Archbishops and bishops

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Amid the rubble of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Haitians celebrated the lives of the archbishop and vicar general of Port-au-Prince, both of whom were killed in the country's earthquake.

Church officials -- including some from the United States -- joined ordinary Haitians Jan. 23 for the funerals of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, who died when the impact of the Jan. 12 quake hurled him from a balcony, and Msgr. Charles Benoit, the vicar general whose body was pulled from the cathedral debris.

BALTIMORE -- Members of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee overseeing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development reassured their fellow bishops and donors that "no group that opposes Catholic social or moral teaching is eligible for funding" from their domestic anti-poverty campaign.

WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI has named Father Paul D. Etienne, a pastor in the Indianapolis Archdiocese, as the new bishop of Cheyenne, Wyo.

The appointment was announced Oct. 19 in Washington by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop-designate Etienne, 50, succeeds Bishop David L. Ricken, who was named the bishop of Green Bay, Wis., in July 2008.

In an Oct. 19 statement, Bishop Ricken said, “While I have never met Father Etienne, his biography seems to have prepared him well for service as the eighth bishop of Cheyenne. I want him to know that he is coming to a diocese with good and faithful people, priests, deacons and religious, and a beautifully scenic and vast territory.”

Bishop-designate Etienne’s episcopal ordination will take place in early December, according to an announcement by the Cheyenne Diocese, although no exact date was given.

World Mission Sunday is celebrated by Catholics with a few minor differences depending on the country where it is being celebrated. In Brazil, where I served in the missions for more than 40 years, we have to call to mind the process of “see, judge and act,” which frequently is used to discern and determine pastoral actions in that country.

The Brazilian bishops and laity dedicate the month of August to vocations, as all are called. Because of the feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the first Sunday and the whole first week is dedicated to priestly vocations, as the Cure of Ars is the patron saint of priests, and his feast day is in the beginning of August. Other weeks are dedicated to family vocations, consecrated virgins and religious and catechists.

During the month of September, one of the books from the Bible is read and discussed in all Bible groups and Basic Christian Communities throughout the whole country. Our vocation has to be judged and confronted with God’s Word, so September is dedicated to this study. September was chosen to do this because the feast of St. Jerome, translator of the Bible and, is celebrated on Sept. 30.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) — Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, hospitalized in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., following a mild heart attack, is “stable and responding very well to treatment, and all his attending physicians are optimistic of a full recovery,” according to Deacon Sean Smith, his diocesan chancellor.

Bishop Stika is a native of St. Louis.

Deacon Smith said he had “a wonderful long conversation” with the bishop Aug. 18. Although Bishop Stika is tired, he said, “his sense of humor is back, and he wanted to express his deep appreciation for all the prayers and support he’s had.”

“He wanted everybody to know that he’s praying for them as well, and he can’t wait to get strong enough to come back home to be with his Christian faithful,” the deacon added.

MACAU (CNS) — Retired Bishop Domingos Lam Ka Tseung of Macau, the first Chinese bishop of the 433-year-old diocese, died July 27. He was 81.

Bishop Lam became ill in March and was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. He had been hospitalized since May, according to Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng, his successor.

Bishop Lam led the diocese, created in 1576 as the first Catholic diocese in the Far East, through Macau's political transition from Portuguese to Chinese rule in 1999. Portugal administered the special administrative region of China for more than 400 years.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for July 31 at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Father Joao Evangelista Lau Him-sang, a priest at the cathedral, described the late bishop as “not only a Chinese native, but also (a person) influenced by Portuguese culture and Western education, enabling him to become a bridge between the church and Chinese society” in Macau.