Full Text of HR0024 99th General Assembly
HR0024 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0024 | | LRB099 04305 MST 25659 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize the service of His
Eminence, | 4 | | Francis Eugene Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop Emeritus of | 5 | | Chicago upon his
retirement as Archbishop of Chicago; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Cardinal George was born in
Chicago on January 16, | 7 | | 1937 to Francis J. and Julia R. (nee McCarthy) George; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Cardinal George attended St. Pascal School on | 9 | | Chicago's Northwest Side;
he attended St. Henry Preparatory | 10 | | Seminary in Belleville and entered the Missionary Oblates of
| 11 | | Mary Immaculate in August of 1957; he earned his bachelor's | 12 | | degree in theology from the
University of Ottawa and was | 13 | | ordained a priest in December of 1963 by Most Reverend Raymond
| 14 | | Hillinger at his boyhood parish of St. Pascal in Chicago; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Cardinal George earned several postgraduate | 16 | | degrees; he received a master's
degree in philosophy from The | 17 | | Catholic University of America in 1965, a doctorate in American
| 18 | | philosophy from Tulane University in 1970, a master's degree in | 19 | | theology from the University of
Ottawa in 1971, and a Doctorate | 20 | | of Sacred Theology in ecclesiology from the Pontifical | 21 | | Urbaniana
University in Rome in 1988; he taught at Our Lady of | 22 | | the Lake University, Gonzaga University,
the Oblate Seminary in |
| | | HR0024 | - 2 - | LRB099 04305 MST 25659 r |
|
| 1 | | Pass Christian, Mississippi, Tulane University, and Creighton | 2 | | University; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Cardinal George served the church in a number of | 4 | | roles, including pontifical
councils and commissions; in 1974, | 5 | | he was elected vicar general of the Missionary Oblates of Mary | 6 | | Immaculate,
serving in Rome and traveling to missions in some | 7 | | of the poorest regions of Africa, Asia, and
Latin America; from | 8 | | 1973 to 1974, he served as Provincial Superior of the | 9 | | Midwestern Province
for the Oblates and, from 1987 to 1990, as | 10 | | coordinator of the Circle of Fellows for the Cambridge
Center | 11 | | for the Study of Faith and Culture; beginning in 2007, he | 12 | | served a 3-year term as
President of the United States | 13 | | Conference of Catholic Bishops; from 1990 to 2008, he served as
| 14 | | Episcopal Moderator and as a member of the board of the | 15 | | National Catholic Office for Persons with
Disabilities, now the | 16 | | National Catholic Partnership on Disability, bringing his | 17 | | personal
experience to the position after a 5-month bout with | 18 | | polio at the age of 13 left him with permanent
damage to his | 19 | | legs; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Following his appointment by Pope Saint John Paul | 21 | | II, Cardinal George was ordained and
installed in September of | 22 | | 1990 as the fifth Bishop of Yakima in Washington state, serving | 23 | | for over 5 years; and |
| | | HR0024 | - 3 - | LRB099 04305 MST 25659 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Following his appointment by Pope Saint John Paul | 2 | | II, Cardinal George was installed in
May of 1996 as the ninth | 3 | | Archbishop of Portland; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Following the passing of Cardinal Joseph | 5 | | Bernardin on May 7, 1997, Cardinal George was installed as the | 6 | | eighth Archbishop of Chicago, becoming the first native | 7 | | Chicagoan
to serve as Archbishop of Chicago, serving more than | 8 | | 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake
counties; when | 9 | | delivering his homily during his installation Mass, he drew | 10 | | upon his hometown
roots, noting that Chicago is a city of | 11 | | neighborhoods, and asked the people to think of him as
| 12 | | "Francis, your neighbor"; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Pope Saint John Paul II announced Cardinal | 14 | | George's elevation to the Sacred College of Cardinals and he | 15 | | was created a Cardinal Priest during consistory on February
21, | 16 | | 1998; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, After serving over 17 years as Archbishop, | 18 | | Cardinal George
presided over his final Mass at Holy Name | 19 | | Cathedral on November 16, 2014, becoming the first
Cardinal to | 20 | | retire as Archbishop of Chicago; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, On December 10, 2014, Cardinal George received the | 22 | | Medal of Merit, the City of
Chicago's highest honor; and
|
| | | HR0024 | - 4 - | LRB099 04305 MST 25659 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Cardinal George has fought as an advocate for the | 2 | | poor and the
vulnerable, pushing for legislative reform to | 3 | | strengthen the rights of Illinois' Latino community
and | 4 | | battling racism; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 6 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 7 | | thank His Eminence, Francis Eugene Cardinal George, OMI, | 8 | | Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago for his years of service to the | 9 | | people of Chicago, Cook County, the State of Illinois, and the | 10 | | Archdiocese of Chicago; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to Cardinal George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago, | 13 | | as an expression of our respect, esteem, and
best wishes.
|
|