My World of Religion, Politics, Entertainment and Social Issues

  Dear Blog Visitors:   2014 will be a major year for transformations in Rochester. At the secular level, we will have a new mayor and administrators in City Hall. At the religious level, we will have a new Roman Catholic Bishop. Concerning City Hall, I spent 23 years there, retiring in 2011 as supervisor of the City's accounts payable operations. I got to see much, in terms of day-to-day operations. My initial hope was that incoming mayor Lovely Warren would retain at least some of the talente ... d department heads that were put into place by her immediate predecessors. While some positions were retained, there were multiple replacements as well. In retrospect, Lovely Warren had a good transition team, and I am impressed with choices she made. At the same time, I hope those not retained will be able to find employment soon, since they are extremely talented individuals. I was happy to see that Charles Benincasa is being elevated from his position as City Tre...

    Dear Blog Visitors:   When I was ordained a married priest by a married archbishop in 2006, it was in recognition of the fact that I had the same graduate theological degrees as my celibate counterparts, and that sex and gender restrictions sadly prevented many qualified individuals from entering a vocation they were called to. I was very pleased to learn that Pope Francis has been named Time Magazine's person of the year. He has the potential to make the Roman Catholic Church a more welcoming a nd inclusive institution than what was experienced under his immediate predecessors. It is my hope that in light of the shortage of celibate priests, Pope Francis will authorize the inclusion of women and married men at the altar. Since the imposition of mandatory celibacy in 1139, there have been many scandals in the church, inclusive of the sexual abuse crisis that peaked in 2002. Women and married priests who have found the means to become ordained have fou...

Dear Blog Visitors: I was deeply honored and humbled to be elected as the new president of the Rochester Chamber Orchestra.  I am also very pleased that outgoing president and friend, Tom Paul, will be remaining on the board and continuing his longtime role as artistic administrator/advisor for the orchestra. For me, my new role is a return to my musical roots.  It was my original career ambition to become a symphony orchestra conductor.  Having studied trumpet, violin, piano and voice, conducting seemed to be a logical next step.  However, during my sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music, I decided that music was not going to be my career path.  Since those days, I ventured into other areas, inclusive broadcasting, banking and 23 years in Rochester's City Hall.  I have also earned varied degrees, such as a Bachelor of Arts from Empire State College and a Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Divinity from St. Bernard's School of Theology...

Dear Blog Visitors: I have spent considerable time this week reflecting back on the events of President Kennedy's presidency and tragic assassination. This has been inclusive of watching documentaries and looking at documents that were classified until recent ly. While historians continue to debate whether or not JFK was a great president, the fact remains that he kept us out of a nuclear war via careful diplomacy and a televised speech that proved to be the catalyst for what can perhaps be described as the former Soviet Union backing down under pressure. By today's standards, it is hard to imagine nuclear missiles pointed at the U.S. only 90 miles from Florida's shore. However, this was the case, and the U.S. and the Soviet Union were ready to push the buttons if necessary. On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy proved himself to be a communicator extraordinaire, by delivering a televised speech like none other since. I am providing a photo taken during that memor...

Dear Blog Visitors: I want to congratulate Jim Vollertsen, president of RAPA (Rochester Association of Performing Arts), for his hard work that has led to the lease of what used to be the Theater on the Ridge. (It is being renamed the Kodak Center for the Performing Arts.) This morning's Democrat and Chronicle ran a nice feature that highlights upcoming plans/events for the theater. It was a pleasure for me to take part in testing the acoustics in the theater. As I roamed the theater and listened to musical instruments playing from several sections of the stage, I was very impressed with the sound. This will be a perfect location to stage broadway type shows and concerts, in addition to hosting other entertainment venues. This theater has many memories for me. I will never forget the annual variety shows that were put on for Kodak workers, their families and the general public during the fifties and sixties, with a large orchestra in the pit conducted by Len Hawley. East...

