Nov. 21, 2014

November 21, 2014

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

Catholics in western N.C. seeing fruit of historic ‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ campaign $3.3 million already distributed to parishes, 3

INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Español.................................13 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-12 Schools.........................18-20 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................21 U.S. news..................... 22-23 Viewpoints.................. 26-27 World news................. 24-25

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Is there a ‘right to die’?

INSIDE: What our faith teaches us about end-of-life care, November is National Adoption Month Adoptive couples share their journeys to ‘complete’ their families, 9

16-17

Hayesville’s Sister Terry Martin receives national award, 6

Pope confirms he will visit Philadelphia, 24

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Sister Jeanne M. McNally

Pope Francis

Little acts of love, kindness, faith add up to holiness

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ll Christians are called to holiness and to take even little steps each day to be more loving and more Christ-like, Pope Francis said. “Some think that holiness is closing your eyes and making the face of a plastic statue, but that’s not holiness,” the pope said Nov. 19 at his weekly general audience.

Holiness is something much greater, much more profound than looking like an image on a holy card, he said. “It is living with love and offering your own Christian witness in your daily tasks.”

Pope Francis said “a great gift” of the Second Vatican Council was the recovery of the notion of “the Church as communion,” a community formed by people who “have equal dignity and have the same vocation to holiness” by virtue of their baptism.

“To be saints, one does not necessarily have to be a bishop, priest or religious, no,” he said. “We are all called to become saints.”

“Many times we are tempted to think that holiness is reserved only for those who have the possibility of detaching themselves from ordinary concerns so they can dedicate themselves exclusively to prayer,” he said. “But that’s not true.”

Holiness, the pope said, is a gift God offers to everyone and a response to his grace. It is the result of hundreds of little steps and gestures each day. And they will be different for each person depending on the circumstances of one’s life.

Consecrated men and women become saints by living their vows with joy, he said. Married people become saints by loving and taking care of their husband or wife. Single Catholics become saints “doing their work with honesty and competence, and offering their time to serve their brothers and sisters.”

In a factory or an office, in the marketplace or in the home, he said, God communicates with the faithful and gives them the grace to be holy.

“On Sundays, going to Mass and receiving communion – sometimes adding a good confession that cleans us up a bit – that is a step toward holiness,” the pope said.

“Be bearers of holiness. Always, eh: in your home, on the streets, at work and in church. Don’t be discouraged in following this path. God Himself will give you grace.

“When the Lord invites us to be holy, He is not calling us to something heavy or sad, but the complete opposite: It’s an invitation to live and share His joy in every moment of our lives.”

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk

What makes a marriage?

“The consent of the parties, legitimately manifested between persons qualified by law, makes marriage…” (Canon 1057 §1)

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onsent is a deep-seated act of the spirit of a human person. By consent, we mean that intelligence and free will are involved in the decision to marry.

Intelligence requires knowledge, and the ability to think rationally and to decide responsibly. Free will allows a person to carry out his or her decision with action.

Without personal consent, there is no marriage. The object of consent is the mutual giving and acceptance of each of the people wishing to get married. It is the essence of partnership.

What is someone consenting to when they agree to get married? In giving consent (when one says “I do”), each person should know that marriage is a lifelong union requiring fidelity, an openness to having children, and sharing and caring for each other.

In giving this consent, it is expected that one has a reasonable level of maturity in decision making. In general, a mature person has the capacity to act freely, has emotional self-control, enjoys community living, and gives himself or herself to others. A mature person follows their conscience and uses their abilities and talents to succeed in their personal development, and in fulfilling their potential.

Enough cannot be said about consent.

To repeat: Consent makes a marriage.

There must be a real act of consent by both people who present themselves for marriage in the Church. This is absolutely necessary. No one else, other than the two people who wish to get married, can give this consent.

Church law can only recognize the external signs of the presence of consent or its absence. Likewise, it cannot recognize the validity of the marriage if there is some demonstrable defect in the consent of one or both of the people involved.

Consent requires that the people desiring to get married are legally capable of consent. This means that they each have the mental capacity to give consent; they are of the appropriate

age (in the United States, that is at least 16 for men and 14 for women); and they have the freedom and knowledge of what they are doing, as well as the absence of fear, pressure of force and the lack of any impediment (such as a prior valid marriage, vows of holy orders or religious life, direct blood relationship or impotence, among other situations).

Church law states that this consent must be “legitimately manifested,” that is, publicly proclaimed following certain canonical norms. This tells us that marriage is not a private matter between the spouses, but has implications for the whole of society. Entering into marriage is not a purely private exchange of consent, but a public expression in a ceremony involving certain legal or customary formalities, including the presence of a priest or deacon to ask for and receive each person’s consent and at least two people present to witness the exchange of vows. (Canon 1108).

The object of giving consent is the mutual giving and acceptance of each person in the marriage, and this consent must be given by both parties. The essence of married life is a partnership, and this mutuality must be present in the consent each person gives to the other at the start of their marriage. The present law, in keeping with a personalistic approach (that is, it emphasizes the significance, uniqueness and inviolability of the person), sees the object of consent as being for the whole of life.

In studying whether a marriage is valid or not, the question of consent is considered immediately. If it can be proven that consent was absent or it was defective, the marriage’s validity is questioned – possibly to the extent that the marriage is declared invalid (or null).

This will be discussed further in a future commentary.

Mercy Sister Jeanne-Margaret McNally, Ph.D., JCL, is a psychologist for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Charlotte and a judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Coming next: What makes a marriage work?

Physician-assisted suicide and confronting our fears

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he prospect of a very attractive, recently-married young woman with a terminal illness facing excruciating pain and suffering as she dies is enough to move anyone. The life and death of 29-year-old Brittany Maynard recently captured enormous media attention when she declared she was moving to Oregon to commit suicide after having been informed by her doctors that she had an aggressive form of brain cancer and likely had only six months to live. She brought her life to a close on Nov. 1, a date she had selected ahead of time, by taking a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by her doctor.

In the public discussions that have ensued, some have ventured to argue that suicide under such desperate circumstances would, in fact, be justifiable. A recent Read more on-line article from about this issue, Time magazine pages 16-17 observed that

‘It is always violent to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer.’

For more

SUICIDE, SEE page 28

Your daily Scripture readings NOV. 23-29

Sunday (Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe): Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28, Matthew 25:31-46; Monday (St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions): Revelation 14:1-5, Luke 21:1-4; Tuesday (St. Catherine of Alexandria): Revelation 14:14-19, Luke 21:5-11; Wednesday: Revelation 15:1-4, Luke 21:12-19; Thursday (Thanksgiving Day): Sirach 50:22-24, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Luke 17:11-19; Friday: Revelation 20:1-14, 11-21:2, Luke 21:29-33; Saturday: Revelation 22:1-17, Luke 21:34-36.

NOV. 30-DEC. 6

Sunday: Isaiah 63:16-17, 19, 64:2-7, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:33-37; Monday: Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 8:5-11; Tuesday: Isaiah 11:1-10, Luke 10:21-24; Wednesday (St. Francis Xavier): Isaiah 25:6-10, Matthew 15:29-37; Thursday (St. John Damascene): Isaiah 26:1-6, Matthew 7:21, 24-27; Friday: Isaiah 29:17-24, Matthew 9:27-31; Saturday (St. Nicholas): Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26, Matthew 9:35, 10:1, 5-8

DEC. 7-13

Sunday: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11, 2 Peter 3:814, Mark 1:1-8; Monday (The Immaculate Conception): Genesis 3:9-15, 20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, Luke 1:26-38; Tuesday (St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin): Isaiah 40:1-11, Matthew 18:12-14; Wednesday: Isaiah 40:25-31, Matthew 11:28-30; Thursday (St. Damasus I): Isaiah 41:13-20, Matthew 11:11-15; Friday (Our Lady of Guadalupe): Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18-19, Luke 1:26-38; Saturday (St. Lucy): Sirach 48:14, 9-11, Matthew 17:9-13

Our parishes

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Western N.C. Catholics seeing fruits of historic campaign SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — The active fundraising phase of the Diocese of Charlotte’s historic campaign, “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love,” is nearly finished and parishes are now starting to reap the benefits.

The campaign will fund long-range initiatives across the diocese. A portion of the $65 million goal will go to specific parish projects. The rest will go toward 12 other broader ministries which directly or indirectly impact each parish.

As of Sept. 30, more than $68,957,968 in pledges had been made from 15,936 donors, which included $65,546,343 from the parish campaigns and $3,411,625 in separate leadership gifts not included in the parish totals. The pledges will be collected over the next five years.

Of the more than $68 million raised, $25,829,752 will go toward funding parish initiatives, and $43,128,216 will go toward funding broader ministries. A few parishes are still conducting their campaigns. (See below for each parish’s campaign total as of Sept. 30.)

Distributions to the campaign’s various recipients are now being made every quarter, as money comes in from donors. More than $11.7 million has been distributed as of Sept. 30, with more than $3.3 million of that going back to the parishes. Seven endowments PARISH DIOCESAN GOAL TOTAL RAISED GIFTS Christ the King, High Point $198,000 $94,687 41 Christ the King, Kings Mountain $74,400 $52,100 12 Divine Redeemer, Boonville $112,500 $53,159 21 Good Shepherd, King $165,000 $157,390 61 Holy Angels, Mount Airy $335,000 $233,599 78 Holy Cross, Kernersville $1,105,000 $1,431,380 471 Holy Family, Clemmons $1,909,500 $1,484,796 365 Holy Infant, Reidsville $290,000 $328,275 77 Holy Redeemer, Andrews $70,000 $78,955 35 Holy Spirit, Denver $740,000 $1,750,746 288 Holy Trinity, Taylorsville $120,000 $72,014 44 Immaculate Conception, Canton $60,000 $60,040 18 Immaculate Conception, Forest City $380,000 $244,802 99 Immaculate Conception, Hendersonville $2,005,000 $1,755,992 542 Immaculate Heart of Mary, Hayesville $315,000 STARTS AFTER SEPT. 30 Immaculate Heart of Mary, High Point $1,752,750 $2,088,459 345 Our Lady of Consolation, Charlotte $685,000 $152,365 70 Our Lady of Fatima, Winston-Salem $140,000 $142,984 33 Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro $2,055,000 $626,108 294 Our Lady of Guadalupe, Charlotte $695,000 $1,642,990 666 Our Lady of Guadalupe, Cherokee $40,000 $12,641 9 Our Lady of Lourdes, Monroe $774,250 $1,044,142 392 Our Lady of Mercy, Winston-Salem $325,000 $1,461,934 221 Our Lady of the Americas, Biscoe $215,000 $225,686 118 Our Lady of the Angels, Marion $140,000 $59,065 29 Our Lady of the Annunciation, Albemarle $435,000 $72,560 11 Our Lady of the Assumption, Charlotte $655,000 $305,456 159 Our Lady of the Highways, Thomasville $255,000 $512,070 168 Our Lady of the Mountains, Highlands $220,000 $67,950 26 Our Lady of the Rosary, Lexington $275,000 $360,160 107 Prince of Peace, Robbinsville $45,000 $11,550 5 Queen of the Apostles, Belmont $1,007,000 $2,430,439 384 Sacred Heart, Brevard $855,000 $354,182 121 Sacred Heart, Burnsville $115,000 $72,500 23 Sacred Heart, Salisbury $500,000 $2,156,564 335 Sacred Heart, Wadesboro $40,000 $46,620 9 St. Aloysius, Hickory $1,800,000 $2,116,717 595 St. Andrew the Apostle, Mars Hill $115,000 $90,970 32 St. Ann, Charlotte $1,135,250 $1,972,245 196 St. Barnabas, Arden $1,195,000 $1,054,400 246 St. Benedict, Greensboro $340,000 $232,758 62 St. Benedict the Moor, Winston-Salem $180,000 $157,551 56 St. Bernadette, Linville $410,000 $302,200 80 St. Charles Borromeo, Morganton $645,000 $479,386 153 St. Dorothy, Lincolnton $395,000 $526,683 154 St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, Boone $515,000 $576,110 144

for broader ministries have received almost $4.5 million. The Priest Retirement Fund has received more than $1.7 million. Five capital or renovation funds have received more than $2.2 million so far.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis recently expressed his thoughts on the success of the campaign at the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation meeting Sept. 11.

“The campaign had a strong evangelization focus to it to get people more engaged in the Church and more connected to Christ,” he said. “The people who gave displayed a strong sense of love for the Church, which I see wherever I go.”

He also said that the FFHL campaign has benefited the broader ministries that serve people in the parishes as well as benefited the parishes themselves.

“It’s wonderful to see the whole diocese involved in a united effort for a common purpose that helps build the Church,” Bishop Jugis said. “It was an historic and spectacular effort made by people throughout the diocese.”

Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, said he is grateful for the generosity of people throughout the diocese.

“As our parishioners continue to make payments on their pledges over the next five years, they will be providing extraordinary resources to strengthen our parishes and our Catholic family through investments in the parishes, seminarian formation, retired clergy, Catholic education, Catholic outreach and pastoral needs,” Kelley said.

PARISH DIOCESAN GOAL TOTAL RAISED GIFTS St. Eugene, Asheville $1,087,750 $2,100,000 303 St. Frances of Rome, Sparta $120,000 $155,782 40 St. Francis of Assisi, Franklin $415,000 $173,195 44 St. Francis of Assisi, Jefferson $200,000 $184,130 47 St. Francis of Assisi, Lenoir $410,000 $404,491 138 St. Francis of Assisi, Mocksville $300,000 $196,576 67 St. Gabriel, Charlotte $4,750,000 $2,686,177 498 St. Helen, Spencer Mountain $95,000 $146,120 41 St. James the Greater, Concord $1,415,000 $803,257 302 St. James the Greater, Hamlet $200,000 $263,500 60 St. Joan of Arc, Candler $50,000 STARTS AFTER SEPT. 30 St. John Baptist de La Salle, North Wilkesboro $210,000 $298,480 109 St. John Lee Korean, Charlotte $265,000 SEPARATE FFHL CAMPAIGN St. John Neumann, Charlotte $1,296,750 $1,209,131 390 St. John the Baptist, Tryon $550,000 $688,050 79 St. John the Evangelist, Waynesville $370,000 $443,100 88 St. Joseph, Bryson City $90,000 $68,909 21 St. Joseph Vietnamese, Charlotte $350,000 $451,450 313 St. Joseph, Kannapolis $240,000 $279,783 146 St. Joseph, Asheboro $530,000 $606,940 231 St. Joseph, Newton $315,000 $551,920 180 St. Joseph of the Hills, Eden $175,000 $122,282 62 St. Jude, Sapphire $295,000 $76,845 24 St. Lawrence Basilica, Asheville $915,000 $1,154,502 152 St. Leo, Winston-Salem $2,260,000 $1,819,697 424 St. Lucien, Spruce Pine $115,000 $126,681 34 St. Luke, Charlotte $1,292,000 $249,730 121 St. Margaret Mary, Swannanoa $360,000 $356,476 121 St. Margaret of Scotland, Maggie Valley $327,750 $35,985 24 St. Mark, Huntersville $3,250,000 $2,967,618 859 St. Mary, Mother of God, Sylva $226,000 $107,175 42 St. Mary, Greensboro $590,000 $350,071 163 St. Mary Help of Christians, Shelby $372,000 $532,045 127 St. Matthew, Charlotte $10,115,000 $3,709,182 752 St. Michael, Gastonia $150,000 $847,979 181 St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte $1,445,000 $841,462 156 St. Paul the Apostle, Greensboro $1,950,000 $450,030 115 St. Peter, Charlotte $1,400,000 $1,095,634 215 St. Philip the Apostle, Statesville $615,000 $139,590 63 St. Pius X, Greensboro $2,056,750 $6,721,282 838 St. Stephen, Elkin $170,000 $147,600 28 St. Thérèse, Mooresville $1,926,000 $891,422 322 St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte $1,110,000 $623,679 245 St. Vincent de Paul, Charlotte $1,715,000 $1,031,730 287 St. William, Murphy $320,000 $282,775 88 TOTAL $65,546,343 15,936

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New deacon assigned BOONE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis has assigned Deacon Michael D. Leahy to serve St. Elizabeth of the Leahy Hill Country Parish in Boone effective Oct. 20. Deacon Leahy was ordained 40 years ago, June 1, 1974, for the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, and in 1994 he was incardinated to the Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla., where he maintains a winter residence. With a wealth of background in every aspect of ministry as a permanent deacon, he has long been involved in prison ministry in North Carolina and elsewhere. He and his wife Judy have lived in North Carolina seasonally since 2004.

Bishops issue alert on abortion funding CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis and Raleigh Bishop Michael F. Burbidge issued an alert concerning taxpayer funding of abortion in the Affordable Care Act, through their public policy arm Catholic Voice NC Nov. 18.

The U.S. Senate has two bills before it that would prohibit the use of tax funds for abortions. The legislation also seeks to require health insurance companies to report the inclusion and cost of abortion coverage in their policies.

Despite the Hyde Amendment barring the practice, it has become widespread via the Affordable Care Act. The Government Accountability Office recently issued a report indicating that more than 1,000 health insurance plans now cover elective abortions. In addition, the GAO reported that many health insurance plans do not inform enrollees about the inclusion and cost of abortion coverage.

The U.S. House has already passed the measures. The CVNC alert urges recipients to contact both of North Carolina’s senators, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagen, who was recently defeated in her re-election bid.

In their appeal the bishops stated, “Today we write seeking your help for two congressional bills that serve the same purpose, the protection of human life.”

Learn more about Catholic Voice NC at www.CatholicVoiceNC.org.

— David Hains, diocesan director of communication

Ecumenical Thanksgiving service planned GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro will host an ecumenical worship service at 7 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 24, to foster Christian unity and to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given.

The offertory collection will benefit Greensboro Urban Ministry, to help them provide food for the poor in Greensboro this Thanksgiving holiday.

