MAY 11, 2003, vol 53, no 10 by CatholicNews

SARS H O W F A IT H , L O V E C

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T hank you Dear Healthcare Workers, We thank you fo r your compassion and and fo r your dedication and courage. On May 13 at 8 pm, all parishes in the archdiocese wi Masses fo r all o f you involved in caring fo r SARS p and all the families affected by the disease. Collection Masses will be donated to the Courage Fund. On the same day at 6.30pm, the CommissionforM will celebrate a Mass at the Marymount Chapel onTl Roadforforeign healthcare workers caringfor SARS p ^8®

POPE ASKS Y O U N G M EN T O C O N SID ER PR IESTH O O D temptations o f individualism and o p e j o h n p a u l ii the illusion o f obtaining their urged young people to happiness in that way,” he said. consider the priesthood “Notwithstanding certain and other ministries in contrary forces, present also in the Church as a form o f generous the mentality o f today, in the service to their fellow human hearts o f many young people beings in his annual vocations there is a natural disposition to day m essage. open up to others, especially to The priesthood or religious the m ost needy,” he said. life represents a radical choice, He said this readiness to put but one which can “transform the other person ahead o f their your lives into the service o f own interests others, in the may not reflect footsteps of W ORLD worldly Jesus,” the pope V O C A T IO N S D A Y aspirations, but said. FEA TU R E fits in w ell with World - PAGE 7 the ideal o f the Vocations Day w ill priesthood and a be celebrated May religious 11,2003. vocation. The pope said “True the ideal o f service servants are goes back to the h u m b le.... They life o f Christ, who do not seek washed the feet o f egoistic benefits, his disciples and but expend gave his life for all them selves for people. others, “I should like, experiencing in in a way, to give the gift of voice to Jesus, so them selves the as to propose to joy o f working young people the for free,” he said. ideal o f service The pope said and to help them G od’s call to to overcom e the

Fr Michael Arrohalf a century of service to God and humanity

“Nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service of others” —Pope John Paul II, encouraging young men to be priests.

CNS Photo

service can include the ordained ministry as w ell as other ministries in the m odem Church, including catechesis, liturgical animation and various expressions o f charity. Some young men are called to serve in the priesthood, he said, and they, too, should remember Jesus’ words that he who would

be first must be servant o f all. “Dear young men, nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service o f others,” he said. “D o not let yourselves be seduced by the call o f power and personal ambition. The priestly ideal must be constantly purified

from these and other dangerous ambiguities,” he said. The pope said those who follow Christ’s call to the priesthood w ill surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but will also find a way to experience the happiness o f service and a joy that the world alone cannot give.

□

CNS

Sundays May 11 and May 18, 2003 Catholic News

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Sars: How faith, love and Mother Teresa help our healthcare workers at the frontline Catholic doctors treating Sars patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital find blessings in the midst of pain. By Mel Diamse-Lee F rom in fo rm a tio n p ro v id e d by tw o doctors who do not w ant th e ir names p u b lic ly disclosed.

HE GREATEST source o f pain is seeing doctors and nurses succumb to the disease, said Dr N. “The greatest stress for me is to see our colleagues so ill. At present there are two nurses and one doctor in the ICU,” noted the senior physician who worked for four w eeks straight when the first Sars case was detected at the hospital. Dr C, an anaesthetist, said that detection o f the disease is a long drawn-out process and recovery from it is slow. “Most o f those who made it out o f ICU did so because they were not so badly afflicted in the first place,” he said. “The rest just call for minute-to-minute meticulous care in little things. We provide the organ support and nursing care; God restores health.”

Many o f the heroes, nurses over and above the routine and doctors w hose names he medical care; those who are would not divulge, have fallen rotated out o f ICU praying for sick and som e have “even made and anxiously follow ing the final sacrifice in the line of outcomes o f patients. There is a duty”, he said. lot o f camaraderie and team“It is very painful, but their spirit. inspiring exam ples urge us on, “We also see a greater that their pain may not be in awareness o f the transcendent vain.” people openly Added Dr C, “We do talking about the “We also see a not understand why our power o f prayer, greater awareness Lord permits this trial, about Divine but w e do know that it is o f the transcendent Providence...” for the best, and we Som e o f the - people openly thank Him for allowing senior physicians talking about the us to share in this very did not take a daypow er o f prayer, painful cross.” off for three weeks, about Divine However, in Dr C ’s w hile others have eyes, just as Sars created Providence...” volunteered to a lot o f anxiety, it extend their ICU created many opportunities for postings. people to show their goodness. But the real heroes are the “Many, many fellow nurses and allied health workers Christians, M uslims, Buddhists, like respirator therapists, he said. Hindus, Sikhs, agnostics, atheists “They spend more time with the are putting their hearts and souls patients than the doctors, and into this effort. thus are at greater risk, but many Their dedication often put are even more cheerful and those o f us who enjoy the heroic than ever in discharging privilege o f belonging to the their duties.” Church to shame.” Family, public support and He described some common Mother Teresa are sources o f occurences o f selfless dedication inspiration and encouragement in o f healthcare workers - nurses this time o f crisis, they and doctors not afraid to show maintained. genuine affection for patients, For Dr C, the “sacrifice o f our

Chinese Marian shrine expects drop in May pilgrimages H O NG KONG — May pilgrimages to a popular Marian shrine (Church o f Our Lady o f Help near Shanghai) in China w ill drop drastically due to Sars, w hile church authorities have asked dioceses to guard against the spread o f the disease. The parish priest said that w hile Sheshan residents would w elcom e pilgrims who still wish to com e, they also “are worried that the visits may aggravate the spread o f the disease.” The government-approved B ishops’ Conference o f the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association issued an “urgent notice” April 23 urging all churches not to organize pilgrimages, especially to other provinces. They suggested that Catholics stay home and pray for m edical personnel and Sars patients. They earlier advised reception o f Communion in the hand and encouraged priests to wear face masks when hearing confessions.

Masks required to attend Mass in Mongolia

spouses and fam ilies, their love... keep us sane and sm iling.” The love-m essages displayed in public places, the flowers and food donations “go a long way to shore up tired bodies and spirits,” added the doctor who agreed to join the ICU m edical staff as “I don’t have any kids yet.” It is the inspiration o f Mother Teresa that shores up Dr N ’s spirit. “Mother Teresa worked tirelessly for years with patients with infectious diseases such as leprosy and tubeculosis. Through prayer, she gathered strength and showed great faith,” noted the doctor. Despite the strong public support, however, they refuse to be drawn into being heroworshipped. Said Dr C, “We m ustn’t make too much fuss about this, because w e see so many others o f various faiths working with so much dedication and selflessness. Perhaps God is using this trial to draw many into the redemptive experience o f His Cross.” Instead, he said, “let us pray that our Lord w ill grant all o f us Catholics the grace to excel in dedication and com petence, so that w e may serve as leaven, salt and light in this difficult tim e.” □

Hong Kong Catholics, wearing masks to protect themselves from catching Sars pray during Good Friday services at the Catholic cathedral in Hong Kong, c n s p h o t o The severity o f the Sars outbreak in Beijing led the Beijing D iocese to suspend Sunday M asses at least until May 11 in the city’s eight churches, though liturgies in rural churches o f the diocese were not affected. Other Chinese dioceses were taking similar precautions. □ c n s , UCAN

By Farren Fernandez THe EU R A SIA N A ssociation Youth Committee washed nearly 100 cars April 27 to raise funds for the Courage Fund. Eighteen youth from the group, w hose m ission includes contributing towards the building o f a vibrant and multicultural Singapore, washed the cars w hile parishioners attended M ass at the Church o f Our Lady o f Perpetual Succour.They raised $1,255 at the end o f four M asses. Dawn Pereira, who came up with the initiative, said that “car washing is hard work but fun.” The youths gave out green ribbons to those w hose cars were washed as a sym bol o f hope. For more information about the group, contact Farren Fernandez (6324-8250/ 97280247). □

Precautions don’t deter Divine Mercy celebration Franciscan friars carry an image of Jesus the Divine Mercy . The message and devotion to the Divine Mercy is based on the writings of St. Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who recorded in writing the revelations she received about God’s mercy. The devotion began to spread around the world even before her death in 1938.

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — The Catholic Church in M ongolia implemented a government order that requires people to wear masks in public places. At the three churches in Ulan Bator, a parishioner stood at each entrance to hand a mask to anyone who entered without one. Priest-celebrants do not wear them, he noted, “only because our voice would sound too m uffled.” During the sign o f peace, worshippers bow to one another instead o f shaking hands or kissing. When receiving the Eucharist, they dip the host in wine instead o f drinking from the cup. □ CNS, UCAN

Eurasian youth raise funds for Sars victims

STOCKBRIDG E, Mass. - Although organizers o f the largest annual celebration o f D ivine Mercy Sunday in North America took several steps to guard against the possible spread o f Sars, the measures did not seem to raise anxiety levels among an estimated 20,000 visitors at the

shrine for the event. Pilgrims from the Toronto area were asked to stay away. Pilgrims were told not to shake hands during the sign o f peace. They were also asked to receive Communion in the hand, not on the tongue. The organizers o f the celebrations asked 11 busloads o f pilgrims from Ontario not to attend the weekend activities. The Stockbridge event, about a five-hour drive from Montreal, regularly attracts many pilgrims from Quebec and other Canadian provinces. □ c n s

