Georgia Bulletin

Georgia

• Mission Call Led Father T.J. From Appalachia To Atlanta

  

  By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
  Published August 2, 2012

  Father T.J. Meehan once carried a notebook where he wrote the names of patients he talked with during his stint at Grady Hospital. Some 1,400 of them were remembered. Most were patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. “A few may be living, but not many,” he said. Seeking out the ill, the dying, the overlooked always appealed […]

• CCHD Grants Benefit Local Programs

  By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
  Published August 2, 2012

  A chess program that encourages conflict resolution. A Catholic celebration of Earth Day. A center that aids refugees to learn job skills. These programs and others benefited from recent awards from the local Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Some $37,500 was given to nine programs that aim to transform people’s lives and break the cycle […] Full Story

• Legionary Brother Ordained At Pinecrest

  Published August 2, 2012

  Legionary of Christ Brother Ronald Conklin was ordained to the transitional diaconate June 24, the feast day of John the Baptist, by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory.  The ordination took place in the chapel at Pinecrest Academy. Originally from Temperance, Mich., Brother Conklin joined the Legion in 2000. After high school, he entered the Regnum Christi […] Full Story

• ‘First And 12’ With Pinecrest’s New Head Football Coach

  

  By MICHAEL ALEXANDER, Staff Photographer
  Published August 2, 2012

  Coach Todd Winter is in the midst of a sizzling summer as football workouts at Pinecrest Academy get underway. Earlier this year Winter was named the second head football coach at the private Catholic school in Cumming, replacing Coach Charles Wiggins, who headed up the program for eight years. Before assuming the reins at Pinecrest, […] Full Story

• Parishioners Help Teens, Runaways Avoid Exploitation

  

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published August 2, 2012

  Scanning the crowded terminal of the Greyhound bus station on the edge of downtown Atlanta, Breon Haskett hones in on a lone teenage girl standing in line waiting to buy her ride out of town. Haskett, a tall, broad-shouldered Marine Corps vet who now works as the youth minister at Transfiguration Parish in suburban Marietta, […]

• Atlanta’s Faith Community Tackles Sex Trafficking

  

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published August 2, 2012

  Crystal Ward works hard helping people to think in new ways about the commercial sex industry and its victims. Young girls being forced to sell themselves for sex are not prostitutes, she told a group of 30 church leaders from throughout metropolitan Atlanta; the girls are victims of sexual exploitation in illegal networks run by […] Full Story

• Good Shepherd Sister Offers Guiding Hand To Youth

  By MICHAEL ALEXANDER, Staff Photographer
  Published August 2, 2012

  For nearly 20 years Good Shepherd Services’ summer program for youth has been a vital part of the services provided by the community-based charity. “I value the importance of the program because it speaks to the mission of Good Shepherd Services and my order, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd,” said Sister Christine Truong My […] Full Story

• ’Epidemic’ Of Child Sexual Exploitation Gets Atlanta’s Attention, But Still Grows

  By DENNIS SADOWSKI, CNS
  Published August 2, 2012

  Sitting on the bench of the Fulton County Juvenile Court in 2000, then-Judge Nina Hickson saw 12- and 13-year-old girls with the “look of death” in their eyes. Those eyes were empty, as if “whatever life was there was gone,” Hickson said. Usually repeat offenders for underage drinking, fighting or truancy, the girls showed little […] Full Story

• St. Jude To Host Annual Music Symposium

  Published July 19, 2012

  Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Southeastern Liturgical Music Symposium is an annual gathering of musicians who share an interest in advancing the quality of Catholic liturgical music. This year’s symposium will be hosted by St. Jude the Apostle Church on August 24–25 and will focus on how to select appropriate music for the […] Full Story

• How ‘The Catholics Next Door’ Found NFP

  By SUZANE HAUGH, Special To The Bulletin
  Published July 19, 2012

  It’s inevitable that once you crack the door open looking for God, he can’t help but enter in. Such was the case for Greg and Jennifer Willits, parishioners at St. Pius X Church in Conyers and co-hosts of SiriusXM’s radio program, “The Catholics Next Door.” Well into their marriage and en route to a deeper […] Full Story

