Obituaries
Sister Mary Camille Guzman, SSJ-TOSF
Catholic News Service
Garfield Heights
Sister Mary Camille Guzman, a Sister of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, who was the former chief executive officer of Marymount Hospital, died July 9 at the motherhouse in Stevens Point, Wis. She was 94.
A memorial Mass was celebrated July 22 at Marymount Convent Chapel. A funeral Mass was celebrated July 13 at the motherhouse.
Sister Mary Camille GuzmanOfficials at Wheeling Jesuit University said the school is deeply honored and grateful that the senator's passion for the Mountain State and his hope for the future will live on as the Byrd legacy through the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, named for his wife, and the Sen. Robert C. Byrd National Technology Center. Both were dedicated in 1997.
"We offer our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues and send out our prayers that the senator now rests in peace," said Ursuline Sister Francis Marie Thrailkill, interim president of the university.
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said he and first lady Gayle Manchin were saddened by the passing of Byrd who "made a significant mark as a member of Congress in both our state's and nation's history."
"Senator Byrd was a fearless fighter for the Constitution, his beloved state and its great people," the governor said. "His accomplishments and contributions will define history for eternity. Our hearts and prayers go out to his daughters, friends and loved ones, his committed staff and to the people of West Virginia; we have suffered a terrible loss."
Byrd's political career ‑‑ which also included terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate and six years in the U.S. House of Representatives ‑‑ could trace its origins to the adult Bible classes he taught at Crab Orchard Baptist Church in Sophia, where he ran a grocery store. After the class grew from six people to 636 in a year, a radio station in Beckley began broadcasting his lessons, making Byrd a local celebrity.
Born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C., Byrd was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Stotesbury, W.Va., after his mother died before his first birthday. Renamed Robert Carlyle Byrd, he did not know his real name until he was 16 and learned his real birth date from an older brother only in 1971.
President Barack Obama praised Byrd's lengthy service in Congress and said his was a "uniquely American" story.
"He was born into wrenching poverty but educated himself to become an authoritative scholar, respected leader and unparalleled champion of our Constitution," he said. "He had the courage to stand firm in his principles but also the courage to stand over time."
Byrd once served briefly as an "exalted cyclops" in the Ku Klux Klan and personally conducted a 14‑hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1965, but he later modified his stand on civil rights.
Both Obama, a former U.S. senator from Illinois, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised Byrd for his generosity toward those who were new to the Senate.
"He held the deepest respect of members of both parties, and he was generous with his time and advice, something I appreciated greatly as a young senator," Obama said.
Clinton said she sought out Byrd's guidance "from my first day in the Senate ... and he was always generous with his time and his wisdom."
"I admired his tireless advocacy for his constituents, his fierce defense of the Constitution and the traditions of the Senate, and his passion for government that improves the lives of the people it serves," Clinton added. "And as secretary of state ... I have been grateful for the support he has provided as a leader of the Appropriations Committee to our diplomats and development workers as they serve our country and advance our interests all over the world."
Byrd was married for 68 years to his childhood sweetheart, the former Emma Ora James, who died in 2006. He is survived by their two daughters, five grandchildren and seven great‑grandchildren.
Contributing to this story was Colleen Rowan in Wheeling.
Refugee who became renowned political scientist, geographer dies at 91
Catholic News Service
Jonathan Luxmoore
Warsaw, Poland
Monsignor Henryk Jankowski, 73, a former Solidarity union chaplain who later became notorious for anti‑Semitic sermons, died July 12 in Gdansk of complications related to diabetes.
Retired Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski of Gdansk told Poland's Catholic information agency, KAI, he recognized the priest as "an exceptionally rich personality, written into the reality of his generation," who had rebuilt St. Brygida's Church from a wartime ruin and provided help for Solidarity members interned under 1981‑83 martial law, as well as to their families.
COURTESY ARCHDIOCESE OF GDANSK/CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICEMonsignor Henryk Jankowski, 73, a former Solidarity union chaplain who later became notorious for anti Semitic sermons, died July 12 in Gdansk, Poland, of complications related to diabetes. Monsignor Jankowski is pictured in an undated photo.
