July 18, 2014

July 18, 2014

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Pope Francis meets with abuse victims, 20

Abuse victims’ group holds protest outside diocesan offices, 5 INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 EspaĂąol.................................13 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-12 Schools..............................14 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................16 U.S. news..................... 22-23 Viewpoints.................. 26-27 World news................. 24-25

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Ground broken for Mother Teresa Villa, Opening hearts, lending a hand Hundreds of high school students come to Charlotte for Catholic

Heart Work Camp, 8-9

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Bishop Jugis offers Mass for the military, 5 Planting seeds of self-reliance Community garden teaches work skills

to disabled youths, 14

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Catholic Q&A: The Bible

St. Charbel Makhluf: The wonderworker

Why are Catholic and Protestant Bibles different?

Feast day: Thursday, July 24

On July 24, the Church celebrates the life of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Maronite Catholic priest, monk and hermit who is known for working miracles both during his life and after his death.

On the occasion of his beatification in 1965, the Eastern Catholic hermit was described by Pope Paul VI as “a new, eminent member of monastic sanctity” who “through his example and his intercession is enriching the entire Christian people.”

Born into humble circumstances in Lebanon during 1828, Yussef Antoun The feast of St. Charbel Makhlouf was the youngest of Antoun Makhluf was added to Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Elias althe Proper of Saints, Shediyaq’s five children. Antoun, who had the part of the Missal been taken away from the family and forced that includes prayers into hard labor, died when his youngest son for the observances of was only 3. saints’ days, in 2012 Yussef studied at the parish school and at the same time the tended to his family’s cow. Engaged in revised edition of the prayer and solitude from an early age, Roman Missal was he spent a great deal of time outdoors in launched. The Proper of the fields and pastures near his village, Saints follows a calendar contemplating God amid the inspiring established by the views of Lebanon’s valleys and mountains.

Vatican and modified His uncle and guardian Tanious wanted by the bishops of each the boy to continue working with him, country to include saints while his mother wanted him to marry of local importance. Any a young woman. Yussef had other plans, changes to a national however, and left home in 1851 without or diocesan calendar informing anyone. require the Vatican’s Yussef would become “Brother Charbel,” consent. after making a pilgrimage on foot to his new monastic home. In this, he followed the example of his maternal uncles, who were already living as solitary monks at the Hermitage of St. Paul in the Qadisha Valley.

Charbel took his monastic vows in November of 1853, during a solemn ceremony which was closed to the public and off-limits even to his family.

He subsequently studied for the priesthood and was ordained, returning to the Monastery of St. Maron.

The priest-monk lived and served in the monastery for 19 years, showing great devotion to the life of prayer, manual work and contemplative silence.

Charbel’s superiors observed God’s “supernatural power” at work in his life, and he became known as a wonder-worker even among some Muslims.

In 1875, he was granted permission to live as a solitary monk in a nearby hermitage dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul.

Rigorous asceticism, and a profound union with God, continued to characterize the monk’s life for the next 23 years. Deeply devoted to God’s Eucharistic Presence, he suffered a stroke while celebrating the Divine Liturgy on Dec. 16, 1898. He died on Christmas Eve of that year.

St. Charbel’s tomb has been a site for pilgrimages since his death.

Hundreds of miracles are believed to have occurred through his intercession with God, both in Lebanon and around the world.

He was canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, who had earlier hailed the Lebanese Maronite saint as an “admirable flower of sanctity blooming on the stem of the ancient monastic traditions of the East.”

— Catholic News Agency

Did you know?

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: In the “Our Faith” section, read the stories of other saints whose feast days are in August, including: St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists, Aug. 1; St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Jewish convert and martyr, Aug. 9; St. Maximilian Kolbe, “martyr of charity,” Aug. 14; St. Bernard of Clairvaux, monastic reformer, Aug. 20; St. Rose of Lima, first saint of the New World, Aug. 23; and St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, Aug. 27.

This question raises the issue of the biblical canon. Originally, a canon (from the Greek “kanon”) meant a rod or stick that one used to measure length – hence a criterion or standard.

Catholics and Protestants accept the same 27 inspired books of the New Testament. But some significant differences emerge over the Old Testament, as a result of the Protestant break from the Catholic Church.

The books of the New Testament were written within “living memory” of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, within approximately 180 years after Christ’s death and resurrection.

Pope Damasus promulgated the Catholic canons at the Synod of Rome in 382 A.D. St. Jerome, a Doctor and Father of the Church who lived from 345 to 420, translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, what’s known as the Vulgate.

Later, at the regional councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397, 419), the Church again defined the same list of books as inspired. The canons of the Old and New Testaments, as defined by Pope Damasus and the Councils of Hippo and Carthage, were later ratified (though the books were not enumerated individually) by the later Ecumenical councils of II Nicaea (787) and Florence (14381445).

Protestants removed from their Bible the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch and 1 and 2 Maccabees (what’s known as the seven Deuterocanonical books), plus portions of Daniel and Esther. In response, in 1546, the Council of Trent infallibly reiterated what the Church had long taught regarding the inspired canons of the Old and New Testaments, giving the first infallible conciliar listing of each individual book of the Bible.

When selecting a Catholic Bible, look for an imprimatur – the assurance from a Catholic bishop that the text is in line with Church teaching.

Where did the Bible’s chapter and verse numbers originate?

The chapters of the Bible are usually credited to a 13th-century British scholar named Stephen Langton, who eventually became the Catholic archbishop of Canterbury. Langton is better known for his involvement in the conflict over the creation of the Magna Carta. The verses of the Bible are generally credited to a 16th-century French printer named Robert Estienne (better known as Stephanus, the Latinized version of his surname).

Why did the original books of the New Testament disappear?

There are two reasons. The material they were written on was most likely papyrus paper. This is fragile and with time and use will disintegrate. The other probable cause of the originals’ disappearance is their destruction in the persecutions, during which sacred Christian books were confiscated and burned by the authorities.

— AmericanCatholic.org and CatholicAnswers.com

Your daily Scripture readings JULY 20-26

Sunday: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 13:24-43; Monday (St. Lawrence of Brindisi): Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, Matthew 12:38-42; Tuesday (St. Mary of Magdalene): Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, John 20:1-2, 11-18; Wednesday (St. Bridget): Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10, Matthew 13:1-9; Thursday (St. Charbel Makhlut): Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13, Matthew 13:10-17; Friday (St. James): 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Matthew 20:20-28; Saturday (Sts. Joachim and Anne): Jeremiah 7:1-11, Matthew 13:24-30

JULY 27-AUG 2

Sunday: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12, Romans 8:28-30, Matthew 13:4452; Monday: Jeremiah 13:1-11, Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 13:31-35; Tuesday (St. Martha): Jeremiah 14:17-22, John 11:1927; Wednesday (St. Peter Chrysologus): Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21, Matthew 13:44-46; Thursday (St. Ignatius of Loyola): Jeremiah 18:1-6, Matthew 13:47-53; Friday (St. Alphonsus Liguori): Jeremiah 26:1-9, Matthew 13:54-58; Saturday (St. Eusebius of Vercelli & St. Peter Julian Eymard): Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24, Matthew 14:1-12

AUG 3-9

Sunday: Isaiah 55:1-3, Romans 8:35, 37-39, Matthew 14:1321; Monday (St. John Vianney): Jeremiah: 28:1-17, Matthew 14:22-36; Tuesday (The Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major): Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22, Matthew 14:22-36; Wednesday (The Transfiguration of the Lord): Daniel 7:9-10, 1314, 2 Peter 1:16-19, Matthew 17:1-9; Thursday (St. Sixtux II and Companions, St. Cajetan): Jeremiah 31:31-34, Matthew 16:13-23; Friday (St. Dominic): Nahum 2:1, 3, 3:1-3, 6-7, Deuteronomy 32:35-36, 39, 41, Matthew 16:24-28; Saturday (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross): Habakkuk 1:12 - 2:4, Matthew 17:14-20

Our parishes

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Ground broken for Mother Teresa Villa Apartments in south Charlotte will be for adults with developmental disabilities Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis led a ground-breaking ceremony July 9 for Mother Teresa Villa, a housing complex for developmentally disabled adults located in south Charlotte that is being built through a partnership between the diocese and a local non-profit organization, with funding help from government housing agencies.

Bishop Jugis began the ceremony with a grounds blessing, quoting Psalm 127: “We know the familiar words of the psalm, ‘If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.’ Whenever we look to the interest of our neighbor, or the community or serve them, we are in a sense God’s own coworkers,” Bishop Jugis said to a crowd of about 30 people, including Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, former confessor and close friend of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Mother Teresa Villa is a combined effort of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. and InReach, a Charlotte non-profit group that provides residential support for people with developmental disabilities.

“It’s called Mother Teresa Villa in honor of Bishop Curlin’s association with Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” noted Jerry Widelski, executive director of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. The beloved Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity and Nobel Peace Prize winner, died in 1997 and was beatified in 2003.

Bishop Curlin established the diocesan housing corporation in 2001 to create, maintain, promote and operate housing facilities and accompanying services for seniors, low-income families and vulnerable individuals.

Funding for the $2 million project came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with the Charlotte Housing Trust Fund and the N.C. Housing Finance Agency.

Mother Teresa Villa will feature 13 units: 10 onebedroom apartments, two two-bedroom apartments, and one apartment for an on-site property manager provided

by InReach. Disabled residents will pay 30 percent of their adjusted income for rent, and the federal government will subsidize the rest as part of HUD’s Section 811 program.

Lori Gougeon, president of InReach, expressed satisfaction about working in conjunction with the diocesan housing corporation.

“Thankfully the diocese approached us to partner up with because they wanted to provide housing for this population (adults with developmental disabilities). It was a great way that we could both work together on it,” Gougeon said.

(Pictured from left) Breaking ground on Mother Teresa Villa are Bishop Peter J. Jugis; Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin; Lori Gougeon, InReach president; Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte; Gary Stanley, co-owner of Garanco Construction and MTV project manager; and Jerry Widelski, executive director for the Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp.

More online At www. catholicnewsherald. com: See video and more photos from the groundbreaking of Mother Teresa Villa

The apartment complex is expected to be completed by the summer of 2015, and Gougeon said the biggest challenge for InReach moving forward will be the residents’ selection.

“We have 50 people on the list for 14 spots,” she noted.

“There is going to be a committee, and criteria and an application process. We are going to be as fair as we can.”

This project is the first phase on the 20-acre site approved for affordable senior housing, a future adult day care center and a chapel. The site could accommodate up to 240 units of affordable senior housing when it is eventually completed. The project will also feature gardens, open space and an outdoor activity area.

This is the third housing project for the diocesan housing corporation, and its first in Charlotte. Curlin Commons in Mooresville, which opened in 2010, is a 40-unit apartment community for seniors. Good Shepherd Gardens, an 18-unit affordable apartment community for seniors in Salisbury, opened in 2013.

NFP AWARENESS WEEK

Why is Natural Family Planning worthwhile?

Batrice Adcock Special to the Catholic News Herald

I’m often asked by couples preparing for marriage what the difference is between contraception and Natural Family Planning (NFP).

The most obvious and immediate difference for a couple who quits contraceptive use in favor of NFP is that periodic abstinence is necessary, which requires sexual self-control. We see that to use NFP in a loving way, spouses must grow in other virtues as well, such as prudence, generosity and selflessness.

It is no wonder that various studies show a divorce rate of less

than 3 percent for couples who use NFP. While there are clearly other factors involved, the striking correlation between NFP use and strong marriages suggests that NFP cooperates with God’s design for marital love.

If a couple discerns in prayer and with prudence a just reason for avoiding pregnancy temporarily or even indefinitely, they seek to show their love in other ways, forgoing intercourse during the fertile time.

This can be a challenge at any time, but particularly during the fertile time when spouses are more drawn to each other. Here is an opportunity for the couple to grow in the virtue of chastity – recognizing that

there are more important things than sexual pleasure, such as the friendship between them and the good of the family.

With contraceptive use, the couple is not encouraged by their behavior to control sexual desire and instead may become controlled by it. We see in our culture many perversions of sexuality due in part to widespread contraceptive use and the contraceptive mentality which has resulted from it – a mentality which exalts sexual pleasure as the greatest good and divorces the two ends the Church teaches are to be part of every sexual act: unity and NFP, SEE page 15

Photos by RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Curlin, flanked by Bishop Jugis, sprinkles holy water to bless the future site of the Mother Teresa Villa, named in honor of his beloved friend and saint.

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week National NFP Awareness Week, which focuses attention on Natural Family Planning methods and Church teachings which support their use in marriage, will be celebrated July 20-26. The 2014 theme is “Natural Family Planning: It’s Worth It. Join the Revolution!”

The annual campaign highlights the anniversary of the papal encyclical “Humanae Vitae” (“On Human Life”) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love and responsible parenthood. The dates also mark the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events ASHEVILLE — Rachel’s Vineyard Weekend Retreat: Sept. 5-7. Retreat is open to both men and women wanting to begin their healing journey after an abortion. For details, contact Shelley at 828-230-4940 or visit www. rachelsvineyard.org.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the coming weeks: July 20 - 10:30 a.m.

Pastor installation of Father John Eckert Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury July 24 – 7 p.m.

Pastor Installation of Father Lawrence M. LoMonaco St. Aloysius Church, Hickory JULY 26 – 10 A.M. SOLEMN HIGH MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. ANNE ST. ANN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE July 31 - 7 p.m.

Pastor Installation of Father John Putnam St. Mark Church, Huntersville

BELMONT QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES church, 503 North Main St. — El Grupo “Porque Ser Católico” se reúne todos los miércoles a las 8 p.m. en la casa de la Señora Carmen Mirón. Si estas interesado(a) en iniciar tu formación a cerca del catolicismo, te invitamos a participar. Para más información, llamar a la Señora Alba Cadavid 704-904-7988.

— Bingo and Movie Night: 6:30-10 p.m. Saturday, July 19, in the MAK Family Life Center. Everyone welcome.

