St. Joseph Church

Welcome to St. Joseph Parish

St. Joseph Parish in Hawthorne, CA. This is a thriving Catholic parish located in the South Bay.

The heart of this parish is a lovely, classic church building where generations of people have prayed together and celebrated God’s enduring love. The soul of this parish is the Lord who gathers us to share his life and love in word and sacrament, and who then sends us out to be his witnesses in our world. The people of St. Joseph’s love their Church and are proud of its history going back to 1913.
Rev. Greg King
Pastor

California Catholics in Action

“SHOCKING..UNREASONABLE..UNFAIR..I CAN’T BELIEVE…” Governor Jerry Brown

PONTENTIALLY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CALIFORNAIANS DENIED JUSTICE

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Governor Brown in his reasoning for vetoing SB 131 (suspending the statue of limitations for Sexual Abuse) clearly indicated that from 2002 all victims of sexual abuse should have had the right to make a legal claim for compensation. He writes:

“There is no doubt that in 2002, when SB 1779 was enacted (suspending for the first time the statute of limitation for sexual abuse) it was intended to apply to both public and private entities. Indeed, it would be unreasonable, if not shocking for the legislature to intentionally discriminate against one set of victims, e.g. those whose abusers happen to be employed by a public instead of a private entity. However, due to a drafting error, the California Supreme Court, held in 2007 that SB 1779 did not actually apply to public or governmental agencies”

11 years ago nobody could have imagined that so many Catholic priests could have abused children. Yet painfully we know that there were about 1,000 claimants of sexual abuse from as late as the 1930’s and the Church has paid about $1.2 billion in claims. Can you imagine the possibility that thousands of children, since 1930 have been sexually abused by their teachers? How many thousands of children in foster care or other public institutions could have been sexually abused? The state legislature this year specifically and intentionally refused to give them any recourse when they passed SB 131. The governor’s letter ends with “This extraordinary extension of the statute of limitations, which legislators chose not to apply to public institutions, is simply too open-ended and unfair.”

How can it be that so many victims of abuse by public entities could be denied justice since 2007“due to a drafting error”? How is it that the legislature did not correct the “Error” in its 2008 law? How is it that this year the state legislature again refused to right the wrong, and intentionally excluded them? The Governor has seen what self evident truth is; it is shocking that the legislature could pass a law that is blatantly “Unfair”.

As Catholics for 11 years we have paid with embarrassment, shame and deep pain as well as money for the terrible actions of some of the clergy. It is time for us to heal our hurts and work together for full justice for all. As Catholics we need to ask what would motivate our state representatives to intentionally pass a law that was intended to cripple the Church and shield the state.

I suggest that each of us write our representative and ask for a response to the Governor’s explanation of his Veto of SB 131. There is still a great deal of work to be done in the years ahead!

Your brother in Christ,
(Fr.) Greg King

Parish Activity Calendar

Click on the file below to see what is happening in our Parish.

st._joseph_calendar.htm
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Weekly Bulletin

11.3.13.pdf
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Mass Schedule:

Parish Hours:

Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m.- 7:15 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Reconciliation:

Monday: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Friday: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2:00 p.m.- 4:45 p.m.
Or by appointment with priest

Baptism; Quinceañeras & Weddings

Call (310) 644-5631, press 1 for English, and 6 for a directory of information and ministries.