— Josh Denil

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events BOONE St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country, 259 Pilgrims Way — Thanksgiving Vigil Mass: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26

Bishop Peter J. Jugis

CHARLOTTE Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the coming weeks: Nov. 22 – 2 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Matthew Church, Charlotte Nov. 24 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. James the Greater Church, Concord

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 IDLEWILD ROAD — Thanksgiving Mass: 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 27 — Film series, “The Popes of Vatican II: John Paul I, The Smile of God”: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 in the parish hall. Presented by Father Patrick Hoare. All are encouraged to attend. Bring a side dish to share. For details, visit www.4sjnc.org.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.

Nov. 30 – 2 p.m.

Forward in Faith, Hope and Love Appreciation St. Eugene Church, Asheville

— Called to be Mom: 10 a.m.-noon. Thursday, Dec. 4. Called to be Mom supports the vocation of motherhood by strengthening faith through various Scripture readings. All mothers are welcome to attend.

Dec. 4 – 10 a.m.

Diocesan Foundation Board Meeting Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

— Ninth Annual Santa’s Craft Shop: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Family Parish Center and New Life Center.

Dec. 6 – 5:30 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Mary Church, Shelby

— Blood Drive: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7. Sign up after Mass.

Advent Services n ARDEN

n HICKORY

St. Barnabas Church, 109 Crescent Hill Dr. — Women’s Advent Program, “An Attitude of Gratitude”: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22.

Father Martin Schratz will be presenting.

Program also includes door prizes and raffles. All women are welcome. RSVP to Marcia Torres at 828-684-6098, ext. 306.

St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. N.E. — Advent Prayer Service: 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 17

n CHARLOTTE Diocesan Pastoral Center, 1123 S. Church St. — Ignatian Advent Reflection, “Amazing Grace”: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3. The reflection will be presented by Jesuit Father Jim Conroy of the Jesuit Collaborative. To register, go to www.jesuitcollaborative.org/ charlotteadvent.

ST. John Neumann Church, 8451 IDLEWILD ROAD — Christmas Caroling: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Parish Hall. Cookies and hot cocoa for all will follow.

— Advent Lessons and Carols: 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 21. Meet in the Parish Hall afterwards for refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus.

n LEXINGTON Our Lady of the Rosary, 619 South Main St. — Communal Penance Service: 7 p.m.

Dec. 1

n MOORESVILLE ST. THERESE CHURCH, 217 BRAWLEY SCHOOL ROAD — Advent Directed Retreat: Nov. 30-Dec. 6. For details, call the parish office at 704664-3992.

— Advent Meditation Service: 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 5 — Advent Lessons and Carols: 7 p.m.

Friay, Dec. 10 — Advent Penance Service: 7 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 15

n SYLVA ST. MARY, Mother of God Church, 22 Bartlett St. — “Byzantine Advent”: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 23. The discussion will include how Byzantine rite Catholics prepare for the Feast of the Nativity. For details, call Father Deacon Matthew Hanes at 704-3703215.

ST. Thomas aquinas church, 1400 suther road — Rorate Mass in the Extraordinary Form: 6 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6

ST. PATRICK Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road — Evening Advent Reflection, “Incarnation”: 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Presented by Father Christopher Roux, rector and pastor.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL Church, 6828 Old Reid Road

Note: This list is as of press time Nov. 19. Please check with your local parish to confirm dates and times.

— Arts & Crafts Fair of hand-crafted items: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 22. Jewelry, scarves, photography, wreaths, monogrammed items, and more will be offered for sale. For more information, email preschool@stvincentdepaulchurch.com. All proceeds will benefit the parish’s non-profit preschool.

GREENSBORO Our Lady of Grace Church, 2205 West Market St. — Mass in the Extraordinary Form: 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23. For details, call Sid Cundiff at 336-918-5132.

St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St.

28 de Noviembre. Todos están invitados a recibirla.

Exposición de estandartes a las 6 p.m. en los salones B y C de St. Edward. Solemne Misa a las 7:00 pm en la iglesia.

Más información con Diácono Nino.

— Pro-Life Rosary for the Feast of St. Nicholas: 11 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6, at 819 North Main St. and Sunset Drive, to pray for the end of abortion. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336-882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

LEXINGTON Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 619 South Main St. — Liturgy Celebration for the Feast of San Andres, patron saint of Michoacán, Mexico: Noon, Saturday Nov. 29 — Las Mañanitas para Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe: Medianoche, Jueves, 11 de Diciembre

— Thanksgiving Day Mass: 10 a.m. Nov. 27 — Las Posadas will begin: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15-Dec. 23 — Knights of Columbus Blood Drive: 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 5, in the Kloster Center

HICKORY St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. NE — Christmas Tree Fundraiser: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends, Nov. 28-Dec. 14. Sponsored by the Youth Ministry. For details, call the parish office at 828-327-2341.

HIGH POINT Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4145 Johnson St. — La Antorcha Guadalupana estará en la Iglesia: Viernes,

November 21, 2014 Volume 23 • Number 4

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 Hispanic communications reporter: Rico De Silva, 704-370-3375, rdesilva@charlottediocese.org

HUNTERSVILLE ST. MARK CHURCH, 14740 Stumptown Road — Christmas Bazaar: 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22.

Free goodies bag. Pony rides, raffles and much more.

For details, visit www.StMarkChristmasBazaar.com.

— Parish-Wide Consecration to Jesus through Mary; 6:15 -8 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 5-Dec. 8 in the Parish Hall. The program is a retreat, with daily readings and reflections preparing the participants for their consecration. Book by Father Michael Gaitley “33 days to Morning Glory” will be available. For details, call the parish office at 704-948-1306.

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

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

— Solemn Liturgy for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12

MOORESVILLE ST. THERESE CHURCH, 217 BRAWLEY SCHOOL ROAD — Immaculate Conception Feast Day Masses: 9 a.m., noon and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 — Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass and Celebration: 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, followed by a procession and a reception

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.

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November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Fr. Schellberg, senior priest at St. Matthew Church, dies aged 84

Photo provided by Ryan Jurden

Four seminarians installed as acolyte, lector COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four seminarians from the Diocese of Charlotte were installed as lectors or acolytes Nov. 1 during Mass at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Monforton was the principal celebrant of the Mass. Christopher Bond, Brian Becker and W. Christian Cook were installed as acolytes, and Christopher Hamilton was installed as a lector. Pictured with them are Father John Allen, vice president for advancement and priest of the Charlotte diocese; Monsignor Christopher J. Schreck, rector and president of the Josephinum; and Bishop Monforton. Bond is a member of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, Becker is a member of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, Cook is a member of St. Eugene Church in Asheville, and Hamilton is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. Seminarians installed as lectors typically are first-year theologians and are commissioned to proclaim the Word of God in the liturgical assembly and to catechize the faithful. Acolytes, traditionally second-year theologians, are entrusted with the duties of attending to the altar, assisting the deacon and priest at Mass, and distributing Holy Communion as an extraordinary minister.

— Carolyn A. Dinovo, Director of Communications, Pontifical College Josephinum

Confirmations celebrated ASHEVILLE — On Nov. 9, Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari confirmed youth at St. Eugene Church in Asheville. Also pictured are Father Pat Cahill, pastor, and Deacon Mike Zboyovski.

Photo provided by Tracy Jedd

CHARLOTTE — On Nov. 7, Bishop Peter J. Jugis confirmed 73 youth at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.

Photo provided by Edan Idzerda

MATTHEWS — Father L. Eugene “Gene” Schellberg, 84, of Matthews, passed away Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, at Novant Matthews Medical Center.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 10, 2014, at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte by Monsignor John J. McSweeney, pastor. Interment followed at Belmont Abbey cemetery.

Schellberg Father Schellberg was born June 8, 1930, in Toms River, N.J., the son of the late L. Eugene Schellberg and Aida Gregorio Schellberg. After graduating from Toms River High School, he attended both St. Francis Seminary, Staten Island, and St. Anthony Seminary in Rensselaer, N.Y. He was ordained a Franciscan priest in May 1960.

He served in parishes in Albany, N.Y., Montreal, Quebec and Riverside, N.J. In 1974, he successfully petitioned to transition from the Franciscan order to serve as a priest for the Diocese of Trenton, N.J. After a number of diocesan assignments, he was named pastor of Mary, Mother of God Church in Hillsborough, N.J., in 1980.

There over the next decade he led two capital campaigns to build a larger church and new rectory, and upon his departure the parish hall was renamed Schellberg Hall in his honor.

In 1992, he was transferred to St. Bernadette Church in Parlin, N.J. While there he was instrumental in capital projects to refurbish the church, build new offices and a new recreational center.

Upon the 40th anniversary of his priesthood in 2000, he retired and moved to Charlotte, where he became active serving the Church here as a senior priest in residence. He also served as the chaplain of the St. Matthew Knights of Columbus Council 10852.

In June 2010, Father Schellberg was congratulated on his 50th anniversary as a priest and his 80th birthday with a special Mass and reception at St. Matthew Church. There, Monsignor McSweeney credited Father Schellberg’s contributions to the spiritual growth of the parish, including hearing confessions, visiting the sick, serving the needs of senior citizens, serving as chaplain to the local Knights council, and presenting talks with the “St. Matthew University” faith formation programs.

Besides his parents, Father Schellberg was preceded in death by his two younger brothers, Gregory and Peter. He leaves behind two sisters-in-law, Norma and Virginia Schellberg, as well as many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews and great-great-nieces and nephews. In addition, he leaves behind his longtime friend and caregiver, Cosima Smith.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St Matthew Church Priest Retirement Fund.

Heritage Funeral Home, Weddington Chapel was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Hayesville’s Sister Terry Martin receives national award Joseph Purello Special to the Catholic News Herald

HAYESVILLE — With heartfelt enthusiasm and sincere gratitude for her many gifts to the people of far western North Carolina, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is pleased to announce that Sister Therese “Terry” Martin, CND, is the 2014 recipient of Catholic Rural Life’s 2014 Archbishop O’Hara Advocacy Award for Rural Ministry. The award was announced and presented at the Faith, Food and the Environment Symposium held earlier this month in St. Paul, Minn.

Founded in 1923, the Iowa based Catholic Rural Life (CRL) is a national organization which joins bishops, clergy, and laity in common effort to serve the rural church, rural people and their communities. The board of directors of CRL is led by Bishop Paul Etienne of Cheyenne, Wyo. The Archbishop O’Hara Advocacy Award for Rural Ministry recognizes and honors a leader who has been a strong advocate for rural communities and social justice in the spirit and tradition of Archbishop Edwin V. O’Hara (1881-1956), who founded Catholic Rural Life in 1923.

Sister Terry was nominated for this award in recognition of her nearly four decades of service to the people living in the rural communities of eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia and far western North Carolina. She has been a volunteer with the Murphy office of Catholic Charities since its founding 15 years ago, working alongside Catholic Charities staff and community partners in offering a variety of charity and justice promoting works out of the Bishop Begley Center for Economic Development in Murphy.

This year marks Sister Terry’s celebration of 65 years of consecrated religious life as a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame. For more than 22 years, Sister Terry has been assisting people struggling at the margins in the far western Appalachian counties of North Carolina. In her ministry as the Far Western North Carolina Outreach Worker for the Diocese of Charlotte, based out of Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mission in Hayesville, she is a witness to the preferential love of Christ for the poor – bringing food, clothing and other essential items to migrant farm workers; serving as a team member of Catholic Charities family strengthening services; visiting those who are sick; and working with victims at domestic violence shelters in Hayesville and Murphy. She has also made it her personal task to help children in struggling families have decent shoes, warm coats and supplies for schools. Over the years, in three states, she has helped many adults succeed in completing their GED programs.

Families and individuals who are struggling know that when they come to Sister Terry for assistance they will never be turned away. “God will provide” is an often-repeated response

by Sister Terry. “Items come in and items go out...I honestly do not know what the Lord will bring each day. It’s all pure gift!” she adds. At the new location of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville, the parish community made sure that a space the size of a small warehouse was set aside for her “donated goods,” complete with a loading area.

Catholic Charities has benefited from Sister Terry’s long-time service as a member of its Murphy office advisory board.

Netta McFaddin, Far West Families First Coordinator for Catholic Charities expressed her joy in response to Sister Terry receiving this award: “Sister Terry models Catholic social teaching. Her work with the Hispanic community is especially so very important. She provides transportation to doctors and WIC appointments, makes many home visits, advocates on behalf of the voiceless to attorneys, and offers compassion to families.”

Sister Terry has also helped to nurture a giving spirit in numerous lay women in western North Carolina by guiding them in the process of becoming lay associates of the Congregation of Notre Dame and helping to engage them in a variety of ministries.

From her early years as a sister in the classroom in New England to her ministry in the mountains of southeast Appalachia, no life that has crossed Sister Terry’s path has remained unchanged.

“I am grateful for all that Sister Terry has done for the Church, for Catholic Charities and especially for our brothers and sisters in need in far western North Carolina,” said Dr. Gerard Carter, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. “We at Catholic Charities are pleased with this year’s excellent choice for Catholic Rural Life’s Archbishop O’Hara Advocacy Award for Rural Ministry.”

In accepting the award, Sister Terry expressed how humbling it was to get this recognition: “I am so grateful to God for all the blessings that have been showered upon me for the past 85 years of my life. I am indebted to the Appalachian families for allowing me to share in their lives.

Thank you everyone.”

Joseph Purello is the director of social concerns and advocacy for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.

photo provided by Donielle wilde

Triad couple sees ‘hand of God working wonders’ in new baby, mom after cancer diagnosis during pregnancy GREENSBORO — Sylvia Hope Wilde is now home. The 10th child of Keith and Donielle Wilde, who doctors advised to abort when Donielle was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer during pregnancy, was born Nov. 6. She weighed 7 lbs., 1 oz., and measured 20 in. long. “Sylvia is doing excellent,” Donielle said Nov. 11. “I feel amazing! It was very fun seeing all our kids get so excited meeting their new baby sister!”

Sylvia spent some time in NICU being monitored for some fluid in her lungs, rapid breathing and other precautionary issues. Donielle was able to hold her daughter for the first time the day after she was born. The family was able to bring her home Nov. 10.

Doctors removed a nodule that was a match of the tumor found earlier this year on her ovary, but they suspect that it was not new but was outside of the area they could see during the initial surgery. Donielle will have more tests this month to determine what course of treatment, if any, she requires.

The Wildes said they are very thankful for everyone’s continued prayers. “So many mini-miracles are coming to light.

It is truly incredible to see the hand of God working wonders in response to the prayers and love of so many wonderful people,” Keith said.

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read more about the Wilde family and their newest child

Photo provided by Sister Nancy Nance

Holy Angels, Belmont Rotary present 2014 Costume Dash 4-2-1 BELMONT — Witches and goblins and ghosts . . . oh my! More than 200 walkers and runners braved the cold and rainy weather and dashed their way through the Sisters of Mercy campus and downtown Belmont Nov. 1 for the Belmont Rotary 4-2-1 Costume Dash and Run “Tu Tu” Holy Angels. It is estimated that the event will net around $7,000. Funds raised not only support Holy Angels’ programs and residential services for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities, but a portion will also be used for Rotary International for the fight against polio. Prizes were awarded for best runners in various age categories and best costumes. All kids received participation medals. Holy Angels was founded in 1955 by the Sisters of Mercy – beginning a much-needed specialized service for children from Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland and Mecklenburg counties as well as children from throughout North Carolina. The private, nonprofit corporation located in Belmont provides residential services and innovative programs for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities with delicate medical conditions.

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

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‘Rebuilt’ inspires new parish initiatives at Queen of the Apostles SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

Dina Defabo Wilson | Catholic News Herald

“God Equips the Called,” a conference for mothers held Nov. 8 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, was organized by Jessica Ferrante and Sarah Wood, co-directors of Mothering with Grace, and featured keynote speaker Danielle Bean, editor of “The Catholic Digest.”

Women reflect on the dignity, sacredness of motherhood at conference Dina Defabo Wilson Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — Ever since her daughter Lucia was born four months ago, first-time mother Carolina Martinez said she has been “winging” it and searching for what it means to be a mother. She found answers, encouragement and even some new friends at “God Equips the Called,” a conference for mothers Nov. 8 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

“You have a baby and you try to keep being what you were before. But now you have this other role, and you are clueless,” Martinez said. “The talks today really touched my heart. It is Christ, and Mary as well, who are going to teach me how to be a mom.”

The opportunity to be renewed and refreshed in their vocation drew 90 women from across the diocese and South Carolina to the day-long event. Attendees represented all stages of motherhood, from those pregnant with their first child to grandmothers.

The conference featured keynote speaker Danielle Bean, author and editor of “The Catholic Digest,” who said it is vital for mothers to connect with and affirm each other.

“Mary gave us a great example of that kind of sisterhood in the Visitation, when she went to her cousin Elizabeth,” Bean said. “It was so important, Scripture tells us, that Mary went in haste to accomplish it.”

Bean, a mother of eight, encouraged the women to embrace their unique feminine strengths and value the work they do in raising children.

“Loving people and meeting their small needs involves a lot of different things: changing sheets and making casseroles and tying shoelaces and wiping noses,” Bean said. “It can be tempting to think that it’s beneath us and that it’s not worth anything. But we know in our hearts how much it’s worth, and we need to remind each other of its dignity.”

Bean said that the self-sacrificing love

required of motherhood does not come naturally but is accomplished through God’s grace.

“God doesn’t call the equipped,” Bean said, “He equips the called. He calls you first and patiently waits for your answer of ‘yes’ before He gives you those graces. And He never fails to do so.”

Father Patrick Winslow, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, also presented a reflection on “Lessons from Cana.”

While the wedding feast at Cana is best known for being the place where Jesus worked His first miracle, it is also the story of a relationship between a mother and son, Father Winslow noted. We can look at how Mary introduces, prompts and reveals Jesus as the Son of God, and we can learn from their relationship, he said.

Just as Mary introduced Jesus to the world, mothers today play a key role in introducing their children to Christ and His Church, he said.

In bringing children to be baptized, “moms have that joy of revealing the child to Jesus,” Father Winslow said. “It’s taking care of their soul and awakening them to the spiritual life. What a blessed excitement!”

