Father Graf is leaving Waukegan, no replacement yet

[fedupinwaukegan]

The article mentions a new road for Father Graf -but doesn't say where he is going or why he is leaving. He is only 50... Anyone know?

New road for provocative pastor
Rev. Gary Graf hoping for 'perfect person' to lead blended parish

March 11, 2009
By JUDY MASTERSON <!-- e --><a href="mailto:JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM">JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->

WAUKEGAN -- After surgeons sliced out two-thirds of his liver, the Rev. Gary Graf did not sleep for five weeks and twice contemplated suicide.

It was Eastertide 2002 and the clergy sexual abuse scandal was heaping hot coals on the heads of Roman Catholics. Graf, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Waukegan, said that after the operation, his body revolted and his spirit was tortured by demons who, livid over his organ donation to a dying parishoner, tried to pull him into the abyss.

» Click to enlarge image
Thomas Delany Jr. ? <!-- e --><a href="mailto:tdelany@scn1.com">tdelany@scn1.com</a><!-- e --> The Rev. Gary Graf visits the third-grade classroom of Hedy Broz at Academy of Our Lady Catholic School in Waukegan.

"My whole life has been about giving people hope," Graf said. "And suddenly I felt hopeless. I found myself in complete and total darkness."

Nearly seven years after the sacrifice that made national headlines, Graf, 50, still isn't sleeping well. But the priest, who in 2006 took on the pastorate of two more parishes -- Immaculate Conception in Waukegan and Queen of Peace in North Chicago -- has other reasons to toss at night. He's scheduled to leave Waukegan on June 30 after 14 years of service, and no successor has been named.

The delay has been caused by a chronic shortage of priests, foot-dragging by the Archdiocese of Chicago and a change of heart by at least two prospective pastor replacements, Graf said.

"We have been hoping for the perfect person at the perfect time, but with each passing year, the shortage grows worse," Graf said. "You don't want just a warm body, especially if you're building up a community."

A native of Chicago, Graf has sparked controversy on a number of fronts since he arrived in Waukegan on Oct. 9, 1994, as associate pastor of the former St. Joseph Parish on Waukegan's South Side.

His fluency in Spanish, his willingness to minister to a burgeoning numbers of Latinos, and the refusal of other churches to offer Masses for new immigrants, inadvertently led to the extenuation of a model the church has outgrown -- the ethnic parish. Graf said the model is impractical, uncatholic and "the totally wrong thing to do."

Graf jumped into the hotly contested debate over 287(g) after Waukegan's bid to enact the section under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, allowing state and local police to enforce immigration laws. The controversy drew the ire of the Illinois Minutemen, who picketed Graf's church on a Sunday in 2006. Graf met the protestors outside in pouring rain and invited them in for coffee and doughnuts.

"The Latino community felt they were under attack," Graf said. "The perception is they're not welcome."

Graf has not always been loved by those to whom he has ministered. A group of Latino business owners asked for his removal after he ordered a consolidation of hundreds of quinceaneras -- the lifeblood of many small Waukegan businesses. Graf, who argues that the wedding-like ceremonies marking a girl's 15th birthday are too costly for many families, relented, but he shoveled the officiating to a seminarian.

Under Graf's leadership, Holy Family Parish also joined the grass-roots group Lake County United, which has pushed for improvements in health care and education in Waukegan, recently backing an unsuccessful attempt to form a charter school.

"We're working hard to get more Latinos involved, to take control of their own destiny," Graf said.

Despite several parish closings and consolidations during Graf's tenure, the archdiocese is still operating in 17 buildings at three sites in Waukegan and North Chicago. All carry Graf's stamp, offering social and educational services to the poor and immigrants. A recent consolidation of parish administrations was also Graf's idea.

"We're sharing resources and letting the spirit lead us," he said. "But what we have is an identity crisis and limited contact with the pastor."

Graf would like to see lay administrators head-up Waukegan parishes, leaving priests to focus on sacramental duties. The archdiocese has been lukewarm to the idea, Graf noted.

"The challenge for the church in Waukegan, as Graf sees it, is to help the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities grow stronger through mutual understanding and a lively co-existence.

"We've gone through a lot of pain," Graf said. "But no death, no resurrection. The church needs to continue to pus

[JazminH]

Whats the difference between Jesus and Gary Graff?

Jesus doesn't think he is Gary Graff.

[fedupinwaukegan]

Ahh, just looked through the hard copy of the paper and this is what Judy M. says Father Graf will be doing.

Next Moves

Where is the Rev. Gary Graf going after he leaves Waukegan? He's scheduled to trek 600 miles over 34 days as part of the pilgrimage Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain in July. He will spend six weeks in Kenya. He also hopes to visit a sweat lodge on a reservation in South Dakota.

While he expects to be reassigned to a parish in Chicago, he won't leave Waukegan, the city where he has spent half his priesthood and one-quarter of his life, he said, until his replacement is assured.

[TypesWithFist]

A friend sent me this parody of the News Sun article that he wrote this morning.

Provacative pastor seeks Sainthood

Rev. Gary Graf leads own cause

March 11, 2009

By BAT MASTERSON

WAUKEGAN -- If there is no greater sign of love than giving one's life for another, sacrificing a piece of liver must come close. It is not surprising, then, that one Waukegan priest might apply for sainthood. "Why not?" asked Father Gary Graf, "It's not like Padre Pio gave up a piece of his liver, and they declared him a saint! Stigmatas are nothing compared to a chunk of liver." Although Graf's efforts have raised some eyebrows among critics, and Papal Nuncio Antonio Sabato Jr. laughed out loud when he learned of Graf's application, Graf remains determined.

"With the end times near, I have requested expedited approval," said Graf. "I know that this is unusual and contrary to normal Christian humility, but there is a great need for livers out there -- particularly in the illegal immigrant community -- and my only prayer is that my selfless giving will inspire others to give as well. If not a piece of liver, then perhaps an eyeball, a kidney, even a toe. I'd like to see my own face on holy cards and organ donor cards across this country and in Mexico."

The road to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, is however, a long one. The first recognition of potential sainthood comes when the Church applies the title "Venerable" to a deceased candidate. With the accumulation of miracles ascribed to the soul, the individual may then be declared "Blessed" and even "Saint," provided no sexual improprieties come to light.

"Giving my liver," said Graf, "is a good start. I feel as though in some really small way, my action mimicked the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross, and that I am mystically tied to the Eucharist, the actual body of Christ -- which of course included his liver. I am humbled by the holiness that God has given to me."

Many speculate that the canonization of Graf would have the added effect of being an economic boon to Waukegan, resulting in an unheard of increase in tourism and the development of resorts and theme parks as thousands of campesinos trudge north. Let us pray.