New coordinator named for protection of youth

BY MARY SOLBERG | FAITHLIFE

 

Cindy Zemcik

   Cindy Zemcik, a longtime parish religious education leader, was recently named the full-time diocesan coordinator of the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth.

Zemcik replaces Karen Streett, who held the position since the inception of the office in the early 2000s.

The Office for the Protection of Children and Youth is responsible for compliance with all mandates of the United States Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. This includes effective response to abuse perpetrated by church personnel, as well as accountability for diocesan policy regarding abuse of minors.

It’s also proactive in coordinating child protection in-servicing for all adults who minister to children and youth, and the dissemination of information regarding a safe environment for children, parents and the larger community.

This past year, about 14,000 youth in the Diocese of Erie have been trained on issues related to safe environment. Every October, every parish and school must advise the office when young people are in-serviced, and parishes are asked to publicize in their bulletins the official code of conduct and information on safe environments.

“We do everything we can to make sure children are safe,” Zemcik said. “We have to empower our parents and our children with this information. The more you talk to children about what’s right and what’s wrong, the more they may tell you about a problem.”

The diocese consistently has been found to be in full compliance with safe environment practices according to the independent audit firm of Stonebridge Business Partners. The audit is designed to measure the diocese’s compliance with the guidelines of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People issued by the USCCB.

The protection of children is of utmost concern to a society that sees many children suffering at the hands of abusers.

According to statistics released in the 2016 Child Protective Services Report in Pennsylvania, there were roughly 3,800 suspected cases of child abuse—sexual, physical or others—in the geographic area that comprises northwestern Pennsylvania.

“This is a serious problem,” said Zemcik, who is the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of three. “I think we miss the signs of abuse. Most people are good people and we don’t want to think that this could happen.”

Zemcik enforced safe environment practices as director of religious education at St. Francis Xavier Parish in McKean the past 25 years. Her experience will go a long way in her new position, according to Msgr. Edward Lohse, vicar general, who oversees the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth.

“Cindy brings a tremendous wealth of experience to her new position, for which I am grateful. She has implemented every version of the diocesan policy for the Protection of Children and Youth since it was first introduced. She has been with us every step of the way, and she has already demonstrated that she is a valuable asset not only to this office, but to the parishes, schools, and other communities throughout the diocese,” Msgr. Lohse said.

Youth and those who work with them surveyed for 2018 synod

BY MARY SOLBERG | FAITHLIFE

The number of Catholic young people and youth ministers in the Diocese of Erie is a tiny fraction of those in the entire world. Yet, what they have to say here will figure into discussions at the Vatican’s 2018 Ordinary Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.

This past spring and summer, the diocese distributed 50 questionnaires from the Vatican to young people and those who work with them in the 13 counties of the diocese. The goal was to better understand the lives, attitudes and concerns of 16- to 29-year-olds.

A summary of their answers was compiled into a document that was sent to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which, in turn, will submit an executive summary of findings from similar questionnaires completed by dioceses throughout the country.

Also this summer, the Vatican launched a website and youth survey, which can be found at www.eriercd.org/synod.htm. It is open to any young person, regardless of faith or religious belief.

Silvia Bohl, left, participates in a Sept. 13 small group discussion in Rome during a Vatican-sponsored seminar about the concerns of young people.  (CNS photo)

Pope Francis, in calling for the October 2018 Synod on Young People, said, “It’s aim is to accompany the young on their existential journey to maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they discover their plan for life and realize it with joy, opening up to the encounter with God and with human beings, and actively participating in the edification of the church and of society.”

Only about one-third of those surveyed in the Diocese of Erie responded, but the Chancery Office expressed its satisfaction with the insights that were shared.

“It gave us a good overview,” said Sister Kathleen Dietz, FSO, vice chancellor. “One of the most important things we got out of it was that the perceptions between the youth and those who minister to them are often different.”

Maria Caulfield, executive assistant in the Chancery Office, agreed. She found the process interesting, especially as someone who falls in the youth category, albeit on the older side. She is 28.

Like many of those who responded, Caulfield is invested in her faith, not only working for the Diocese of Erie, but serving as an organist at St. Joseph/Bread of Life in Erie. While compiling the survey answers, she saw that there is a great divide between what young people ask of the church and what priests and ministers see as their needs.

“The young people predominantly asked for explanations of church teaching,” Caulfield wrote in her synopsis. “They wanted the authentic truths of the faith, and to know why the church teaches what she does. They didn’t want religious education that was just another day in the classroom with a workbook.”

Some of the older respondents in the 16- to 29-year-old age bracket noted that they cannot participate in many retreats and activities that generally are available to younger school-age people.

The older youth also felt that they don’t have access to vocation fairs and/or mission trips, with the exception of the much-lauded vocation dinners that are being offered in the diocese.

“What can we do beyond school?” Caulfield wrote. “How can we support the growth of faith and vocational discernment in a group that is as hard to reach as it is to minister to?”

She trusts that the online Vatican survey of youth and young adults may shed more light in this area.

By this time next year, bishops from throughout the globe will be meeting at the Synod of Bishops on Youth. Synods are called at the request of the Holy Father, when he considers it necessary or opportune to consult with the world’s bishops.

Reaching young people always has been at the top on Pope Francis’ agenda. In a preparatory document released by the Vatican earlier this year, Pope Francis urged, “Do not be afraid to listen to the Spirit.”