With her prompting to Jesus at the wedding feast, Mary acted as a sign from God to Jesus to reveal Himself, he said, and mothers today similarly act as signs of the faith to their children.

“You set the tone in your household,” he said. “Always be aware that you are a sign to your children – a providential sign – and that should be part of each mom’s role: to become better, to become a purer sign.”

He also noted that the dynamics between Mary and Jesus were indicative of a real relationship and life-long communication, something mothers can expect to have with their children as they grow and mature.

The conference was organized by Jessica Ferrante and Sarah Wood, co-directors of Mothering with Grace. Their Charlottebased ministry offers a guided prayer and discussion program that can be conducted in homes or parishes. Visit www. motheringwithgrace.com for details.

BELMONT — Queen of the Apostles Parish is hoping to attract more members and engage them in ministry. With this in mind, six members of the parish – some staff, some volunteers – attended the Matter 14 Conference held at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Md., Nov. 7.

The annual Matter Conference is based on the success of the Church of the Nativity’s revitalization efforts over the years which have been documented

by Father Michael White, pastor, and his associate Tom Corcoran in their books “Rebuilt” and “Tools for Rebuilding.”

“Rebuilt” became a best seller and is impacting churches with wisdom from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders, while simultaneously keeping the focus on the Eucharistic heart of the Catholic faith. In the book, the two share their inspiring story of how they helped bring their parish back to life.

The Church of the Nativity hosts the annual Church Matters conferences, inviting parish leaders to attend and discuss what has been successful for them.

Last year, Queen of the Apostles parish staff read the book “Rebuilt” and implemented their KidZone ministry which has been a huge success. They have been developing some new technology upgrades and were looking forward to learning more about Church of the Nativity’s technology.

“Our interest in attending was to see their use of technology and attain insight

on their programs and ministries,” said Debbie Seeger, the parish’s director of religious education.

“We found some of the information useful and from that developed our KidZone ministry. Presently, we are in the process of implementing new technology here, such as our DVD productions for our Advent and Lenten small group studies, media boards, and most currently, our live Mass broadcasting.”

Seeger said with all the new technology they have been implementing at the parish, they thought that attending Matter 14 would be beneficial for them.

“And it was! We actually learned that we are already doing some of the things that are working for Church of the Nativity in regards to our sacrament programs and KidZone. We do have small group Bible studies already, and learned about how their small group study program operates and how they are different. Church of the Nativity emphasized that what works for them may not work for our church.”

While the idea sharing has proven helpful, Seeger noted each parish has unique traits, so parish leaders need to evaluate what would be practical for them.

“Not everything they do would work here in Belmont,” she said. “However, we are looking forward to improving our connection with our growing number of new members as we learn new ways to connect with members and ways to get people out of the pews and into ministry.”

For details about Father White’s books, go to www.rebuiltparish.com.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 OUR PARISHES

St. Peter’s ‘coffee and conversation Sundays’ support fair trade products Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Coffee, tea and chocolate are perennial crowd pleasers, and for most in the United States, a must-have daily consumption. St. Peter Church in uptown Charlotte understands this. Twice a month, the parish features a fair trade sale of these items to parishioners and visitors during their coffee and conversation Sundays following the 9 a.m. Mass.

The fair trade sale benefits St. Peter’s El Salvador Interest Group. This parish outreach program was created eight years ago to promote awareness of El Salvador, particularly its farmers, through the sale of fair trade products. For the price one would pay for a couple of cappuccinos at a favorite coffee shop, a bag of coffee could be purchased at the parish sale. Not only is the coffee of fine quality, but the purchase helps support small farmers in the parish’s sister community of Comunidad Segundo Montes in El Salvador.

“Fair trade is so important because it’s the farmers who are harvesting the cocoa, the coffee and the tea who are setting the price for their product. So, it cuts out the middle man. It really just minimizes that supply chain, so the farmer can get a fair price,” said Nicolette Shoop, fair trade sale volunteer member. A long-time member of St. Peter Church, Shoop and her parents, Steve and Roberta Brich, normally man the sale table on coffee and conversation Sundays.

“They (the farmers) are not getting ripped off. They can actually sustain their own business, sustain their own families and sustain their own communities through fair trade,” Shoop said.

The fair trade products are purchased from the Equal Exchange COOP website.

The Equal Exchange is a for-profit worker cooperative committed to “worker cooperatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.”

The El Salvador Interest Group is under the umbrella of the parish’s social RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Nicolette Shoop (pictured at right), one of the volunteers from St. Peter Church’s El Salvador Interest committee, shares a laugh with her parents Steve and Roberta Brich at the Fair Trade Sale table during “Coffee and Conversation Sunday.” Shoop and her parents have been parishioners at St. Peter Church in uptown Charlotte for more than 20 years, and they oversee the sale of fair trade coffee, tea and chocolate after the 9 a.m. Mass to benefit farmers in El Salvador and elsewhere. justice ministry, and it not only benefits the Salvadorian community of Segundo Montes, but also a women’s coffee cooperative in war-torn Congo. For every coffee bag of the Congo Coffee Project sold at the parish, $1 goes to Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We make a very slim profit off of what we sell. Our purpose is really to introduce

fair trade to our parishioners, but whatever profit we do make is reinvested in our sister community in El Salvador for projects there,” Shoop said. “Although not all our products are from El Salvador, we do have that tithe back.”

The next two upcoming fair trade sales will be held November 23 and December 7 at St. Peter’s Bliss Hall.

Photo provided by Deacon David Reiser

OLA hosts cultural awareness workshop CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte hosted a cultural awareness workshop Nov. 8. Located in east Charlotte, OLA is considered one of the most ethnically and cultural diverse parishes in the Charlotte area. The event featured presenters from the Filipino, Burmese, Nigerian and Jewish cultures. Pictured above, dancers from Myanmar (also known as Burma) perform a Burmese folk dance. “We are a multi-cultural Church, and we cannot authentically and genuinely interact with one another on a superficial level. If we do not share our values and traditions, people’s eyes will not be opened. Opening eyes leads to appreciation and understanding,” explained Dr. Cris Villapando, regional director of faith formation programs for the Diocese of Charlotte, which helped organize the event.

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

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November: National Adoption Month

photoS provided

Two couples in the diocese expanded their families this year with the adoption of their daughters.

Adoptive couples share their journeys to ‘complete’ their families SueAnn Howell Senior Reporter

CHARLOTTE — November is National Adoption Month, and this year two couples in the Diocese of Charlotte have special reason to celebrate. They are among the many families in North Carolina who adopted a child this year, fulfilling a long-time dream to become parents.

Both families worked with Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte to realize their dreams. Mishaun Mitchell, adoption and pregnancy support social worker for Catholic Charities, is assisting both couples in adopting their infant daughters. (Both adoptions are currently in the process of being finalized, so the adoptive families’ last names are being withheld for privacy.)

ANASTASIA’S FAMILY

For Brandon and Kim of south Charlotte, the journey to adoption has been difficult. Their first three pregnancies ended in stillbirths.

After their last son Vincent was stillborn in 2012, they decided to seek adoption to grow their family.

“Soon after (losing Vincent) I found out that I needed a kidney transplant,” Kim said. “That sealed our fate on having more biological children. In May 2013, Brandon donated his kidney, and we are living the best post-transplant life we could have ever imagined.”

The couple gave themselves six months after the transplant before seeking out adoption services.

“We started with Catholic Charities in January of this year,” Brandon said. “We also went to talk to another agency, but Catholic Charities felt like the right place for us.”

They met with Mitchell at Catholic Charities in Charlotte.

“We submitted our application through Catholic Charities in February, were accepted as potential adoptive parents in March and our daughter’s birthmother sought us out and asked us to adopt her unborn child that same month,” Kim explained.

Their daughter Anastasia was born this summer and Brandon and Kim were able to be at the hospital for her birth. They brought her home two days later.

“Watching her first moments was incredible,” Kim recalled.

“Holding her for the first time was one of the most surreal and beautiful moments of my life. She is a happy, thriving, laid back, yet determined little girl. Oh, and she’s pretty adorable, too. She’s amazing.”

Their adoption is considered an independent adoption since the birth mother found and asked them to be the adoptive parents, instead of being placed through an agency.

They are currently waiting on finalization of the adoption by the courts.

Brandon shared that although Anastasia was not placed with them through Catholic Charities, Mitchell helped get them started and guided them through the adoption process.

“She provided emotional support and helped us navigate Kim the complexities of adoption Adoptive mother and St. Ann parishioner paperwork while we awaited Anastasia’s birth. Catholic Charities also completed our pre- and post-placement visits and will continue to provide support as we raise our daughter.”

The realization of this long-time dream has impacted their lives and their faith in many ways.

“Our journey to parenting a living child has been full of, shall we

‘Holding her for the first time was one of the most surreal and beautiful moments of my life.’

ADOPTION, SEE page 20

Catholic Charities can help “The adoption and pregnancy support program are long standing ministries of Catholic Charities and have been an integral part of our history since the very beginning of this agency,” said Dr. Gerard Carter, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.

He and his staff are committed to working with birth mothers considering adoption, birth mothers choosing to parent themselves after considering adoption, and adoptive families who need pre- and postadoption services.

“Our services to mothers, fathers and children are an essential part of who we are and reflect our commitment to life,” Carter said. “We are privileged to continue this work of charity and mercy.”

Mitchell said most adoptive families come to realize that the process “is not as bad as it seems.”

Mitchell said she loves many things about her job, but she really enjoys the adoption and pregnancy support services she provides to her clients.

“I can tell the information and support that I provide really makes a difference in their lives,” she said.

For more information about available services offered through Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, call 704-370-3262 or email mlmitchell@ charlottediocese.org.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Salesians commission two Belmont Abbey grads for missionary service Father Michael Mendl, SDB Special to the Catholic News Herald

New Rochelle, N.Y. — Belmont Abbey College students Sarah Taylor and Kelsey Lamb were among 20 young women and men whom the Salesians of Don Bosco commissioned as lay missionary volunteers this summer.

Formally called Salesian Lay Missioners, they are serving at missions of the Salesians, the Salesian Sisters, or of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, South Sudan and the United States for a year. Most began their service in September.

A native of Thomasville, Taylor, 25, is a member of St. Mary Mother of God Church in Sylva, near where she has been the program coordinator for Catholic campus ministry at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee for the last three years. She is the daughter of Soraya Pike of Thomasville, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point. Taylor graduated from Belmont Abbey College with a major in biology.

Taylor has been assigned to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she will teach in one of the two boarding schools of the Salesian Sisters. She will teach English and possibly dance and cooking as well, in all things “giving myself fully to the Lord serving His children” and trying to do so “with the fullness of love and joy,” she said.

She said she joined the SLMs because the Lord has called her to serve and give of herself “completely and intimately.” She wishes to “empty my chalice out for (God’s children) at the foot of the cross so that the beauty and grace of Christ may flood out into their lives,” which will in turn enrich her own life.

She has set up a blog to record her experiences: livingforloveblog.wordpress.com.

A second Belmont Abbey graduate, Kelsey Lamb, 20, of Howell, Mich., was also commissioned for service. She was assigned to the Hogar Sagrado Corazon in Montero, Bolivia, a girls orphanage.

The commissioning took place at a Mass at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y., within a

retreat that included the 20 SLMs and about 35 Salesian priests and brothers.

Father Thomas Dunne, SDB, the provincial superior, presided over the Mass and the rite, and Father Mark Hyde, SDB, director of the Salesian mission office in New Rochelle, preached the homily.

The 15 women and 5 men range in age from 20 to 31 and include a married couple.

They come from Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

Besides the Belmont Abbey College students, they include graduates from Bowling Green, De Sales, Indiana Southeast, James Madison, John Carroll, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. Edward’s, Seton Hall, Southeast Missouri State and Vanderbilt universities, and a cadet on leave from the U.S. Military Academy.

Several have been employed for a few years since college, such as in church ministry, in hospitality or as teachers.

As missioners they are serving in youth centers, orphanages, middle schools, high schools, catechetical programs and retreat programs. Those who are teaching in academic settings will instruct mostly in English language, computer science, accounting and secretarial skills.

They expect to serve primarily with a “ministry of presence” and to grow as Christians by loving, as unconditionally as they can, the children and young adults to whom they are being sent.

Introducing the Mass, Father Dunne linked the commissioning rite of the SLMs with the union with Jesus Christ that began with their baptism.

Father Hyde observed that each of the SLMs had heard Christ call her or his name and had responded with a willingness to head into a place unknown to make Christ

known and carry on His mission of sharing the Father’s love for humanity. Like St. Maximilian Kolbe, they’re called to “give up” and to “hold fast”: to give up their lives – or a piece of their lives – for the sake of others, and to hold fast to the Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel.

The 20 volunteers had a rigorous screening before being accepted into the program. Immediately prior to their commissioning, they had more than three weeks of orientation, which included an introduction to St. John Bosco and the Salesians (life, spirituality, educational method), cross-cultural training, a week’s service in a Salesian summer day camp, and a retreat.

The Salesian Lay Missioner program has sent hundreds of volunteers to Africa, Asia, Latin America and U.S.-based missions over the oast 30 years. The SLM program is based at Salesian Missions in New Rochelle.

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Catholic Charities volunteers needed CHARLOTTE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s food pantry depends on the Second Harvest Food Bank to help supplement food donations and grocery store purchases.

Volunteers are needed every Friday morning to meet at Second Harvest and deliver supplies to the Diocesan Pastoral Center, located at 1123 South Church St., using their personal vehicle.

Call Catholic Charities at 704-370-3283 for details on how to help.

Education leaders attend day of reflection HICKORY — Leaders of the Education Vicariate participated in a Reflection Day Nov. 5 at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. Mary Wright, director of Campus and Young Adult Ministry, and the diocesan campus ministers planned and presented the mini-retreat, which was rooted in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“Joy of the Gospel”). The day included short talks, one-on-one and small group discussions, as well as the opportunity for quiet reflection before the Blessed Sacrament.

Gloria Schweizer, of the Asheville area campus ministry, led the group in prayer. Sister Eileen Spanier, GNSH, of the Charlotte area campus ministry; George Brunner, of the Greensboro area campus ministry; and Karen Soos, of Davidson College campus ministry, were the

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main presenters. Matthew Newsome, of Western Carolina University’s campus ministry; Conventual Franciscan Father Charles Jagodzinski and Liz Orr from Wake Forest Campus Ministry; and Kay Jordan, assistant to the director, kept retreat participants and their intentions in prayer during Adoration. The 30 participants wrote letters to remind themselves of the graces, blessings and resolutions they gleaned from the retreat. These will be mailed back to them at the beginning of Advent. The Day of Reflection culminated with a brief homily from Father Jagodzinski and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Learn more about Advent in the Byzantine tradition SYLVA — Father Deacon Matthew Hanes, who serves with St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte, will give a presentation on “Byzantine Advent” from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 23, at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Sylva. Everyone is welcome to attend this free program about how Catholics in the Byzantine-rite Churches prepare for the Feast of the Nativity.

Eastern Catholic liturgies planned in Canton CANTON — Father Mark Shuey, an Eastern Catholic priest from Cary, will celebrate Byzantine rite Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton on Saturday, Dec. 20. Vespers will begin at 4 p.m. and Divine Liturgy (Mass) at 5 p.m. Services will be celebrated in English.

Participating in Divine Liturgy fulfills the Sunday obligation for Catholics of any rite.

Immaculate Conception Mission is located at 42 Newfound St., Canton.

A priest of the Ukrainian Catholic eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio, serving under Bishop John Bura, Father Mark is pastor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Cary and St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte.

— Deacon Kevin Bezner

Latin Requiem Masses celebrated for All Souls Day CHARLOTTE — Three parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte celebrated the Feast of All Souls with Requiem Masses (Masses for the dead) on Nov. 3. St. Ann in Charlotte, Sacred Heart in Salisbury, and Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro all offered Requiem Masses for the souls in purgatory. Requiem Masses typically take a somber tone and the priest offers Mass wearing black vestments. In the Extraordinary Form calendar, Requiem Masses are not celebrated on Sundays, so this year’s All Souls’ Day feast was transferred to the next day. Pictured are St. Ann’s pastor Father Timothy Reid and Sacred Heart’s parochial vicar Father Noah Carter as they offer Mass at their parishes. Our Lady of Greensboro Parish also offered the Requiem Mass, which also marked the resumption of Extraordinary Masses at that parish after a hiatus. Starting Sunday, Nov. 9, Our Lady of Grace began offering a weekly Sunday Extraordinary Form Mass again at 1 p.m.

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent. Photos by Mike FitzGerald and John Cosmas

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 OUR PARISHES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

Circle members Bonnie Manga and Maxene Lackey giving out Bingo sheets for the fun evening.

— Carol Viau

In Brief

SJN holds Forty Hours Devotion Young at Heart gives thanks HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Parish’s Young at Heart ministry hosted its annual Thanksgiving Banquet Nov. 11 at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. Around 200 parishioners attended the festive dinner and were entertained by the Outreach Singers, a group based at Davidson United Methodist Church that performs 1940s and 1950s era tunes for seniors. The Young At Heart ministry, formerly known as the Elder Ministry, organizes various social events for seniors at St. Mark’s and in the community.

To learn more, email Jim Soder at jim.soder@ stmark.nc.org.

CHARLOTTE — A Forty Hours Devotion was held Oct. 19-21 at St. John Neumann Church, with guest homilist, Father Joseph R. Gibino, STM, Ph.D., pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Whitestone, N.Y., and an associate professor at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. He spoke each evening on the general theme “To Stand in Your Presence.” Sunday’s topic was “Standing in the Presence of the Lord,” followed by “The Universal Call to Holiness” and “Go and Announce the Gospel of the Lord!” on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

— Jennifer Noto and Marty Schneider

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent

Quilters help Haitian orphans

Bingo benefits the community WAYNESVILLE — The eighth annual Baskets and Bags Bingo, held Sept. 12 at the Haywood County Fairgrounds, was a big success for the community. The event, presented by the Catholic Women’s Circle of St. John the Evangelist Church, raised a record amount for charity.

Distributions recently announced will benefit many community agencies, including Meals on Wheels, The Open Door, Canton Community Kitchen, Good Samaritan Clinic, REACH, HRMC Hospice, Haywood Christian Ministry and HCM’s fuel fund, Circles of Hope, Lifeworks, KARE, Mountain Projects – fuel fund, ARC, Haywood Public Transit, Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center, Camp Ability, veterans’ needs, Kiwanis Spelling Bee, a college scholarship and St. John the Evangelist Church’s special needs.

“It was group effort to produce the event for 550 happy bingo players,” said co-chair Cherry Stone. “The success of the event helped the CWC in its continued support of local Haywood County charities.”

The event included a cancer survivor table, with Johanna Dewees, RN, nurse navigator at HRMC, answering questions about cancer prevention and detection.

“We could not provide the support these agencies desperately need without the community’s help,” said Ann Simmons, bingo co-chair.

Pictured are St. John’s Catholic Women’s

WINSTON-SALEM — The Sew Together Group of Our Lady Of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem recently made and donated girls dresses for the Asheville Sisters of Mercy orphanage in Haiti.

The group makes quilts for the community and has other outreach ministries.

— Kathy Raab

SJN raises funds for Georgia mission parish CHARLOTTE — Parishioners at St. John Neumann Church recently hosted a spaghetti dinner that raised nearly $1,400 for their mission parish, St. Luke, in Cuthbert, Ga. The menu featured spaghetti with homemade sauce, meatballs, salad and dessert. Proceeds will be used to purchase a new outdoor manger for St. Luke’s. Since adopting the mission parish last year, St. John Neumann has conducted several service projects to help the parishioners of the rural southwest Georgia parish.

— Marty Schneider and Jennifer Noto

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November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

El Padre Fidel C. Melo

¿

La Gratitud

Qué tal hermanos y hermanas? De nuevo tengo la alegría de poder comunicarme con ustedes por medio de nuestro periódico diocesano. Espero todos se encuentren gozando de salud física y espiritual. En esta ocasión en que ya hemos iniciado la recta final de éste año 2014, y ya para celebrar el Día de Acción de Gracias aquí en los Estados Unidos de América, quiero compartir con ustedes el maravilloso relato de los diez leprosos que nos presenta el Evangelio de Lucas. Una historia que muestra el amor de Dios en Cristo; una historia de compasión; una historia de gratitud.

“Al entrar en un poblado, le salieron al encuentro diez leprosos, que se detuvieron a distancia y empezaron a gritarle: ¿Jesús, Maestro, ten compasión de nosotros? Al verlos Jesús les dijo: “Vayan a presentarse a los sacerdotes” y en el camino quedaron purificados. Uno de ellos, al comprobar que estaba curado, volvió atrás alabando a Dios en voz alta y se postró a los pies de Jesús con el rostro en tierra, dándole las gracias. Era un Samaritano, Jesús le dijo entonces: “¿Cómo, no quedaron purificados los diez?” Los otros nueve, ¿Dónde están? ¿Ninguno volvió a dar gracias a Dios sino este extranjero? y agregó: “Levántate y vete, tu fe te ha salvado,”(Lc. 17, 11-19).

“El agradecimiento es la memoria del corazón,” es la expresión de un pensador y filósofo asiático. La gratitud es un sentimiento del corazón. Se conoce como gratitud a aquel sentimiento de agradecimiento ante el reconocimiento de un favor o la recepción de un beneficio, que experimenta una persona cuando este se hace efectivo ante esa persona. El sentimiento de gratitud puede ir desde una simple manifestación verbal hasta el deseo de corresponder. Es decir, el surgimiento del impulso que lleva a expresar la gratitud más allá de las palabras. En el relato del Evangelio que hemos leído nos muestra como el mismo Señor Jesucristo se muestra sorprendido ante el retorno agradecido de un solo leproso de entre los diez que habían sido curados por Jesús. “¿Cómo, no quedaron purificados los diez?” mostrando así la importancia de la gratitud en la vida de fe como hijos e hijas de Dios.

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, Dios nos ha bendecido con el maravilloso regalo de la vida y ha rodeado nuestra existencia con muchos más regalos; no obstante, a veces sucumbimos en estar más preocupados por lo que queremos para el futuro que por disfrutar y agradecer a Dios lo que en el presente tenemos.

El sentimiento de la gratitud es muy común en las religiones y en especial en nuestra fe cristiana. La gratitud o agradecimiento es un sentimiento que suelen experimentar los fieles creyentes hacia Dios por medio de la oración y también la acción. Algunos pueblos, como el canadiense y el estadounidense, ponen un gran énfasis en la gratitud, de tal manera que han establecido un día específico para celebrar “la acción de gracias a Dios”, y se reúnen entre familias y amigos para celebrar dicho evento.

Como comunidad hispana de fe aquí en nuestra Diócesis de Charlotte es importante que el Día de Acción de Gracias tomemos la oportunidad para realmente expresar nuestra gratitud a Dios por la vida y los dones recibidos, y aún por los momentos de prueba que aquí nos toca pasar. De modo que, antes de terminar este año, ojalá que dediquemos tiempo para agradecer a Dios por las bendiciones recibidas y muy en especial que el día de Acción de Gracias sea un día verdaderamente en que nuestros corazones puedan arder de gratitud a Dios quien nos ha dado la existencia misma. Que nuestra oración de gratitud se dirija al Creador, y que sea un día en el que no nos olvidemos de los que no tienen familia o nadie con quien celebrar el día de Acción de Gracias y los invitemos a compartir.

Me despido de ustedes dejándoles un par de trozos de la oración al “Amabilísimo Jesús”: “Gracias, amabilísimo Jesús, gracias infinitas os sean dadas por el inapreciable beneficio que acabáis de hacerme viniendo a mí y dignándoos entrar en la pobre morada de mi corazón … ¿Y de dónde a mí tanta dicha? … ¡Ángeles santos! Alabad todos al Señor y dadle por mí las gracias… oh santos del cielo y justos de la tierra ayudadme a dar a Dios las gracias… “ “¡Oh Virgen Santísima!... que con tanta perfección supisteis corresponder a los singulares beneficios que os dispensó Dios, haced que yo sepa también corresponder y darle las debidas gracias; pero ya que esto me es imposible, dáselas por mí.”

Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias a todos.

EL PADRE FIDEL MELO es el Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Parroquia de San Pedro promueve venta de intercambio justo de café con cooperativa de El Salvador Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — La Parroquia de San Pedro en el centro de Charlotte ofrece venta de café, té y chocolate después de la Misa de las 9 am los Domingos en el salón “Bliss” de la Iglesia dos veces al mes.

El café y los demás productos que San Pedro vende durante los Domingos de ‘Coffee & Conversation,’ (café y conversación) proviene de cooperativas de diferentes países del Tercer Mundo, y es una iniciativa creado por el comité de justicia social de esa parroquia para promover el intercambio justo con los agricultores que siembran y producen estos productos.

Una de las cooperativas es la Comunidad de Segundo Montes en El Salvador. La Comunidad de Segundo Montes produce uno de los cafés que se venden en San Pedro en los Domingos designados.

“Nosotros creamos este ministerio de intercambio justo con El Salvador para permitirle a los productores de café en El Salvador de que puedan mantenerse por sí

mismos, sin la necesidad de un intermediario que los explote y les robe de la ganancia de la venta de su café y puedan venderlo a un precio justo,” dijo Nicolette Shoop, miembro del comité de justicia social de San Pedro que se encarga de las ventas del intercambio justo.

El grupo de promoción del intercambio justo fue creado hace ocho años en la Iglesia de San Pedro originalmente para que los miembros de la parroquia estuvieran conscientes y en solidaridad con la Comunidad de Segundo Montes en El Salvador. Eventualmente, el comité decidió agregar otros productos como el té y el chocolate provenientes del Congo en África.

“La venta de estos productos de intercambio justo hace una gran diferencia en las vidas de los agricultores que los producen y ayuda a combatir la explotación de estos granjeros en esos países,” dijo Shoop.

Las próximas dos ventas de café, té y chocolate en San Pedro serán el Domingo, 23 de Noviembre, y el 7 de Diciembre después de la Misa de las 9 am en el Salón Bliss.

FOTO PROPORCIONADA POR CESAR HURTADO

Parroquia de San Gabriel celebra 10 años de Ministerio Hispano CHARLOTTE — Cerca de unas 500 personas asistieron a la Misa en español en la Iglesia de San Gabriel en Charlotte el Domingo, 9 de Noviembre. La Misa conmemoró el décimo aniversario del Ministerio Hispano en esa parroquia. El Padre Ed Sheridan, Párroco antiguo de San Gabriel y creador del Ministerio Hispano ahí, fue el celebrante principal. El Padre Frank O’Rourke, Párroco de San Gabriel, el Padre Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar, Vicario de San Gabriel y el Padre Fidel Melo, Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la diócesis, también concelebraron la Misa. (Arriba) En un gesto simbólico, cuatro de las primeras jóvenes que sirvieron como monaguillos cuando se inició el Ministerio Hispano en San Gabriel, el 10 de Noviembre del 2004, entregan las ofrendas al Padre Ed Sheridan durante el ofertorio de la Misa.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 FROM THE COVER

‘It is never licit to kill another: even if he should wish it, indeed if he request it, hanging between life and death ... nor is it licit even when a sick person is no longer able to live.’ — St. Augustine

Is there a ‘right to die’?

What should you do?

Planning for end-of-life situations is important. We should put in place an advance directive before our health takes a serious turn for the worse and we are no longer able to indicate our own wishes or make our own decisions. Advance directives can be of two types: living wills and health care agents.

The best approach is to choose a health care agent (also known as a “proxy” or a “durable power of attorney for health care”). Our agent then makes decisions on our behalf when we become incapacitated. We should designate in writing who that health care proxy will be. Copies of that completed health care proxy designation form should be shared with our proxy, our doctors, nurse practitioners, hospice personnel, family members and other relevant people.

Besides choosing a health care proxy, some people may also decide to write up a living will in which they state their wishes regarding end-of-life care.

Living wills raise concerns, however, because these documents attempt to describe our wishes about various medical situations before those situations actually arise, and could end up limiting choices in unreasonable ways. Given the breathtaking pace of medical advances, a person’s decisions today about what care to receive or refuse may not make sense later. It is impossible and unrealistic to try to cover every medical situation in a living will, and it is preferable to have a proxy – a person we trust – who can interact with the hospital and the health care team, weigh options in real time, and make appropriate decisions for us as we need it.

— Father Tad Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center

More online At www.ncbcenter.org: Learn more about end-of-life issues, the legal protections you should arrange for end-of-life care, and purchase a copy of “A Catholic Guide to End-ofLife Decisions” for $2.50 (print or electronic format) At www.usccb.org: Learn more about Catholic teaching on life issues, from abortion to welfare.

(Click on the Issues and Action – Human Life and Dignity tab.)

B

y now, the world recognizes Brittany Maynard as the media darling of right-todie advocacy.

After receiving a grim prognosis of six months to live due to an aggressive brain tumor, the 29-year-old Maynard and her husband moved to Oregon to take advantage of its “Death with Dignity” law which permits physician-assisted suicide.

Compassion and Choices, which advocates for euthanasia, latched on to Maynard’s youth and beauty after she approached them, asking how she could help their cause. They produced a video featuring Brittany and her family, complete with soothing music and beautiful photos, in which she calmly explains her situation and choice to die. She was hailed as heroic, a brave woman who looked terminal illness in the face and ended her life on her own terms. On Nov. 1, she killed herself by swallowing a lethal overdose of barbiturates prescribed by a doctor.

But is it really so simple?

Is there a “right to die”? And as Catholics, how should we respond to the growing acceptance of the practice?

IS EUTHANASIA LEGAL?

Euthanasia, also known as “mercy killing” or “physician-assisted suicide,” is the act of helping someone either terminally ill or in a great deal of pain end his or her life.

While Maynard’s image and story – coupled with Compassion and Choice’s publicity – have helped gained traction for right-todie laws, society has not always been so receptive to the idea. For years, the movement advocating for physician-assisted suicide went by the less-than pleasant sounding “Hemlock Society.” It wasn’t until 1997 that Oregon

became the first state to permit euthanasia.

At the time of Maynard’s death, only three states (Oregon, Washington and Vermont) permitted euthanasia, and two others (Montana and New Mexico) have court rulings protecting physicians who help patients die. The federal government and 39 states have laws specifically outlawing euthanasia, but so-called “death with dignity” bills have been introduced in seven states and right-to-die advocates are actively campaigning for their passage.

Most recently, New Jersey’s general assembly passed the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act Nov. 13, and now the state Senate is considering it.

North Carolina law is unclear. It prohibits mercy killing, but it allows medical professionals to withhold artificial life support under certain conditions when requested by a patient through an “advanced directive for a natural death” (also called a “living will”).

Maynard’s story, of course, is not typical.

More often, questions about end-of-life care arise over an aging spouse or parent suffering from a debilitating or degenerative disease.

Family members, already grieving over their loved one’s condition, struggle over how and when to provide care, wondering whether they’re unnecessarily prolonging the suffering or giving up too early.

LIFE-AFFIRMING CARE FOR THE DYING

Sue Brittain knows this from personal experience. Her father died at home after a painful struggle with mesothelioma, and her mother suffered from dementia. When her mother’s condition deteriorated to the point where she couldn’t live independently, Brittain moved her into her Mooresville home. She and her husband Norman lovingly cared for her mother daily for more than two years.

“Nobody actively wants to face the fact that somebody that close to you is dying,” Brittain said. “I don’t think you ever give up hope.”

When her mother’s health worsened, Brittain knew they needed help. She turned to her parish, St. Thérèse Church, and learned about Serenity House of Mooresville, a home operated by Carolina Comfort Coalition for the terminally ill who wish to die naturally at home, but need basic yet around-the-clock hospice-type care.

Hospice houses and comfort care homes such as Serenity House are life-affirming alternatives for many people when they can no longer care for their loved ones at home.

They are also more intimate and home-like than hospitals and nursing homes.

For Brittain, Serenity House, located near her church, was the perfect option for endof-life care for her 90-year-old mother.

“Serenity House gave us the last seven days of peace and tranquility with my mum,” she said. “It just took a huge burden off us. I was able to just sit there and hold her hand. I couldn’t have done that with her at home. I think that probably meant more to me than anything.

“They’re angels there, they really are.”

Life-affirming alternatives such as Serenity House offer palliative care, which has come more into the spotlight as a result of publicity about Maynard’s suicide.

Palliative care is “the comprehensive management of symptoms and attention to the whole-person needs of a patient with chronic illness especially in its terminal stages,” according to Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, professor of medical ethics in the medical and divinity schools at the University of Chicago. He said it includes pain control, treatment of depression and nausea, fatigue and weakness, among other symptoms, and he noted that most teams also include chaplains to provide spiritual care.

Palliative care also fits well with Catholic teaching on death and care of the dying.

What our faith teaches us

Our faith teaches us that all human life is sacred from the first moment of conception to the moment of natural death. That means that all human beings, regardless of their physical or mental abilities, share an equal human dignity that merits both respect and protection.

When it comes to making health care decisions for ourselves or our loved ones, all ordinary and reasonable measures must be taken to preserve and improve life, including nutrition and hydration to sustain life. But the terminally ill may forego the use of extraordinary means that prolong their life in this world – that is, measures offering no reasonable hope of benefit or measures involving excessive hardship.

In remarks to 4,000 Catholic doctors in Rome Nov. 15, Pope Francis reiterated Catholic teaching on the dignity of end-oflife care. Euthanasia, the pope said, is not “an act of dignity.”

Instead, he said, it is like telling God: “‘At the end of life, I do it like I want.’ It’s a sin against God. Think well about this.”

REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING

Christ’s Passion and death on the cross also demonstrate the fact that suffering is not worthless.

Before Maynard committed suicide, Diocese of Raleigh seminarian Philip Johnson, who also has terminal brain cancer, wrote an impassioned plea for her to reconsider.

“It is an understandable temptation to take this course of action, but that is all that it is – a temptation to avoid an important reality of life,” Johnson wrote. “By dying on one’s ‘own terms,’ death seems more comfortable in our culture that is sanitized and tends to avoid any mention of the suffering and death that will eventually come to us all.

“As humans we are relational – we relate to one another and the actions of one person affects others. Sadly, the concept of ‘redemptive suffering’ – that human suffering united to the suffering of Jesus on the Cross for our salvation can benefit others – has often been ignored or lost in modern times. It is perfectly understandable that medication

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM THE COVERI

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What does the Catechism say?

Euthanasia

iStockphoto

should be made available to give comfort and limit suffering as much as possible during the dying process, especially during a terminal illness, but it is impossible to avoid suffering altogether. We do not seek pain for its own sake, but our suffering can have great meaning if we try to join it to the Passion of Christ and offer it for the conversion or intentions of others. While often terrifying, the suffering and pain that we will all experience in our lives can be turned into something positive. This has been a very difficult task for me, but it is possible to achieve.”

Father Patrick Hoare, pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, echoes the sacredness and value of caring for the sick and dying, for everyone touched by that person’s life and illness.

“In priestly ministry, I am blessed to work with people in all stages of life. There is great happiness in baptizing a newborn baby, of accompanying him or her in a happy childhood, and watching that same child mature and discover God’s calling in life,” Father Hoare said. “But I am often so inspired by those who face great difficulties, which sometimes includes significant health and aging issues, with dignity and even humble joy.

“No matter how a person bears such suffering, those of us who minister to them, including clergy, health care workers and those on the front lines – the friends and family – are given a unique opportunity to show the love of God working through us. The loving children who interrupt their own plans for an aging parent, the dedicated friend who takes the time to visit a homebound parishioner on a weekly basis, sharing a cup of coffee and the gift of time, or the spouse who embraces their marital vow to love their partner ‘in sickness and in health’ – these are among the most powerful pro-life witnesses of our time.”