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“Ordinary Catholics” given insight into bioethics By Mel Diamse-Lee “TRANSPLANTS are a great step forward in scien ce’s service to man, and not a few people today ow e their lives to an organ transplant,” noted Dr John Hui, president o f the Catholic M edical Guild, during a talk at the Church o f Our Lady Queen o f Peace. He was addressing som e 40 participants - ordinary Catholics from different walks o f life during one o f a 12-week series o f talks at the parish on the ethical and moral issues confronting the life sciences, and other social issues. Dr Hui said that even though transplants are a valid means o f attaining the primary goal o f all medicine - the service o f human life-there are ethical issues that need to be examined. For example, he noted “organ donation from unrelated donors should be made illegal due to the abuses possible. ” He noted that the Church has no objection to organ transplant either from a dead person to a living person or between two related living persons. On living donors, he said the authorities must w eigh the potential benefits to the recipient against the risks to the donor, ensure the functional integrity o f the donor, and there must be a serious need by the recipient that cannot be fulfilled in any other way. On dead donors, he emphasised that brain death must be properly ascertained before organs are harvested. Dr Hui said any procedure which com m ercialises human organs is morally unacceptable. “To use the body as an ‘object’ is to violate the dignity o f the human person,” he said. “In this respect, fully informed consent should be obtained without deceit or coercion,

Dr John Hui speaks on organ transplant at the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace in late March. whether overt, implied or virtual, both in the giving and in the receiving o f organs,” he stressed. THE LAWS governing organ donation in Singapore are the M edical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act 1972 or MTERA and the Human Organ Transplant Act 1987 or HOTA. MTERA is an opt-in system by which individuals pledge their organs for transplantation, education or research after they die. It also allows for relatives to donate the organs o f brain-dead patients who had not pledged their organs while alive. HOTA is an opt-out system which enables the removal of

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kidneys for transplantation from a person who dies from an accident unless the person had opted out earlier. Persons who do not wish to donate their kidneys after death must register their objections when they are alive. Dr Hui does not think that everyone will know about the optout programme and its need to register objection or how to go about doing so. “How many will know how to opt out if previously they did not know how to pledge their kidneys?”he asked. He instead recommends an “opting in scheme supported by aggressive education on the need for and nobility o f organ donation so that the principle o f informed consent is adhered to.” The talks, which ran from January to April, covered abortion, adoption, euthanasia, capital punishment, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, artificial insemination and invitro fertilization. Theresa N g, 52, a Church o f the Holy Trinity parishioner, found the talks very interesting. “Being Catholics, w e should know the Church’s stand and apply it to our daily life and share it with others. Sometim es we think like non-Christians, such as ending our suffering through a fast death, but as Catholics, we know that our life belongs to God and w e have no right to end it,” she said. □

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No more communion on the tongue? Hope not

EDITOR: M sg r E ugene Vaz MANAGER: Rev. Fr. Jo h n so n F ern an d ez

REFER to the letter by Christine Wong (CN, 27 April) recommending that Holy Communion by mouth should be banned for good. I say in my personal capacity that: Receiving Holy Communion on the tongue has been practised for a long time. It has traditionally been conducted with the faithful kneeling down, with head tilted up and receiving the most sacred body o f our Lord on his or her tongue (as in the Cathedral o f the Good Shepherd before the recent guidelines came into efect). Properly done, this manner o f receiving Holy Communion m inimises the chances o f the M inister’s hand com ing into contact with the communicant’s tongue. This manner o f receiving Holy Communion gives due respect and reverence to our Lord and God. Besides, so far, no scientific reports have

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Christus sum itur! The bread which is broken on our altars, offered to us as wayfarers along the paths o f the world, is panis angelorum, the bread o f angels, which cannot be approached except with the humility o f the centurion in the Gospel: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you com e under m y roof “ (Mt 8:8; Lk 7:6).” I do understand the concerns that have led to the present guidelines recommending that Holy Communion be received on the hand. Until the Sars virus is better understood and controlled, it is with prudence and humble obedience that we should follow this ruling. However, I hope that, for the sake of promoting reverence for the Body of Jesus, we do not impose a permanent ban on receiving Communion by mouth. □

John Hui

B e r e a s o n a b le w h e n a s k in g fo r S a r s p r e c a u tio n s N o e v i d e n c e I REFER to the article:- (Make ballpoint pen scribblings and lectem . He refers to notes during t h e S a r s v ir u s Communion-only-in-the-hand tattoos, or dirt from blowing their his homily. He distributes the permanent CN 27 April and 4 nose, visiting the toilet, shopping hosts into smaller ciboriums. is a i r b o r n e M ay) or marketing? Most worshippers handle the

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linked such a practice to the spread o f any disease in the past two thousand years. It might be o f interest to readers to note that in St Peter’s Basilica, Holy Communion may only be received by mouth. Our hands are not as clean as we would like to imagine them to be. Before receiving communion, it is very likely that one would have touched other parts o f one’s body, like the hair, the face, the nose even, as w ell as other objects such as books, kneelers and so on. This is not exactly the best form o f reverence we should give to our Lord whose Body w e receive at Holy Communion. In his latest encyclical, “Ecclesia De E ucharistia”, Pope John Paul II said, “The Eucharistic Banquet is truly a “sacred” banquet, in which the simplicity o f the signs conceals the unfathomable holiness o f God: O sacrum convivium , in quo

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Yes, Holy Communion should be given only in the hand. Eucharistic Ministers have been told by their Spiritual Directors to wash hands before Mass. Even our Archbishop has emphasised this hygiene. Should Holy Communion be refused then to those with dirty palms and to those not decently dressed too? During Mass, the celebrant carries the Lectionary to the

Sunday or daily missals. Should all o f us, including the celebrant, go and wash our hands with soap and water before Communion? The fact is, sick Eucharistic Ministers do not distribute Holy Communion.The government has also asked all in Singapore to be considerate and careful but not be fearful. Really, there’s no need for us to be paranoid in church.

Anthony E-Minister

P a r is h io n e r s s h o u ld c o n tin u e w o r k in p a r is h , n o t m o v e w ith p r ie s t In a number o f parishes and other Catholic institutions, people m ove along with their favourite priest to his new parish or wherever he is transferred to and continue to do work for that particular priest in his new posting. The practice is unhealthy. Our priests are supposed to serve wherever they are posted. His ex-parishioners should support him through prayers and friendship, and not force their way into his new parish. Give him space to work out his relationship with his new parishioners. Give his new

parishioners a chance to find their footing with him. It is our duty to look after all our priests (not just our favourites), assist in the parish and contribute to the wider Catholic community. W e should have faith that each o f our parish community is w ell able to play this role in support o f the priests assigned to the parish. If everyone plays his role fully (including remaining dedicated to the parish even when his parish priest is posted out), we will have vibrant communities in all parishes.

I READ with interest your article “Churches here take extra precautions against Sars” (CN, Sundays, April 13 and 20). In your second-last paragraph, it was stated that priests and special ministers are exempted from being present in crematorium or burial grounds to avoid airborne infection. At present, medical science believes the virus is spread by inhaling droplets and by touching contaminated surfaces . If the germ is airborne, it makes no difference if the confessional is one on one or priests are not present at the crematorium or burial ground because if the same priest says Mass in church and one o f the congregation has the virus, it w ill be tranmitted via air, not only to the priest but also to the congregation. Face masks w ill offer no protection. A virus is very, very small. Presently, there is almost nothing w e know about this new virus. In the fight against Sars, the best w e can do is to contain it and find a serum which activates antibodies to counter the virus’ destructive toxins.

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Viewpoints

I dream of a different Catholic News I READ with interest the com m ents o f readers regarding the new look o f Catholics N ew s and I join them in congratulating all involved. Thank you. I would like to put forward a challenge, or a dream, regarding the Catholic media in Singapore even though I know that my suggestion is not feasible now. W hile I understand that the Catholic N ew s is concerned with bringing news to the general Catholic population, I also see a great risk o f it becoming irrelevant in the future if it remains in its present form. Why not make Catholic N ew s a w eekly publication - this would enable the news to be current and alive? W hy not work in collaboration with the dioceses in M alaysia and Brunei ? The church is not bound by international boundaries and much can be shared across borders. Why not split the Catholic N ew s into at least two sister publications? The youth, young adults and new families require, and would support, a publication aimed specially at them . If you target too general a readership, you risk losing all o f the audience. W hy not endorse Eternal Word Television Network and canvas to have it brought into

Singapore? It would go some way to counteract the Godlessness o f secular urban life. The Catholic media in Singapore needs to innovate and reinvent itself to truly benefit the community and spread the gospel. Catholic N ew s must take the leading role in this enterprise, put traditional mindsets on the backseat and not be afraid o f making mistakes.

Dress properly when going to church SOME parishioners have no respect for G od’s house, com ing in slippers, t-shirt and shorts— as though they are going to the market. I remember, when I was young, my mother used to cover her head with a veil when attending Mass. There are no such rules now, but I do not see why worshippers cannot dress properly out of respect for God. The celebrant and wardens should keep on reminding our brothers and sisters that we must always com e into G od’s house with respect, be properly dressed and participate fully in the Mass. John Lim

Christopher Yeo Jer Siong

D on’t let Sars get you down. H ere’s something to chase away the blues. • • • M v p rie s t says that the best p ra y e r he ever heard was: “ Lord, please make me the kind o f person my dog thinks I am ."

• • •

A Sunday School teacher asked her class why Joseph and M a ry took Jesus w ith them to Jerusalem. A young g ir l answered: “ Because they couldn’t get a baby-sitter.”

