Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Cd. Maida's Church duties extend to nation, world
Cd. Maida's Church duties extend to nation, world
by The Michigan Catholic Published January 30, 2009
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Douglas Susalla | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Adam Maida prays before Mass at his titular church, the Church of Sts. Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio and Protasio, in 1994. |
Detroit – As an archbishop, Cardinal Adam Maida has been called on to serve in various Church positions at the national level, and his elevation to the College of Cardinals in 1994 also meant opportunities for service to the Universal Church. "Wherever the Church would call him to go, the answer was always 'yes,'" said Msgr. Michael Bugarin, his priest-secretary from 1993 through 1998.
His positions with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops include chairman, Ad Hoc Committee for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe; member, Bishops' Committee on Evangelization; ex officio member, International Policy Committee; consultant, Committee on Migration; consultant, Committee on Pro-Life Activities; and episcopal liaison, Committee for the Polish Apostolate.
The cardinal's papal appointments include membership in two Vatican congregations, the Congregation for Catholic Education and Congregation for the Clergy; two councils, the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts and Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples; and also the Cardinals' Commission for the Supervision of the Institute for Works of Religion.
Special assignments since becoming a cardinal include:
• In May 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Maida as papal legate (the pope's personal representative) to the 19th International Marian Congress, Aug. 24-26, 1996, in Czestochowa, Poland.
• From Nov. 16 to Dec. 12, 1997, Cardinal Maida participated in the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.
• In July 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Maida a member of the Second Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops, held Oct. 1-23, 1999, at the Vatican.
Cardinal Maida also serves on the board of governors of the Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor Township; the board of trustees of both the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.; and president of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, also in Washington, D.C.
He is episcopal moderator and president of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation in the United States; a member of the Rome-based Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation; chairman of the Lansing-based Michigan Catholic Conference.
The cardinal is also ecclesiastical protector of the International Order of Alhambra; a board member of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Boston, Mass.; and a board member of The Papal Foundation.
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