“As Catholics,” he emphasized, “we must constantly affirm the essential beauty of

every human life by ourselves following the Lord’s example of serving those whom society would like us to forget.”

WHAT DO WE VALUE MOST?

Maynard’s suicide spotlighted values prevalent in today’s society: the desire to avoid pain at any cost, the worry about becoming a burden, the fear of losing control.

In fact, in the states where physicianassisted suicide is legal and records are kept, most people seek suicide not because they are experiencing pain from illness, but because they feel they are becoming a burden or losing independence.

The growing acceptance of euthanasia particularly points to the fact that the meaning of human dignity has become more and more about what people can have and can offer, rather than who they are, Pope Francis has reminded us repeatedly.

“In reality, in the light of faith and of right reason, human life is always sacred and always ‘of quality’,” he told the Catholic doctors on Nov. 15. “No human life exists that is more sacred that the other, just like there is no human life qualitatively more significant than another solely in virtue of resources, rights, economic opportunities and higher social status.”

Euthanasia offers only a “false compassion,” our faith teaches us, and it rejects the true meaning and value of life.

Wrote the terminally-ill Johnson in his open letter to Maynard, “Sadly, Brittany will be missing out on the most intimate moments of her life – her loved ones comforting her through her suffering, her last and most personal moments with her family, and the great mystery of death – in exchange for a quicker and more ‘painless’ option that focuses more on herself than anyone else. In our culture, which seeks to avoid pain at any cost, it is not difficult to understand why this response is so common

among those who suffer.”

TALK ABOUT IT AND PLAN AHEAD

Health care experts, social workers and clergy all recommend that families talk honestly about their wishes for end-of-life care, learn about their options, and inform themselves on Catholic teaching. They also recommend designating a health care “agent” who can act on your behalf and make decisions for you in line with Catholic teaching should you become incapacitated, rather than relying upon a living will.

There are multiple authoritative sources available online, including the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and through Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte and the U.S. bishops’ office, to learn more.

“Not one of us wants to look forward to our own death, and plan it. Death is a very difficult subject,” said Brittain, but knowing what end-of-life care options were out there for her mother made it easier to provide the compassionate care that she wanted and provide a loving, life-affirming witness to her mother’s life.

Never lose hope, either, she said, because “God determines when it’s time.”

The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is one unique way priests and chaplains can also minister to the dying and their families.

So, Father Hoare suggested, “Please invite your parish priest into the discussion. He can help you talk through the objective reality of the case, and help you to apply the teaching of the Church to the situation you face. While it doesn’t take away the emotion of watching someone you love suffer, you can be confident that your decision respects the dignity of the person and celebrates the gifts of life – life in this world, and in the next.”

— Compiled by Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor.

Sources: Catholic News Agency, Aid to the Church in Need, Catholic News Service, Diocese of Raleigh.

Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of “overzealous” treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable.

Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.

— Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2277-2279

Suicide Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him.

It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls.

We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self.

It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God. If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

— Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2280-2283

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bazluki’s volunteerism remembered at Charlotte Catholic David R. Exum Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — Gregory Bazluki Sr. will long be remembered for not only the countless hours he spent as a volunteer football coach at Charlotte Catholic High School, he will also be remembered for his selfless service to those most in need.

Inducted posthumously into the Charlotte Catholic High School Hall of Fame in October 2013, Bazluki spent more than 20 years as a volunteer football coach at Charlotte Catholic in the 1970s. He was also part of the coaching staff that guided the Cougars to their first state championship in 1977.

“My father was a true volunteer in every sense of the word,” daughter Marjorie Bazluki remembered in a letter she wrote to nominate her father to the school’s hall of fame. “I can’t think of many other people who selflessly volunteered time to the extent my father did. Dad loved CCHS and the football program.”

Even after retirement in 1997, Bazluki’s daughter noted her father continued to attend football games at Charlotte Catholic. It was also not uncommon for Bazluki to be greeted by former players whose sons now played at the school.

“After Dad retired from coaching, he and I would set a weekly date for each home football game. We would meet for dinner and talk about our day and what was going on,” Marjorie said. “Eventually the talk would turn to how we thought the game would go, what we thought the Cougars needed to do to win, and then we would head to the game, just he and I.” Bazluki’s volunteerism stretched far beyond the football field at Charlotte Catholic. As a devout Catholic and parishioner at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, Bazluki spent many years assisting the needy as a volunteer for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, especially its refugee resettlement ministry. He also served on the committee that built All Saints Church in Lake Wylie, S.C. Bazluki, and his wife Barbara opened their home to teenaged mothers and homeless children. The longtime Eastern Airlines employee used his home as a “study home” for newborns. In between raising four children, Bazluki spent numerous years working the kitchen at St. Patrick’s annual Lenten fish dinners. He also volunteered at the St. Patrick Day dances at the cathedral and was a caretaker at the Girl Scout Camp on Lake Wylie’s Big Allison Creek in York County, S.C.

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OLA students make blankets for men’s shelter CHARLOTTE — On Nov. 11, seventh- and eighth-grade students from Our Lady of the Assumption middle school worked hard to make felt blankets for the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte.

The students spent the day making blankets, stuffing bags of necessary toiletries, and playing

“When Dad was helping or volunteering it was usually in the background, going unnoticed but doing what kept things together,” Marjorie said. “My father had a big heart and he loved people. He would go out of his way to lend a hand as long as it was within his power. If it wasn’t, he would find a way to make it within his power. Dad didn’t want anything in return. He just wanted to help others and give back what he felt had been given to him.”

Besides his devotion to assisting others through volunteerism, Bazluki’s daughter recalled his devotion to family, his love to travel to historic places and how much he enjoyed watching his favorite TV show, “M*A*S*H.” “I remember my dad’s laugh. He had a cousin that could get him to just belly laugh. Such a great sound.

Dad was a serious man on the outside, but very fun and loving on the inside Photo provided by Marjorie Bazluki when you got to know him,” Marjorie In this undated photo, Greg Bazluki Sr. is pictured (third from left) with fellow Charlotte Catholic said. “I would like my dad to be coach Ken Hazen, former principal Jerry Healy and Randy Belk, dean of students. remembered for how much he loved his family. I saw it in his words, his face, and in his actions. I want my dad dedication. Former Charlotte Catholic student Andy to be remembered for how much he cared for others, how Tinson (’05) was the first recipient of the Gregory Bazluki he jumped at opportunities to serve others, especially in Sr. Memorial Scholarship. the greater Catholic community and at Charlotte Catholic Charlotte Catholic coach and math teacher Ken Hazen High School.” remembers Bazluki’s work ethic on the practice field was Marjorie also recalled how assisting others was a what impressed him the most.

Bazluki tradition that the family continues today.

“I was truly overwhelmed by the way he took charge,” “Both my mom and my dad instilled in all of us Hazen said. “He did a little of everything with the football (my brothers and myself) a sense of commitment to team. He worked with the (junior varsity) linemen, he volunteerism and connecting with others through giving washed uniforms, he organized equipment, he cooked team back,” Marjorie said. “We volunteered as a family. For me, meals and he took care of injuries.” this offered new perspectives on life and the world around Hazen also remembered how Bazluki routinely came to me. It allowed me to see the struggles of other people the aid of others, no matter what the circumstances. and to know we all need to help each other. Through “Greg was always ready to help in any way he could ... volunteerism, a sense of humility and gratefulness was helping a coach move to a new house or even sharing his also instilled that still persists.” hot water during Hurricane Hugo,” he said.

After his death in 2005, Charlotte Catholic High School created a scholarship in Bazluki’s honor to recognize student sports trainers who exemplify Bazluki’s

a game of soccer with local refugee students.

The outing was made possible through a grant from Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.

— Tammy Harris

SPX middle schoolers help out GREENSBORO — St. Pius X middle school students recently enjoyed sharing their time and spreading cheer with residents at Hall Towers, an affordable housing community for older adults in downtown Greensboro, by playing bingo and serving food and treats.

— Jean Navarro

Photo provided by Jean Navarro

‘Goodies with Grands’ GREENSBORO — St. Pius X kindergarten students recently enjoyed decorating pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies with their grandparents, during the school’s “Goodies with Grands” kindergarten activity. After eating their delicious concoctions, they had fun touring the Book Fair that took place over two weeks at the school.

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In Brief

BMHS wins sixth Wells Fargo Cup KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness High School was awarded the NCHSAA 1A Wells Fargo Cup Oct. 18, during halftime of the UNC vs. Georgia Tech football game. BMHS Athletic Director Jeff Stoller was on hand to receive the award, presented for overall athletic excellence to the top overall athletic program at each level 1A-4A. This is BMHS’s sixth win in eight years.

— Robert Belcher Photo provided by Susan Pautz

Gaby Hurt is pictured playing in her last match for Christ the King High School recently. The tennis stand-out, a member of St. Mark Church in Huntersville, is ranked as one of the top players in the state and 10th among senior female players in the state by Tennis Recruiting Network.

CTK tennis stand-out credits Catholic education, coach, parents David R. Exum Correspondent

HUNTERSVILLE — When it comes to explaining her success on the tennis court, Gaby Hurt gives credit to her strong religious faith and the Catholic education she has received at Christ the King High School.

“Our faith plays a huge role in everything we do,” said Hurt, who is ranked as one of the top players in the state (13th) and 10th among senior female players in the state by Tennis Recruiting Network. She recently signed a letter of intent to play at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Hurt will be part of Christ the King’s first graduating class in 2015. With a class size of fewer than 30 students, Hurt emphasized the tremendous attention each of her classmates are given by teachers at the north Charlotte area school.

“The focus at (Christ the King) is on the student, and the teachers are always there to help you,” said the Davidson native, who also competes year-round in U.S. Tennis Association Tournaments. “No matter what, you’re set up for success at Christ the King.”

Besides stellar academics Hurt receives at Christ the King, she also enjoys how her Catholic faith plays a predominant role at school each day.

“Every class really focuses on bringing in our Catholic faith – no matter if it’s math, science or English, somehow our faith is always brought out,” Hurt said.

Hurt first considered playing tennis when she was 5, but she didn’t really take to the game until she started training with retired pro John Sadri five years ago.

Hurt considers Sadri as the most positive person she has ever met because of his courageous battle with throat cancer in 2012.

“It was really bad and he was the most positive person I have ever seen in such a terrible situation,” Hurt explained. “It was so hard to see him that way, but he never made it seem like he was sick. He overcame such a hard thing, and that motivates me so much. He really is a tough guy.”

Sadri, meanwhile, noted that although Hurt is a late bloomer to the sport, she is definitely one of the best athletes he has ever trained.

“She’s worked so hard at her game, and has become quite an amazing player,” Sadri said. “She’s got such a sound game fundamentally – there’s not one thing that she doesn’t do correct.

If we can get her just a little bit stronger mentally, the sky’s the limit for her. I’m really hoping she gets the scholarship of her dreams, because any coach would love to have her. She’s such a well-rounded person and such a well-rounded student.”

Sadri also expressed how selfless Hurt is on the tennis court, and about her attitude to get better at her game, even practicing in the rain at times.

“She’s such a great teammate and is always cheering on her teammates to do better,” he added. “She’s always trying to make everybody around her better, and that’s the sign of a good teammate.”

During her first three years at Christ the King High School, the school didn’t have a women’s tennis team so Hurt played on a co-ed team that regularly faced male-dominated teams. It didn’t matter to Hurt: she excelled and lost only two singles matches.

She was also named captain of the co-ed team and selected as most valuable player.

When the school created a women’s tennis team this year, Hurt was named captain.

Her final season at Christ the King has had some remarkable moments, she said.

In her final match she and first-year player Allison Simmel beat the undefeated doubles team of McKinley Riley and Catie Nelson from Charlotte Catholic High School.

“Beating Charlotte Catholic was really huge for the both of us,” Hurt said. “It was especially big for me because I know all those girls on the Charlotte Catholic team from tournament play.

It was really exciting to be able to play them and represent Christ the King.”

Another match Hurt recalled was a singles match against Community School of Davidson’s Courtney Mudge. Hurt was no stranger to Mudge, as she faced her previously in middle school and in tournaments outside of school.

“It was definitely a big match and a big win on a personal level for me,” Hurt said. “The Charlotte Catholic match was also big.

We’re always compared to Charlotte Catholic, but there really is no comparison. We’re a completely different school. We don’t have the big sports programs that they do, and it was pretty cool to keep up with them.”

While Hurt doesn’t know yet what college she would like to attend next fall, she definitely believes none of her success in school or on the tennis court would have been possible without the support of her parents, David and Lily Hurt, who are parishioners at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. Hurt’s father, a former standout golfer, has also helped his daughter with the mental aspect of playing tennis since both sports are so individually based.

“My mom and dad are my No. 1 fans and they are the best support I could ask for,” Hurt said. “They motivate me every day to just work hard and be the best you can be. I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve sacrificed for me to be able to play tennis.”

Volleyball team places second in tourney GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School’s junior varsity volleyball team recently celebrated a second-place win in the Piedmont Elementary Catholic Schools Athletic Association’s 2014 volleyball tournament. The team is pictured with coach Barry Yow. — Karen L. Hornfeck

Immaculata School teams have successful seasons HENDERSONVILLE — Immaculata School’s middle school boys soccer and girls volleyball teams recently wrapped up a successful season.

The Middle School soccer team won its regular season championship as well as the WCCMSC conference tournament championship. The Middle School volleyball team also won the WCCMSC conference tournament championship.

Three middle school boys and two girls were recognized as All Conference Players: Jackson Carter, Michael Rusnak, Giovanni Melendez, Mattie Moore and Caitlin Conroy.

— Tina Okpych

Former OLG students recognized GREENSBORO — At the recent Grimsley High vs. Page High football game, Grimsley seniors Anna Peterson and Riley Silknitter received special recognition. Peterson was awarded the Neese’s Sausage Scholar Athlete Award, which IN BRIEF, SEE page 20

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IN BRIEF: FROM PAGE 19

carries with it a $1,000 scholarship. Silknitter received the Senior Scholar Athlete Award for the senior with the highest grade-point average on the Grimsley football team. His award included a $500 scholarship. Both students graduated from Our Lady of Grace School before attending Grimsley.

Douglas Debate; Uwa Akhere - first place Dramatic Interpretation and third place Duo Interpretation; Alexandria Osborne - fifth place Dramatic Interpretation and third place Duo Interpretation; Nicholas Rudd - fourth place Storytelling; Emily Ford - fifth place Storytelling; Abel Weldebegriel - fifth place Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Paul Gennett - fourth place Public Forum Debate; and Elizabeth Boswell - fourth place Public Forum Debate.

— Mary Antoinette Morales and Doris Tan

— Karen L. Hornfeck

BMHS Model UN team does well at Vandy Debate team comes home with 10 awards CHARLOTTE — Twelve members of the Charlotte Catholic High School Debate and Speech Team attended Nov. 1 the Dougald McLaurin Invitational hosted by South View High School. A total of 19 schools competed.

CCHS was the only team from the Carolina West District that competed against the 18 schools from the East Carolina District. The team came home with 10 awards, including the 1st Place Team Sweepstakes.

The following members received individual awards: Angeline Morales, first place Lincoln-

KERNERSVILLE — The Bishop McGuinness Model United Nations team, under the direction of David Seidel, returned from the Vanderbilt University Model UN competition with an excellent record to begin the competitive season. The event was held on the Vanderbilt campus Oct. 24-26 and included teams from schools around the world. A quarter of the teams returned with individual awards. Winners included the following: Verbal Commendation: Fraser Welsford and Dereck Wright; Honorable Mention: Bobby Mason, Brendan Malone and Alex Strasser; Outstanding Delegate: Sean Farley, Drew Ritzel and Will Bruns; and Best Delegate: Matty Sorrell and Ally Dabar.

— Jeff Stoller

ADOPTION: FROM PAGE 9

say, redemptive suffering over the last six years,” Kim reflected. “The last four months have been incredible. There is so much joy in our lives now ... a joy that we never knew our hearts would ever hold.”

Brandon shared that Anastasia has brought more joy to them than he could have imagined.

“From the moment we held her in the hospital, she felt like a part of us. It’s been hard having three children in heaven and none on earth, and while Anastasia doesn’t replace our little ones, she helps us feel more complete as parents,” he explained.

The adoption has also had a great impact on their Catholic faith.

“With each of our losses, my faith was certainly tested,” Kim said. “This past year has also been a time of growing and trusting in God and His will and plan for us. We’re certainly seeing the fruits of our prayers with this beautiful gift of our daughter. Gratitude has found a permanent way into our prayers and way of life.”

They pray for Anastasia’s birth mother every day and every night and include her in Anastasia’s bedtime prayers. At her baptism, Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church in Charlotte, entrusted them to raise her in the faith.

“What a profoundly powerful and awesome responsibility we now have,” Kim said. “We’re certainly more aware of how we practice our faith and what we want that to look like in our home.”

“Anastasia has made me a more prayerful person,” Brandon acknowledged.

“I know that I’m charged with raising her in a Christian way, and the example I set will shape who she becomes. It’s an enormous responsibility, which is something I’ve certainly always known, but never felt quite like this.”

Brandon and Kim agree that couples considering adoption should surround themselves with a good support system.

“For me, it was friends who had already adopted or fostered,” Kim said.

“I found comfort in their knowledge and encouragement. Also, it is important to find an agency that is a good fit. Your social worker will be instrumental in helping you with paperwork, answering questions, helping place your child into your home, etc., so it is very important that your agency and social worker are a good fit for your family.”

“The adoption process is stressful and having a social worker you can be completely honest with is critical,” Brandon emphasized.

SAMANTHA GRACE’S FAMILY

Veronica and Randall “Dolph” of southeast Charlotte adopted their daughter Samantha Grace this summer. Married for 10 years, they always knew they wanted children but were unsuccessful in having any biological children. Two years ago they realized that adoption would be their only option.

“In year six of our marriage, we started talking about adopting a child,” Dolph said. “We looked into it briefly for a while, then became serious about it two years ago when we 100 percent knew it was almost impossible to have one naturally.”

They started talking to many different agencies to start the process.

“Unfortunately, none of them really gave us much comfort or hope,” Dolph recalled.

“Then we caught a break and met Mishaun at Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.

Hope then resurfaced in both of us that completing our family could be possible.”

They said they are grateful to the entire

Catholic Charities staff.

“Mishaun and the whole staff there were wonderful,” Dolph said. “They kept us informed, they made sure we understood the whole process and most of all, they were doing all the legwork. We liked the fact that they told us nothing is guaranteed and the timeframe could take a while – basically meaning, they were not giving us false hope but telling us the way it is and the way it was going to be.”

This year, Veronica and Dolph went on a cruise in Europe for their 10th wedding anniversary. During their visits to Spain, Italy and France, they stopped in multiple churches and lit a candle at each one to pray for God’s help in adopting a child.

“It was our final hope in our minds,” Dolph explained. “Four days after getting back from the cruise, we got the call from Mishaun – and lo and behold, we were chosen! We both will never forget that phone call, as we then had 11 days to get ready for our baby girl to be with us.”

In God’s divine providence, Veronica’s family was with them on a pre-scheduled visit and Dolph’s mother was able to join them the day Samantha Grace came home.

“Needless to say, along with my mom coming into town, it was by far (next to meeting my wife) the happiest day of our lives,” Dolph said.

Becoming adoptive parents has had a profound impact on their lives and their faith.

“Our belief in God has gotten even stronger, our love for each other has grown and grows more by the day. And as for Samantha, we both can’t wait to see her when she wakes up, when she goes to sleep, when she smiles, etc.,” Veronica said.

“Everything is about her. We have changed our lifestyle so much for her and every change is so worth it,” Dolph added.

They marvel at their new daughter and relish the everyday moments with her.

“Samantha loves to smile, loves to be held, and loves to be around many people. Noise does not bother her. I believe she could sleep through a full stadium of screaming fans,” Dolph joked. “She loves bath-time. She enjoys all the toys. She has grown so much over these past couple months.”

They say that the joy they feel knowing that she is part of their family is the greatest feeling they could imagine.

“And looking into Samantha’s eyes and seeing all the love she has inside and all the new things she is learning has been nothing short of amazing,” Veronica said.

They encourage anyone considering adoption to call Catholic Charities and speak to Mitchell.

“Talk to her. She will be 100 percent honest with you and actually find out if it truly is something you would like to do or not. It is a big decision to make and not one to take lightly,” Dolph said.

“Being able to give a baby a second chance on life is priceless,” Dolph said. “Being able to give your love to a baby that might have never experience it is gold! Completing your family is a dream come true.”

By the numbers

Adoptions completed since 1948: 2,101 (both international and domestic adoptions) Number of families currently being served: 41 (includes adoption, pregnancy support, and active post-adoption cases) Timeframe for placement: A few months to a few years (depends on the family’s preferences and the number of birthparents coming through the pregnancy support program) Number of birthparents who made adoption plans since 2010: 9 birthmothers made adoption plans.

Only 3 of those 9 children were placed.

Number of families on the adoptive family waiting list: 13 (Catholic Charities is not accepting new applications at this time)

Mix

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In Brief

lover. A sadly realistic atmosphere of degraded sensuality pervades the musical performances in writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s film, though the story arc eventually finds the main character rebelling against this aspect of her career. Additionally, the script takes going to bed before strolling down the aisle for granted.

Yet this drama does have its appealing aspects, including the positive mutual support that marks the central pair’s interaction. Temporary cohabitation, much strongly suggestive behavior, considerable crude and crass language.

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

‘Big Hero 6’

‘St. Vincent’ When a recently divorced single mother (Melissa McCarthy) moves in next door to a hard-drinking, curmudgeonly loner (Bill Murray), the two take an instant dislike to each other. But, with no one else available to mind her bullied 12-year-old son after school, mom is forced to turn to her new neighbor as an unlikely babysitter. He and the boy bond as the youngster learns to look past his gruff caregiver’s obvious flaws and see the hidden goodness within. Writer-director Ted Melfi’s feature debut is a fundamentally endearing drama that includes a thoroughly positive portrayal of the lad’s Catholic school teacher (Chris O’Dowd), a religious brother. But aspects of the title character’s dodgy lifestyle, including his relationship with a prostitute, narrow the scope of the appropriate audience for the film, while the script’s treatment of morality, just how much is excusable in a person who is, at heart, unusually nurturing and generous?. Brief semigraphic adultery and much crude language.

CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: PG-13

‘Beyond the Lights’ Well-intended but problematic romance matching a burned-out rap star (Gugu Mbatha Raw) with the policeman assigned to protect her (Nate Parker) after he intervenes to prevent her suicide. Their relationship is opposed by her showbiz mom (Minnie Driver) and by the callous singer (real-life rapper Richard Colson Baker) who is both her collaborator and her

Colorfully set in a fictional city that blends elements of San Francisco and Tokyo, this action-packed 3-D animated adventure, is loosely based on a Marvel Comics series.

A teenage inventor (voice of Ryan Potter) uncovers the evil conspiracy that took the life of his older brother. To fight the bad guys, he assembles a team made up of his personal robot (voice of Scott Adsit) and a quartet of fellow nerds (voices of Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, and T.J. Miller).

Christening themselves with the phrase of the title, the aspiring superheroes set out to save the day. The movie’s calmer moments offer good lessons in friendship, self-sacrifice, and resisting temptation. It offers a dog’s-eye view of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Is acceptable for all ages. Mildly scary sequences, references to puberty.

CNS: A-II (adults and adolescents); MPAA: PG

‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Comedy sequel reuniting a duo of nitwits (Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels) 20 years after their adventures in the 1994 original.

Carrey’s character has spent the interval in a mental asylum pretending to be catatonic as a prolonged practical joke on his buddy. But he snaps out of it on hearing that his friend needs a kidney donor. Together they set off in search of the most likely candidate, the grown daughter (Rachel Melvin) the sick man has only just discovered he has. A couple of scenes trigger such deep disgust that the whole can be endorsed for no one. Pervasive sexual and much scatological humor.

CNS: 0 (morally offensive); MPAA: PG-13

Additional reviews:

n ‘Nightcrawler’: CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R n ‘Interstellar’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13

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On TV

recording studio for three days in the fall of 2012 to produce an album of sacred music for Advent.

n Saturday, Nov. 22, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Mary of Nazareth.” Film presentation on the Virgin Mary from her childhood through the Resurrection of Jesus, capturing the essence of her profound faith and trust in God. Part 1.

n Monday, Dec. 1, 5 p.m. (EWTN) “Image of God: What is Advent?” Mary Jo Smith and the “Faith Factory” kids discuss Advent and how we are waiting for the coming of Jesus’ birthday and preparing to celebrate it with joy.

n Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Catholic Aid to Syria’s Refugees.” Filmmaker Elisabetta Valgiusti presents the humanitarian activities of the Catholic Church and Caritas International in service to Syria’s refugees, along with stories of individual Syrian refugees and commentary from Catholic leaders.

n Monday, Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “The Angels of the Arctic Circle.” An inside look at Carmelite nuns who have become an oasis of healing and wisdom for believers and nonbelievers alike in secular Norway.

n Tuesday, Nov. 25, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Rookies in Rome.” Bob Dolan presents six seminarians who are new to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, the challenges that they will face in a new culture, and how this experience will forever leave a big impact on their priestly vocation. n Thursday, Nov. 27, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “The Calling.” An engaging and inspiring film which brings new hope and confidence for young Catholics in England and Wales to think about their vocation. n Saturday, Nov. 29, 10:30 a.m. (EWTN) “Vespers for the Start of Advent.” From St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis celebrates vespers for the start of the season of Advent. n Saturday, Nov. 29, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Mary of the Nazareth.” Film presentation on the Virgin Mary from her childhood through the Resurrection of Jesus, capturing the essence of her profound faith and trust in God. Part 2. n Sunday, Nov. 30, 2:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Advent at Ephesus.” Explore the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus, which became a modern, high-tech

n Tuesday, Dec. 2, 6 a.m. (EWTN) “Advent Retreat: The Infant Jesus, Worthy of Adoration.” Father Pablo Straub offers a moving Advent reflection on the infant Jesus. n Tuesday, Dec. 2, 8:30 p.m. (ABC) “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In this digitally remastered 1965 special, Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees everywhere during the Christmas season.

Lucy suggests he become director of the school Christmas pageant and Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, Charlie Brown needs Linus’ help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is. n Wednesday, Dec. 3, 4:26 p.m. (EWTN) “Saints and Heroes: Francis Xavier.” The animated story of Francis Xavier, who was on a path to worldly success until Ignatius of Loyola showed him Godly success, which led him to become a missionary and set off to the farthest reaches of the world. n Thursday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Out of the Shadows.” Dominican Father Allen White traces the origins of Roman Christianity from its obscure, house-church beginnings to its ultimate triumph over the imperial power.

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In Brief Philly officially opens World Meeting of Families registration PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia formally opened its arms to the world as Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told the U.S. Catholic bishops Nov. 10 that registration has begun for the World Meeting of Families next year in the city. With up to 15,000 attendees expected for the gathering of families from around the country and the world Sept. 22-25, 2015, organizers are planning hotel and other accommodations plus a full slate of top speakers and activities for what will be the largest convention for Philadelphia next year.

“The World Meeting of Families will deal with a wide range of family issues where our faith is both needed and tested,” the archbishop said. “These are matters that affect families not only here in the United States but on a global scale.”

Addressing those matters in six keynote speeches and 67 breakout sessions – each allowing for 15-20 minutes of questions and answers with 700 to 1,000 people per session – will be speakers including Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, and other bishops, priests and religious sisters, plus Helen Alvaré, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson and author Scott Hahn.

A glance at the topics to be presented at next year’s World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, including premarital sex, homosexuality, infertility and celibacy, might give the impression that it’s all about sexuality and the Catholic Church’s teaching on it. But Mary Beth Yount, a theology professor at Neumann University and director of content and programming for the World Meeting of Families, believes it is much more than that. “It’s not all about sex,” she said. “We’re pulling in the larger context, not just human sexuality and not just family relationships. This is for all people in all walks of life: married, dating, single by choice, celibate.”

The preliminary congress agenda is posted on the website www.worldmeeting2015.org, displaying the daily schedule of official congress events held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

New Chicago archbishop: Jesus invites all to take risk ‘of being more’ CHICAGO— At his installation as the ninth archbishop of Chicago Nov. 18, Archbishop Blase J.Cupich urged the congregation at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral to fearlessly share their faith recognizing that God calls them “to more” and “to greater things.” Before an overflow crowd, the archbishop said he had “a bit of a panic attack” when he saw the day’s Gospel reading was about Jesus walking on water and calling His disciples to follow Him. “I realize this new responsibility is going to be demanding,” he said, “but seriously folks, I don’t do ‘walking on water.’ I can barely swim. So I hope this image in today’s Gospel is not reflective of anyone’s expectations.”

The archbishop, who succeeds Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, said the passage asks believers to “join Christ in seeking out, inviting and accompanying, by abiding with those to whom he sends us.” In particular, he said Catholics today face the “formidable task of passing on the faith to the next generation, of evangelizing a modern and sometimes skeptical culture, not to mention inspiring young people to serve the Church as priests and religious.” That challenge, he said, “all seems so daunting, as daunting as walking on water.”

— Catholic News Service

Bishops OK liturgy items, endorse sainthood cause, hold elections Catholic News Service

BALTIMORE — Though there were no actions on the U.S. bishops’ agenda in Baltimore dealing with immigration, poverty and other public policy issues, the president of their conference said Nov. 11 that he hopes to meet with President Barack Obama and House and Senate leaders soon on several topics.

In a brief comment during the annual fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., said he had heard from many of his brother bishops about those issues and hopes conferring with the politicians will supplement the work that committees and USCCB staff are doing. He said he intends to pursue a meeting with the president and congressional leaders as soon as December.

In other action on the second public day of the Nov. 10-13 meeting, the bishops: n Approved several liturgical items, including a revised translation of the ritual book used whenever a new Church is built or when a new altar is made; the first official English translation of the ritual book “Exorcisms and Related Supplications”; and a supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours that is an English translation of the prayers used for the feast days of saints who have been added to the general calendar since 1984. n Voted to proceed with a revision of a section of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services dealing with partnerships. n Endorsed the sainthood cause of Father Paul Wattson, cofounder of the Society of the Atonement in 1899, and in his day a leading advocate of Christian unity. n Approved a 2015 budget of just under $189.5 million. They also voted on a 3 percent increase in the diocesan assessment for 2016, but the vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority of the 197 bishops required to approve it. Eligible members absent from the Baltimore meeting will be canvassed to determine the final vote.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, chairman of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, gave a presentation on the newly revised “Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the United States.”

As the number of priests and pastoral ministers from other countries increases in the United States, he said the resource – now in its third edition – provides information for dioceses, eparchies and religious communities to prepare international ministers for their service and help the communities that receive them.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, USCCB secretary and chairman of the Committee on Priorities and Plans, told the bishops that a myriad of activities revolving around four key goals of the USCCB is an indication that “the conference planning process is working quite well.”

The current four goals, or priorities, are faith formation and sacramental practice; strengthening marriage and family life; the life and dignity of the human person; and religious liberty.

The bishops also heard a report on the work of various committees – pro-life, domestic justice, international justice, evangelization and religious liberty – which together are trying to pinpoint what Catholics in the pew are thinking and why they accept or disregard Church teaching.

The compilation of vast data is being assembled for bishops to read and also will be relayed in series of workshops. One of the major findings from the study – that Catholics want to find out more about their faith – has prompted plans for a 2017 convocation in Orlando, Fla., the week of July 4.

In considering the bishops’ ethical directives for Catholic health care, the discussion focused on whether to revise Part 6, “Forming New Partnerships with Health Care Organizations.”

It will take into account principles suggested by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Once completed, the revision will be presented to the bishops for final approval.

Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, invited the bishops to a 2015 Lay Ecclesial Ministry Summit. The June 7, 2015, event will mark the 10th anniversary of the bishops’ statement “Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.” It will be held just prior to the USCCB spring general assembly in St.

Louis.

In elections, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans won the secretary-elect spot. The committee chairmen-elect are: Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, pro-life activities; Auxiliary Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Indianapolis, communications; Archbishop Gustavo GarciaSiller of San Antonio, cultural diversity; Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit, doctrine; Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala., national collections. Each will assume their offices next November for a three-year term.

The meeting included reports on the recently concluded extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family; Catholic education and an outreach to Hispanic students in underserved communities; the progress of planning for the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia; the status of the 2013-16 USCCB strategic plan, “The New Evangelization: Faith, Worship, Witness”; the 2015 Fortnight of Freedom; and the defense of marriage.

Several bishops who participated in the synod talked about their experience there, and also discussed it in one of three news conferences during the meeting’s public sessions.

Cardinal Dolan said at the news conference that he thought reports of the synod as “confrontational and divisive” conflicted with his impressions. “The one we were at was hardly as spicy (and) juicy,” he said.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington and chairman of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, reported on continuing strong growth for the Church in Africa and said U.S. Catholics deserve thanks and credit for their financial support for the effort. “Some dioceses (in Africa) have more catechumens than Catholics,” he said, adding that in some dioceses as many as 5,000 people have joined the Church in a year. Such growth rates “are somewhat like the early centuries of the Church,” he said.

Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, N.M., reported on a 12-day prayer pilgrimage for peace in the Holy Land in September. Eighteen bishops visited sacred sites of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and met with people who helped them understand the struggles of the people of each faith.

“We know peace is possible,” Bishop Cantu said, “because God is our hope.” But “after another Gaza war, hope is now in short supply. What is needed now is the transformation of human hearts, so that one side’s hearts is less deaf to the concerns of the other.”

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, said the committee – extended for another three years – planned to focus more on teaching and expanding networks with Catholic lay groups and interfaith and ecumenical partners. He said threats to religious liberty remain a great concern.

“The challenges to religious liberty with regard to the redefinition of marriage grow daily,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, in his report.

He said that for several years, the subcommittee has “sought to defend marriage’s unique meaning, while also calling attention to the real negative consequences and anticipated threats that marriage redefinition poses to religious liberty and freedom of conscience.”

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia formally opened its arms to the world as Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced that registration has officially begun for the World Meeting of Families next year there.

On Nov. 10, the bishops concelebrated Mass at Baltimore’s Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to mark the 225th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese created for the United States. It was made an archdiocese in 1808.

Archbishop Lori said in his homily that all Catholics are heirs “to this precious legacy” set forth by the first nation’s first Catholic bishop, Bishop John Carroll.

“Let us humbly ask for the grace to build on the foundations that John Carroll set down,” Archbishop Lori said.

— Contributing to this roundup were Patricia Zapor, Mark Pattison and Carol Zimmermann.

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Cardinal O’Malley says Rome ‘urgently’ needs to look into Bishop Finn Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

Photo provided by Yevhen Gulenko, St. Josaphat Eparchy

Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Church ordained and installed Father Bohdan Danylo as the new bishop for the Eparchy of St. Josaphat at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, Nov. 4.

‘Akcioc!’ Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop installed in Parma New bishop heads North Carolina missions Deacon Kevin Bezner Special to the Catholic News Herald

PARMA, Ohio — Father Bohdan Danylo was installed as the new Bishop for the Eparchy (Diocese) of St. Josaphat at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral Nov. 4 by Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Bishop Danylo, 43, succeeds Bishop John Bura, who had served as apostolic administrator of the eparchy since 2009. When Pope Francis appointed him Aug. 7, Bishop Danylo became the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States, and he is just one year younger than Patriarch Shevchuk.

More than 150 clergy from both the Ukrainian Catholic, Roman Catholic and Maronite Catholic Churches across the U.S. and Canada participated in the three-hour Pontifical Divine Liturgy celebrated

by Patriarch Shevchuk, including a contingent from the dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh whose church communities are now under the omophorion, or authority, of the new bishop: Father Mark Shuey, pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Cary and St. Basil Mission in Charlotte; Father Matthew Schroeder, pastor of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha in Garner; Deacons Stephen Dozier, Buenaventura Yupanqui and Joseph Kibbe of St. Nicholas Church; and Deacon Matthew Hanes and parishioner Andrew Preslar of St. Basil Mission.

