Press Releases
May, 2005

Catholics across Connecticut to contact State Representatives and Senators and urge them to oppose legislation on Embryonic Stem Cell Research

"Have Faith in Your Child's Future" is the theme for a marketing campaign and enrollment drive for Bridgeport's six Catholic elementary schools, with an Open House on June 12

A new community mausoleum named for Saint Monica at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Trumbull will be blessed and dedicated on June 1

Bishop William Lori will ordain two men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Bridgeport on Saturday, May 21, at Saint Augustine Cathedral

Renowned Catholic theologian and speaker Christopher West comes to Stamford on May 13 and 14 to discuss love, marriage, and sex

Contacts: Dr. Joseph McAleer, Director of Communications, Diocese of Bridgeport:
(203) 372-4301, ext. 223, or e-mail.
Dr. Marie Hilliard, Executive Director, Connecticut Catholic Conference:
860-524-7882 or e-mail.

HARTFORD - Legislation endorsing and financing Embryonic Stem Cell Research in Connecticut will soon be voted on by the State Legislature, and Catholics throughout the state are urged to contact their legislators in opposition.

This alert coincides with the news that a majority of Americans, 52 percent, oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, while just 36 percent support it, according to a new poll commissioned by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Details of this new poll are listed below.

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In all Catholic parishes in the four Dioceses (Archdiocese of Hartford, Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Bridgeport, and the Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford) across Connecticut the weekend of May 14 and 15, an alert was issued containing the following information:

"An Act Permitting Stem Cell Research and Banning the Cloning of Human Beings" (SB 934) does not fully ban human cloning, because it allows for the creation and destruction of human embryos up to at least eight weeks of age through research or “therapeutic” cloning.

Proposed Bill is Unethical and Exploitative

Major Concerns with SB 934 include:

• It endorses and funds the unethical practice of embryonic stem cell research.
  
• The language concerning how long the embryo can grow before it is destroyed is not clear, potentially allowing the embryo to grow for many weeks.
  
• It does not ban the selling of human eggs for research, which will allow for the exploitation of poor women. Research cloning and embryonic stem cell research will require millions of human eggs.

Position of the Catholic Church on Stem-Cell Research

The Catholic Church supports the use of "adult" stem cells in medical research and treatments to find a cure for some of the most devastating illnesses our society faces. Adult stem cell research holds great promise for finding cures to some of the worse illnesses in our society.

The Church strongly opposes the use of "embryonic" stem cells in scientific research, since it involves the destruction of a human life at its earliest stage. The creation of life, for the purpose of destroying it to save another, is a direct attack on the sacred dignity of human life. The Church holds that embryonic stem cell research is a grave evil.

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Please contact your State Senator and Representative and ask them to oppose SB 934 and Embryonic Stem Cell Research:

For contact information on a member of the Connecticut State House of Representatives, click here

For contact information on a member of the Connecticut State Senate, click here

To contact Governor M. Jodi Rell, click here

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For More Information

Questions & Answers on Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (Adobe PDF): click here.

Connecticut Catholic Conference: Current news and articles on stem cell research: click here.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Pro-Life Activities: Cloning/Embryo Research/Stem Cell Research Updates: click here.

To read Bishop William E. Lori's recent column on stem-cell research, click here.

To learn more about the issues of concern to Catholics, visit the website of the Connecticut Catholic Conference: www.ctcatholic.org.

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New Poll: Most Americans Oppose Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research Using Human Embryos

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 16, 2005) -- A majority of Americans, 52 percent, oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research while just 36 percent support it, according to a new poll commissioned by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Such funding is being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives, which may soon vote on a bill (H.R. 810) to fund research requiring human embryos to be destroyed for their stem cells.

When respondents were told that scientists disagree on whether embryonic stem cells, or stem cells from adult tissues and umbilical cord blood, may end up being most successful in treating diseases, 60% favored funding only the research avenues that raise no moral problem, while 22% favored funding all stem cell research including the kind that involves destroying embryos.

