Fr. Richard MacDonald, Fr. Jan de Jong and Fr. Tony Russo were a team at the SCJ Mini-Golf Tournament during the assembly

Province assembly comes to an end

“The Dehonian Charism and the Year of Mercy” was the theme of the 2016 Province Assembly held June 6-10 in Hales Corners, WI.

Speakers included Fr. John van den Hengel, former vicar general and now superior of the Canadian Region, who spoke about the concept of “mercy” in the founder’s writings. “Fr. Dehon has some beautiful words about the power of God’s mercy,” said Fr. John. “Mercy makes possible the capacity in humans to be merciful to others.”

Fr. Byron Haaland, spoke about mercy in relation to reparation and the religious vows of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. “As Priests of the Sacred we are called by way of reparation and oblation to make the Church merciful,” said Fr. Byron. “This is not an option. It is our vocation, our call that drives us to go forth into the world.”

Dr. Grant Silva, assistant profession of philosophy at Marquette University, addressed mercy in regards to the current migration crisis. Migrants, both legal and illegal, should receive mercy, he said. Yet it is important that this mercy not be given out of a sense of forgiveness. “Mercy as forgiveness should be reserved for us, those sinners who live with our First World privileges and yet do nothing to help our brothers and sisters that reside in horrendous conditions,” said Dr. Silva. “Mercy as compassion is the best approach to take.”

The final presenter on the topic of mercy was Fr. Paul Kelly, who, reflecting on his own life, spoke about how we are personally touched by God’s mercy expressed through others. “If we allow God to work in us, we can be shown the way, the way to give mercy, to receive mercy,” he said.

Br. Frank and Kathleen Dahlgren organize a PowerPoint — Br. Frank Presto and Kathleen Dahlgren organize a PowerPoint

The assembly also included presentations by Fr. Stephen Huffstetter, general councilor, on the general administration’s Six Year Plan (“Mercy, in the footsteps of God”), Kathleen Dahlgren (province attorney) on Power of Attorney documentation, and Mary Gorski (province communications) on resources available to SCJs on the internet.

Click here to read more about the assembly on the province website.

Click here to view a photo album from the days (including pictures of the SCJ Mini-Golf Championship!).

Click here to download a high-resolution copy of the group photo.

Texts from several of the presentations will be made available to SCJs later this week.

Fr. Stephen Huffstetter (general councilor), Fr. Duy Nguyen, Fr. Ed Kilianski (provincial superior), Fr. Frank Bursnick, Fr. John van den Hengel (regional superior of Canada), Fr. Vincent Suparman, Fr. Joe Dean, Fr. Joe Doscher, Fr. John Czyzynski, Fr. Greg Schill, Fr. Mike Burke, Fr. Charles Brown, Br. Frank Presto and Br. Ben Humpfer. Not pictured: Fr. Anthony Kluckman and Fr. Greg Speck.

Province jubilees

Five hundred years of religious life! That’s what members of the US Province celebrated on June 3 during the annual Province Jubilee Mass.

Fr. Ed congratulations Fr. John and Fr. Mike, 60-year jubilarians — Fr. Ed congratulates Fr. John and Fr. Mike, 60-year jubilarians

This year’s jubilarians included Fr. Michael Burke and Fr John Czyzynski (60 years of vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart); Fr. Frank Burshnick, Fr. Joseph Dean, Fr. Joseph Doscher, Br. Benedict Humpfer and Fr. Gregory Speck (50 years); Fr. Charles Brown and Br. Frank Presto (40 years); Fr. Vincent Suparman (30 years); and Fr. Duy Nguyen and Fr. Greg Schill (10 years).

Fr. Ed Kilianski, provincial superior, was the main celebrant and homilist at the Jubilee Mass. Fr Stephen Huffstetter, general councilor, and Fr. John van den Hengel, regional superior of Canada, were among the concelebrants.

Click here to read more about the jubilarians.

Click here to view a photo album from the celebration.

Welcome back!

Fr. Tom Cassidy returned from India and the Philippines last week, just in time to take part in the last two days of the assembly. Fr. Tom is here until mid-August, when he returns to India.

Dehon Study Center newsletter

The latest issue of the Dehon Study Center newsletter (Centro Studi Dehoniani) was sent by email last week. Topics include the 2017 SCJ Theological Seminar to be held in Indonesia, Dehon study scholarships, and a link to an interview that Fr. Stefan Tertünte (CSD director) did with Fr. Rino Venturin, the out-going superior of the Vietnam District (Fr. Francis Vu Tran of the US Province has been named to succeed him). Click here to read the interview in English.

Click here to access the newsletter.

REMINDER: car insurance

New auto insurance cards were mailed to SCJs last week. If you do not receive yours by the end of this week, please contact Kevin Stanke at 414-427-4270.

The new insurance card is effective for one year as of June 15. SCJs are asked to keep their old cards until the new ones take effect.

New procurator and vice-procurator

Last week the general administration announced the appointment of Fr. Celson Altenhofen as General Procurator of the Congregation to the Holy See and Fr. Célestin Tshimbundu Mukwende as Vice-Procurator. Their terms are for three years, beginning September 1.

Fr. José Carlos Briñon did the work of Procurator along with his other task as Postulator. “I and the General Council expresse deep gratitude to Fr. José Carlos Briñon for his work as procurator in recent years,” said Fr. Heiner Wilmer, superior general. “Wearing the two hats of Postulator and Procurator resulted in a lot of work. The division of labor arises out of the need to work in these two areas more effectively.”

Fr. José Carlos is an alumnus of the ESL Program at SHSST.

Provincial’s time

Fr. Ed Kilianski is in the office today and tomorrow, leaving town on Wednesday for a short trip, back in Milwaukee on Saturday.