Bill Text: IL HR0024 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizes Cardinal Francis George on his service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-01-28 - Resolution Adopted [HR0024 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR0024-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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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
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6 | WHEREAS, Cardinal George was born in
Chicago on January 16, | ||||||
7 | 1937 to Francis J. and Julia R. (nee McCarthy) George; and
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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
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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
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14 | Hillinger at his boyhood parish of St. Pascal in Chicago; and
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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
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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 |
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1 | Pass Christian, Mississippi, Tulane University, and Creighton | ||||||
2 | University; and
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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12 | "Francis, your neighbor"; and
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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
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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
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21 | WHEREAS, On December 10, 2014, Cardinal George received the | ||||||
22 | Medal of Merit, the City of
Chicago's highest honor; and
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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
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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
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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.
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