August 1, 2014

August 1, 2014

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

St. Leo summer reading program benefits WinstonSalem area students, 15

INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Español.................................14 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-13 Schools..............................15 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................16 U.S. news...................... 18-19 Viewpoints.................. 22-23 World news.................. 20-21

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Climbing Mt. Everest St. Matthew deacon faces ‘physical, mental, spiritual challenges,’ 7

THANK YOU!

Federal court overturns Virginia’s same-sex ‘marriage’ ban; North Carolina’s constitutional amendment could be next, 3 Special Mass in Greensboro is prayer for future growth for Igbo Catholics, 5

Diocesan foundation distributes $52,850 in grant awards, 3

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Clearing the air around marijuana use Note

Nationally, Florida may become the first Southern state to permit wider use of medical marijuana if voters approve the Amendment 2 constitutional ballot initiative in November.

Voters in Oregon and Alaska will weigh in on a November ballot initiative allowing full recreational marijuana sales, putting those states in line to join Colorado and Washington in legalizing cannabis use despite a federal ban on marijuana sales and possession. Some 23 states and the District of Columbia already allow a form of legal medical marijuana consumption.

In Oregon, where possession of small amounts marijuana has long since been decriminalized and where medical marijuana sales got underway July 8 in neighboring Washington state, some deep-pocketed advocacy groups are hoping for full legalization through a November ballot after a previous attempt in 2012 failed.

The U.S. Catholic bishops have not taken position on the medical marijuana debate or legalization specifically.

Individual bishops have addressed the issue; and moreover it is up to state Catholic conferences to monitor and lobby for good state legislation.

At the federal level, marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it is considered to have a high potential for dependency and no accepted medical use, making distribution a federal offense although the U.S. Justice Department has largely not interfered in many of the new state sales operations.

A

June 2014 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, written by researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health, points out that marijuana is not the harmless drug that many imagine. Rather, it is associated with “substantial adverse effects, some of which have been determined with a high level of confidence.”

These negative outcomes include the risk of addiction, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, an elevated incidence of fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle accidents, and diminished lifetime achievement and school performance in cases of long term use, especially beginning in adolescence. We can add that the decision to use a drug recreationally for the purposes of dissociating ourselves from reality through induced euphoria raises significant moral concerns, and, like all unethical human choices, can be expected to correlate with significant adverse ramifications.

Part of the unethical character of drug abuse flows from the fact that we are treating something good, namely our personal, conscious experience as if it were an evil to be avoided. Recreational drug users seek to escape or otherwise suppress their lived conscious experience, and instead pursue chemically-altered states of mind, or drug-induced pseudo-experiences. Any time we act in such a way that we treat something objectively good as if it were an evil by acting directly against it, we act in a disordered and immoral manner.

The decision to pursue inebriation and drunkenness, similarly, is a choice directed against the good of our human conscious experience that raises serious moral concerns. The responsible enjoyment of alcohol, meanwhile, presupposes that a moderate use of the fruit of the vine can aid us in the pursuit of certain aspects of friendship and interaction by stimulating conversation with others, and by diminishing the hesitations that people may have when they interact with each other. The moderate use of alcohol also appears to offer positive physiological effects on health. The notion of the “responsible enjoyment of marijuana and other mind-altering drugs,” meanwhile, is a dubious concept, given that the more powerful and varied neurological effects of these substances readily take us across a line into alternate states of mind, detachment from reality, “getting stoned,” etc.

Whenever we look at alcohol, marijuana, or other more powerful drugs, additional moral concerns arise due to the risk of addiction, which threatens authentic freedom and constitutes a serious form of human bondage. Alcohol, of course, poses a significant risk of addiction for some people, and the responsible use of alcohol may become nearly impossible for them, necessitating complete abstinence to maintain their freedom. Marijuana, despite some contentious debates about the matter, similarly has a significant addictive potential, as noted in the NEJM article: “Approximately 9 percent of those who experiment with marijuana will become addicted… The number goes up to about 1 in 6 among those who start using marijuana as teenagers and to 25 to 50 percent among those who smoke marijuana daily. According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2.7 million people 12 years of age and older met the DSM-IV criteria for dependence on marijuana, and 5.1 million people met the criteria for dependence on any illicit drug (8.6 million met the criteria for dependence on alcohol)…

‘Addiction ... threatens authentic freedom and constitutes a serious form of human bondage.’

Indeed, early and regular marijuana use predicts an increased risk of marijuana addiction, which in turn predicts an increased risk of the use of other illicit drugs.”

The NEJM article also notes that adults who smoke marijuana regularly during adolescence have decreased neural connectivity (abnormal brain development and fewer fibers) in specific brain regions.

Although some experts have disputed a cause-effect relationship for this phenomenon, studies of brain development in animals strongly suggest a causal effect. The authors surmise that the effects of marijuana on brain development may help to explain the association between frequent marijuana use among adolescents and significant declines in IQ, as well as poor academic performance and an increased risk of dropping out of school. These deleterious effects speak to us of the fundamentally unethical character of inhaling, injecting or otherwise ingesting harmful chemical substances into our bodies.

The litany of marijuana’s adverse health effects raises major doubts about the wisdom of promoting its legalization for recreational purposes. The authors note that the health effects of a drug (whether legal or illegal) are related to its “availability and social acceptability.”

They conclude, “In this respect, legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco) offer a sobering perspective, accounting for the greatest burden of disease associated with drugs not because they are more dangerous than illegal drugs but because their legal status allows for more widespread exposure,” leading to more abuse and more harmful effects. It’s critical for us to acknowledge these negative effects rather than seeking, like drug addicts, to dissociate ourselves from this reality.

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

Your daily Scripture readings 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. Sixtus 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

AUG. 10-16

Sunday: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33; Monday (St. Clare): Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28, Matthew 17:22-27; Tuesday (St. Jane Frances de Chantal): Ezekiel 2:8-3:4, Matthew 18:1-5, 10,12-14; Wednesday (Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus): Ezekiel 9:1-7, 10:18-22, Matthew 18:15-20; Thursday (St. Maximilian Kolbe): Ezekiel 12:1-2, Matthew 18:21-19:1; Friday (The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10, 1 Corinthians 15:20-27, Luke 1:39-56; Saturday (St. Stephen of Hungary): Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32, Matthew 19:13-15

AUG. 17-23

Sunday: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7, Romans 11:13-15, 29-32, Matthew 15:21-28; Monday: Ezekiel 24:15-24, Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 19:16-22; Tuesday (St. John Eudes): Ezekiel 28:110, Deuteronomy 32:26-28, 30, 35-36, Matthew 19:23-30; Wednesday (St. Bernard): Ezekiel 34:1-11, Matthew 20:1-16; Thursday (St. Pius X): Ezekiel 36:23-28, Matthew 22: 1-14; Friday (The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Ezekiel 37:1-14, Matthew 22:34-40; Saturday (St. Rose of Lima): Ezekiel 43:1-7, Matthew 23:1-12

Our parishes

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Diocesan foundation distributes $52,850 in grant awards Judy Smith Special to the Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — The Foundation for the Diocese of Charlotte has awarded grants totaling $52,850 to 26 programs throughout the diocese to support their work in serving the poor or minority communities and in evangelization initiatives. Grant recipients include food pantries, faith formation, outreach to the poor, English as a Second Language programs and reading intervention efforts.

One of those grant recipients, Larry Leturmy, president of the St. Vincent De Paul Society at St. William Church in Murphy, wrote in his thank you letter, “Your support of our work is much appreciated. These times are difficult for so many – and your monies make it possible for us to reach out and help our fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus.”