— RCIA Inquiry Session: 10-11 a.m. Sunday, July 27, in the Education Building. Anyone interested in knowing more about the Catholic faith is welcome to attend.

For details, call Cam Tracy at 704-616-2132.

BOONE ST. ELIZABETH OF THE HILL COUNTRY, 259 PILGRIMS WAY — Protecting God’s Children Workshop: 6 p.m. Thursday, July 31.

— Día Para Las Familias Católicas de Las Carolinas: 10 a.m. Domingo, 27 de Julio. Ven y disfruta este tiempo de comunidad con tus familias y amigos. El paquete incluye la admisión para el parque, Misa en el teatro a las 10:30-11:45 a.m., y todo el almuerzo que puedas comer de 12-1 p.m. $45 por persona. Para más información visita www.charlottediocese.org.

OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION Church, 4207 SHAMROCK DR. — Vietnamese Mass: 12:45 p.m. Sunday, July 20. Father Peter Pham will celebrate Mass.

St. ANN CHURCH, 3635 park road — Missa Solemnis for the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 26th. Bishop Peter Jugis will be in choir at the Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. He will dedicate a statue of Jesus, the Divine Mercy in memory of seminarian Michael Kitson after Mass. All are invited to attend.

Volume 23 • Number 20

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

— Polish Prayer Group: 7 p.m. Meets first Thursday of the month in the chapel. For details, call Evona Cholewa at 704-488-7490.

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 Idlewild Road — Six-Week Fellowship Reading Circle: 7:30 p.m. Meets Wednesday, July 23-Aug. 27. Mass will be at 7 p.m. For details, call Shea Barja at 704-451-3629.

St. Matthew church, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMmONS PKWY. — Christian Coffeehouse Gathering: 7-9 p.m. Sunday, July 20, in the Banquet Room. Adults of all ages are welcome to attend and worship our Lord through music. For reservations and details, call Kathy Barlett at 704-400-2213.

— Protecting God’s Children Workshop: 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 28, in the Room D/E of the Education Building. All volunteers, in any capacity and program, must complete this training. To sign up, visit www. virtus.org or call Sue Sforza at 704-370-3357.

ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, 1621 Dilworth Road East

— Second Annual Carolinas Catholic Family Day at Carowinds: 10 a.m. Sunday, July 27. Come and enjoy a day of fun and fellowship with your family and friends. Package includes admission to the park, Mass in the Theater 10:30-11:45 a.m., and an all-you-can-eat picnic lunch, 12-1 p.m. $45 per person (parking included). For details, visit www. charlottediocese.org.

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

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 Providence Road — Young Widowed Support Group: 6 p.m. Meets second Tuesday of the month. Group is intended for widowed persons, around 55 years of age and younger. For details, call Sister Marie Frechette at 704-543-7677, ext. 1073.

CHARLOTTE

July 18, 2014

ST. BASIL EaSTern Catholic MISSION, 1400 suther road (MEETS AT St. Thomas aquinas church) — Helpers of God’s Precious Infants: 10 a.m. Saturday, July 19th. Divine Liturgy followed by prayer at the Latrobe abortion mill with Father Mark Shuey and Father Deacon Matthew Hanes.

— Young Adult Ministry Sunday Lunch: St. Patrick’s Young Adults Ministry will host its third Sunday of the month Mass and Lunch July 20. The group will meet in the courtyard after the 12:30 p.m. Mass and go to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The event is open to all Catholic adults in their 20s and 30s, single or married (must be 21 or older).

ST. Thomas aquinas church, 1400 suther road — Third annual Polish Mass in hHonor of Our Lady of Czestochowa: 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24. A first-class relic of Pope St. John Paul II will be brought to Mass for veneration. Reception following Mass. Your donation of Polish or American food is appreciated and can be dropped off before Mass at Aquinas Hall. For details, call Mary Witulski at 704-290-6012.

Everyone welcome.

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

GREENSBORO ST. MARY CHURCH, 812 DUKE ST. — IGBO Mass; 9 a.m. Sunday, July 20. For details, call 336-392-6840.

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HICKORY — Marriage Encounter Weekend: Aug. 1-3. Early registration recommended. For details, call 704-3152144 or visit www.NCMarriageDiscovery.org ST. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. — Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Topics include: Effectiveness of modern NFP, health risks of popular contraceptives and what the Church teaches about responsible parenting. Sponsored by Catholic Charities. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-370-3230.

HIGH POINT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, 4145 JOHNSON St. — Pro-Life Rosary: 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at 819 N. Main Street 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.

HUNTERSVILLE St. Mark Church, 14740 Stumptown Road — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians welcomes all women who are practicing Roman Catholics, and who are Irish by birth, who are the wife of a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, or the mother of a junior member to join. For details, call Bernadette Brady at 704-210-8060.

— Charlotte Athletes for Christ Youth Ministry: 7-8:30 p.m. Meets the first and third Wednesday of the month. The ministry provides an evening of fun, athletic activities, a great meal, and featured speakers who address faith and athletics. For details, call Tim Flynn at 704-948-0231.

LENOIR St. Francis of Assisi Church, 328 B Woodsway Lane — The rosary, led by Father Gabriel Meehan, is prayed every Monday evening at 7 p.m., in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel. All are welcome.

MURPHY ST. WILLIAM CHURCH, 765 ANDREWS Road — Grief Support Group: 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays in the conference room. “Embracing Your Grief” should be helpful for those mourning the recent loss of a loved one.

SWANNANOA VALLEY St. Margaret Mary church, 102 Andrew Place — Rummage Sale: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.

Hosted by the Knights of Columbus Council 13016.

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

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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July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Abuse victims’ group holds protest outside diocesan offices Kimberly Bender Online reporter

CHARLOTTE — Two advocates for victims of clergy abuse protested outside the Diocese of Charlotte’s Pastoral Center July 8 to ask for more support for victims.

A day after Pope Francis met with victims of clergy abuse, David Fortwengler, the Charlotte leader for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), held the protest asking for “change.” SNAP is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.

The protest looked more like a news conference, where media outlets outnumbered the participants 5-to-1.

Fortwengler and Pam Wennersten Laico, a sister of an abuse victim, detailed how abuse touched their lives and said they believe the Church is protecting abusers instead of punishing them.

On July 7, Pope Francis asked for forgiveness of abuse survivors and told them that “despicable actions” caused by clergy have been hidden for too long and had been “camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained.”

“The real question is what is Pope Francis going to do about it?” Fortwengler

asked. Fortwengler, who had been abused by a priest in Maryland, called for the Charlotte diocese to do what Pope Francis did and apologize.

Bishop Peter Jugis has apologized.

In 2004, just months after being ordained the fourth Bishop of Charlotte, Bishop Jugis apologized to all abuse victims during a special Ash Wednesday homily at St. Patrick Cathedral that was publicized across the diocese.

“I express my profound sorrow to those, be they present in our diocese or throughout the country, who have been victims of this crime. Some clergy did not live up to their calling to be an image of Christ the Good Shepherd. This has had a profound effect on our entire Church community,” he said. “St. Paul wrote that when one member of the body suffers, all the members suffer with it. We all are suffering with those who have been the victims of this immoral behavior.

“I would like to ask you … to keep this intention foremost in your heart: for God’s grace to bring healing to our brothers and sisters who are victims, and for God’s grace to bring healing to the Church. This certainly is the intention of my heart,” he said.

Wennersten Laico said the abuse that her

now-deceased brother suffered in Pittsburgh “destroyed her family.” She asked for the diocese to spend more money on counseling for victims and less on litigation.

Since 1995 the diocese has provided financial assistance to, or on behalf of, victims totaling about $561,500, all of which was for counseling and medical services, diocesan financial reports state. Also according to those reports, the diocese incurred legal costs in connection with sexual misconduct lawsuits totaling about $852,700, as well as two settlements paid by insurance that totaled $1.11 million.

Fortwengler echoed Wennersten Laico’s point, saying he supported the “Protecting God’s Children” efforts of the diocese but wished more money could be spent on helping victims.

“Protecting God’s Children” grew out of the U.S. bishops’ 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Among other things, it establishes requirements for reporting abuse and procedures for when abuse allegations are made; requires ongoing criminal background screenings on clergy, religious, employees and volunteers; provides training for recognizing the warning signs of abuse; and mandates an annual

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read Bishop Jugis’ full 2004 homily and read more about the previous abuse-related litigation involving the diocese

independent audit to ensure compliance.

“Over the past decade we have followed up the bishop’s heartflet apology with action.

Our Church workers and volunteers all go through the Protecting God’s Children training, and background checks are conducted on employees and volunteers,” said David Hains, diocesan director of communications. Just last fiscal year, Hains noted, the diocese spent more than $80,000 on training and background checks.

Since Protecting God’s Children got fully under way in 2004, the diocese has spent more than $784,000 on these preventative efforts, according to the diocese’s annual financial reports. More than 37,000 people in the diocese have gone through about 2,000 training workshops, and nearly 46,000 criminal background checks have been conducted.

(Left) Bishop Peter Jugis greets military personnel outside St. Patrick Cathedral after offering a special Mass for the military July 6.

(Above) Some of the collection of photographs of living and deceased military personnel on display in the cathedral’s narthex during the military Mass.

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Jugis offers Mass for those serving in the military Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter Jugis offered a special Mass for the U.S. military July 6 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. The annual Mass honors all military personnel currently serving, for those who have been injured in the line of duty, and those have died serving our country.

A collection of photographs of living and deceased military personnel was displayed in the narthex of the cathedral for the occasion. Pictures included war veterans from every modern conflict the U.S. has engaged in, from

World War II to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We are grateful for the many instances of humble service and duty the many men and women of the armed forces have demonstrated – to fight for and uphold what’s right, against unjust and tyrannical regimes,” Bishop Jugis said during his homily to approximately 200 people present, mostly civilian relatives and friends of military personnel.

“We pray for them, our family members and friends, for God to bestow on them His blessings and grace,” he continued.

Bishop Jugis preached on the Sunday’s Gospel of Matthew Chapter 11: 25-30, where Jesus instructs His

disciples to imitate His meekness and humility of heart.

Bishop Jugis reminded the assembly of the true humility of Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist.

“Jesus said, ‘Learn from Me, for I am humble of heart.’

In the humble Eucharist, we find the Real Presence of the humble Christ,” he noted.

“The military personnel that we pray for at this Mass usually do not praise themselves for what they’ve done, but they leave that for others,” he continued. “May we all learn to follow the example of Jesus, who is humble of heart.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 OUR PARISHES

CARA head reviews statistics on understanding Catholics today David Hains Director of communication

CHARLOTTE — When it comes to the makeup of the Catholic Church, you can’t believe everything you read in the media. That was one of the main points of an intriguing evening of graphs, statistics and lists presented by Jesuit Father Thomas Gaunt earlier this week.

Father Gaunt is the director of CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a national research group for the Church based in Washington, D.C. He also used to be a pastor and planning director for the Diocese of Charlotte.

He spoke to more than 100 people at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte July 15. St. Matthew Church co-sponsored Father Gaunt’s research and his visit to Charlotte, part of the parish’s “St. Matthew yoUniversity,” a broad-based adult faith formation program.

The big picture of the Catholic faith in America is that there are 77-million Catholics here. That number includes about 34 million who are considered active Catholics by going to church regularly and giving to the offertory. Oddly enough, according to Father Gaunt, Catholics who don’t regularly attend Mass and even those who no longer identify as Catholic describe the Sacraments as meaningful.

CARA is a 50-year-old institution that serves the research needs of the Church. The data it gathers for the U.S. bishops is used to guide the development of the Church in the United States.

For example, CARA studies have chronicled the shift of Catholics from the Northeast to the South and West, requiring the building of new churches in places like Charlotte and the closing of churches in New York. “People move, buildings do not,” Father Gaunt noted.

Father Gaunt said that a recent CARA survey asked pastors around the country about the challenges they face. Pastors in the Northeast were concerned about deteriorating buildings and empty churches. “In the South, it’s parking!” he said.

Much of the data gathered by CARA is shared publicly and he says that reporters and commentators are often biased by what they see around them. News stories written by influential observers in the Northeast see a Church in decline.

But Father Gaunt’s data shows that the number of Catholics in America has held steady for decades at 25 percent of the overall population.

The 90-minute talk also touched upon the increasing diversity of the Church in America, shifting from a predominantly white institution to one that is nearly 50 percent Hispanic. That mirrors additional research by Dr. Hosffman Ospino of Boston College, who recently spoke in the diocese about the growing number of Latino Catholics and their significance to the Church’s future in the U.S. (Editor’s note: See related commentary on pages 13, in Spanish, and 23, in English.)

Father Gaunt also touched on what CARA’s research shows about the factors that drive people away from a parish. He said the studies show that it isn’t the teachings of the Catholic faith or political viewpoints of Church leaders, but whether someone feels welcomed at Mass.

“That (the welcoming) is in our power to change.”

Every year about 500,000 Catholics describe themselves as no longer active in the Church, Father Gaunt noted. But, “What we don’t always recognize is that 300,000, or 60 percent, come back,” he said.

Returning Catholics – often referred to as “reverts” – and converts to the faith make up about one quarter of the average Sunday Mass attendance, CARA’s data shows, Father Gaunt noted.

First Masses of Thanksgiving

Father Paul McNulty (right) and his father Deacon Brian McNulty, elevate the Precious Body and Blood during Father McNulty’s first Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral June 29. Deacon McNulty and his wife Michelle were married at the cathedral 34 years ago, which made Father McNulty’s first Mass even more poignant. He gave an emotional thanks to both of his parents for their faithfulness and support in his final remarks at the end of Mass.

SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Newly ordained Father Noah Carter distributes Holy Communion during his first Mass, celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, on Sunday, June 29 at St. Barnabas Church in Arden. photo provided by Whitmeyer Photography

photo provided by gloria buchanan

Father Paul Buchanan (behind altar in red vestments) celebrated his first Mass on June 29 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

Photos by Christopher Lux | Catholic News Herald

Deacon candidate publishes a collection of poetry about his journey back to the Church Christopher Lux Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — Kevin Bezner, a member of St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte, will be ordained a deacon in the Byzantine rite on Saturday, Aug. 2. I met with Bezner at his home to talk about the upcoming ordination, but also to talk about the recent publication of his seventh collection of poetry, “Following the Light.” The collection reveals a journey back to God, a meditation on God’s creation, forgiveness and second chances.

When we met up, Bezner had just returned from a pilgrimage to Poland and Czech Republic – a pilgrimage that helped prepare him for his upcoming ordination. We sat on his back deck under the shade of pines and oaks. As he poured a cup of tea, he said, “I don’t think there’s any purer drink than tea.

There’s a very calming effect and it connects you to the earth. Like wine and bread.”

Just in front of us, under a dogwood tree, was a statue of Mary and another of St. Francis of Assisi. These are statues that one may not have found in Bezner’s yard years earlier. “I grew up Catholic,” he told me. “But by 1979, at 26 years old, I came to see myself as an atheist. Rather than moving toward the light, I was moving toward the dark.”

He remembers a calling to the priesthood he had when he was younger.

“I was in the fifth or sixth grade and attending school at an orphanage that was run by the Sisters of Mercy. At the orphanage, we were called outsiders, because we didn’t live in the orphanage. There weren’t many of us.

We were at the school because all the other schools in the city were full.”

But it was at the Catholic school that he

began slipping away from the Catholic faith.

“The orphans were tough. I was naïve,” he told me. “I had never heard of gangs before, but some of the orphans claimed to be members of gangs. I didn’t know anything about pop music, but the orphans knew all the singers and the bands of the times and all the ways of life that pop songs of the times described. ‘Leader of the Pack’ was a song that resonated for them. While I gained much from my time at the school, I also was corrupted. By the time the Beatles hit and then the Stones, I had lost all sense of wanting to be a priest.”

Bezner then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in American studies and play college baseball. His passion for baseball and his skill as a catcher in high school marked him as a prospective pro.

“I wanted to be a professional baseball player. One of the things I loved about baseball is being in the field under open skies. It’s the purest of purest games. The game, at its purest, is connected to the natural world.”

When he did not make it to the majors out of high school, Bezner moved on and obtained a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree in American studies. He began focusing on fiction writing. The poetry didn’t come until later.

“I tried my hand at poetry in grad school, when I was 23, but it was awful.” Instead, he focused on writing book reviews and fiction.

“I really wanted to be a reviewer, critic, and interviewer. I interviewed Tim O’Brien, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, John Barth. That became my school of writing.”

Then he began to focus on poetry. “In my 30s I became a poet,” he said. His first full-length collection of poetry, “The Tools of Ignorance,” was well-accepted, and included praise from

the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, who called it “visual lucidity.”

Many of the poems in “Following the Light” were written while he was away from the Catholic Church. I asked him how he feels about publishing poems that were written during his three decades away from the faith – a time of agnosticism and then atheism, Buddhist practices, and secular influences.

“The poems capture the purity of the moment,” he said. “Even when we don’t realize it, God is present in our lives. When I began looking over the poems, I realized that there was a theme of light. By then I had come to know what the light truly represented.”

Bezner had been drawn into Buddhism through writers like Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder. “Like many people were,” he said.

“But I couldn’t call myself a true Buddhist.

I was as much a Buddhist as the typical Catholic who doesn’t embrace every aspect of Catholicism is a true Catholic.” But Buddhism, he said, was leading him to the Catholic Church all along.

“Buddhism has a lot of good, but it doesn’t have God, it doesn’t have Jesus Christ. But it did teach me to live with silence and calm and peace. The calm and peace came from sitting and walking in peaceful settings, and watching birds. I always loved birds but I didn’t know anything about them. I’ve always loved nature, and that love of nature opened up the doors of Buddhism because of the emphasis on the moment. Buddhism gave me a sense of the universe.”

All of a sudden, the statute of St. Francis in Bezner’s garden began to make more sense.

Bezner’s latest collection of poetry beautifully POETRY , SEE page 15

‘Even when we don’t realize it, God is present in our lives. God is always with us; we’re not always with God.’ Kevin Bezner

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Opening hearts, lending a hand Photo essay by Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald CHARLOTTE — More than 350 high school students from North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Virginia came to Charlotte June 29-July 4 for “Catholic Heart Work Camp,” a summer camp for teens to serve the neglected, inspire discipleship and foster their Catholic faith through the sacraments, prayer and involvement in social service. This summer there are 13,000 teenagers going to Catholic Heart Work Camps to serve in 42 cities across the U.S. and Jamaica.

Each day of the camp in Charlotte, the teens were divided up into 45 work groups to paint and repair many Charlotte area homes, assist with day care of children and adults, and work on landscaping projects and More online clean-up projects. They worked with and through various At www.heartworkcamp. local charitable organizations, com: Learn more about including Love INC, City of what Catholic Heart Work Charlotte Developments, Holy Camp is all about, and how Angels, Friendship Trays, you can get involved Charlotte Square Assisted At www.youtube.com/ Living, Catholic Charities CatholicHEARTWC: Check Diocese of Charlotte, House of out videos of past Catholic Mercy, the Missionaries of the Heart Work Camps and Poor, and MiraVia. hear testimonies from After their long days working participants in the summer sun, campers return to Charlotte Catholic High School for showers, dinner and their evening of song, worship, praise and connecting with God and each other.

During each evening program, the teens enjoyed prayer, catechesis, and praise and worship music. A representative of each work team explained where they saw God that day: often it is in their residents, one another, or in their surroundings. They attended Mass and received the sacrament of reconciliation from local priests including Monsignor John McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church.

Charlotte Catholic High School received a grant from the Sisters of Mercy for much of the supplies and materials needed to do the work on people’s homes, noted M.J. Dawson, manager of the CHWC program for Charlotte. Any projects not completed by the CHWC teams will be finished by Charlotte Catholic High School athletes, who themselves have service work requirements to fulfill.

The theme for 2014 is “Beautiful Mess. It is. We are.” As explained on the CHWC website, “The world is as messy as it is beautiful and as beautiful as it is messy. We are surrounded by God’s beauty in creation, and life’s blessings, yet there is so much pain, injustice and poverty that exists simultaneously. Likewise, as human beings we were designed and created in God’s image for goodness yet we recognize we all have our own messes in our lives.

The beauty lies in the truth that God’s love is constant despite any mess. Service to others requires us to get messy not just physically, with dirty hands, cement splashed shoes and paint stained clothes.

Service is also about listening to the stories of others, being emotionally involved and then, without judgement, loving and caring as Christ.”

Campers paint the porch railings to give the home of an elderly couple battling cancer and a heart condition a fresh new appearance.

Our Lady of Consolation parishioners John and Mary McDonald pray with their Catholic Heart Work Camp team in their backyard in Charlotte.

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

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(Left and above) Four Corners, a CHWC tradition, is a quiet time to experience the power of prayer and the forgiveness of God. Teens pray with one another or the adult volunteers, receive the sacrament of reconciliation with visiting priests and are able to release their burdens.

A home on Craddock Street is brightened by the paint and smiles of the willing workers, and teens and their adult leaders work to remove an old shed.

(Far left) After their long days working in the summer sun, campers return to Charlotte Catholic High School for showers, dinner and their evening of song, worship, praise and connecting with God and each other.

(Above) Adult volunteers pick up their candles and find a place in the gym to allow teens to come to them for prayer and to talk about their troubles in a non-judgmental atmosphere.

After dinner, teens from each of the 11 parish groups gather to make lunches for tomorrow’s work day.

Campers sing songs of praise and worship throughout the evening program.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Campus Ministry Position: The Catholic Diocese of Richmond is seeking a Campus Minister to serve the Catholic students, faculty and administration at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. This is a full time (minimum 35 hours per week), 12 month position. Applicants must be Roman Catholic in good standing. Qualifications include a master’s degree in pastoral ministry, theology or a closely related degree (or the commitment to work towards it). Prior experience in campus ministry is preferred.

Additional information is available on the diocesan website at www.richmonddiocese.org/human.

Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest, resume and diocesan application to: Catherine Udell, HR Generalist/Recruiter Catholic Diocese of Richmond 7800 Carousel Lane Richmond, VA 23294-4201 Fax: 804-358-9159 Email: jobs@richmonddiocese.org

Retiring Old Glory KERNERSVILLE — Members of Boy Scout Troop 958 (St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem) and Cub Scouts from Pack 943 (Holy Cross Parish in Kernersville), pictured above, were among those who took part in a flag retirement ceremony June 14, in honor of Flag Day, in Kernersville. Members of the local Knights of Columbus and Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Paul Dechant, pastor of Holy Cross Church, also took part in the ceremony. Pictured preparing the flags for proper burning and disposal are Scouts Joe Fernald, Taylor Fernald, Timothy Fernald, Christopher Kelly and Joey Guevara, and Knight Matt Henze.

In 2010, Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake.

Today, the country is still reeling.

Watch the Mercy for Haiti film and help us continue to make a difference for those forgotten. Visit urgentcares.org/haiti

Visit urgentcares.org to make a donation, or mail your gift (payable to CMMF) to P.O. Box 16367, Asheville, NC 28816

Photos by John Bunyea | Catholic News Herald

Cross-a-Thon walk of faith for religious freedom to be held Aug. 2 FOREST CITY — Parishioners in the Diocese of Charlotte are invited to participate in the second annual Crossa-Thon, a two-mile walk of faith in support of religious freedom which will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Immaculate Conception Church in Forest City. Participants in the Cross-a-Thon can take turns carrying full-sized crosses as they walk and witness to the power of prayer and sacrifice during the event.

The idea for the Cross-a-thon is taken from Luke 9:23, “And He said to all, ‘If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” These words of Christ inspired many to abandon former ways of life and devote themselves entirely to Him with sacrifices and prayer.

Immaculate Conception Church’s youth group chose to take the Bible verse to heart last year, and in an effort to grow in the love of Christ and to celebrate religious freedom, they held the inaugural Cross-aThon last summer.

During last year’s walk, cars driving past slowed to observe the walkers, and along the entire two miles they received much

positive support from those passing by. The walk was prayerful, with the group reciting the rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet during the walk.

This year’s walk will be led by a Eucharistic procession from Immaculate Conception Church through the streets of Forest City and back, so the participants will literally be following Christ while bearing their crosses.

Parishes or families interested in joining this year’s two-mile walk of faith and carrying the cross are encouraged to find a partner to switch off with for the second mile. Although hosted by the youth group, it is a family event for participants of all ages with crosses of various sizes.

After the two-mile march, there will be a Holy Hour led by Father Michael Kottar, pastor of St. Mary Church in Shelby, who will speak about the gift of religious liberty. All are invited to stay for a cookout grilled by the Knights of Columbus. For more information or to RSVP for the picnic, contact Mike Daigle at 828-447-6744 or email Crossathon2014@gmail.com.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Morlando named to head diocesan properties office CHARLOTTE — Anthony Morlando has been named the director of properties and risk management for the Diocese of Charlotte, Morlando succeeding Deacon Guy Piché, who retired last month after 28 years of service. Morlando was hired in February as the department’s assistant director.

Morlando is an active member of St. John Neumann Church and a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is a registered architect with more than 24 years of experience, and was in private practice for the past 10 years.

Calling for choir volunteers for the upcoming diocesan Eucharistic Congress CHARLOTTE — Would you like to be part of the music program for the September 19-20 Eucharistic Congress? There are three ways you can take part.

If you are a priest of our diocese and have an interest in and willingness to chant, you can join our priests’ chant choir. If you are a choral director, including of children’s choirs, you are invited to join our directors’ choir. If you are someone who enjoys singing, even if you are not able to commit yourself to your church choir at the moment, but have the ability to commit to music just for the summer, you are invited to join our volunteer choir. All three of these choirs will sing in the concert, balancing sacred music off each other’s group.

If you are considering the director’s or volunteer’s choir, please consider singing for Holy Mass on Saturday.

To get more information and to sign up, contact Tiffany Gallozzi at music@ saintbarnabasarden.org.

she planned and coordinated a weekend retreat for girls of this age group entitled “One World.”

The weekend included four sessions each with a specific theme; relationships, overcoming, community and “k”ontinue – “ROCK.” Included in each session was a speaker and group activity.

Her service project for the weekend was for the Missionaries of the Poor. At the retreat, the girls made cord rosaries that were blessed and then sent to Haiti.

Part of the weekend included Adoration. For most of the girls, this was their first time to be exposed to this powerful devotion. Deacon Mark King and Sr. Agnes Cousins joined the retreat for Adoration.

Overall it was a successful weekend with more than 30 middle school girls in attendance, led by a team of 10 adult and teen volunteers. St. Matthew Church plans to continue offering a middle school girl’s retreat each year.

— Julia Turner

Hood earns Eagle Scout rank CHARLOTTE — Elijah M. Hood, a member of Our Lady of Consolation Church and Boy Scout Troop 172 in Charlotte, recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

Hood Hood is the 32nd Boy Scout from the troop at Our Lady of Consolation Parish who has become an Eagle Scout through his work in service to God, his country and his community.

CHARLOTTE — Ali Buck, a parishioner of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, recently received the highest award in Girl Scouts – the Gold Award – for her work in solving a particular problem in the community.

To reach this honor, you have to solve a community problem following a seven-step guideline: identify an issue, investigate it thoroughly, get help and build your team, create a plan, present your plan and gather feedback, take action, and educate and inspire.

Buck addressed the issue of engaging middle school girls in the programs available for teens at her parish. To encourage this participation,

CCDOC.ORG

— Gladys Hood

Discover Natural Family Planning

McAnulty wins state oratorical contest

Buck achieves highest Girl Scout award

OUR PARISHESI

HICKORY — Barbara Ann McAnulty, a parishioner of St. Aloysius Church in Hickory, recently participated in the American Legion Oratorical Contest, advancing from wins at the Post, District and Division competitions earlier this year to represent western North Carolina in the State Oratorical Contest in Charlotte.