Whither Small Christian Communities? I WOULD like to suggest a section for the youth to write in with their problems. Though I am no longer a youth, I am interested in the kind o f problems they face now. It is very important to give young people space to express themselves and draw their attention. Many o f our youngsters have no interest in church activities after their confirmation. With this in mind, catechists in the Sunday schools could, perhaps, encourage the youth to read the suggested section and contribute to it as well. Should these young people face difficulties they know where to turn to. I would also like to suggest a

section for the Small Christian Communities (SCC). It has been many years since these neighbourhood groups were formed. I know many have stopped functioning. Why? I was very happy for the church at the beginning. I always tell my non-Catholic Christian friends that just as they have ‘Cell Groups’, we too have them. Only the names are different. I believe in SCC. We have many converts. SCC can be a Catholic family to these people. SCC can easily evangelise their neighbours during special occasions. For example, my SCC sang carols to our neighbours and

w e invited them to our house on Christmas Day. Please do something to raise the morale of SCC, so more will join them. I know that many parishes have a hard time getting more parishioners to participate. You should share with your readers how Catholics or non-Catholics were touched or converted to boost the morale o f those engaged in such outreach initiatives. Yes, CN has changed a lot and I am surprised that I actually read almost all the articles in it. The photos make lots o f difference. Please continue to do a good job.

Annabella Long

Faith is good for our health Faith offers a sense of confidence and relative certainty. It is an antidote to helplessness, which potentially can damage our health. By Frederic Flach, M.D. RECENTLY underwent three major cardiopulmonary surgical adventures, any one o f which could have left me disabled or deceased. I prayed to make it through; many others prayed too. A s the anesthesia took hold and I slipped into unconsciousness, my final thoughts were o f Jesus and Mary, and I felt comforted, unafraid. I vaguely recall nodding slightly as I whispered, “Thy will be done.” Two years later I appear to be in fine shape, which I attribute to excellent medical care, wonderful support from family and friends, and the gift o f faith. O f course, m y personal story is anecdotal. In m edicine w e call this a “case report.” Case reports are important, but they’re no substitute for carefully designed and executed studies offering statistically reliable conclusions. So while my experience has been repeated in the lives o f billions ready to testify to faith’s power in their own healing, such evidence does not m eet the current standards o f scientific scrutiny. There are a few exceptions. Studies have

shown a strong positive correlation between religiousness and a greater degree of happiness, life satisfaction and morale. People who are more religiously active appear less subject to serious or prolonged clinical depression episodes, less suicidal, have a lower rate o f drug and alcohol abuse, a greater degree o f marital stability. The recovery rate from medical and surgical procedures seem s to be faster among “believers,” and it’s been reported that attending religious services more than once a week added an average o f seven years to the life span of Caucasian men and women and 14 years to that of African Americans! Finally, a colleague o f mine, Dr. Harold G. Koenig, noted that clinically depressed patients with higher scores on a test called the H oge Intrinsic Religiousness Scale recovered more quickly than those with lower scores. This test measures the extent to which a person internalizes religious beliefs and lives by them. W hile I admire such studies, which indicate that spirituality can help us to be healthier, they really don’t tell why faith and its constant companion, prayer, make such a difference.

AITH offers a sense o f confidence and relative certainty. It is an antidote to helplessness, which potentially can damage our health. Faith gives us a feeling of hope when we cannot see the future and affords comfort in the many life situations over which w e have little or no control. Whether you are on the verge o f bankruptcy or have just received bad news from your doctor, faith can soften the fear, anger or whatever you feel and prevent it from devastating your body and mind. Faith can also help us adopt lifestyle changes to help us live longer and better lives: stop smoking, eat nutritiously, exercise regularly. These efforts are often hard to begin and sustain. But if we believe “God is our co-pilot,” w e w ill more easily find the extra w ill needed. But there’s a reality to faith that transcends all this. My final heart procedure — apparently the riskiest — was performed without general anesthesia; they gave me a strong sedative intravenously. I was groggy, but awake, throughout. That room was filled with angels. I didn’t see them, but I knew they were there, my guardian angel and friends. I felt connected to God and knew I was going to be all right — no matter how things turned out. □

Dr. Flach practices psychiatry in New York City. He is Knight Commander o f the Equestrian Order o f the Holy Sepulchre o f Jerusalem and author of “Faith, Healing and Miracles.”

“Today you are young and very much in love and you think that your love can sustain your marriage. It ca n t. L et your m arriage sustain your love." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a d v isin g a y o u n g co u p le.

“When Christians become ‘living Gospels,’ they transform themselves into eloquent signs o f G od’s mercy, and their witness more easily reaches the hearts o f people.” - Pope John Paul II at th e b e a tific a tio n o f six “ m o d els fo r m o d em C h ristia n s.”

“May he who experienced the exhaustion o f daily work be an example and support to those who in their activity attend to the needs o f the fam ily and o f all the human community.” - Pope John Paul II en tru stin g th e w o rld o f w o rk to St Jo sep h the W orker

“The ruler’s personal life is m arked by moral integrity, while his public activity reflects a resolute com m itm ent to combating every fo rm o f injustice in society.” - Pope John Paul, o n th e id eal p o litical le a d e r

“We Christians and Buddhists are convinced that the origin o f all conflict is ultimately located in human hearts characterized by selfish desire, specifically by desire fo r power, domination and wealth, often at the expense o f others.” - Archbishop Michael L.

Fitzgerald, p re sid e n t o f th e P o n tific a l C o u n c il fo r In terrelig io u s D ialo g u e, in h is m essag e to B u d d h ists p re p a rin g fo r th e fe a st o f V esakh.

“The preference fo r the poor is not a Latin Am erican issue; it’s a biblical issue.” - Dominican Father

Gustavo Gutierrez, o n o b lig atio n o f C h ristian s to ch an g e th e c o n d itio n s th at le a d to p o v erty ,

Sundays May 11 and May 18,2003 Catholic News

News Cloistered nuns reach out to the world via the Web

A teddybear ministiy!

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Taking what they call “a leap into the deep,” the Discalced Carmelite nuns at the Monastery o f St. Joseph in Terre Haute have created a World Wide Web site devoted to helping people grow closer to God. Their Web site, www.heartsawake.org, features prayers and spiritual reflections that invite people to turn to God in faith and hope amid the

Ursuline Sister Rita Klarer embraces one of the many teddy bears she has helped distribute to nursing homes, food pantry clients and parish support groups - anyone who needs something to hug. The pastoral care minister at St. Patrick Parish in Kansas C ity, Mo., said her teddy bear ministry is ridiculously simple and that response to her calls for donated bears has been tremendous. □ c n s

attention since its creation three years ago. Sister Veronica de Stockalper, the site designer, said she was inspired bythe words o f Pope John Paul II: ‘For the church the new world o f cyberspace is a summons to the great adventure o f using its potential to proclaim the Gospel m essage. This challenge is at the heart o f what it means at the beginning o f the m illennium to follow the Lord’s command to put out into the deep.’ The site will allow the nuns to share Carmelite spirituality with the world, receive prayer requests and help support their Sister Veronica spent three years designing the web site. Personal prayer requests can be sent to the nuns via the site. community through the challenges o f daily life. sale o f their note cards, photo The Terre Haute nuns decided cards, books and icons without to begin their Internet prayer compromising their cloistered lifestyle. ministry after talking with the Carmelite sisters o f the Plans for the site include a Web link called “Daily Monastery o f the Resurrection in Inspiration,” where people will Indianapolis, w hose successful Web site, be able to download inspirational www.praythenews.com, has quotations and biographical gained national and international information about saints. □ c n s

A South African mother and child are depicted in a painting by Father Wilfried Joye. Rural life in the country where he has devoted his ministry is a favorite theme of the priest’s work, c n s Photos

They included Father Giacomo Alberione, considered Italy’s “apostle o f the mass media”; Sister Maria Cristina Brando, who left a wealthy family to devote her life to eucharistic spirituality; Sister Eugenia Ravasco, who founded schools in northern Italy; Sister Maria Dom enica Mantovani, known for her care o f the poor and sick; and Sister Giulia Salzano, who made a special effort to influence the religiously indifferent. The pope said all six figures showed the way o f holiness to men and wom en o f today, who are called to be “apostles” in their own social and professional spheres. A s the portraits o f the newly “blessed” were unveiled and their biographies read, the loudest applause rang out for Blessed Alberione, a pioneer in church use o f the mass media. He

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South Africa’s rural poor inspires priest’s work POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa — A Belgian priest who has worked in South Africa since 1966 said the country’s rural poor have inspired his work. “I am very much attracted to rural life,” said Oblate Father Wilfried Joye, 63, an expressionist painter w hose large oils depict religious themes and daily life in South Africa’s townships and countryside. “I love to paint the farm people o f South Africa. By nature they are very religious and very good people,” he said. “I ’ve learned a lot from them, how they love and help each other. These people are always joyful and share what they have. They are community-oriented. ” The priest’s scenes o f rural life express these feelings. He

Pope beatifies six ‘models for modem Christians’ VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II beatified six Italian nuns and priests, including a 17th-century preacher who encouraged the city o f Vienna to resist the Turkish army — and with it, the advance o f Islam in Europe. The pope said Capuchin Father Marco d ’Aviano had helped defend the “freedom and unity o f Christian Europe” and served as a reminder that the continent is founded on “common Christian roots.” The pope pronounced the beatification decrees April 27 during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square attended by tens of thousands o f people. The promotion o f six Italian sainthood causes was a point o f pride for Italy, which the pope called “a fertile land for saints.” The others beatified all founded religious orders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

paints what he sees — marriages, funerals, men drinking, men working in the fields, women working in a home, a mother nursing her baby, a young domestic worker resting. “Each time I paint, I hang m yself on the wall,” he said. “As you grow as a person, painting becom es an expression o f your soul.” Father Joye sells his paintings to supplement his U S$300 monthly priest’s salary. His paintings have raised about U S$50,000. This has helped him purchase a car, support parish programs, construct St. Luke’s Church in Goedgavonde and an extension to Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Promasa, which ministers to South Africans o f mixed races. □ c n s

A photo of Father Giacomo Alberione is set against an illustration of a transmitter tower and the word “Evangelium.”