The 2014 grant recipients are: n Ashe County Sharing Center / St. Francis of Assisi Church, West Jefferson: $2,000 for a seasonal food distribution program for children in need n Our Lady of the Assumption School, Charlotte: $2,150 for a memorial garden classroom n St. Pius X School, Greensboro: $1,250 for a new school website n Immaculata School, Hendersonville: $4,350 for technology upgrades for AdvancEd Accreditation n Our Lady of Mercy School, WinstonSalem: $1,000 for a response to intervention reading program n St. Pius X Church, Greensboro: $1,000 for faith formation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities n Our Lady of Consolation Church, Charlotte: $5,000 for its Black Catholic History Month Program n St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Eugene/St. Lawrence/St. Joan of Arc parishes, Asheville: $2,000 for financial assistance to people in need n Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Charlotte: $2,000 for its food pantry n Catholic Charities, Social Concerns and Advocacy Office: $1,600 for information and advocacy for its food insecurities program n Catholic Charities, Western Regional Office: $1,000 for its food pantry n Catholic Charities, Charlotte Regional FOUNDATION, SEE page 17

Note Diocese of Charlotte Foundation grant applications are due in March. Funding decisions are made in May and the awards are distributed in June. For more information on applying for a grant, contact Judy Smith, diocesan director of gift planning, at 704-3703320 or jmsmith@charlottediocese.org.

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Federal court overturns Va. gay ‘marriage’ ban; N.C. amendment could be next Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and West Virginia. It could be put on hold while further At www. appeals are heard, but it is likely catholicnewsherald. that the issue eventually will be com: Read the settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Virginia appellate It has already garnered court’s complete responses from the Virginia and opinion North Carolina bishops.

Virginia’s Catholic bishops said in a July 28 statement that “those with same-sex attractions must be treated with respect and sensitivity,” but reaffirmed Catholic teaching that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

Bishops Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond and Paul S. Loverde of Arlington called the ruling “a fundamental misunderstanding of the intrinsic nature of marriage and is an injustice to Virginia voters.”

Bishop Peter J. Jugis echoed their statement July 29, saying the ruling “reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of marriage and if, as expected, it impacts the North Carolina marriage amendment, it represents an injustice to the voters of this state. I hope that North Carolina’s marriage amendment is vigorously defended.

“We will continue to affirm the truth that marriage is a faithful, exclusive and permanent union between one man and one woman open to the procreation and education of children,” Bishop Jugis also said.

In response to the ruling, N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper said he will not defend the state’s constitutional amendment in four legal cases already pending in this state – including a case in the Western District, which covers much of the Diocese of Charlotte. Cooper told reporters July 28 that he believes the 4th Circuit ruling is binding on North Carolina judges, but he will

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CHARLOTTE — A federal appeals court ruling in Virginia July 28 could mean the demise of North Carolina’s constitutional amendment affirming marriage as between one man and one woman.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va., ruled 2-1 that Virginia’s same-sex “marriage” ban is unconstitutional.

U.S. Circuit Judges Henry Franklin Floyd and Roger Gregory dismissed marriage defenders’ arguments that it is an issue best left up to the states and that history and tradition uphold opposite-sex marriage. It also rejected their arguments that the institution of marriage is not just about the choice of adults, it is also partly about bearing and raising children.

Floyd said he recognized that same-sex “marriage” makes some people deeply uncomfortable. “However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws. Civil marriage is one of the cornerstones of our way of life,” he said.

In his dissenting opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer condemned the majority opinion as “fundamentally flawed” in asserting that there is a constitutionally-protected “fundamental right to marriage” and that the federal courts should be able to overstep elected state governments in regulating marriage.

Niemeyer called same-sex unions “a new notion (that) became incorporated into the traditional definition of marriage ... by linguistic manipulation.” He also criticized the other judges for not considering the problems that redefining marriage could bring, “for example, why this broad right to marry, as the majority defines it, does not also encompass the ‘right’ of a father to marry his daughter or the ‘right’ of any person to marry multiple partners.”

The ruling applies to the other states in the circuit, which include

Amendment, SEE page 17

Over $9.5M in disbursements made so far in FFHL campaign SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte’s “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign is nearing completion as the remaining 12 parishes wrap up their campaigns. The historic campaign has raised more than $60 million in pledges towards its $65 million net goal, with pledges received from 14,406 families to date.

Even before the campaign concludes, 84 of the 92 parishes and missions have already received disbursements from what has been raised for their various projects.

Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville has received almost $89,000 so far. The parish pinpointed four areas to allocate funds raised from the campaign: capital projects; a transportation program for the elderly and homebound; Immaculate Conception School programs; and an expansion of the religious education, adult education and youth ministry offerings at the parish.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Martin Schratz, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, said the parish committee charged with determining how the funds would be used agreed that the campaign funds should help enrich the lives of every parishioner.

“When the team went over it, they tried to pick up projects that would affect every single person, from the youngest to the

oldest,” he said.

Immaculate Conception has 1,800 registered families with a large population of retirees especially in the summer months and also a large number of Hispanic families throughout the year.

The parish raised more than $1.75 million for the campaign. They are scheduled to receive a total of more than $400,000 in disbursements as parishioners pay on their pledges over the next five years.

So far, the parish has been able to install a T-coil system for parishioners who have hearing aids. It enables the hearing impaired to tap directly into the new system that was installed in the church and is already making a huge impact.

“We’ve had it in for three weeks. A parishioner who was thankful for the new system told me, ‘I’ve been in this church for years and it’s the first time I’ve heard a homily.’ There are many more people that have been coming up to us thanking us for the improvement.”

Other capital projects that will improve the life of the parish will include updating technology in the church and the school, upgrading computers and software, placing a TV monitor in the church hall for overflow Masses and a new audio system to record homilies.

Father Schratz believes that between these four projects “we knew everyone would have some benefit along the line.

The people were very excited about it.”

St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Church

in Boone is also putting its funds to good use. The largest portion of the parish’s share of $576,000 raised in the campaign will be used for a new roof for the church.

Father Dave Brzoska, pastor, said his parishioners “graciously got behind the campaign, understanding the many needs and repairs now arising to our 25-year-old facility. Members saw this as an opportunity to make a continued investment in our parish community.”

They also plan to update the parish kitchen and hall with the local share of their campaign funds.

Some of the almost $35,000 already received have been used to install new carpet in the church and for the purchase of a new gold Communion set. They have also been used to purchase new vestments.

“This has enriched and refreshed our liturgical environment and experience,” Father Brzoska said. “Having this money on hand has also allowed us to make emergency roof repairs to our mission church, the Church of the Epiphany. The parish portion of the campaign is allowing us to make needed improvements to help us continue to be a lively and vibrant parish.”

The “Forward in Faith Hope, and Love” campaign began with seven “pilot” parishes last summer and another 38 parishes that started their pledge drives late in 2013. The remaining 47 parishes started their pledge drives in mid-2014.

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events ASHEVILLE

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the coming weeks: Aug. 4 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Aloysius Church, Hickory Aug. 7 – 11 a.m.

Meeting for Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love Campaign Catholic Conference Center, Hickory Aug. 8 – 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Our Lady of the Americas Church, Biscoe Aug. 10 – 11 a.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation and 75th Anniversary of Dedication of Church St. Joseph Church, Eden Aug. 13 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Joseph Church, Asheboro Aug. 14 – 1 p.m.

Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Grants Luncheon & Awards St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte Aug. 16 – 4 p.m.

Dedication of new Church St. Francis of Assisi Church, Jefferson Aug. 18 – 20 Province Assembly of Bishops and Priests Savannah, Ga. Aug. 24 – 12 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Holy Infant Church, Reidsville Aug. 26 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Mary, Mother of God Church, Sylva Aug. 28 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Holy Trinity Mission, Taylorsville Sept. 5 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. John Neumann Church, Charlotte

virtus.org or call Sue Sforza at 704-370-3357.

— 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.

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.

CANDLER St. Joan of Arc Church, 768 Asbury Road — Catholic Daughters of the Americas Annual Tea Party Social: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. Ladies of all ages are invited to attend. For details, call Diane ClarkeHawkins at 828-667-0236.

CHARLOTTE OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION, 2301 Statesville AvE. — Voter Education Seminar: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, in the Parish Life Center. Dr. Ben Chavis, civil rights activist, will be speaking on Voter ID laws and voter registration. Please join to make sure every N.C. voter has the opportunity to vote in the upcoming elections and to assure every vote is counted. Everyone welcome.

ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 Park Road — Holy Hour and Mass of Reparation for Persecuted Christians: 4 p.m. Holy Hour, 5 p.m. Mass. Friday, Aug 1. Father Noah Carter will be offering a Holy Hour and Low Mass in reparation for the Christians who are being persecuted and martyred in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.

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.

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

Thursday, Aug. 28, in Room D/E of the Education Building. All volunteers, in any capacity and program, must complete this training. To sign up, visit www.