• Good Shepherd Sister Anita Marks 60 Years A Nun

  

  By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
  Published July 19, 2012

  Sister Anita Kristofco found herself as a young adult challenged by teenaged girls and youngsters from poor neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Coming from a small town in the western part of the state, she knew little about their homes or life, things like the special hair care needed for black girls was foreign to her. But […] Full Story

• Adrian Dominican Sister Celebrates Golden Jubilee

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published July 19, 2012

  As a young child, Dominican Sister Sharon McGuire decided that she either wanted to be a nun or a nurse. And for the last few decades, Sister McGuire has answered God’s call to both vocations, serving people in a medical and spiritual capacity as part of the Adrian Dominican order. Celebrating her golden jubilee this […] Full Story

• Priest Assignments

  Published July 19, 2012

  Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory has announced the following priest assignments. Upon the recommendation of Bishop Benoît Alowonou of the Diocese of Kpalimé, Togo (Africa), Archbishop Gregory has confirmed the appointment of Father Agbeko (Daniel) Gbadji as chaplain for the Francophone community in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The appointment is effective beginning June 18 for a […] Full Story

• Cristina Zakis To Speak At Magnificat Meal Aug. 18

  Published July 19, 2012

  Cristina Zakis, of St. Stephen the Martyr Church, Lilburn, will be the guest speaker at the Magnificat breakfast for women to be held on Saturday, Aug. 18, at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta. The local chapter of the international Catholic women’s ministry sponsors the breakfast. All women are invited to attend this morning of faith-sharing and […]

• Priest Joyfully Answers Call To First Pastorate

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published July 19, 2012

  Father Timothy Gallagher, who grew up in a small Catholic community in Madison, Georgia, has now answered the call to serve as pastor of one of Atlanta’s smaller Catholic parishes, in Cedartown. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory recently assigned Father Gallagher, 40, to be pastor of St. Bernadette Church, west of Atlanta near the Georgia-Alabama border. […] Full Story

• Conyers Priest Leads Personal Pilgrimage To Ireland

  By STEPHEN O'KANE, Staff Writer
  Published July 19, 2012

  Father John Kieran, native of Ireland and pastor of St. Pius X Church in Conyers, recently led a group of local Catholics to the Emerald Isle for the 50th annual International Eucharistic Congress, adding his personal touch to the trip with family visits and tours of popular religious sites. Pilgrims from St. Pius X, as […] Full Story

• Holy Spirit College Graduates Charter Class

  By FATHER PAUL A. BURKE, Special To The Bulletin
  Published July 19, 2012

  Holy Spirit College, on the campus of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Atlanta, graduated its charter class on May 22. The degree of bachelor of philosophy was conferred on Alan Rauda and the degree of master of theological studies upon AnnMarie Jordan. At the baccalaureate Mass, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory spoke about the purpose of Catholic […]

• Couples For Christ Region Event Focuses On Mary

  

  By MICHAEL ALEXANDER, Photographer
  Published July 19, 2012

  Nearly 1,000 people from 21 states associated with Couples for Christ USA attended the organization’s Eastern conference at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, Atlanta, June 29 to July 1. The conference theme for the “Magnificat weekend” was “Proclaim the Greatness of the Lord.” The mother of Jesus was held up as a model for couples in […] Full Story

• Encounter of Hispanic Ministries To Be Held Aug. 4

  Published July 19, 2012

  The 2012 Encounter of Hispanic Ministries, known as “Encuentro,” will be held Saturday, Aug. 4, at St. Andrew Church in Roswell from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Encuentro provides an opportunity for Catholics to share information and to exchange points of view about the integration process of the Catholic Hispanic community in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The […] Full Story

• 6 Incentives To Consider Natural Family Planning

  By SUZANE HAUGH, Special To The Bulletin
  Published July 19, 2012

  According to the Guttmacher Institute, statistics released earlier this year suggest that close to 90 percent of women of reproductive age—and 87 percent of Catholic women—use a method of contraception other than Natural Family Planning. While the percentages may differ in other studies, it is clear that contraceptive use is prevalent even among Catholics, making […] Full Story