ST. JOHN PAUL:
IN MEMORIAM:
CONFUSED?:
Readers recall how JPII touched them in person and in spirit
George Wesolek’s passion for life, family, justice
So are the critics of Hollywood’s biblical epic ‘Noah’
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Archdiocese: Seismic law could close schools VALERIE SCHMALZ CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
ily,” a title he said the late pope himself had hoped to be remembered by. Pope Francis said he was sure St. John Paul was guiding the church on its path to two upcoming synods of bishops on the family, to be held at the Vatican this October and in October 2015. The pope invoked the help of the two new papal saints for the synods’ success, and he prayed, “May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.” Pope Francis has said the agenda for the family synods will include
Catholic, private and charter K-12 schools face potentially devastating earthquake retrofitting and other costs and even school closures if the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes a seismic evaluation ordinance being pushed by the mayor’s office, archdiocesan officials say. “The City of San Francisco is poised to impose a crushing burden upon the Catholic schools of the city. And the worst part is that much of this burden is totally unnecessary,” Auxiliary Bishop Robert W. McElroy said. A third of the children in San Francisco attend private or religious schools, the largest percentage in the state of California. “Most private schools have not been adequately evaluated for their performance in a serious earthquake,” says a December 2013 report by the Private Schools Earthquake Safety Working Group. “While most San Francisco parents assume that all schools are required to be safe in earthquakes, this is not, in fact, the case,” the report says, noting that since 1933 public school construction has been regulated by the state Field Act while private school buildings fall under what were less stringent local building codes. The report estimates “33 percent of all San Francisco private school buildings have characteristics that indicate they might perform poorly in future earthquakes.” The archdiocese and most private schools only became aware of the working group and its report near the end of last year although the group began meeting at the end of 2012, officials said. “The problem with the proposed
SEE SAINTS, PAGE 17
SEE SEISMIC, PAGE 18
(CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING)
A banner shows new Sts. John Paul II and John XXIII and Jesus during an April 28 Mass of thanksgiving for the canonizations of the new saints in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
Pope Francis, with retired Pope Benedict, canonizes Sts. John and John Paul FRANCIS X. ROCCA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY – Canonizing two recent popes in the presence of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis praised the new Sts. John XXIII and John Paul II as men of courage and mercy, who responded to challenges of their time by modernizing the Catholic Church in fidelity to its ancient traditions. “They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century,” the pope said April 27, in his homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. “They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful.” “John XXIII and John Paul cooper-
ated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the church in keeping with her original features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries,” he said. Speaking before a crowd of half a million that included retired Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis praised St. John for his best-known accomplishment, calling the Second Vatican Council, which he said “showed an exquisite openness to the Holy Spirit.” “He let himself be led, and he was for the church a pastor, a servantleader,” the pope said of St. John. “This was his great service to the church. I like to think of him as the pope of openness to the Spirit.” Pope Francis characterized St. John Paul as the “pope of the fam-
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INDEX On the Street . . . . . . . . .4 Missionary Childhood Association . . . . . . . . . 12 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . .22