ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - SEPTEMBER 2021 REPORT

ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH
SEPTEMBER 2021 REPORT 

Donor Count 376 

2021 Goal $125,410

Amount Pledged $176,773

Balance Due $14,071

Amount Paid $162,701

Unfortunate News About Fr Ryan's Reinstatement

September 16, 2021

Feast of St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian

Dear St. Francis de Sales Parish,

By now, the archdiocese will have informed you that my return to the parish will be delayed while its Independent Review Board investigates new information about an accusation against me that had been previously closed. I hope this will be expeditiously resolved. I write to you with both sadness and disappointment that I will not be returning as we had planned and with the firm belief that this additional investigation will result in my exoneration. I would like the parish to know that there is not a new accuser.

It is important that you know I categorically deny that I have ever abused a child. I have faith the investigation will confirm what I know to be true and that I will return to parish ministry when it concludes. At the same time, I want to affirm that the Church must be vigilant in protecting children and that only by investigating all such charges can we fulfill that obligation.

I am grateful to Father Jerome Jacob, Father Robert Heinz, the visiting priests, our Deacons, the parish and school staff and many volunteers in our ministries for their work during this difficult time. I pray for them and you and ask that you keep me in your prayers as we endure this separation. I am humbled by the on-going prayers and support of the good people in our good parish. Please be patient and stay together as a parish family, dedicated to the teachings of Jesus and each other.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. David F. Ryan

Dear Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish,

Last week, I informed you that our Independent Review Board (IRB) had found there was insufficient reason to suspect Father David Ryan had committed sexual abuse of a minor and that I was reinstating him as your pastor, effective immediately.

However, since then, additional information, not previously provided to the Archdiocese or the IRB, has surfaced and that will mean delaying Father Ryan’s return to the parish while it is thoroughly investigated. Father Ryan has assured us that he will cooperate fully as he understands that we must take every allegation seriously in accordance with our child protection policies.

I share your disappointment at this news, especially as I know plans were being made to welcome Father Ryan back this weekend. But, I ask your patience once again as we fulfill our obligation to keep the children entrusted to us safe and proceed in a way that serves the cause of justice for all concerned. Please continue to pray for everyone involved in this matter and know that I am praying for you. We will share new information as it becomes available.

Sincerely yours in Christ

Blase Cardinal Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago

The Seven Last Words of Jesus Prayer Service [Good Friday | April 2, 2021]

Good evening.

Jesus, the word of God, gave us words of wisdom filled with hope and spoken from His heart. His words provide the truth about the meaning of life and call us, each of us, to work tirelessly for building a community of disciples which is rooted in his unconditional, unqualified love. The season of Lent has provided us with the opportunity to go deeper. To go deeper into our minds and deeper into our hearts to draw us closer to the realisation of God's presence in our lives. On this Good Friday, Jesus' final words, spoken to us as his human life was ending, help us better understand God's love for each of us. His Last Words show us human pain and suffering, and they promise that God's love is the source of life. So as we gather tonight my friends, whether in our sanctuary or the sanctuaries of our home, we enter into these seven last words of our Jesus. These words will come alive for us as fellow disciples witness to the way that these words are intertwined in the narrative of each of their own lives. But our collective prayer is that as we walk this journey with our Lord tonight our mind and heart will be open to see and hear how the very Paschal mystery that we celebrate in these sacred days is patterned in each of our own paths of discipleship. So may each of us find inspiration to love God and to love others as we reflect together on Jesus's last words.

- Fr Bradley Zamora

Our Faith Community - NOW!

Have you been enjoying this new column series??? Let us know!

St. Francis has returned to all Masses inside. Weekday and weekend Masses are now offered in church. We are seeing growing attendance inside church at all the services. We continue to take precautions to make sure everyone is healthy, such as having ministers of the Eucharist wear masks and cleanse their hands often. Currently you don’t have to register to attend a Mass because we do not have capacity limits. It is such a pleasure to be able to come together in church and receive the Eucharist.

We are a sacramental church!  We have been celebrating so many baptisms in the past months. What a joy to welcome the little ones into our faith community. There have been several weddings in the past months. How wonderful that these couples are including their faith in their decision to marry.  If you have put off a baptism or “church” wedding, give us a call we’d love to talk

We were talking with Fr. Paul Wachdorf about the anointing of the sick that he recently performed. Anointing is available to persons who are dealing with illness. Fr. Paul mentioned that he anointed a person who is expected to live a few more months. It gave the person great comfort to be anointed and also provided a way to talk with family members about wishes when the person dies. Call the parish office if you would like to talk about this wonderful sacrament.

