tvc.dsj.org | September 5, 2017
NEWS BRIEFS
13
Pilgrims Journey to Former Pennsylvania
Coal Town to Offer Marian prayer
CENTRALIA, Pa. (CNS) -- Only a few structures still stand in this nearly aban-
doned borough 62 miles northeast of Harrisburg. Even fewer are visible through
the tree cover from the top of an adjacent mountain overlooking what was once a
thriving community. The most notable and recognizable structure is the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church, with bright blue domes that
rise out of the foliage on the side of the mountain. Though all but seven of the town’s
residents relocated because of the continuing fire in the anthracite coal mine beneath
its surface, the church continues to serve a successful and thriving parish. Nearly
400 people made the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Philadelphia’s pilgrimage to
the little church Aug. 27 for the second annual “A Call to Prayer” on the eve of the
Dormition of the Holy Mother of God. The pilgrimage was the second since Major
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, Ukraine, the leader of more than
5 million Ukrainian Catholics around the globe, visited the church Nov. 10, 2015.
He was accompanied by Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia, metropolitan
of Ukrainian Catholics in the United States, and Father Michael Hutsko, pastor of
the parish. Archbishop Shevchuk felt a sense of true holiness at the church and
expressed his desire for all people of faith to visit and share the same sanctity and
serenity. Six months after the visit, he declared the church a holy pilgrimage site.
Outdoor Crypts - Niches - Cremation Burial Garden
Family Estates - Children and Mercy Plots
Georgia Tech Punter Forgoes
Final Football Season for Seminary
ATLANTA (CNS) -- Perseverance has been Grant Aasen’s longtime ally. In recover-
ing from a life-threatening injury, walking on to the Georgia Tech football team as a
punter, and discerning the priesthood, Aasen has demonstrated a desire to succeed.
Aasen, who graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial engineering
in May, gave up his final year of football eligibility for the seminary. He planned
to enter Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans this fall to begin studying for the
priesthood. Football has been part of Aasen’s life since second grade. The youngest
son of Mark and Tina Aasen of Fayetteville, Georgia, he grew up a parishioner of
Holy Trinity Church in Peachtree City. Aasen, 22, never thought of being a priest as
a child. “It was really just never part of the conversation,” he said, explaining that
his concentration was on sports and school and “figuring out those natural next
steps that every kid my age is supposed to take.”
Texas Bishop Urges Courage Against DACA
‘Politically Motivated Assault’
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in defending the
federal Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, said Catholics
“should have the courage to speak out to people against their politically motivated
assaults against the innocent.” Bishop Seitz was referring to the threat by 10 state
attorneys general to sue the federal government to end the DACA program if the
Trump administration does not do so by Sept. 5. “Christians are fundamentally
loving, giving people, just as Jesus was,” Bishop Seitz said during an Aug. 29 me-
dia conference call organized by Faith in Public Life. “But there were some things
that angered Jesus, and they should anger us as well.” The “insistence” by the state
attorneys general that the federal government not only stop DACA but also not to
renew the applications of those who have already applied, often known as “dream-
ers,” “angers me, and it still does,” he added.
Pope names Arizona Jesuit
head of Church Jurisdiction in Kyrgyzstan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - - Pope Francis has named a 54-year-old Arizona-born
Jesuit to be the new head of the church’s Apostolic Administration of Kyrgyzstan.
Jesuit Father Anthony J. Corcoran, who was born in Tucson, has been serving as
superior of the Jesuits’ Russia region since 2009 and has been working in Russia
for the past 20 years. The Apostolic Administration of Kyrgyzstan includes about
500 Catholics out of a total population of 5.5 million people, according to Vatican
statistics. Five religious-order priests and five women religious minister there. The
Vatican announced Father Corcoran’s appointment Aug. 29. Born April 19, 1963, he
earned a degree in political science from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1985,
then entered the Jesuits. He earned a master’s in international political economics
from Fordham University in New York in 1990, then spent two years teaching at
Jesuit High School in New Orleans.
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