August 1, 2014 Volume 23 • Number 21

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

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

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org SENIOR REPORTER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org Online reporter: Kimberly Bender 704-808-7341, kdbender@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson, 704-370-3333, catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org Hispanic communications reporter: Rico De Silva, 704-370-3375, rdesilva@charlottediocese.org

— Living the Faith Book Club: 7-8 p.m., second Thursday of the month. For details, call Kevin Berent at 803287-7898.

St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road — Young Adult Evening Reflection: 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4. The event begins in the cathedral with the Divine Mercy Chaplet followed by a reflection from Father Lucas Rossi. Light social reception afterwards.

The event is open to all Catholic adults in their 20s and 30s. For details, join Facebook at St. Patrick Cathedral Frassati Fellowship.

ST. Thomas aquinas church, 1400 suther road — Third Annual Polish Mass in Honor 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 the Aquinas Hall. For details, call Mary Witulski at 704.290.6012.

Everyone welcome.

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

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

HIGH POINT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, 4145 JOHNSON St. — Pro-Life Rosary: 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at 819 North Main St. and Sunset Drive to pray for the end of abortion. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336-882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

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. Everyone welcome.

MINT HILL

CLEMMONS HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, 4820 KINNAMON ROAD — Charismatic Prayer Group: 7:15 p.m. Mondays.

Everyone welcome.

FOREST CITY

ST. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 Lawyers Road — Anointing of the Sick Mass: 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16.

Sponsored by the HOPE Committee. Refreshments available after Mass. For details, call Mary Adams at 704-545-1224.

Immaculate Conception CHURCH, 1024 West Main St. — Cross-A-Thon event: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2.

The event this year will be in celebration of our faith and religious freedom. For details, call Michael at 828-447-6744.

MURPHY

GREENSBORO

SWANNANOA VALLEY

Our Lady of Grace Church, 2205 West Market St. — Blessing of the New Our Lady of Grace School and Rededication: 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17. We will gather in the church to begin prayers of thanksgiving and process together to the school for a blessing, ribbon-cutting and rededication. School tours will be available and light refreshments will be served.

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.

HICKORY — Marriage Encounter Weekend: Aug. 1-3. Early registration recommended. For details, call 704-3152144 or visit www.NCMarriageDiscovery.org.

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

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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.

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

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August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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At top, Father Joseph Kalu Oji from the Diocese of Raleigh (center) prays the Eucharistic Prayer during a Mass said in Igbo July 20 at St. Mary Church in Greensboro. Concelebrating the Mass was Father Michael Ukpong from Germany (right), and assisting at Mass was newly-ordained Deacon Emmanuel Ukattah of St. Mary Parish (left).

Above, Deacon Ukattah greets the youngest Igbo Catholics after Mass at St. Mary Church. At left, worshippers exchange the sign of peace.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

The July 20 liturgy celebrated in Igbo was a traditional Mass of thanksgiving following the wedding of Chika Nwankwo to Joseph Kadiri of Houston, Texas. Their traditional Igbo wedding was held on Friday in Greensboro, and the Western-style “white wedding” was celebrated at St. Mary Church on Saturday. Nwankwo was married in the same church where her parents, Dr. Herbert and Cordelia Nwankwo, had wed decades ago.

Below, a cantor chants the Responsorial Psalm in Igbo. The response, “ Lord, you are good and forgiving,” translates into Igbo as “Onyenweanyi i di ebere dikwa mgbaghara.”

Special Mass in Greensboro is prayer for future growth for Igbo Catholics Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

GREENSBORO — They came to offer their prayers and the fruits of their labor. They came to worship God as a community and to give thanks for His blessings. It was just like any other Mass – except this one was celebrated in Igbo.

Igbo (pronounced “EE-boo”) is the native language of a group of Nigerian Catholics who call the Diocese of Charlotte home. Originally from eastern Nigeria, these families have settled in the diocese, some decades ago, some more recently. All value their Catholic faith and believe the Igbo Mass at St. Mary Church in Greensboro July 20 was an important part of preserving the heritage of their homeland.

The Igbo Mass – or “Misa N’asusu Igbo” (“meesa en-asoosoo EE-boo”) – brought together more than 100 Nigerian Catholics, many of whom donned traditional garb with the men wearing dashikis and women wearing elaborate headscarves called ichafus (“ee-CHAH-foos”).

Part worship, part cultural celebration, the Mass was offered in thanksgiving for a former St. Mary parishioner who was married Saturday at the church.

The Mass was celebrated by Spiritan Father Joseph Kalu Oji from the Diocese of Raleigh, and concelebrated by visiting priest Father Michael Ukpong from Germany.

Both priests encouraged local Igbo Catholics to work together in building up their community and celebrating their shared heritage.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria has about 30 million Igbos, making it the third largest ethnic group in their home nation and the most heavily Christian.

Catholics make up about a quarter of the Christian population in Nigeria, an estimated 21 million people.

In his homily, Father Ukpong implored people to heed the warning of the Parable of the Weeds in the day’s

Gospel reading from Matthew (13:24-43), a meaningful message for the Igbo community as it grows. He encouraged people to be mindful of their actions, always striving to follow the example of Jesus, and always working for the betterment of others in the Church and in their community.

“Only at the last will God gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them somewhere. And He will gather the good wheat in His barn. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what we want to do, where we want to belong. Do you want to be the weed and be gathered into everlasting fire at the end of your life? Or will you make efforts to repent, to be the good seed that is gathered into God’s barn?”

“Please, please,” he entreated, “don’t let yourself be the weed in God’s farm.”

Father Oji noted after Mass that he has met with local Igbo Catholics and encouraged them to be united in their efforts. Just as St. Paul once told the Ephesians, Father Oji said, “Your words must be those that build up, not those that pull down. Unless you can maintain that, you will destroy yourselves as you are starting to come up.”

“Be sincere to God, be sincere to yourselves, be sincere as to your motive in asking to celebrate this Mass in your language,” he continued. “It is a blessing – don’t let it become a curse.”

Father Oji serves as the chaplain for the Igbo community in the Diocese of Raleigh, which also has a chapter of the national group, the Igbo Catholic Community USA. The Igbo Catholic Community USA is an outgrowth of the U.S. bishops’ African/Caribbean Apostolate in the Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees. Like any other ethnic organization, it aims to organize Nigerian Catholics on the same model of other ethnic communities in the U.S. Church.

Igbo Catholics here in the Charlotte diocese hope eventually to follow in Raleigh’s footsteps to establish their own more formalized group, they said after Mass.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See video highlights from the Igbo Mass at St. Mary Church At www.iccusaweb.org: Learn more about the Igbo Catholic Community USA

They were energized after the 2011 visit of Cardinal Francis Arinze, an Igbo who is also the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Cardinal Arinze was a keynote speaker at the 2011 Eucharistic Congress in Charlotte, and during his visit he challenged them to join together and celebrate their heritage.

Since then, the Igbo community of 40 to 50 families at St. Mary Parish, and others from elsewhere in the diocese, has been working towards that goal.

Igbo, SEE page 17

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Mercy Sister Mary Gertrude Weldon dies aged 93 BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Gertrude Weldon passed away July 15, 2014, at the Sisters of Mercy’s Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She was 93.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated July 18, 2014, in Cardinal Gibbons Chapel at Sacred Heart Convent.

Interment followed at nearby Belmont Abbey Cemetery.

Miriam Elizabeth Weldon was born on Nov. 27, 1920, in Philadelphia, Penn.

She graduated from the former Sacred Heart Academy and Sacred Heart Junior College in Belmont. Following graduation in 1939, she entered the Sisters of Mercy, and according to the custom of the time, changed her name to Sister Mary Gertrude.

Sister Gertrude continued her education

in nursing at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn., and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing education from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and a master’s degree in nursing education and psychology from St. Weldon John’s University in New York.

Sister Gertrude served in many nursing capacities at St. Joseph Hospital in Asheville and Mercy Hospital in Charlotte.

Her positions included obstetrics and operating room supervisor, pediatric supervisor, medical surgical clinical

instructor, and director of nurses at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing.