founded the Society o f St. Paul and later the Daughters o f St. Paul, as w ell as a series o f related institutes and organizations aimed at putting m odem means o f communication and publishing at the service o f the Gospel. Known today as the “Pauline family,” its members are active in 28 countries in numerous fields: editorial work, bookstores, journalism, cinematography, television, radio, audiovisual, multimedia, research, formation and animation. Even before he was beatified, Blessed Alberione topped a

recent poll promoting a patron saint for the Internet. The poll, featured at an Italian Web site, attracted 70,000 participants — about 40 percent from Italy. The Vatican has given no indication when it may choose a patron saint for Internet users. The April 27 liturgy, celebrated on D ivine Mercy Sunday, brought to 1,310 the number o f people beatified by Pope John Paul, according to the Vatican press office. For four others, the pope has issued a decree confirming their status as “blessed.” The total o f 1,314 is close to twice the number beatified by previous popes, under saint-making rules established in the late 1500s. Beatification is the major intermediate step in the process o f canonization, or declaration o f sainthood. The pope has proclaimed more than 460 new saints, more than all his predecessors combined. □

New guide for Catholic fund raisers WASHINGTON — A new edition o f “The Catholic Funding Guide: A Directory o f Resources for Catholic A ctivities” is now available from Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities(FADICA). The 521-page book provides contact and descriptive information on 937 funding agencies. It includes 100 new entries and adds Internet addresses for many agencies. The guide includes the addresses and principal contacts o f grant-makers, their geographical giving pattern and special funding interests, and information on their Web sites, finances and funding limitations when available. It focuses on foundations, church-sponsored organizations, fraternal groups and other grantmakers with a history o f support for Catholic programs and activities. D esigned to help volunteers and others not familiar with seeking grants, the guide includes an introductory section on how to apply for a grant and how to find an appropriate match between their project and the funding priorities o f prospective grant-makers. The guide costs U S$70 plus shipping and handling costs. It can be ordered online at:

www.fadica.org/pub.html □

Catholic News

Sundays May 11 and May 18, 2003

Vocations

“P r ie s th o o d Fr M ichael Arro speaks to M el Diam se-Lee about vocations and his life as a priest E IS 72 and has served the Church in Singapore and M alaysia for almost 48 years. He taught most o f the region’s archbishops and bishops. He is Fr M ichael Arro and he is still going strong. Fr Arro describes the priesthood as “essentially a motivating m ission because you are not there to do something for people but are called to live with people in love and to help people to discern their need for love and their potential to love and to guide them in using it.” The priesthood is “a vocation o f life,” mused the former superior o f the Paris Foreign M issions Society (M E P ). “It is not a job that you take. It is not som ething that you do but a response to G od’s love; o f being in com m union with God and

is a m o tiv a tin g

with peop le.” The Church at large can promote vocations through the witness o f the clergy, the family and school, he said. “For the diocesan priest there is a need to live very closely to the parishioners, to be very much involved in the life o f the community, in such a way that the priest is seen as needed, like a doctor or a teacher, answering the spiritual needs o f the people.” He must be seen as “a man o f com passion for those wounded by life at the same time outgoing, “a man o f initiative who does not simply wait in his office for the people to com e.” Families can promote a culture o f vocations not just by devotions and praying together but “ by living with a God who is present in daily life,” he said. He observed that in Singapore, Catholic schools “are a privileged ground to share and to educate according to Gospel values, which does not necessarily mean conversion.” This year at his parish o f St

The advantage of a late vocation .EOPLE who answer their vocations late “feel more confident about their decision because they have experienced more o f life and most would have known about relationship. They are tougher, more steady.” Thus said Fr Albert N g, 48, who became a priest four years ago a few days short o f his 44th birthday. “When people have been exposed to the world and then decide to follow Jesus, they are least likely to change their minds,” added the priest whose discernment process took just over a year before he entered St Francis Xavier Major Seminary. He admitted using his age as an excuse for his reluctance to answer G od’s call initially. N ow four years into the priesthood, he said, “I have discovered that personal sanctification is important, not just doing things endlessly. I realised that I am not here to change people but that I can change m yself through the grace o f God. God is inviting me to be more holy, more obedient.” On top o f his normal duties as assistant parish priest at the Church o f St Michael, Fr N g is in charge o f the youth, neighbourhood groups and the Chinese community. He is also involved in the parish prayer ministry, such as the Divine Mercy

Teresa, at least 80% o f the 18 new ly baptised women were former students o f Catholic schools. “They learned how to pray there, to attend Mass, novenas,” he said.

i c h a e l a r r o was bom in Southern France in 1931, the eldest o f three children in an average Catholic family, and educated in a government secondary school. It was as a member o f the Young Catholic Students M ovement that he started thinking about Christ, Christianity and service to others, and to consider the priesthood when he was in Sec Four. Then he heard a missionary give a sharing about his life in India. “That was the kind o f push I needed. I would be a missionary in Africa, I thought, not a priest in France.” His parents were supportive though surprised by his decision.

m is s io n ”

At a Catholic junior college, he met a fellow student who wanted to becom e a missionary in Asia. They joined the MEP in Paris. He was 18. After two years o f philosophy, he served National Service for 18 months, then studied for a year in Paris and two years in Rome to earn his degree in Theology. He arrived in Singapore two years after his ordination in 1955, speaking fluent English learned from six months o f studies in England. He also studied Mandarin for two years in Kuala Lumpur. Fr Arro has been teaching Theology at the St Francis Xavier Major Seminary since it opened in 1983. Before that, he taught Theology at the C ollege General in Penang. Among his students are Archbishop Nicholas Chia, Archbishop Soter Fernandez and Auxiliary Bishop Murphy Pakiam o f Kuala Lumpur, and Bishops John Lee o f Kota Kinabalu and Anthony Lee of Miri. The pattern for vocations here

is changing, he noted. Before, candidates usually entered the minor seminary in their teens. “N ow the people we have are university graduates and most of them have working experience. They join the seminary at an older age - from late 20s to 4 0 s.” SKED to assess his priestly life, the priest who is popular with both young and elderly, said, “M y life, I think, is essentially a presence and a service to God and to people. To discover and to thank God for the beauty, the goodness, the greatness I see around me, in nature and in people. “To motivate others to be people o f hope, confidence and greater acceptance and appreciation to counteract all that is negative and destructive in the world. “I think I have a vocation o f being companion to those wounded by life to bring about the com passion to counter our society’s tendency to make use o f others to put productivity and efficiency first,” he said. □

Y O U N G W O M E N , BE N U N S A group o f nuns sm ile as they m eet Pope John Paul II at the end o f his general audience April 30 in St P eter’s Square.

INFANT JESUS SISTERS In the 21st Century... Giving The Word A Voice Fr Albert Ng: “There’s an advantage to late vocations” devotion and intercessory group. “I have always found my priesthood as a call to a deeper relationship with God, less concerned with worldly things. God is always calling me to proclaim the Good N ew s, which is truly good new s,” said Fr Ng, the fourth o f five siblings. To those still hesitating to answer G od’s call due to their age, he says, “W hen God calls, he calls us out o f the successes o f our life. The one who suspects he has a calling must discern if he is really being called. He has to trust. He must put his life in G od’s hands.” □

The challenge of the Infant Jesus Sisters in this new century is to have The W ord reach the ears and capture the hearts of today’s children, youth, women and the most needy. We give The W ord voice by serving in education, nurturing children at risk and single-parent children in Homes, by facilitating learning and promoting personal dignity in school dropouts, by contributing to the human and spiritual development of people and reaching out in mission to neighbouring countries. Following the tradition established since 1662 by Blessed Nicolas Barre, the Infant Jesus Sisters bring the love of Jesus anywhere where the Creative Spirit calls. Life is exciting, challenging and meaningful because it is a life inspired by faith, strengthened by hope and driven by love to share Jesus with those who have never heard of Him. Perhaps, your life is at a turning point and you are seeking to give yourself to something more worthwhile than the 5 C’s. You are invited to work with us in any of our ministries to find out how we are sustained by a life of prayer, supportive community and challenged by these ministries. The Lord invited Andrew to “come and see” (John 1:39). This may be the first step in answering God’s call to you. Don’t miss the call! Talk to us, and allow us to search with you for God’s will. Contact: Singapore Sr. Celine Low (Email: celij08@yahoo.com) Sr Christina Joy (Email: joychrisij@yahoo,com.sg) Infant Jesus Sisters, 12 Martia Road, Singapore 424830 Tel No: 6344-2838

Malaysia Vocation Directress (Email: ijprovse@tm.net.my) Infant Jesus Provincialate, Convent Bukit Nanas, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia Tel No: 03-20780615

Sundays May 11 and May 18,2003 Catholic News

— Vocations Religious of the Good Shepherd To comply with the origin and m ission , the Brothers are pursuing the spirit of their Founder, the Blessed Peter Friedhofen, by meditatingon his life. His goals are ours: • To have a close union with Jesus and to grow more and more in the love of God. • To lead men to Christ. • ToplanttheloveofM aryinthe hearts of men, and • To take care of the sick out of Christian love. As Brothers we serve the sick in different fields such as:Blessed Br Peter Friedhofen the Founder of the Brothers of Mercy

* Nursing * Clerical

* Administration * Pastoral Care, etc

For more information, please contact The Vocation Director St Joseph House 12 Jalan Sultan Azlan Shan, 31400 Ipoh - Perak, Malaysia

The Mission of the Religious of the Cenacle

The Vocation Director Peter Friedhofen House 5A Burghley Drive, S'pore 558984 Fax: 6284-0489

• Does yo ur heart feel called to love? • Does yo ur heart desire to bring the healing presence o f Jesus to those who hunger fo r love? • Can you hear their cries challenging you to reach out with compassion?

“I will look for the lost, bring back the stray, tend the injured and make the weak strong.” Ez 34:16.