McAnulty was chosen as the second runnerup in the state contest and won a $500 college scholarship and a plaque. This is the second time that McAnulty has succeeded in the oratorical contest: in 2013 she was also selected as the second runner-up at the state level of competition. She is pictured with Patricia Harris, state commander of the N.C. American Legion.

The American Legion Oratorical Contest exists to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students. Since 1938, the program has presented participants with an academic speaking challenge that teaches important leadership qualities, the history of our nation’s laws, the ability to think and speak clearly, and an understanding of the duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges of American citizenship.

The competition is judged by lawyers, mayors, elected officials and other prominent people in the community.

— Jean McAnulty

Modern Natural Family Planning (NFP) provides a practical and empowering alternative used to achieve or avoid pregnancy. It upholds the dignity of the person within the context of marriage and family and promotes openness to life by respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage.

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

• Effectiveness of modern NFP methods.

• Health, relational, and spiritual benefits.

• Health risks of popular contraceptives.

• Church teachings on responsible parenting.

• How to use Natural Family Planning.

July 26 – St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Hickory August 16 – St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte September 6 – Christ the King Catholic Church, High Point September 27 – St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte For more information visit our website or contact Batrice Adcock, MSN at 704.370.3230 or bnadcock@charlottediocese.org.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Prices are ALL-INCLUSIVE w/Airfare from anywhere in the continental USA

Journey to the Holy Land with Fr. Hanic, Oct. 20-30 ~ $3,999 With Janis McQuade, SSJ as Spiritual Director

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Carmela Manago - Executive Director

Associate Director of Stewardship and Development Catholic Diocese of Charleston, SC

The ADSD will assist the Director of Stewardship and Development to enhance and implement the annual funding strategy and implement the overall communications for the Office of Stewardship. The ADSD will have 5 or more years experience in conducting annual appeals, capital campaigns, major gifts, and/or promoting stewardship in a diocesan, parish, or related non-profit organization. Proven ability to implement a multi-pronged annual appeal effort to include direct mail, personal and small group solicitation, as well as a professional communications plan.

Excellent written, verbal, and public speaking skills required. A full time position requiring BS/BA in a related area such as business management, marketing or communications. Multi-lingual/bi-lingual capability a plus.

Some overnight and weekend travel to all regions of South Carolina is required.

Applicant must be an active Catholic in good standing. Excellent benefits with generous paid time off. For consideration, apply online at http://sccatholic.org/ and attach resume, cover letter, and salary expectations.

PART-TIME STAFF AUDITOR The Diocese of Charlotte is accepting applications for the position of Staff Auditor.

This is a part-time position requiring twenty hours per week. The position is primarily responsible for performing audits of school accounts and the procedures related to those accounts.

Requirements include: • Bachelors’ Degree in Accounting or Finance • Three years experience in accounting or auditing.

• Strong understanding of internal control systems.

• Strong verbal, written, analytical and interpersonal skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook and familiarity with accounting software.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality.

Please send resume and salary history by July 25, 2014 to: Director, Parish Audit Services Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203 or email to sjsyta@charlottediocese.org.

The Diocese of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Haywood County Knights receive high honors Carol Viau Correspondent

“Chuck Luce’s contributions are many,” said Pizza. “He is the editor of the council’s monthly newsletter and is a member of the council’s First Degree Exemplification Team, inducting new members into the council. He assists in the annual LAMB drive (Tootsie Rolls sales), by collecting funds from the public to provide support for organizations in Haywood County in the area of special needs, such as the ARC and Special Olympics.”

Luce attends daily and Sunday Mass with his wife Dot. He serves as a lector,

CHARLOTTE — Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 15085 received high honors at the state conference in Charlotte May 16-18. The council includes members from St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton.

John LaFata was selected as State Knight of the Year, and Chuck Luce received the honor of Golden Knight of the Year (for those with a minimum of 15 years of service). LaFata and Luce were recognized out of a membership of 16,000 Knights in North Carolina.

“Dr. LaFata consistently demonstrated faithful, loyal and zealous service to the country, our church, our order, his parish, his council, and the community,” said Lonnie Pizza, the council’s Grand Knight. “Despite a demanding professional work schedule and chairmanship of the Physician Leadership Council Photo provided by Mark Zaffrann for MedWest Physician’s Members of the Waynesville Knights of Columbus Council 15085 Network, Dr. LaFata assists his received high honors at the state conference in May. Pictured elderly neighbor whenever and (from left) are Dot Luce; Chuck Luce, named Golden Knight of the wherever the need arises.”

Year; Lonnie Pizza, holding the council’s State Deputy Award; John He also supports the LaFata, named State Knight of the Year; and Margaret LaFata.

Salvation Army, Special Olympics, Manna Food Bank, Community Kitchen Food Bank, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, Catholic Relief, Compassion, Christian and a member of the choir. In addition, he Foundation for Children and Age and the assists with the Rite of Christian Initiation Smokey Mountain Pregnancy Care Center. of Adults (RCIA) program.

LaFata is involved within the parish Luce is also the founder and co-director as an extraordinary minister of Holy of the St. John’s team at The Open Door in Communion, lector, and facilitates a Frog Level. The team prepares, serves and Scripture studies session on Sundays. cleans up the noon meal on the second and Additionally, he aids his wife Margaret fourth Monday each month. Luce retired teach catechism classes for confirmation from U. S. Army after 20 years of service, students and lead Wednesday Bible Study. with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

A specialist in internal medicine, LaFata In addition to the individual awards, the practices medicine at Mountain Medical council itself received the State Deputy Associates in Clyde. He served in the U.S. Award for 2013-’14, which recognizes the Army Medical Corps for eight and a half overall performance of the council. This years and was honorably discharged with is the highest honor a council can receive. the rank of major.

Council 15085 was the only council in the Luce has been a member of the Knights state to receive this award. The council of Columbus for 27 years, and is a charter received five other awards at the conference. member of Council 15085.

“It was well-deserved recognition for the Appointed council lector, Luce is tireless and dedicated effort our council responsible for providing a spiritual/ members gave to support their order, educational program at monthly meetings church and community,” Pizza said. during “For the Good of the Order” time.

Campus Ministry Position: The Catholic Diocese of Richmond is seeking a Campus Minister to serve the Catholic students, faculty and administration at Radford University in Radford, VA. This is a full time (minimum 35 hours per week), 12 month position. Applicants must be Roman Catholic in good standing.

Qualifications include a master’s degree in pastoral ministry, theology or a closely related degree (or the commitment to work towards it). Prior experience in campus ministry is preferred.

Additional information is available on the diocesan website at www.richmonddiocese.org/human.

Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest, resume and diocesan application to: Catherine Udell, HR Generalist/Recruiter Catholic Diocese of Richmond 7800 Carousel Lane Richmond, VA 23294-4201 Fax: 804-358-9159 Email: jobs@richmonddiocese.org

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

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Rico De Silva

El futuro de los Latinos y Latinas en la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos

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RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Monseñor Jaime Rodríguez Salazar, Obispo de la Diócesis de Huánuco en Perú, bendiciendo a una familia de la Parroquia de San Vicente de Paul en Charlotte durante su visita a esa parroquia el pasado Domingo, 6 de Julio.

Obispo misionero de diócesis peruana visita Parroquia de San Vicente de Paul Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — El Obispo misionero de la Diócesis de Huánuco en Perú, Monseñor Jaime Rodríguez Salazar, visitó la Parroquia de San Vicente de Paul en Charlotte, el pasado Domingo, 6 de Julio.

Mons. Rodríguez Salazar fue invitado a celebrar todas las Misas dominicales ese día por el Párroco de San Vicente, el Padre Mark Lawlor.

“Como Director Diocesano de la Oficina de la Propagación de la Fe aquí, cada año yo invito a 40 misioneros para tener una colecta especial para sus ministerios en sus diócesis o en sus congregaciones,” dijo el Padre Lawlor.

Mons. Rodríguez Salazar vino acompañado de su secretario, el Padre Huver Navarro Vigo, quien también concelebró todas las Misas con el obispo de Huánuco. El Padre Huver visitó a la Parroquia de San Vicente en el 2013 también por invitación del Padre Lawlor.

El Obispo predicó en todas las Misas en inglés y también en la Misa en español de las 2 pm en esa parroquia. “La Diócesis de Huánuco está celebrando este año un Año Jubilar. Estamos celebrando nuestro 150 aniversario de fundación. Ya que fue hecha una diócesis en 1865 por el Papa Pio IX,” dijo Mons. Rodríguez Salazar durante su homilía.

El Obispo agradeció al Padre Lawlor por la invitación a la Diócesis de Charlotte, y prometió a los presentes durante su homilía orar por todos ellos. El obispo también pidió de las oraciones de ellos por la Diócesis misionera de Huánuco, localizada en las montañas del Perú.

El Padre Lawlor tuvo una segunda colecta durante todas las Misas para ayudar a la Misión de la Diócesis de Huánuco. “La colecta es para ayudarles en su ministerio, para ayudar a los pobres, sus proyectos, su catequesis y también para ayudar con el seminario de Huánuco,” dijo el Padre Lawlor después de la Misa.

Antes de la bendición final de la Misa, el Padre Huver también agradeció al Padre Lawlor por la invitación a la Iglesia de San Vicente y por todo el apoyo brindado a la Diócesis de Huánuco.

El Padre Huver también serenó brevemente a los presentes tocando la ‘zampoña’ que es un instrumento típico peruano, y que es parecido a unas flautas pequeñas. El Padre después obsequió al Padre Lawlor una de sus zampoñas, y bromeó con los presentes diciendo que, “Cuando regrese el otro año, el Padre Marcos tocará para Uds.”

l mes pasado tuve la oportunidad y el privilegio de participar en la Conferencia de Periodistas Católicos de Norte América 2014. Nuestro periódico diocesano, el Catholic News Herald, en conjunto con la Asociación de Periodistas Católicos, fueron los anfitriones de este evento anual de gran magnitud.

Durante la conferencia, asistí a la charla del Dr. Hosffman Ospino, quien enseña acerca del Ministerio Hispano y Educación Religiosa en la Escuela de Teología de la Universidad de Boston College en Boston. El Dr. Ospino es considerado a nivel nacional como un experto en el estudio de la pastoral hispana en los Estados Unidos.

El Dr. Ospino es mejor conocido por un estudio reciente que hizo a nivel nacional por más de dos años a nivel parroquial acerca del ministerio hispano.

Durante la conferencia, Ospino dio su charla titulada en inglés, “Acercándonos a los católicos Latinos(as) en los Estados Unidos,” y compartió con nosotros los presentes unas estadísticas demográficas acerca de nosotros los católicos Hispanos en este país que no se pueden ignorar. Por esa razón, considero mi obligación como reportero hispano católico compartir mi opinión con Uds. los lectores Hispanos del Catholic News Herald-Español de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Una de las estadísticas más interesantes que Dr. Ospino mencionó fue que los Latinos en la Iglesia estadounidense ahora formamos el 43 por ciento de los católicos en este país. Los ‘Anglos’ de raza blanca ahora son solo el 47 por ciento de los católicos, comparado con un 95 por ciento de ellos en la década de los 1950.

Algo muy importante que él mencionó también fue que, de ese 43 por ciento de nosotros los católicos Hispanos, 63 por ciento (más de la mitad) son menores de 18 años, y de ese 63 por ciento de los menores de edad, ¡97 por ciento son nacidos en los Estados Unidos! Esa son las buenas noticias. Las malas noticias de acuerdo al Dr. Ospino es que hay tres grupos de católicos hispanos actualmente.

El primer grupo está compuesto de los Hispanos inmigrantes a los Estados Unidos. Segundo grupo, son los católicos Hispanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos que practican el catolicismo activamente. El tercer grupo son los católicos Hispanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos, pero que no practican la fe.

Este tercer grupo es el motivo principal de esta columna.

No hay que ser un adivino para reconocer que eventualmente, y en futuro muy cercano, nosotros los Latinos y Latinas ya no seremos una minoría en la Iglesia.

Por eso, lo que más me llamó la atención de la charla fue cuando él dijo lo siguiente, “Un grupo que permanece descuidado son los Hispanos nacidos en este país que no practican el catolicismo. Ellos son el futuro de los católicos en los Estados Unidos, y son la mayoría de la población católica hispana en este país.”

Entonces, esta Columna de Fuego está dirigida primordialmente a los padres de familias Hispanos, incluyéndome a mí, a que nos aseguremos que nuestros hijos e hijas, especialmente los nacidos o criados aquí, no solo aprendan la fe católica durante su infancia y adolescencia, sino que cuando dejen el hogar a vivir por si solos, no abandonen nuestra fe católica. De acuerdo al Dr. Ospino, solo un 30 por ciento de los católicos Hispanos nacidos en los Estados Unidos practican su fe activamente en la Iglesia.

Como padres y madres de familia, nosotros no solo tenemos la obligación de criar a nuestros hijos e hijas y proporcionarles una educación, pero aún más importante, como católicos tenemos el deber y la obligación ante de Dios de transmitirles a ellos la fe.

El reto entonces, amigos y amigas, es de hacer el compromiso con Dios a hacer lo mejor posible para lograr esto. Algo que solo se puede lograr, primero que todo con la gracia de Dios y por medio de la oración, y segundo que todo, de la misma manera que nuestros padres y madres nos inculcaron a nosotros la fe: Con el ejemplo de una vida fiel a Dios, a su Iglesia y a nuestras familias.

Que Dios los bendiga.

Ricardo “Rico” De Silva es el Especialista de Noticias Hispanas del Catholic News Herald.

Our schools

14

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Photos provided by Bertha Medina

(Left) Young adults and teens on the Autism Disorder Spectrum work together to move boards for raised beds at St. Gerard House’s “Feed the Need” community garden. The gardening program begun

by St. Gerard House, a nonprofit organization that offers treatment for children and young adults with autism and learning disabilities, helps participants learn vocational, communication and daily living skills.