After completing her degree in nursing education and psychology, she turned to educational ministry. She taught psychology, health, anatomy and philosophy at Sacred Heart College, where she also served as guidance counselor and director of admissions and recruiting.

Sister Gertrude developed and directed a Medical Assistants Program as part of Sacred Heart’s curriculum that was recognized and approved by the American Association of Medical Assistants.

In 1972 she changed directions again and became principal of St. Michael Elementary School in Gastonia.

She was among the organizers of the

Diocesan Principals Association and served one term as its president.

In 1981 she was appointed nurse director of Marian Hall, the infirmary for the Sisters of Mercy at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She remained in that position, supervising and providing skilled care until 2000.

Sister Gertrude was a charter member of the former Sisters’ Senate in the Diocese of Charlotte and was instrumental in its organization, serving one term as president.

Recognized widely for excellent teaching and compassionate care, Sister Gertrude is remembered by a former student as “a great lady and a magnificent teacher.”

Photos provided by Billy Griffith and Jil Yong

Summer mission in Greensboro HICKORY — Last week 16 members of the Life Teen group at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory went to Greensboro for a local summer mission trip to serve different charities in the area, including the Greensboro Urban Ministry, the Interactive Resource Center, the Barnabas Network, Room at the Inn of the Triad, and the Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center. They were welcomed

by St. Pius X parishioners and pastor Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, and they

were able to use the parish’s Kloster Center as a mission base. Pictured are Life Teen member Ryan Ferner and youth minister Billy Griffith serving at the Barnabas Network, constructing benches. Barnabas Network provides home amenities for those transitioning out of homelessness, recovering from a major setback, fleeing domestic violence or living with incomes that cannot cover basic needs. Also pictured are Life Teen members Diana Resendiz and

Emily Geiger at the Greensboro Urban Ministry, restocking the food pantry that provides emergency food for families in the area. Also pictured are Life Teen members Aaron Brophy, Ethan Queen and Imelda Navarro serving at Room at the Inn of the Triad. “Team Liftin’ Stuff” was charged with cleaning out and organizing a large storage facility for the ministry.

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Deacon faces ‘physical, mental, spiritual challenges’ on Mt. Everest climb Christopher Lux Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — In 2008, Deacon Jim Hamrlik summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The sevenday journey up the dormant volcano peaked at more than 19,000 feet above sea level.

After accomplishing that trek, Hamrlik says he wanted another similar challenge.

“I was looking around for the next highest peak – and that was Everest.”

Mt. Everest is the Earth’s highest mountain, and its peak is at 29,029 feet above sea level. The climb takes about three months to accomplish. With the plane ticket, permits, guides, food, oxygen and gear, the climb costs around $100,000. And, worst of all, the perilous journey has taken the lives of more than 200 people from avalanches, lack of oxygen and accidental falls. In 2014 alone, 17 people have perished attempting to summit Mt. Everest.

Instead, Hamrlik opted to take the challenging Everest base camp trek. The trek to the base camp in Nepal takes hikers to the summit of Kala Patar, at 18,100 feet. The threeweek base camp trip is far more strenuous than the Mt. Kilimanjaro climb, but it is more economical and “a little less life-threatening” than the Mt. Everest summit, he notes.

Hamrlik knew the climb would present him with “physical, mental and spiritual challenges,” he says. He booked the trip through REI, a store that sells outdoor recreational equipment. When he went to the store to make the reservation, he learned “that nobody who worked at the store had done it. I didn’t have a point of reference.”

“A lot of what I did to prepare was six months of physical training – shoulders, arms, legs,” he explains. “I did a lot of upper body and core because you’re carrying a pack. And they suggest having trekking poles so you’re using your upper body a lot. The poles help when you’re going up steps, especially when you’re doing 100 at a time.”

On May 12 Hamrlik flew out of Charlotte. He arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. From there he flew to Lukla, Nepal. After two days of flying, the hiking began.

“It was seven days of hard trekking just to get to the base

camp,” he recalls.

“A light day is four hours of hiking, a heavy day is seven.

It’s a very difficult journey. The path is narrow, and there’s no railing.

It gets warm in the day, and cold in the night.”

But his challenge came with a very nice perk: “All around you are beautiful views. Everywhere you go there’s a wonderful picture. Mountains are all around and there are a lot of Buddhist temples.”

The days were long, and started early in the morning.

“You’re up at 6 o’clock, you eat breakfast, then you’re going until 11:30. We’d stop for lunch, then do another three hours. If there was any down time we’d wash socks and underwear and dry them in the sun. You get into camp, you have an hour to get yourself together, then dinner was at 6:45. Some evenings we played cards if the day was not as long. By 7:45 it’s dark – pitch black. Normally you’re so beat dead that you’re asleep by 8:30.”

“We had two days of rain,” he adds. He hiked with eight other people “but those two days nobody talked. It would’ve been too hard to talk with all the noise from the rain.”

“You get to a point where you start to doubt if you can do it. You have half the amount of oxygen, so you’re really stressed. With the lack of oxygen your mind plays tricks on you. You get claustrophobic in the tent because your mind makes you think you need to be in a bigger area to get more oxygen.”

But the truth is, at that altitude, oxygen levels are low inside and outside of the tent, he notes. “That’s part of the mental aspect of the challenge.”

Hamrlik knew he had to stay in his tent and sleep because “the next day (would be) just as difficult.”

“The physical challenge is that it’s tough. It’s a very

strenuous journey – three hours of stair-stepping up 3,000 feet, and none of the steps are uniform. Those are the times you’re thinking, ‘Is this what I want to do?’”

Despite the challenges, he says, “I didn’t think about stopping. I thought, ‘Can I do this?’ Most of the time it was at the end of the day. Then, you get a good night’s sleep, eat good food, and in the morning you start again. I like the challenge – that’s why I did it.”

“The whole journey is difficult,” he admits. “But the hardest part was the last day. It’s a seven-hour day and you’re tired. I don’t think anyone talked those last two hours because you’re mentally focused on just getting there.”

After hiking for seven days, the team arrived at the base camp. “The base camp is on a glacier, so it’s always moving. Base camp is never in the same place.”

When it was time to leave the base camp, Hamrlik learned another lesson: going up the mountain is not the only hard part of climbing Mt. Everest.

“On my way to Everest I didn’t think coming down would be bad. Going down Kilimanjaro was easy because it was ash that you could slide down. On Everest, you’re really pounding your knees stepping down.”

Hamrlik, who has served as a deacon for 31 years and was the first deacon assigned to St. Matthew Church, learns a lot about other people when he takes these trekking adventures, he says.

“You get in a different place in line so you’re talking to a different person.” That offers team members various conversations as they spend the days climbing.

“The spiritual aspect (of the journey) has to do with watching other people and seeing what happens with them – to see the dynamics of people finally coming to a conclusion about what they need to do. There are a number of things that I witnessed that were of a spiritual nature. You learn about yourself and you learn about others. Having company allows you to learn more about yourself.”

“I was the oldest individual on the trek,” he adds. “So, I found I became the stranger in the group. I learned that when you bring yourself into a room and you want people to come into your space, you have to retreat back and allow people to come into your space and talk about themselves.

Give them space to come to you.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 OUR PARISHES

St. Peter Church focuses on global climate change in JustFaith program Kimberly Bender Online reporter

More online

CHARLOTTE — Understanding and tackling the issues related to global climate change can seem overwhelming and unsolvable.

But with the help of a program created by JustFaith Ministries and the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, Catholics are gathering at St. Peter Church in Charlotte to confront that challenge.

A Community Shredding An eight-week, small Event Fundraiser will group program on climate take place on Saturday, change awareness is September 27, 9 to 11:30 underway at the parish. a.m.in the parking lot of While it’s too late to St. Mark Catholic Church, participate in this current 14740 Stumptown Road, series, facilitator Suzie Huntersville, 28078.

Shermer said she hopes Have your personal and this group spawns more confidential documents interest so that similar shredded and recycled and social justice and youthhelp raise money for energy specific programs will be efficiency projects and added later in parishes environmental stewardship. across the diocese.