As Sisters of the Good Shepherd, we follow Jesus the Good Shepherd who is our constant model. We are called to love Him and be living witnesses of the Shepherd’s merciful love to those who are marginalized and broken especially women, girls and their families, restoring in them their worth and dignity. One person can make the difference. One hope will raise spirits. You see, it's up to you We invite you to find out more about us.

Get in touch with Sr Agnes-Claire Koh, at maaclaire@hotmail.com or write to Good Shepherd Convent, Apt Blk 236, Yishun Ring Road, #09-1018, Singapore 760236

D A R E TO

CHOOSE...

Jesu s C hrist co n tin u es to call th o se w h o m h e c h o o se s, in v itin g them to surrender their life to h im w h erever h e lead s for the greater glo ry o f the Father. We work for the transformation o f the world by awakening and deepening faith with and for the people of our time through the ministry confided to us. To this end, the Cenacle sisters work with individuals and groups as: • Spiritual Directors • Retreat Facilitators • Parish Animators • Campus M inisters • Religious Educators • Theology Professors • Pastoral Counsellors • Formators

Carmelite Friars & Sisters To get to ti place you have never been , you must take a path you have never taken. Come, journey with us !

Make the Gospel known to the people of our time. V o c a t io n D i r e c t o r

Come to the

Cenacle C enacle Sisters 47 Jurong West, St 42, Singapore 649368 Call us at tel no. 6565-2895 or e-mail us at cenacle@ singnet.com .sg

Have you ever been moved? This is not about moving house which we are sure you have done so before. What we mean here is about your heart being moved. Was there an incident or an event in your life when you felt moved in your heart? There is this strong feeling within you and it continues to speak to you for a long long time. Mother Teresa was moved when in the streets of Calcutta she saw the poor people lying on the streets. This led her to leave the security of her convent school and to work among the poor of Calcutta. St. Louis Marie de Montfort was moved when he saw the poor leper at Dinan and he picked him up and brought him on his back to the Missionary house calling out: “Open the door... Open the door to Jesus Christ”. Have you ever been moved before and does that still speak to you today? Let your heart be moved and listen to the voice of the Lord. If you are moved with compassion for the less fortunate, the Lord is calling you to respond to his invitation to care for the least among us. For whatsoever you do to the Least you do so unto Him. St. Louis Marie de Montfort exhorts us: “Those whom the world rejects must move you the most!”

C a r m e lite F ria rs F o r m a tio n H o u s e , 2 0 3 J, P u n g g o l S e v e n te e n th A v e n u e , S in g a p o r e 8 2 9 7 2 9 . T el: (0 2 ) 6 3 8 7 0 5 3 0 F a x: (0 2 ) 6 3 8 7 0 6 9 7 E m a il: c a r m e lit e f r ia r s _ s g @ h o t m a il.c o m

C a r m e l i t e S is t e r s C a r m e lite M o n a s te r y 9 8, B u k it T e re s a R o a d , S in g a p o r e 0 9 9 7 5 0 .

MONTFORT BROTHERS OF SAINT GABRIEL For m ore inform ation you may contact us at: M alaysia: Bro. Rajam anikam Anthony T: 03-55191735 F : 03-55102858 H: 019-3194162 E: m anikam @ pc.jaring.m y Singapore: Bro. Dominic Yeo Koh Tuan Kiok T: 02-67695711 F: 02-67695922 H: 91914607 E: bsgprov@ pd.jaring.m y

Catholic News

Sundays May 11 and May 18, 2003

Vocations CANOSSIANS-

women with a mission to tell the story of God’s Great Love

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to the women and men of our time k

inspired by St. Magdalene of Canossa committed to * contemplating the Crucified Christ * living the spirituality of the Greatest Love in community * sharing the Gospel mission - forming hearts to love unconditionally - serving the poor and the suffering Today, there are more than 3,300 Canossian Sisters in 32 countries all over the world.

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The Canossian Family also includes: The Canossian Sons of Charity and an extensive network of Lay Associates: Lay Canossians, Lay Missionaries and Volunteers, committed to the common mission of “making Jesus known and loved.”

Redemptorists are called... to experience the redeeming love of Jesus in a life of prayer... and through a fraternal community. Out of this faith experience of the love of Jesus. Redemptorists are sent... to preach the good news. “The spirit o f the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor.”

For more information : Canossian Sisters 100 Jalan Merbok, Singapore 598454 Tel : 64674290 E-mail : nc0071@starhub.net.sg Website: http://catholic-church.org/canossians-sg/

WITH HIMTHERE IS PLENTIFUL REDEMPTION

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Luke 4 : 18 Vocation Director Holy Spirit House 11 Nallur Road Singapore 456610 Tel: 97334705 email: paulpang@ singnet.com.sg

Vocaton Director Redemptorist Community 19-21 Jalan La Salle Ipoh Garden, 31400 Ipoh Malaysia Tel: 05-5468611

W■ lis a i

U fZ S

9pm, 3 6.15am, St. Paul's Room, ch of the Holy Cross

Organised by: Vocation Promotion Team, Church of the Holy Cros (Spiritual Director, Rev. Father Stephen Yim)

In Collaboration with: St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary NUS Catholic Students' Society NUS Indonesian Catholic Community NUS Filipino Catholic Community Altar Servers Society, Friends of Vocation Promotion Team, Friends of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Church of the Holy Cross. For more information, please email the Vocation Promotion Team at: morevocations@catholic.org

We strive to live the Gospel radically as Francis did We FMDMs share in Mary’s Divine Motherhood, to nurture life and be life-bearers for all. W e invite all who are interested to live this way of life as religious sisters in the FMDM family to write / call / e-mail / fax: Sr Florence Wong FMDM Sr Agnes Ken FMDM Maryvale Mount Miriam 77 Jalan Pemimpin Jalan Bulan, Fettes Park, Singapore 577228 11200 Tanjung Bungah, Tel: 63537263 Penang email fiowong38_hotmail.com email agnesfmdm@yahoo.co.uk

Sundays May 11 and May 18,2003 Catholic News

Vocations

MISSION

T he M

P ro c la im J e s u s C hrist to all

e d ia

b y d e d ic a t in g o u r tim e , e n e r g y

& lives for th e c a u s e o f th e G o s p e l th ro u g h m o d e r n m e a n s of c o m m u n ic a t io n : Press, R a d io , TV, in te rn e t, e t c .

CONSECRATING MODERN TE

& g ivin g M e d ia A w a r e n e s s / E d u c a t io n .

aulines

Enquiries to

D A U G H TE R S OF ST. PAUL

Vocation Directress DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL 47, Jutong West, Street 42 Singapore S49368 Tel: 65S08003 Fax: 85625857 Email: pauline.fsp@paciflc.net.sg

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T h e needs o f millions today, especially th e poor, are im m ense.

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Any men who know they are sinners, yet called to be companions o f Jesus, as St Ignatius was, to engage, under the Cross, in the c ru c ia l s tru g g le of our time - the service o f fa ith which necessarily includes the prom otion o f ju s tic e ; through dialogue w ith other religious traditions and the engagement w ith c u ltu re which is essential fo r the effective presentation o f the G o spe l" (General Congregation 34)

A nd every human person hungers fo r spiritual fulfilm ent.

T lte V c u t T h e w o rld needs m en and w o m e n to bring th e K ingdom

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o f G o d to all peoples.

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The V ery erv few o f us today are

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to G od's call and challenge to serve others.

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(gnatius of Loyola believed that there was no service that a Jesuit could not render to and for God's people.

T h e Jesuit vocation means living the G osp e l message fully, generously, perhaps even heroically.

Jesuits - Companions of Jesus - are missionaries, teachers, spiritual directors, scholars, carpenters, doctors, lawyers, astronomers, administrators, poets.... There is no limit to the kind of work Jesuits can do.

It is n o t an easy life. It is a w o nd e rfu l vocation. Everything fo r the gre a te r g lo ry of G o d ; m o re is n o t possible.

I n short, all Jesuits answer the Lord's call to serve Him

■Pedro Arrupe SJ, Superior General (1 9 6 5 - 1983)

anytime, anywhere and any persons in any manner that best brings about God's Greater Glory! K T h a t e v e r we do, wherever we are. and no matter whether we are Jesuit brothers or priests, we are all Servants of Christ's Mission.

I" ( t r K /

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W e invite you to contact us for a friendly chat. Fr Philip Heng, SJ at 6467 2790 o r email philipheng@pacific.net.sg Find out more at our website at www.jesuit.org.sg

Catholic News

Sundays May 11 and May 18,2003

We too are part of God’s master plan Sunday, May 11

Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10: 11- 18 ~¥"F Y O U ’VE ever admired a I famous painting, you were JLprobably struck by two things. First is the thought o f how much sacrifice was required o f the artist. Looking at many o f Vincent van G ogh’s paintings, for example, you can almost feel his own suffering and hardship. Second, you probably marvel at the intricacy o f the painter’s technique. Awed at the way every brush stroke seem s to contribute to a “perfect” picture, you wonder how the artist could have planned his or her work in such detail. Great sacrifice and awesom e planning - w e see these same two elements in today’s reading from the Gospel o f John. The sacrifice Jesus made is great because he made it freely. Jesus was clear that no one would take his life from him: “I lay it down o f my own accord” (John 10: 18). A s Paul wrote, Jesus w illingly laid his privileges aside, com ing to earth as a man, and accepting “even death on a cross” (Philippians 2: 6-9). The thought

that the God who made the vast universe chose to becom e one o f us and then died a shameful death for our sake is one w e can hardly comprehend. It’s comforting to know that the Father didn’t just send Jesus down to earth and hope for the best. He planned the whole thing from the beginning. Jesus him self understood the sacrifice o f his cross as “a command from my Father” (John 10: 18). Many times in his description o f Jesus’ last days, John wrote that the Lord made his journey to Calvary in order to fulfil the words o f the prophets. In other words, Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection were in the mind o f God even before the Scriptures were written! Could any design be more awesom e than that? The genius behind the world’s greatest paintings is nothing compared to what G od’s artistry has worked out for us in the death and resurrection o f his Son, Jesus Christ. Even our own lives are part o f this great masterpiece, for w e are “inscribed” in G od’s book (Psalm 139:16)! How deeply w e are loved! Let us rejoice and rest secure, knowing that w e too are part o f G od’s m agnificent plan! “ Father, you d id not spare y o u r own Son, but gave him up f o r us a ll. H o w can I ever th in k that you w o n ’t give me everything I need f o r my life in this w orld? Surely you are w orthy o f my tru st! ” □

The Word of God God enables everyone to tap into the source of true life

Sunday, May 18

Fifth Sunday of Easter John 15: 1-8 AVE YOU ever seen a grapevine in the wild?

