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Former Peru pastor remembered for ‘heroic’ work on Sheen cause · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Former Peru pastor remembered for heroic work on Sheen cause. Written by
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  Tom Collins This article is being read by an automated voice, brought
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  to you by Everlit. He logged many air miles, interviewed more than
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  one hundred witnesses, and labored wearily over documents to persuade the Vatican
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  that Fultonsheen deserves to be called a saint. Monsignor Richard Sossman did
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  not, however, live to see Fulton Sheen beatified on Thursday at the
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  Dome at America's Center in Saint Louis, Missouri. There, Peoria priests made
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  it a point to remember Sosman for the critical work he did
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  on the Sheen’s cause.
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  He was the hero for that, said Monsignor Jason Gray, while acknowledging
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  that others contributed significantly to the cause. Monsignor Philip Hafeker, Vicar General
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  for Peoria Diocese, agreed there were countless people working in the background
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  to advance Sheen's cause. One such person is Monsignor Soseman who was
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  extraordinarily important and influential from the beginning for the cause of blessed
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  Fulton Sheen, Hafaker said. As we rejoice in Sheen's beatification, we also
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  give thanks to the dedicated work of Monsignor Sosman. One of the
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  people who personally saw Soseman at work was Monsignor Kevin Gillespie of
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  the Raffo Diocese in Ireland. Gillespie also was on assignment in Rome,
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  and he quickly befriended Soseman, during their years at the Congregation for
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  Clergy in Rome. That, Gillespie said, could be a challenging time for
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  Sosman He lost his mother during that era, and the Vatican, never
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  known for efficiency, can be a frustrating place to work. Sosman, however,
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  bore His mom's passing with faith and fortitude, and had the ability
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  to laugh off the stressors of Rome. He could easily see the
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  ridiculous in many situations, Gillespie recalled. Many scenarios were made much less
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  stressful by F. R. Richard's sense of humor. His nature was gentle,
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  very much a gentle giant, and those who came to know him
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  liked him instinctively. Sossman's labors were rewarded when he and then Bishop
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  Daniel Jenki presented the Positio, the collection of documents in support of
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  sainthood, to Pope Benedict XV. That photo, Gillespie said, was perched prominently
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  on Sosman's desk. Sossman was glad to return to they Peoria Diocese
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  and to root for his beloved Saint Louis Cardinals and was eagerly
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  welcomed back by his brother priests. The Reverend Paul Carlson was pastor
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  in La Salle when Sossman was installed at St. Valentine Church in
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  Peru, and they resumed a friendship begun while Carlson was in seminary.
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  Monsignor Soseman was an amazing man, Carlson said. He definitely took good
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  care of the seminarians and had a special love of priests and
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  seminarians. One final test awaited Sossman, however. He was weeks away from
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  seeing Sheen beatified in 2019 when the Vatican halted the ceremony after
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  new and since unfounded allegations of sex abuse in Rochester, New York
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  when Sheen was bishop. If Sossman was disappointed by the delay, he
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  kept it to himself, but he would not witness the beatification. He
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  contracted COVID-19 and died on December 9, 2020. Gillespie was very saddened
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  by his friend's death but took heart in the timing. Sheen has
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  also died december ninth. It will be his feast day, and multiple
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  friends observed that Sosman would have delighted in sharing a heavenly birthday
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  with Sheen. I like to think that he may already be in
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  the company of the saintly bishop, Sheen, and taking part in the
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  heavenly liturgy of praise of which they were ministers here below.