Event partner PROSHRED Although instructors Security will destroy your are told not to refer documents in a mobile to the topic as “global shredding truck while you warming” since that has watch. Bring paper items become a loaded term, only, though paper clips and Shermer said, the complex staples are OK. All shredded issue of climate change paper will be recycled!. A $5 deals with the earth’s to $10 donation given at the rising temperature. The event by cash or check is approach to climate requested per file size box change by the Catholic of paper. The event will not Coalition on Climate take place if it is raining. This Change and the U.S. event is sponsored by the bishops’ Environmental Charlotte Region Catholic Justice Program has been Environmental Advisory to focus on the themes of Council, which includes prudence, poverty and the representatives from five common good, as well as Charlotte region parishes, Catholic social teaching.

Catholic Charities and the JustFaith Ministries, Sisters of Mercy. which provides social justice educational programming for

Get involved

At www.justfaith.org: Learn more about JustFaith Ministries, the climate change program and other social justice education programs

At catholicclimatecovenant.org/catholic-teachings/ pope-francis/: Read statements from Pope Francis about the environment

At www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-anddignity/environment/global-climate-change-a-plea-fordialogue-prudence-and-the-common-good.cfm: Read a statement from the the USCCB on global climate change was their 2001 statement “Global Climate Change A Plea for Dialogue Prudence and the Common Good.”

At www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-anddignity/environment/environmental-justice-program/ index.cfm read about the USCCB’s Environmental Justice Program.

parishes, offers a nine-month long program on social justice with a focus on the poor and the vulnerable that St. Peter and Queen of the Apostles parishioners have taken part in over the past few years. Also, JustFaith’s executive director, Jack Jezreel held talks related to Pope Francis and his impact on the Church at St. Peter and St. Matthew churches last month.

This is the first time for St. Peter Church to focus on the issue of climate change using the shorter eight-week class format that JustFaith offers, Shermer said.

The class has just begun at the parish, Shermer said. It’s an intimate group for learning and discussion of 10 people plus three facilitators who are also participants. Shermer is joined by two parishioners from Queens of the Apostles Church to lead the group.

Through the classes, participants will encounter how climate change is affecting the poor in the United States and abroad, Shermer said. Reading for the participants is online.

“You’re taking people through a progression,” Shermer said, “starting off with an appreciation of the environment and then getting deeper into the environment of climate change and how Church teaching wants us to care for the environment we were given and the people around us.”

The sessions aim to draw out arguments for and against action and demonstrate – through both faith and science – the hazards to of doing nothing about the problem of climate change, particularly how that hurts the poor.

The classes describe ways to act, including migration and adaptation, for responding to climate change and what will be needed to help the poor at home and abroad who will be most hurt by climate change.

“It’s interesting this work has been going on in the

Church since the ’90s,” Shermer said. “We tend to think of the Church as ‘behind the times,’ but it seems to be right on on this topic. ... In the worldwide Church, there are people like the Pacific Islanders who have already seen their land overcome by water and so forth.”

Since the topic could seem big, overwhelming and unsolvable, Shermer said, they have to be aware of how these discussions might make participants despair or lose hope in doing something positive about the problem.

“We have to approach it as here is what the local situation looks like and here’s how people are tackling the situation here,” Shermer said.

Joseph Purello, director of the Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy said Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is not currently offering educational events on climate change but will likely do so in the future. “Over the past few years Catholic Charities has sponsored educational events around the diocese to share the Church’s teaching on our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation, utilizing resources provided by the USCCB, including statements on climate change” Purello said in an email.

“There have also been some workshops offered that have taken a more hands-on approach, giving participants tools and tips to use energy more efficiently and more cost-effectively. Catholic Charities facilitated the process of having energy audits conducted at two parishes, including St. Peter, the results of which were then used in an educational event called ‘Parishes and Parishioners Energized.’”

Catholic Charities also continues to work with a coalition of representatives from several Charlotte area parishes and the Sisters of Mercy to host Community Shredding events at Charlotte area parishes.

N.C. native making an impact in lives of Catholic youth with Cultivation Ministries SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Gastonia native Ela Milewska, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and former director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Raleigh, is now changing the

lives of Catholic youth through Cultivation Ministries, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing “disciple-making” Catholic youth ministry.

Milewska, who joined Cultivation Ministries in 1999, has a Master of Arts in religion and religious education from Fordham University in New York. While working on her doctorate at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., she became the project coordinator of the National Initiative on Adolescent Catechesis, a collaborative project of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, National Catholic Educational Association and National Conference for Catechetical Leadership.

Her experience as a youth minister for a 3,000-family parish for four years has also given her practical experience of working with Catholic youth.

As associate director of Cultivation Ministries, Milewska helps train both volunteer and professional youth ministers, helps parishes with the nuts and bolts of developing an effective youth ministry, and produces resources to support both adult and teen leaders.

Cultivation Ministries uses an agricultural metaphor to describe the process for growing an effective youth ministry: Prepare the soil, sow, grow and reap. Its mission is to

cultivate team-based, comprehensive and disciple-making Catholic youth ministries by training, providing resources and supporting adult and student leaders.

Milewska, who has returned to the Diocese of Charlotte, travels around the country working with parishes in other dioceses. She has been traveling extensively this summer teaching seminars on adolescent catechesis and a youth conference in the Diocese of Gary, Ind. She hopes to help local parishes cultivate a fruitful youth ministries in her own backyard.

“I am excited to be living and working in the Diocese of Charlotte!,” she said. “It is my sincere hope that Cultivation Ministries can be of assistance to the parishes here. I am also hoping that some parishes would be willing to help me too! I am looking for five communities who would like to be part of my doctoral project that looks to increase the engagement of youth in the larger parish community.”

Milewska is encouraged by the number of dioceses that are engaging in the Embark and Vital 3.0 programs this year.

The Embark program is specifically designed for parishes that want to start a youth ministry. Embark helps parishes learn how to recruit, form and empower an adult leadership team with a customized

plan, tools and resources for kick-starting an impacting, disciple-making youth ministry.

Vital 3.0 is a two-year, strategic process for cultivating an impacting, disciplemaking parish and youth ministry. This program helps build an intergenerational parish culture that develops teen disciples.

“Adolescence is a critical season in the faith lives of people,” Milewska explained.

“Pew Research found that when people leave the Catholic Church, they do so between the ages of 13 and 23. They mostly do this because they do not feel connected. In their words, ‘they just gradually drifted away.’ To prevent this from happening, Cultivation Ministries seeks to build, what we call, third generation Catholic youth ministries.

Third generation youth ministry expands the borders of youth ministry by addressing also parent ministry, parish vitality, and church culture. It is about creating a community that attracts and engages young people and where they experience the authentic presence of Jesus. And that presence is hard to ‘drift away’ from.”

Cultivation Ministries has ministered in almost 100 U.S. dioceses, as well as in Canada and South Korea, for nearly 25 years.

For more information, go to www. cultivationministries.com or call Milewska at 630-674-8292.

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Boy Scouts: Sign-ups open now for next St. George Trek Mike Nielsen Special to the Catholic News Herald

In July of 2013, 60 Boy Scouts, 10 Venturers, seven priests, five seminarians, two nuns and a deacon hiked through the desert in New Mexico. It may sound like the beginning of a lame joke, but the excursion was no laughing matter. The St. George Trek, hosted by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting every two years, is an adventurous 12-day trip to Philmont Scout Ranch, located in the Sangre de Christo Mountains in the American Southwest.

“We navigated fields of rock as we hiked up the trail to the Tooth of Time, a stark rock monument overlooking the high desert and plains of New Mexico that is an icon for Philmont.

When we reached the top we could see for miles in every direction. It was an awesome experience. Back at base camp we celebrated Mass as the sun set on our last day on the trail,” said Connor Nielsen, an Eagle Scout from St. Matthew Troop 8 in Charlotte.

This was an experience Connor had one day last July at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, where he and Austin Garmer from High Point, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Troop 26, spent 10 days backpacking with Scouts from across the U.S. at the 2013 St. George Trek. Scouts backpack in 10-person group called crews, each of which includes a priest and a seminarian or deacon. Most St. George Trek routes cover 50-70 miles over 11 days.

Connor’s crew made stops at staffed camps featuring blacksmithing, pole climbing, orienteering and horseback riding.

With a priest as part of each crew, celebrating daily Mass on the trail is a special part of each St. George Trek. There was one crew, however, that had nuns instead of a priest, seminarian or deacon. This was the all-female crew of the trek, made up of young women in the scouting program Venturing.