"He later continued his communist‑era efforts from the 1980s by turning his pulpit into a political rostrum. Bearing in mind the views emanating from it, it was necessary to call a stop so he could peacefully enter retirement," he said.
Archbishop Goclowski removed Monsignor Jankowski as pastor in 2004 after he had repeatedly rebuked him for anti‑Semitic remarks.
Ordained in 1964, Monsignor Jankowski became pastor of St Brygida's in 1970. He celebrated Masses for workers at the nearby Lenin Shipyards during Solidarity strikes in August 1980 and became a close confidant of union leader Lech Walesa.
However, after the 1989 collapse of communist rule, he became noted for controversial sermons, with several provoking complaints from international Jewish organizations. In 1997, he was suspended from preaching for a year after telling Catholics they should not "tolerate a Jewish minority in the Polish government."
In September 2004, he urged parishioners to ''mobilize against evil anti‑Polishness, and especially against the Jewry which seeks to subdue human spirits.''
In a letter to local priests the same month, Archbishop Goclowski said Msgr. Jankowski had created ''an un‑Christian climate," adding that he had also provoked ''alarming media suspicions'' by ''receiving boys in his presbytery.''
The November 2004 decree dismissing him as pastor sparked angry protests from supporters of the priest, who continued to live in the parish rectory and serve as chaplain at a nearby convent.
Monsignor Jankowski, who was awarded honorary Gdansk citizenship in 2000, remained prominent, launching a wine with his portrait on the label to fund a new altar at his church and a brand of mineral water to fund scholarships for deprived children.
In August 2008, Gdansk Archbishop Slawoj Glodz lifted a ban on his preaching.
Sister Jean Dezort, OP
Catholic News Service
Akron
Dominican Sister of Peace Jean Dezort, an educator and pastoral minister at several schools and parishes in the Cleveland Diocese, died July 16 at Regina Health Center. She was 80.
A funeral Mass was celebrated July 19 at Our Lady of the Elms Convent.
Born in 1929 in Cleveland, she entered the Sisters of St. Dominic in Akron in 1947 from St. Cecilia Parish, Cleveland. She professed her final vows in 1949 and was the 62nd year of her religious profession.
Sister Dezort held a bachelor and master degree in education from St. John College and a master degree in religious education from Seattle University and was certified in counseling from the University of Akron.
She began her ministry in education at Our Lady of the Elms Elementary School, Akron and also taught at St. Agatha School, Cleveland; St. Dominic School, Youngstown; and St. Paul School, Akron.
In 1965, she became one of the first women religious to become involved with the Newman apostolate at the University of Akron. In 1983, she was a member of the pastoral team at the Newman Center at Kent State University.
She also served as a pastoral minister and director of religious education at St. William Parish, Champion; Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Uniontown; and St. Mary Parish, Rifle, Colorado. She also served at parishes in Florida.
In 2005, Sister Dezort returned to Our Lady of the Elms and was involved in RCIA at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and Holy Family Parish.
Father Thomas R. Smith
Catholic News Service
Lorain
Father Thomas R. Smith, founding pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Parish, died July 6. He was 55.
A funeral Mass was celebrated July 15 at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Parish.
Father Thomas R. SmithHis first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Frances de Sales Parish, Akron. In 1985, he was transferred to St. Bernadette Parish, Westlake where he served as parochial vicar until 1991. He also served as parochial vicar at St. Malachi Parish, Cleveland, and St. Wenceslas Parish, Maple Heights.
In 1994, he was appointed pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, Lorain. He also served as administrator of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Pairsh and St. Vitus Parish, both in Lorain.
In March, he was named founding pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Parish, a new parish resulting from the reconfiguration plan.
Father Smith is survived by his mother, Ruth Ann Smith of Buffalo; sisters, Deborah J. Smith-Jones of Pittsburgh, Linda A. Lempner of Brunswick, Lisa J. Smith of Buffalo, Susan C. Macro of Amherst, N.Y., Barbara a. Alkire of Mechanicsville, Va., and Judith A. Smith of Lockport, N.Y. and several extended family.