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A record croivd of parakeets, dogs, iguanas, cats, horses and other creatures were blessed in honor of thefeast day of St. Francis of Assist by Franciscans of San Francisco 's St. Boniface Parish on Sept. 30. Father Floyd Lotito (blessing a white bird at right) presided at the event and told pa rticipants, "St. Francis called all animals his brothers and sisters. In this city of St. Francis... we realize how all creation reveals the beauty and love of God. We are all called to be family , living in harmony with each other. We are stewards of creation, not masters. " It was the 11"' annual "Blessing of the Animals " at the parish. Above, St. Boniface pastor Franciscan Father Louis Vitale blesses a dog. St. Francis'f east day is Oct. 4.
Catholic Charities />\ A ' pology ' matted, m d ^i ^s p astors , supporters ^ By Kamille Maher /
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K \. while he and others work to re-lfuil l staff morale afTtL ^' ! Cafefjimity trust. > < a "periodic , direct / ^\ The"Ie&j s meant to be part of and he head of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of coiTuhunj catiorf^^'Jo supporters people who work/ San Francisco has mailed a letter of apology to donors, with CathoTibChariflls, (Jahill explained , adding he plans volunteers, pastors, government officials, and others who to communicate ^n-as many different ways aspossible." have an interest in the social service agency, which is "The greater good wa>not harmed" by the former working to recover from negative publicity after revelations executive leadership team 's "exthwagant spending," comof expense account "abuses" of its former leadership. mented Jack Fitzpatrick , the chair of tKfr-agency 's Board In addition, the agency has committed to continuing of the Directors' finance committee. Guerrero House, a program for homeless teens and young "Being part of the investigation , I understand the adults that had been slated for probable closure at the same extent of the problem that existed," said Fitzpatrick , a time expense account abuses were coming to light in June. long-time supporter of the agency, which provides services Dated Sept. 28 and signed by Brian Cahill, interim to people with AIDS, homeless mothers, abused and negexecutive director of Catholic Charities, the letter was lected children, and isolated elders. mailed in envelopes marked with the words "an apology" "The people running the programs weren't impaired in bold letters. . by this at all, and in fact, did an outstanding job ," "The strongest message is that of apology," Cahill Fitzpatrick explained in a telephone interview. told Catholic San Francisco. While many supporters have expressed "anger," it is Cahill , who also heads the Archdiocese's Catholic "too early" to judge whether financial support has Youth Organization , said he intends the letter to commudeclined, Cahill told CatholicSan Francisco. ' nicate the agency is being "restored" and "stabilized," Indeed, Fitzpatrick said while some donors expressed
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anger to him, they "calmed down" after he pointed out damage to services was "limited. " "I know first hand that there's no reason for me to stop giving to Catholic Charities," he said. Another donor and board member said she plans to renew her financial commitment. Mary Male Schembri said many supporters called her to say they "wouldn 't give another cent" until the agency was "fixed". "We can say that it's fixed," commented Schembri, who chairs the board's new programs committee. She said the board has "identified the problems and addressed them and has changed procedures. " "The board is committed to much more oversight," Schembri noted. Schembri also said services did not suffer, due largely to the efforts of the professional staff. "Our reputation was damaged, but not the programs," she said. Still another long-time supporter said the situation had "raised questions about who is the ultimate beneficiary of those gifts. " William Coblentz, a director of the CATHOLIC CHARITIES, page 16
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