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ADRIAN, MICH.—Sister Ursula Ording, formerly Sister James Peter Ording, died on April 15 at McCloud Medical Center in Florence, S.C. She was 78 and in the 60th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

A Communion service was held at St. Catherine Chapel and interment was in the congregation cemetery on April 26.

Sister Ursula was born in Lansing to James and Neva Fuller Ording. She graduated from Resurrection High School in Lansing and received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Siena Heights College in Adrian and a Master of Arts degree in earth science from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn.

She spent 24 years working in education in Adrian and Detroit; Maywood, Ill.; Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Grafton, W.Va.; and Los Angeles. She was a high school teacher at Rosarian Academy, an Adrian Dominican institution in West Palm Beach, for 10 years.

Sister Ursula was co-founder of the To Kalon Art Center in Los Gatos, Calif., where she worked for seven years. She was also an art teacher for three years at the To Kalon Art Center in Cohasset, Mass.

She became the director of Springbank Retreat Center in Kingstree, S.C., in 1986. In 2003, she retired but remained as a volunteer.

Sister Ursula is survived by a brother, Joseph Ording, of Santa Rosa, Calif., and members of her congregation.

COLUMBIA—Members of the Cardinal Newman School community took part in a simple but moving ceremony April 19 to celebrate their latest step on the road to a new campus.

Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone prayed with about 150 people, including faculty, staff, clergy, donors and others involved in Catholic education in Columbia, at the 50-acre site off Alpine Road where a new school will eventually be built.

Cardinal Newman students sang, played music and read Scripture passages. The bishop blessed the building site with a bundle of pine fronds dipped in holy water, an appropriate choice because pines cover the heavily wooded site. Milliken Forestry will soon begin clearing the timber in preparation for other work to begin.

Chao Engineering and JHS Architecture, both based in Columbia, are handling the contracting and design for the project.

“We wanted to bless the property before the foresters stepped on the site to start cutting,” said Jacqualine Kasprowski, associate director of secondary education for the diocese and Cardinal Newman’s principal. “We’ve taken many, many steps along the way to get to this point, and we’re still fundraising, but it feels really good to be at this point in the project.”

Cardinal Newman has been raising money for the new campus through the “Our School, Our Children, Our Hope” campaign. Kasprowski said the entire project will cost an estimated $20 million.

Beside donations, Kasprowski said the campaign will also receive some revenues from sale of timber cleared from the site. The school is also marketing its current property on Forest Drive for eventual sale or lease.

A new campus would allow the school more space for future growth, as well as more facilities for sports and parking. Cardinal Newman has been on Forest Drive since 1961. Traffic along the four-lane road has increased dramatically in recent years, and the school has been hemmed in by both commercial and residential growth.

During the ceremony, Bishop Guglielmone said he noticed as he confirmed young people in the diocese this spring that many young women are choosing the confirmation name Elizabeth after St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. That saint is especially important, he said, because she is considered the founder of the Catholic school system in the United States.

Cardinal Newman’s quest to build a new school is evidence, he said,  both of the growth of Catholic education in the diocese and its increased importance in today’s world.

“Even though the prime formation of the faith comes through the family, we live in such a complex world today that Catholic schools are more vital than ever,” he said. “…Clearing the land here is a start that will help this new school to become a reality, a place where the Holy Spirit can be central in the lives of the students and the community.”

PHOTOS:

(TOP) Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone reads a prayer from a book held by Noah Zimmermann (right) as he blesses the building site for the new Cardinal Newman School in Columbia on April 19.

(MIDDLE) Cardinal Newman student musicians (from left) CJ Eddy, Kenneth Vowles and Eileen Winslow perform at the April 19 blessing ceremony for the new school campus off Alpine Road in Columbia.

(BOTTOM) Daniel Adkins (left) and Sam Hall (center) assist Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone as he prepares to bless the building site.

See more photos here.

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By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON -- Reforms in health and retirement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security must not increase poverty or economic hardship among the people they are designed to help, the chairman of two U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees said in a letter to Congress.

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, cautioned in the April 22 letter against shifting the cost of such programs to or diminishing benefits of vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities and the poor.

"There are policy options that have the potential to raise adequate revenues for these programs while protecting beneficiaries and we challenge you to explore those options," the bishops wrote.

The letter comes as Congress continues to weigh a final spending plan for fiscal year 2014. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have adopted overall budget resolutions. President Barack Obama also sent proposed budget plan for 2014 to Congress, but no action has been taken on it.