“It is always wrong for government to promote the destruction of innocent human life,” said Richard M. Doerflinger, Deputy Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “To do so when a clear majority of the taxpayers themselves reject this approach would be especially irresponsible.”

The questions were part of a national survey conducted by International Communications Research, which polled over one thousand American adults by telephone May 6-11. A comparison of the results with an identical poll from last year shows a clear trend against funding stem cell research that requires destroying early human embryos. In August 2004, Americans opposed funding the research 47 percent to 43 percent. The follow-up question on kinds of stem cell research has received a more consistent response, with the 2004 poll showing a 61% to 23% margin in favor of funding only morally unproblematic avenues of research.

The new findings are also consistent with a recent Winston Group poll of Republicans commissioned by GOP Congressmen supporting H.R. 810. The Winston poll sponsors have touted a 57- to 40-percent poll result seeming to favor embryonic stem cell research among Republicans; but that poll showed just 36 percent of Republicans in favor of expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and 58 percent in favor of President Bush's policy of limited funding or no government funding at all.

“Congress should not be misled on this important issue,” said Doerflinger. “Most Americans oppose federal funding of research which requires destroying human embryos.”

The International Communications Research poll questions and results are as follows:

Questions asked by International Communications Research, a national research firm headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania. A weighted sample of 1010 American adults was surveyed by telephone May 6-11, 2005, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.

1. Stem cells are the basic cells from which all of a person's tissues and organs develop. Congress is considering the question of federal funding for experiments using stem cells from human embryos. The live embryos would be destroyed in their first week of development to obtain these cells. Do you support or oppose using your federal tax dollars for such experiments?

Support: 36.0%
Oppose: 51.6%
Don’t know: 10.5%
Refused: 1.9%

2. Stem cells for research can be obtained by destroying human embryos. They can also be obtained from adults, from placentas left over from live births, and in other ways that do no harm to the donor. Scientists disagree on which source may end up being most successful in treating diseases. How would you prefer your tax dollars to be used this year for stem cell research?

(Options rotated)

Supporting all methods, including those that require destroying human embryos, to see which will be most successful: 22.4%

or

Supporting research using adult stem cells and other alternatives, to see if there is no need to destroy human embryos for research: 60.2%

Neither (volunteered): 7.8%
Don’t know: 8.0%
Refused: 1.6%

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BRIDGEPORT - All across the Park City and along Interstate 95, billboards issue a clarion call to parents: "Have Faith in Your Child's Future." Brochures and posters with the same message are on display in neighborhood shops and stores.

It's all part of a new marketing campaign for the Cathedral Education Cluster, representing the six Catholic elementary schools in Bridgeport. The goal is twofold: to increase awareness of the quality education at the six schools, and to build enrollment for the coming school year.

"We know that many parents would want to enroll their children in our schools, but may not be aware that financial aid is available," says Dr. Margaret Dames, superintendent of schools. "For years, children of all faiths have flourished in our Catholic schools. We want to offer a warm invitation to parents to come and learn more about our outstanding Catholic schools."

Scholarship Lottery at June 12 Expo

Backed by a series of radio commercials on WICC and WEBE and posters on city buses, the marketing campaign hopes to draw parents to the first annual Catholic Schools Expo, on Sunday, June 12, from 1-4 p.m. at the Cardinal Shehan Center, 1494 Main Street, Bridgeport. Representatives from the six schools will be on hand to answer questions, provide information on financial aid, and help parents fill out pre-registration forms. A lottery will be held for 20 school half scholarships.

All are welcome to attend.

The six elementary schools that form the Cathedral Education Cluster are Saint Peter School, Saint Ann School, Saint Ambrose School, Saint Andrew School, Saint Augustine School at Saint Emery Parish, and Saint Raphael School.

Teachers, students, and parents have helped to spread the word in neighborhoods across the city on the new campaign and the June 12 Expo event.

