By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: FILE PHOTO
Father Patrick O'Neill
Founded in 1946, the Miami Coalition aims to make Greater Miami a national model for intercultural understanding with its awards for ecumenically-minded community lay leaders.
This year, the organization announced that for the first time it will award a Silver Medallion specifically for clergy. The two recipients are Father Patrick O�Neill and Rabbi Solomon Schiff, both of Miami.
Often referred to simply as �Father Pat,� the Miami priest is founder of the region�s ecumenical Institute for Pastoral Ministries now at St. Thomas University and is director of the archdiocese�s Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations.
Photographer: FILE PHOTO
Rabbi Solomon Schiff
The award recognizes those individuals whose lives reflect Miami Coalition�s mission: to promote understanding and respect for all faiths, cultures and races. The recognition will be presented during the group�s Humanitarian Awards Dinner set for 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami.
�It is neat that both of these long-time stalwarts of ecumenical affairs in our community are the first recipients� of the Miami Coalition�s clergy award, said Roberta Shevin, the organization�s executive director who referred to Father O�Neill as a key person for ecumenical activity in Miami.
Shevin mentioned factors that contributed to Father O�Neill�s receiving the recognition, including his leadership role following 1992�s Hurricane Andrew, his work as a founding member of Miami Citizens Against Crime, his work with the South Florida Leadership Committee on Drug Abuse, with area homelessness issues and with the local Holocaust Education and Documentation Center.
Among the accomplishments listed by the Miami Coalition:
Father O�Neill�s dedication to education led him to transform a small college, St. Thomas University, into a major institution, when he served as president from 1978 to 1988. Not satisfied with increasing enrollment from 600 to 3,000, he proceeded to establish the St. Thomas University School of Law.
A past Florida governor appointed Father O�Neill to serve for eight years as chair of the State Board of Colleges and Universities.
He founded Catholic Volunteers of Florida, a growing, statewide network of lay volunteers serving in a variety of ministries.
He has served for 23 years as director of the ecumenical and interfaith efforts of the archdiocese, and is president of the New Hope Foundation.
He is former president of the Catholic Campus Ministry Associations and headed the archdiocese�s Jubilee Campaign to bring inactive Catholics back to the Church.
He has helped to promote the South Florida community through participation with the Board of Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Orange Bowl Committee.
Through Miami�s toughest times � including the Mariel boatlift and McDuffie riots � Father O�Neill�s leadership as a founder and chair of the Religious Coalition helped guide and steady the situation, according to the Miami Coalition.
�And yet he knows everyone on a personal basis in a kind and loving way,� Shevin said of Father O�Neill. �He really reaches out with great kindness to assist with a helping hand not only in the Catholic community but more broadly.�
Rabbi Schiff has served both as executive vice president of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami and as director of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation�s Community Chaplaincy Service for more than 40 years. He has served as chairman of the Clergy Dialogue Group of the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews on four occasions and is a recipient of its Outstanding Community Leadership Award.
Lay recipients of the Miami Coalition�s Silver Medallion this year will include Hilarie Bass, Richard D. Fain and Dr. Rudolph Moise. Donald I. Bierman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Medallion.
For more information about the Miami Coalition�s Humanitarian Awards Dinner call: 305-755-6096.