The crews all hiked different routes through Philmont’s 137,500 acres, stopping each night at either a staffed camp with activities, or at a primitive camp where the Scouts

cooked their own meals and hoisted their food in bear bags up in the trees. Although black bears do roam the Philmont area, most trek crews never see one but a constant threat to the Scouts’ food supplies was the presence of “mini-bears,” otherwise known as chipmunks, that would nibble their way into any tent or unattended pack with a trace of food inside.

A highlight of the St. George Trek that distinguishes it from other Philmont treks is a two-day layover at the largest staffed camp along the trail, Cimmaroncito. Midway through their treks crews came together for a program designed to strengthen their faith and explore options for religious vocations.

Every St. George Trek begins and ends with a onenight stay at an Archdiocese of Santa Fe retreat center in Albuquerque. At the beginning of their trip, the Scouts and Venturers get to know each other before boarding a bus for the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Philmont. After a campfire at trail’s end at the Philmont base camp, the Scouts return to the retreat center for a wrap-up dinner and celebration before heading back to their homes all over the United States.

The next St. George trek will be July 10-25, 2015, and the application deadline is Aug. 31, 2014. The cost of the St. George Trek for Scouts in the Diocese of Charlotte is paid for by the Charlotte Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting. Participants pay only for their airfare to and from Albuquerque. Eligible Charlotte diocese Scouts and Venturers who are interested should apply right away.

Preference is shown for those Scouts who have completed Catholic scouting religious award programs as Boy Scouts or Venturers. Contact Johan Rief at jrief@windstream.net or see www.nccs-bsa.org/ScoutUnits/StGeorgeTrek.php for details.

Mike Nielsen is a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 8 at St. Matthew in Charlotte and a member of the Charlotte Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting, which has hosted Catholic camporees in the diocese since 1972 and which also sponsors two Charlotte diocese Boy Scouts to attend the St. George Trek, hosted by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting every two years at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.

Photo provided by Mike Nielsen

Boy Scouts are pictured on the 2013 St. George Trek. Applications for the 2014 trek are now being accepted.

CCDOC.ORG

Invites You

Twentieth Annual Fundraising Banquet

Featured Speaker ~ Raymond Arroyo Celebrate with us! “Twenty Years of Life, Love, and Service” is not only our banquet theme for 2014, but it is a milestone worth celebrating. Twenty years two decades - a score - a really long time! Few small ministries make it to this milestone, but through the grace of God, our donors’ love for their fellow man, and a commitment to life and service, MiraVia has endured. We have made room at the inn for so many in need and have traveled that miraculous way with so many others...now it’s time to celebrate.

Our featured speaker for this special evening will be Raymond Arroyo, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. His exemplary career has taken him from Capitol Hill to the Vatican as he has interviewed Popes and pundits, saints and sinners, and all along the way he has integrated his love of and commitment to his Catholic faith. As the creator and host of EWTN’s international news magazine, "The World Over Live", Arroyo is seen in more than 100 million homes around the globe each week. Committed to life and social justice, he is an inspiring speaker and an astute student of our times.

Charlotte Convention Center  Crown Ballroom Thursday, October 23, 2014 Registration/Reception, 5:30 pm – Seating for Dinner, 6:15 pm

Reservations are free but REQUIRED To make a reservation or to host a table of (8-10) go to http://miraviabanquet20.eventbrite.com OR contact Banquet Reservations at (704) 525-4673, ext. 10

by October 10, 2014 MiraVia, Inc. is a Catholic non-profit maternity and after-care program serving women and their children in the Charlotte, N.C. region. All material support and services are offered free of charge to clients. Please visit our website, www.mira-via.org, for more information.

Celebrating your Silver or Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2014?

In thanksgiving for your witness to the Sacrament of Matrimony over the past 25 or 50 years, Bishop Peter Jugis invites you and your family to the celebration of Holy Mass on Sunday, September 28, 2014 at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Charlotte. Mass begins at 2:00 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

To register for the Diocesan Anniversary Mass, please contact your local parish. Deadline for registration is September 5, 2014.

Hosted by Catholic Charities

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Dedicated to Divine Mercy CHARLOTTE — A new statue of Jesus the Divine Mercy at St. Ann Church in Charlotte was blessed July 26 by Bishop Peter J. Jugis, after a Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated for the feast of St. Anne. The statue is dedicated to the memory of Michael G. Kitson, a St. Ann parishioner and seminarian who died April 27. The 20-year-old had a strong devotion to the Divine Mercy, and his sudden death on Divine Mercy Sunday shocked family and friends, brother seminarians, priests and mentors fro m around the Diocese of Charlotte. Pictured above with Bishop Jugis are (from left) Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church, Michael Kitson, Sr., Courtney and Nancy Kitson.

Photos by Molly Rusciolelli | Catholic News Herald

St. Gabriel’s Church Hope of Life special children make first Holy Communion CHARLOTTE — Special children from the Latino community belonging to the Hope of Life Group (Grupo Esperanza de Vida) at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte made their first Holy Communion June 28 at St. Gabriel Church. Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor, was the main celebrant and Father Fidel Melo, vicar of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte, concelebrated. Picture above are Father Melo giving Communion to one of the children, with Father O’Rourke standing to the left and Deacon Guido Pozo standing to the right. St. Gabriel’s parishioner, Elena Vásquez-Donoso, acts as the coordinator for Hope of Life.

“Along with Father Frank O’Rourke, I had the privilege again this year to be at the first Communion Mass for the special children at St. Gabriel’s. Like every year, this is a unique occasion to witness the love of God in the parents and catechists, who are so dedicated in serving and helping to make the love of God be present and manifested in the ministry of Hope of Life,” Father Melo said after the Mass.

PHOTOs PROVIDED BY ELENA VÁSQUEZ-DONOSO

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

Photo provided by Sister Nancy Nance and Richard White

LAMB Foundation donation provides much-needed van for Holy Angels BELMONT — Maintaining an adequate number of accessible vans is a major project at Holy Angels. Vans are always needed for field trips, doctor appointments, or heading down to Camp Hope for fun. The North Carolina Knights of Columbus councils recently gave Holy Angels the gift of transportation in a much needed, new accessible van.

Each year, the Knights of Columbus across the state of North Carolina donate funds raised from their Operation LAMB campaign to fulfill a specific need of Holy Angels.

The LAMB Foundation of North Carolina is a public, nonprofit charity dedicated to assisting people with intellectual disabilities throughout the state. All funds are raised by volunteers of the 123 Knights of Columbus councils across the state. As an entirely volunteer organization, 93 percent of funds raised go directly to charities. (Visit www.LambNC.org for details.)

Holy Angels was founded in 1955 by the Sisters of Mercy, with the birth of a baby girl, Maria. It was the beginning of a much-needed specialized service for children from Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland and Mecklenburg counties as well as children from throughout the state. The private, nonprofit corporation located in Belmont provides residential services and innovative programs for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities with delicate medical conditions. (To learn more about Holy Angels or to volunteer, call 704-825-4161 or visit www.HolyAngelsNC.org.)

CCDOC.ORG

Director of Faith Formation Saint Pius X Catholic Church, Greensboro, NC. Vibrant 1600 household parish in the center of North Carolina, seeks leader to direct and develop all parish formational ministries for children through adults, including a vibrant adult bible study program, marriage preparation, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, & special needs education for children. Greensboro is an hour from Raleigh and Chapel Hill, and 1.5 hours from Charlotte. Should be willing to work as a team member with pastoral staff. Candidate must possess excellent interpersonal and communication abilities; collaborative skills and strong leadership capabilities. Candidate must be an active Roman Catholic in good standing with the Church, and able to pass all diocesan-mandated background checks and be in compliance with all safe environment protocols. A graduate degree in theology, religious education or related area with a minimum of two years’ experience in parish ministry is preferred. Excellent computer skills required. Salary with good benefit package dependent on experience and degree.

Please send resume and references to: Saint Pius X Catholic Church, DFF Search Committee, 220 State Street, Greensboro, NC, 27408. Phone: (336) 272-4681.

