[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 74 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E990-E991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATIONS MONSIGNOR WILLIAM LINDER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 19, 2003

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest pleasure that I 
recognize the awarding of an honorary Doctorate degree to Monsignor 
William L. Linder by John Carroll University. Msgr. William Linder had 
the vision thirty-five years ago to give new life and hope to people 
who lived in Newark, New Jersey, then one of America's lowest income 
communities, with the establishment of New Community Corporation. 
Indeed, the city had experienced urban riots and destruction related to 
the awakening of modern civil rights in America.
  A Roman Catholic priest for nearly forty years, Msgr. Linder has 
spent his ministry in Newark, New Jersey, still one of the poorest 
cities in the country. For 28 years, he has been the pastor of St. Rose 
of Lima Catholic Church, a somewhat unique congregation comprised of 
people from thirty different national backgrounds. A Doctor of 
Sociology, Msgr. Linder is an adjunct professor at Columbia 
University's School of International and Public Affairs. He has 
received dozens of national and community awards honoring his 
pathbreaking work to build a new city out of the old.
  When rioting in 1967 devastated much of Newark's Central Ward, Msgr. 
Linder founded New Community. Working with a coalition of local 
residents and others, Msgr. Linder grew New Community into a 
development encompassing fourteen city blocks in the heart of the 
Central Ward. New Community is a thriving venture of people in safe, 
attractive, affordable housing with an intricate network of employment, 
day care, education, training, health care, credit unions, banking and 
human services focused on economic development which benefits its 
people. New Community employs 2,300 people in sixteen separately funded 
efforts. Its capital assets now exceed over $375 million.
  New Community offers people from childhood through old age myriad 
opportunities for

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success and positive quality of life experiences. Thousands of people 
have benefited from New Community's operations, in addition to the 
hundreds who participate daily in its success. It is a true example of 
a community at work as they thrive, live and grow and build America's 
story. At the same time as it transforms the lives of Newark's Central 
Ward residents, so too has it transformed the ward itself into an 
attractive and vital urban neighborhood. New Community is the driving 
force behind new investment in long-term housing, day care and economic 
stability in Newark's central neighborhood.
  With a mission to ``empower low-income individuals to determine their 
own destiny'' New Community will continue to live the adage ``of, by, 
and for the people'' well into future decades. Msgr. William Linder's 
selfless gift is imprinted on all aspects of New Community, as his 
quiet strength lovingly guides it forward, block by block and life by 
life. His contributions as shepherd and engineer embody the living 
Gospel. Congratulations to Msgr. William Linder on this special 
recognition from John Carroll University. His legacy is one of 
extraordinary achievement that serves as a model of human and community 
development at home and abroad.

                          ____________________