Vincentians: Jim Lonergan ‘blessed’ to lead San Mateo SVdP
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Blessing the sick:
‘Slow Medicine’:
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Cardinal presides at Day of the Sick Mass
Reclaiming health care’s humanity
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO Newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Serving San Francisco, Marin & San Mateo Counties
www.catholic-sf.org
February 22, 2018
$1.00 | VOL. 19 NO. 4
Archbishop Lori calls for new focus on MLK’s call to nonviolence Christopher Gunty Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE – The upcoming 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. prompted Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori to write a pastoral letter on the civil rights leader’s principles of nonviolence. The new document comes almost three years after riots shook the city of Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray Jr. from injuries sustained while in police custody. It also follows on the archbishop’s call in a New Year’s service and in columns and other discussions encouraging people to “change the narrative” about Baltimore. “The Enduring Power of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Principles of Nonviolence: A Pastoral Reflection” was formally issued on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14. In it, the archbishop says, “Now is the time for all of us to reconnect with Dr. King and his teaching.” A pastoral letter is an open letter about Catholic teaching or practice from a bishop to his people. The archbishop’s first pastoral, “A Light Brightly Visible,” laid out his goals for missionary see archbishop, page 10
(Photo by Dennis Callahan/Catholic San Francisco)
Archbishop distributes ashes
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone distributes ashes at Ash Wednesday services Feb. 14 at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Meanwhile, in San Francisco’s Financial District, workers flocked to Ash Wednesday services directed by Deacon Simon Tsui and laypersons from Old St. Mary’s Cathedral and Chinese Mission. See story on Page 5. In Rome, Pope Francis said Ash Wednesday is a time to get in sync with the heart of Jesus. See story on Page 16.
Vatican astronomer shares religion’s trouble with ‘techies’ Christina Gray Catholic San Francisco
Most parish priests today are at a disadvantage in sharing matters of faith with scientists and engineers – a group culturally described as ‘techies’ – says the director of the Vatican Observatory. “I’m not sure that today’s pastors know how to talk to these people,” Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno said at a Feb. 10 talk at the University of San Francisco. Brother Consolmagno’s talk, “God’s Mechanics: The Religious Life of Techies,” grew out of his similarly titled 2008 book and his experiences as an astronomer, meteorist and self-described techie. The talk was sponsored by Friends of St. Ignatius, a community cultivated by St. Ignatius Parish and composed of graduates of Jesuit institutions in the Bay Area and others shaped by Jesuit education and ministries.
‘For 1,900 years, the smartest guy in every village was the parish priest. The difficulty is that a lot of the language the church uses, a lot of Brother Guy Consolmagno the symbolism it uses will not only not be understood: It will be misunderstood.’ Brother Guy described a techie as not just someone who is “really, really good at using a cell phone”
or even someone who makes a living in a technical or scientific field. “A techie is someone whose orientation to the universe is pragmatic, logical and functional,” he said. A philosopher will look at the universe and ask “is it true?”An artist will ask “is it beautiful?” “But a techie is going to look at the universe and ask, ‘how does it work?’” Brother Guy said. “That’s how they see things, as processes to be understood, jobs to be done and problems to be solved.” Brother Guy was appointed director of La Specola Vaticana (the Vatican Observatory) by Pope Francis in 2014. He has undergraduate and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in Planetary Science. Along with more than 200 scientific publications, he has co-authored “Turn Left at Orion” (Cambridge University Press,
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see astronomer, page 8
Index On the Street . . . . . . . . 4 National . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 27