Dear Blog Visitors: Having served under several mayors (Ryan, Johnson, Duffy, Richards) before I retired, I am proud of the fact that each mayor worked hard toward achieving diversity in Rochester's City Hall. I am confident that Mayor-elect Lovely Warren will follow in the footsteps of her predecessors in this regard. It is reasonable to assume that Mayor Tom Richards will be asking for resignations from his top appointees, who in turn will have an opportunity to reapply for their jobs via Lovely Warren's transition team. My hope is that Ms. Warren will recognize the excellent pool of talent that worked for Tom Richards, whereby there will be an opportunity to keep at least some of these persons who are dedicated to the best interests of the city, inclusive of the level of diversity that has worked well in City Hall. I came across a photo that was taken 25 years ago in City Hall. At that time, I was proud to be asked to serve on a panel that looked into diversity issue...

Dear Blog Visitors:   I want to congratulate Salvatore Matano upon his appointment as Rochester's 9th bishop.  This appointment by Pope Francis became official this morning at a press conference held by the Diocese of Rochester. It was my great privilege to experience the friendship of Bishop Matthew Clark over the course of many years. Bishop Matano has big shoes to fill. However, I wish him well and I want to welcome him to Rochester. Bishop Clark made great strides in terms of setting inclusive policies for the Diocese of Rochester, in spite of Vatican restrictions. However, it is very encouraging that our current pontiff has given us hope for a church that embraces diversity, as opposed to the top-down model we are used to seeing. Salvatore Matano was born in 1946, which means he won't be a long-term bishop of Rochester. (Bishops are required to submit resignation papers to the Vatican at age 75.) However, even as a transitional bishop, he can ha...

Dear Blog Visitors:   I want to extend sincere congratulations to Lovely Warren upon her election as Rochester's new mayor. Although I worked on the last-minute campaign for Tom Richards, I nevertheless rejoice in the historic moment we are celebrating, which i s the election of Rochester's very first female mayor, and Rochester's second African American mayor. As president of Rochester's City Council, Lovely Warren got to know the City's department heads. So, I hope she will at least consider retaining those who have consistently done a stellar job. For example, I worked for the City's current finance director, Brian Roulin. He has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Vince Carfagna, by establishing high levels of financial reporting, resulting in multiple national recognitions. There are many department heads I could recommend as persons Lovely Warren should retain. However, she needs to create an environment that she feels best serves...

Dear Blog Visitors: One of my friends from my high school days asked me if I still have an article I wrote in 1996 in tribute to a former music teacher, C. Benjamin Scammell.  I found the text and am pleased to post the article here.  Since writing the article, Ben Scammell has died.  However, I am pleased to report that up to the day of his passing, he and I stayed in contact, and it was a delight for him to read my article in 1996. The article, in its present form, is edited/updated to include Ben's passing. TRIBUTE TO C. BENJAMIN SCAMMELL One of my favorite films is MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS. (Richard Dreyfuss portrays a high school music teacher.)  I recommend this movie to anyone who needs insight into the impact a teacher can have on students, and I hope viewers who watch this inspirational story on DVD might be inspired to write any overdue letters to teachers who inspired them. The Mr. Holland in my life was the late C. Benjamin Scammell, an instrument...

Dear Blog Visitors: The announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning did not come as a total surprise to me.   It had been speculated that he would retire upon his 85 th birthday.   When this did not occur, I had assumed it would just be a matter of time before there would be an official announcement. For several million independent Catholics, such as myself (separated from Rome), the election of a new pontiff will have very little impact, unless of course, there were to be a few innovations that could signal a more inclusive church.   In the past twenty years, multiple issues have created a mass exodus from the institutional church (sexual abuse scandal, Vatican bank scandal, women treated as second-class members, ordination policies, outdated mandatory celibacy rule for priests, etc.). When I was ordained a married priest in 2006, the Vatican ruled the ordination to be valid, but illicit.   In simple terms, it means that since I was ordained by a v...