CAPTION: A new marketing campaign to spotlight the Cathedral Educational Cluster schools includes billboards, newspape and bus advertisements, and radio commercials in the city of Bridgeport.

For more information on the June 12 Expo or for financial aid information, call the enrollment hotline: 395-1558 or visit www.cathedralcluster.org.

On Bishop William Lori's "Sunday with the Bishop" radio show on May 22, the topic was the Bridgeport Catholic Elementary Schools and the upcoming June 12 Expo. Guests included Larry Bossidy, chairman of the Cathedral Education Cluster Board. To listen to the show, click here.

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TRUMBULL - Bishop William E. Lori will bless and dedicate Saint Monica Mausoleum, a new community mausoleum, on Wednesday, June 1, at 3 p.m. at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 1056 Daniels Farm Road, Trumbull.

All are welcome to attend.

The indoor/outdoor complex has 1,056 crypt spaces and 120 niches for cremation remains. Already 60 percent of spaces has been pre-sold.

The building of the new mausoleum reflects a growing demand in Fairfield County for above-ground burial space.

There are three stained-glass windows depicting Saint Monica in the new facility, as well as office space, a first for Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

"We're excited about the administration office, which will serve Gate of Heaven Cemetery and Saint Monica Mausoleum," says Ray Capo, director of cemeteries for the Diocese of Bridgeport. The office will open in August.

The Diocese of Bridgeport has 15 Catholic Cemeteries located throughout Fairfield County: 12 are active and open for burials, and three are inactive but maintained. Saint Monica's is the ninth Catholic mausoleum in the diocese.

(For more information on Saint Monica Mausoleum or to make an appointment to view the new facility, call 268-5574.)

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Who was Saint Monica?

Saint Monica (333-387) was the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo, the patron saint of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Born and raised in North Africa, Monica was a humble and pious woman who by example and prayer converted her pagan (and unfaithful) husband and his mother to the Catholic faith. Two of her three children entered religious life.

Monica had a much harder time with Augustine, who abandoned his faith at age 19 and lived an immoral and self-indulgent life. Heart-sick, Monica prayed intensely for his conversion for nearly 20 years, never giving up hope in God's saving love. A priest, moved by her perseverance and faith, consoled Monica by saying, "It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish."

SAINT MONICA greets her son, Saint Augustine of Hippo (the patron saint of the Diocese of Bridgeport), in this beautiful stained glass window, one of three which adorn the new Saint Monica Mausoleum at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. (Photo by John Glover)

He did not. One year before her death, Monica witnessed the baptism of her son by Saint Ambrose. Saint Augustine became one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church.

Just before she died, Saint Monica told her son that her main mission in life had been fulfilled:

"I no longer find any pleasure in life. What more I have to do here and why I am still here I do not know, since I have no longer anything to hope for in this world. There was only one reason why I wanted to stay a little longer in this life, and that was that I should see you a Catholic before I died. Now God has granted me this beyond my hopes."

Saint Monica's last and enduring words to her son were, "I have only one request to make of you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord, wherever you may be." Faithful to this request, Saint Augustine went on to remember her whenever he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and it was there that he was united with her, until he saw her again, in the eternal bliss of heaven.

A shining example of patience, perseverance, holiness, and unconditional love, it is no wonder that Saint Monica is the patron saint of mothers. Her feast day is August 27.

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BRIDGEPORT - Bishop William E. Lori will ordain two new priests for the Diocese of Bridgeport during Mass on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at Saint Augustine Cathedral, 359 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport.

All are invited to attend.

"Fathers Shawn Cutler and Robert Kinnally are two very qualified young men with broad educational and work experiences," says Father Chris Walsh, vocations director for the diocese. "They are a gift to the Diocese of Bridgeport and, I am sure, will both be outstanding priests."