Left to itself, the plant rambles through underbrush and clings to everything in its path. It puts its energy into wrapping itself around rocks, brambles, and tree trunks. It produces small, usually bitter fruit. A well-tended vine-something you ’d expect to find on the slopes o f wine country in California or Italy, is another story entirely. This plant is tall, sturdy, and trained to produce. Thanks to careful pruning, it yields large clusters o f healthy, sweet-tasting grapes. Speaking to people who were w ell acquainted with the differences between wild and cultivated plants, Jesus used the im age o f the grapevine to convey an important spiritual truth. God our Father is the vine grower par excellence, the master cultivator o f the human vineyard. Wanting

the best for his vines, he enables each one to tap into the source o f true life-into an intimate, abiding relationship with his Son. Maintain this connection, Jesus promises, and you w ill live an abundant, fruitful life. Characteristically, vines have two kinds o f branches: those that bear fruit and those that don’t. The non-producing branches must be carefully pruned so that the vine can devote all its resources to producing the best fruit possible. The same is true o f the vines in the Father’s vineyard. Staying connected to Jesus and producing a healthy yield necessarily means allowing ourselves to be pruned. It means trusting in Jesus’ goodness and obeying his commands so that all that is not o f him can be stripped away. That’s how w e can produce an abundant harvest, both in our inner lives and in our ability to bring his word and his love to the world around us. Jesus said that there can be no real fruit apart from him (John 15:5). There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or w e are not. There is no inbetween. Jesus promises us abundant fruit, provided we remain one with him and say yes to his gentle, but firm, pruning in our lives. The heavenly vine grower awaits our answer. Will you allow him to cultivate you? “ H eavenly Father, make my h eart one w ith you and y o u r Son, so that I may bear f r u it that brings you g lo ry and honour." □

Overnight vigil for vocations at Holy Cross church By Jacqueline See A GROUP o f parishioners from the Church o f the Holy Cross are organising a prayer vigil for vocations. From 9pm on May 30 to 6.15am the next day, parishioners “w ill be storming heaven to ask the Lord to bless Singapore with more vocations to the priesthood and for seven H oly Gifts for our priests and priests-to-be; they are unfailing faith, humility, life o f prayer, sincerity, obedience, faithfulness to the will o f God and purity”. There w ill be praise and worship, Taize chants, Scripture readings, sharing o f a vocation story and special prayers. Fr Stephen Yim, Spiritual Director o f the parish vocation team said, “There is an urgent need to pray for more vocations and for priests. The Lord him self gave us only one strategy to promote vocations, when he said ‘Pray to the master o f the harvest to send more labourers to gather the harvest’. Let us heed his call and make som e sacrifice o f sleep to com e together to pray at the V igil.” □

What’s On P R A Y IN G W IT H T H E M E D IA (F O R Y O U N G L A D IE S ) Date: Saturday May 17,2.30 pm - 5 pm. Venue: Daughters o f St Paul, 47 Jurong

W est St 42. Interested call: 6560-8003 o r email: pauline.fsp@ pacific.net.sg 24 A N N IV E R S A R Y - H O L Y M A SS

UNDERSTANDING THE OLD TESTAMENT BY REV AMBROSE VAZ SSL Professor Of Sacred Scripture St Francis Xavier’s Major Seminary

The human race in its limitations: The effects of sin Gen 3:17: The punishment o f the man, the central actor in the story, is climactic by its third position in the series and by its length. The man is not

cursed, but the earth is cursed because of man’s misdeeds. 1. H o w am I being the cause o f h u rt and m is e ry to p e o p le a n d s itu a tio n s a ro u n d me through my misdeeds? H o w w ill I correct this? *

wonderfully ironic speech, God notes the harm done by eating the forbidden fruit and protects the couple from the occasion o f the further sin o f eating o f the tree o f life by this expulsion from the garden 4. H o w do I view m o ra l guidelines in life? D o I recognize that they could be G o d ’s way o f pro te ctin g me fro m fu rth e r harm ? O r D o I see them ra th e r as a curb to my grow th as a person?

Gen 3:20-21: Punishment is not the last word. In a subtle but significant gesture, the man gives another name to his w ife (cf. Gen 2:23), viz., “EV E” - mother o f the living. The cou p le’s sin has not altered the divine intent to make them fruitful. Even separated from God, humanity remains blessed by God. G od’s clothing them is another conciliatory Sign, an accommodation to human limitations. 2. H o w much do I cre d it G od f o r being a

M ichaelangelo s The f a l l a nd expulsion fr o m paradise

source o f blessing, ra th e r than an enforcer o f punishm ent? 3. W here have I recognized, in m y life , “ blessings” in the fo rm o f “punishm ents” ? H o w thankful have I been f o r these blessings?

Gen 3:24: The couple is sent out o f the garden to find their way in the ordinary world. In a

The final section (3:21-24) is not a unity: the ex p u lsio n from the garden, for exam p le, is narrated twice, in verses 23 and 24. Often, in ancient narratives, many threads com e together in the final section, because the oral antecedents o f a narrative had many variants. Several o f the variants would be assimilated into the written form, and frequently the loose ends would be tied up at the conclusion. So is it here: verses 23 and 24 belong to an independent motif, that o f the tree o f life, which is already introduced into the narrative at the beginning (Gen 2:9). It is an entirely different story which is appended here to Gen 3 (cf. the “G ilgam esh Epic” ... where Gilgamesh goes in search o f the “plant o f life” that will protect him from death). This m otif is clearly recognizable in G od’s reflection. □

in Tamil by F r A. Ponnudurai on Sunday May 18 at 6.45 pm in Blessed Sacram ent Church. N E T S C H O O L C O M M IS S IO N IN G AND OPEN HOUSE Venue: St B em ardette’s Church. Date:

M ay 24. A rchbishop Nicholas Chia, will be com m issioning graduates o f the N ET School o f Evangelization. The school is now inviting Catholics to join its 16th intake and will be holding an Open House at St B ernadette’s Church on Aug 30. Enquiries: @ pacific.net.sg or call Elizabeth (9324-0471). V O L U N T E E R S FO R SAGE

SAGE Counselling Centre helpline for the elderly needs volunteers to befriend the elderly. Candidates m ust be at least 28 years old, able to speak English/ Chinese and a local dialect and must be available during office hours. Basic training, skills enhancem ent and personal developm ent program m es provided. Enquiries: 1800-3538633. M A S S F O R F O R E IG N H E A LTH C A R E W ORKERS Venue: Marymount Chapel. Date: May

13,6 pm Rosary devotion follow ed by Mass at 6.30 pm. During the Mass, archdiocesan directives for containing the SARS virus will be observed. Those with fever ornot feeling well are advised not to attend. Organised by Commission for M igrants and Itinerant People( CMI). M IG R A N T S ’ M A Y D A Y C E L E B R A T IO N Date: May 25, 2pm. Venue: HDB

Convention Centre, HDB Hub, Toa Payoh Lorong 6. For tickets contact CM I (6280-5424).

Sundays May 11 and May 18, 2003 Catholic News

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5-DAY CELEBRATION:

SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2003

Food & Games Fair, 8 am-2 pm 7.30 am Mass in Mandarin June 12, 8 pm Mass in Tamil 9.00 am Mass in English 11.00 am Mass in English June 13, 8 pm Mass in English 12.30 pm Mass in Tamil Celebrant: A rchbishop Nicholas Chia 6.00 pm Mass in English 7.30 pm Feast Day Dinner June 14,6 pm Mass in English

Wed June 11, 8 pm Mass in Chinese Thu Fri M ain

Sat

Venue: Church of St Anthony, 25 Woodlands Ave 1, Singapore 739064 Tel: 6368-3804; 6365-2363 N ote: St A nthony’s Bread w ill be distributed at all M asses on June 13, 14 and 15. Tickets are on sale fo r the dinner @ $35 p e r head. M ake cheque payable to Church o f St A nthony and indicate Feast D ay D inner on reverse o f cheque. Closing date fo r sales o f D inner Ticket is June 8, 2003.