Bishop Blaire and Bishop Pates said they were not offering a detailed critique of the president's budget proposal but were offering their views on proposals that affect poverty and basic human needs.

They also reiterated the oft-repeated mantra that "a just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts to programs that help people live in a manner worthy of their human dignity" and repeated their call for a circle of protection around poor and vulnerable people.

At the same time, the bishops said, "the president should be commended for his concern for those living or near poverty, especially children and families." They supported the president's plan for funding early childhood education, capitalizing the National Housing Trust Fund, reforming child support and fatherhood initiatives to encourage fathers to become more involved in their children's lives and increasing mental health services.

"The moral measure of this budget debate is not which part wins or which powerful interests prevail, but rather how those who are jobless, hungry, homeless and poor are treated," the bishops concluded. "Their voices are too often missing, but they have the most compelling moral claim on our consciences and our common resources.

"The bishops stand ready to work with leaders of both parties for a budget that reduces future deficits, protects poor and vulnerable people, advances the common good and promotes human life and dignity."

Editor's Note: The full text of the bishops' letter can be read online at http://bit.ly/12GcgHD.

Franciscan Father Paul Williams believes that St. Joseph has played a special role in his priesthood.

As a child, he attended a parish and school named after St. Joseph. He was ordained in a church named after the saint.

And, after 26 years of service in South Carolina, on April 15 he started his new assignment as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Wilmington, Del., the oldest historically African American Catholic parish in the Diocese of Wilmington.

He said the new role will be a challenge, but he looks forward to helping the parish with renewal and outreach to the community.

Over the years, Father Williams served at two historically black parishes in South Carolina — St. Anthony of Padua in Greenville from 1987 to 2002 and St. Martin de Porres in Columbia from 2002-2011. He also was the diocesan Vicar for African-American Catholics for several years. Most recently, he was pastor of St. Joseph Church in Anderson.

“My whole experience here has been very fulfilling,” Father Williams said. “I fell in love with South Carolina and the Catholic community here. People are warm, welcoming and excited about their faith. South Carolina Catholics are proud of their Catholicism and willing, when necessary, to defend their faith and not be passive.”

Father Williams said the people of this state ushered in a new era in his priesthood.

When he became pastor at St. Anthony of Padua, it was his first time serving in a parish. Before, he lived in a Franciscan community with 80 other priests in New York City. At St. Anthony, he officiated at his first baptism and his first wedding.

“The people of St. Anthony nurtured me and were very patient with me as I learned how to be a parish priest,” he said.

During his years at St. Martin de Porres, Father Williams led the parish through the building of a new church and a rectory, and renovations of its school.

“I think I was able to help that community rediscover the gifts they had, and encouraged them to use those to build up the life of the parish,” he said.

He said that all of the places he served offered him new opportunities to share the Gospel, and he was also excited to see the Catholic population grow in size and diversity over the years. Many parishes that were once mainly African-American have now become more multicultural, welcoming members of many backgrounds while still working to maintain a sense of black Catholic history and identity.

People from around the diocese paid tribute to Father Williams at a dinner held April 5 during the Black Catholic Family Reunion in Greenville. They also joined him at conference events the following day to wish him farewell.

Kathy Schmugge, coordinator of the Family Life Office, said the priest was a constant advocate for the most vulnerable in society, including the unborn and the poor.

“He is compassionate and passionate for both woman and child,” she said. “He has supported families and has been a spiritual father to many.”

Sister Roberta Fulton, of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, said the Franciscan was the reason she returned to South Carolina to become principal at St. Martin de Porres School. She had worked there previously but was serving at Niagara University in Buffalo, N.Y., when she received his call.

“He is always gracious about giving and selfless in reaching out to others and helping bring forth the best in people,” she said. “He was a true missionary because he spread the love of the Lord to all those he met. Many people were brought back to the faith because of him.”

Roosevelt Cummings, a member of St. Martin de Porres Church, fondly recalled Father Williams’ years as his pastor, as well as his support of the Knights of Columbus. “He was more than a priest to us — he was a friend, a person who was understanding, a counselor, someone you always wanted to be around,” Cummings said.

Photo:  Fr Williams (top); Terena Starks (left) and Julia Starks (right) of Greenville, two of many people who said goodbye to him before he left for his new assignment.