Have you noticed that instead of youth serving as altar servers, you’re seeing deacons doing those duties? For now, we aren’t using youth to altar serve due to health concerns. This may change when the school year starts. The deacons have been at all the Masses to help at the altar. And by the way, we are more than just “big, old” altar servers. We have been doing the setup for Mass because many of our Masses are celebrated by visiting priests. And besides that, it’s just good for the deacons to be available to people before and after Mass.

If you are worried about coming into church and being in a crowd, we are offering an option. At the 11 am Sunday Mass, you can park in the back parking lot, stay in your car, listen to the Mass on your car radio and receive the Eucharist in your car. As you get to the back parking lot, look for directions from our Knights of Columbus. We expect to offer this option for awhile until it is safe for everyone to return to the church building.

It’s been nice to see that several people are coming to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturdays. At 4 pm, in church, one of our priests is there to offer the sacrament until 4:45 pm. We provide some guides to preparing for the sacrament and copies of the Act of Contrition, in case you forgot. If it’s been a while, the priest is glad to walk you through the process. Come by and take advantage of this powerful sacrament.

Fall Scripture Study REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

Back to School Backpacks want to say THANK YOU!

THANK YOU to all who participated in the Back-to-School program! We again had a wonderful year with 261 backpacks donated to needy children! Because of your generosity, these children will start school with a new backpack and the school supplies they need for a successful year. The backpacks were distributed to low income children through our St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Our Lady of Tepeyac and Catholic Charities, just in time for the first day of school. We are grateful for your contributions to support these children and for giving them a chance for a bright new future.

Catechists Needed!

Father Ryan Reinstated as Pastor Effective Immediately!

Hallelujah!!! It is with GREAT pleasure that we share the attached letter from Cardinal Cupich with you. This letter was made public today at 1:00pm.

Fr Ryan is planning to return to our parish on Monday, September 13, celebrating  the 8:30am Mass- and will be with us going forward!

God bless Fr Ryan and our parish community!!!

September 9, 2021

Dear Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales Parish,

Last November, I informed you of an accusation against your pastor, Father David F. Ryan, and that, in keeping with our procedures, he was asked to step aside from his pastoral duties until a thorough investigation and process could be completed. He has fully cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during these months.

Following the determination by state officials, who are charged with the protection of minors, that the allegation of child abuse was unfounded, the Independent Review Board of the Archdiocese of Chicago investigated the allegations in accordance with our usual procedures.

At their meeting on Saturday, August 21, 2021, they found there was insufficient reason to suspect Father Ryan had committed sexual abuse of a minor. Therefore, I am pleased to inform you that I am reinstating Father Ryan as your pastor effective immediately.

These have been difficult days and months for you as a parish. You have shown great patience as each jurisdiction completed its process. I thank you for doing so. Father Ryan has also suffered, as you well know, but he has offered that suffering freely, convinced of the need for us as a Church to keep our word that the protection and safety of our children remains the priority.

After the Independent Review Board meeting, I immediately contacted Father Ryan and shared the recommendations of the Review Board. He took the occasion to reaffirm his longstanding conviction that the Church must remain vigilant in protecting our children, and that we should spare no effort to bring healing to victim survivors who have been harmed. In keeping with the spirit he has demonstrated during these difficult months, he let me know that he fully embraces our longstanding policies and practices regarding the conduct of all church personnel, and asked that I take the occasion of this letter to remind our parishioners and the public that: 1) since 1992, we have enforced safe environment protocols and a code of conduct for all who work with minors and we have reached out to victims with pastoral and personal attention; 2) since 2002 we have reported all allegations to the civil authorities and in that year we reported all historical allegations to these authorities; 3) beginning in 2006, we have publicly listed the names of priests who have substantiated allegations of abuse of minors against them and in 2014 we published more than 20,000 pages of information on these cases; 4) in accord with our zero tolerance policy, no priest with even one substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor remains in ministry.

At the same time, I reminded Father Ryan that our policies also call us to do everything possible to restore the good name of priests when the process has determined the allegations to be unfounded. This, too, is a matter of justice. Therefore, both out of regard for Father Ryan and all our priests, I am resolved to see that Father Ryan's good name is restored. As a result, I will share this letter with all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago, asking them to provide it to their parishioners. This letter will also be sent to the media and posted on our archdiocesan website.

Healing now must be the pathway forward for all of us. Father Ryan shares this very same sentiment and you can honor him by doing everything to make sure that a spirit of reconciliation and unity prevails as you move ahead with the efforts of Renew My Church to make your parish vibrant, vital and sustainable. In this way, the mission of Jesus can flourish.

That is my prayer for you.

Sincerely yours in Christ,