CAPTION: Deacons Robert Kinnally and Shawn Cutler will be ordained to the priesthood on May 21 at Saint Augustine Cathedral. (Photo by John Glover)

Father Shawn Cutler
Father Shawn W. Cutler, 32, was born and raised in Maine by his parents, Sheila and the late Dr. William Cutler. He graduated from John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, and the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He received a master's degree in business from Husson College in Bangor, and worked as an accountant with Page Employers before entering major seminary at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Father Cutler served pastoral assignments at Saint Peter Parish in Danbury, Saint Pius X Parish in Fairfield, and Saint Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. He was ordained as a transitional deacon by Bishop Lori last December at Saint Pius, and completes his seminary studies at Catholic University this month.

Father Cutler will celebrate his first Mass at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, at Saint Pius X Parish. Father Lawrence Carroll, pastor, will be the homilist.

Father Robert Kinnally
Father Robert M. Kinnally, 45, was born and raised in Yonkers, NY, spending his summers in Brookfield at Candlewood Lake. His parents, Ann Mary and Robert, are still summer residents of Brookfield, where they attend Saint Joseph Parish. He attended Iona Preparatory High School in New Rochelle, NY, graduated from Manhattan College in 1982, and received his master's degree from New York University.

A member of the American Guild of Organists, Father Kinnally was director of music and organist at Saint Augustine Cathedral in 1987. He can point to 17 years of university admission and financial aid experience. At Stanford University in California, he was dean of admissions and financial aid from 1997 until he entered the Fisher Residence in 2000.

Father Kinnally served summer assignments at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Weston and Saint Pius X Parish in Fairfield. Last May, he was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Lori at Saint Pius. He completes his seminary studies at Catholic University this month.

Father Kinnally will celebrate his first Mass on Sunday, May 22, at 2 p.m. at Saint Pius X Parish. Father Timothy Scannell, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Dobbs Ferry, NY, and adjunct professor of Scripture at Fordham University, will be the homilist.

For more information about the vocations program of the Diocese of Bridgeport, visit www.saintjohnfisher.org

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STAMFORD - Christopher West, the renowned speaker, writer, and authority on the late Pope John Paul II's groundbreaking "Theology of the Body" teachings on love, sex, and marriage, will visit Stamford this month for a special two-day evangelization event.

On Friday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, West will give a presentation provocatively titled, "Catholic 'Sex and the City,'" a response to the pressures facing single adults and couples and their sexual lives.

The following day, Saturday, May 14, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. also at Trinity Catholic High, West will offer "An Introduction to the Theology of the Body," a seminar recommended for adults of any age who wish to learn more on how to nurture loving relationships while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

He will discuss some of the most fundamental questions of human existence, including, "What is the meaning of life?" "Why are we created male and female?" and "How is our culture selling a counterfeit vision of sex, and what can we do about it?"

CAPTION: Christopher West's talk last year at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield drew an audience of over 1,200 people. (Photo by John Glover)

Bishop William E. Lori will open the May 14 event with Mass. The workshop is especially appropriate for Catholics who seek personal enrichment of their faith or who are preparing for marriage, as well as those individuals from other faiths who are preparing to become Catholic.

"We introduced 'Theology of the Body' last year at our conference held at Sacred Heart University, which drew 1,200 people. Now we're going deeper," explains Betty Anne Casaretti, Diocesan director of Young Adult Ministry, who is coordinating the weekend sponsored by the Office for Christian Formation. "Christopher West is a dynamic speaker, and everyone longs to hear more of his compelling explanations of these so-called 'hot-button' topics."

West is director of the Theology of the Body Institute and holds visiting faculty appointments at Creighton University in Omaha, NB, and the John Paul Institute for Marriage and Family in Australia. His books include Good News about Sex & Marriage and Theology of the Body Explained.

Registration is not required for "Catholic 'Sex and the City." There is a suggested donation of $8.

Pre-registration is required for "An Introduction to the Theology of the Body." The $30 fee includes breakfast, lunch, and workbook. To register, visit www.ocfdob.org, or call 372-4301, ext. 359.

For more information on Christopher West, visit www.christopherwest.com.

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