VATICAN OFFICIAL VISITS GUEST HOUSE

Guest House welcomed a high-profile guest to its campus in Lake Orion, Michigan, on April 14-15, when His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze traveled from Rome for a brief visit to Lake Orion.

Guest House president Daniel Kidd was on hand April 14 to welcome Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, to the historic William E. Scripps Estate.  The Cardinal spent the night in comfortable luxury—occupying the Spanish-style corner suite in the Scripps Mansion.  On Wednesday morning, April 15, Cardinal Arinze celebrated Holy Mass in the chapel.  Following the liturgy, the prelate toured the new women’s treatment center and praised Guest House for its mission to offer help and healing to addicted clergy and religious. 

Later that day, Cardinal Arinze was the guest of honor at an intimate luncheon in the Scripps Mansion’s ornately paneled dining room.  Attending the luncheon were Guest House Board member Bob Koval and his wife Patti; businessman and Guest House supporter Jack Krasula; Dan and Sandi Kidd; Guest House vice president of development Joseph Stong; vice president of communications Gerard O’Connor; director of special events Kathy Schiffer; and special events coordinator Cathy Goodell. 

Nigerian-born Cardinal Arinze is the highest ranking African in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.  Ordained in 1958, he became the world’s youngest bishop in 1965, at the age of 32.  From 1984 to 2002 he headed the Vatican’s Secretariat for Non-Christians (since 1985 called the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue).  He has been in his current position since 2002 and was among Cardinals who, in 2005, were thought by many to be papabile, Italian for "suitable for consideration as pope," a potential successor to Pope John Paul II. 

Episcopal Moderator Bishop Boyea Appointed to new Diocese

Most Reverend Earl A. Boyea, who has served as our Episcopal Moderator and Honorary Chair of the Detroit Bishop's Dinner since 2004, has been installed as the new Bishop of the Lansing, Michigan Diocese.  Bishop Boyea, 57, replaces retiring Bishop Carl F. Mengeling who served for 12 years as Lansing's Bishop.

Bishop Boyea has served as an Auxiliary in Detroit since June of 2002.  In addition to his duties in the Archdiocese, he was our annual celebrant at the Guest House All Soul's Mass and Vigil, and a speaker at our Golf Classic.  He also attended special occasions and most recently celebrated Mass at our dedication of the new Treatment Center for Women Religious in Lake Orion, Michigan.   
Bishop Boyea is a member of several organizations including the Catholic Biblical Association, the U.S. Catholic Historical Society, the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and the Midwest Association of Theological Schools.

Of his work with Guest House, Bishop Boyea once stated:  "I was assigned for a year at St. Benedict Parish in Pontiac (Michigan) and every weekend, we received a priest from Guest House to help us out with the Masses.  I was always, and continue to feel, edified by these men and their commitment to be healthy servants of God and His Church.  The same can be said of our wonderful sisters and other religious who graduate from the Guest House program."

We will miss Bishop Boyea!  But we wish him every success and much good will as he assumes his new responsibilities in Lansing.

CLORIS LEACHMAN relives favorite roles at Meadow Brook Benefit Guest House

Cloris Leachman, Academy Award and nine-time Emmy winning actress, brings her new one-woman show CLORIS! to Meadow Brook Theatre for a single Detroit-area performance to benefit Guest House on Friday, June 27.

In her One-Woman Show, Cloris re-creates moments from some of her most famous performances:

• Ruth Popper in The Last Picture Show (for which she won her Oscar),
• Phyllis in The Mary Tyler Moore Show,
• Frau Blűcher in Young Frankenstein,
• Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety, and
• Grandma Moses from Malcolm in the Middle. 

A consummate comedienne, Cloris will regale the audience with anecdotes and film clips from her years in TV and Hollywood.  She offers an intimate glimpse into the world of the sitcom—relating her experiences in creating her most famous roles, and sharing stories about the people with whom she worked. 

FOR TICKETS:  The performance will be at 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 27, 2008, at the Meadow Brook Theatre, 207 Wilson Hall, Rochester, Michigan.  Tickets are $30, and can be purchased through the Meadow Brook Box Office (248.377.3300), or through Ticketmaster outlets.

"Guest House at St. John Vianney"

New Program Addresses Co-Occurring Disorders

Sometimes clergy and religious not only have substance abuse problems, such as active alcoholism, but they may have mental health problems too.

Responding to this reality, and the need for an integrated dual diagnosis program, Guest House and the St. John Vianney Center of Pennsylvania have jointly developed a program for co-occurring disorders. Called Guest House at St. John Vianney, the program offers specialized treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

The program offers a healing environment in which the client can receive integrated care for both addiction and mental health issues. This venture of unity brings together 110 years of joint service to the Church. The unprecedented act of cooperation is a significant step in responding to the call from our Church hierarchy for treatment centers to work with unity, not competition.

Shared Resources, Shared Goals

Situated in the residential facilities of St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, the Co-Occurring Disorders (COD) program draws on the experience and expertise of both Guest House and St. John Vianney Hospital. The St. John Vianney Center provides staff and facility resources, including a chapel where daily Mass is offered. Guest House provides a program director, psychiatrist and psychologist, marketing resources, education and consultative services.

The dual diagnosis program will encompass psychiatric assessment, consultation, medication management, physical health monitoring, nutritional counseling, exercise, spiritual counseling, group and individual therapy, and discharge planning services. Relapse prevention and aftercare, as well as outpatient treatment, will assist in maintaining health and sobriety.

Guest House at St. John Vianney began offering this expanded service for priests and religious effective January 1, 2007. For more information, please contact J. Gerard O’Connor at Guest House, 1-800-626-6910.

"The Guest House Story"

Gene Healy’s is a familiar voice to listeners in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. Mr. Healy was a member of the News Department at Detroit's News/Talk 760 WJR for 27 years, and during that time he wrote and produced regular news broadcasts as well as in-depth radio documentaries. These included stories such as the controversy over Parochi-aid (state support for Church sponsored education), the coal miners’ strikes in West Virginia and Kentucky, and the controversy surrounding proponents of women’s ordination. During his career, Mr. Healy was the recipient of numerous local and national broadcasting awards.

We have released this CD, narrated by Mr. Healy, to tell and to celebrate the story of Guest House's first 50 years of service to the Church. Thanks to the vision of our founder Austin Ripley, the support of then-Archbishop of Detroit Edward Cardinal Mooney, and the many people who have contributed their prayers, money, and even baked goods, Guest House has been treating Catholic clergy for alcoholism since 1956, and sisters since 1994.

To obtain your copy of the Guest House story, please call 1-800-626-6910.