Help and Hope for Those in Need John 14:27 gives us hope with these words: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Catholic Charities counseling services take these words and put them in to action, offering individual, family, premarital, marital and group mental health psychotherapy.

Counselors work with the client on their personal journey, addressing the challenges of life. Services are provided on a “sliding fee scale” based upon family or individual income. Some insurance policies accepted.

Visit our website or call for appointment information.

Asheville 828-255-0146 Charlotte 704-370-3232 Greensboro 336-274-5577 Winston-Salem 336-727-0705

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 OUR PARISHES

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For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com 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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Hawaii Four-Island Tour

Perfect Climate & Breathtaking Scenery Hosted by Monsignor Kenneth C. Steffen, PH, KHS, DMIN., MA, MDiv., JCL

13 Days from $1949* Departs February 4, 2015. Discover remarkable scenery, dreamlike beaches and the “spirit of aloha” on the islands of - Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. This tour will be accompanied throughout by one of our friendly Polynesian Tour Directors who add a unique cultural perspective to your experience. Featured highlights: a city tour of Honolulu, world-famous Waikiki Beach, Punchbowl Crater and Pearl Harbor, the Wailua River Boat Cruise, Fern Grotto, The Old Whaling Capital of Lahaina, the Iao Valley, Hilo Orchid Gardens, Black Sand Beaches, Volcanoes National Park, Thurston’s Lava Tube and more.

Includes: quality hotels, inter-island flights, baggage handling, tour director, special events and escorted sightseeing on all four islands. Mass will be celebrated some days on tour.

Your Chaplain is Monsignor Steffen, from Alton, IL. He is the Pastor of The Historical Saints Peter and Paul Proto-Cathedral. He also serves as a Chaplain for other communities and hospitals. This will be his 6th trip with YMT. PPDO. Plus $199 tax/service/government fees. Alternate monthly departure dates available.

Seasonal charges may apply. Add-on airfare available.

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MOP’s ‘The Messiah’ coming up Aug. 8-10 CHARLOTTE — Everyone is invited to the newest original production of Father Richard Ho Lung and Friends, “The Messiah,” which will be performed Aug. 8-10 at the Halton Theater on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College. Performance times for the Caribbeanstyle musical are: 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10. Contributions of $25 per adult and $15 per child/senior are suggested, with proceeds benefiting the Missionaries of the Poor. The Halton Theater is located at 1206 Elizabeth Ave. in Charlotte. For details, call the theater at 704-330-6534 or email messiahincharlotte@ gmail.com.

Annual Polish Mass set for Aug. 24; JPII relic will be present

For the past 18 years it has been my pleasure to help the employees of the Diocese of Charlotte plan for a secure retirement.

I would be happy to do the same for you!

Retirement planning – Life – LTC – Auto & Home Insurance 704-839-3755 kaltman1@metlife.com www.kenaltman.metlife.com

In Brief

the RCIA, Capuchin Franciscan Father Martin Schratz at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville. Among the topics they discussed were how to foster attendance at RCIA sessions with candidates’ irregular work and travel schedules, how to help bridge the communication gaps between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking candidates, and how to combine basic catechesis with personal spiritual experiences.

RCIA coordinators and team members came from St. Lawrence Basilica Parish in Asheville, St. Joan of Arc Parish in Candler, Sacred Heart Parish in Brevard, Immaculate Conception Parish in Hendersonville, and St. Peter Parish in Charlotte.

— Dr. Cris Villapando

CHARLOTTE — The third annual Polishlanguage Mass in honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa will be celebrated at 2 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 24, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Polish priest Father Matt Nycz of Buffalo, N.Y., will be celebrant, and Deacon James Witulski of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish will assist. This Mass will fulfill your Sunday Mass obligation.

Confessions in Polish and English will be heard beginning at 1 p.m. There will also be a Polish choir singing traditional Marian hymns. Children in their native attire will also be present to honor Our Lady and Pope St. John Paul II. After Mass, the faithful will have the opportunity to venerate a first-class relic of Pope St. John Paul II: a drop of his blood from the day he was shot in 1981, on a piece of his cassock.

A reception will follow with delicious Polish food. Your donation of Polish or American food is appreciated and can be dropped off before the Mass at Aquinas Hall, located across the courtyard from the church.

If you are Polish, or are of Polish heritage, or just love Our Lady and Pope St. John Paul II, or if you would like to experience another culture, you are invited to attend this Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road in Charlotte (located off University City Boulevard, near the UNC-Charlotte campus).

For details, call Mary Witulski at 704-2906012.

Human trafficking presentation held ASHEVILLE — Mercy Sister Rose Marie Tresp, director of Justice for the Sisters of Mercy South Central Community, gave a presentation on “Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery” at St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville July 12.

The talk was sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, and close to two dozen people from six western region parishes attended. The event sought to raise awareness of human trafficking as it is happening in our world, nation, state and communities. Sister Rose Marie gave attendees resources to assist them in fighting this evil, which Pope Francis recently called an “open wound on contemporary society.”

RCIA leaders meet HENDERSONVILLE — Leaders from several parish Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) programs recently met for a listening session with the chair of the Diocesan Commission on

SPX grad wins Knights’ Christian Scholar Award GREENSBORO — St. Pius X graduate Olivia Griffith recently received the annual Knights of Columbus Christian Scholar Award from St. Pius Council 11101. Pictured with Griffith is Grand Knight Jim Milanese. She was selected by the school staff and administration for maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average throughout her middle school career, while exemplifying strong Christian standards and demonstrating a strong work ethic, both at school and in the Greensboro community.

— John Russell

SPX grad receives Patriot Award GREENSBORO — St. Pius X graduate Brendan Chase recently received the annual Knights of Columbus Patriot Award from Sir Knight Jim Duffy, representing Father Francis Connolly Assembly 3253. This honor, determined by both the faculty and student body, is awarded to the student who is recognized for possessing and demonstrating the qualities of spiritual, moral and social character.

— John Russell

Calling for choir volunteers for the 2014 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.

IN BRIEF, SEE page 12

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

IN BRIEF:

A Lifeline for Marriage SEPTEMBER 12-14, 2014 in Raleigh

Herbstritt, advocate; Pam Komlofske, past president; Marlene Korn, president; Sara Archer, vice president; Supreme President Barbara Ann Lucharetti; Ginny Grant, secretary; Megan Hauser, financial secretary; Arlene Herr, treasurer; and Kathy Balding, sentinel.

Eleven Columbiette auxiliaries were represented at the state convention, six from the Diocese of Raleigh and five from the Diocese of Charlotte (Holy Angels in Mount Airy, Holy Cross in Kernersville, Bishop Greco in Clemmons, St. Matthew in Charlotte, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte).

— Maggie Herbstritt

Walker receives scholarship

AOH raises funds for Catholic education HUNTERSVILLE — The St. Brendan the Navigator Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Huntersville recently donated more than $1,000 to several Catholic school organizations in the Diocese of Charlotte. The funds were raised from the division’s annual Hibernian Dinner and Show, held each March to honor St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

Recipients of the donations were the St. Mark Home School Ministry, Christ the King PTO and St. Mark School PTO. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Catholic fraternal organization for men of Irish heritage.

Its motto is “Friendship, Unity and True Christian Charity.” Catholic education is one of the core charities the division supports, along with Mira-Via, Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice and supporting seminarians in the diocese.

Pictured are Joe Dougherty and Ray FitzGerald of the AOH and Joan Ziegler and Sarah Obermiller of the St. Mark Home School Ministry.

GREENSBORO — Jenny Walker, a parishioner of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, is the winner of a $1,000 scholarship from the Greensboro Council of Catholic Women for use at her college, UNC-Wilmington. As a member of St. Matthew Church, Walker participated in a 40-Hour Famine and also participated in mission trips to Kentucky. She was honored at a luncheon held at the Starmount Forest County Club in Greensboro May 28. She is the daughter of Sam and Cathi Walker, also parishioners of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, and the granddaughter of Ellen Roethling, a member of the Greensboro Council of Catholic Women and member of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro.

We are a Home Care Service Agency Companionship – Meal Preparation – Laundry/Ironing – Transportaion – Water Plants and Assist with personal services.

