CLI recognizes outstanding Catholics
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
Just what does it take to be a Catholic leader today?
The Archbishop of Philadelphia, a local television news anchor, a publisher of Catholic books who is a husband and father of four, and a religious sister who promotes peace among her school pupils have not only arrived at the answer, they’re willing to share it.
Cardinal Rigali was one of four Catholics who received the Catholic Leadership Institute’s (CLI) 2004 award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership on Nov. 5 at the Wyndham Philadelphia hotel at Franklin Plaza in Philadelphia. The other recipients were Pat Ciarrocchi, co-anchor for the Eyewitness News program at noon on CBS 3, KYW-TV Philadelphia; West Chester author and publisher Matthew Pinto, founder and president of Ascension Press and Luminous Media, and co-founder of CatholicExchange.com and Envoy Magazine, and Sister, Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Constance Marie Touey, a child advocate and the principal of St. Francis de Sales School in West Philadelphia.
After Cardinal Justin Rigali received his CLI award, commending his outstanding Catholic witness and example, he immediately acknowledged the relationship between the ministry of priest and laity in the Church.
“In offering thanks for this award, I would like to salute in a very special way all our laity in the Church and … remind you of the wonderful partnership, close collaboration and very important bond that exists among the entire Church, because all of us are the Church,” said the Cardinal, who, as Archbishop of Philadelphia, is the spiritual leader for approximately 1.5 million Catholics.
“There are so many possibilities in our Catholic laity,” the Cardinal said. “It is a question of working together — priests and people, religious and people. … All of this shows this richness of the Church.”
It is important to be mindful of the laity’s role as it was emphasized by the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Rigali added. The role envisioned by the council, he said, “has tremendous possibilities in regard to passing on the faith, to communicating to children the holy Catholic faith we have received.”
The annual CLI awards recognize the accomplishments and achievements of women and men whose leadership in the family, workplace, community and the Church have been informed and inspired by their Catholic faith, said Timothy C. Flanagan, the organization’s chair and founder.
Through the years, he said, the award recipients “have helped build the kingdom of God here on earth.”
Ciarrocchi said she felt particularly honored to be recognized by CLI as “a Catholic leader in this group of leaders.”
Leadership, the television journalist said, “comes not in the big things you do, but in the little things you do — in the individual relationships with people — being able to share your Catholicity through your forgiveness, kindness, energy, enthusiasm and love. …Each one of us is called to be a Catholic leader.”
Pinto, publisher of the guide to Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion, told The CS&T: “It also hit me tonight, perhaps more than any other time, how blessed I am to be able to work full time for Christ and the Church.”
“A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About the Passion of the Christ,” which he co-authored, sold more than 1 million copies in 14 weeks and has been translated into six languages.
Pinto recently launched the Theology of the Body Institute, a summer program for people interested in learning more about Pope John Paul II’s teachings on human sexuality and marriage.
Sister Touey has worked financial wonders at St. Francis de Sales School, where she has been principal for more than two decades, and where more than 60 percent of the students fall below the national poverty line. During her tenure, she has managed to take the school off diocesan subsidy — and last year the school built a $2 million addition for arts and music.
In 1992, Sister Touey established an innovative peace program to stop violence among children. A pivotal part of the program is the “peace table,” where students with disputes mediate their differences.
“Christ’s message isn’t an easy one to live,” Sister Touey said. “When I talk to our children about being peacemakers, the hard part in trying to teach this Christian message is: I can’t promise them that if they live happily they won’t die violently.” Still, she concluded: “The Christian message is … a wonderful one.”
The CLI is an organization of lay Catholics whose mission is to build Catholic leaders for today and tomorrow.
Headquartered at St. Joseph’s-in-the-Hills, Malvern Retreat House, in Malvern, it offers leadership-development programs for priests and seminarians, young adults and university students, and parish, diocesan and apostolate staff.
For more information, contact CLI at (610) 251-3750 or check out the Web site www.CatholicLeaders.org
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org
