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The Most Reverend William E. Lori, S.T.D., former Bishop of Bridgeport
The Most Reverend William Edward Lori, S.T.D., was installed as the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, on March 19, 2001.
A native of Louisville, KY, Bishop Lori, 53, obtained a Bachelor's Degree from the Seminary of Saint Pius X in Erlanger, KY, in 1973, and a Master's Degree from Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, in 1977. In 1982, Bishop Lori received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Lori was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington by William Cardinal Baum on May 14, 1977, in Saint Matthew Cathedral in Washington. His first assignment was as Associate Pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Landover, MD, a position he held for five years. Thereafter, Bishop Lori held a number of official chancery positions in the Archdiocese, including Vicar General, Moderator of the Curia, and Secretary to His Eminence, James Cardinal Hickey.
In 1995, Bishop Lori was ordained to the episcopate as Auxiliary Bishop of Washington and Titular Bishop of Bulla, an ancient suffragan see in modern-day Tunisia.
Bishop Lori is Chairman of the Board of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, and of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Since 2001, Bishop Lori has been a member of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In 2002, President George W. Bush invited Bishop Lori to join the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.
In 2002, in recognition of his role as an emerging leader on the Church's response to the sexual misconduct crisis, Bishop Lori was appointed to the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. He was instrumental in drafting the landmark Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. As one of four U.S. bishops on a special Mixed Commission, Bishop Lori journeyed to the Vatican to revise the "Essential Norms" of the Charter, which has now become particular law for the Catholic Church in the United States to ensure that no one who works for the Catholic Church will ever pose a threat of any kind to any person, young or old.
In April 2005, Bishop Lori was elected Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.
Rev. Raymond K. Petrucci
Rev. Raymond K. Petrucci was ordained for the Diocese of Bridgeport in 1973. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania, a Master of Divinity from St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in California.
Email Rev. Raymond K. Petrucci
Janice Alonso
A wife and mother of two sons and a daughter-in-law, after years of teaching and doing volunteer work in the church, school and community, she is pursuing a lifelong dream of being a writer. She spends the first hour of her day in devotion to God's word and prayer for His guidance in her work. Her inspirational work has appeared in CGA World (the insert in Catholic Digest), Standard and Evangel. Her short stories have appeared in Grit, Palo Alto Review and Cochran's Corner.
You can visit Janice's Web site at www.janicealonso.com
Cynthia Cabo Sellers
A widow, Cynthia Cabo Sellers lives in the country next to her sister and her family. Cynthia enjoys spending time with her 9 year old niece, Maria, and 8 year old nephew, Josh, both adopted from Guatemala as babies. Cynthia worked for 25 years for a Marco Island, FL, law firm, and for 2 years with an international Christian ministry, ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization). Currently she serves on the Board of Directors at the center for Visually Impaired Persons of Southwest Florida and work with the Adjustment to Blindness Support Group at the center. In addition to freelance writing, she has a blog, Light on Little Farm Road, at http://littlefarmroad.blogspot.com.
Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz
Rabbi Hurvitz is senior rabbi at Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a past president of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy.
Email: RabbiHurvitz@aol.com
Yolanda Cohen, Poet Laureate
Yolanda Cohen was born in 1931 at Fayetteville, West Virginia. Yolanda's writings include poetry, music and song lyrics, religious works of music and text for three Passion Plays, Radio and Television commercials and scripts, speech writing, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, children stories and plays. She is published in numerous books and Anthologies. She is married to James Cohen (known as Jimmy by his fans) and has six children.