St. Michael School inducts Beta Club members GASTONIA — Six new members were inducted into the National Junior Beta Club chapter at St. Michael School in Gastonia in May. Students are selected for the club if they are on the honor roll and are good citizens at the school and in the community. Students must complete 10 hours of service projects per school quarter.

The National Junior Beta Club promotes character, develops leadership skills, encourages service involvement and recognizes achievement. It also provides technological advantages to students in grades six through eight.

Pictured with Greg Davidowitz, middle school teacher and club sponsor, are the new members: Alex Abernathy, sixth grade; John Collins, sixth grade; Elizabeth Bragg, seventh grade; Rileigh Hazen, sixth grade; Cecelia Tolbert, sixth grade; and Jack Bragg, sixth grade.

— Pat Burr

Teams announced for ‘McGuire Invitational’ CHARLOTTE — Catholic high schools from North Carolina and New York will play in a four-team invitational at Belmont Abbey College Dec. 22-23 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Al McGuire’s final season of coaching at the school. The “McGuire Invitational” will mark the first time that Catholic high schools from New York City and North Carolina will play each other.

The teams committed to play in the invitational are Charlotte Catholic High School, Cardinal Gibbons High School of Raleigh, Xavier High School in Manhattan, N.Y., and Cardinal Spellman High School in Bronx, N.Y. Xavier High School is the reigning New York City Catholic “A” League champions.

— Kevin Larkin We welcome your school’s news! Email your news items and photos to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.

(Above) Emily Congdon, one of the participants, works on the arugula plants.

Planting seeds of self-reliance Community garden teaches work skills to disabled youths Pamela Temby Special to the Catholic News Herald

HENDERSONVILLE — Down the street from Immaculate Conception Church and Immaculata School in Hendersonville, gardeners hammer away, building raised vegetable beds on donated church property. They‘ve learned how to mix soil, till the ground and plant seedlings that will grow into produce they’ll eventually sell at local tailgate markets.

“I’ve met a lot of friends out here. I like to help everyone out,” says Sebastian, an outgoing 28-year-old client of St. Gerard House, a nonprofit organization that offers “evidence-based” treatment for children and young adults with autism and learning disabilities.

Sebastian is one of several young adults who come three times a week to participate in St. Gerard’s “Feed the Need” community garden, where they learn necessary skills that will help them gain employment after finishing high school.

“Once we realized how bad the employment outlook was for adults with autism, we knew we had to do something, and we knew we had to start with a young population in order to better prepare them for the working world,” says Harlan Chumley, “Feed the Need” coordinator.

Caroline Long, executive director of St. Gerard House, says statistics show that each year, 50,000 new people with autism in the U.S. enter a workforce that isn’t designed for them. Only 4 to 13 percent of adults with autism are competitively employed, she says.

Organizers hope to bridge that gap and improve those statistics in Henderson County.

The gardening program, which has been awarded two private grants totaling $21,500, offers many teaching opportunities.

Therapists help clients work on vocational, communication and daily living skills. Ultimately, they become more self-reliant and learn how to team up with others.

Before the physical work begins, therapists instruct participants on the parts of a plant.

“What is this?” asks Cliff Cowan, clinical coordinator of the program, pointing to a diagram of a seedling.

“A leaf,” shouts out Sebastian.

“Good job,” Cowan says, while others applaud.

After parts of the seedling are pointed out, gardeners then head to the raised beds, digging the soil to plant strawberry seedlings.

Therapists use principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, when working with clients. Positive reinforcement is one such principle. During the gardening sessions, points and praise are given to those who successfully complete skills.

“ABA has over 30 years of research support behind it. I’ve seen it work for our kids at the Grotto Pre-school. I‘ve seen it work through our Connect program and I‘m really excited to see how these universal principles can be applied for our ‘Feed the Need’ program,” Cowan says.

Chumley points out, “Their self-esteem improves. They literally see the fruits of their labor.”

And the program seems to be working. Long says one participant refused to speak at all before coming to the program. “He’s doing really well now. He’s saying a lot more words.”

Many in the Hendersonville community have rallied behind the program. The project took top prize, winning $10,000, in the Promise Competition in the 2014 Speak Out for Kids campaign, designed to draw attention to areas in Henderson County where work was needed to help young people become successful adults.

Private donations from parishioners and businesses have helped the program get off the ground. Even students from Hendersonville High School, located across the street from the garden, say they plan to write their senior projects on autism after watching “Feed the Need” participants.

And organizers hope to eventually hire a full-time garden manager for the program.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and his fellow gardeners have a lot of work ahead of them, planting more vegetables, harvesting them, then later taking them to local tailgate markets in the Hendersonville area, where they will be introduced to the working world.

“We all deserve a chance to be a contributing member of our community,” Long says.

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

NFP: FROM PAGE 3

procreation.

This does not mean that every sexual act is designed by God to result in pregnancy.

God created sex, and sexual pleasure is a gift from Him. It is only possible for a woman to conceive on one day in an entire menstrual cycle, usually about a month long. A couple’s combined fertility leads to a fertile time of about a week. So we see that the majority of the cycle is not fertile.

Is the couple using NFP, who only engages in the marital act during the infertile time, open to life? Are they retaining the procreative nature in their acts, even though they know them to be infertile? Yes. They are cooperating with God’s design. They are doing nothing to change the nature of the sexual act, which is called to be entered freely and to be a complete gift of self to each other. They are coming together as one flesh (Ephesians 5:31) in the image of God as male and female (Genesis 1:27). Most importantly, they seek to subordinate their will to God’s through the monthly discernment that is part of the practice of NFP. Other differences? Contraception is used only to avoid pregnancy. In addition to this, NFP can be used to achieve pregnancy and

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Get links to prayers, information on Church teaching and other resources about Natural Family Planning At www.ccdoc.org (Click on Services, then Family Enrichment): Learn more about Natural Family Planning and see the schedule of upcoming NFP classes offered through Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. Upcoming classes, which are free, will be held July 26 in Hickory, Aug. 16 in Charlotte, and Sept.

6 in High Point. Online and home study classes are also available.

to overcome common women’s problems.

Contraceptives have negative side effects, including depression, decreased sexual interest, and increased risk of breast cancer, to name a few. Perhaps the most serious problem with contraceptives is that all of the hormonal forms of artificial birth control and the IUD have the potential to cause an early abortion by preventing implantation of a recently conceived human embryo.

The Church’s wisdom in rejecting contraceptive methods and upholding NFP becomes clear as we consider these practical differences.

POETRY: FROM PAGE 7

illustrates a deep connection between nature and spiritual healing, and echoes the words of Pope St. John Paul II: “Our very contact with nature has a deep restorative power; contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and serenity.”

At one point, while he was still an atheist, Bezner came home late one night from work, turned on the television and began flipping through the channels.

“I got to EWTN. First I wanted to mock the Catholics I saw praying, attending Mass. ‘I’m an intellectual,’ I said. ‘Why should I believe this nonsense?’ Then I saw John Paul II praying and I thought, ‘Everything I’ve been seeking he seems to have.’”

This was not an exact moment of conversion for Bezner, though. “We think of conversion as automatic, but things that occur to us prepare us for a journey. Some of us need a lot of time because we’re hard-headed.” The feeling he had seeing Pope St. John Paul II stuck with Bezner as he continued his life outside the Church.

Bezner held a number of jobs, including telephone operator, bindery worker, bookseller, administrative assistant, and researcher in the Washington office of a major corporation. He was a reporter for about four years and left to return to graduate school. He earned a second master’s, this one in English, did additional work toward an MFA in creative writing, taught at a community college, and then decided to pursue a doctorate in English rather than an MFA. Doctorate in hand, he taught at various colleges and universities where God continued to be present in his life.

“I was asked to teach these great Catholic writers – Paul, Augustine, Dante – as an atheist. I called myself an atheist (yet) I’m teaching these great Catholic writers and thinkers, and this begins to soften my heart. I’m living in great natural places with beaches in Florida, the mountains of Montana, and the ridges and woods of Athens, Ohio. There was a focus on the natural world – and that’s Catholic. God is always with us; we’re not always with God.” In 1993 Bezner left the natural beauty of Montana and moved to Charlotte. “When I left Montana I felt I was being expelled from Paradise.” He writes about this experience in a poem, “After My Father’s Death.” The narrator of the poem says: “we move toward mountains I see in the distance / and I tell my father how great they are. / He smiles and tells me ‘just wait.’”

“It was a dream about my father and mountains,” Bezner explained. “I’m thinking of my father and he tells me, in a dream, that the best is yet to come.”

15

N.C. lawmakers stand by ‘Choose Life’ plates WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two lawmakers in North Carolina have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a censorship case related to pro-life specialty license plates in the state.

Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund) filed the appeal July 11 on behalf of Thom Tillis, speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives, and Phil Berger, president pro tempore of the state Senate.

“State governments have a right to advance messages consistent with their public policies,” said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox in a statement.

“The Supreme Court has already affirmed that right. North Carolinians support protecting life and helping pregnant women in need; the First Amendment does not require the state to bow to demands that it censor the ‘Choose Life’ message.”

The state General Assembly authorized the specialty license plates featuring the phrase “Choose Life”

In Charlotte, Bezner found that the best was, in fact, yet to come. He took a job as a bank writer in downtown Charlotte.

“In 2000 I began wandering into both downtown St. Peter’s (churches), the Catholic one and the Episcopalian one. I liked the peace and quiet. But the Catholic St. Peter’s had something the Episcopalian one didn’t: the Eucharist.”

Then, in 2002, at the Easter Mass at St. Peter Church, Bezner came back into the Catholic Church.

Bezner’s collection reflects the importance of nature in his return to God. “I thank God for everything I have, despite the bumps. I never could imagine the life I now have. Now I trust in God – for the most part. Too often, I get in His way.”

“The one thing I always know is that if I can spend some time in a garden, under trees, listening to birds or looking at mountains, I can know everything is good.”

Soon after his return to the Church, Bezner joined St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte. “When I returned to the Church, I knew nothing about deacons. The Church – the Roman Catholic Church – did not have deacons when I left in 1971. In 2004, a priest who guided me on a retreat suggested that I should pursue the diaconate. For a variety of reasons, I did not take his suggestion. Several more priests mentioned this to me in the ensuing years, as did some parishioners. I inquired about the diaconate about six years ago, when I was 55, but I was told that I was too old. So I let it go. Then a priest at St. Vincent in Charlotte suggested the diaconate to me and when I told him I was too old he laughed and told me not to worry about age. I trusted the priest and spoke to the deacon at the parish and he was encouraging. I spoke with my wife Ann, and she was encouraging. She has been a great support. So I began to explore the possibility of studying to become a deacon. For me it was a way to serve the Church more fully, to serve our priests, to serve God.” During this time, Bezner was also attending services at St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte.

“Just as I was beginning the preparatory stages of entering the diocese’s class of aspirants, I met Father Deacon Matthew Hanes of St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission, who was teaching in the diocese’s lay ministry program. I had participated in the mission from its start in 2006 as often as I could, but it did not have assigned clergy. Father Mark Shuey visited about once a month from Raleigh. Father Deacon gave the mission great stability, because since his ordination in 2010 he has ensured that there is a Sunday liturgy every week and liturgies on feast days. He is a deeply spiritual man and a good shepherd. Once I began attending liturgies led by him regularly, and those by Father Mark Shuey when he visited, I knew that I had found my home. So I moved to

in 2011. The plates would have been available for an additional $25 fee, $15 of which would support the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, which serves pregnant women in North Carolina.

The state offers more than 100 other special-interest license plates, ranging from the Knights of Columbus to more than a dozen NASCAR options.

Specialty license plates expressing a pro-life message are already available in 29 states.

Before the state could begin issuing the plates, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on First Amendment grounds.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled in favor of the ACLU, barring North Carolina from distributing the “Choose Life” plates. In February, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision.

“The 4th Circuit’s decision is at odds with other circuits that have upheld the rights of states to issue such plates,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman.

— CNA/EWTN News

the Ukrainian Catholic Church and gave up the idea of becoming a deacon in the diocese.”

But the possibility of serving as a deacon didn’t end there. “I was then offered the opportunity to study for the diaconate through the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio.” In 2011, Bezner entered Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn. He was awarded a master’s degree in theology in 2014.

“I don’t think my acceptance of this call was a delayed response to a calling to the priesthood on my part,” he said. “I simply love the Byzantine liturgy and the emphasis that is placed in this rite on praying the Hours, the psalms, and on compunction and penthos (godly sorrow).

The purity and austerity and beauty that I was thinking all along was in Buddhism was in the Catholic Church, particularly in the Eastern rite. I love the austerity I found in the Eastern Church – the richness of the liturgy, the emphasis on the Jesus Prayer.”

Entering the Ukrainian Catholic Church was a return of sorts for Bezner. His paternal grandfather was Ukrainian.

When his grandfather and Polish grandmother married, they needed a dispensation from the Church for disparity of cult. “It’s possible that my grandfather was Ukrainian Catholic,” he said. “From what I can tell, he was born and grew up in the part of Ukraine that was Ukrainian Catholic.”

Not long after a conversion experience in 1998, Bezner found himself teaching Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.” He was especially drawn to the character Father Zosima, a holy monk and spiritual guide – a “staretz.”

“I had never encountered any character, any person like Father Zosima. Thomas Merton had become an interest, but for me what he taught did not compare to what I found in reading about Russian monks like Father Zosima.

Because of this, I considered becoming Russian Orthodox.

I felt, however, that if I returned to the Church I would have to be in union with Rome, because that is what I had promised God after my conversion experience in 1998 in the mountains outside Hendersonville. Later I learned that the Ukrainian Catholic Church is the same tradition as the Russian Orthodox” yet is in full communion with the pope and the Catholic Church.

“I know that prayers of Pope St. John Paul and my Polish grandmother, who had a deep faith, helped me find my way back to the Church. That Pope St. John Paul teaches that the Church needs to breathe with two lungs does not strike me as coincidental.”

