giovanni
Battistelli of the Franciscan Custody
of the Holy Land, and the Greek
Orthodox and Armenian patriarchs.
Church agencies help
India’s cyclone victims
New Delhi (CNS)
C hristian agencies have joined
government and voluntary
groups to aid survivors of a cyclone
that claimed hundreds and possibly
thousands of lives in eastern India.
The October 29-31 cyclone, the sec
ond to hit Orissa state in less than 10
days, snapped communication links
with the state’s 10 districts, reported
UCA News, an Asian church news
agency based in Thailand. Caritas
India, the Catholic bishops’ charity
and relief arm, said it would collabo
rate with other church relief agencies
to get aid to the region as soon as
links are established.
European synod
stresses Gospel values
Rome (CNS)
T he Synod of Bishops for Europe,
in a final set of recommenda
tions, said the church should turn
new pastoral attention to the baptized
and unbaptized of the continent,
emphasizing the positive values the
Gospel can bring to economic, family
and interreligious issues. The recom
mendations defended priestly celiba
cy, called for greater recognition of
women’s role in the church and soci
ety, and denounced abortion. They
recognized a worsening shortage of
priests and religious, but said this
should not impair the missionary
nature of the church in Europe. The
40 Latin-language recommendations,
called propositions, were voted on
before the close of the synod October
22; sources said they were all over
whelmingly approved.
Pope urges closer
COOPERATION BETWEEN
Eastern and Latin rites
Vatican City (CNS)
P ope John Paul II urged closer
cooperation and exchange
between Eastern- and Latin-rite
Catholics in North and South
America and Australia. A better rela
tionship would further the search for
unity with Orthodox churches and
enrich the Latin-rite churches, he
said. The pope’s remarks came in a
message to Cardinal Achille
Silvestrini, prefect of the Vatican
Congregation for Eastern Churches.
The cardinal was in Boston for a
November 7-12 meeting with about
100 bishops and priests from the
Armenian, Chaldean, Maronite,
Melkite, Ruthenian, Syrian and
Ukrainian Catholic Churches.
ier
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Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, D.D.
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