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The Catholic bishops of Poland have reached out to a Queens priest to be the American consultant on a commission formed to study the pastoral and spiritual needs of Poles living away from their home country and recommend how they may be better served.
Father Peter Zendzian, the pastor of Holy Cross Church in Maspeth and long active in ministry to Poles, will serve on the 12-member commission that will include six Polish bishops and five other priests who will play similar roles in England, Germany and France.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, in approving the request that Father Zendzian serve a five-year term, said “this is an honor not only for him personally but also for the Diocese of Brooklyn.”
The Polish Episcopal Conference established the Commission for Polonia and Poles Outside of Poland this year, said Father Zendzian. “A special concern of the bishops was for the pastoral needs of Poles who have left their country to work in other countries of the European Union,” he said.
Polish workers have also made the United States a destination, many settling in Brooklyn and Queens and other urban areas. Father Zendzian has had contacts with them through the diocesan Catholic Migration Office’s Polish Apostolate and other groups in the U.S.
“We’ll keep an eye on what’s going on for them pastorally, liturgically, catechetically and in other ways,” he said. He will report his findings in periodic meetings with the bishops in Warsaw.
Father Zendzian directed the office of pastoral care for migrants and refugees for the U.S. bishops’ conference in Washington from l987 to l993.
11/20/06 * * * * *
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