The entire history of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, one of more than 20 Churches that make up the universal Catholic Church, seemed on display at the episcopal ordination and installation. With those in attendance from East and West fanning across the small cathedral, Patriarch Shevchuk and soon-to-beBishop Danylo surrounded by numerous hierarchs, bishops, priests, protodeacons, deacons, subdeacons and altar servers, it felt like a synod of the early Church.

Standing at the edge of an image of an eagle with extended wings in the middle of the church, the bishop-elect read the profession of faith. Soon after, he knelt before the ordaining bishops, and after the laying on of hands by Patriarch Shevchuk and prayers by the bishops, he was given the symbols of his episcopal office: the sakkos, the vestment he wears in liturgies; the omophorion, worn on the shoulder to symoblize his role as an icon of Christ the Good Shepherd; the panagia, an image of Mary worn over his vestments with the pectoral cross and worn alone when he is not vested; the crown-shaped mitre; and the cross.

The patriarch then exclaimed, “Akcioc!” and handed the newlyordained bishop his crozier.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, he was given an episcopal rason, the panagia, a mantle and klobuk, and a rosary. The new bishop then stood with the patriarch and other bishops for the reading of the papal bull from Pope Francis. Once the bull was read and more prayers said, Bishop Danylo was enthroned.

Patriarch Shevchuk then handed him a pectoral cross and proclaimed, “Akcioc!” or “He is worthy.”

The choir sang three times, “Akcioc! Akcioc! Akcioc!” The clergy and the people sang each time the patriarch proclaimed “Akcioc!”, the sound of their voices growing louder and stronger, rolling through the small cathedral like a wave, “Akcioc!”

The feeling of joy in the cathedral in Parma, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, was palpable. And in good Ukrainian Greek Catholic form, this joy is expressed “Mnohaya lita” (“many years”).

Before the ceremony ended, Bishop Danylo, in his first episcopal act, intoned the polychronion, a chant often recited at the end of a liturgy to wish someone many years.

Then he wished many years to “the universal pontiff, Francis, Pope of Rome,” “our most blessed Patriarch Sviatoslav” and “our most reverend Metropolitan, Stefan” of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Following this, a priest intoned “and our God-loving Bishop Bohdan.” The singing grew even louder.

Ukrainians love to sing, and following the recitation of each name they sang “Mnohaya lita” or “many years” – their response filling the cathedral each time. Wherever and whenever Ukrainians gather, you will hear this song of faith, hope, unity and timelessness.

On the day of Bishop Danylo’s ordination, the song seemed to represent a new dawn for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Parma and throughout the United States, a dawn that began with the selection of Patriarch Shevchuk as the successor to Lubomyr Cardinal Husar in March 2011 as Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It also signals a new dawn for the three Ukrainian Catholic churches in North Carolina: St. Basil in Charlotte, St. Nicholas in Cary, and Sts. Volodymyr and Olha in Garner.

The roots of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church extend back to St. Andrew the Apostle, who reportedly preached near the Black Sea and near Kiev.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an interview with the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” scheduled to air Nov. 16, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston said the Vatican needs to “urgently” address the situation of Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Miss., who was convicted in 2012 on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Bishop Finn is the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official to face criminal charges related to the priest sex abuse scandal that erupted within the U.S. Church in 2002. In the Bishop Finn case, diocesan authorities who had been told in December 2010 of child pornography found on a priest’s computer did not tell civil authorities until six months afterward.

“It’s a question that the Holy See needs to address urgently,” Cardinal O’Malley said of the case.

Cardinal O’Malley leads the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, established last December by Pope Francis. The cardinal’s appointment to the Archdiocese of Boston, as well as to the dioceses of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Fall River, Mass., followed the outbreak of clerical sex abuse scandals in each of those dioceses. He is one of nine members of the members of the Council of Cardinals advising Pope Francis on the reform of the Curia and governance of the Church.

“We’re looking at how the Church could have protocols – how to respond when a bishop has not been responsible for the protection of children in his diocese,” Cardinal O’Malley told Norah O’Donnell of “60 Minutes.”

He agreed with O’Donnell’s assertion that under the Archdiocese of Boston’s protocols for child and youth protection, “Bishop Finn wouldn’t be able to teach Sunday school in Boston.”

In late September, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Ontario, conducted an apostolic visitation to interview Bishop Finn and others in his diocese about the bishop’s leadership.

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Pope says defending traditional marriage is matter of ‘human ecology’ Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called for preserving the family as an institution based on marriage between a man and a woman, which he said is not a political cause but a matter of “human ecology.”

“The complementarity of man and woman ... is at the root of marriage and the family,” the pope said Nov. 17, opening a three-day interreligious conference on traditional marriage. “Children have the right to grow up in a family with a father and mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity.”

Pope Francis said that “marriage and the family are in crisis. We now live in a culture of the temporary, in which more and more people are simply giving up on marriage as a public commitment. The revolution in mores and morals has often flown the flag of freedom, but in fact it has brought spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.”

According to the pope, the “crisis in the family has produced an ecological crisis, for social environments, like natural environments, need protection. And although the human race has come to understand the need to address conditions that menace our natural environments, we have been slower – we have been slower in our culture, and also in our Catholic culture – to recognize that our fragile social environments are also at risk. It is therefore essential that we foster a new human ecology.”

Pope Francis voiced hope that young people would be “revolutionaries with the courage to seek true and lasting love, going against the current.” But he also warned against falling into the “trap of being swayed by ideological concepts.”

“We cannot speak today of the conservative family or the progressive family,” he said. “The family is the family.”

The pope also stressed that the complementarity between male and female does not necessarily entail stereotypical gender roles.

“Let us not confuse (complementarity) with the simplistic idea that all the roles and relations of the two sexes are fixed in a single, static pattern,” he said.

“Complementarity will take many forms as each man and woman brings his or her distinctive contributions to their marriage and to the education of their children.”

Pope Francis said Christians find the meaning of complementarity in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, “where the apostle tells us that the Spirit has endowed each of us with different gifts so that – just as the human body’s members work together for the good of the whole – everyone’s gifts can work together for the benefit of each.”

“To reflect upon complementarity is nothing less than to ponder the dynamic harmonies at the heart of all creation,” he said.

Pope Francis waves during his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Nov. 16. The following day, Pope Francis confirmed he will visit Philadelphia in September for the World Meeting of Families.

CNS | Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters

Pope confirms he will visit Philadelphia in September Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said he would attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September, making it the first confirmed stop on what is expected to be a more extensive papal visit to North America.

The pope made the announcement Nov. 17 in a speech opening an interreligious conference on traditional marriage.

“I would like to confirm that, God willing, in September 2015 I will go to Philadelphia for the eighth World Meeting of Families,” the pope said.

The announcement had been widely expected, since Pope Benedict XVI had said before his retirement that he hoped to attend the Philadelphia event. Popes typically fulfill their predecessors’ publicly known travel plans, as Pope Francis did in July 2013 when he attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was in Rome for the families meeting, told Catholic News Service the announcement was “a surprise in the sense that it was announced so early; you know usually they don’t make these announcements – four months out is the typical and here we are 10 months away, and the Holy Father said he is coming to Philadelphia.”

“The Holy Father has said that he’s going to be coming to Philadelphia for quite a few months,” he said. “He’s been telling me that personally, but for him to announce it officially that he is coming so early is really quite an unusual thing, so it’s going to re-energize our efforts. There’s lot of enthusiasm already, but I think 90 percent of the enthusiasm’s based on the fact that the Holy Father will be with us, and now that he’s said that I expect that there will be even a double amount of enthusiasm ... and I’m very happy about that.”

Catholicphilly.com reported the archbishop noted that Pope Francis has focused “on the many challenges that families face today globally. His charisma, presence and voice will electrify the gathering.

“As I’ve said many times before, I believe that the presence of the Holy Father will bring all of us – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – together in tremendously powerful, unifying and healing ways. We look forward to Pope Francis’ arrival in Philadelphia next September, and we will welcome him joyfully with open arms and prayerful hearts.”

In August, Pope Francis told reporters accompanying him on the plane back from South Korea that he “would like” to go to Philadelphia. The pope also noted that President Barack Obama

and the U.S. Congress had invited him to Washington, D.C., and that the secretary-general of the United Nations had invited him to New York.

“Maybe the three cities together, no?” Pope Francis said, adding that he could also visit the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico on the same trip – “but it is not certain.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters Nov. 17 that Pope Francis wanted to “guarantee organizers” that he would be present at the meeting in Philadelphia, “but he did not say anything about other possible stops or events during that trip. And for now I do not have anything to add in that regard.”

Although few details of the papal visit have made public, organizers for the families’ congress expect Pope Francis to arrive Sept. 25 for an afternoon public visit with civic officials.

That would begin his first trip as pope to the United States and the second papal visit to Philadelphia in a generation; St. Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1979. He will be the fourth sitting pope to visit the U.S. During his visit, Pope Francis is expected to attend the Festival of Families Sept. 26, a cultural celebration for hundreds of thousands of people along Philadelphia’s main cultural boulevard, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Donna Farrell, executive director for the 2015 World Meeting of Families and its chief planner, said although Philadelphia has hosted St. Pope John Paul’s visit, the city has “not had anything like this unique Festival of Families. It’s really going to be something special.”

Registration for the congress opened in mid-November. The meeting will be a weeklong series of talks, discussions and activities.

Pope Francis is expected to celebrate a public Mass for an estimated 1 million people on Sept. 26 on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in full view of the crowds arrayed from the museum down the Ben Franklin Parkway.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, welcomed the pope’s announcement.

“The presence of Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families in our country will be a joyful moment for millions of Catholics and people of good will. Our great hope has been that the Holy Father would visit us next year to inspire our families in their mission of love. It is a blessing to hear the pope himself announce the much anticipated news,” Archbishop Kurtz said.

— Contributing to this story were Matt Gambino in Philadelphia and Cindy Wooden at the Vatican.

November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Pope Francis warns against a ‘spirituality of ease’ VATICAN CITY — Christians must guard against a “spirituality of ease” and putting up appearances, and respond to the constant call of Jesus to conversion, said Pope Francis. The pope described the thinking behind a spirituality of ease: “I do things as I can, but I am at peace as long as no one comes to disturb me with strange things. I lack nothing. I go to Mass on Sundays. I pray sometimes. I feel good. I’m in the grace of God. I’m rich. I don’t need anything.

I’m fine.” But this spiritual state “is a state of sin,” he said in his homily Nov. 18 at morning Mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Reflecting on the day’s first reading, the pope said Jesus reprimands Christians who have a “lukewarm” spirit, calling them to “dress themselves” because “they are naked.” Jesus also calls to conversion those Christians who are “putting up appearances.” These Christians believe they are living, but they are not, he said.

Pope: Don’t form ‘ecclesiastical micro-climate’ to keep out needy VATICAN CITY — Christians who believe they have their eyes fixed firmly on the Lord can, without meaning to, create an “ecclesiastical micro-climate” where the poor and others in need cannot enter, Pope Francis said. In a homily at his morning Mass Nov. 17, Pope Francis commented on the day’s Gospel story from the Gospel of St. Luke about the blind man who hears Jesus passing by and shouts for help.

People tell the man to be quiet and not disturb Jesus, but Jesus hears him and heals him.

During the Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope said the crowds and even Jesus’ disciples wanted to keep the Lord “away from a periphery,” away from someone who could be a bother. “This periphery could not reach the Lord because this circle – filled with good will, you know – closed the door,” the pope said. “This happens frequently with us believers.

When we have found the Lord we create this ecclesiastical micro-climate without even realizing it.” It is a temptation that afflicts all Catholics, not just priests and bishops, he said.

Give your children the best: your faith, pope says VATICAN CITY — Faith always has been transmitted best through example, but with young people constantly bombarded by images of all kinds, living models of a commitment to truth and love are more important than ever, Pope Francis said. He welcomed dozens of school children and their teachers Nov. 14 to his morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. “We all have a responsibility to give the best that we have,” the pope said, “and the best that we have is the faith. Give it to them, but give it to them through your example.”

“In this world of images,” where most young people have a smartphone, tablet or computer, “words don’t work. Examples! Examples!” he said.

The day’s first Scripture reading, from the Second Letter of John, spoke about the beauty of “children walking in the truth” and keeping God’s command to love one another. Pope Francis asked the adults at the Mass, “Do we teach them what we have heard in the first reading: to walk in love and in truth? Or do we teach them with words, while our lives go in another direction?”

‘Pagan Christians’ go to church, but don’t put God first, pope says VATICAN CITY — People who go to church on Sundays, but spend the rest of the week cultivating their attachment to money, power and pride are “pagan Christians,” Pope Francis said.

When St. Paul wrote his Letter to the Philippians, the Christian community was composed of two groups, real Christians and those who were “enemies of the cross of Christ,” the pope said Nov. 7 during his homily at Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. “Both groups were in the Church together, they went to Sunday Mass, praised the Lord and called themselves Christians,” he said. But some of them were “worldly Christians, Christians in name only, with two or three Christian characteristics, but nothing more. Pagan Christians!”

Today, the pope said, “there are many of these. And we, too, must be careful not to slip” into being Christians in name only. Being halfhearted Christians, “accustomed to mediocrity” is a danger for all, he said.

Pope: Annulment process should be cheaper and more efficient VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said the Church’s marriage annulment process should be more

efficient and perhaps even free of charge, and he decried any attempts to exploit it for profit. “Some procedures are so long and so burdensome, they don’t favor (justice), and people give up,” the pope said. “Mother Church should do justice and say: ‘Yes, it’s true, your marriage is null. No, your marriage is valid.’ But justice means saying so.

That way, they can move on without this doubt, this darkness in their soul.”

The pope made his remarks Nov. 5, in a meeting with diocesan officials and canon lawyers enrolled in a course offered by the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal primarily responsible for hearing requests for marriage annulments.

He said participants at the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family had expressed a desire to “streamline the process” of judging requests for annulments, and he noted he had recently established a special commission to do so.

Jerusalem patriarch calls for end to violence in Holy Land JERUSALEM — After an early morning synagogue attack left four Israelis dead and eight injured Nov. 18, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal called for an end to all violence in the Holy Land. “We are praying and waiting. We are sad,” said Patriarch Twal. “We must, all people of responsibility, politicians and religious leaders, do our best in our positions to condemn this violence and avoid as much as possible the causes which lead other people to violence.”

The attack occurred in the Har Nof neighborhood of West Jerusalem, which is popular with the Anglo-Orthodox Jewish community. Three of the dead had dual IsraeliAmerican citizenship; one had Israeli-British citizenship. The two perpetrators of the attacks, Palestinian cousins from East Jerusalem, were killed at the scene by Israeli police.

He said he sent condolences to the families of all the victims of the recent wave of violence that has rocked Jerusalem as Israel moves toward expanding Jewish settlements in the area and Palestinians fear a Jewish presence on the shared holy site of the Temple Mount/ Haram al-Sharif, in Jerusalem’s Old City.

According to a tenuous and contested status quo agreement, Jews are allowed to visit the site where, according to Jewish tradition, the Biblical Jewish temple stood and, but they are not allowed to pray there. According to Muslim tradition, it is the site where Muhammad ascended into heaven.

Remains of Ugandan Comboni found in Mexican mass grave ACAPULCO, Mexico — The remains of a

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missionary priest missing for months were recovered from a mass grave in the southern state of Guerrero, adding to the horror of the crimes and killings in a region now notorious for the disappearance and possible deaths of 43 teacher trainees. Ugandan Comboni Father John Ssenyondo was found in a grave with six other bodies in the Diocese of ChilpancingoChilapa, according to a source quoted by Reuters. The source said Father Ssenyondo had refused to baptize the child of an alleged gangster. The Centro Catolico Multimedial reported that Father Ssenyondo was abducted by armed assailants after celebrating a wedding April 30. It added that his remains were identified using dental records.

Father Aguilar said Father Ssenyondo had been working in a small parish near the city of Chilapa, 100 miles north of Acapulco, since 2010. He added that Father Ssenyondo had refused to pay extortion, which was demanded because he was believed to be receiving foreign funds.

The death again demonstrated the risks run by priests working in regions rife with organized-crime activities. The Centro Catolico Multimedial reports seven priests being murdered over the past two years. Another two priests are missing.

Pope removes Cardinal Burke from Vatican post VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis removed U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, 66, as head of the Vatican’s highest court and named him to a largely ceremonial post for a chivalric religious order. Cardinal Burke, formerly prefect of the Apostolic Signature, will now serve as cardinal patron of the Knights and Dames of Malta, the Vatican announced Nov. 8. The move had been widely expected since an Italian journalist reported it in September, and the cardinal himself confirmed it to reporters the following month. It is highly unusual for a pope to remove an official of Cardinal Burke’s stature and age without assigning him comparable responsibilities elsewhere.

By Church law, cardinals in the Vatican must offer to resign at 75, but often continue in office for several more years. As usual when announcing personnel changes other than retirements for reasons of age, the Vatican did not give a reason for the cardinal’s reassignment.

In December 2013, Pope Francis did not reappoint him to his position on the Congregation for Bishops, which advises the pope on episcopal appointments.

— Catholic News Service

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Corlis Sellers

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Leslye Colvin

The Ugandan Martyrs: Seeds of the Church in Africa

he descendants of Africa had a significant role to play in the history of the Catholic Church.

Among Africa’s many martyrs are the Martyrs of Uganda: 22 Catholic converts who were murdered for their faith in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda.

With the arrival of Christian missionaries (Catholic and Anglican) in Buganda in the late 1870s, a new chapter was formed in the political and cultural structures of the country. Buganda was ruled by King Mutesa I when the missionaries arrived. The king welcomed them, and he seemed open to Christianity and allowed it to be taught to his people.