Bezner’s collection of poems reflects what he calls “a nostalgic regret…great sadness that I left the faith.” The poems, though, also show the immense power of a patient God who continuously reaches out to His children.

“God was always reaching out to me through nature.”

Mix 16

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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In Brief

of San Francisco comes into conflict with a community of genetically evolved simians living in nearby Muir Woods. As a potential war looms, the apes’ wise leader (Andy Serkis) works with a peaceable human former architect (Jason Clarke) to prevent bloodshed.

Director Matt Reeves’ 3-D follow-up to the 2011 reboot “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” – the latest addition to a franchise based on the work of French science-fiction author Pierre Boulle – blends combat action with pleas for tolerance and trust. Though the latter are delivered somewhat heavy-handedly, Serkis’ striking performance, together with top-notch special effects, elevates this above run-of-themill entertainment. Frequent stylized violence, rough and crass language.

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

‘Deliver Us From Evil’

‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ A decade after a pandemic wiped out most of the human race, a band of survivors (led by Gary Oldman) occupying the ruins

As exorcism movies go, director and cowriter Scott Derrickson’s screen version of Ralph Sarchie’s memoir “Beware the Night” (written with Lisa Collier Cool) is better than most. His tale gains credibility from the profile of its main character: a no-nonsense New York City police officer (Eric Bana) and lapsed Catholic whose investigation of a series of peculiar crimes leads him to suspect that more than ordinary evil is at work in them. Teaming with a priest (Edgar Ramirez) whose ties to the Church are frayed, but whose spiritual outlook is orthodox enough, the cop gradually accepts the fact that his main suspect (Sean Harris), an Iraq War veteran, is demonically possessed. Though sensational at times, Derrickson’s effective horror film does treat faith seriously. Even so, its dark subject matter

and some intense – and bloody – interludes suggest caution for all but the most resilient screen patrons. Mature themes, occasional gory violence, about a dozen uses of profanity, frequent rough and crude language.

CNS: L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling); MPAA: R

‘Earth to Echo’ About to be separated by the demolition of their suburban Nevada neighborhood, through which a highway is to be built, a trio of young friends (Teo Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley and Reese Hartwig), bound by their shared status as social outcasts, embarks on a final adventure together. They travel into the desert to locate the source of some mysterious cell phone activity they and others in the doomed community have recently been experiencing.

Some teen sexual talk and a few crass terms.

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

‘Tammy’ This saga of a childlike Midwestern woman’s (Melissa McCarthy) journey to put her life in order makes a stab at adding pathos to the well-worn genre of road-trip-with-salty-granny, instead coming off as a botched character sketch bogged down in a moral morass. An implied bedroom encounter, some profanities and sexual banter, pervasive rough language.

CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: R

On TV n Saturday, July 19, 2-3 p.m. (EWTN) “EWTN on Location.” In this episode of the series, former atheist Jennifer Fulwiler and The Evangelical Catholic’s Jason Simon present their talks from the recent Ignited by Truth conference in Raleigh. n Sunday, July 20, 1:30-2:30 p.m. (EWTN) “In Concert: Misa Flamenca.” Flamenco guitar master Paco Pena and members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus combine the flamenco tradition with musical elements from the Mass as a reflection of Spanish culture. Filmed in Zuheros, Spain. n Saturday, July 26, 9:30-11 p.m. (EWTN) “Mother Dolores Hart: From Hollywood to Holy Vows.” A three-part biography of screen starturned-nun (and, subsequently, prioress) Mother Dolores Hart. n Saturday, July 26, 3:15-6 p.m. (TCM) “The Nun’s Story” (1959). Sent by her religious community to be a nurse in the Belgian Congo, a young nun (Audrey Hepburn) resists her feelings of love for the doctor (Peter Finch) with whom she works, returns to Belgium and, after struggling with the routine of convent life, leaves for the world beyond the wall. Sensitively directed by Fred Zinnemann, the fact-based story focuses on the interior conflict between the nun’s idealism and her growing sense of her own needs as an individual. Convincing portrayal of religious life as a vocation requiring more than good intentions.

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July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Help your parish’s hopes come true

Every parish has extraordinary needs. Every parish has hopes.

Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love aims to help each parish achieve its unique dream – whether that’s enlarging or renovating the parish hall, repaving the parking lot or putting a new roof on the church, installing stained glass windows or a new sound system, retiring the parish’s mortgage debt, or to establish or increase the parish’s endowment.

The greatest percentage of all funds raised during this diocesan-wide campaign – totaling $16.25 million – will benefit the diocese’s 92 parishes and missions. For every dollar you give to your parish’s Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love campaign, 25 cents will be returned to your parish to fund

its own local project and is not shared with any other parish. When a parish surpasses its campaign goal up to 140 percent, it will receive 50 cents of every dollar raised over that amount. And a parish will get all of the money raised over 140 percent of its goal.

In addition, every parish will benefit directly or indirectly from the other twelve components of the Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love campaign in such areas as educating seminarians, caring for our retired priests, and training catechists.

Learn more about the campaign:

www.forwardfaithhopelove.org

17

Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishops from 5 countries ask society to confront migration issues SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Bishops’ conferences from five countries called on Catholics, politicians and society at large to confront the issues causing a flow of unaccompanied minors from Central America – and to tend to them as they travel through Mexico and arrive at the U.S. border.

“Bishops and their workers reiterate the urgency of the respecting human dignity of the undocumented migrants, strengthening governmental institutions ... firmly combating the reprehensible activity of illegal groups and organized crime ... and investing in Central America,” the bishops’ conferences of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States said in a July 10 statement. “We call on business leaders, especially Catholics, to invest and contribute to the promotion of justice and equality. We exhort parents to not expose their children to the dangers of the dangerous journey toward Mexico and the United States.

And we ask society to in general to assume their rightful roles.”

Migrants from Guatemala land at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City July 10 after being deported from the United States. A growing wave of families and unaccompanied minors are fleeing Central America because of an increase in drug and gang-related crimes, and a belief that minors will be granted asylum upon arriving in the United States. At least 57,000 unaccompanied minors have been detained at the U.S. border this fiscal year.

Bishop says violence cause of surge at border, implores Congress to act WASHINGTON, D.C. — Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee June 25, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, cited violence as the primary reason for the influx of unaccompanied children immigrating to the United States illegally. “In visiting with these children, I’ve witnessed the human consequences of the violence they have endured,” Bishop Seitz said. “They (violent gangs) act with impunity, threatening families. ...

Violence is the straw that stirs the drink.”

The Department of Homeland Security reports that more than threequarters of the 57,000 child migrants apprehended at the border since the beginning of this fiscal year are from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Bishop Seitz told the committee that gangs in these three countries are increasingly targeting children, attempting to recruit them into their networks and threatening violence against the children and their families if they refuse. Bishop Seitz joined legislators and border security experts at one of several hearings held the last week of June in Washington to discuss the root cause of the massive influx of child migrants, and to examine possible solutions.

Vatican pledges full support for ‘humanitarian emergency’ of child migrants MEXICO CITY — The Vatican’s secretary of state pledged full support for addressing the issue of child migrants streaming out Central America in search of safety and family reunification in the United States. Pope Francis, meanwhile, described the situation a “humanitarian emergency” and called for the international community to act.

Speaking at the Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat July 14, Cardinal Pietro Parolin repeated a recent call of bishops in five countries for Catholics and society at large to lend a helping hand for the thousands of young migrants traveling through Mexico and often arriving unaccompanied in the United States.

“Given these migratory facts, we urgently need to overcome primitive misgivings and again propose common strategies at the subregional, regional and world levels that include all sectors of society,” Cardinal Parolin said in a speech attended by clergy and the foreign ministers of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. “Whether they travel for reasons of poverty, violence or the hope of uniting with families on the other side of the border, it is urgent to protect and assist them, because their frailty is greater and they’re defenseless, they’re at the mercy of any abuse or misfortune.”

Minors at border should be thought of as refugees, head of the U.S. office in charge of the children WASHINGTON, D.C. — From the head of the U.S. agency in charge of the welfare of more than 57,000 Central American children who have been apprehended at the Mexican border, to the Honduran cardinal who heads the international Catholic relief agency, Caritas, the message at the 2014 National Migration Conference was clear: those minors are as much refugees as the people fleeing upheaval in Syria or South Sudan.

“How are these children different from refugees from Sudan” or other war-torn countries, asked Eskinder Negash, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, known as ORR, in the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Regardless of whether they have family here, they are refugees,” he said July 8. By virtue of his position, Negash personally is legally responsible for the welfare of approximately the 57,000 minors in ORR custody as arrangements are sought for them to be placed with relatives or in foster care while deportation is pursued.

— Catholic News Service

CNS | Pakal Koban, Reuters

Advocates urge actions to protect migrant children crossing the border Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Petitions and letters to members of Congress and the Obama administration are among the measures being pursued by advocates urging humane treatment of the Central American children who are trying to migrate to the United States.

A petition delivered July10 to members of Congress, President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called for a humanitarian approach to the surge of migrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala that has overwhelmed the government’s capacity to handle them.

Elsewhere, the California Catholic Conference and the U.S. Jesuit Conference and Jesuit Refugee Service weighed in on the topic.

Since the fiscal year started Oct. 1, more than 57,000 minors traveling on their own have been apprehended at the U.S. border, swamping a system designed to handle 6,000 to 7,000 such people a year.

Under a federal law intended to thwart human trafficking, minors from Central America are required to be in the custody of Border Patrol no more than 72 hours before they are handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, known as ORR. The agency is supposed to try to place such minors with relatives in the United States while the government pursues deportation or the individuals seek asylum allowing them to stay permanently.

In a related situation, more than 39,000 families – typically mothers with children – also have been apprehended. Those families typically are processed, given orders to appear for deportation proceedings and taken to a bus station. Those drop-offs by the Border Patrol have been happening across the country.

Signed by nearly 4,000 people of faith, the petition backed Obama’s request for $1.9 billion in supplemental funding for the crisis, and $200 million

to avoid funds having to be transferred from current refugee programs under ORR, the agency within Health and Human Services that is charged with the care of Central American minors who arrive in the United States without a parent or guardian.

The petition also urged Congress not to approve Obama’s request to deport the minors more quickly. Instead, it said, they should be provided with screening and other services that would be required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. It also called for “safe and humane living conditions, medical care and mental health support,” access to pastoral visits, play and activities appropriate for children; and legal assistance and legal representation. The petition said children should be released as quickly as possible to U.S.-based family members or housing situations other than the large institutional settings that are currently being employed.

Dozens of priests and religious brothers and more than 200 women religious were among the signers.

During a July 10 teleconference hosted by the petition’s sponsor, Church World Service, Mercy Sister Kathleen Erickson said she had recently returned from a six-week visit to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. She said three times while she was there, the nuns with whom she was living told of seeing dead bodies being hauled out of drainage ditches when they were outside the heavily protected compound where they live.

Sister Kathleen said among the residents of the convent is the 14-year-old niece of one of the nuns, whose mother was taken away by armed men as she fed her infant. The woman was never seen again, there was no investigation and no arrest, she said.

“Do politicians in the United States honestly believe that it would be safe to return these kids home? These children are not a threat to us, but I believe we are deporting them back to serious threats. I think to certain death,” she said.

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Court may compel priest to break confessional seal BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s Supreme Court has ruled that a priest may be compelled to testify as to what he heard in the confessional in 2008 concerning an abuse case.

The priest, Father Jeff Bayhi, faces automatic excommunication if he breaks the seal of the confessional. But he also could face jailing if found to be in contempt of the court should he refuse to testify. In the case, a girl who was 14 in 2008 said she told her parish priest – Father Bayhi, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Zachary – in the confessional that she was abused by a now-dead lay member of the parish. The girl’s parents sued Father Bayhi and the Diocese of Baton Rouge for failing to report the abuse. The parents won at the district court level about compelling the priest to testify, but lost in Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeals, before the state’s highest court reversed and vacated the appellate court’s decision.

“As you know, one of the great sacraments of healing in the Church is the sacrament of reconciliation/confession. It has given hope and comfort to all Catholics throughout the centuries and continues to do so today,” Father Bayhi said in a statement. “The seal of confession is one that can never be broken.

Through its use the faithful must always be protected, so much so, that as a priest I cannot even say someone has come to confession, let alone divulge the contents of what was revealed.”

The Baton Rouge Diocese, in its own statement July 7, said the state Supreme Court violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in its decision.

Ga. Catholic dioceses ban guns, knives from churches ATLANTA — Guns and other weapons are officially unwelcome at Catholic churches, schools and other buildings owned, leased or operated by the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia. Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory and Savannah Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer issued a decree prohibiting guns and knives with blades longer than 5 inches from parishes, churches, schools, administrative offices and other buildings owned or used by the Catholic community effective July 1. In a statement, the bishops said Catholic places of worship are sanctuaries where “ways of peace and reconciliation” should be the rule. The new policy is in response to Georgia’s Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014 that went into effect July 1.

Religious, civic leaders ask for religious exemption WASHINGTON, D.C. — Religious and civic leaders urged President Barack Obama to include a religious exemption in the planned White House executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In a July 1 letter, the group of 14 faith leaders said they agreed with the idea of “banning discrimination” but they also asked that an “extension of protection for one group not come at the expense of faith communities whose religious identity and beliefs motivate them to serve those in need.”

The letter stressed the importance of a religious exemption in the planned executive order “disqualifying organizations” that do not hire lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Americans

from receiving federal contracts.

The letter’s signers, included Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America; Stephan Bauman, president and CEO of the World Relief, run by the National Association of Evangelicals; Senior Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California; and Kathy Dahlkemper, a former member of Congress who is currently county executive of Erie County, Penn.

Utah to appeal ruling on same-sex ‘marriage’ ban SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s attorney general said July 9 the state will go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of overturning a federal appellate court’s ruling that overturned the state’s ban on same-sex “marriage.” On the same day in neighboring Colorado, a judge overturned that state’s ban on same-sex “marriage.”

