South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, February 16, 2001 Page: 1 of 32
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South Texas Catholic
Diocese of Corpus Christi
Vol. 36 No. 4 February 16, 2001
Quick Look...
Diocesan financial Report
HP he annual Financial State-
X ments for the Diocese of
Corpus Christi give a
detailed account of the
revenues and expenditures
within the diocese. Look
for more “reader friendly”
reports in upcoming issues of
the STC. The annual report can
also be viewed on the web at
www.goccn.org.
- See the special pullout section.
Building the Kingdom
I-]1 ather Tom
£ Feeney is the
pastor of Sacred
Heart Parish in
Sinton, which is
featured in this
issue’s Building
the Kingdom. The
series appears in
each issue of the STC,
and profiles the parishes and missions
in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
- Read more on page 16.
Celebrating Schools
omeo Gonzalez, Jr.,
.Lv and Wyatt Oaks of St
Joseph Catholic School
carry in their school
banner during the opening
Mass for Catholic Schools
Week in Alice. The 18
Catholic schools in the
diocese celebrated with
book fairs, sporting events,
academic contests and special liturgies.
- Read more on pages 11 -13
Ihanks to Readers
T"]* ebruary is Catholic
1 Press Month. The
STC thanks the parishes
in the diocese who are
sending the STC to every
member of their worshipping
community. The STC is being
mailed to you courtesy of your
parish 24 times a year. If you are receiving
duplicate copies of the STC, please contact our
offices at 620 Lipan, Corpus Christi, Texas
78401, phone—(361) 882-6191, fax—(361)
883-2556 or email: stc@interconnect.net
The members of the planning committee of the future St. John
the Baptist church are from left, Pat Norrell, Deacon Stacy Millsap,
Deacon Fernando and Mary Louise Rodriguez, Josie Castillo,
Father Robert Dunn, Kevin Nothstine, Leroy San Miguel, Eloy
Perez, Pat O’Boyle, Bruce Buterbaugn and Allan Moravits.
New churches spark faith in local
communities
Editors note; The following is the
first in on ongoing scries about new
parishes being established in (lie
Diocese of Corpus Christi.
Bv Paula Espitia
The prospect of new parishes in
the Corpus Christi Southside and
Five Points deaneries has set in
motion the posting of signs, the
forming of committees and planning
for the future.
Five plots of land, designated as
future parish sites, are in varying
stages of ownership by the diocese.
Property on McKinzie Road near
Leopard Street in the Annaville area
is owned by the diocese, three other
sites have contracts pending, and a
13-and-a-half acre lot on the corner
of Everhart and Yorktown roads, was
recently purchased and bears a sign
that reads, “Future Site of St. John
Catholic Church."
“Many parts of the diocese are
growing rapidly, yet we have not
built a new parish in over 10 years,”
said Bishop Edmond Carmody.
“Families in these growing areas
need a church in their neighborhood
where they can feel they are part of
the Body of Christ.”
St. John the Baptist, its complete
name, will begin as a mission of
Most Precious Blood Parish, said the
pastor, Father Bob Dunn, who
formed a 12-person committee to
work on the project in conjunction
with diocesan liturgical and building
guidelines.
“Actually they are the founding
families of the mission,” said Father
Dunn, who added that the building
of a new church is important for
many reasons.
“It's created a lot of excitement
here. People love to see new life,"
said Father Dunn. “When they see
the new life they gel excited about
their faith ...I think people like to
see expressions of their faith and
reminders of the 'holy.' Having a
church close to their neighbor-
hood is that reminder,” said the
priest.
Msgr. Michael Heras, pastor of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish,
will be overseeing the develop-
ment of St. Helena Parish, on
Wooldridge Road. Although the
contract is pending on the pur-
chase of the land, the pastor said
he has also formed committees
working on many aspects of parish
life of the new church.
“People need to understand that
this is a journey," said Msgr. Heras.
“This church will be built by the
sweat, blood and prayer and tears
of the people."
Father Mahendra Anandappa,
pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary
and its two missions, St. Vivian
and Our Lady of Mt Carmel, said
the future plans for Blessed
Sacrament Parish on McKinzie
Road include making the new
church the mother parish of the
three existing worshipping
communities. He said the plan-
ning committee consists of his
current pastoral council, and that
the news of the new parish has
increased involvement in the
present communities.
“There are a lot of people
looking ahead. Many good things
are happening in the parish now,"
said Father Anandappa.
The other two sites and devel-
opment of the new churches, will
be featured in upcoming issues of
the South Texas Catholic.
Quality health care for all children
a priority, say Texas bishops
By Shelley Schroedter
Catholic Spirit, Diocese of Austin
The bishops of the 15 Catholic
dioceses in the state of Texas have
issued a statement on the impor-
tance of making quality health care
available to all the children of the
state. “Our Children’s Health — A
Texas Treasure" was released by the
Texas Catholic Conference Jan. 29,
and calls the lack of proper health
care for the children of poor Texas
families a “tragic situation.” The
bishops insist that the situation is
easily resolvable and should not be
delayed any longer.
Because of the high cost of health
care and health insurance, more than
1.4 million Texas
children are not
covered by health
insurance. More
than two-thirds of
these children are
eligible for
enrollment in either the Children's
Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or
Medicaid. However, because of the
complexity of the application
process for
Medicaid and the
simple lack of
knowledge about
CHIP, these
children continue
to go without
insurance.
Holy Cross
Brother Richard
Daly, executive
director of the
Texas Catholic
Conference
(TCC), said
children's health
care has been a
concern of the
W
STC phiSwPirala Espitia
Dr. Ramakrishna examines
Sarann Uribe, 7, at the South
Padre Island Pediatric Center.
Know someone who needs
health insurance for their
children? See page 11.
conference for
several years. The
TCC along with
the Texas Confer-
ence of Catholic
Healthcare
Facilities were actively involved in
getting the CHIP legislation passed
in the last legislative session. He
said the bishops of Texas have
always been
concerned
about getting
access to
health care to
those who do
not have it.
“The bishops
have several
priorities
during this
legislative
session,"
Brother Daly
said, “and
getting proper
health care
for all of the
children in
this state is one of them.”
In the statement, the Texas
bishops urge three entities to take
immediate steps to ensure
adequate health care for all Texas
children. Of the state legislature
and state agencies, the bishops
ask that the application and
enrollment
See CHIP, page 11
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Espitia, Paula. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, February 16, 2001, newspaper, February 16, 2001; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855731/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .