Feb. 15, 2013

February 15, 2013

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org S E RV I N G C H R I ST A N D C O N N EC T I N G C AT H O L I C S I N W E ST E R N N O R T H C A R O L I N A

Triad area abortion facility closes Charlotte abortion facility also cited for violations,

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‘Marvelous gift’ As Pope Benedict retires, we give thanks for his tireless Christian witness

INDEX Contact us.......................... 4 Events calendar................. 4 Our Parishes................. 4-13 Schools......................... 16-19 Scripture readings............ 3 TV & Movies...................... 20 U.S. news..................... 22-23 Viewpoints.................. 26-27 World news................. 24-25 Year of Faith....................... 3

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INSIDE: His legacy Reactions What happens next

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FUNDED by the parishioners of the diocese of charlotte THANK YOU!

‘Light of Christ’ in the world Consecrated men, women honored for their varied ministries, 6 3 diocesan priests mark jubilees, 6

LENT 2013

Cistercian monk takes final vows, 7

CRS Rice Bowl and its impacts: What you give up for Lent changes lives, 14-15

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS Lenten Holy Land Pilgrimage March 4-11 LentHolyLand.tumblr.com Come with the Catholic News Herald and parishioners from St. Barnabas in Arden and Holy Family in Clemmons on an unforgettable journey to the Holy Land. Grow in your personal relationship with Jesus as a virtual pilgrim, following along on Facebook, Twitter and our blog as the pilgrims travel from Bethlehem and Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem. Immerse yourself in the land where Jesus lived and preached through facts and interviews, photos and videos, join with us in prayer and explore the faith.

OF FAITH RY R TO CHRIST:

THE MYS

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“Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery revealed by God.”

NINTH EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE, SEPTEMBER 13 &14, 2013

— His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Apostolic letter "Porta Fidei" announcing the Year of Faith

Year of faith

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Pope Benedict XVI

Pope thanks faithful, asks them to pray for next pope

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t his first public appearance since he announced that he would resign at the end of February, Pope Benedict XVI thanked the faithful for their love and prayers and asked them to pray for his successor.

“I have felt, almost physically in these days – which haven’t been easy for me – the strength that prayers, love for the Church and prayers for me bring me,” the pope told some 7,000 people at his weekly public audience Feb. 13.

Coming two days after he made the announcement in Latin to a room full of cardinals, the pope’s Ash Wednesday audience gave him the chance to explain his historic decision to his global flock, and to get a taste of their reactions.

“As you know, I have decided ...” he said, before the capacity crowd in the Vatican audience hall broke out in prolonged applause, bringing a smile to the 85-year-old pope’s face.

The pope appeared tired but smiled frequently and at times broadly during the hour-long audience.

“The certainty that the Church is Christ’s and He will never cease guiding it and caring for it sustains me and enlightens me,” the pope said. “I thank all of you for the love and prayers with which you have accompanied me.

“Continue to pray for me, for the Church, for the future pope,” he said, drawing an ovation a full minute long.

During his catechetical talk for Ash Wednesday, he echoed the major theme of his pontificate: encouraging people to make a deeper personal conversion to Christ, in spite of secular society.

Modern societies and cultures truly test Christians today, he said. For instance, “it is not easy to be faithful to Christian matrimony, practice mercy in daily life, leave room for prayer and interior silence; it is not easy to publicly oppose choices that many people consider obvious, like abortion in the case of an unwanted pregnancy, euthanasia in the case of serious illness or the selection of embryos to avoid hereditary diseases.”

However, he said, even in the modern age there have been shining examples of people who have converted or returned to their faith – radically changing their lives.

SueAnn Howell and bill Washington | catholic news herald

(Left) Father Jason Barone, parochial vicar, and Deacon James Mazur distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday Feb. 13 at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury. (Above) Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church in Charlotte, distributes ashes on Feb. 13 to the Gallagher family.

Pope Benedict’s message for Lent: Charity is more than ‘vague humanitarianism’ Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Faith and charity can never be separated nor opposed to each other, just as faith by itself isn’t genuine without charity, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it; charity is ‘walking’ in the truth,” the pope said in his annual message for Lent, which in 2013 begins Feb. 13 for Latin-rite Catholics. “Faith is genuine only if crowned by charity.”

“It would be too one-sided to place a strong emphasis on the priority and decisiveness of faith and to undervalue and almost despise concrete works of charity, reducing them to a vague humanitarianism,” More online Pope Benedict said. “It At www.catholicnewsherald. is equally unhelpful to com: Pope Benedict’s entire overstate the primacy of message for Lent 2013. charity and the activity it generates, as if works could take the place of faith.”

At a Feb. 1 news conference to present the message, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes Catholic charitable giving, told reporters that insisting on the indissoluble link between faith and charity is like “hitting a raw nerve.”

The cardinal said the pope’s message underscores how misguided it is to see faith as an abstract, intellectual endeavor and charity as the concrete or practical side of the Church, or to favor one over the other.

“It’s convenient for many, inside and outside” the Church, to see faith as divorced from the real world, “inebriated from the scent of candles, busy putting the sacristy in order, focused on obscure theological debates and clerical quarrels rather than on the integral human person Christ spoke to,” the cardinal said.

Another mistake, he said, is seeing the Church as just another

large philanthropic agency for which social justice and meeting people’s physical needs are the primary concerns, “forgetting that the desire for God lies at a person’s core.”

Yet another misconception is to divide the Church into “good guys” dedicated to service and charity, and “bad guys” dedicated to defending human life and universal moral truths, he said. This is what happens when the Church is praised for helping the sick but vilified for trying to “awaken the human conscience,” the cardinal said.

The theme of the pope’s message, “Believing in charity calls forth charity,” was taken from the First Letter of St. John (4:16): “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.”

In the context of the Year of Faith, the pope dedicated his message to the relationship between faith and charity, which he also explored in his 2005 encyclical on charity (“Deus Caritas Est”).

All Christians, especially charity workers, need faith – that personal encounter with God in Christ and the experience of His love, the pope said.

“Christians are people who have been conquered by Christ’s love and accordingly, under the influence of that love, they are profoundly open to loving their neighbor in concrete ways,” he said.

A Christian life starts with accepting God’s gift of faith with “wonder and gratitude,” but it is a journey that continues as God seeks “to transform us” to become more like Christ and share His love with others.

“Only then does our faith become truly ‘active through love.’

Only then does He abide in us,” he said.

“The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love,” he said.

In fact, evangelization is the greatest form of charity and best way to promote the human person, the pope said.

“There is no action more beneficial, and therefore more charitable, towards one’s neighbor than to break the bread of the Word of God, to share with him the Good News of the Gospel, to introduce him to a relationship with God,” he said.

Your daily Scripture readings SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF Feb. 17-23

Sunday (First Sunday of Lent): Deuteronomy 26:4-10, Romans 10:8-13, Luke 4:1-13; Monday: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, Matthew 25:31-46; Tuesday: Isaiah 55:10-11, Matthew 6:7-15; Wednesday: Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 11:29-32; Thursday (St. Peter Damian): Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 (Esther’s prayer), Matthew 7:7-12; Friday (The chair of St. Peter): 1 Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 16:13-19; Saturday (St. Polycarp): Deuteronomy 26:16-19, Matthew 5:43-48

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF Feb. 24-March 2

Sunday (Second Sunday of Lent): Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 9:2836; Monday: Daniel 9:4-10, Luke 6:36-38; Tuesday: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, Matthew 23:1-12; Wednesday: Jeremiah 18:18-20, Matthew 20:1728; Thursday: Jeremiah 17:5-10, Luke 16:19-31; Friday: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46; Saturday: Micah 7:14-15, 1820, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF March 3-9

Sunday (Third Sunday of Lent): Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15, 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12, Luke 13:19; Monday (St. Casimir): 2 Kings 5:1-15, Luke 4:24-30; Tuesday: Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Matthew 18:21-25; Wednesday: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday (Sts. Perpetua and Felicity): Jeremiah 7:23-28, Luke 11:14-23; Friday (St. John of God): Hosea 14:2-10, Mark 12:28-34; Saturday (St. Frances of Rome): Hosea 6:1-6, Luke 18:9-14

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events ARDEN ST. BARNABAS CHURCH, 109 CRESCENT HILL ROAD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis

— CSS Presentation, “Medicare Made Easy”: 2-4 p.m.

March 19. Open to adults aged 65 and older. For details, contact CSS Elder Ministry at 704-370-3220.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events in the coming weeks:

— CSS presenta, “Medicare Muy fácil”: 2-4 p.m. 19 de Marzo. Abierto a los adultos mayores de 65 años.

Para obtener más información, póngase en contacto con CSS Ministerio de Ancianos al 704-370-3220.

Feb. 16 – 8 a.m.

Third Annual Charlotte Catholic Men’s Conference St. Matthew Church, Charlotte

— Annual Women’s Lenten Program, “The Truth Will Set You Free!”: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 2. All women, including high school age, are welcome. For details, contact Marcia Torres at stbarvol@bellsouth. net.

Feb. 17 – 4 p.m.

Rite of Election St. James Church, Concord

ASHEVILLE

Feb. 22 – 10 a.m.

Diocesan Finance Council Meeting Pastoral Center, Charlotte Feb. 23 – 1 p.m.

Rite of Election St. Paul the Apostle Church, Greensboro Feb. 24 – 4 p.m.

Rite of Election St. Eugene Church, Asheville

ST. EUGENE CHURCH, 72 Culvern St. — Evening workshop, “The Seventh Day of Creation: The Spirituality of Working in God’s Garden”: 7-9 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 22. For more information, go online to www.steugene.org.

— Morning workshop, “The Rising Tide and Destructive Storms of Climate Change”: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb 23. For more information, go online to www. steugene.org.

n St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte: Stations of the Cross, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Fridays.

Lenten meals, 6:30 p.m. Fridays. Penance service: 7 p.m. March 11 n St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte: Lenten dinner, 6 p.m. Fridays. Stations of the Cross, 7 p.m. Fridays. Estaciones de la Cruz, 6 p.m.

Penance service, 7 p.m., Monday, March 18. n St. Pius X, Greensboro: Stations of the Cross, 7 p.m. Fridays. n St. Thérèse, Mooresville: Lenten meal, 6:30 p.m. Fridays. Stations of the Cross, 2 and 7 p.m. Fridays. Lenten meditation service, 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 6.

Penance service, 7 p.m. Monday, March 11.

SACRED HEART CHURCH, 100 BRIAN BERG LANE — Knights of Columbus Council 8886 Blood Drive: Noon5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18. For more information, contact John P. Flynn at 828-862-3784.

CHARLOTTE ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 Park Road — Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group Lenten Evening Reflection: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, presented by Father Larry Richards and Dr. Ray Guarendi. All women invited to attend.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMMONS PKWY. — St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service: 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 28. The healing prayer service will be offered for all those suffering with cancer or other diseases. For more information, call the church office at 704-543-7677.

— NFP Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-3703230 or cssnfp@charlottediocese.org.

ST. PATRICK Cathedral, 1621 DILWORTH ROAD EAST — CCWG Lenten Retreat, “Four Last Things – Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell”: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23. Presented by Father Matthew Kauth. All women invited. For more information, visit www. charlottecatholicwomensgroup.org or contact Mary Sample at 704-341-9292.

— Evening study, “Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Lively

de la Cruz, 7:30 p.m. Todos los Viernes. n Our Lady of the Rosary, Lexington: Lenten Meals, 6 p.m. Fridays. Stations of the Cross, 8 p.m. Fridays. Lenten presentation, 7 p.m. March 12, by Mercy Sister Laretta Williams. n St. Matthew, Charlotte: Penance service, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 5. n St. Mary, Greensboro: Stations of the Cross and Benediction, 5:30 p.m. Fridays.

n Queen of the Apostles: Stations of the Cross, 1 and 7 p.m. Fridays. Lenten evening discussions, 7:15 p.m. Feb. 18 and 25, by n St. Margaret Mary, Swannanoa: Stations Father Frank Cancro of the Cross. 6:30 p.m. Fridays. Estaciones (This list is as of press time Feb. 12. Please check with your local parish to confirm dates and times.)

Virtues”: Starting 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20.

Everyone welcome. To register, contact Margaret Gustafson at jmgusto@bellsouth.net.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 SUTHER ROAD

BREVARD Feb. 28 – 5:30 p.m.

Partners in Hope Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem

Lenten activities

— Please join us for our first “Divine Mercy Holy Hour”: Exposition and readings from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: 7-8 p.m. every first Friday. For questions, contact Paul Deer at 704-948-0628.

— “Rosary for Life”: Join the Respect Life group to pray each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., followed by Mass at 7 p.m. To participate, contact Gretchen Filz at gfilz10@ ses.edu or 704-919-0935.

St. Vincent de Paul CHURCH, 6828 old Reid road — Lenten Bible Study with Father Joshua Voitus, Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-noon, starting Feb. 20. Call the parish at 704-554-7088 for details.

ELKIN ST. STEPHEN CHURCH, 101 HAWTHORNE ROAD — “Marriage: Transformed by Grace,” Scripture group for women: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19. All women welcome.

For details, call 336-835-3007.

HIGH POINT — Pro-Life Rosary Prayer Service: To pray for an end to abortion. 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2, at 901 N. Main St. and Sunset Drive, High Point. Parking available. For details, contact Jim Hoyng, 336-882-9593, or Paul Klosterman, 336-848-6835.

Immaculate heart of Mary church, 4145 Johnson st.

— Free Spanish language class: 7 p.m.-8:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. Everyone welcome. For details, contact Nancy at 336-884-0522

HUNTERSVILLE St. MARK CHURCH, 14740 STUMPTOWN ROAD — Parish Mission, “Open Wide the Doors to Christ”: 7-8:15 p.m. Feb. 17-20. Presented by Father Kenneth P. Paulli, OFM. For more information, contact dsmith18@ bellsouth.net.

MINT HILL St. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 LAWYERS ROAD — Anointing of the Sick Mass: 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16.

Refreshments following Mass. For more information, contact Mary at 704-545-1224.

THOMASVILLE OUr Lady of the Highways church, 943 Ballpark road — Adult Lenten Retreat, “Walking in Jesus’ Footsteps”: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, with Deacon David King of Maryfield. Bring bagged lunch. To preregister, contact the parish at 336-475-2667.

WINSTON-SALEM — “Partners in Hope Dinner”: Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Benton Convention Center in downtown WinstonSalem. To benefit the work of Catholic Social Services in the Triad area. For details, contact Kristin Lennex at 336-714-3227 or Donna Kronner at 336-655-2876.

Is your parish or school hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

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February 15, 2013 Volume 22 • Number 8

1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

704-370-3333 PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org SENIOR REPORTER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org Online reporter: Kimberly Bender 704-808-7341, kdbender@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

NEWS: The Catholic News Herald welcomes your news and photos. Please e-mail information, attaching photos in JPG format with a recommended resolution of 150 dpi or higher, to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. All submitted items become the property of the Catholic News Herald and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

ADVERTISING: Reach 165,000 Catholics across western North Carolina! For advertising rates and information,

contact Advertising Manager Kevin Eagan at 704-370-3332 or keeagan@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $15 per year for all registered parishioners of the Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all others.

POSTMASTER: Periodicals class postage (USPC 007-393) paid at Charlotte, N.C. Send address corrections to the Catholic News Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203.

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Our parishes

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Greensboro abortion facility closes Pro-lifers to continue vigils outside other area clinic David Hains Diocesan Director of Communication

GREENSBORO — A group of faithful stood outside A Woman’s Choice of North Carolina on Pomona Drive last Saturday, saying goodbye to one of Greensboro’s two abortion facilities following its recent unexpected closure.

For years pro-life advocates have kept a prayer vigil outside A Woman’s Choice, where abortions were performed over the past 15 years. They have stood outside the facility praying and counseling women to turn away from abortion and instead accept help to choose life for their unborn children. On Feb. 2, the prayer vigil participants noticed the building was shut down.

In an email to pro-life supporters, Dianne Rzewnicki of Jamestown said that on Feb. 2 a woman drove to the facility seeking an abortion but found the doors locked.

The nine pro-life supporters standing outside then looked through the building’s windows and saw that all the furnishings had been removed and the facility was no longer in business.

The email said the woman seeking the abortion had a change of mind. “She had tried coming (to the clinic) for the last two days and decided God must want her to keep her baby,” Rzewnicki wrote.

Calls to the facility are being forwarded to a doctor’s office doing business as Carolina Women’s Care. Two staff members, who declined to identify themselves, confirmed that A Woman’s Choice has not moved to a new location but has closed, saying that the physician who ran the

Photo provided by Bobby Singleton

Pro-life prayer participants released blue and pink balloons outside A Woman’s Choice of North Carolina on Pomona Drive in Greensboro Feb. 9, in memory of all the children who have been killed there over the past 15 years. The abortion facility closed permanently after the abortionist became too ill to continue his practice. facility is ill and unable to continue performing abortions.

Public records list Dr. Carl Maurice Hoffman, OB/GYN, as the physician who owns and operates the abortion facility, which has had a business license for the past 15 years. Hoffman could not be reached for comment.

In response to the Pomona Drive facility’s closing, Bishop Peter Jugis noted, “We continue to pray for the day

Charlotte abortion facility cited for violations Dirty surgical instruments, ultrasounds by unqualified staff Patricia L. Guilfoyle and David Hains Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — Dead insects, blood splatters and dirty surgical instruments were seen by state health regulators who have cited A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte for multiple health code violations.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a surprise inspection of A Preferred Women’s Health Center at 3220 Latrobe Drive on Dec. 11, 2012, after a local pro-life advocate filed a complaint about conditions at the abortion facility following a medical emergency there last October.

Health inspectors found the abortion facility had committed the following violations: – Failure to maintain a clean and sanitary environment – Failure to ensure staff were trained and competent to use ultrasound equipment – Failure to remove expired drugs and secure medication properly – Failure to accompany clients via ambulance to a hospital during medical emergencies A Preferred Women’s Health Center has responded to all of the problems that state inspectors found and has submitted a written plan of correction that is included in the state’s inspection report.

It was an eyewitness account of an ambulance visit to the facility that prompted pro-life advocates to ask state health department officials to investigate.

On Oct. 1, 2012, three members of St. Thomas Aquinas Church’s pro-life ministry saw an

ambulance arrive at the facility and take a woman on a stretcher to the hospital. They were praying there as part of the fall 40 Days for Life prayer vigil campaign. The ambulance arrived and left with no sirens on, according to a report at the time by the Charlotte Coalition for Life.

Local pro-lifers attempted to obtain 911 records through Freedom of Information Act requests, but they were unsuccessful. HeatherLee Finn, a Charlotte area pro-life activist who participates in the 40 Days for Life campaign and works with Operation Save America (also known as Operation Rescue), filed a complaint with the state health department, triggering the surprise inspection.

On Dec. 12, 2012, the Acute Care section of the state health department completed a 21-page statement detailing deficiencies at the abortion facility and describing the staff’s written plans to correct the problems. A health department spokesman said that the plan for correction, which was updated as recently as Jan. 31, has been accepted by the abortion facility.

Deficiencies included poor record keeping and unlocked medicine cabinets containing nitrous oxide gas (used to partially sedate women during surgical abortions) and birth control pills, in violation of state law.

But the most serious deficiencies occurred in the care of clients.

Three staff members at the facility – one who had worked there since 2005 – admitted performing ultrasounds on clients without having had the necessary training. Performing ultrasounds was not part of their job description as “patient care advocates,” yet one staff member said they had been doing ultrasounds “for about a year” after having followed the physician for “a while,” the report stated.

ABORTION, SEE page 13

when the right to life of all innocent unborn children is protected.”

During the final prayer vigil outside A Woman’s Choice on Feb. 9, people prayed the Sanctity of Life Scriptural Rosary, then said silent prayers for all the children who had died there over the years, Rzewnicki said in an email later that day. Then they released pink and blue balloons in their memory.

“It went wonderful and brought a lot of joy to people who have faithfully worked for so many years to peacefully close this clinic,” Rzewnicki said. “Watching the balloons go up brought us a real sense of closeness to God and Our Blessed Mother – it was surreal.”

Elaine McHale, a member of St. Mary Church in Greensboro, has been praying and carrying signs outside abortion facilities for more than 20 years. McHale said she was elated at the closing. But she also knows that the fight for life is not over.

The closing leaves Greensboro with one abortion facility: Piedmont Carolina Medical Clinic at 2425 Randleman Road.

And in the Diocese of Charlotte, there are at least six other facilities that perform abortions: one in Asheville, three in Charlotte, one in High Point and one in WinstonSalem.

McHale said that means the work of the pro-life movement isn’t finished.

“We are grateful to God that this has come to a conclusion. We are now going to carry the fight to the other facility on Randleman Road,” she said.

Abortion Facilities within the Diocese of Charlotte

Femcare, 62 Orange St., Asheville A Preferred Women's Health Center, 3220 Latrobe Dr., Charlotte Carolina Center for Women, 421 N. Wendover Road, Charlotte Family Reproductive Health, 700 E. Hebron St., Charlotte Piedmont Carolina Medical Clinic, 2425 Randleman Road, Greensboro Carolina Womancare PA/Abortion Medical Services, 712 N. Elm St., High Point Planned Parenthood/Winston-Salem Health Center, 3000 Maplewood Ave., Suite 112, Winston-Salem Tim P. Faragher | Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Photo provided by Dr. Cris Villapando

Father James Hawker recently celebrated 50 years as a priest. He is pictured above during Mass, with Bishop Emeritus William Curlin, Father Richard Hanson and Deacon Jeff Evers. Father Joe Mulligan also concelebrated the Mass at St. Luke Church in Mint Hill.

Priests’ anniversaries highlight lifetime of service SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — When Father James Hawker was ordained by Cardinal Richard Cushing 50 years ago in the Archdiocese of Boston, he served at Holy Cross Cathedral under the cardinal’s direction. He spent the next 30 years working in parishes in the archdiocese, obtaining advanced degrees in theology, psychology and religious education and serving the archdiocese as director of education before moving to the Diocese of Charlotte.

Along with Father Richard McCue and Father Michael Buttner, Father Hawker is celebrating a jubilee anniversary this month.

“At my first Mass, Cardinal McCue Cushing spoke of being a good tool in the hands of the Living Christ,” Father Hawker recalled. “He said, ‘A tool can be new or old, sharp or dull, impressive or unimpressive, but put it in the hands of a skilled craftsman and it can do wonders.’”

In 1995, Father Hawker was selected to serve as Vicar of Education for the Buttner Diocese of Charlotte. He was “incardinated” (transferred) into the diocese in 2001 and then became pastor of St. Luke Church in Mint Hill, where he served for seven more years until he retired in 2008 and returned to Boston to the same parish where his priesthood began in 1963.

“It was very eye-opening to go from the Archdiocese of Boston, which is a big archdiocese with a long history, to the Diocese of Charlotte,” Father Hawker said. “To see the beauty of the people and the Church of Charlotte was wonderful. For anyone who comes from the north, the Catholic Church in the South is quite a revelation.”

He was impressed that at St. Luke Church, where he served from 2001 to 2008, the parish had 50 ministries.

“The pastor of a parish like that is more like a conductor of an orchestra. You try to make sure that everything works in harmony.

Whereas up in the North, you’re more like the ANNIVERSARY, SEE page 12

Religious from across the Diocese of Charlotte gathered at St. Patrick Cathedral Feb. 2 to mark World Day for Consecrated Life.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Religious are ‘light of Christ’ in the world Consecrated men, women honored for their varied ministries Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — Religious men and women are an essential part of the spiritual life of the Diocese of Charlotte – beacons who radiate the light of Christ to others.

In a special Mass Feb. 2 to commemorate the World Day for Consecrated Life, members of local religious orders were honored for their ministry in the diocese.

“We thank God for the gift of consecrated life to the Church,” Bishop Peter Jugis said during his homily at the Mass, celebrated at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.

The World Day for Consecrated Life was instituted in 1997 by Pope John Paul II to increase knowledge of the consecrated life, esteem for its virtues, and gratitude for its gifts to the people of God. The day gives Catholics a chance to celebrate and give thanks for those who have consecrated themselves to God and His Church, and for those in the consecrated life to be affirmed in their vocation.

“On this day I wish to thank you religious sisters and religious brothers for the witness of your consecrated life and the witness of your ministries here in the Diocese of Charlotte,” Bishop Jugis said.

The Scripture readings for Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18, and Luke 2:22-40 – help illustrate the gift of consecrated life, he noted in his homily.

Feb. 2 is also known as Candlemas Day, when candles are blessed, symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world. Just as Jesus is the Light of the world, religious brothers and sisters are “bringing the light of Jesus into the world,” Bishop Jugis noted.

In the day’s reading from Luke’s Gospel, the infant Jesus is taken from the hands of His mother and put into the hands of Simeon at the Temple, signifying Him being given to God in order to do His Will.

Similarly, Bishop Jugis noted, “By your consecration as religious, you also have publicly handed yourselves over to God, along with Jesus. You belong completely to Him.” And just as it was foretold to Mary that she would suffer alongside her Son when He was rejected by the world, so too do religious brothers and sisters “share in the contradiction of the

Cross – while living in the world, standing in contradiction to the world, standing as a witness to the Kingdom of Heaven and to the Gospel,” he said.

“We praise God this day for bringing into the Diocese of Charlotte so many different charisms of the religious life to enrich the Christian witness of our local Church,” Bishop Jugis noted.

Religious women and men minister to the poor, sick, homebound, homeless, disabled and imprisoned.

They care for seniors, pregnant women, battered women and people suffering with AIDS. They help After Mass, Bishop Peter Jugis recognized immigrants, provide women religious in the diocese who are day care for children, celebrating their jubilees in 2013. Pictured and assist in parish with him are Mercy Sister Carmelita Hagan and life. They are involved Franciscan Sister Jane Russell. Not pictured are with education across Mercy Sister Bessie McCarthy and Missionary of the diocese, including Charity Sister Mary Coleta. the diocesan schools, Belmont Abbey College, and parish faith formation classes.

Others serve through contemplative prayer.

“So many people have experienced the love of Christ through your ministries!” Bishop Jugis said. “Thank you for bringing Christ to others.”

Bishop Jugis encouraged the faithful to continue praying for an increase in vocations to religious life for the various orders which serve in the diocese.

He also gave special recognition to four women religious who are celebrating their jubilees in 2013: Sister Jane Russell, OSF; Sister Carmelita Hagan, RSM; Sister Bessie McCarthy, RSM; and Sister Mary Coleta, MC. They each received an apostolic blessing from Pope Benedict XVI.

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Cistercian monk professes solemn vows in Conyers Stephen O’Kane The Georgia Bulletin

CONYERS, Ga. — A nearly 20-year journey of vocational discernment has ended for Brother Peter Damian Spera, who professed solemn vows on Jan. 1 and became a fully professed member of the Cistercian community at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

The new monk is the son of Joyce and Lou Spera, who are parishioners at St. Benedict Church in Greensboro.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brother Peter Damian said he felt a call to religious life at an early age.

Encouraged in his faith by his parents, he remembers assisting at Mass as an altar server in grade school. He recalls vividly how one of the parish priests told him he was going to be a monk and his friend Brian would grow up to be a priest.

Photos provided by Father James Behrens, OCSO, and The Georgia Bulletin

Brother Peter Damian kneels before Abbot Francis Michael Stiteler, OCSO, during the Jan. 1 solemn profession Mass. Assisting the abbot are Father Augustine, in the foreground, and Father Anthony, in the background.

The newly professed monk’s family celebrates his happiness. Pictured from left are his sister-in-law and brother, Sandra and Don Spera, their twin daughters, Samantha and Danielle, and his parents, Joyce and Lou Spera, next to Brother Peter Damian.

“Brian is a Jesuit and I’m a monk,” he said with a chuckle. “But that’s how it all started.”

Though it took Brother Peter Damian a number of years to discern exactly where God called him, he is at home now with his brothers in the Conyers cloister. The journey took him through college and a stint in retail management before leading him to the quiet grounds of the monastery, the place he now describes as “home.”

He graduated from Kent State University in Ohio, with a major in hospitality and food service management before the call came back, he said.

“There was a deep faith there,” said Brother Peter Damian. “My parents were really instrumental in that.”

His first exposure to the Cistercian order came when he visited St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Mass. He described the abbey as feeling “like home.”

Over the next several years, while working, he also explored monastic life, visiting Cistercian monasteries in Vina, Calif., and in Taiwan. He entered the Conyers monastery in the late 1990s, but left for nearly eight years after making temporary vows. During that time, he lived in Atlanta and worked in retail management. Following a conversion experience, he returned to the monastery

Extraordinary Memory ExtraordinaryGift I wanted to make a donation in honor of my parents with some money I inherited from them.

The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte appealed to me because I was able to establish an endowment with their name on it, and it will benefit the parish they loved so much.

To receive the free brochure, “A Simple Guide to Gift Planning” contact Judy Smith, Director of Planned Giving at 704-370-3320 or jmsmith@ charlottediocese.org

in 2009 and professed his solemn vows on Jan. 1, 2013, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The abbot of the monastery, Dom Francis Michael Stiteler, celebrated the Mass. Brother Peter Damian’s parents and other family members were there, along with all the monastic community.

Inside the monastery, Brother Peter Damian has served in various ways, from cooking to tending to those in the infirmary. He is now managing the Abbey store, where monastic foods, plants, and religious books and articles are sold.

He took his religious name in honor of an 11th-century Church reformer and saint.

“When I was searching and looking up information on monastic life, I stumbled across a man named Peter Damian,” he said. “The more I read about him and the more I prayed,” the more he felt a connection to him, he said.

Brother Peter Damian describes St. Peter Damian as a man known for his strict and direct manner, but who “really was a man with a kind heart,” who wanted people to turn their lives over to God. “He’s been with me all these years,” he said.

Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte Executive Director: Gerard A. Carter, Ph.D. (704) 370-3250 Refugee Office: Cira Ponce (704) 370-3262 Family Life: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3228 Justice and Peace: Joseph Purello (704) 370-3225 OEO/CSS Murphy Satellite Office (828) 835-3535 Charlotte Region: 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Area Director: Sharon Davis (704) 370-3218 Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

Western Region: 50 Orange Street, Asheville, NC 28801 Area Director: Michele Sheppard (828) 255-0146 Piedmont-Triad: 627 W. Second St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Area Director: Diane Bullard (336) 727-0705 Greensboro Satellite Office (336) 274-5577

For information on specific programs, please call your local office.

www.cssnc.org

Strengthening Families. Building Communities. Reducing Poverty.

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Photo and sketch provided by Christopher Lux | Catholic News Herald

Enrollment at Belmont Abbey College is growing so fast that the college is building two additional residence halls on campus.

Belmont Abbey College builds to accommodate growing enrollment Christopher Lux Correspondent

BELMONT — The good news is Belmont Abbey College has experienced a healthy increase in enrollment. The bad news is the college’s population is overflowing, and many residential students are living in apartments up to 10 minutes away from the campus.

The private Benedictine college in Belmont has been renting various apartments to accommodate the rapidly increasing student body. But, in an effort to bring students back onto campus, the monks of Belmont Abbey are financing the construction of two new residence halls for the college.

“The monastic community voted unanimously to fund the construction,” said Abbot Placid Solari. “This contribution to the college will be our lead gift to a capital campaign, now in its planning stages. We hope it will encourage other donors to join us in our support of our college.”

The project will cost approximately $6.2 million. It is a step toward bringing all residential students back onto the campus.

“One of our big Benedictine hallmarks is community,” said Dr. Lucas Lamadrid, dean of student affairs. “How can we create community when half the students live four miles away? This will allow us to restore the community.”

The current residential requirement for the college is that any traditional, unmarried, full-time student must live on campus – unless they live within commuting distance of the campus with a parent or legal guardian or they are older than 22 when they enroll. Unfortunately, the college has been unable to provide on-campus housing to a significant number of these full-time residential students who are required to live in campus housing.

“The new residence halls will allow us to bring the students, currently housed elsewhere, back to the campus,” Abbot Placid said. “This will enhance their educational formation and add to the vitality of campus life. We believe that the new residence halls will also help the recruitment of new students and the retention of our current students.”

The halls will accommodate a total of 110 students, and each hall will have a small chapel. There will be a courtyard, laundry facilities, lounges and suites that will “allow privacy but also community; it will provide the best of both worlds,” Lamadrid said. Each suite will accommodate two students, and will consist of a common room, two private bedrooms and a full bathroom.

The residence halls are located behind the college’s new dining facility that opened this school year. The halls are scheduled to be ready for the 2013-2014 school year.

“This gift to the college expresses our support and confidence in our college and is our contribution to the continued welfare of the college community,” said Abbot Placid. He added that the monastic community’s contribution to the project is an expression of gratitude and respect for those who generously serve the college.

Annette Tenny | Catholic News Herald

As part of Holy Family Parish’s Bread Basket Ministry, Peggy Bradford packs bags and boxes for distribution to a local food pantry.

Urban gleaning: Holy Family’s Bread Basket Ministry updates an ancient tradition Annette Tenny Correspondent

CLEMMONS — In 2008, Juanita Ochoa and Lettitia Iruela were searching for food. They wanted to distribute it through their parish, Holy Family in Clemmons, to local people in need.

Their travels took them to the Clemmons Panera Bread Café. The manager listened to their request, smiled broadly and told them he would add them to their “Operation DoughNation” waiting list. At the end of each day, employees gather all of the unsold bread, rolls and pastries and give them to approved hunger relief agencies.

The manager told them they probably wouldn’t have to wait long for a pick-up night to become available. Iruela instantly agreed, knowing that her challenge would be how to bring together an abundance of food to the people who needed it.

She turned to the Hispanic Ministry of her parish to help build an organization of willing hearts and hands, ready to update a very old tradition – gleaning.

Gleaning

Gleaning is an ancient practice allowing the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger to scavenge the grain and grapes left behind after a harvest.

Gleaning was practiced by the very first Christians. For Catholics, tradition, social teaching and Scripture all speak forcefully and clearly about the obligation one has to the most vulnerable people in society.

But as the U.S. has grown more industrialized, community agrarian practices

such as gleaning have faded away. And factory farms and harvest machinery often leave little usable food behind.

Urban gleaning

In this modern take on the tradition, the parish ministry is gleaning leftover food from the local Panera Bread Cafés to serve the needy. They call it the Bread Basket Ministry.

Iruela received her first pick-up night in November, contacted Catholic Social Services in Winston-Salem and began picking up the food one night a week.

She immediately realized two important things: First, she needed help and, second, she needed to find a way to repackage the food in a cost-effective way while keeping it fresh.

Within just a few months she had both problems solved. There were several Panera Bread Cafés in the Winston-Salem/Clemmons area and she knew, after talking to the managers of the stores, the possibility of getting additional pick-up nights was likely.

“Consistency is crucial,” she said. “Groups lose their pick-up spots all the time because no one shows up.”

After talking to the Cafecito group at her parish, she soon had a small group of volunteer baggers and drivers. Iruela would pick up the food at night and deliver it to the church. The next morning, volunteers would come in after morning Mass, repackage the food and deliver it to Catholic Social Services.

She also worked to improve repackaging time and workload, buying packaging supplies in bulk.

This allowed volunteers to package whole BREAD BASKET, SEE page 12

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com PdmVstAng_5_10.pdf

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Maronite Catholic bishop to make official visit to Charlotte March 8 CHARLOTTE — Maronite Bishop Gregory Mansour, shepherd of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, N.Y., which encompasses much of the East Coast, will be in Charlotte Friday, March 8, to celebrate Mass and meet with the local Lebanese Catholic community.

Maronite Catholics are an Eastern rite of the Church that originated in Lebanon and are in full communion with the pope. Led by Father Kamil Chouaifati of Raleigh, local Maronite Catholics gather for Mass each month at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.

Bishop Mansour will celebrate Mass at 7 p.m.

March 8. All are welcome to attend the Mass, which will be celebrated in English, Mansour Arabic and Aramaic. A dinner reception in Bishop Mansour’s honor will be held after Mass in St. Matthew Church’s banquet hall, at a cost of $10 per person (children free). For details, go online to the Maronite Mission of Charlotte’s Facebook page.

In January 2004, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Mansour to the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn. He was ordained in Lebanon by Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir on March 2, 2004. He serves on three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: ProLife, Catechesis, and Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Dialogue. He also serves as the secretary for Christian Arab and Middle Eastern Churches Together, and he is a member of the Maronite Synod of Bishops.

The Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn was established in 1966, and comprises 16 U.S. states. For more information visit www.stmaron. org.

St. Thomas Aquinas Parish celebrates patron feast day CHARLOTTE — St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte celebrated the feast of its patron saint Jan. 28 with a special liturgy. Father Patrick J. Winslow, pastor, was the celebrant and Father Matthew Kauth, in residence, delivered a powerful homily about the life and teachings of the saint.

St. Thomas Aquinas is a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of students and universities.

At the feast day Mass, students and all those

attending had the opportunity to receive a special blessing and to venerate a relic of St. Thomas Aquinas. Dozens of students from nearby elementary and high schools and college students from the University of North CarolinaCharlotte received the special blessings.

Pictured above, Father Winslow venerates the relic of St. Thomas Aquinas, held by Father C Kauth.

M The Mass started with an opening procession led by the parish’s Knights of Columbus Council Y 10505.

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Application period opens for permanent deacons

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OUR PARISHESI

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The diocesan Office of the Permanent K Diaconate will soon open the application period for the next formation class of permanent deacons. Anyone interested in applying to the program will need to attend a March 9 information meeting. Applications will be distributed following this meeting.

Basic requirements for becoming a permanent deacon can be found online at www. charlottediocese.org/ministries-a-departments/ permanent-diaconate. These include completion of the diocesan Lay Ecclesial Ministry program by 2014.

To attend the information meeting or get more information about the permanent diaconate, email the Director of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate, Deacon Scott Gilfillan, at sdgilfillan@charlottediocese.org, or the Director of the Permanent Diaconate, Deacon Ron Steinkamp, at rfsteinkamp@ charlottediocese.org.

Charlotte parish seeks to enroll people in ‘Angelic Warfare Confraternity’ CHARLOTTE — Parishioners of St. Ann Church in Charlotte are being encouraged to enroll in the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, a fellowship of men and women bound to one another in love and dedicated to pursuing and promoting chastity together under the patronage of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

There will be two enrollment ceremonies on Thursday, March 7: 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The origins of the confraternity can be traced back at least to the 15th century, and Pope Benedict XII officially founded it for the whole Church in 1727. While the Angelic Warfare Confraternity is one of the ancient confraternities of the Dominican Order, it is open all Catholics who are baptized, confirmed and in full communion with the Church.

According to information about the confraternity from parish organizers, St. Thomas Aquinas’ patronage of those who suffer from temptations of the flesh is rooted in a supernatural experience he had when he was tempted to violate his promise of chastity.

In that moment, when he prayed for divine assistance, he was girded with a chastity cord by two angels who told him: “On God’s behalf we gird thee with the girdle of chastity, a girdle that no attack will ever destroy.� This particular grace of chastity remained with St. Thomas for the rest of his life, and now he is asked to intercede for members of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity.

Because the virtue of chastity has largely been neglected in society in recent decades, the role of the confraternity is seen as more valuable than ever.

Confraternity members vow to guard one’s own purity, to seek the truth, to pray the rosary frequently, to wear a chastity cord or the medal of the confraternity, and to pray for chastity each day.

Interested applicants must sign up by Feb. 17.

Contact the parish secretary Marcy Rothe at 704-523-4641, ext. 221.

For more information about the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, go online to www. angelicwarfareconfraternity.org.

704-549-4010 336-665-5345

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Development Office Administrative Assistant The Diocesan Development Office has an opening for a full-time administrative assistant position. The position is approximately 18 months in duration. The candidate should have an associate’s degree or equivalent from a two year college or technical school. He or she must have three to five years secretarial experience including transcription, document preparation and report writing or equivalent combination of education and experience. Responsibilities include receiving incoming office calls, scheduling appointments and events for directors, assisting in the planning and execution of events, preparing and managing spreadsheets in MS Excel, preparing correspondence, developing an organized filing system, and coordinating the distribution of communications.

Please submit resume by March 1, 2013 to Shawn Trahan, Development Office, smtrahan@charlottediocese.org or mail to 1123 South Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203-4003.

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In Brief Ukrainian Greek Catholic mission moves location CHARLOTTE — St. Basil Ukrainian Greek Catholic Mission of Charlotte has moved its place of worship from the chapel at Charlotte Catholic High School to the chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas Church. On Sundays, there will be Matins at 11 a.m. followed by either Divine Liturgy (Mass) or Typica (Communion) service.

The Eastern rite mission is in full communion with the pope.

For details, go online to www.stbasil.weebly. com.

Knights present 2012 LAMB Foundation awards BREVARD — The Sacred Heart Parish Knights of Columbus recently presented the 2012 LAMB (Least among My Brethren) Foundation awards to the Transylvania County Special Education instructors and Occupational Course leaders.

Six awards were presented totaling $6,800.

During the ceremony (pictured above), the award recipients described their programs that are designed to improve clients’ quality of life.

The LAMB Foundation is a national organization of the Knights of Columbus. Local groups, such as the one affiliated with Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, help to support Special Olympics and the special educational needs in their respective areas. Volunteers solicit contributions through Tootsie Roll drives twice a year as well as other fund raising events. — Dorice Narins

704-841-1160

South Charlotte & Union County, NC Bathing / Dressing Assistance

803-610-4200

York, Lancaster & Chester Counties, SC

Rosemond earns Eagle Scout

“An informal afternoon with incomparable musicians.�

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Rossignol is an ensemble specializing in music of the medieval, Renaissance, and baroque periods. In concert they will showcase primarily recorders -- more than a dozen different sizes and kinds -- often with harpsichord accompaniment. They have been known to include hurdy-gurdy, pipe & tabor, krummhorns, gemshorns and other Renaissance winds. The group also explores the mushrooming repertory of new compositions for the recorder by contemporary composers. Their concert, “Chapel, Court, and Countryside,� will include music by known and unknown composers from the 14th to the 18th centuries.

Gaudium Musicae showcases the musical gifts of the area’s outstanding artists set in the fine acoustics of St. Ann Catholic Church. You can experience both the beauty of the sound and the intimate connection between at St. Ann Catholic Church artist and 3635 Park Road, Charlotte 28209 instrument. Come enjoy the music Tickets: www.StAnnCharlotte.org Adults: $12 / Students: $8 and meet the artists at the reception Children 12 and under FREE to follow.

Sunday Mar. 3, 4:00 pm

Rossignol

Recorders

Call 704-523-4641 ext. 221

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GASTONIA — Jack Rosemond, a parishioner at St. Michael Church in Gastonia, was presented with his Eagle Scout award on Jan. 6.

He is pictured with his parents, Eric and Nancy Rosemond. For his Eagle project, Rosemond constructed a handicap ramp for an old school house in a historic village at a Gaston County park.

Mooresville altar servers have fun MOORESVILLE — Altar servers of St. ThÊrèse Church in Mooresville gathered for an afternoon of fun Dec. 9 at Benchwarmers Sports Complex, enjoying rounds of dodge ball and soccer.

— Nancy Rosemond

LIVE-IN GROUP HOME MANAGER: Full time live-in (7 days on, 7 days off), to support & teach adult residents with learning independent living skills in a home-like setting. Experience and ability needed to run household, prepare meals, provide transportation (NC license required), recreation, medication administration. This position requires a High School Diploma or GED. Prefer some work experience in a group home setting with persons who have intellectual developmental disabilities.

APPLY AT: Holy Angels, 6600 Wilkinson Blvd., Belmont, NC, 704-825-4161, apply on line at www.holyangelsnc.org, or email resume: hrinfo@holyangelsnc.org

— Lisa Cash

GLOBAL CATHOLIC TOURS OF VIRGINA 2013 PILGRIMAGES

11 Days in Italy Sept. 3-13, $3350 pp Visit Milan, Rome, Pudua, Florence, Venice & Assisi. With Fr. Price Oswalt from Prague, OK 12 Days in Fatima – Spain Sept.16-27, $3125, pp Visit Fatima, Santiago de Compostela, Burgos, Avila, Salamanca, Toledo & Madrid. With Fr. Dobbin from Winchester, VA 11 Days in Ireland Sept 30 – Oct 10, $2870, pp Visit Galway, Killarney, Limerick & Dublin. With Fr. Herlihy from The Rock, GA 11 Days in Poland & Prague Sept. 30 – Oct. 10, $3275, pp From Dulles Airport visit Warsaw, Czestrochowa, Krakow, Wadowice & Prague. With Fr. Pisano from Wellsburg, WV Christmas in the Holy Land Dec 21-29 With Fr. Bufogle from Kingwood, WV

All tours include first class hotels, daily breakfast & dinner.

For a PDF brochure or more information please contact: John Tagnesi at 888-544-4461 or jtag1964@verizon.net

OUR PARISHESI

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

SJN youths go on retreat CHARLOTTE — On Jan. 26, a group of 100 St. John Neumann Parish’s confirmation candidates joined Net Ministries for a “You Will Receive Power” retreat. This annual retreat includes Mass, small groups, interactive activities and engaging talks to aliven the teens of the parish.

— Meredith Paul

Holy Angels receives 3-year accreditation BELMONT — Regina Moody, president/ CEO, recently announced that Holy Angels in Belmont has earned a three-year reaccreditation by CARF International (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitative Facilities) in Community Services: Community Housing for the Belhaven, Oakcrest and Brookview ICF/IDD (Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities) group homes, the community group homes (South Point, Lakewood, Gary and Carrabaun) and the medically fragile; Community Services: Community Housing (Children and Adolescents) for the Morrow Center-Specialized Community Residential Center, Pinehaven and Moody Place ICF/ IDD group homes; Community Integration for the Life Choices program; Organizational Employment Services for Cherubs Café & Candy Bouquet, and Holy Angels Inc.-Governance

Standards applied.

A two-member survey team spent three days observing in the community group homes, Cherubs Café & Candy Bouquet, the Morrow Center and the five ICF/IDD group homes and reviewed records, and policy and procedure manuals. They also interviewed board members, residents, staff and parents.

They noted that Holy Angels staff members “always go above and beyond in their work and Holy Angels is not just a place; it is a home, it is love; and it is a blessing to everyone.” They also said, “A resident centered philosophy is reflected throughout the organization’s programs and services. The staff members clearly demonstrate compassion and a desire to provide high quality services.”

This is the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the 1,000-plus CARF standards. An organization receiving a three-year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable and accountable.

CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF, the accrediting body establishes resident-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

Holy Angels was founded in 1956 by the Sisters of Mercy.

The private, nonprofit corporation in Belmont provides residential services and innovative programs for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities, with delicate medical conditions.

— Sister Nancy Nance, Holy Angels

St. Therese Catholic Church, is seeking a parish manager

Ready - 2 - Retire™?

There are two things that you can do right now that will make a BIG difference when you retire. ✔ Set Goals & Priorities ✔ Understand your risks Take 15 minutes and complete our Ready -2-Retire planning tool at: www.metlife.ready-2-retire.me/KennethAltman Forward the completed information back to me or just keep a copy for your self.

Call: 704-839-3755 or email: kaltman@metlife.com Retirement Planning – Life – LTC – Auto & Home Information L0213304211(exp1215) NC

Ken Altman

Diocese of Charlotte Seeks Hospitality Industry Experience The Diocese of Charlotte has a unique opportunity for persons with management experience in the hospitality industry. Qualified individuals will have managed operations providing both overnight accommodations and food & beverage service. Additionally, he/she will have sales and marketing experience and be technology savvy. Interested persons should have a strong desire to assist the Church in providing quality venues for Catholic programs, retreats and liturgies.

Please send letter of interest and resume of pertinent experience by February 22, 2013 to the Office of Chancellor at chancery@charlottediocese.org.

Natural Family Planning…

A practical and empowering alternative.

This is a full-time, professional, and ministerial position. The person in this position directs the administration of the parish and coordinates some pastoral ministries. St. Therese is a large multi-cultural parish incorporating Vatican II decrees. It is served by the Jesuits of the Maryland Province.

Requirements for this position include: • Being a practicing Catholic • Three years of financial and personnel management experience • College or masters level degree with some business courses Send resumes by February 25,2013, one personal reference and a request for a detailed job description to: Fr. Vincent Curtin, S.J. Pastor St. Therese Catholic Church 217 Brawley School Rd. Mooresville, NC 28117

What will you learn by taking a free, one day class?

• 99.6 % effectiveness of modern • Church teaching on NFP methods responsible parenting • Health risks of contraceptives • And…how to use Natural Family Planning • Health, relationship and spiritual benefits of NFP Upcoming Classes:

Charlotte, Feb. 23 and April 20

Jefferson, March 16

Winston-Salem, April 6

Also Available: NFP Apps, Virtual Classes, Home Study Course, Traditional In-Person Series, Bi-lingual Instructor Training For more information, contact: Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN Natural Family Planning Program Director Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC. Inc.

(704)-370-3230

cssnfp@charlottediocese.org www.cssnc.org/nfp Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

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Invest in your success!

Advertise in the Catholic News Herald Kevin Eagan, Advertising Manager 704-370-3332 keeagan@charlottediocese.org

catholicnewsherald.com

ANNIVERSARY:

narrow. Broaden your horizons. Be attentive and responsive to the presence of the Lord in your life and the lives of other people.”

FROM PAGE 6

Other anniversaries of note

orchestra yourself. Here the lay people are so involved in the Church.”

Father Hawker returned to St. Luke Church Feb. 2 to celebrate his 50th anniversary Mass with friends and staff of his former parish.

His advice to men discerning the priesthood? “Be generous in prayer. Be generous with the Lord. Be generous with people who are looking for assistance.

Be generous of spirit. Don’t be selfish or

BREAD BASKET: FROM PAGE 8

loaves of bread, keeping the bread fresher and increasing the numerous ways it can be used by families. She was also able to offer the low-cost, high-quality packaging supplies to other ministries and food pantries, thus reducing packaging expenses by more than 50 percent.

Within two years of starting the Bread Basket Ministry, Holy Family parishioners outside of the Hispanic Ministry also began volunteering to help. Pick-up nights increased from one to three at two different Panera locations.

Iruela applied for and was awarded a $3,000 grant from the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation to buy packaging material and boxes for delivery, so the ministry could grow once again.

“It isn’t difficult to get a ministry like

Father Michael Buttner, pastor of Holy Family Church in Clemmons, is celebrating 35 years of priestly ministry this year as well. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Father Buttner was a professed member of the Benedictines for 20 years and served as registrar of Belmont Abbey College for 15 years prior to becoming a diocesan priest in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Father Richard McCue, now retired, is celebrating 55 years of priestly ministry.

this together,” Iruela said. “But you need enough volunteers to cycle through packaging and delivery. You need solid, dependable volunteers to pick up the product and to deliver it. You need a backup plan and volunteers for unexpected events that crop up and for holidays.”

“This is a feel-good job,” said Peggy Bradford, one of the parish volunteers who also volunteers at Catholic Social Services.

“The people we help are so gracious and kind and thankful, and the need is so great.”

On a routine distribution day at the local Catholic Social Services food pantry, the agency will hand out food to people until it runs out. Then they refer people to other food pantries in the Winston-Salem area.

“The other day we served 60 families,” Bradford said. “There were people waiting, but we just didn’t have enough.”

“What we do here helps a great deal,” Iruela added, “but I’m hoping more parishes throughout the diocese will get involved.”

You are invited to

ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL St. Peter Claver Regional Catholic School, a PK (4) -8 regional Catholic school located in Decatur, Georgia, seeks a principal for the 2013-2014 school year. St. Peter Claver is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). The successful candidate will be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Catholic Church.

The 2013 Partners in Hope Dinner Sponsored by Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Charlotte

February 28, 2013 Benton Convention Center 301 West Fifth Street, Winston—Salem, NC 5:30pm Reception—6:30pm Dinner and Program Cash Bar, Wine with Dinner Guest Speaker

Additional requirements include: a Master’s degree in Educational

Reverend Monsignor Anthony J. Marcaccio, VF

Leadership; 3-5 years teaching or administrative experience in a Catholic school; excellent communication skills; a collaborative leadership style; and, knowledgeable in elementary curriculum and effective instructional practices.

Send resume, letter of interest and 3 references by March 8, 2013, to:

Pastor, St. Pius X Catholic Church

The 2013 Partners in Hope Award wll be presented to Reverend Brian J. Cook Pastor, St. Leo the Great Catholic Church

Diane Starkovich, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools Archdiocese of Atlanta 2401 Lake Park Drive S.E. Smyrna, Georgia 30080

Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

The event is complimentary; however you will be invited to make a generous gift to help raise $100,000 to support the life-changing services in the Triad.

Register online at: www.cssnc.org or contact Kristen for more information at 336-714-3327 or kelennex@charlottediocese.org

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

ABORTION: FROM PAGE 5

been substantiated, it does not mean that they may not have had some validity. It means we were unable to verify them based on the information available to us.”

“These violations are troubling to say the least,” said Cheryl Sullenger, senior policy advisor for Operation Save America.

Sullenger told LifeNews.com, “Untrained staff members that don’t know how to use the equipment are subjecting women to below-standard services at a dirty abortion

“Based on personnel file review, staff and administrative staff interviews, the agency failed to ensure competency in performing ultrasonography services” for all three staff who admitted performing ultrasounds, the report stated.

State medical rules require abortion providers to perform ultrasounds before an abortion to ascertain the gestational age of the baby. The gestational age can determine which abortion method is used, as well as how much a woman is charged for the abortion. The ultrasound exam is also critical to a client’s care, as it is used to rule out life-threatening complications such as an ectopic pregnancy.

In addition, the report mentioned two cases of women experiencing complications after their abortions and then having to be taken to the hospital – including the October Picture provided by the Charlotte Coalition for Life medical emergency that elicited the A Preferred Women’s Health Center was recently cited by state complaint to state officials. health inspectors for several violations. This Oct. 1, 2012, photo In the Oct. 1 incident, a 38-year-old is of an ambulance taking a woman to the hospital following woman who had gone to A Preferred complications from an abortion. The incident prompted a Women’s Health Center to abort surprise state inspection of the Charlotte abortion facility in her 12-week-old baby developed December. unspecified complications. In a similar violation on Aug. 21, 2012, a 33-year-old woman who More online aborted her 16-week-old baby also developed complications.

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: The full inspection Both women were transported report of A Preferred Women’s Health Center to the hospital without being accompanied by a nurse or doctor as required, the report stated. clinic, and when things go wrong, these The state report quoted the facility’s incompetent people cannot be counted nurse as saying, “I cannot leave, I am the on to follow their own policies regarding only nurse here.” getting women emergency help in a timely Staff at the abortion facility told state manner. As for the drug violations, this health inspectors that they would revise speaks volumes about sloppy practices and their procedure manual to require a reckless disregard for the lives and health member of the medical staff to accompany of women that is inflicted upon ladies at a client to the hospital. this clinic on a routine basis.”

Even more gruesome was the state A Preferred Women’s Health Center is report’s description of two examination a chain of three abortion facilities, with rooms. In one room where procedures were locations also in Raleigh and in Augusta, scheduled, dead insects were found. Blood Ga. Its website estimates that its staff has was splattered on an exam light, chair and performed abortions on more than 100,000 door jam. In another room, a thick coat of women over the past 20 years. dust was found on the examination table.

An abortionist at A Preferred Women’s An ultrasound machine was described as Health Center in Charlotte, Dr. Ashutosh dirty. Vaginal speculums were found kept Ron Virmani, OB/GYN, has received in a dirty plastic bin, unsterilized. several reprimands during his medical The abortion facility’s response to these career in North Carolina, New Jersey and deficiencies was a promise to increase Pennsylvania. Presbyterian Hospital in training and to revise some of its reporting Charlotte suspended his privileges there in procedures to ensure that state health 1995. Virmanttill has a license to practice regulations are followed. medicine in North Carolina.

The health department also noted that There are three abortion facilities in it was unable to substantiate two other Charlotte, among at least seven located complaints: that the facility did not have within the area of the Diocese of Charlotte. qualified physicians and that it failed to Besides the facility at 3220 Latrobe Drive, ensure clients met discharge criteria. there is Family Reproductive Health at The state health department noted in a 700 E. Hebron St. and Carolina Center for Jan. 2 letter to Finn, which summarized Women at 421 N. Wendover Road. their investigation of her complaint: — Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com contributed.

“Although your allegations may not have

Tilt’n B Farm

OUR PARISHESI

IS GOD CALLING YOU TO BE A PERMANENT DEACON? Ordained Minister of the Liturgy, the Word, of Charity Application Period for Permanent Deacons

The application period for the next formation class of permanent deacons will open soon: Interested men will be invited to attend the information meeting on March 9, 2013. Applications will be distributed following this meeting.

The basic norms expected of applicants can be found on the Charlotte Diocese Website (www.charlottediocese.org) Permanent Deacon page. These include completion of the diocesan Lay Ecclesial Ministry program by the year 2014. If you would like to attend the information meeting or would like more information please email.

Director of Formation, Deacon Scott Gilfillan, at sdgilfillan@charlottediocese.org or Director of the Permanent Diaconate, Deacon Ron Steinkamp, at rfsteinkamp@charlottediocese.org.

THE ORATORY 434 Charlotte Avenue, P.O. Box 11586 Rock Hill, SC 29731-1586

(803) 327-2097

Center for Spirituality rockhilloratory.org

oratorycenter@gmail.com

BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY Saturday, March 2, 2013 9:30 am – Noon

Fr. Christopher Kirchgessner, OSB This morning program will introduce the spirituality of St. Benedict.

Cost = $15

A DAY WITH THE DOCUMENTS OF VATICAN COUNCIL II Thursday, March 14 or Saturday, March 16, 2013 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Dr. Peter Judge We will examine the documents on Revelation, the Liturgy and two on the nature of the Church. Participants are encouraged to read these documents in preparation for these sessions.

Other material will be available for purchase. Lunch is included.

Same program on both days.

Cost = $40 (lunch included)

HOLY WEEK AT THE ORATORY March 24 – 31, 2013

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STAY WITH US! Memorable Family Vacation or Quiet Spiritual Retreat CONTACT US! www.tiltnbfarm.com brownprop2@gmail.com 828-274-3725 or 828-231-0616

You are invited to come for all or part of this week, enjoying time for silence and prayer and joining the local community in worship. In addition to regularly scheduled Liturgies, other prayer services and Stations of the Cross will be offered.

Contact the Center for a full schedule and overnight reservations.

13

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iiiFebruary 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM TH

CRS Ric

Joseph Purello Special to the Catholic News Herald

Catholic Relief Services is the offic international relief and developmen the U.S. bishops and the U.S. Catholic with more than 5,200 staff operating countries. During Lent last year, 57 p five Catholic schools in the Diocese o participated in the CRS Rice Bowl pr year, three additional parishes and o school have joined the Lenten progra fasting and giving.

While the bulk of the Diocese of Ch Lenten Rice Bowl collection combine of other archdioceses and dioceses to CRS overseas development and relie the collection also funds an annual R Mini-Grants program supporting loc and poverty relief projects sponsore Catholic entities. This grant program

by Catholic Social Services’ Office of Peace, gives grants for up to $1,000 fo works as food pantries, meals for the community gardens and early nutrit A CRS advisory committee, chaired Edward Konarski from St. Charles Bo Church in Morganton, assists in the g process. This past November, 12 Rice Grants were awarded to provide help need in 10 communities across the dio Murphy in far western North Carolin in the eastern part of the diocese.

Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury $1,000 grant for its “Lord’s Bounty C Garden” project. Gretchen McKiverg parishioner and grant project coordi she was pleased that this parish gard is able to provide fresh food to Rowan Ministries to assist those in need.

“We started out with just a few volu

What you give up for Lent changes lives.

CRS Rice Bowl supports hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in communities around the world, as well as in our community. It offers simple yet powerful ways for parishes, schools and families to bring our Catholic faith to life during the season of Lent.

Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten program began in 1975 in the Diocese of Allentown, Penn., as an ecumenical response to the drought in the African Sahel. For more than 35 years, CRS Rice Bowl has offered American Catholics – particularly children – a way to connect with our brothers and sisters in need around the world through the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Nearly 13,000 faith communities across the country participate in the program each Lent to demonstrate solidarity with the poor around the world.

This year, CRS is highlighting the following projects directly aided by your Rice Bowl donations:

S S

Photo by Jennifer Hardy | CRS

Improving Agriculture in Burkina Faso Photo by Robyn Fieser | CRS

Fostering Savings in Dominican Republic Ilsa Dolores Gomez’s life changed when she joined a community savings group in Las Lomas supported by CRS. These savings groups help people improve their livelihoods and support their families. The savings groups are organized and managed by the members, which helps to promote unity, empowerment and longterm sustainable development within the community.

Photo by Kim Pozniak | CRS

Early Childhood Education in Lesotho Rosa Maria Rametsi’s grandchildren receive high-quality education at a school supported by CRS. Early childhood education is key to building stronger families. CRS works with the Good Shepherd Sisters to ensure the right of orphans and vulnerable children to high-quality early education opportunities.

Moussa Ouedraogo, a farmer in Burkina Faso, helps his family thrive through an agriculture program run by CRS. Ouedraogo and his seven children were hungry six months out of the year. Then CRS launched a farming project in their community.

KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness H first-hand about the p orphan who received Catholic Relief Servi child.

Thomas Awiapo, w Ghana, shared his ex of poverty, strugglin His parents died befo youngest brothers di of care. His oldest br tragic conditions.

More

HE COVER

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.comiii

15

ce Bowl Mini-Grants assist local efforts to aid the poor, fight hunger

erald

cial nt agency of c community, g in nearly 100 parishes and of Charlotte rogram. This one additional am of prayer,

harlotte CRS es with those o support ef projects, Rice Bowl cal hunger ed by diocesan m, coordinated f Justice and or such good e homeless, tion programs. d by Deacon orromeo grant selection Bowl Minip to people in ocese – from na to Salisbury

received a Community gan, inator, said den project n Helping

unteers,” said

Photo provided by Marie Keffer

St. William Church Ladies Guild members Linda Lepine, Leslie Tuffy, Rosie Stillwagon, Judy Standish and Suzie Caldwell help assemble brightly colored “birthday bags” with all the items necessary to put together a birthday party for a child. The parish program recently received a Rice Bowl Mini-Grant from the Diocese of Charlotte, funded through contributions to the Lenten Rice Bowl campaign.

McKivergan, “and now we have children from our school, home school parents and children, and many parishioners helping on this project.”

“With this grant we will install an irrigation system in the coming spring garden,” she said.

“Hand carrying water to the garden has been successful, yet it is a lot of work for us. Having water accessible will enable more plants and hopefully more people participating and continuing the growth of the project.”

A $1,000 grant to St. William Church in Murphy supports a unique outreach ministry to children. Volunteers from the parish’s Ladies Guild assemble “birthday bags” to help struggling families obtain the supplies needed so that their children (aged 1 to 12) can have a fun celebration of the day they were born. The bags

are distributed by a local non-profit – The Sharing Center, an ecumenical initiative in which St. William volunteers are involved two days a week.

Marie Keffer, president of the St. William Ladies Guild and the grant project coordinator, reflected on this parish project.

“Every child wants to be remembered and to feel special on his or her birthday,” Keffer said. “Unfortunately, because many families face limited means, there aren’t the resources available to provide a birthday celebration for their children. The parents are struggling to just put food on the table. We know that our ‘Birthday Bags’ project has ‘made the day’ for many children who would have otherwise been forgotten on the one day in the year that they never forget.”

Through the CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant program, the Catholic community makes a positive difference in the lives of people struggling to make ends meet in our own local communities.

St. William’s Keffer is grateful for what her parish grant has provided.

“The grant has made possible regular ‘Birthday Bag’ contributions to The Sharing Center each month for a full year,” she said. “St. William has long been respected for our loving outreach to the poor. This project continues this practice, allows for ecumenical community outreach, and reflects on our church in a most favorable way.”

Whether CRS Rice Bowl funds are used in the global fight against disease, poverty, hunger, drought and disasters, or to benefit those in need in nearby communities, perhaps the impact of CRS Rice Bowl is best summed up in the simple and direct words on the collection boxes: “For Lent, For Life…What you give up for Lent changes lives.”

Joseph Purello is the director of the Office of Justice and Peace for the Diocese of Charlotte’s Catholic Social Services, and the Catholic Relief Services diocesan director.

Sara A. Fajardo | CRS

‘Returning to give thanks’: CRS’ Thomas Awiapo speaks at Bishop McGuinness High School

SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

— Students and staff at High School recently learned plight of a former Ghana d life-changing assistance from ices’ Rice Bowl when he was a

who now works for CRS in xperiences going from a life ng to survive amidst famine. ore he was 10 and his two ied of malnutrition and lack rother ran away to escape the

When CRS came to his village and opened a school, Awiapo attended at first because he heard they were giving away snacks. The school and the snacks were a direct result of CRS’ Rice Bowl, an annual program that connects Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving with education about and solidarity with the poor and hungry across the world.

Awiapo attended school in the village and then continued his education at the University of Ghana. His hunger for education then brought him to the U.S., where he earned a master’s degree in public administration from California State University at Hayward.

Since that time Awiapo has traveled around the country on behalf of CRS, thanking Catholic

communities for their support and to raise awareness about hunger, relief and development.

Awiapo spoke to more than 250 people at Bishop McGuinness High School on Jan. 29. His visit was coordinated by Catholic Social Services’ Office of Justice and Peace, Bishop McGuinness High School’s theology department, and CRS. “Thomas Awiapo’s message was quite simple,” said Office of Justice and Peace Director Joseph Purello. “He told us that he leaves his home in Ghana to say thank you to the Catholics of the USA for what he calls this little box (the CRS Rice Bowl box).”

Bishop McGuinness teacher Loretta Fitzgerald shared her impressions from Awiapo’s talk and how it enhanced the school’s participation in

Catholic Schools Week.

“In short, he put a face on an issue,” Fitzgerald said. “We hear about those starving in Africa frequently and, sadly, for most of us, it just does not resonate. However, when a kind, humble, sincere man gives testimony that he watched his two brothers die of starvation, we get it.”

Students also told Fitzgerald that Awiapo’s talk made the global problem of poverty more real to them.

“Not knowing the location of his one surviving brother for these past 35 years made them realize that the human cost of poverty is not just running out of food, but losing family in a variety of ways,” Fitzgerald summed up. “They were also impressed with his joyful spirit.”

e resources online At www.crsricebowl.org: Read more about these people and their good work, see photos and videos from their communities, and try out recipes for popular dishes from each country. Explore Catholic social teaching principles such as care for creation, community participation, protecting people’s rights, upholding workers’ rights, and more. Enrich your Lenten journey with daily reflections, prayers and family activities.

Did you know? When you give to CRS Rice Bowl: n 25 percent of your donations goes to hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in our own community. n 75 percent of your donations support CRS’s humanitarian relief programs in 100 countries worldwide.

On pinterest.com/charlottecnh/lentenrecipes: Yummy meat-free options for meals this Lent, including those featured in the 2013 CRS Rice Bowl campaign. Re-pin ones you want to make!

Have a recipe to share?

Share a link to your favorite Lenten recipes with us at www.facebook.com/catholicnewsherald

Our schools 16

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Catholic Schools Week 2013 Students encouraged to let their light shine, help others Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

Spelling bee, geography bee winners named WINSTON-SALEM — Eighth-grader Cecilia Kammire won Our Lady of Mercy School’s spelling bee recently, with fifth-grader Matthew Golamco and seventh-grader Samuel Wooten the runners-up (pictured above). Kammire next competed in the Non-Public School spelling bee on Feb. 7, hosted at OLM. St. Leo sixth-grader Isabella Espanila won the Non-Public School spelling bee and will advance to the regional bee on March 17 sponsored by the Winston-Salem Journal.

(Pictured above) OLM sixth-grader Sarah Aguirre won the Geography Bee, with eighthgrader Ben Babcock coming in as first runner-up. Aguirre has already taken the written test to be eligible for the statewide geography bee and a chance at the national bee.

SALISBURY — Singing the strains of “Christ, Be Our Light,” students of Sacred Heart School gathered Jan. 31 for Mass with Bishop Peter Jugis as part of the week-long celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

“Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness. Christ, be our light! Shine in your church gathered today,” went the hymn.

During the celebration of Catholic Schools Week Jan. 28-Feb. 2, students across the 19 diocesan schools engaged in worship, service projects and more. The theme for the annual celebration was “Catholic Schools Raise the Standards.”

During Mass at Sacred Heart Church and another Mass at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville during Catholic Schools Week, Bishop Jugis commended the diocesan schools for their work in improving students – mind, body and spirit.

“We keep God front and center of everything we do here,” Bishop Jugis said during his homily at Sacred Heart Church.

This is an especially important aspect of Catholic education for which we can give thanks, he added. “God is too much absent from our American culture today.”

Catholic education provides a strong foundation for our youth – integrating faith and reason into every subject, instilling knowledge about God and His Church, and providing ways for youth to live their faith in service to others. That solid foundation is designed to carry them into adulthood, he said.

In the Scripture readings for Jan. 31, he noted, we are encouraged to show the light of faith, not hide it “under a bushel.”

“Our faith and love for God is like that lamp,” Bishop Jugis said.

“It is meant to shine forth” in how we live our lives and how we serve others.

“Faith is given to us to be lived, not to be hidden away” from others. Similarly, our faith is not meant to be kept inside the church or the home – as some people today may wrongly assume.

Religious liberty – the ability to practice our faith in our daily lives and to serve anyone in need – is under threat in this country, he emphasized, and any attempt to restrict religious liberty must be resisted.

Faith cannot be truly lived just inside the four walls of a church, he said. “That’s not what Jesus says. The lamp of faith and love of God is lit and meant to be shared with everyone without exception.”

Bishop Jugis also talked of St. John Bosco, whose feast day was commemorated on Jan. 31. The famous priest who gathered young boys off the streets of 19th-century Turin and gave them an education, food and religious instruction is a model for educators and leaders today, he said. St. John Bosco is an example of how practicing one’s faith can help to change others’ lives, even amid a hostile culture, and especially a model for how even one person can make a difference no matter what their vocation. In St. John Bosco’s day, Turin was in economic and social tumult, with many

Following Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury Jan. 31, Bishop Peter Jugis greeted all the students of Sacred Heart School before they returned to class.

Saying hello are Madison Glenn and a class of kindergartners. people homeless and unemployed. Gangs of young boys wandered the streets with nothing to do, and it seemed as if the problem was too big for anyone to solve.

But St. John Bosco did not shy away from the social challenges of his day. “He did something about it,” Bishop Jugis said.

He encouraged those at the Mass to follow St. John Bosco’s example: “Let God’s light shine forth!”

— Lara Davenport

OLG School awarded United Arts Council grant GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School was recently awarded a 2013 Teacher Art Grant from the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The organization awarded $9,240 to 11 local schools through the grants, designed to emphasize arts in education. OLG was the only private school to be awarded a grant for the second year in a row. The school plans to use the award to offer a unit on the Mexican mural artist Diego Rivera, combining art and the study of Spanish language.

— Karen L. Hornfeck

Sacred Heart students Reilly Dillon, Grace Blackwell and Ben Childress pray at Mass during Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

17

Beginning Catholic Schools Week with prayer The Diocese of Charlotte’s 19 Catholic schools started off Catholic Schools Week with a special prayer, all recited simultaneously at 10 a.m. Jan. 28. The prayer asked the Lord for His blessings: “We pray today for all those in our own school and in all the schools of the Diocese of Charlotte. With your help, Lord, may we together always ‘raise the standard’ of excellence by practicing what we have learned in our schools and using it to be successful in our lives. As we ask for all of these things, Lord, we ask that You lead us always to be worthy of You.” WINSTON-SALEM — St. Leo students Celeste Curti, Gina Dissosway and Paulo Morillo led the student body in prayer with Principal Georgette Schraeder.

Photo provided by Donna Birkel

Photo provided by Pat Burr

GASTONIA — At St. Michael School in Gastonia, students were chosen randomly by Principal Joe Puceta to lead the students in the diocese-wide prayer.

Photo provided by Michelle Baughman Photo provided by Sharon Broxterman

CHARLOTTE — Fifth-grade student Virginia Shea leads the students at St. Gabriel School in prayer.

CHARLOTTE — Second-graders at St. Patrick School in Charlotte take part in the 10 a.m. diocese-wide prayer service.

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Catholic Schools Week 2013 Celebrating 60 years of excellence!

Service learning

Open House:

March 14th at 9:30 a.m. (Pre-K to 8th grade) Photo provided by Alex Zhang and George Repass

KERNERSVILLE — Bishop Jugis celebrated Mass at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville Jan. 29. After Mass, he met with the school’s peer ministers (pictured above).

Catholic Diocese of Charlotte presents…

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SALISBURY — Pictured is the top class winning team from Sacred Heart School’s Annual Bible Bowl held during Catholic Schools Week. Fifth-graders Cameron Pierson, Olivia Burke and Claire Allen beat out the middle school teams to win the competition.

The Best of Eastern Canada featuring Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Niagara Falls & Toronto 9 Days – 12 Meals • October 20 – 28, 2013

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GREENSBORO — To celebrate Catholic Schools Week, Our Lady of Grace School students and families attended a UNC-Greensboro basketball game together on Jan. 27. OLG pre-kindergarten student Thomas Torphey was excited to have a chance to meet the UNC-G Spartan mascot.

• Your Montreal city tour features St. Joseph’s Oratory, begun by Saint André Bessette in 1904.

• An inspiring optional excursion includes a visit to the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, one of North America’s oldest pilgrimage sites.

• Daily Mass will be offered by our own priest, subject to space availability.

Photo provided by Karen L. Hornfeck

For more information contact Cindi Feerick at 980.230.7430 or Collette Vacations at 877.872.4331 Travel provided by

*Rates are per person and include round trip air from Charlotte Intl Airport, air taxes and fees, and hotel transfers. Airfare: For your convenience, we offer airfare for purchase with all vacation packages. If you purchase an air inclusive program, your airfare will be quoted inclusive of all fuel, taxes and fees. Your rates are subject to change until paid in full. Seats are limited and may not be available on every flight or departure date. Checked Baggage Charges: Some airlines may impose additional charges if you choose to check any baggage. Please contact your airline or refer to its website for detailed information regarding your airline’s checked baggage policies. 1Book by discount valid on air-inclusive packages only.

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GASTONIA — Fifth-graders at St. Michael School Gastonia made this “Readbot” for a library decoration at the annual book fair during Catholic Schools Week.

GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School hosted its second annual Family Heritage Night as part of this year’s Catholic Schools Week. Families enjoyed a pasta dinner and then brought desserts to share from different countries. Los Viejitos, a local Mexican dance troupe, performed traditional dances to an enthusiastic crowd. Student artwork was also on display for families to enjoy. More than 260 people attended the dinner, enjoying good food, traditional Mexican dancing and desserts from many different countries.

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

19

Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

Pre-K – 8th Grade Photo provided by Mendy Yarborough

Teaching Respect and Responsibility with Service to Others

HIGH POINT — Middle school students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point recently attended Sunday Masses dressed as saints. Students presented information and answered questions about their saints to parishioners.

OPEN HOUSE

Tuesday, February 19 (9 - 11 am) Thursday, March 7 (12:30 - 2:30 pm) Experience the difference of a Catholic education A9R367331.pdf

1

1/25/13

11:10 AM

711 N. Buncombe Street, Hendersonville, NC 28791 (828)-693-3277 www.immac.org

Our Lady of

Photos provided by Donna Birkel

Mercy

WINSTON-SALEM — Faculty and students at St. Leo School in Winston-Salem recently prepared a time capsule and buried it during Catholic Schools Week. Members of the Class of 2023, now preschoolers, are pictured (above) with their shovels as Father Brian Cook, pastor of St. Leo Church, blesses the ground where the time capsule was to be buried. The 2013 time capsule celebrates the 60th anniversary of the school. (Left) Pictured with the students are preschool teacher Sara Romanik, preschool assistant Patti Johnson and Principal Georgette Schraeder.

Catholic School Celebrating 55 Years of

A Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for PreK-8th

CHARLOTTE — Students at St. Patrick School in Charlotte marked Catholic Schools Week with Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral Feb. 1.

Students who served at Mass are pictured above with Bishop Jugis and Deacon Carlos Medina.

Faith Academics Values

Join us for an Open House:

- Thursday, February 21, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

- Monday, March 4, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 (336) 722.7204 www.ourladyofmercyschool.org Photo provided by Father Christopher Roux

Welcoming students of all races, religions, ethnic and national origins.

Mix 20

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

On TV

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

n Friday, Feb. 15, 3:20 p.m. (EWTN) “Rome’s Hidden Churches: A Lenten Pilgrimage.” Dr. O’Donnell’s series continues with a look at the Church of Sts. John and Paul, who were martyred for refusing to worship pagan gods.

In theaters

n Friday, Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Living Mercy.” Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church’s amazing impact on the Baton Rouge, La., community, through their devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

‘Warm Bodies’ Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” meets the zombie flick in this monster mash that, unusual for its genre, goes light on the gore and contains a surprising number of Christianfriendly themes. After a mysterious virus has turned vast hoards of humanity into flesheating monsters, one of the undead (Nicholas Hoult) finds romance – and the possibility of being restored to life – in his relationship with a surviving human (Teresa Palmer). Presents love as the source of redemption and follows its protagonist’s discovery that self-denial in the form of resisting base desires can make us more human. Some restrained gory violence, occasional profanity, some crude language.

CNA: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13

‘Identity Theft’ Morally murky comedy about a family man from Denver (Jason Bateman) who discovers that his identity has been stolen by an opportunistic Florida thief (Melissa McCarthy) who has racked up huge credit card debts in his name and incurred criminal charges against him. With Colorado law enforcement powerless to act, and his newly secured, high-paying finance job endangered by his ruined credit rating and reputation, he decides to travel down to the Sunshine State, take custody of the malefactor himself and drag her back to his neck of the woods to put things right.

Considerable sexual content, some profanity, frequent rough language.

CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R

‘Side Effects’ Intriguing but somewhat sordid drama about a New York psychiatrist (Jude Law) who finds his career threatened when one of his patients (Rooney Mara) commits a sensational crime under the hypnosis-like influence of the antidepressant drug he prescribed for her. As the shrink eventually discovers, all is not what it seems. Mature viewers may enjoy following the twisting trail, and may appreciate the implicit questions raised about a society awash in pharmaceuticals. Brief but bloody violence, graphic marital lovemaking with fleeting nudity, semi-graphic lesbian sensuality, and mature themes including mental illness and suicide.

CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R

Additional movies: n ‘Amour’: CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘Hansel & Gretel’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R n ‘Movie 43’: CNS: 0 (morally offensive); MPAA: R n ‘Bullet to the Head’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R

CNS | Max Rossi, Reuters

A woman takes a picture with a mobile phone as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Angelus from the window of his private apartment in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in this file photo from Jan. 22, 2012.

A Catholic iPhone contract for teens HUNTERSVILLE — For many parents, giving their teenaged son or daughter a smartphone can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, cell phones are a reassuring tool in the event of an emergency. On the other hand, there are the dangers of texting while driving, internet privacy and more.

Parents Jennifer and David Ziegler of St. Mark Church in Huntersville recently faced this dilemma when they gave their 14-year-old daughter Katherine an iPhone for Christmas. They did their homework beforehand, though, and came across an “iPhone contract” from a mother to her 13-year-old son that had been published by the Huffington Post.

“We decided to adapt the message to our Catholic faith and figured many other families are in the same boat we are – trying to raise healthy kids who are curious and exposed to so many temptations,” Jennifer Ziegler wrote recently to the Catholic News Herald. “Who knows? We may help someone struggling with the same issue.”

Below is the “Catholic contract” they drafted and would like to share with readers:

To our 14-year-old, an iPhone contract from your mom and dad, with love Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You are the proud owner of an IPhone 4S! You are a good and responsible 14-year-old and deserve this gift.

But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope you understand it is our job to raise you into the well-rounded, healthy and wise young woman that God has called us to. We want you to function in the world and coexist with technology, but not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in loss of privileges to include: loss of use for extended periods, or the potential for termination of your device.

We love you and adore you. We look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in days to come. We want to share in this with you and know as you learn, we learn, and as you grow, we grow.

You are a treasure to us and we want to protect you and teach you the proper use of the device in your hands.

1. It is a phone. We bought it, we pay for it. We are loaning it to you. Aren’t we awesome parents?

2. We will always know your password and can from time to time look at your phone and ask you questions. We expect an open, honest answer from you and a positive attitude.

3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone, use your manners. Do not ignore a call or text if the screen says “Mommy Z” or “Daddy Z”… not ever!

4. The phone turns off at 10 p.m. every school night. You need your ZZZZs. 5. If you need your phone for school, arranging rides, etc., we get that. But no texting during class.

6. If the phone falls in the toilet, smashes on the ground or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement cost, which is approximately $649. You will mow lawns, babysit and/or have a massive garage sale on your own to raise the capital to replace the device.

7. Do not use technology to gossip, lie or deceive another human being. Ask yourself: if I read this three years from now, will this make me look like a fool? Text messages are not private. Be a good friend and talk in person about sensitive subjects – face to face, while hard, is always best. You cannot read body language in a text message.

8. Do not text, email or say anything to anyone that you would not appreciate hearing from someone back to you. Exercise proper restraint and self-control. After all, you are a lady in training.

9. Do not search the web for any explicit material.

We expect you to rise to the highest standards of social etiquette. If you have a question about something you heard and don’t understand, ask us.

We love you and are fully invested in your wellbeing, and we will give you the truth. We maintain and support an open communication philosophy with you.

10. Do not take your phone to church or to the dinner table. There is no message that should interfere with your time spent in prayer or with your family. This is our time to be together, so value it CONTRACT, SEE page 21

n Monday, Feb. 18, 6 p.m. (EWTN) “Lenten Reflections: The First Week of Lent: Overcoming Temptation With St. Augustine Of Canterbury.” From the New Shrine of St. Augustine in Ramsgate, England, Father Marcus Holden, custodian of the Shrine of St. Augustine, offers a reflection on the first week of Lent regarding the means of overcoming temptation employed by St. Augustine of Canterbury. n Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m.

(EWTN) “Fatima, Our Hope.”

Documentary about the events of Fatima and their impact on the world. A history of the Fatima apparitions along with a brief history of that area in Portugal is presented, in addition to the global spiritual response to Fatima, along with Pope John Paul II’s visit there in 1982. n Friday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m. (EWTN) “St. Peter: Icon for Lent.” First installment of a Lenten series in which Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, shows how St. Peter can help us draw closer to Jesus and teach us practical lessons about Christian discipleship. In this part, he focuses on Chapter 14, verses 22-23, of St. Matthew’s Gospel, in which Peter is able to walk on water so long as he remains focused on Christ. n Sunday, Feb. 24, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Gregorian Chant from the Choir of the Monks of the Abbey of Solesmes.” Gregorian chant sung by the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Solesmes, famous for restoring liturgical chant by mandate of Pope St. Pius X. The chant is accompanied by scenes from diverse monasteries in Spain. n Monday, Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Let Me Walk This Path.”

Japan as seen in 1549, when St. Francis Xavier arrived to begin his work of evangelization. n Friday, Feb. 29, 10 a.m. (EWTN) “St. Peter: Icon For Lent: Second Week of Lent.” A meditation for the second week of Lent, on the Gospel from the scene of the Transfiguration and Peter’s words to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here with You.”

Let’s keep talking.

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

CONTRACT: FROM PAGE 20

and treasure it.

11. Do not take photos or accept photos that are inappropriate, and if someone sends you material like this, delete it immediately.

Someday you may be tempted to do this and think it is funny. Remember it is risky to participate, in any way. Cyberspace is a vast and limitless abyss and more powerful than you. It is hard to make anything of magnitude disappear – including a bad reputation. Guard your reputation and protect it always!

12. Do not take a zillion photos or videos – live your life in the present, not in the past. Carpe diem! If you are always looking at your phone, you can miss some pretty cool stuff, such as a beautiful sunset, a cool cloud in the sky or a smile from a friend face to face. Live your experiences; they will be documented in your memory for eternity.

13. Trust your instincts. If you think it’s a bad idea, it probably is.

14. Leave your phone at home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive, nor is it an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO (fear of missing out).

15. Download music that is new or different than a million of your peers, take advantage of the gift of this at your fingertips, and expand your mind.

16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.

17. Keep your eyes up and see the world happening around you. Listen to the birds, take a walk, smell the air, wonder about the world with the senses that God gave you. Google is not the sixth sense – so eat, touch, smell, feel and taste the world, and don’t feel you have to post about it all.

18. You will mess up and we will take your phone away. We will talk about it. We will start over and we will grow together. We are on the same team. We love you more than you will ever know and that’s the way it should be. Trust us and we’ll trust you. Mistakes and forgiveness are part of the process. The saints weren’t born saints; holiness is a way of striving towards something bigger than you and trusting it will always be there. God is within you and we are blessed to have you as our daughter!

We love you and want only the best for you always, Mom and Dad P.S. By signing this contract you forfeit any rights you might think you have. You understand the terms of this contract are subject to change at any time, and this is not a guarantee of any benefits. Have a nice day.

Let’s keep talking.

Join other Catholics on Vacation!

National Parks Tour

Grand Canyon

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Fly into Las Vegas for one night. Then you will begin your tour and visit landmarks in NINE NATIONAL PARKS. Witness the giant Redwood trees in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, then be amazed at the rock formations and waterfalls in Yosemite National Park. Visit majestic Lake Tahoe and Reno, stop in historic Virginia City, Winnemucca and Wendover, Nevada. In Utah tour the world’s largest man-made excavation – the Kennecott Copper Mine plus the Great Salt Lake! Next tour the unique rocks Arches’ National Park; and Canyonlands, with enchanting vistas carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers. Next visit Capitol Reef and drive through the Dixie National Forest to Bryce Canyon National Park. Then it’s the grandest of all National Parks, The Grand Canyon, for both a day and night. Finally, try your luck in exciting Las Vegas with an included day excursion to Zion National Park. *Price per person, based on double occupancy. Airfare is extra. Other departure dates available. Seasonal rates may apply.

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Tour of Ethiopia and Ghana March 8-22, 2013 African American Ministry Diocese of Charlotte

For more information please contact: Sandy Murdock 704-370-3267 at the African American Ministry Office -orinfo@palacetravel.com 215-471-8555 Toll Free 800-683-7731

21

Our nation 22

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Catholics, 4 Reformed bodies reaffirm baptism agreement WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and four Protestant denominations in the Reformed tradition have publicly reaffirmed a mutual agreement in effect since the Second Vatican Council that recognizes the validity of each other’s baptisms. The four Protestant bodies are the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ. The Jan. 29 signing marked the first time the U.S. Catholic Church has ever signed on to such an agreement, although Catholic bishops’ conferences elsewhere in the world have done so.

The USCCB in Washington announced the signing Feb. 1 and released the text of the agreement. The signing comes amid a trend over the past 20 or so years to introduce nontraditional baptismal rites in which Protestant pastors, and sometimes priests, use a formula other than the traditional Trinitarian formula of “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” A common example of this nontraditional formula is “Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer,” which the Church cannot accept as the proper form of baptism.

N.J. assisted-suicide bill passes vote WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill that would allow assisted suicide in New Jersey, subject to voter approval, was passed out of a legislative committee and will be taken up by the state Assembly. If passed by both legislative chambers and signed by Gov. Chris Christie, provisions in the New Jersey Death with Dignity Act call it to be placed before voters who would decide whether to allow assisted suicide in the state.

USCCB urges court to uphold traditional marriage WASHINGTON, D.C. — In “amicus” or friend-ofthe-court briefs in two Supreme Court cases that weigh the constitutionality of same-sex “marriage,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops argues that redefining marriage as other than between one man and one woman is not required under the Constitution. In separate briefs submitted Jan. 29, the USCCB urged the court to uphold California’s Proposition 8, in which voters said marriage should be limited to the traditional definition of one man and one woman and to uphold the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. The court will hear oral arguments in the two cases – Hollingsworth v.

Perry, and United States v. Windsor – on March 26 and 27, respectively.

In the California case, the USCCB argues that although the Supreme Court “has held that laws forbidding private, consensual, homosexual conduct between adults lack a rational basis, it does not follow that the government has a constitutional duty to encourage or endorse such conduct. Thus, governments may legitimately decide to further the interests of opposite-sex unions only.” The brief argues that because the union between a man and a woman is “the only union capable of creating new life,” therefore “given both the unique capacity for reproduction and unique value of homes with a mother and father, it is reasonable for a state to treat the union of one man and one woman as having a public value that is absent from other intimate interpersonal relationships.”

— Catholic News Service

Proposed changes to HHS mandate fall short of meeting bishops’ concerns, cardinal says Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New proposed rules issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding insurance coverage of contraceptives show movement but fall short of addressing the U.S. bishops’ concerns, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said in a Feb. 7 statement.

The cardinal, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the 80-page document released Feb. 1 by HHS concerning the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act indicates that the administration “seeks to offer a response to serious matters which have been raised throughout the past year.”

He also noted that the bishops “look forward to engaging with the administration, and all branches and levels of government, to continue to address serious issues that remain.”

Under the proposed changes published Feb. 1, HHS said it would simplify the terms under which an objecting employer may qualify for a religious exemption, dropping requirements that such groups exist to inculcate religious beliefs and both hire and serve primarily members of their own faiths.

Religious groups that do not qualify for the exemption are instead offered an “accommodation” under which their employees would be offered a parallel health insurance plan to cover the objectionable products and procedures.

The changes are in response to more than 200,000 comments, the HHS stated.

These changes are still proposals, expected to be finalized this summer following a 60-day comment period.

The so-called “HHS mandate” has come under fire from religious groups since it was announced in late 2011, and dozens of lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across the country to fight what Church leaders and other religious groups have criticized as an attack on religious liberty.

In what was the first of those lawsuits, Belmont Abbey College sued the HHS, charging that forcing the Benedictine college to provide free contraceptive services in opposition to Church teaching was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.

In the latest development in that case in December, a federal appeals court ordered the Obama administration to follow through on its promises to fix the mandate and respond to the religious concerns by the end of March.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing Belmont Abbey College, issued a statement Feb. 1 calling the proposed changes “still unacceptable and unconstitutional.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom – which is also handling several lawsuits challenging the regulation – said the “new exemption is simpler than before but continues to cover only a sliver of religious organizations.”

Get updates At www.catholicnewsherald.com: The latest on the HHS mandate and religious liberty issues

This is because the exemption still relies upon a section of tax code that categorizes churches, their conventions, auxiliaries and religious orders, the group explained in a Feb. 1 blog post.

“Still not covered by the new exemption” the blog post explained, “are virtually all non-Church religious nonprofit organizations,” including aid organizations, hospitals, schools, independent food pantries and religious publishers.

After evaluating the proposed rules, Cardinal Dolan said in his statement that the bishops continue to stand by the statement on the HHS mandate issued by their Administrative Committee last March and affirmed by the entire body of bishops last June.

In that statement, he said, the bishops expressed concern over the mandate’s “exceedingly narrow” definition of “religious employer,” one that exempted houses of worship, but left “our great ministries of service to our neighbors, namely, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the students in our schools and universities, and others in need” subject to the mandate.

Such a distinction, they said, created a “second class of citizenship within our religious community,” and weakened the federal law’s “healthy tradition of generous respect for religious freedom and diversity.”

An HHS spokeswoman said Feb. 1 no nonprofit religious institution – including churches, universities, hospitals and charities – would have to “arrange, contract, pay for or refer for” contraception insurance for employees or students who want it.

Cardinal Dolan faulted the proposed rules for maintaining an “inaccurate distinction among religious ministries,” noting that HHS “offers what it calls an ‘accommodation,’ rather than accepting the fact that these ministries are integral to our Church and worthy of the same exemption as our Catholic churches.”

He also said the proposed rules seem to “take away something that we had previously – the ability of an exempt employer (such as a diocese) to extend its coverage to the employees of a ministry outside the exemption.”

The cardinal also noted that the government would require all employees of “accommodated” ministries in religious institutions to have access to contraception coverage, noting that they “may not opt out, nor even opt out for their children.”

According to the HHS, even in the case of self-insured religious entities – which includes many dioceses, including the Diocese of Charlotte – employees or insured students who want

contraceptive coverage would be able to arrange it through outside insurance companies, at no cost to themselves and without financial or even administrative support of the faith-based institution.

Cardinal Dolan said “gaps in the proposed regulations” make it unclear “how directly these separate policies would be funded by objecting ministries, and what precise role those ministries would have in arranging for these separate policies.”

This lack of clarity, he said, provides “the possibility that ministries may yet be forced to fund and facilitate such morally illicit activities” which the bishops would like to see changed in the final rule.

The cardinal also expressed concern that the HHS mandate “creates still a third class, those with no conscience protection at all” such as “employers sponsoring and subsidizing the coverage, insurers writing it, and beneficiaries paying individual premiums for it.”

The new proposed rules specify that no exemption will be given to “for-profit, secular employers.”

Cardinal Dolan noted that during the past year, the bishops have been assured by the administration that they will “not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage” and they “remain eager for the administration to fulfill that pledge.”

He also noted that the bishops take seriously the invitation to submit concerns during the comments period and said they will “do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all.”

“At the same time, we will continue to stand united with brother bishops, religious institutions, and individual citizens who seek redress in the courts for as long as this is necessary,” he said.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago agreed that although the proposed changes expand the “number of institutions that might be accommodated” by the HHS changes, unresolved issues remain. Still at stake, Cardinal George said, is the “government taking upon itself the definition to decide what is religious and what is not,” which he said is a constitutional issue “that must go forward.”

He also said the issue of conscience needs to be further resolved and pointed out that the contraceptive mandate could lead to further requirements such as coverage of medications for assisted suicide or male vasectomies.

He said he is also troubled that a “right to free contraception” is being portrayed as a “constitutional right.” He called it “bad precedent” if Catholic entities have to bargain with a “constitutional right to freedom of religion in order to see where we’re going to go.”

Cardinal George said the bishops’ conversation with the Obama administration would continue. The final resolution, he said, will “probably be with the courts.”

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Personnel files release focuses attention on L.A. Church’s abuse response Catholic News Service

LOS ANGELES — The release of thousands of pages of personnel files by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles detailing allegations of clergy sexual abuse has focused new attention on the roles of Church leaders and their handling of the cases over four decades.

A review of some of the documents indicate that diocesan officials addressed

‘There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed.

— Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles the allegations regularly as the number of reported cases began to climb in the 1950s, peaked in the 1970s and began to fall off in the 1980s and 1990s.

The documents, released Jan. 31 under court order, suggest that Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry, who was the archdiocese’s vicar of clergy and chief adviser on sexual abuse cases, worked to protect priests from criminal investigation beginning in the 1980s.

The files also show that Bishop Curry suggested to Cardinal Mahony that they prevent the priests from seeing therapists who might alert authorities and that the priests be given out-of-state assignments to avoid criminal investigators.

The release of the documents comes nearly six years after the archdiocese reached a $600 million settlement covering more than 500 people who made claims about being sexually abused by priests and other Church personnel. Some of the priests who had claims against them sued to keep their names from being released, saying it violated their privacy rights.

That led the diocese to undertake a years-long legal battle to keep the files private. But a Superior Court judge ruled in January that the names of personnel identified in the files could be made public, clearing the way for release of an estimated 12,000 pages of documents involving 128 clergy.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Department detectives have started reviewing the records to determine whether there are any cases that can be prosecuted, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The department did not respond to a request for comment.

California law limits prosecution in such cases to incidents that have occurred since 1988. Many of the documents predate that year.

The revelations in the documents led Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, who succeeded Cardinal Mahony in March 2011, to tell the cardinal that he would “no longer have any administrative or public duties” within the archdiocese.

Archbishop Gomez also accepted Bishop Curry’s request to be relieved of his responsibility as the regional bishop of Santa Barbara.

Cardinal Mahony, 76, headed the archdiocese from 1985 until his March 2011 retirement. Bishop Curry, 70, was the archdiocese’s vicar of clergy and chief adviser on sexual abuse cases in the mid1980s.

“These files document abuses that happened decades ago,” Archbishop Gomez said in a letter read at Masses Feb. 2-3. “But that does not make them less serious. I find these files to be brutal and painful reading.

The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed.

We need to acknowledge that terrible failure today,” he said.

Archbishop Gomez noted that Cardinal Mahony “has expressed his sorrow for his failure to fully protect young people entrusted to his care” and Bishop Curry “has also publicly apologized for his decisions while serving as vicar for clergy.”

Cardinal Mahony responded with a letter to the archbishop that he posted Feb. 1 on his personal blog, Cardinal Roger Mahony Blogs L.A. The posting outlined his response to clergy abuse allegations beginning in 1985, the start of his tenure as archbishop of Los Angeles. “Nothing in my own background or education equipped me to deal with this grave problem,” he wrote.

He also said that Archbishop Gomez began to become aware of the archdiocese’s steps to protect children and youth when he arrived in Los Angeles May 26, 2010.

“Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices or procedures in dealing with the problems of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors,” Cardinal Mahony wrote.

“I have stated time and time again that I made mistakes, especially in the mid1980s. I apologized for those mistakes and committed myself to make certain that the archdiocese was safe for everyone.”

Archbishop Gomez clarified Feb. 1 after Cardinal Mahony’s posting that the cardinal and Bishop Curry remained “bishops in good standing in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with full rights to celebrate the holy sacraments of the Church and to minister to the faithful without restriction.”

An archdiocesan statement said that despite the “sad and shameful” history of sexual abuse in the Los Angeles Church, the archdiocese “can point to more than a decade of modern child protection efforts that are among the most effective in the nation at preventing abuse and dealing with allegations of abuse.”

La Foresta A retreat house for private retreats located at the:

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23

Our world 24

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

RESIGNATION OF POPE BENEDICT XVI More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: The latest on the pope’s plans, our favorite photos of him, preparations for the conclave, and more

At www.youtube.com/dioceseofcharlotte: Bishop Peter Jugis comments on Pope Benedict’s legacy and asks for prayers

At www.facebook.com/catholicnewsherald: Share your thoughts and memories about the Holy Father

Pope Benedict’s pontificate marked by teaching, call to return to faith Emphasized Christianity is about love, not rules John Thavis and Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — He may be leaving with a nearly unprecedented bang, but Pope Benedict XVI will be remembered as a quiet teacher, guiding Catholics to the basics of the faith and urging modern society not to turn its back on God. Citing his age and diminishing energy, the 85-year-old pope announced Feb. 11 that he would resign Feb. 28 and devote the rest of his life to prayer.

As pastor of the universal Church, he used virtually every medium at his disposal – books and Twitter, sermons and encyclicals – to catechize the faithful on the foundational beliefs and practices of Christianity, ranging from the sermons of St. Augustine to the sign of the cross.

Under his oversight, the Vatican continued to highlight the Church’s moral boundaries on issues such as end-of-life medical care, marriage and homosexuality.

But the pope’s message to society at large focused less on single issues and more on the risk of losing the basic relationship between the human being and the Creator.

He consistently warned the West that its secularized society needed to rediscover its religious values.

In his encyclicals and in his books on “Jesus of Nazareth,” the pope reiterated the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus, asking readers to discover the essential connections between sacrificial love, works of charity, a dedication to the truth and the Gospel of Christ.

The German-born pontiff did not try to match the popularity of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, but the millions of people who came to see him in Rome and abroad came to appreciate his smile, his frequent ad libs and his ability to speak from the heart.

Although he did not expect to travel much, he ended up making 24 trips to six continents – most recently to Cuba, Mexico and Lebanon – and three times he presided over World Youth Day mega-gatherings: in Germany in 2005, in Australia in 2008, and in Spain in 2011.

On a historic visit to the United States in 2008, the pope brought his own identity

into clearer focus for Americans. He set forth a moral challenge on issues ranging from economic justice to abortion. He also took Church recognition of the priestly sex abuse scandal to a new level, expressing his personal shame at what happened and praying with the victims.

Pope Benedict was 78 and in apparent good health when elected April 19, 2005, but was said to have told his fellow cardinals that his would not be a long papacy like that of his predecessor.

Joseph Ratzinger was born April 16, 1927, in the Bavarian town of Marktl am Inn, the third and youngest child of a police officer, Joseph Sr., and his wife Maria.

Young Joseph joined his brother, Georg, at a minor seminary in 1939.

Like other young students, he was automatically enrolled in the Hitler Youth program, but soon stopped going to meetings. During World War II, he was conscripted into the army, and in the spring of 1945 he deserted his unit and returned home, spending a few months in an Allied prisoner-of-war camp. He returned to the seminary late in 1945 and was ordained six years later, along with his brother.

After a short stint as a parish priest, the future pope began a teaching career and built a reputation as one of the Church’s foremost theologians.

While in his 30s, he was an influential adviser during the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, making made important contributions as a theological expert and embracing the council’s early work.

But he began to have misgivings about an emerging anti-Roman bias, the idea of a “Church from below” run on a parliamentary model, and the direction of theological research in the Church. He made it a priority as pope to correct what he saw as overly expansive interpretations of Vatican II in favor of readings that stressed the council’s continuity with the Church’s millennial traditions. In a 2005 speech that served as a kind of manifesto

for his young papacy, Pope Benedict rejected what he called a “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture” in interpreting Vatican II as a radical break with the past.

The pope called instead for reading the council through a “hermeneutic of reform” in continuity with Catholic tradition.

Surprising those who had expected a by-the-book pontificate from a man who had spent more than 23 years as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal official, Pope Benedict emphasized that Christianity was a religion of love, not rules.

He convened a Synod of Bishops on Scripture in 2008, in an effort to move the Bible back to the center of individual spirituality and pastoral planning.

He opened a Year of Faith in October, presided over a synod focusing on the New Evangelization and a revival of Christian faith in the secular West, one of the priorities of his pontificate.

Some of Pope Benedict’s most memorable statements came when he applied simple Gospel values to social issues such as the protection of human life, the environment and economics.

When the global financial crisis worsened in 2008, for example, the pope insisted that financial institutions must put people before profits. He also reminded people that modern ideals of money and material success are passing realities, saying: “Whoever builds his life on these things – on material things, on success, on appearances – is building on sand.”

Christian unity was close to his heart.

He established a personal ordinariate for Anglicans seeking entry into the Church.

His outreach to traditionalist Catholics brought him some opposition and criticism.

In 2007, he widened the possible use of the Tridentine Mass and began introducing touches of antiquity in his own liturgies, including the requirement of kneeling when receiving Communion from the pope.

Then in 2009, in an effort to reconcile with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, he lifted the excommunications of four of the

society’s bishops ordained illicitly in 1988.

A storm of criticism erupted because one of the four, Bishop Richard Williamson, had made a number of statements – widely available on the Internet, but unknown to the pope – denying the extent of the Holocaust. The Vatican scrambled to distance Pope Benedict from the bishop’s views and reaffirm the pontiff’s commitment to Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

The pope himself wrote an unusually personal letter to the world’s bishops, defending his efforts to restore Church unity by reaching out to traditionalists and expressing sadness that even some Catholics seemed ready to attack him “with open hostility.”

The idea that God is disappearing from the human horizon and that humanity is losing its bearings with “evident destructive effects” was a theme Pope Benedict saw as common ground for dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

Pope Benedict also visited synagogues, in Germany in 2005, in New York in 2008 and in Rome in 2010, and his strong condemnations of anti-Semitism won the appreciation of many Jewish leaders.

The pope considered Christian unity one of his priorities, and the fate of Christian minorities around the world was one of his major concerns.

His three-volume work, “Jesus of Nazareth,” published between 2007 and 2012 in several languages, argued that while Christ did not bring a blueprint for social progress, he did bring a new vision based on love that challenges the evils of today’s world – from the brutality of totalitarian regimes to the “cruelty of capitalism.”

Pope Benedict named 90 new cardinals; 67 of those he named are still under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in the conclave to elect his successor. As of Feb. 28, the day his papacy ends, Pope Benedict’s appointments will represent just over 57 percent of the 117 cardinals under 80 that day.

— Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden.

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Bishop Jugis: Pope Benedict is ‘marvelous gift’ to the Church CHARLOTTE — During a brief homily at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte Feb. 11, Bishop Peter Jugis called Pope Benedict XVI a “marvelous gift” to the Church whose greatest legacy will be the New Evangelization. Bishop Jugis offered the Mass for the Holy Father’s intentions in the wake of the surprise announcement of the Holy Father’s retirement.

What a marvelous gift the Lord has given to us in our Holy Father, Pope Benedict,” he said. “From the very beginning of his papacy, he has been pointing out to us that so many in our culture today do not know Jesus – either they do not know Jesus, or they have forgotten about Jesus.

Pope Benedict has been strengthening the Church and leading us in the New Evangelization, to propose Jesus and His

Gospel once again to our culture.”

“He gave us three beautiful encyclicals,” Bishop Jugis added, illustrating the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity during his eight-year pontificate: “Caritas in veritate” (“Charity in Truth”), “Spe salvi” (“In Hope We Are Saved”) and “Deus caritas est” (“God is Love”).

“He concludes his pontificate with the Year of Faith. What a great gift to the Church,” Bishop Jugis said.

The Year of Faith, which the pope announced for 2012-2013, aims to promote the New Evangelization and encourage the faithful to seek a closer, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“Pope Benedict as the successor of St. Peter has not stopped, day in and day out,

in proclaiming Christ the Son of the Living God to the Church and the whole world,” he noted in his homily.

“There is a great sadness in our hearts because we believe that Pope Benedict is a great pope,” he added in a press conference following Mass. “We’re sad that the condition of his health has apparently come to the state where he has made the decision to resign, that he is not able to continue because of the physical demands upon him as the pastor of the universal Church.”

Bishop Jugis acknowledged that there will be a period of transition for the Church, but there is no need to fear because Jesus is always in charge of the Church and directs the Church through the Holy Spirit.

“The Lord already knows who the next Holy Father is. He’s already chosen him,” he said. “It’s for us to pray for the man the Lord has already chosen.”

Why is the pope resigning?

What’s next for Pope Benedict?

The interregnum

From the moment he was elected pope in 2005 at age 78, Pope Benedict XVI has kept a comparatively busy schedule – making 24 trips to six continents and publishing three encyclicals – despite having a pacemaker and worsening joint pain.

But his resignation seems almost predictable in hindsight, given his previous statements and his recent signs of aging.

In 2010 he said, “If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.”

While he is not ill, he has shown signs of fatigue and difficulty walking. In 2011, he began riding a mobile platform in liturgical processions and using a cane to walk. For the past few months when celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, he has no longer walked all the way around the altar when using incense. And at the end of a Mass Feb. 2, the pope lost his grip on his crosier; the papal master of liturgical ceremonies caught it.

On Monday, he said, “Strength of mind and body ... has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Pope Benedict’s last general audience will be Feb. 27. At 8 p.m. Feb. 28 – the hour he typically ends his normal work day – his resignation takes effect.

His fisherman’s ring and his official seal, symbols of his authority, will be destroyed.

He will move to Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, a former cloister in the Vatican Gardens that is being remodeled for him. Until the renovation is done, he will live at the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

The period between popes – in Latin, “interregnum” – will begin exactly at 8 p.m.

Rome time Feb. 28. The Holy See will remain vacant – “sede vacante” – until the College of Cardinals elects a new pope.

The College of Cardinals will govern the universal Church as caretakers, dealing solely with “ordinary business and matters which cannot be postponed.” The Roman Curia -- the Vatican’s network of administrative offices – will lose most of its cardinal supervisors and cannot handle any new business.

All 209 cardinals are asked to meet in Rome to help administer the transition period.

SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

Previous resignations Resignations are uncommon in the papacy, but possible: n Pope Benedict IX (1033-1044): Quit the papacy amid personal scandal and then tried to seize the papacy again later without success n Pope Gregory VI (1044-1046): Abdicated after people questioned the lavish gifts he gave Benedict IX after persuading him to quit n St. Celestine V (1294): A simple hermit who quit after five months because he did not feel up to the task n Pope Gregory XII (1406-1415): Quit in an attempt to repair the Great Schism in which two pretenders were attempting to split the Church

Electing a new pope

Established by Blessed John Paul in 1994, the 4,300-square-foot monastery was used until November by rotating groups of cloistered nuns to highlight the variety of women’s religious orders dedicated to prayer and manual labor. It was formerly the Vatican gardener’s house and the Vatican Radio office.

Mostly hidden from view by a high fence and hedges, the small monastery has 12 cells, a chapel and a vegetable garden. The pope will be joined there by a small staff.

Pope Benedict said he wants to “devotedly serve the holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”

He will no longer be called pope or cardinal, and because he is over 80 he cannot serve in the Roman Curia. His exact title is yet to be determined.

He will not play any role in selecting a new pope, nor will he interfere with the work of the new pontiff, Vatican officials said.