Mother’s Day Feature

Singapore mother earns right to practise law at age 60 By Mel Diamse-Lee

LLB in 1996 but returned permanently to Singapore only in ARY PEREIRA is 2000. one senior citizen In 1995, she underwent an who has no qualms open kidney surgery. Her mother about lifelong passed away in 1999. “A ll these learning and going all-out for a little things build you up, “ she second career. said o f these difficult Last year at age 60, the circumstances. former teacher was called to the She was called to the Singapore Bar after years of Singapore Bar last year after study, first, as an external student completing her pupillage and and, later, as an internal student Practical Law Course. “I thank at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in God for this chance. It’s like a England. second chance in life.” “Like any new lawyer, it can Her son Dwight, who is now be very daunting to go to open 24 and an architectural student court,’’she said. But there are and singer-songwriter, said subtle advantages as an older his mother’s example is person, she added. “Your “inspiring.” “Once she sets her mind to something, she maturity may give you a deeper insight and you may w ill do it. She never wavers be able to discern better.” in resolve.” Mary has had her fair Mary explained: “There share o f challenges. was a lot o f faith involved After getting her licence throughout. Faith is the to practise, Mary contacted legacy my mother has given many law firms via the me because she led a faithInternet and was offered a filled life.” three-month assignment by Mary’s father came the first firm that interviewed from Madras and taught at her. St Anthony’s School. He Another job at another was killed during a firm follow ed immediately Japanese bombing attack on after. Sadly, earlier this year, Singapore on January 21, just before a cataract 1942 while on duty as a operation, she was told that member o f the Volunteer her services were no longer Corps. Mary was bom needed. Mary is now job early the next morning in hunting. an air-raid shelter. Mrs Mary Pereira with her children, from Having been through The family home in left, Lyn John, Dwight and Jo-Ann. difficult periods before, she Chay Yan Street was says, “What does not kill bombed. For five years after “I told my husband it’s you, only strengthens you. So I that Mary and her two siblings im possible. I couldn’t do it. He just say, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ and their mother were wanderers. was in Malaysia and I was and leave it all to God.” “We were living under various practically a single parent relatives’ roofs until w e were working, helping my mother with HE MARRIED a given our present house by the the marketing and looking after M alaysian journalist in British in 1947,” she recalled. three school-age children.” 1970 and they have three “Looking at my mother’s life Instead, he sent her to study children: Lyn John, Jo-Ann and has strengthened my belief in in the United Kingdom while her Dwight. They lived in Malaysia God because she had simple mother looked after the kids. She for about 10 years before view s on life. To her, if you had a returning to Singapore for the left for N ew castle in 1994, problem you could just kneel returning to Singapore during children’s education. down and pray and God would summer breaks. She passed the She failed to get reinstated as hear you,” she recalled. □

a regular teacher and worked as a relief teacher. It was then that she started thinking about private studies in law at the suggestion o f her eldest son and encouragement from her husband. Law was then available through distance learning. She registered and was accepted at London University. She had completed only the first year o f the three year honours course when new rules were announced in the m id1990s that com pelled her to complete the Bachelor o f Laws (LLB) before Jan 1, 1997 if she wanted to practise law in Singapore.

A patron saint for expectant mothers ST GERARD MAJELLA, depicted in a w indow at Sacred Heart Basilica in Brussels, Belgium , was an 18th-century Redemptorist lay brother who is the patron saint of expectant mothers and their unborn children. He is also known for interceding on behalf o f infertile couples and aiding mothers with difficult pregnancies to have safe, joyful births and healthy babies. One person who is convinced o f the interceding power o f the saint is Father Thomas Nicastro o f Sacred Heart Church in Stamford, Conn., U SA . His parish celebrates St Gerard’s feast May 9 and attracts many couples from all over the U SA . The priest tells them “to lay aside all those m edical procedures not in conformity with the teachings o f the church and put their faith and trust in God and his saints, like St Gerard.” □ c n s P h o n ,

Catholic News

Sundays May 11 and May 18, 2003

- Photo News Singapore Poly legionaries form choir

P a k is t a n i C a t h o lic g e t s lif e in p r is o n f o r b la s p h e m y

Ranjha Masih is led from court in shackles during his trial in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in October 2001. He was sentenced April 26 to life in

Inter-racial group attend Mass at St Anne’s Church By Mel Diamse-Lee SINGAPORE - Over 20 members o f the Ponggol North Inter-Racial Confidence Circle attended M ass at the Church o f St Anne and learned about the significance o f Easter for Christians. The group, led by Member o f Parliament for Ponggol, Ms Penny Low, also got to learn about the significance o f som e o f the statues o f saints displayed in the church. O f the visit.

Placido Domingo sings pope’s Assisi prayer for peace - Spanish tenor Placido D om ingo sang a prayer for peace that Pope John Paul II recited for Christians during the 2002 interreligious peace service in A ssisi. “Song for Peace,” a 14-minute composition with words by Pope John Paul and music by Italian composer Marco Tutino, was debuted in Ancona April 28 before an audience that included representatives o f the Vatican, the Italian bishops’ conference and the Franciscan friars o f A ssisi. In a telegram read at the concert, the pope said he hoped the song would strengthen people’s “commitment to promote the values o f peace and brotherhood.” ANCONA, Italy

SINGAPORE - The recently formed Singapore Polytechnic Legion o f Mary Choir delighted students o f Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and Singapore Polytechnic at the examination Mass celebrated by Fr Stephen Yim at the Church o f the Holy Cross April 11. M usical Director Kevin Ang said music should be properly organized and sung to assist the congregation in their worship. The choir is also coorganising a Youth Mass at the Church o f St Anthony June 28 at 7.30 pm. For information contact Kevin Ang at (9740-7064).

prison and fined S$l,550 for violating the country’s blasphemy laws. Prosecutors charged that Ranjha, a Catholic, threw stones at Quranic verses written on an outdoor wall during a 1998 memorial procession for a local bishop. □ cnsphoto grassroots leader, Dr Muhammad Faishal, said, “A s a non-Catholic, I found the visit an enriching experience. It also created an understanding o f the faith for non-Catholics in the group.” He added that it is “very important” for the inter-faith and inter-racial understanding to be “developed further as multi religious harmony is one o f the backbones o f Singapore’s developm ent.” □

Pope John Paul invited representatives o f Christian churches and the world’s major religions to A ssisi in January 2002 after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in N ew York and Washington and the war in Afghanistan. After listening to testimonies for peace, the pope and the representatives separated for prayer services according to their own religious traditions, then came back together to proclaim their commitment to peace. Dom ingo has sung for the pope during papal trips to N ew York and M exico. The Vatican’s English translation o f the A ssisi prayer included the line, “In a world often restless and violent, may we be m essengers o f glad tidings to the poor, heralds o f mercy and reconciliation, makers o f peace.”

□ CNSphoto

A relative of someone who was inside an elementary school in Celtiksuyu, Turkey, waits as rescue workers search for survivors after an earthquake.

P o p e

c o n s o le s

o f T u r k e y

v ic t im

e a r t h q u a k e

- John Paul II sent a message o f sympathy to civil and religious authorities in Turkey following the earthquake that struck the province o f Bingol. A provisional count said the quake left 122 dead and 500 injured.At midday May 1, 36 pupils o f a boarding school were still m issing after 117 were rescued and 45 were found dead. The students, ages 7 to 16, were primarily the children o f Kurdish peasants. The papal m essage, sent by Cardinal A ngelo Sodano, Vatican secretary o f state, said that the

VATICAN CITY

Holy Father “is united in thought and prayer to all the people affected by this new drama.” Other quakes have recently hit Turkey. The pope “entrusts all those who died in this catastrophe to the mercy o f God A lm ighty” and “asks God to sustain the injured and families who have lost loved ones and goods.” The Holy Father “encourages those who are working in the rescue effort, who are sometimes risking their lives, to do everything possible to look for and help survivors.” □ z e n i t

Iraqi children with mental disabilities abandoned BAGHDAD - Children at the Baghdad Hannan hospital for those with mental disabilities suffer a shortage o f food and m edicine April 29. The asylum administrator told journalists that many doctors and nurses abandoned their positions after the war and som e 88 patients have been left nearly abandoned save for the help o f som e local residents. □ c n s photo

Puppets to teach kids catechism

Facilitators and participants create puppets at the workshop on using puppets to teach children.

KUALA LUMPUR - Puppets give children an opportunity to interact with the teacher and with one another. “In a Sunday school setting, w e need to get children to talk more, to understand what they are feeling, and what they are facing,” said Dennis N g, a Sunday school coordinator who heads Talking Hands, an inter denominational group promoting the use o f puppets in Christian education and ministry. N g was one o f the facilitators at a puppetry workshop organised by Cahayasuara Communications Centre in early April. “Puppets can often demonstrate feelings that children can identify with. Puppets can ‘touch’ children, so there is relationship-building there,” she added. She noted a common

complaint that children find Sunday school lessons boring. “Puppets could complement and bring new life to Bible stories,” she observed. B y using a big puppet, called Bible Expert Man (BEM ), and another puppet to ask questions, Eva M owe, another workshop facilitator, effectively demonstrated the story o f how Paul persecuted the Church, and how he was later converted. In another demonstration, M ow e formed a rainbow o f six colours by ‘cooking’ plastic fruits o f six different colours in a pot, and by singing an action song. She then used Dudley, a ‘talking d og’ puppet, to tell the story of Noah and the Ark, and concluded with a song called Father Noah. The workshop included a puppet-making demonstration. O

Cahayasuara

Sundays May 11 and May 18,2003 Catholic News

Put out into the deep water and pay out your nets for a catch " L uke 5:4

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POPE: MEDIA MUST WORK FOR PEACE TO DAY’S journalists have unprecedented power to promote understanding and peace or hatred and violence, Pope John Paul II said. “The mass media have an inescapable responsibility in this sense, since they constitute the m odem arena in which ideas are shared and people can grow in mutual understanding and solidarity,” the pope said in his annual m essage for World Communications Day. The m essage was released Jan. 24 at the Vatican; the 2003 World Communications D a y will be marked June 1 in most dioceses. The theme for the 2003 celebration is “The Communications Media at the Service o f Authentic Peace in the Light o f ‘Pacem in Terris,”’ Pope

“My prayer on this year’s World Communications Day is that the men and women of the media will ever more wholly live up to the challenge of their calling: service of the universal common good. Their personal fulfilment and the peace and happiness of the world depend greatly on this.” John X X III’s 1963 encyclical on peace. W hile the Cold War divisions that marked Pope John’s era have faded, “peace, justice and stability are still lacking in many