The decision by Colorado District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree “advances a misinterpretation of the institution of marriage in modern society, reducing marriage to a sheer emotional arrangement that can simply be redefined to accommodate the impulses of culture,” said a July 10 statement by Colorado’s Catholic bishops. “As Catholics, we have a duty to protect and preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman in our laws and policies. We are called to make this stand because redefining marriage will only further erode the family structure of our society.”

Colorado and Utah were two of six states affected by a 2-1 decision issued June 25 by a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The other four states are Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming. It marked the first time a federal appellate court had struck down state same-sex “marriage” bans.

Kentucky must recognize same-sex “marriages” from other states, came about a week after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down Utah’s same-sex “marriage” ban.

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Since the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, 16 federal judges have issued rulings in favor of same-sex “marriage.”

— Catholic News Service

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Federal judge strikes down Ky. ban on same-sex ‘marriage’ WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. District Court judge July 1 struck down Kentucky’s ban on same-sex “marriage,” saying that the prohibition violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “Assuring equal protection for same-sex couples does not diminish the freedom of others to any degree,” said Judge John G. Heyburn in Louisville, Ky. The ruling was put on hold temporarily.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said the state will appeal the decision.

The decision by Heyburn, who earlier ruled

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope meets sex abuse victims Says clergy actions cloaked in complicity Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Asking for forgiveness, Pope Francis told abuse survivors that “despicable actions” caused by clergy have been hidden for too long and had been “camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained.”

“There is no place in the Church’s ministry for those who commit these abuses, and I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not,” and to hold all bishops accountable for protecting young people, the pope said during a special early morning Mass for six survivors of abuse by clergy.

The Mass and private meetings held later with each individual took place in the Domus Sanctae Marthae – the pope’s residence and a Vatican guesthouse where the survivors also stayed.

In a lengthy homily in Spanish July 7, the pope thanked the three men and three women – two each from Ireland, the United Kingdom and Germany – for coming to the Vatican to meet with him.

The pope praised their courage for speaking out about their abuse, saying that telling the truth “was a service of love, since for us it shed light on a terrible darkness in the life of the Church.”

The pope said the scandal of abuse caused him “deep pain and suffering. So much time hidden, camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained.”

He called sex abuse a “crime and grave sin,” that was made even worse when carried out by clergy.

“This is what causes me distress and pain at the fact that some priests and bishops, by sexually abusing minors” violated the innocence of children and their own vocation to God, he said.

“It is something more than despicable actions. It is like a sacrilegious cult, because these boys and girls had been entrusted to the priestly charism in order to be brought to God. And those people sacrificed them to the idol of concupiscence,” the pope said.

He begged for forgiveness “for the sins of omission

on the part of the Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse,” adding that the neglect not only caused the victims more suffering, “it endangered other minors who were at risk.”

The pope asked God “for the grace to weep, the grace for the Church to weep and make reparations for her sons and daughters who betrayed their mission, who abused innocent persons” and left life-long scars.

He told the men and women sitting in the pews that God loved them and he prayed that “the remnants of the darkness which touched you may be healed.”

In an effort to help the abuse survivors heal, the pope met individually with each one, accompanied by a loved one or family member and a translator, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, told journalists.

The pope spent a total of three hours and 20 minutes in closed-door talks with each person, Father Lombardi said.

The Jesuit priest said the men and women were visibly moved by the Mass and meetings and had “felt listened to,” and that the encounter was “something positive on their journey” of healing.

The length and nature of the pope’s very first meeting with abuse survivors represent “a sign, a model, an example” for the rest of the Church, that “listening is needed” along with tangible efforts for understanding and reconciliation, he said.

Responding to critics that the July 7 meeting and Mass were ineffectual and part of a publicity stunt, Father Lombardi said that if people had been able to see, as he had, the reactions of the men and women who took part in the private gathering, “it was clear that it was absolutely not a public relations event.”

The raw emotion on people’s faces, including the pope’s, as well as his strongly worded homily, all showed the effort had been about “a dialogue with a pastor and father who tries to understand deeply” the wrongs that have been committed and the need “to be honest about reality,” the Vatican spokesman said.

It was the first time Pope Francis met directly with a group

Pope: Prayer is never in vain; work courageously for peace

CNS | Mohammed Saber, EPA

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City July 8. The Israeli army intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing dozens of people in a military operation it says is aimed at quelling rocket fire against Israel.

VATICAN CITY — Praying for peace is never a useless exercise – it keeps evil at bay and helps people not give in to violence, Pope Francis said.

In response to “tragic events” unfolding in the Middle East in early July, the pope delivered “a heartfelt appeal to continue to pray with persistence for peace in the Holy Land.”

Fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and rocket exchanges with southern Lebanon have escalated since Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza July 8. More than 200 Palestinians, including women and children, have been reported killed by the airstrikes, which Israel has said are targeting the homes of militants. The circle of violence began with the discovery of the bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teens and the brutal apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian teen.

The pope made his appeal July 13 after reciting the Angelus from the window of the papal studio in the apostolic palace with tens of thousands of people gathered below in St. Peter’s Square. He recalled the gathering for peace at the Vatican June 8 in which he brought Israeli President Shimon Peres, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople together to pray for “the gift of peace” and to listen to “the call to break the spiral of hatred and violence.”

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read the full text of Pope Francis’ homily to abuse victims

of victims of clerical abuse, following a tradition begun by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who met with victims for the first time as pope in 2008 during a visit to Washington, D.C. The retired pope subsequently met with other victims during his pastoral visits to Sydney, Malta, Great Britain and Germany.

Pope Francis asked Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston – the head of a new Vatican commission on protecting minors – to help organize the early July encounter.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which the pope established in December, met July 6 at the Vatican. They discussed expanding the number of members, especially from Africa and Asia, before the next meeting in October, Father Lombardi said.

The commission also said it was necessary to set up a permanent and staffed “working office” at the Vatican, he said.

The commission, which currently has eight members, including a survivor of clerical sex abuse, mental health professionals and experts in civil and Church law, is tasked with laying out a pastoral approach to helping victims and preventing abuse.

In his homily, the pope said he was looking to the commission to help the Church “develop better policies and procedures” for protecting minors.

“We will continue to exercise vigilance in priestly formation,” the pope told the victims, and “we need to do everything in our power to ensure that these sins have no place in the Church.”

Just as Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep, the pope said, “I would add, ‘Let no wolf enter the sheepfold.’”

Holy Land bishops criticize ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians

Iraqi patriarch: Situation perhaps ‘darkest and most difficult period’

JERUSALEM — Catholic leaders in the Holy Land called for an end to the cycle of violence and criticized Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its collective punishment of Palestinians. “Using the death of the three Israelis to exact collective punishment on the Palestinian people as a whole and on its legitimate desire to be free is a tragic exploitation of tragedy and promotes more violence and hatred,” said a July 8 statement from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

“We need to recognize that the kidnapping and cold-blooded murder of the three Israeli youth and the brutal vengeance killing of the Palestinian youth are products of the injustice and of the hatred that the occupation fosters in the hearts of those prone to such deeds,” the church leaders said, but added that the deaths “are in no way justifiable.”

The ordinaries, who include Catholic bishops and the Franciscan custos of the Holy Land, called the situation in Gaza “an illustration of the never-ending cycle of violence in the absence of a vision for an alternative future.”

AMMAN, Jordan — The patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad called the current situation in his country “perhaps the darkest and most difficult period in (the church’s) recent history.” In a telephone interview July 7, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako also reiterated his appeal for the safe release of two nuns and three orphans believed kidnapped in the militant-held area of northern Iraq June 28. He said there has been no word about the group’s whereabouts or who may have abducted them, despite assurances of help from many quarters. atriarch Sako also said the city of Mosul “is almost empty of Christians. There are only about 200 (Christian) individuals that may be left there,” he said. “The churches are closed.

There was no Mass on Sunday. There are no priests.”

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants reportedly have occupied both Mosul’s Chaldean Catholic and Syriac Orthodox cathedrals, removing the crosses at the front of the buildings and replacing them with the Islamic state’s black flag.

— Catholic News Service

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Chapter on abuse is not closed while people still suffer, says prelate ROME — The crisis of child abuse by clergy is not a thing of the past – it will linger until the Church humbly and courageously reaches out to all people still suffering in silence, said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

“To some it might seem less than prudent to think that the Church would go out of its way to seek out even more victims and survivors,” opening up further possibilities for lawsuits, anguish and “trouble,” he told representatives from bishops’ conferences from around the world. However, when Jesus tells pastors to leave behind their flock to seek out the one who is lost, that mandate “is itself unreasonable and imprudent but, like it or not, that is precisely what Jesus asks us to do,” he said in an address July 7 at the annual meeting of the 2014 Anglophone Conference on the Safeguarding of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults.

Vatican budgets for 2013 show surplus of 8.5 million euros VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s final budget figures for 2013 showed a deficit on the part of the Roman Curia, but a strong performance by entities falling under the separate Vatican City State budget covered the deficit and helped the Vatican end the year 8.5 million euros ($11.6 million) in the black.

The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, the Vatican’s budget management office, presented the consolidated budgets for the Holy See and for Vatican City State to members of the new Council for the Economy July 5, and a summary was released by the Vatican press office July 8.

The budget of the Holy See, which includes the offices of the Roman Curia and the Vatican communications outlets, ended 2013 with a deficit of more than 24.4 million euros. More than half the figure – 14 million euros – was attributed to a steep drop in the value of the Vatican’s investments in gold. In 2013, the average price of gold fell more than 29 percent from its average value in 2012. The Holy See deficit includes “a couple million” euros in costs associated with the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013 and the conclave, election and inauguration of the ministry of Pope Francis, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

The detailed report is published on the institute’s website, www.ior.va.

Pope: Stop throwaway culture now before another generation is lost VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged a group of economists and financiers to help reverse the current “throwaway” culture and put people at the center – not the fringes – of monetary strategies and policies. Children, the elderly and young adults are all being rejected “because they’re not useful,” he said. “Who’s going to be disposed of next? Let’s stop ourselves in time, please,” he said July 12.

The pope spoke to a group of experts participating in an international seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

About 70 people, many of them leading economists, central bankers, heads of international and intergovernmental organizations and church leaders, came together July 11-12 to discuss ways economic systems and policies could work toward “a more inclusive economy” and the common good.

The pope thanked participants for meeting to discuss such important issues and urged them to reflect on the current situation “without fear and with intelligence.”

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Grieving Loved Ones Are Not Alone Last year, Catholic Charities provided 118 individuals with a dignified burial in Mecklenburg County. Catholic Charities is the only such program in the Char-Meck area to help families who do not have the means to bury their loved ones. Without such a program, these individuals would be left unclaimed at the morgue.

The Burial Assistance program serves families who have no insurance, are unable to negotiate with a funeral home or do not have the finances to pay the costs associated with death expenses.

If you need assistance, call 704.370.3232 to speak with a social worker. The program relies on the generosity of individual donors and community supporters. To donate, visit the website ccdoc.org.

ViewPoints 22

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Letters to the editor

Let us pray for the victims I have read with interest the stories in the past two issues of the Catholic News Herald about the court cases and allegations involving the Diocese of Charlotte regarding decades-old allegations of child sexual abuse. Today, the two priests involved in those cases, and priests involved in other similar cases in dioceses throughout the United States and in Europe, are no longer active in ministry.

That is a good thing. It is also a good thing that so many of these cases have been or are now being settled and decided by civil courts. In some cases, the courts are ruling that the “statute of limitations” applies.

These cases have troubled the Church greatly over the past two decades. Many of us have had personal involvement in this terrible scandal. (My grandson is a sexual abuse victim.)

I was heartened to read that Pope Francis addressed this issue and offered his personal apology to the abuse victims from two decades or more ago.

I do believe, at last, that this scandal is being put behind us and the Church, and I thank God for that.

As all of us move forward, I pray for the predator priests and their forgiveness and that they find peace. I also pray for the victims and ask all who may be reading this letter to also pray for the victims. What Catholic priests did to them has stained them forever and has shaped the grownups they are today. It is a pain and shame they will feel forever – and one they will live with for the rest of their days on Earth.

For them, there is no statute of limitations.

May God forgive the guilty priests, and may He continue to watch over and care for the victims. Let us all pray for all of them.

A parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville (name withheld upon request)

Lack of respect evident for marriage, celibacy Given the press coverage in recent months of the now worldwide uncovering of sexual scandals in the priesthood, it might help Catholics to recall a quote from Pope John Paul II’s 1981 apostolic exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” (“On the role of the Christian Family in the Modern World”).

Many non-Catholics and even Catholics express the view that this problem is a result of the Church’s tradition of priestly celibacy. With that opinion in mind, the late pope’s words seem prescient: “Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not

contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes it and confirms it.

“Marriage and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the covenant of God with His people When marriage is not esteemed, neither can consecrated virginity or celibacy exist; when human sexuality is not regarded as a great value given by the Creator, the renunciation of it for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven loses its meaning.

“Rightly indeed does St. John Chrysostom say: ‘Whoever denigrates marriage also diminishes the glory of virginity. Whoever praises it makes virginity more admirable and resplendent.

What appears good only in comparison with evil would not be particularly good. It is something better than what is admitted to be good that is the most excellent good.’”

Given the reality that marriage is no longer esteemed – the divorce rate among Catholic couples is no different from the divorce rate of others in our secular society – it should not be surprising to us that some priests fail to honor their promise of celibacy.

Estelle Wisneski lives in Charlotte.

Question what you hear, know what our faith teaches Once again, Deacon James Toner nails it with his insightful commentary “Secular Logic” in the July 4 edition of the Catholic News Herald.

I am a cradle Catholic and grandmother and only wish that I had earlier comprehended such “logic” and how it permeates the fiber of even our Catholic culture over time.

