Freewheeing PADS-free Zone - July 16, 2008

Anything but PADS!

Agreeable Friends And A Good Idea!

-- George Eliot, Scenes of Clerical Life

Agreeable Friends!

We thought we would return the favor to the Chicago Archdiocese and go read what is offered on their web site.

If you've clicked on the link above, you are now aware that the church has reacted to much of the negative fall-out they experienced after the priest-child sex abuse scandal by forming the new Office for the Protection of Children and Youth. We applaud their efforts; it's the least they can do.

Notably, the web page above also includes a link to the Chicago Archdiocese's Children Matter Network, which bills itself as "a partnership created to promote and protect the dignity of children."

Included in a discussion for choosing a summer program for kids, the Children Matter Network of the Archdiocese of Chicago offers the following suggestions --

before selecting your child’s summer program or activity:

Verify that the facility is licensed by the State of Illinois. Ask the Director to see the facility’s license and check the expiration date to ensure it is current;

Observe all areas of the facility to ensure that there are no safety or health hazards;

Ask the Director detailed questions regarding the screening of staff. These questions could include;

Ask to review their hiring application. Ask questions about the application if any areas are unfamiliar or critical information is not requested on the application.

Ask if they run a criminal background check on all employees prior to hiring? Is it an online background check or FBI digital fingerprinting?

Do they conduct a Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking Systems (CANTS) check with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on all employees prior to hiring?

Ask if they request professional references and do they contact these references prior to hiring an applicant?

What type of experience must staff members have to work for this particular program?

What type of certifications must staff members have to work for this particular program?

Notwithstanding the ironic recommendation of government oversight for any given program, the PRU Crew is willing to bet that if anyone from the Chicago Archdiocese Children Matter Network were asked if parents should ask these questions only in relation to issues of program employees and sexual predation on children, they would answer "No! Ask these questions of any program and facility where you send your children, to ensure you are sending them into a healthy and safe environment!"

So, all you SPC parents daring to ask questions and demand answers about the PADS program your pastor, Fr. Morello, and his fellow members of the PRMA wish to conduct in the school gym your children use...? Tell them the Archdiocese of Chicago suggested you do so.

A Good Idea!

We received the following "Alternate Suggestion to PADS" in an email. The PRU Crew thinks this is a very good idea!

1. We DO NOT INVOLVE the PADS people at all. Their screening is not satisfactory and their program has been dangerous in other towns. Their system only offers one night of undignified help and invites in homeless from other towns. PADS will increase the homeless population in Park Ridge. They are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

2. The Park Ridge Police Department would locate and identify the PARK RIDGE HOMELESS (which likely number 6-10 individuals). The PARK RIDGE HOMELESS are then fingerprinted to ensure that none of these
individuals are a danger to us or our children.

3. Every church in PRMA would shelter one homeless person per night. This idea eliminates a large group assembling around a church before and after they are sheltered.

4. The homeless would be sheltered in the rectory or another location in the church, but not in an area used by children.

5. Volunteers (and there are many) would be scheduled to come to each location, actually meet the homeless person, and bring a warm meal. Many volunteers and their families may want to spend time with the guest, have dinner with them, and engage them in meaningful conversation. (Rather than just "supervise" them as PADS volunteers do.) This would be a great way to teach children about how to care for others.

6. An additional volunteer can take the persons clothing home to be washed and returned fresh and clean (something else that is lacking in the current plan.)

7. With this system, the homeless can also spend time with one of our priests and discuss our faith (something that is actually prohibited by PADS policy)

8. Unlike the PADS idea, the homeless would not be forced to share a bathroom with 10-20 other homeless people, or wait in line for a toilet.

9. A comfortable fold out bed can be purchased for the guest to sleep on, in a dignified location, rather than on a hard mat or cot on the floor of a gym.

10. The guest could have access to a shower, a television set, and caring people. The PADS system would require the homeless to wash themselves in a sink in the boys bathroom.

11. In the morning, the guest would have breakfast and leave - showered, wearing clean clothes, and feeling that they just spent time with good Christian people who truly care about them. Their experience would be far more meaningful and dignified than any PADS shelter could offer.

12. Finally, as the guest leaves, he would be told which church to go to that night. That would ensure that only one person shows up at each location. It also ensures that we take care of the Park Ridge homeless, and not people from Chicago and other suburbs.

Additionally, this program addresses the issue 7 days a week. PADS only addresses it for one day. This program spreads the homeless out at numerous churches, rather than a large number at one location.

The exact originator of the idea is unknown to us, but we offer our PRUdos just the same.

Taste of Transparency?

If you had a chance to enjoy the offerings from the many vendors at the Taste of Park Ridge this past weekend, you can thank the people in the picture above -- along with many many other volunteers -- for organizing and carrying out the event.

Thank you, people in the above picture and many many others!

Last week our friends over at the Pub-dog's asked some questions about the financial arrangements of the Taste of Park Ridge event and corporation. The PRU Crew thinks the issues raised are worth exploring, and that the Pub-dog's questions are worth answering.

We're not sure if the strident objections to the Pub-dog's postings were because of their timing in writing their articles, or whether or not people really are foolish enough to prefer to look the other way on popular and well-liked events.

In either case, our hats are off to the Pub-dog's for looking past those things, daring to stand and be counted in the face of strong objections to hard questions about a popular event, and for forging ahead in the public light.

We're always going to support the public's right to know. So thank you also goes to the Pub-dog's.

Animusic!

From: http://www.animusic.com/

Have a good weekend!

Enjoy some food at the Taste of Park Ridge!

Another PRU Twofer!