The College of Cardinals must open the conclave 15-20 days after the start of the “sede vacante,” putting the conclave’s start at March 15-20. It is likely that the cardinals will elect a pope in time for Easter, March 31.

Cardinals under age 80 as of Feb. 28 can participate in the conclave, a Latin term for “with key” (reflecting the previous tradition of locking the cardinals in an area where they would spend day and night until the new pope’s election). There will be 117 cardinalelectors in the conclave. Mass, prayer and secret balloting continue until someone obtains a two-thirds majority vote.

By tradition but not by rule, the ballots are burned with special chemicals to produce the black smoke signifying an inconclusive vote, or white smoke if a new pope was elected.

Due to confusion in the past as people in St. Peter’s Square tried to determine what color smoke was coming out of the Sistine Chapel smokestack, the basilica’s bell is also rung to confirm a successful election.

— Catholic News Service

25

‘I think he is a very brave and courageous person to be able to step out of the most powerful position in the Church...’

— Mary Ann Wright Blacklin via Facebook

‘For me, the overwhelming sentiment is one of gratitude.

He is a man of prayer and a man of peace, and he has taught me much about what it means to be a priest through his humble example of service to the Church.’

— Paul Buchanan, seminarian in Rome

‘The Holy Father brought the tender heart of a pastor, the incisive mind of a scholar and the confidence of a soul united with his God in all he did. We are sad that he will be resigning but grateful for his eight years of selfless leadership as successor of St. Peter.’

— Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York President, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

‘The pope has poured out his life in service of God, the Church and the poor. He has not yet run his race to the very end. We pray for him as he enters this next stage of his life, and as we do, we commit ourselves to the ongoing Year of Faith, asking that it may bring renewed energy to the mission of the Church.’

— Oblate Father Andrew Small

national director, Pontifical Mission Societies

ViewPoints 26

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Letters to the editor

TWEETBACK Peggy Bowes

Nail your workout to the Cross

Pope Benedict XVI has received mostly neutral or positive tweets in response to his first Twitter posts.

Supportive responses fell under these main groups:

Peggy Bowes is a member of Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy and author of “The Rosary Workout” (www.rosaryworkout.com).

defending the pope 8% questions on meaning and life 12%

I

f you are looking for a creative way to do penance during Lent, I have an idea for you: exercise. Even if you love to exercise, there is often a little suffering involved. It might be cold or raining, you might not feel like working hard that day, or perhaps you’re bored with the usual routine.

Here are a few ideas to unite the minor discomforts of exercise with the sufferings of Jesus.

Note: These workouts are not designed to be done consecutively. Choose one or two per week, based on your current fitness level.

Consult a doctor if required.

Go Up the Mountain to Pray: Every gospel describes Jesus going “up the mountain” to pray (Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, John 6:3, Matthew 14:23). Imitate this in your workout with hill repeats. Find a hill about 1/8- to 1/4-mile long, steep enough to be challenging. (Beginners should use a slight incline and start with just one or two repeats.) Warm up for 5-10 minutes, then walk, jog or run up the hill as you pray the Lord’s Prayer. Try to focus on each word as you imagine Jesus beside you, carrying His cross. Walk back down the hill, then repeat the interval 2-5 times.

A Work(out) of Mercy: The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed on rosary beads and is easy to memorize (see www.TheDivineMercy.org for more information). Using your favorite mode of exercise, warm up for 5-10 minutes as you pray the opening prayers of the chaplet (Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Apostles’ Creed). Increase your pace as you pray the first decade of the chaplet, then slow down until you catch your breath. Repeat for each decade of the chaplet, then cool down for 5-10 minutes. Offer up this workout for someone else, perhaps a sick relative or a friend who can’t find a good job.

A Rosary Walk: It takes only about 20 minutes to pray the rosary, which also happens to be the minimum amount of time that exercise experts recommend for an effective cardio workout. On a day when the last thing you feel like doing is exercising, think about how Jesus suffered for your sins.

Force yourself to dress in comfortable clothes and walking shoes, and find your rosary (or download an audio version on your MP3 player or smartphone). Go outside and take an easy walk as you pray the Sorrowful Mysteries.

(Workout) Stations of the Cross: Write down each of the 14 Stations of the Cross on index cards and space them out in a large room in your house. Choose an exercise for each station such as push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, dumbbell bicep curls, shoulder presses, etc. Warm-up for 5-10 minutes, then go to the first station and repeat the chosen exercise 5-10 times as you meditate on that event in Jesus’ Passion. Do likewise for all 14 stations. You can modify this workout by doing stretches at each station, or take the workout to the gym and use machines or the weight room.

7%

about the pope using Twitter 16% prayers 25% thank yous or well wishes 27%

Let’s spread love on Valentine’s Day On Valentine’s Day we share God’s gift of love with those we hold dear. We express our love with appreciation, fondness, affection and admiration.

But God’s gift of love is not just to shower on the ones close to us, and it is not meant to be shared only on Valentine’s Day. Let us celebrate Valentine’s Day every day, for love is the gentle and bright fire we have to kindle day after day. Let us cultivate the zeal to love and spread the aroma of love generously. Let us open our hearts and arms and embrace love eagerly.

Let us adore the Lord for His eternal love for us. From our hearts, every day, we should say to the Lord: We praise You, we trust You and glorify You. We love You and shall love You forever, for You are Love and Your light of love is everywhere.

Gireesh Gupta is an associate professor at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont.

retweets or papal quotes

Percentages rounded to nearest whole number.

CNH | TIM FARAGHER, CNS | Nancy Phelan Wiechec

Tweets and retweets: Study analyzes @Pontifex traffic ROME — In his first month on Twitter, Pope Benedict XVI sent two dozen mini-messages in nine languages, generating more than 270,000 comments and responses from other Twitter users, according to a study conducted by an Italian Jesuit magazine and an Italian new-media consulting firm.

While some of the comments were harsh and even obscene, negative comments accounted for about 8 percent of the total, according to the magazine Popoli and the media firm Oogo.

They published the results of their “sentiment analysis” of tweeted reactions to Pope Benedict Jan. 28.

According to the study, more than 200,000 – about 82 percent – of the responses were simply retweets or “neutral” comments on what the pope tweeted, in 140 or fewer characters, Dec. 12-Jan. 15 through his @Pontifex accounts.

— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Most-read stories on the web Through press time on Feb. 13, 3,402 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com viewed a total of 8,559 pages. The top 10 headlines in February so far are: n Pope Benedict resigns ................................................................................................................................571 n Bishop Jugis: Pope ‘marvelous gift’ to the Church............................................................................ 341 n LENT 2013: Seek reconciliation with the One who loves you......................................................... 281 n Charlotte abortion facility cited for health violations....................................................................... 215 n HHS proposes big changes to contraceptive mandate.................................................................... 238 n Greensboro abortion facility closes........................................................................................................ 162 n Catholic News Herald videos......................................................................................................................117 n Walk in the footsteps of Jesus - A virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land......................................108 n Rallying for the sanctity of life................................................................................................................... 72 n PHOTO GALLERY: Pictures of Catholic Schools Week 2013.............................................................69

War is negotiable, life is not The respect for all human life is non-negotiable. Intentionally killing any innocent person is a serious sin. War is terrible, but war is sometimes necessary. It is not equal to wantonly killing the unborn, as a recent letter to the editor implied.

A typical example is the Iraq War. Saddam Hussein killed and maimed one out of every six Iraqi citizens. He needed to be stopped to prevent him from killing more people. During the Iraqi War American and coalition troops fed, clothed and assisted Iraqi citizens.

In comparison, before Hussein was toppled, he purposely put many Iraqi citizens in harm’s way to protect his military strongholds.

After his capture, Americans went out of their way to conduct democratic elections, protect voters, and enable Iraqis to elect their own leaders. American companies and troops were exceedingly efficient in removing improvised explosive devices planted by remaining terrorists.

Thousands of Iraqi lives were saved from future brutality by the Hussein regime.

More than 176 Pakistani children have been killed from CIA drones, dispatched by President Barack Obama without congressional approval or oversight. Two American children were also murdered this way. We weren’t allowed to see the drone cameras.

Occurring 10,000 miles away, no one here hears the Pakistani children’s cries of pain and anguish. The brutality waged on these innocent people is reminiscent of the brutality forced on unborn babies.

Kevin Roeten lives in Asheville.

February 15, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

The Poor Clares

Holy matrimony in the Epistles of St. Paul: The unspoken word

M

ost of us don’t have these verses highlighted in our Bibles. Many have never heard a homily on these texts. Couples wouldn’t usually select them for the readings at their wedding. We acknowledge that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and believe that its words are alive with meaning for Christians of every age. But we pass over these with an uncomfortable silence, hoping that if we don’t bring them up, they won’t need to be addressed.

The mysterious subject I’m referring to are many of the references regarding man and woman and the relationship between them, particularly in the sacrament of holy matrimony, in the writings of St. Paul.

Who doesn’t question the value or even appropriateness of such verses as: “Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness ... For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Yet woman will be saved through bearing children...” (1 Tim. 2:12-15a), or “For man was not made from woman, but woman for man. That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels.” (1 Cor. 11: 8-10) The whole concept conveyed by these passages from Sacred Scripture may leave our 21st century minds outraged, confused or simply embarrassed at what seem to be the theological vestiges of a culture long lost to history.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, more popularly known as Edith Stein, identified with this reaction.

In the early 1930s, Stein wrote a masterful study on “The Separate Vocations of Man and Woman according to Nature and Grace.” This essay sets forth her deep insights into the gifts and virtues implanted in our beings by God when we are created as either male or female persons. She also covers the basic vocation written on the hearts of every human being – the call to union with the opposite sex in the covenantal relationship of holy matrimony.

Drawing heavily from the Scriptures, Stein quotes at length from St. Paul’s epistles and calls into question the relevance of the texts quoted above to our modern day mindset.

She comments, “We should not be deemed disrespectful of the Apostle if we suggest here that in his instruction to the Corinthians, there is confusion as to the divine and human aspects, the temporal and eternal.

If his judgment regarding the dress to be worn for public worship by the Corinthian women was binding for the community he had founded, that is not to say that by the same token it is also binding for all times.”

Should we conclude from all this that St. Paul’s words concerning the sacrament of holy matrimony

are in fact outdated?

Absolutely not!

We as a Church are presently journeying through a Year of Faith, reflecting on the unfathomable treasure we possess in our Catholic Church, and the incredible richness and living truth of her teachings. If we have spent any time this year reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church or the documents of the Second Vatican Council, it should be obvious that our faith is very much alive and that the Holy Spirit has continued to breathe forth ever new graces for every time and generation.

The Bible is, of course, part of this continual vitality of the faith, and therefore we know with certainty that its pages are as meaningful today as they have ever been.

One thing we must realize is that part of our Catholic tradition is to look at the Scriptures as an organic whole. Catholics are often considered by their Protestant brethren to be unfamiliar with the Bible since we are usually not as quick at quoting passages or memorizing chapter and verse. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.

To fully grasp the meaning of a verse, we must look at it in its whole context. We also have to learn to peel away each layer of the Sacred Word, and unpack rich teachings contained within them which may surprise us.

Besides the first chapters of Genesis and Our Lord’s words concerning holy matrimony in the Gospels, the majority of our Christian teaching on this sacrament is found in the epistles of St. Paul.

Alongside the verses quoted above, we must place such as these: “Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.”(Eph. 5:25) “Yet, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man nor man of woman.”(1 Cor. 11:11) Stein proposes that what St. Paul says concerning the relationship between man and woman must be evaluated over and against our modern resistance to its terminology. The teachings contained in God’s Word are given to us, she gently reminds, “as an interpretation of the divine order in creation and redemption.”

In the coming months, we will unpack what St. Paul has to say to us about holy matrimony and discover an incredible treasure that will deepen our understanding of the marital relationship and the beautiful microcosm and reflection of the Church that marriage can be.

Edith Stein proposes that what St. Paul says concerning the relationship between man and woman must be evaluated over and against our modern resistance to its terminology.

Sister Marie Thérèse of the Divine Child Jesus is professed with the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration St. Joseph Monastery in Charlotte. Learn more about the Poor Clares at www.stjosephmonastery.com.

More online Learn more about the feminist scholar and Catholic martyr Edith Stein at the Edith Stein Foundation: www.theedithsteinfoundation.com

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David Hains

Guns and marriage

B

efore helping to organize North Carolina’s marriage amendment battle last year, I had a huge misconception of what it takes to win a public policy issue. What I learned could be instructive for anyone who thinks advocating for gun safety is important.

North Carolina’s two bishops think gun safety is important. In a December statement about the Sandy Hook school shooting, Bishop Peter Jugis and Bishop Michael Burbidge called for “national policies that strengthen the regulation of firearms.”

The campaign for gun safety that is currently raging in the media will at some point coalesce around legislation in the U.S. Congress. Getting Congress to pass laws that improve gun safety and prevent gun violence is the goal.

Everything else is a distraction that serves gun rights advocates.

Early in the marriage amendment campaign, I assumed that all we supporters of traditional marriage needed to do was to argue persuasively. Then the supporters of same-sex unions would see our logic and we would win the day. After all, marriage between one man and one woman is the natural order, blessed by God and elevated to a sacrament by Christ. I assumed that once people understood the divine foundation of marriage, the statewide constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage would sail through a public vote.

The amendment was approved by North Carolina voters, by nearly 62 percent, but we didn’t win the vote by arguing. The first thing I learned in the process was to avoid wasting my time debating with people who have already made up their minds.

The same is true in the current debate over gun safety legislation. Everyone knows that guns are inherently dangerous, but many people embrace and protect their ownership of all types of weapons.

A smart gun safety campaign energizes supporters around a simple idea – in this case, making schools, streets and our society as a whole safer.

For a gun safety supporter, it is a much more productive use of time to inspire a willing volunteer to carry a sign or wear a green and white Newtown ribbon than it is to fruitlessly cajole a closed mind.

Personally, if I had my way, the only guns that would be legal in the hands of private citizens would be the type of gun the founding fathers were familiar with when they crafted the Second Amendment: single-shot muzzle loaders. But in the locked and loaded world of America today, there are hundreds of millions of semi-automatic weapons, most of which are owned by law-abiding citizens.

Neither the guns nor their owners are going away.

And so, to everyone on Facebook who thinks that posting another video clip from Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association would be an effective way to scold the gun nuts, I say post something instead that inspires more people to rally around the cause of protecting our children.

A couple of other things I learned during the marriage campaign: First, forget public opinion polls. They are usually based on poor questioning techniques of skewed samples that bolster pre-determined outcomes. In the waning days of the marriage campaign, the polls told us that our numbers were shrinking significantly. That wasn’t the case.

Second, use your terminology, not theirs. The NRA has turned “gun control” into a pejorative term. OK, fine. Let’s call it gun safety.

A campaign such as this is a window of opportunity with a limited shelf life. At some point, people lose interest. The NRA and its band of supporters would love to argue while the clock is ticking because they know that when people abandon interest in gun safety legislation, there will be a return to the status quo of unfettered access to weapons and horrifying acts of violence in schools, movie theaters and restaurants.

The time to act, to energize supporters, is now.

David Hains is director of communication for the Diocese of Charlotte.

catholicnewsherald.com | February 15, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

BISHOP’S LENTEN YOUTH PILGRIMAGE 2013 9 AM - 3 PM SATURDAY, MARCH 16 AT BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE

G OE UCHARIST.COM OF FAITH RY R TO CHRIST: O

THE MYS

T EN THE D E OP O

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NINTH EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE, SEPTEMBER 13 &14, 2013

“The ‘door of faith’ is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into His Church.

It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace.

To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime.”

— His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in his apostolic letter “Porta Fidei” proclaiming the Year of Faith