Almost all Catholic kindergartens meet MOE requirements FOUR o f the five kindergartens shut down by MOE have received temporary licences. These are Our Lady o f Perpetual Succour Kindergarten in Siglap, St Francis o f A ssisi Kindergarten on Jurong West St 42, St Francis Xavier Play Centre on Upper Serangoon Road and St Francis Xavier Kindergarten in Serangoon Garden. They have met the requirements and have gone through all inspections. All documents are in order. The kindergarten must also prove that its teachers meet the qualifications o f the MOE and that hygiene and sanitation are observed. St Francis Xavier Kindergarten principal Emily Goh said the kindergarten will m ove into a new building in the church compound at the end o f the year. The kindergarten has been around for over 20 years. M eanwhile, Vicar General

Eugene Vaz, administrator o f the parish o f the Holy Trinity which runs the Holy Trinity Kindergarten said,”w e are follow ing the procedures to be registered and w e w ill take one stage at a tim e.” The 10-year old school failed to get a temporary license to operate. The five kindergartens were among more than 20 closed in mid-April by the MOE. According to the Ministry, the schools must seek building and safety clearance from the Building and Construction Authority (BC A ), Land Transport Authority (LTA), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Fire Safety and Shelter Bureau (FSSB), as w ell as health and hygiene clearance from MOE. The government said the closure o f non-registered kindergartens was to ensure safety and hygiene follow ing the Sars outbreak. □

COMMUNICATIONS IN THE INTERNET AGE

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parts o f the world,” Pope John Paul said. “Terrorism, conflict in the Middle East and other regions, threats and counterthreats, injustice, exploitation and assaults upon the dignity and sanctity o f human life both before and after birth are dismaying realities o f our times,” he said. The m edia’s power “is such that in a few short days they can create the positive or negative public reaction to events which suit their purposes,” the pope wrote. “Such enormous power calls for the highest standards of commitment to truth and goodness,” he said. Those who work in the media, even media affiliated with public or private interest groups, must not “set one group against another, for example, in the name o f class conflict, exaggerated nationalism, racial supremacy, ethnic cleansing and the like,” he said.

“Setting some against others in the name o f religion is a particularly serious failure against the truth and justice, as is discriminatory treatment o f religious beliefs, since these belong to the deepest realm o f the human person’s dignity and freedom,” the pope said. Journalists, he said, must “foster justice and solidarity in human relationships,” not by “glossing over grievances and divisions,” but by providing the background information needed to understand current problems. “The men and women o f the

media are especially bound to contribute to peace in all parts of the world by breaking down the barriers o f mistrust, fostering consideration o f the point o f view o f others, and striving always to bring peoples and nations together in mutual understanding and respect — and beyond understanding and respect, reconciliation and mercy,” he said. Pope John Paul’s statement condemned government control o f the media, but also said “purely commercial concerns” can spell the end o f freedom o f the press and o f expression. □

The people of Iraq are in desperate need of humanitarian need. Already struggling under the impact of sanctions, the war has brought increased suffering, with enormous disruption? to supplies of food, water and electricity. The second collection at all Masses on the weekend of May 24 and 25 will be for the reconstruction of Iraq. You may also donate directly by cheque made payable to TITULAR R.C. ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE

I wish to donate $ ........for work in the reconstruction of Iraq. Cheque made payable to: Titular R.C. Archbishop of Singapore Name:___________________________________________________ Address: Please send to: The Procurator, Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, 10 Yishun Street 2, Singapore 768579

Sundays May 25 and June l y 2003 Catholic News

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Help desks for migrant workers From June 1, migrant workers can get help from Hope Haven at Lucky Plaza and Kampong Kapor Methodist Church

Hope Haven help desks will be located at #04-19 Lucky Plaza and at the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church in Little India. Interested volunteers and needy migrant workers may call CMI (6280-5424) fo r more details. □

Comm ission, said the desks will be a big help to some 12,000 Sri Lankan domestic workers, some o f whom are not allowed to leave their em ployers’ homes on weekdays. On an average day the labour staff said she receives between eight to ten distress-calls and up to 25 on som e days. Mr Sa’Roni, an Indonesian Embassy official also said the help desks w ill benefit his countrymen. “The only thing is whether

By Mel Diamse-Lee IGRANT workers in Singapore w ill soon have more accessible places to go to if they want help. Hope Haven, a counselling service for migrants on work permit w ill have help desks at Lucky Plaza and Little India beginning June 1. The help desks, manned by qualified counsellors and trained volunteers, w ill operate on the first and third Sundays o f each month in both places. Hope Haven will offer help in areas like family and marital issues, employment matters, personal issues like depression and loneliness, peer conflict, medical problems, trauma as a result of abuse or torture, and others. The service was introduced to representatives o f em bassies and migrant communities on May 4 by the Archdiocesan Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People (CMI). Ms Tanya Juriansz, a staff of the Sri Lankan High

Mgr Francis Lau talks of Sars, love and God “GREATER love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). M onsignor Francis Lau was reminded o f this passage when he visited a hospital recently. The wards were deserted The only signs o f activity were o f doctors, nurses and ancillary hospital workers attending to their patients. They were working in an environment where the unseen deadly virus that causes Sars can strike anyone at any time. They were risking their lives so that others may have a fighting chance to live. So it is with Jesus who laid down his life for his friends, said Fr Lau in a talk on May 3 to some 80 members o f the Senior Parishioners’ Community o f the Church o f the Holy Cross, where he is parish priest. □

they w ill be able to get permission to leave their em ployers’ homes on Sunday,” he said, noting that many domestic workers from Indonesia do not enjoy a day off although their employment contract stipulates a rest day once a week. CMI chairman Bridget Lew also appealed for volunteers to help screen the various needs o f those who com e to the help desks. Likewise, there is a need for para-counsellors, qualified psychologists, psychotherapists and other professionals.

Foreign healthcare workers praised, urged to trust in God By Mel Diamse-Lee

precautions. But some people did all these things and still they got the Sars,” he noted. “But God wants us to give his care to the sick, nurse them, treat them. As health care workers, you are the healing hands of God,” he said. Instead, “you take the necessary precautions but ...trust in him,” he urged. The Mass organised by the Archdiocesan Comm ission for Migrants and Itinerant People was held at the Marymount Chapel on Thomson Road. Concelebrating with Fr Gino was Franciscan Friar Gerard Victor. Nurses and other health workers based in hospitals and old folks homes were joined by R eligious Sisters and laity. Follow ing the Mass, Fr Gino blessed the miraculous medal given to each o f the participants.

HEALTHCARE workers are the “healing hands o f God,” remarked Fr Gino Henriquez to some 40 foreign healthcare workers at a Mass dedicated to them on May 13. Being in the heal '.icare profession “is more than a job.” The next glorious calling is that o f healthcare workers who reach out to the sick - the physically and mentally sick, said the Redemptorist priest. Fr Gino acknowledged the fear o f the healthcare workers but urged them to believe in the promise o f Christ to be with them. “We are afraid o f the Sars epidemic because there is so much we don’t know about the virus. We are afraid so w e wear masks and take all sorts o f

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‘For bachelors only* takes a bride 40 years to the hour they took their marriage vows at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Queen Street, on Saturday May 11, 1963, Kenneth and Elizabeth Rappa renewed their vows at the same Cathedral at a thanksgiving mass conducted by Fr Adrian Anthony. Celebrating with them were their children and grandsons, George Anthony and Quentin Cornelius. The above title was a caption in a Straits Times article published

after their wedding. Pictured below, the happy cou ple and their grandsons.

FATHER JOACHIM KANG

“I aminnocent” By Mel Diamse-Lee SPEAKING to Catholic N ew s after being bailed out on 29 April, a cheerful-looking Fr Joachim Kang said, “I am innocent”. Another five charges o f em bezzlement were brought against him that day, bringing the total charges to 19, according to his lawyer, Mr Peter Cuthbert Low. The priest who has served the Church for 29 years, added: “I know that my name has been dragged through the mud. A s a result, some people are confused. Their confidence is shaken”. He thanked parishioners, friends, fellow-priests, the religious communities and Archbishop Nicholas Chia for their prayers and support, urging that they “continue to pray for m e”. Fr Kang, 54, is alleged to have em bezzled a total o f $5.1 m illion from the Church o f St.

Teresa, where he was parish priest from December 1989 to February last year. His defence lawyers, Mr Peter Cuthbert Low and Mr George Lim, clarified to the courts that “apart from handling the church accounts, Fr Kang was also managing his family m onies and gifts received from well-wishers over a period o f 29 years”. “I had been in remand for 25 days. Although each day seemed like Good Friday, I felt very assured and encouraged to see so many people praying for me and giving their support to m e”, he added. One o f the blessings o f this crisis, he said, is that “the family members are so much more together now than they ever were before”. For 14 charges o f alleged embezzlement totalling $4.3 million, Fr Kang was released on bail at $1 million on 25 April after the High Court reduced the bail amount from $2 million. For

the April 29 charges involving $800,000 an additional bail of $200,000 was put up. A s all available assets have been frozen by the court, the $1.2 million bail was provided by family members and well-wishers, he said. Among the charges levelled against him are the transfer o f funds, ranging from $4,638 to $1 million. He is also alleged to own properties and unit trusts in Singapore, Malaysia and UK. His lawyers said before the court on 16 April that, according to Fr Kang, it has always been his intention to use the m onies and assets for the benefit o f the Church in Singapore. In February last year, follow ing a massive reassignment by Archbishop Chia, Fr Kang was posted to the Church o f the Holy Trinity. He was arrested on 1st April by the Commercial Affairs Department for alleged criminal breach o f trust, and was questioned and remanded until 25 April. □

Ambassadors of Truth 21 Jum IQ am -lu p m CJC Hall A Contact: Sr. Martina fmm Email: fmmtrini@singnet.com,sg Tel: 67880171

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for registration: 21 Jun

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