Bill Text: IL SR0574 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates the Diocese of Springfield on the occasion of its centennial anniversary of the transfer of the diocese from Alton to Springfield, and recognizes the contributions bishops of the diocese have made to the community throughout the years.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-11-03 - Referred to Assignments [SR0574 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SR0574-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | ||||||
3 | congratulate the Diocese of Springfield on the occasion of its | ||||||
4 | centennial anniversary of the transfer of the diocese from | ||||||
5 | Alton to Springfield; and
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6 | WHEREAS, On October 2, 1923, Pope Pius II translated the | ||||||
7 | diocesan See from Alton to Springfield; the pope named James | ||||||
8 | Aloysius Griffin, the pastor of St. Mary Nativity Catholic | ||||||
9 | Church in Joliet, the bishop who would be responsible for | ||||||
10 | moving the chancery from Alton to Springfield; he arrived in | ||||||
11 | Springfield on February 28, 1924; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin was installed as the bishop at St. | ||||||
13 | Mary's Church, which served as the pro-cathedral of the | ||||||
14 | diocese for the next four years; in 1927, he launched the | ||||||
15 | Cathedral Campaign to raise money to replace the aging | ||||||
16 | Cathedral building; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin assisted Cardinal George Mundelein | ||||||
18 | in planning and hosting the 28th International Eucharistic | ||||||
19 | Congress in Chicago from June 24 to June 26, 1926, where | ||||||
20 | hundreds of thousands of Catholics were in attendance; and
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21 | WHEREAS, After the congress, Bishop Griffin hosted several |
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1 | cardinals, archbishops, and bishops in Springfield for the | ||||||
2 | Central Verein Convention on June 2, 1926, where he led | ||||||
3 | attendees on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Abraham Lincoln; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin dedicated and opened the newly | ||||||
5 | constructed Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, with the | ||||||
6 | dedication ceremonies taking place from October 14 to October | ||||||
7 | 16, 1928; and
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8 | WHEREAS, From 1932 through 1937, during a labor dispute in | ||||||
9 | Springfield known as the Coal Miner's War, Bishop Griffin | ||||||
10 | attempted to negotiate fair wages for workers in the various | ||||||
11 | mines throughout the diocese; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Bishop Griffin died on August 5, 1948, leading | ||||||
13 | Pope Pius XII to appoint William Aloysius O'Connor to be the | ||||||
14 | next bishop of Springfield on December 28, 1948; he arrived in | ||||||
15 | the city on March 16, 1949; and
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16 | WHEREAS, After St. Anthony's Hospital in Effingham was | ||||||
17 | destroyed by a fire on April 4, 1949, Bishop O'Connor oversaw | ||||||
18 | the updating of hospitals and diocesan properties to prevent | ||||||
19 | future fire disasters, establishing the Office of Insurance to | ||||||
20 | assist in this endeavor; and
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21 | WHEREAS, In 1959, Bishop O'Connor was able to attend all |
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1 | four sessions of the ecumenical council, known as Vatican II; | ||||||
2 | and
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3 | WHEREAS, In 1969, Bishop O'Connor established the Office | ||||||
4 | for Worship and the Office for Catholic Education, the first | ||||||
5 | of many curial agencies created to assist parishes and other | ||||||
6 | Catholic institutions in the diocese; and
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7 | WHEREAS, On July 22, 1975, Bishop O'Connor submitted his | ||||||
8 | retirement, and Pope Paul VI appointed Joseph A. McNicholas as | ||||||
9 | the next bishop in Springfield; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Bishop McNicholas was a staunch civil rights | ||||||
11 | advocate, and he was a leader in school desegregation and | ||||||
12 | helped organize the Martin Luther King Day Breakfast; as a | ||||||
13 | priest and auxiliary bishop in St. Louis, his assignments | ||||||
14 | included serving on the Health & Welfare Council of St. Louis, | ||||||
15 | the National Association of Social Workers, the Missouri Child | ||||||
16 | Welfare Commission, and the National Office of Black | ||||||
17 | Catholics; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In 1976, Bishop McNicholas implemented a | ||||||
19 | diocesan-wide pro-life program in response to the 1973 Roe v. | ||||||