When the Society of Missionaries of Africa (formerly known as the Catholic White Fathers) arrived in 1879, Mutesa I welcomed them but also had begun to curry favor with Arab traders who introduced Islam to his people. His religious loyalties to these faiths were based upon political gain. The shifting religious loyalties created an unstable and dangerous climate for the nascent Christian community.

Upon the death of Mutesa I, his son Mwanga II became the ruler of Buganda. He proved to be a violent ruler and a pedophile who forced himself on the boys and young men who were pages in his court.

Charles Lwanga, a Catholic convert, became the protector and spiritual leader of the young pages.

King Mwanga II became angry when he learned that the pages had been hidden from him and threatened to have them all killed unless they renounced their faith. He brought his court together and demanded, “Those who do not pray stand by me, those who pray stand over there.” The Christian pages, led by Charles Lwanga, affirmed their faith and openly resisted the king.

The king sentenced Charles Lwanga and the pages to be executed in Namugongo, a village that was more than 27 miles away. As they marched cruelly bound together to the execution site, they sang, prayed aloud and recited the Catechism all along the way.

A Catholic priest, Father Lourdel, recalled the

Ours to remember and share

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courage of 14-year-old Kizito, the youngest of the pages, who laughed and chattered along the way to his execution. Three of the pages were speared to death before reaching the village. The remaining young men and boys were wrapped in reed mats, placed on a pyre and burned alive on Ascension Thursday morning, June 3, 1886. They died calling on the name of Jesus and proclaiming, “You can burn our bodies, but you cannot harm our souls.” Over the course of three years, a total of 45 young men and boys (Catholic and Anglican) were executed by King Mwanga.

The execution of these young martyrs proved a powerful witness for the Church, and it grew astoundingly. The Missionaries of Africa were expelled from the country. Upon their return after the death of King Mwanga II, they found 500 Christians and 1,000 catechumens waiting for them.

The martyrs were canonized on Oct. 18, 1964, by Pope Paul VI. During Pope St. John Paul II’s visit to

ultures designate specific times to honor events and peoples significant to their history. Scripture proclaims that even within the first week of creation it was important to honor God on the seventh day. Humanity moves within the parameters of time from weeks to months to seasons, each bearing its own significance. Similarly, the liturgical calendar carries the faithful from Advent to Christmas to Ordinary Time to Lent to Easter to Pentecost to Ordinary Time and the cycle perpetually repeats throughout the universal Church.

Each time gives voice to the challenges that mark a historical and transformative journey of faith. In the process, two significant occurrences develop. The history becomes ours, and we become the guardians of the legacy.

National Black Catholic History Month, which we celebrate each November, reflects the rising of a consciousness to remember and share the history of a people striving to rise above struggle to proclaim their inherent dignity and the dignity of humanity.

Black Catholics are a diverse people reflecting a range of experiences, hues, lifestyles, opinions and perspectives. We are saints and we are sinners. We are cradle Catholics and we are converts. We are clergy and we are laity. We are Martha and we are Mary. We are Zaccheus and Zacharias.

You distinctly hear the beauty and complexity of our history in the instrumental version of Mary Lou Williams’ Credo, the very movements that are woven by the Spirit throughout the history of our Church and our nation. Centuries before the establishment of the Vatican, and the construction of the concept of “race” as we know it, our African ancestors followed “the way” of Christ. Knowing upon whose shoulders we stand, we are a proud people. Knowing in whose name we are baptized, we are a faithful people.

Winston Churchill declared, “History is written by the victors.” While there may be some truth in his words, the claim is not absolute. History is written by the survivors courageous enough to speak their truth with the often unspoken hope of dialogue, reconciliation and peace. From them we learn of enduring unimaginable indignities and ineffable hardships with a staunch belief in the mercy of God who cannot be confined by time and space.

History shows the will of God unfolding in the fullness of time. The process is not linear, but cyclical.

Descendants of a once kidnapped and enslaved people relate to the story of the Exodus in a uniquely personal manner.

SELLERS, SEE page 28

COLVIN, SEE page 28

Photo provided by the Missionaries of Africa

Pictured are the 20 young Ugandan Martyrs, who were burned alive on June 3, 1886, for their faith in Christianity. St. Charles Lwanga is labeled 13 in the photo.

Most-read stories on the web Through press time on Nov. 19, 9,087 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 16,828 pages. The top 9 headlines in November so far have been: n Triad couple sees ‘hand of God working wonders’ in new baby, mom after cancer diagnosis during pregnancy.............................................................................................................................................................. 4,080

n Woman’s suicide called tragedy, symbol of ‘culture of death’ in U.S.......................................................193

n Latin Mass offered in Charlotte for Feast of All Saints..............................................................................323

n Charlotte tribunal responds to annulment questions raised by Synod of Family................................ 171

n Former NAACP youth leader, now priest, a catalyst for change in NC...................................................187

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n NC bishops issue alert on abortion funding...................................................................................................122

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November 21, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

The Poor Clares

Forming beauty: Raising women of God

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entle tenderness, loving maternal care, a profoundly sensitive heart, the depths of feminine receptivity and empathy, sensitivity to beauty and the gift of nourishing and embracing the “other” – these qualities all seem to be hallmarks of the ideal of womanhood we have been studying as outlined by St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, or Edith Stein, as she is popularly known.

What if, as women, we find ourselves seemingly lacking in these gifts? Does this mean our womanhood is horribly skewed? We may try to put such qualities into practice, but find that they seem to be against our very nature, our personalities. What then?

Edith Stein’s desire was to explore the keys to the education of women through her writings, and give women the tools needed for the cultivation of true womanhood. She developed five groupings of common feminine types in order to demonstrate the vast array of qualities and gifts to be found in women: the maternal, romantic, sexual, practical and intellectual. These classifications also serve to identify inherent struggles and weaknesses which accompany the strengths particular to each type.

So far, we have addressed the maternal, romantic and sexual feminine types. Each, in their own way, highlight the most obvious feminine attributes, especially those most opposite or complementary to the masculine type.

The last two categories represent more subtle, yet essential elements of womanhood, along with a noticeable lacking in some of the more concentrated feminine characteristics. Women who identify primarily with the intellectual or practical types have a stronger share of some of the qualities often associated with the masculine nature. Does this mean they are less womanly? Stein would wholeheartedly disagree. She rightly categorized herself as being of the intellectual group, and taking a cue from her, we will focus on that type.

The intellectual woman is one who has a passion for the truth, for study, for creative pursuits. She is drawn towards objective interests and personal creative work more strongly than towards emotions or relationships with other people. She is able to pursue goals with focused energy and concerted, ongoing effort. A woman of this type will often be an exception to the feminine rule of a preference for well-rounded development. She may prefer to specialize in a certain profession or topic of study.

She may be a genius in her field of interest.

She will act and form judgments based on reason rather than feelings. She will sometimes have a strong, even overbearing, personality, and she may have a more difficult time being gentle in her demeanor. Her intellectual abilities and grasp of logic will lead her to cut clearly to the point of the matter in certain difficulties or situations. Her reactions or interactions with others may sometimes seem harsh or cold, because her operating premise is often a bold desire for truth and justice and a detached view of the principles at stake rather than a need to please others.

A girl with these characteristics will be noticed as one who enjoys school and research and is often very gifted creatively. She will be more introverted and value solitude. She may perhaps show a significantly less interest in young men than other girls her age.

Her intellectual pursuits and ideals bring their own deep sense of achievement and fulfillment which lead to a confident, self-assured personality. This may mean fewer teenage romances, but later on in life lead to relationships that are more serious, enduring and rooted in shared purpose and vision.

At the core, though, a woman of the intellectual type remains feminine, approaching life in a completely different way than a man would.

One of the beautiful characteristics of woman is

the close-knit connection between body and soul which God designed particularly for the vocation of motherhood. This makes it almost impossible for women to compartmentalize their experiences and emotional reactions. Though she may not so easily act on emotion as other women might, she does not feel any less deeply. Like Our Blessed Lady, an intellectual woman will often ponder many things in her heart, and carry the burdens of others in a hidden way through her strong sense of intuition. Though she may manifest her concerns in different ways, she still has a strong desire to help others become complete human beings and to treat them as such. Because of her gifts, she will also have a great capacity to influence others by example through her work.

A woman who finds herself to be of the intellectual type will profit greatly from taking time to enjoy life, to appreciate beauty, to “be” rather than to “do.” Her sensitivity will need cultivating in order to form a proper balance. It will take humility and courage to strive against her first instincts or reactions in relating to others – learning to smooth the rougher corners of her personality and to put charity first in her relationships.

The strength she needs for these tasks is to be found most surely in prayer to Our Blessed Lady, the model of perfected womanhood. Time spent in silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament will also bring about deeper growth in the interior life, leading to a continuous, intimate communion with God. This will transform from the inside out, for a woman of the intellectual type often does not recognize the depth of her need to be loved. Through a life of intimate prayer, she will discover the value and beautiful gift of making room within herself for God, for His Love, and for His work in and through her.

In conjunction with the gifts of the intellectual woman, it seems fitting to end this reflection with Edith Stein’s summary of the feminine genius and its role in the Church: “Filled with the spirit of supernatural maternity, woman has the mission to win others over as children of God. In a particular way, woman is a symbol of the Church, the Bride of Christ. Supernatural maternity bears fruit only in women who live and die with Christ, and who awaken through education the same purpose in those entrusted to them. …For just as Mary begot total humanity in Christ through her offspring ‘Be it done to me according to Thy will’ – just so does she help those who strive to unveil Christ in the heart of another. This, woman’s mission is to imitate Mary. She must further the life of faith by providing a secure and enduring foundation. By so consecrating herself to supernatural maternity, the Catholic woman becomes an organ of the Church.

Millions today hunger for love and eagerly await a guiding hand to draw them out of dirt and misery into purity and light. Who else than our great holy Mother the Church should open her arms wide to take these beloved of the Lord to Her heart? But for this She needs human arms and human hearts, maternal arms and maternal hearts.”

In embracing the unique gifts of her feminine nature and the duty of cultivating these incredible abilities designed by God for the good of others, women may fulfill a vital role in the Church and contribute to the transformation of the world and the sanctification of the human person. Let us not hesitate to beg God for the graces needed that we may be the women He desires us to be for His glory and for the salvation of souls.

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. This is part five of her commentary about Edith Stein’s writings on women. Read her previous commentaries online at www. catholicnewsherald.com.

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W.S. Melton Jr.

Giving thanks for those wonderful sacred souls of Sacred Heart

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mong the deep-seated memories of my childhood, none are more wonderful than those created during the five years I spent at Sacred Heart Grade School in Belmont, a school operated as a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.

I didn’t enroll until the fourth grade as the school had such a long waiting list to get in. Thankfully, my parents persisted and finally got my brothers and me enrolled. Coming from a Methodist family, the Catholic school was quite a culture shock for me, let me tell you.

But it was there that the seeds of the Catholic faith were planted in me and cultivated by those wonderful sisters, those masterful cultivators of the faith.

Over the years since I’ve been a regular visitor at the sisters’ Sacred Heart Convent, visiting socially and attending Mass. I also spent a great deal of time their seeking their counsel as I began my conversion in the early 1990s.

For me, their chapel is a particular safe haven and a place of respite. I can vividly remember the first time I entered it. I was in the fourth grade and the entire school attended Mass together in the sisters’ chapel on Friday mornings. I was overwhelmed even at a young age by its beautiful high vaulted ceiling, made of hardwoods with beams that resembled an upside-down ship. I was to learn later that this was intentional: the Church is the ship that transports us as a community of faith from this world into the next.

I was particularly transfixed by the life-sized crucifix made of polished white marble at the center of the sanctuary, just behind the altar. It is placed in the middle of a field of medium blue that has shimmering flecks of gold throughout, giving the appearance of all eternity with Christ at the center of the universe.

On both sides of the chapel are beautiful stained glass windows, 10 in all. For five years of my childhood I spent an hour each week there under the watchful eyes of our Blessed Lord, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family, Our Lady of Mercy, St. Peter as he received the keys to heaven, and by St. Patrick, that great apostle of Ireland, who in his emerald green vestments holds a cluster of shamrocks skyward symbolizing the Holy Trinity.

The chapel is still a place where from time to time I drop by on my lunch hour to pray the rosary and to reflect on those wonderful memories of the past that make the future so much brighter.

And when I do visit, just as it was so many years ago, that chapel is filled with those wonderful Sisters of Mercy. It is often said the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, of which our pope is a member, are “God’s Marines.” If that is true, then the Sisters of Mercy are His “special forces.” Those great warriors of the faith go where the action is – feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless and caring for the sick, just as our Lord commanded.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend Mass with the sisters again in their chapel. As I looked around the interior of the chapel that beautiful Sunday morning, I noticed sitting in front of me was Sister Antoinette Schmidt, one of my former principals from the grade school. I spent quality time in her office on several occasions.

Over to the right was Sister Ray Maria McNamara, my eighthgrade teacher. That woman had to have had the patience of Job not to have pinched my head slap off that year. To my left a few seats over was Sister Soledad Aguilo, my former math teacher. She did her best to lure me into understanding geometry, but I successfully spit out the hook. On the other side of the chapel was Sister Jill Katherine Webber, another former principal, in whose office I also spent some quality time. In front of her was Sister Patricia Durbin, who was fortunate enough to have escaped having me as a student, but who nonetheless made a great impression on me.

It had been a long time since I saw so many of my former Sacred Heart Grade School sisters together, and a long time since I had seen some of them at all. But it reminded me of something I really wanted to say to them and to all of the sisters at the convent in Belmont who have meant so much to me. Just one word: Thanks!

W.S. “Bill” Melton Jr. is a captain with the Gaston County Police Department and a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia. He can be reached at wsmelton@ wsmelton.com.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 21, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

COLVIN: FROM PAGE 26

Remembering those who died in the Middle Passage; those, like Christ, who were hung on trees; and those whose humanity was denied is part of the inheritance. Dwelling in the Promised Land is the timeless hope as the role of faithful citizenship is embraced.

Today, black Catholic history is being written through our faithfulness and our failings. National Black Catholic History Month is a time for us – for all of us – to collectively remember and share

SELLERS: FROM PAGE 26

the shrine, he stated that their sacrifice was the seed that “helped to draw Uganda and all of Africa to Christ.”

It is said that, despite their youth – most were in their teens and 20s – the Martyrs of Uganda are the “founding fathers” of the Church in modern Africa.

According to Pew Research, the Catholic population in sub-Saharan Africa was 1 million in 1910, yet by 2010 it had increased to 171 million. Among the countries in the world with the largest Catholic populations is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is ranked 10th, with 31 million Catholics.

SUICIDE: FROM PAGE 2

few fault those who were trapped on the top floors of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, when they jumped to their deaths below as the flames surged around them. Similarly, the article suggests that those who face the prospect of a difficult, pain-racked death from a terminal disease should be able to take their own life through physician-assisted suicide without fault or blame.

For those jumping out of the Twin Towers, however, we recognize a horrific situation of desperation, and even the possibility of a kind of mental breakdown in those final panic-stricken moments. Their agonizing effort to hurl themselves out of the building to their deaths below would be, objectively speaking, a suicidal act, but their moral culpability would almost certainly be diminished, if not eliminated, by the harrowing circumstances in which they found themselves, driven by raw terror more than by anything else. Clearly, grave psychological disturbances, mental anguish or torture can diminish the responsibility of anyone committing suicide.

Yet in the face of a terminal medical diagnosis, it is not reasonable to let our fears dictate our choices; instead it behooves us to confront and resolve those fears without yielding to panic and without allowing unpleasant future scenarios to loom large in our imagination.

Brittany Maynard not only greatly feared a difficult death for herself, but also argued that protecting her family from pain and suffering was an important consideration in her decision to carry out physician-assisted suicide: “I probably would have suffered in hospice care for weeks or even months. And my family would have had to watch that. I did not want this nightmare scenario for my family.” Yet even with very noble intentions and a loving concern for our family, we

the contributions and struggles of black Catholics. It is also a time for the Church in the United States – clergy and laity – and people of goodwill to stand in solidarity with us as we seek to follow Our Lord toward dialogue, reconciliation and peace.

Pope Francis’ words to Palestinian and Israeli leaders on May 24, 2014, are equally relevant to us as we honor Black Catholic History Month: “The path of dialogue, reconciliation and peace must constantly be taken up anew, courageously and tirelessly.

There is simply no other way.” May it be so.

Leslye Colvin is the former Catholic Charities USA Parish Social Ministry Section and Program Specialist with the Justice and Peace Ministries of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

More online At www.ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug: learn more about the Ugandan Martyrs and the shrine in Namugongo, Uganda.

The martyrs’ religious zeal in life and their unwavering courage in the face of death exemplify the faith we are called upon to live. As in the Parable of the Sower, their seeds have fallen on fertile ground and have borne much fruit.

Corlis Sellers is a former black Catholic ministry director in the Diocese of Camden, N.J. She is a member of Holy Family Church in Clemmons.

can unwittingly become overzealous in our desire to “protect” them from suffering.

Brittany’s desire to protect her family and friends from pain by committing suicide also led her to cross over critical moral boundaries such that she deprived her family and friends of the chance to love her through her sickness. Suicide in any form runs contrary to our duty to love – to love ourselves and to love our neighbor – because it unjustly breaks important ties of solidarity we have with family, friends and others to whom we continue to have obligations. It is always violent to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer. We effectively give up on the Creator and all He has created. We refuse the help of our neighbor, the love of a family member, or even the beauty of another sun-drenched day to lighten our affliction.

Even as our lives wind down, we have a calling to be good stewards of the gift of life. Hospice and palliative care, along with careful pain management, can lighten our burdens during the dying process.

The mutual support of family and friends enables us, and them, to grow in unexpected ways.

By respecting and working through the dying process, we can encounter deep and unanticipated graces. We may recognize the need to ask for and receive forgiveness from others and from God. We may become aware of God’s presence and receive a strengthened faith. We gain peace in our dying days and hours by accepting our mortality and our situation, journeying down the road that still opens ahead of us, even as it becomes shorter, living it with the same tenacity and generosity we did when the road was yet longer.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., and serves as the director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www. ncbcenter.org.