 

Bishop, universities push for DACA solution

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals supporters demonstrate near the White House in Washington Sept. 5. (CNS photo)

 

BY MARY SOLBERG | FAITHLIFE
AND CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

    Bishop Lawrence Persico and Erie’s Gannon University and Mercyhurst University joined the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in pushing for a legislative solution to President Donald Trump’s decision Sept. 5 to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

DACA was established through executive action in 2012 by President Barack Obama. Congress could not agree then on legislation that would have legalized youth brought to the U.S. as children.

Hours after President Trump rescinded DACA, he challenged Congress to come up with a legal way to protect DACA’s 800,000 beneficiaries.

If Congress doesn’t act in six months, Trump vowed to “revisit” the issue.

“The United States of America made promises to young people known as the ‘dreamers,’ immigrants whose parents brought them across the border into the United States before their 16th birthday,” Bishop Persico said in a statement Sept. 6.

Bishop Persico, who also is chairperson of Gannon’s board of trustees, called on lawmakers to find a legislative solution to the matter.

Mercyhurst President Michael Victor, in a statement the same day, encouraged the community to urge legislators “to seek a long-term remedy that will afford these young people the opportunity to study and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.”

Victor added: “DACA beneficiaries at Mercyhurst University have been commendable students and their presence has enriched the learning environment for our entire community. Mercyhurst stands with its founding Sisters of Mercy, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic organizations in support of compassionate immigration reform.”

Gannon University joined Bishop Persico in his push for a compassionate solution.  President Keith Taylor said: “We stand with our bishop in his call for a sound legislative solution, and we stand with our students who may be affected by the rescinding of DACA.”

Bishop Jose Vásquez of Austin, Texas, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration; Sister Donna Markham, president of Catholic Charities USA; and Jeanne Atkinson, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC) have issued a letter calling on President Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“Your decision to continue this program would ensure that young people can continue to work, study, and be protected from deportation while Congress debates broader legislative fixes to our broken immigration system.

“A decision to end this program would turn our nation’s back on immigrant youth who are seeking to reach their full God-given potential and fulfill the promise of gratefully giving back to the only country most have ever known,” the letter notes.

NATURE’S FURY: Gannon’s Florida campus weathers the storm

Residents wade through floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey Aug. 28 in Beaumont Place, Texas. (CNS  photo)

BY MARY SOLBERG | FAITHLIFE

   Sara Golshiri, a first-year doctoral student at Gannon University’s satellite campus in Ruskin, Fla., is a transplanted Northerner who’s never experienced the ravages of a hurricane.

The weekend of Sept. 10-11 changed all that. Life-threatening Hurricane Irma churned over the Sunshine State, forcing what some consider to be the largest mass evacuation in U.S. history.

Sara Golshiri

Golshiri, 23, was among thousands of university students from throughout the state who were advised that classes were cancelled until further notice.

“Honestly, prepping for the hurricane was the most terrifying thing I’ve done,” Golshiri told FaithLife via text from her refuge with friends north of the Ruskin campus. “This is my first hurricane and I had to go into it blind. Thankfully, we have a good network at school and in the community to provide us with information.”

Gannon University officials in Erie were in close contact with Ruskin’s physical plant manager before, during and after the hurricane. Classes were cancelled beginning Sept. 7 and were expected, at press time, to resume Sept. 18.

According to Dr. Sarah Ewing, the Erie-based dean of the Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences, students received text and email alerts, and Gannon President Keith Taylor issued a video expressing his heartfelt concern.

“Student safety was and continues to be our top priority,” Ewing said.

Gannon University’s Ruskin campus in Florida reportedly sustained little damage from Hurricane Irma. (Contributed photo)

The graduate/doctoral-level campus is located no more than a half-hour’s drive from the Gulf Coast, which was expected to be one of the hardest hit areas. As it turned out, Irma weakened as it traveled inland.

Buildings on the Ruskin campus experienced no structural damage from the high winds, but there was minimal ground water seepage, Ewing said.

Golshiri commended Gannon for maintaining ongoing communication, even after students moved to safe locations.

She added, “I felt very supported and I’m thankful that it was not as bad as it could have been.”

A native of Maryland studying occupational therapy, Golshiri said she went from “worrying about snowstorms to worrying about hurricanes.” Now she’s eager to get back to her house in Ruskin.

“I’m spending the next couple of days cleaning,” she said.

In a statement released during Irma’s onslaught, President Taylor told Ruskin students, “May God bless you, and may He bless your families and all those you love. May you be blessed with His safety, security and help in these days of challenge.”

A man is rescued from a flooded neighborhood in Havana, Cuba, after Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean and then made its way to Florida. (CNS photo)

Before Hurricane Irma hit Florida, Hurricane Harvey pummeled southern Texas and caused unprecedented devastation. Bishop Lawrence Persico asked parishes throughout the 13-county Diocese of Erie to hold a special hurricane relief collection Sept. 2-3.

At press time, more than a dozen parishes donated nearly $37,000. All of those funds will be forwarded to Catholic Charities USA, the agency working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Those wishing to donate to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts may still give at www.ErieRCD.org.

Students at Villa Maria Academy and Cathedral Prep in Erie held a dress-down day to support the work of the American Red Cross in Texas.

The Kennedy Catholic Family of Schools in Hermitage and Seton School in Meadville held similar events, raising a total of $3,000 to help Harvey victims.

On Sept. 8, the Prep and McDowell High School football teams put aside their rivalry and agreed to donate receipts from their game to benefit Texas emergency efforts.