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January 1, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

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‘It all comes back to Jesus’

Bishop Jugis commemorates Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God Jan. 1

SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — Recalling that on the eighth day after the birth of Christ, St. Joseph pronounced Jesus’ name publicly for the first time, Bishop Peter Jugis reminded those gathered at St. Patrick Cathedral for Mass Jan. 1 that Our Lady’s distinction as the Mother of God and our bearing the name of Christians is “all because of Jesus.”

“On the eighth day after the Child is born, the holy name of Jesus is given to the baby boy born of Mary. That is what we are commemorating on this, the eighth day of Christmas – a very significant event in the life of Jesus according to Jewish law,” Bishop Jugis explained during his homily at the reduced-capacity Mass, streamed live from the cathedral for the people of the Diocese of Charlotte. (Jan. 1 is normally a holy day of obligation, but the obligation to attend Mass in person continues to remain lifted by the bishop.)

It was on the eighth day after Jesus was born that St. Joseph gave Him the name that the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

In his homily, Bishop Jugis recalled that during that Jewish religious ceremony, Jesus was brought into God’s covenant with Israel.

He also noted, “It is because of Jesus that Mary has the title Mother of God. If there were no Jesus, there would be no reason for the title Mother of God.” And, he continued, “it is because of Jesus that St. Joseph has his vocation as (Jesus’) foster father.”

“It all comes back to Jesus. It is all dependent on Jesus.”

“The Blessed Mother and St. Joseph have the extreme privilege given them by God of welcoming Jesus into the world and raising Him to adulthood. What an immense honor God bestowed upon them!”

And, Bishop Jugis continued, “What a tremendous honor God has bestowed upon us. It is also because of Jesus we bear the name Christian… Our name as a people takes its name from Christ: ‘Christian.’ We are known in this life as followers of Jesus the Savior.”

The name Jesus means “God saves,” he said.

“Just as St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother took on great responsibility, so also we – as Christians, bearing His name – take on a great responsibility of living our daily lives in faithful witness to that name that we bear.” PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAMES SARKIS

Bishop Jugis encouraged people to pronounce the name Bishop Peter Jugis celebrates a livestreamed Mass Jan. 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy of Jesus as a blessing over their families for the New Mother of God, from St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte for the people of the diocese. Year, drawing from the ancient prayer: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give this New Year with that blessing from the Lord – along with St. you peace. So shall you invoke My name and I will bless them.” Joseph, (and) along with our Blessed Mother, the Mother of God –

At the conclusion of his homily, Bishop Jugis said, “Let us begin pronouncing that most holy name, Jesus.”

Bishop Jugis encourages families to keep God at the center of family life

PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE EDITOR

CHARLOTTE — On the Feast of the Holy Family, Bishop Peter Jugis prayed for “God’s blessing upon all of our families – that God will keep our families strong in faith and united in love.”

During his homily for Mass Dec. 27 at St. Patrick Cathedral, Bishop Jugis reflected on the mystery of the Son of God becoming man and growing up in a family home, choosing to live among us as fully human.

“He truly became one of us in all things but sin and experienced life in a family,” the bishop said. “He’s the Son of God, He rules the entire universe, and yet He decides to submit Himself to the authority of His foster father, St. Joseph, and of His mother, the Blessed Virgin.”

“What a mystery! God became man,” the bishop said, shaking his head in wonder.

The Gospel reading of the day (Luke 2:22-40) also notes that religion was at the center of the Holy Family’s daily life, the bishop continued.

“The Holy Family sets an example for us to imitate: to make sure that religion is the center of our family life also,” he said. “God is first, keeping the family united in His grace and love to provide a strong foundation for the family.”

Praying together with and for each other is important for a wholesome and peaceful family life, he said.

If God is first in the family, then family life exudes the Christian virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, thankfulness, and living together in love and peace – just as St. Paul describes in his letter to the Colossians (Col 3:12-21).

“All of these Christian virtues give a powerful witness to the fact that Christ is present in that family,” he said.

Bishop Jugis concluded, “On this day that we celebrate the Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph – (and) Jesus deciding to grow to manhood in a family home, just like any of us – let us thank God for the family that He has given to each one of us, and let us all do our part to build up our own family in God’s love so that we may live in peace with one another.”

Former Capuchin priest Yurgel accused of abuse in new lawsuit

CHARLOTTE — Former Capuchin Franciscan priest Robert Yurgel, who was dismissed from his religious order and removed from the priesthood in 2010, has been accused by a second man of child sexual abuse in the late 1990s while Yurgel served as a parochial vicar in the Diocese of Charlotte.

A California man, now 28, alleges in a civil lawsuit that Yurgel abused him at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte when the man was about 5 to 7 years old. Yurgel was assigned by his New Jerseybased religious order to work in the Charlotte diocese from 1997 to 1999.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 14, 2020, in Mecklenburg County Superior Court against Yurgel, the Diocese of Charlotte, and Yurgel’s former religious order, the Capuchin Franciscans’ Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis in Union City, N.J.

In a Dec. 22 statement to the Catholic News Herald, the diocese said it was reviewing the complaint and that attorneys for the claimant informed the diocese that the allegation had also been reported to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. Public records show no charges have been filed.

Yurgel served more than seven years in prison after a Charlotte man reported to police in 2008 that Yurgel had sexually abused him as a teen in the late 1990s at St. Matthew Church. The diocese has previously said it became aware of that allegation in 2008 when Yurgel was arrested in New Jersey, where he had been assigned by his religious order.

Yurgel’s criminal case was widely publicized in local media, including the Catholic News Herald, and a civil lawsuit filed by the victim against Yurgel, the Capuchin Franciscans and the Charlotte diocese was settled in 2010. Yurgel’s name was included on a historical list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse published by the diocese in 2019 (online at accountability. charlottediocese.org).

The new suit does not detail the alleged abuse of the second claimant and primarily recounts the allegations of the previous victim’s claim. The suit states only that Yurgel “abused plaintiff during his tenure…on several occasions at St. Matthew,” and contends the diocese and the Capuchin Franciscans were negligent in supervising Yurgel.

In its statement, the diocese said it “takes all allegations of child sexual abuse seriously no matter when they might have occurred and continues to encourage anyone who has information about possible abuse to report it to police.”

The diocese has had formal policies and procedures in place to protect against abuse and other inappropriate contact with youth by clergy, Church