Narcissus, by Michelangelo Caravaggio, ca. 1598


From the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate:

Clarification

July 7, 2008

The Rev. Carl Morello, pastor of St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, said this week that, while he left Park Ridge's July 1 Procedures and Regulations Committee meeting, he did not "storm out" as originally reported.

"I did choose to leave the meeting, after being verbally abused," Morello said, adding that he stayed for more than 30 minutes of public testimony on whether or not a proposed PADS shelter should be required to apply for a special use permit in Park Ridge. His church's parish life center is the second religious location in Park Ridge to have been proposed to host a weekly shelter in the colder months.

Morello said he also was mischaracterized as appearing not to care. "I do care. I have been and am meeting with my parishioners. I'm listening to them." A parish meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight at St. Paul of the Cross's Holy Family Chapel, 320 S. Washington.


From Wikipedia:

Entitlement

Entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits because of rights, or by agreement through law. It also refers, in a more casual sense to someone's belief that he/she is deserving of some particular reward or benefit. It is often used as a negative term in popular parlance (i.e. a 'sense of entitlement'). The legal term, however, carries no value judgment: it simply denotes a right granted. In clinical psychology and psychiatry, an unrealistic, exaggerated, or rigidly held sense of entitlement may be considered a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Mayor Frinocchio!

The three articles below are very informative in how business gets done under the Frimark Administration.

Attorney and local political insider, Jack Owens, met privately before the City Council meeting to request assistance from Mayor Howard in getting the Council to discuss and act on a non-agenda item for an Owens' client, according to our sources. It probably helped that the architectural firm hired by Owens' client to do the build-out of the new space is another connected insider, Chipman Adams, of Executive Office Plaza infamy; the same architectural firm that designed the now troubled Public Works Service Center.

As many of our faithful PRU readers should know by now, the rules governing the Council in conducting public business means that only under the rarest of circumstances may the Council discuss and act on a non-agenda item. But discuss and act they did for these special "Friends of Frimark", and it's not as if either Owens or Chipman can make any claims about ignorance of our zoning codes.

And of course, Mayor Howard's response is so full of holes it's the press release equivalent of Swiss cheese. Curiously, Mayor Howard never mentions any of the facts surrounding the matter, such as his good buddy Jack Owens' name, the attorney for the owner of the property, nor the fact that again Chipman Adams is connected to the case and looking for a favor. It sure seems that Mayor Howard would rather give a wink and a nod in dealing with most subjects, and allow city staff to be used as lie-telling tools on behalf of his "friends".

PRUdos to Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st Ward) for once again bringing to light the shady dealings of Mayor Howard and his cronies.

Did Council err in zoning advice

Amendment is needed for medical office locations

Mayor responds on office zoning

We're Just Asking!

Saint Dogbert -- copyright Scott Adams

Is St. Paul of the Cross Pastor Carl Morello stupid? Or, does he think his congregants are? Like our title says, we're just asking!

What has inspired our question is the June 29th offering from Father Carl's Corner.pdf In it we read that Fr. Carl realizes that the decision and announcement to have St. Paul of the Cross host the PADS homeless shelter was done "rather quickly", and "That Sunday, June 8th, I printed in the bulletin what had been said earlier in the week at the City Hall meeting and what was sure to go into the newspaper. I tell you this simply to say to all the parish there was no intent to be sly and slip this by anyone. Rather, it was truly an effort to get the right word out in a timely manner under the circumstances."

It seems to the PRU Crew that Fr. Carl may be unfamiliar with when the local rags come out. To be helpful, somebody should let Fr. Carl know that the Journal & Topics comes out on Wednesdays, and the Herald-Advocate comes out on Thursdays...following Mondays, when City Council meetings are held.

So let's see, "earlier in the week at the City Hall meeting" would have been Monday, June 2, where Adreinne Timm (SPC's Social Service Minister) announced to all present at the City Council meeting that St. Paul of the Cross would host the PADS homeless shelter. O.K., so what day comes before Monday... Oh that's right -- Sunday comes before Monday. And what happens on Sunday... Oh that's right -- Mass happens on Sunday...before Monday. And what do priests do at Mass on Sunday... Oh that's right -- priests give a homily.

So let's see, on the Sunday before the Monday when the City Council and others learned of St. Paul of the Cross's plan to play host to PADS, did Fr. Carl give a homily? Why, yes! He did! In that homily did Fr. Carl mention PADS? Why, yes! He did! At any time during that homily did Fr. Carl give his congregation the courtesy of telling them, before the rest of the Park Ridge community heard the announcement at City Hall, that St. Paul of the Cross would host the PADS homeless shelter this coming fall? Why, no! He didn't!

And then Fr. Carl went on his excellent Poland adventure.

Fr. Carl also says to his congregation, "I also want you to know this. There were some folks, who wrote to say they were disappointed that I did not talk to the parish more about this and bring it to a vote. I have to say honestly that a “vote” was not something I felt would ever be possible. That was clear to me just by the responses I have gotten thus far." Right. It's only in a real democracy that you take a chance on losing a "vote" and agree to abide by the majority vote.

In any event, Fr. Carl does seem to be aware that, democracy or not, his bumbling of the public relations effort by failing to discuss the PADS shelter with his congregation first could produce an undesirable effect upon SPC's coffers. So Fr. Carl and his band of merry PADS proponents have planned a semi-public meeting for tonight; a format that closely follows the previous PADS meeting held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

In another offering from Fr. Carl's Corner for June 22nd, we read about concerns expressed in SPC's parish survey regarding etiquette for Mass. In that missive, Fr. Carl notes, "Churches are meant to be sacred places were people can pray. Keeping the noise down helps create that space. Protracted and loud conversations are never appropriate. (emphasis added)

So of course, tonight's meeting is supposed to be held in the St. Paul of the Cross Holy Family Chapel.