Cardinal George visits with Fabiola Avila and Natalie Nieves, 7th grade students and St. Stanislaus School in Chicago, after presenting the cardinal with some artwork they made following a press conference on June 5 at their school. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
In his more than 15 years so far as archbishop of Chicago Cardinal George has left his stamp on nearly every institution of the archdiocese. But of all the legacies Cardinal George will have as archbishop of Chicago, perhaps none have had as much of an immediate result as the establishment of the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. Thirteen years after it was founded, the Liturgical Institute is the largest Catholic liturgical studies program in the country, according to Father Douglas Martis, the director.It was created, he said, to address “a lack of sacramental understanding in liturgical studies programs around the country,” Martis said.It connected contemporary study of the liturgy with the Liturgical Movement of the mid-20th century, which Martis said was “about helping people better understand what was going on in the liturgy.”“Founding the Liturgical Institute truly established a place where the study of liturgy could be deeply connected with sacramental theology and the long history of the 20th century’s Liturgical Movement,” said Denis McNamara, the institute’s assistant director.“We always ask the question, ‘What does the church herself tell us about this?’ when studying the rites, salvation history and the way choices are made in sacred worship. And we celebrate morning prayer, Mass and evening prayer each day so that we learn in the context of prayer and pray in the context of learning,” he said.The incorporation of community prayer into the life of the institute is a unique feature among liturgical studies programs, Martis said. In its 13 years, the institute has had four students earn doctorates, 29 earn master’s degrees and 20 more earn licentiates in sacred theology, which qualifies them to teach theology in seminaries and universities. Alumni and students include high school teachers, diocesan worship office directors, seminary and university professors, architects, musicians, pastors and even a bishop. In addition, the institute’s Hillenbrand Books line has published 40 titles and hosted dozens of public conferences and workshops. Martis and McNamara said Cardinal George has a long history of being involved in liturgy, having been the USCCB representative to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy from 1997 to 2006 and chaired the bishops’ Committee on Liturgy from 2001 to 2004. “I don’t think that Cardinal George is widely known as a man who makes news related to controversial liturgical questions,” McNamara said. “He celebrates the reformed rites of the church well and according to liturgical norms. In that sense, he is a loyal son of the church. McNamara noted that Cardinal George has written and lectured on the sacred liturgy and the Second Vatican Council. He was also very involved in discussions surrounding the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal since he served as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the time. “And while the sacred liturgy has its own objective capacity to provide God’s own divine life, it can be made more effective in the hearts and minds of worshippers by being celebrated worthily. Moreover, a person who brings more knowledge, love and devotion to the sacred liturgy is better disposed to receive these graces,” McNamara said. “This is why the Liturgical Institute focuses on educating people not only to be scholars, but to be people of prayer who understand and love what they are doing.” Tackling racism Cardinal George also created the Office for Racial Justice in 2000 to give parishes and schools tools to “address the sin of racism.” He laid out his thinking about the sin of racism in his pastoral letter, “Dwell in My Love,” which was published on April 4, 2001. The Office for Racial Justice is a direct outgrowth from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Task Force on Racism, which was formed as a response to the 1997 beating of Lenard Clark, a 13-year-old African-American boy, by three young white men, according to the office’s website. In his pastoral letter on racism, Cardinal George explained that racism is more than personal prejudice; it is systemic and institutional, perpetuated by spatial segregation and often internalized. He asked Catholics to reflect on how racism had affected them, and how to eradicate the sin of racism from the church. “While the pastoral letter was received with much applause as one of the most important documents to be written on racism, Cardinal George was committed to more than words on paper; he wanted tangible action that would transform the church of Chicago into an anti-racist institution,” Sister Anita Baird, a Daughter of the Heart of Mary, wrote in 2007. Baird has led the Office for Racial Justice since its inception. In 2002, the Archdiocese of Chicago established an Anti- Racism Implementation Team and created a long-range strategic plan to address the complex issues of institutional racism that exist in the structures and institutions of the church and society. Before becoming a bishop or even a leader in his congregation, Cardinal George was a teacher, and his emphasis on good catechesis was one reason the Office of Youth Ministry was made part of the Office for Catechesis, said Maria Sedano, director of the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry. “He talks about youth all the time,” Sedano said. “He likes to connect with them. He has a way of really connecting with the kids.” The administrative change came with an emphasis on the role of catechesis in youth ministry, Sedano said. Under the leadership of the cardinal, the office developed certification standards for catechetical leaders, starting with coordinators of youth ministry, emphasizing the role of youth ministers as catechists to young people. The Year of Youth and Young Adults, the first year of the archdiocese’s strategic pastoral plan, highlighted the importance of catechesis and formation for young people, Sedano said.