I can remember the first time I realized, when I was a teenager, that you cannot believe everything you read in the newspaper which, up until that time, I thought was sacrosanct. It was a wakeup call but one that I let drift from my consciousness over the years. Surely, I thought in my naiveté, this is not something I would need to remember or even consider in terms of its application to my Catholic faith.

Now I realize that I have to question even “Catholic” teachers, to confirm that their philosophy and comprehension of the faith concurs with the truth and teaching of our beautiful faith as found in Scripture, tradition and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, there are those who would have us believe that we are capable of making decisions that are “right” for us even though those decisions may be diametrically opposed to what our faith teaches.

Truth exists: His Name is Jesus Christ!

Mary Pat Arostegui lives in Matthews.

Growing number of Latino Catholics in the U.S. flying below the Church’s radar

D

uring the 2014 Catholic Media Conference hosted by the Catholic News Herald in conjunction with the Catholic Press Association here in Charlotte last month, I had the opportunity to attend an interesting talk

by Dr. Hosffman Ospino, an assistant professor of Hispanic Ministry and religious education at Boston College.

Ospino is considered nationwide as an expert on Hispanic ministry in the U.S., and he recently completed a twoyear research study entitled “Hispanic Ministry in Catholic Parishes.”

His talk, “Reaching U.S. Latino/a Catholics,” touched on a critical subject concerning the Church in this country, but one I feel that has been predominantly ignored by mainstream English-speaking Catholics: the increasing number of secondgeneration Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and their faltering connection to the Church.

Ospino shared some staggering statistics. According to his research, the demographic breakdown of the U.S. Catholic population is: 47 percent nonHispanic white, 43 percent Hispanic, 3.6 percent African-American, 5 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American.

In comparison, 60 years ago the Church in the U.S. was 95 percent non-Hispanic white, and Hispanics accounted for only 4 percent of the Catholic population.

He identified three key populations among Latino Catholics in America: first-generation Catholic immigrants, American-born active Catholics, and American-born inactive Catholics. That third group – inactive American-born Latino Catholics – comprises the majority of Latino Catholics in the U.S. today, he said, and that’s a problem for the future of Catholicism in the U.S. The general misconception held by many people (including myself) is that most Latino Catholics in this country are first-generation adult immigrants from Central and South America.

But more than half of Latino Catholics

in the U.S. – 55 percent – are younger than 30, and 63 percent of those are younger than 18. Of those children under 18, 97 percent of them were born in the United States – and that future generation of adult Catholics is at risk of falling away from the Church if proper pastoral care is not provided to them and their families.

Why? Because while the majority of U.S.-born Latino Catholics are now under 30 years old, only 30 percent of them practice their faith. That means 70 percent of Latino youths, most of whom were born here, are not actively participating in the life of the Church.

Ospino warned against dismissing the Latino presence in the Church today because doing so would put the vibrancy of our faith’s future in the U.S. in peril. I have to agree.

We must develop resources to educate non-Latino Catholics about Latino Catholics and the complexity of their realities. In our own Diocese of Charlotte, with close to an estimated 190,000 Hispanic Catholics (a very conservative figure in my opinion, given the fact that many Latino households do not register at a parish), Latinos now account for more than half of Catholics in western North Carolina.

Whether we are ready or not, the time when Hispanics will make up the majority of the U.S. Church is fast approaching.

Also, we should all find sobering the fact that a significant number of Latino children and young adults no longer practice their faith. The Church’s future in America is in jeopardy if we don’t reach out to the 70 percent of inactive Latino Catholic young people. This group, according to Ospino, remains off the radar in most Catholics circles. The Church must find ways to evangelize them in new ways, while being respectful of their cultures, if we want them to come back to the Church.

Rico De Silva is the Hispanic Communications reporter for the Catholic News Herald.

Most-read stories on the web Through press time on July 16, 6,707 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 15,677 pages. The top 9 headlines in July were:

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n Priest assignment changes for 2014 announced............................................................................1,788 n ‘Now, dear sons, you are to be raised to the order of the priesthood’.........................................776 n Sex abuse case against Father Kelleher dismissed.......................................................................... 349 n Two begin seminary studies .................................................................................................................... 228 n Pro-life group just for teens organizes in Charlotte.......................................................................... 156 n Abuse victims’ group holds protest outside diocese pastoral center.......................................... 140 n Hickory pastor, Father Ferris, will retire this month........................................................................... 130 n Georgianna Penn: Catholic, single and happy...................................................................................... 130 n Emaús: Mi caminar con Nuestro Señor Jesús .................................................................................... 105

July 18, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

The Poor Clares

W.S. Melton Jr.

Forming beauty: Raising women of God W

hat do we think of when we hear the word “romantic”? Honeymoons, candlelight dinners for two, perhaps “Romeo and Juliet”? But if we look beyond the bouquets of red roses and boxes of chocolates, we will find that the true definition of the word is quite different. Webster’s Dictionary defines romantic as “imaginary; visionary; an emphasis on the imagination and the emotions.”

Our present day has restricted this term to the trappings of human love, but to step into the mindset of an early 20th century philosopher, we need to broaden our understanding of this term.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, more commonly known as Edith Stein, had a unique, penetrating grasp of the nature of woman. She foresaw that the cultivation of the true beauties and gifts of womanhood would become more and more of a challenge in the midst of our confused, de-humanizing society. Far from accepting the notion that woman is lesser in dignity and importance than her male counterparts, Stein cut through to the simple fact that “woman will always set the quality of a given time,” and she understood what a grave responsibility this is.

One of the focuses of her work as a professor and lecturer became the impressing of this conviction upon the hearts of parents and teachers. The education of women and the importance of their spiritual formation as persons always remained for her a burning task of the utmost importance for the future of humanity.

And, if this task was greatly needed in her times, may we not call it twice as necessary for our own?

Stein drew heavily upon an outline of classic feminine types – namely, the maternal, romantic, sexual, practical and intellectual. She found these groupings of basic dispositions, and the traits of character they identify, an invaluable tool for the development of the unique feminine gifts planted

by God in each woman’s soul.

We have previously delved into the maternal type, most likely the easiest of the above classifications to grasp at first glance, and the one most deeply identified with the woman par excellence: the Virgin Mother of God, Mother of the Church, and our own Mother, the sweet refuge of sinners.

However, regardless of a woman’s predominant type, Stein saw the imitation of Mary as the goal and means of the fruitful development and blossoming of the deepest beauties of the feminine nature.

We shall then see that there are traits of Mary’s character to be found in each of the five groupings presented here.

Perhaps, in looking over the listing, one may assume that the romantic and sexual types are basically the same, or are confused by a distinction between the two. So we return to the definition of the term romantic, “imaginary, visionary, emotional…” Nothing about the budding love between a man and woman there.

A girl of the romantic type is not so much boycrazy as a living image of the fictional character “Anne of Green Gables,” from the well-known series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Here we find an archetype of what Stein would have meant in using this phrase. The proverbial day-dreamer, with her head in the clouds and her nose in a book, is intensely attracted to beauty, to goodness, to emotional experiences. Her moods may be wildly

dramatic, and her feelings violently strong. She is a person of grand desires and the smallest action or response is to her of universal proportion. Her highly developed imagination can cause her to live in a world of fantasy and impossible ideals, which is greatly appealing to her natural inclinations. She desires a storybook life, complete with perfect love, unbounded joy, anguished sorrow and unbearable pain. Her sensitive nature impels her towards reveling in her emotional responses to life and can draw her to excessive self-reflection.

The dangers here are obvious. A girl of the romantic type will need firm grounding in reality to help her navigate successfully through life.

It is important not to coddle her, catering to the emotions she so passionately espouses, and instead to help her in learning to embrace an even, peaceful disposition. More than the other types, she must be pulled up and beyond herself and her interior musings. She will learn best by example to put aside her own emotions for the sake of extending herself to help others.

Growing in a healthy balance of the emotions can be aided by finding concrete ways to serve others, learning to respect the emotional needs of others and respond to their desire to be loved, avoiding cutting corners or superficiality in accomplishing different tasks or goals, guarding against an idleness which may increase occasions of sin for those with overly-active imaginations, and exercising self-control in feeding the inclinations towards jumping from interest to interest in search of new experiences and excitements.

Of all storybook lives, surely the Blessed Virgin Mary’s was one of incredible “romance.” God Himself approaches and awaits her “yes” as a young girl, she conceives and bears the Christ Child, accompanies Him through His life, dies with Him in heart and spirit on the mount of Calvary, thereby becoming the Mother of all the Living, and is later assumed into Paradise to be crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. No novel could top such a plot!

We are told that our Blessed Lady spent much time pondering all these things in her heart, as only a woman can. Yet, her reflections were always intensely real and concentrated upon the Person who is Reality itself. Her life was not lived in the shadows of daydreams, but in the day-to day carrying out of God’s fantastic, unimaginable, incredible plan for her soul. Most of her existence was spent in the same way as any other 1st-century Jewish woman’s would be. Her life was simple, plain yet bathed in the brilliance of a unique fulfillment of the height of human possibility when given over entirely to the limitless power of the Most Holy Trinity’s boundless love for mankind.

For the romantic heart, looking to the example of Mary should awaken those desires to the truth of their yearnings. Yes, there will only ever be one Immaculata, but may we not come ever so close to her total gift of self, to her complete, earthshattering “fiat” which has transformed the world for all time?

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

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My summer vacation took me home to the Catholic Church

T

his time of the year is synonymous with vacations. In this part of the country it usually involves the beach. For folks with money, it can mean some exotic place far off. But no matter where we’re going or how long we intend to be gone, vacation usually revolves around a change of pace and scenery. And most of all, it involves a happy disengagement from the normal rat race most of us have to run every day.

This year, as you plan your vacation, I want to share a personal journey of mine that began in earnest on my summer vacation back in 1992.

Over the years I’ve been asked countless times how I could go from being a United Methodist minister to becoming a Roman Catholic. I tell them simply: God. I’d been a licensed United Methodist pastor assigned to the Benton Heights and Smyrna United Methodist churches in Monroe during my last two years studying at Belmont Abbey College, from 1986 through 1988. I subsequently felt more called to a career in law enforcement than ministry, and upon graduation I was hired by the Mecklenburg County Police Department. Two years later I joined the Gaston County Police Department, where I have remained to this very day, and shortly thereafter married my Yankee school teacher wife in 1990.

In the spring of 1992 I felt the notion to explore other Christian denominations. This was brought on by some liberal notions on divorce I’d read in a religious pamphlet I’d come across in the narthex of my home church. So reflecting on “Seek and you will find” from Matthew 7:7, I sought.

I found myself at the Belmont Abbey College bookstore, where I purchased copy of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses for 97 cents. After reading all 95 I concluded the issues that had angered Luther and caused the Protestant schism had long since been addressed, so my quest continued.

On the way to the beach for my vacation that summer, I stopped by the old Carolina Catholic Bookshoppe in Charlotte and asked the lady if she had a book a person could buy who was interested in becoming Catholic. And, of course, she did. It was called “This Is Our Faith”

by Michael Francis Pennock. For the next week I spent my free time – and being on vacation all I had was free time – reading that book. I ultimately found it contained nothing I didn’t agree with or already believe to start with. The last chapter explained that to join the Catholic Church one has to attend a class, called the Rite of Christian Initiation, which is held at local parishes.

When I returned home I immediately contacted Monsignor Anthony Kovacic, then pastor at Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont, and made an appointment to see him. At our meeting I explained my faith journey up to that point. Monsignor Kovacic, an awesome man of God, who today at 94 is the oldest priest in the Diocese of Charlotte, went to great lengths to explain the process. I signed up for the class on spot.

At the end of our meeting, Monsignor Kovacic asked me if I had the textbook for the class. I told him I didn’t. He then reached into a box and pulled out the very same book I had just read. I told him excitedly that was the same book I just read at the beach. His reply was both firm and direct. He said, “That time you read for fun. This time you read and learn!”

I did as he directed. And I attended RCIA for two years instead of the usual one. This was because I was waiting on my wife to come along with me into the Church, which she ultimately did.

These days I can best be described as a right-wing, evangelical, snake-handling Roman Catholic. And it may comfort some of you to know that so far I’ve only worked my way up from rubber snakes to garter snakes and have no intention of working up to pit vipers.

Unless it involves a hoe with a long handle.

So this year as you plan your vacation, be sure to include some time for God. You may ultimately begin a journey that will last an eternity.

W.S. “Bill” Melton Jr. is a southern writer and humorist, who is also a captain with the Gaston County Police Department and a member of St. Michael Church in Gastonia. He can be reached at wsmelton@wsmelton.com or at 704-616-3931.

catholicnewsherald.com | July 18, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

“Behold, I make all things new.”

(Rev. 21:5)

Tenth Eucharistic Congress, September 19 – 20, 2014

FRIDAY

Charlotte Convention Center

Friday Evening, Concert of Sacred Music Keynote address by His Eminence, Edwin F. Cardinal O’Brien,

“The Holy Eucharist: Making All Things New from the Upper Room to the New Jerusalem” SATURDAY

Doug Barry and Eric Genuis “The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ” (A Meditation)

Bishop Donald Joseph Hying “Making All Things New in Christ’s Youth”

Fr. Angel Espinoza de los Monteros “Es hora de volver a Dios”

Dr. Allen Hunt “Why 1 of Every 10 Adults is an Ex-Catholic”

Fr. Angel Espinoza de los Monteros “¿Educas y formas o sólo domesticas?”

Fr. Ernesto Caro Una Evangelización Activa para el Nuevo Milenio”

GoEucharist.com

E ALL THI NG

D, I

M

AK

S

- Rev. 21:5

Mother Assumpta Long, O.P. “The Eucharist and Religious Life-Making All Things New”

• Vocation and Catholic Education information • Holy Mass – Concelebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis and the priests of the Diocese of Charlotte

EW

• English and Spanish Tracks for Adults • K-12 Education Tracks for Students • Religious displays • Vendors of Sacred Art

N

• Eucharistic Procession through the streets of Charlotte • Holy Hour • Confession

BEHOL

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