20 | Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Bishop McNicholas' episcopacy was short lived |
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1 | when he died suddenly on April 17, 1983; his predecessor, | ||||||
2 | Bishop O'Connor, died that same year on November 14, 1983; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Pope John Paul II appointed Daniel Ryan as the | ||||||
4 | next bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, and he was | ||||||
5 | installed on January 18, 1984; and
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6 | WHEREAS, In July 1995, facing a declining number of | ||||||
7 | priests, Bishop Ryan oversaw the Parish Pastoral Plan, | ||||||
8 | designed to study the status of parishes and priests across | ||||||
9 | the diocese and offer solutions for long-term parish vitality; | ||||||
10 | and
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11 | WHEREAS, On October 19, 1999, the Vatican announced the | ||||||
12 | retirement of Bishop Ryan and the appointment of Bishop George | ||||||
13 | J. Lucas as his successor; a priest of the Archdiocese of St. | ||||||
14 | Louis, he was the first appointee to be ordained as a bishop in | ||||||
15 | the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Bishop Lucas launched the endowment campaign | ||||||
17 | Harvest of Thanks-Springtime of Hope to ensure long-term | ||||||
18 | viability of the diocese, including supporting the work of | ||||||
19 | Catholic Charities, assisting in the formation of seminarians | ||||||
20 | and deacon candidates, and providing aid for the care of | ||||||
21 | retired priests of the diocese; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The Diocese of Springfield celebrated the 150th | ||||||
2 | anniversary of its founding with Jubilee 2003, an event that | ||||||
3 | officially began on December 9, 2002; the diocese held a day | ||||||
4 | long celebration at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, where an | ||||||
5 | estimated 20,000 Catholics from all over the diocese attended | ||||||
6 | on June 28, 2003; and
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7 | WHEREAS, In May 2007, Bishop Lucas initiated the Built on | ||||||
8 | Faith-Renewed in Hope campaign to raise the $11 million | ||||||
9 | dollars needed to restore the Cathedral of the Immaculate | ||||||
10 | Conception; and
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11 | WHEREAS, On July 22, 2009, Bishop Lucas was appointed the | ||||||
12 | Archbishop of Omaha, becoming the first bishop of the Diocese | ||||||
13 | of Springfield to be appointed to archbishop; and
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14 | WHEREAS, On April 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed | ||||||
15 | Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Archdiocese of Chicago as | ||||||
16 | Bishop Lucas' successor, and he was installed as the ninth and | ||||||
17 | current bishop of the Diocese of Springfield on June 22, 2010; | ||||||
18 | and
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19 | WHEREAS, In 2017, Bishop Paprocki guided the diocese | ||||||
20 | through the Fourth Diocesan Synod with the goal of convincing | ||||||
21 | clergy and the laity to make a heartfelt commitment to | ||||||
22 | stewardship and discipleship as a way of life; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Bishop Paprocki has made the connection between | ||||||
2 | sports and faith as a focus of his ministry, writing two books, | ||||||
3 | Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports | ||||||
4 | with God and Faith and Running for a Higher Purpose: Eight | ||||||
5 | Steps to Spiritual and Physical Fitness; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Bishop Paprocki currently serves as an adjunct | ||||||
7 | professor of Law, Business, and Bioethics at Quincy | ||||||
8 | University's Oakley School of Business; he also serves on the | ||||||
9 | Illinois Catholic Health Association Board and as the chairman | ||||||
10 | of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance | ||||||
11 | for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Thousands of Catholics from across the Diocese of | ||||||
13 | Springfield will join Bishop Paprocki as he celebrates Mass at | ||||||
14 | the first Eucharistic Congress at the Bank of Springfield | ||||||
15 | Center in Springfield on October 28, 2023; therefore, be it
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16 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
17 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the | ||||||
18 | Diocese of Springfield on the occasion of its centennial | ||||||
19 | anniversary of the transfer of the diocese from Alton to | ||||||
20 | Springfield, and we recognize the contributions bishops of the | ||||||
21 | diocese have made to the community throughout the years; and | ||||||
22 | be it further
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