LAST YEAR my son Pancho and I trooped down to the US Embassy to renew our expiring tourist visas. The lines forming outside the consular offices may cause some apprehension particularly with first-time applicants but actually the system is quite orderly and efficient. It is the interview portion that usually determines approval or rejection of an application. In the case of my son, a bachelor-lawyer in his 40s, he was asked why he wanted to go to the States. A simple question. He gave a simple answer—“I want to watch a live ballgame.” The interviewing officer smiled and sent him off saying, “Have a great time!” (By the way, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games are his favorites. Like many Filipinos, he is not too familiar with American-style football.)
Early this month, I arrived in Chicago on my way to Woodridge, Illinois, for another “apo”-stolic visit with two granddaughters who are ending the school year with a flurry of activities. Christine, 16, a sophomore at Benet Academy, was inducted into the Benet Chapter of the National Honor Society while her sister Nicole, 12, played the role of Princess Jasmine in a school presentation of “Aladdin.” A champion ice skater, Nicole also won first place in a figure skating competition at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena.
* * *
The Chicago Bulls had just made it to the semi-finals of the Eastern Conference of the NBA. And so my eldest son, Miguel, who practices at Edward Hospital in Naperville, took me to the United Center to watch the first game of the Chicago Bulls-Atlanta Hawks series. The Bulls lost this one 103-95, but went on to win the series and are now battling the Miami Heat for the conference championship. The winner of the Eastern Conference title meets their Western Conference counterparts for the NBA championship. Right now, the Western Conference title is being disputed by the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A few observations. What makes the games colorful and exciting is not just the high caliber of play but also the entertainment provided by attractive and athletic cheerleaders during the quarter- and half-time breaks. They also have senior citizens doing their stuff on the hard court to the delight of the crowd. Even during timeouts, there is something going on to keep the audience interested and happy.
At 22 years and seven months, Derrick Rose, point guard of the Chicago Bulls, is the youngest Most Valuable Player (MVP) in NBA history. Chicago Coach Tom Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors giving the Windy City much to crow about. The question remains as to whether Chicago can regain the NBA title they last won during the Michael Jordan years.
* * *
Of possible interest to Filipino Catholics is an ongoing dispute between Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago and one of his pastors, Rev. Michael Pfleger, parish priest of St. Sabina Catholic Church. The two have been at odds in recent years over the duration of Pfleger’s time as St. Sabina pastor. Appointed to the post in 1981, Pfleger has resisted attempts to re-assign him in the past, threatening to leave the priesthood if this was done. For some reason, he was able to continue at St. Sabina. Last March, however, Cardinal George offered him a job as president of a Catholic high school. In public remarks, Pfleger reiterated that he would leave the Church rather than accept another position outside St. Sabina. This time, Cardinal George suspended Pfleger from his ministry and barred him from performing Catholic sacraments such as administering marriages, hearing confessions, or consecrating the Eucharist. In a letter to Pfleger released to the media, Cardinal George wrote that “This conflict is not between you and me; it’s between you and the Church that ordained you a priest; between you and the faith that introduced you to Christ and gives you the right to preach and pastor in His name … if that is truly your attitude, you have already left the Catholic Church and are therefore not able to pastor a Catholic parish.”
It is difficult to understand why any priest would go against the orders of his superiors particularly with regard to assignments, but after 30 years in one position, perhaps Pfleger felt that he had become indispensable to his parishioners. I am not familiar with CBCP policy on duration of pastoral assignments, but two terms of three years each would seem just right for anyone. Pfleger was at his post for 30 years.
* * *
End of an era. After 22 years as Chicago mayor, Richard M. Daley finally stepped down from public office, giving way to Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff.
The new mayor, Chicago’s 46th chief executive, is the second of three sons of Jewish immigrants who settled down in the area in 1917. The original family name was Aurbach but was changed to Emanuel to honor a family member who was killed in a fight with Arabs in Palestine. The oldest boy, Ezekiel, is an oncologist and one of the nation’s leading bioethicists. The youngest, Ariel, is a well-known and influential Hollywood agent. The middle boy, Rahm, served three terms in Congress and two years as Obama’s right-hand man.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel’s mother Marsha summed up the family feeling: “My father came to Chicago looking for a better life, and two generations later, his grandson is elected mayor. I don’t even know how to describe it. What’s the word the kids use today? Awesome. Well, this is awesome.”
As the city leadership change was taking place, the re-trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges was coming to an end. The state has one of the highest numbers of former public officials who are serving prison terms for criminal convictions.
* * *
According to the Census Bureau, Indians have surpassed Filipinos as the nation’s 2nd largest Asian population after Chinese. In 2000, Filipinos were the 2nd largest group of Asians in the US. The 2010 Census showed that Asians grew at the same 43 percent rate as Hispanics from 2000 to 2010. There are now 50.5 million Hispanics and 14.5 million Asians. California cities dominate the list of those with the greatest share of Asian Indians—most of them in Silicon Valley. New York and New Jersey traditionally had the largest concentration of Indians, but the data now shows that the Valley has lured substantial numbers of IT and software programming professionals seeking high-tech job opportunities.