Week
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January 9, 2002
Inside the Register
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Sept. 11 attacks, new bishops, stem-cell funding top local news in 2001
Denver Catholics pray for peace, welcome first Hispanic bishop, build churches
By Alwen Bledsoe
Sept.
11 marked the most devastating moment of 2001 for most Americans as terrorist
attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centers left over 3,000 missing
or dead. A Memorial Mass Sept. 11 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
in Denver drew 700. Following President George W. Bush's declaration of
Sept. 14 as a Day of Prayer and Remembrance, 1,500 overwhelmed the noon
Mass at the cathedral.
New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge made national headlines as he spent his last moments administering last rites to victims in the World Trade Center, Catholic Charities USA distributed $16 million after the attacks, and the Knights of Columbus distributed $1.25 million to 417 families of emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. Pope John Paul II united Catholics worldwide Dec. 14 in prayer and fasting for peace and justice.
Earlier in the year, the Archdiocese of Denver received its first Hispanic bishop when Bishop José H. Gomez was ordained as auxiliary bishop March 26. The well-loved Msgr. Samuel Aquila became coadjuter bishop of the Diocese of Fargo, N.D., Aug. 24. Bishop Michael J. Sheridan was named the Diocese of Colorado Springs' first coadjutor bishop Dec. 4. In February the pope created 44 new cardinals, the most ever created at one time. Three were from the United States: Cardinals Edward M. Egan of New York, Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington and Avery Dulles, a Jesuit theologian.
Taking Msgr. Aquila's position as rector at St. John Vianney Seminary was Father Michael Glenn, also named president of Our Lady of the New Advent Theological Institute. The archdiocese also welcomed the ordinations of three new priests, four transitional deacons, and 10 permanent deacons.
In the political realm, President George W. Bush's decision to support federal funding for research on already-established human embryonic stem-cell lines disappointed Catholic ethicists and officials. Many called the decision a breach of morality as it allowed federal funding for destruction of some human embryos. Many U.S. bishops publicly opposed the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, which took place June 11. The pope himself made an appeal for clemency for McVeigh.
Pope John Paul II continued ecumenical and inter-religious work, traveling to Greece, Syria, Malta, Ukraine, Kazakstan and Armenia. In Greece, the pope publicly apologized for historical wrongs committed by Catholics against Orthodox Christians, and in Syria he became the first pope to visit a mosque. Locally Catholic-Orthodox dialogue took steps forward as St. Mark's Orthodox Church and Holy Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church offered a joint class on the Vatican Declaration Dominus Iesus.
Celebrations dotted the Catholic landscape of Northern Colorado with anniversaries, new buildings and dedications. Mount St. Vincent Home in Denver celebrated 118 years, St. Mary's in Littleton celebrated its 100th year with a dedication of its new sanctuary, St. Francis de Sales in Denver 90 years, and Our Lady of Grace in Denver 50 years. The cloistered nuns at the Carmelite monastery in Littleton celebrated the 750th anniversary of the scapular, a form of Marian devotion.
Our Lady of Loreto in Foxfield broke ground for a new church, and All Souls Catholic School began building a new baseball field in conjunction with the cities of Englewood and Sheridan, and the Colorado Rockies. St. William in Fort Lupton, Spirit of Christ in Arvada, St. Mary of Rifle and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Latin Mass community in Littleton, all completed new buildings this year. St. Helena's in Fort Morgan and St. Cajetan's in Denver both dedicated new parish halls.
Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., blessed INVESCO Field at Mile High at the eighth annual Brown Robe gala, a fundraising project for the ministries of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars and programs of the Denver Broncos Charities Fund.
Regis Jesuit High announced its decision to open the world's first all-girls Jesuit school in 2003, and Greeley opened St. Mary's Catholic School, the city's first Catholic school since 1986 when St. Peter's closed its parish school.
The archdiocese added to its outreach programs. Gabriel Project, run out of the Respect Life Office, began to provide pregnant women in need with spiritual, emotional and material support. The First Friday Forum provided Catholics with morning Mass and talks by Governor Bill Owens, President of Regis University Father Michael Sheeran, S. J., and Bishop Gomez.
The youth of the archdiocese restored the tradition of an all high school Mass, attended by 1,600 juniors and seniors from Denver's five Catholic High Schools. The fourth annual Steubenville of the Rockies conference drew more than 2,000 youth to Denver, the largest number yet. And over 560 youth from five states gathered at Winter Park to attend Encuentro, a conference for Hispanic youth.
Among Colorado Catholics honored in 2001 was Jim Nicholson, sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Aug. 10. The Archdiocese of Denver's Social Concerns Office awarded the Mauser and Downey families the 2001 Peacemaker Award. Linda, Tom, Christine and Madeline Mauser lost 15-year-old Daniel Mauser in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, and were awarded for their courage, community service and activism. Deacon Hugh and Marty Downey earned awards for 38-years of work with their organization Lalmba, a relief agency providing children's homes, clinics and other services throughout Africa.
Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, former archbishop of Denver and now president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity at the Vatican, returned to Denver in September to accept the archdiocese's first Imago Dei award in recognition of his 25th anniversary as bishop and his continued inter-religious and ecumenical work.
Priests recalled for service in 2001
The Archdiocese of Denver mourned the deaths of four beloved priests in 2001:
Father Leopold Mihelich, concentration camp survivor and retired pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Globeville, died May 24.
Msgr. Robert J. Greenslade, longtime pastor of Holy Family Church in Denver and eulogized by friend Father James Moreno as "a priest's priest, a gentleman's gentleman," died June 9.
Father Robert I. Durrie, the "people's priest" who led the St. Patrick's Day parade 35 years, died June 16.
Father Thomas H. Clement, remembered as a gifted teacher, died July 8.