— Mike FitzGerald

Contact: Peggy Lindsay

Columbiettes elect state officers

Agency Director/Owner 704-770-1394 St. Gabriel Parish Member

RALEIGH — New officers were elected during the 15th annual N.C. Columbiettes State Convention, held May 9-10 in Raleigh.

New officers (pictured from left) are: Maggie

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Experiencing difficulties in your marriage?

FROM PAGE 12

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.

OUR PARISHESI

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

COORDINATOR FOR YOUTH & YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES Saint Pius X Catholic Church, Greensboro, NC. Vibrant 1600 household parish in the center of North Carolina seeks leader to work with middle school, high school, and young adults on a full time basis. Greensboro is an hour from Raleigh and Chapel Hill, and 1.5 hours from Charlotte.

Should be willing to work as a team member with pastoral staff, offer a comprehensive youth ministry approach, and incorporate parish and public school students into groups and activities.

Degree in theology or related field preferred. Experience and a mature faith are essential.

Salary with good benefit package dependent on experience and degree.

Please send resume and references to: Saint Pius X Catholic Church, Youth Minister Search Committee, 220 State Street, Greensboro, NC, 27408. Phone: (336) 272-4681

The Retrouvaille Program consists of a weekend experience combined with a series of 6 post-weekend sessions. It provides the tools to help put your marriage in order again. The main emphasis of the program is on communication in marriage between husband and wife. It will give you the opportunity to rediscover each other and examine your lives together in a new and positive way.

Let’s keep talking.

Let’s keep talking.

For confidential info or to register: (434) 793-0242 or retrouvaillenc@msn.com. Visit our Web site: www.retrouvaille.org.

CCDOC.ORG

Discover Natural Family Planning 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.

August 16 – St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte September 6 – Holy Family Catholic Church, Clemmons September 27 – St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte October 4 – St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Charlotte For more information visit our website or contact Batrice Adcock, MSN at 704.370.3230 or bnadcock@charlottediocese.org.

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 14

Father Joshua Voitus

E

El misterio de la Transfiguración de Nuestro Señor

l próximo Miércoles, 6 de Agosto, la Iglesia celebrará una maravillosa fiesta, la fiesta de la Transfiguración de Nuestro Señor. Esta fiesta, como todas las fiestas de la Iglesia, nos revela a nosotros algo muy importante acerca de la naturaleza de Cristo, así como también la naturaleza de la misión de la Iglesia. Todos sabemos lo que ocurrió durante la Transfiguración, cuando los Apóstoles Pedro, Juan y Santiago miraron la cara de Jesús esta se volvió “brillante como el sol” y su túnica se volvió “blanca como la luz.”

Esto señala el significado de la palabra “transfiguración,” lo que significa el cambiar de apariencia, usualmente a una mejor apariencia. En realidad la apariencia de Jesús cambió durante la Transfiguración, pero este cambio no solo fue un cambio de apariencia física. No, este cambio de apariencia les mostró a los Apóstoles, y nos muestra a nosotros también quien es Jesús.

Cuando Jesús caminó por la tierra en carne y hueso, lo más seguro es que, más o menos, Él parecía como cualquier otro ser humano. Sin embargo, la Transfiguración revela que Jesús no es un ser humano cualquiera. Claro que Él parece como un ser humano, y Jesús también tiene una naturaleza humana como nosotros (en todo menos en el pecado), pero eso no es todo lo que Jesús es. Jesús también es el Hijo de Dios, la Segunda Persona de la Santísima Trinidad, la Palabra Eterna de Dios, quien tiene una naturaleza divina la cual está eternamente unida a su naturaleza humana. Este es el misterio que Jesús revela parcialmente a los Apóstoles durante la Transfiguración.

Al ver ellos a Jesús transfigurado, ellos entonces experimentan un vistazo pequeño a la gloria que rodea siempre a la divinidad de Jesús.

Pero como si no fuera suficiente con un vistazo de su gloria, Jesús revela más cosas a sus Apóstoles durante este misterio. Primero, ellos ven a Jesús en su gloria y conversando con Moisés y Elías. Moisés representa la Ley, la Ley que guio al pueblo de Dios hasta el cumplimiento final de la revelación de Dios en Cristo, y Elías, quien representa a los profetas, todos ellos cuyas profecías indican finalmente a la Persona de Cristo. Después, los Apóstoles escuchan una voz proveniente de la nube, la voz del Padre declarando que Jesús es su Hijo amado. ¡Imagínense el estar ahí! ¡Imagínense ver y escuchar todas las cosas que

Pedro, Juan y Santiago vieron y escucharon durante la Transfiguración! ¿Podemos estar sorprendidos que Pedro quería poner tres tiendas y quedarse en la cumbre de la montaña? Pedro, al ver la gloria de Dios, no tiene ningún deseo de volver a la normalidad de las cosas como eran antes. Pedro quiere quedarse ahí y disfrutar del amor y la alegría de un Jesús glorificado, y no regresar a los problemas y la lucha de la vida diaria.

Nosotros también queremos eso.

Queremos experimentar la alegría y la paz perfecta de Dios aquí y ahora mismo en la tierra. Oramos para que nuestras vidas sean felices y tranquilas, y para que no experimentemos ningún tipo de sufrimiento o tragedia.

Sin embargo, la realidad de las cosas es que a Pedro no se le permitió quedarse en la cima de la montaña. No, Pedro, Juan, Santiago y Jesús bajaron de la montaña y poco tiempo después de esto Jesús va a Jerusalén en donde sufrió y murió. La Transfiguración es un regalo de Dios a los Apóstoles para que durante sus tribulaciones y momentos difíciles, ellos entonces tengan fe y confianza en la gloria y el poder de Dios. La Transfiguración es un preámbulo de lo que les espera a los Apóstoles si ellos siguen a Cristo a través de todos sus sufrimientos.

Y así también es con nosotros.

Nuestra vida en este mundo está llena de dificultades y sufrimientos. Dios nos da regalos espirituales y gracias divinas para que en medio de nuestras tribulaciones, nosotros sepamos del poder de Dios y para que miremos con esperanza hacia la gloria que Él nos quiere dar a nosotros que lo seguimos a Él. Entonces, demos gracias por todas las gracias que Dios nos brinda, especialmente la gracia de su misericordia en el sacramento de la Confesión, y por la gracia de una unión con Él cuando recibimos la Eucaristía en estado de gracia. Permitamos que estas gracias que Dios nos da nos den la fortaleza durante nuestros sufrimientos para que después de haber sufrido con Cristo, haber seguido sus mandamientos y habernos arrepentido de nuestros pecados, seamos testigos de su gloria y permitamos que la gloria de Dios nos cubra por toda la eternidad.

El Padre Joshua A. Voitus es el Párroco de la Iglesia Saint Mary, Mother of God, en Sylva. El Padre Voitus celebra Misa de Vigilia Dominical en español todos los sábados a las 7 p.m.

(Arriba) El Padre Fidel Melo, Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte, rodeado por el Párroco de San Gabriel, Padre Frank O’Rourke a su izquierda, y el Diacono Guido Pozo a su derecha, dando la Primera Comunión a uno de los niños del Grupo Esperanza de Vida durante la Misa de Primera Comunión de los niños especiales en San Gabriel el 28 de Junio pasado. (Izquierda) Padres y niños del Grupo Esperanza de Vida con el Padre O’Rourke y el Padre Melo después de la Misa de Primera Comunión.

Fotos proporcionadas por Elena Vásquez-Donoso

Niños especiales del Grupo Esperanza de Vida hacen su Primera Comunión en San Gabriel en Charlotte Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — El sábado, 28 de Junio, niños especiales pertenecientes al Grupo Esperanza de Vida (Hope of Life) de la Parroquia de San Gabriel en Charlotte, hicieron su Primera Comunión en esa parroquia.

Padres y familiares participaron en una hermosa celebración y compartieron alegremente con estos niños esta ceremonia tan importante.

El Padre Frank O’Rourke, Párroco de San Gabriel, celebró la Misa junto con el Padre Fidel Melo, Coordinador del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte. El Diacono Guido Pozo asistió durante la Misa también.

Esperanza de Vida está bajo la dirección de la coordinadora Elena Vásquez-Donoso, la cual es miembro de la Iglesia de San Gabriel.

“En compañía con el Padre Frank O’Rourke tuve otra vez el privilegio de

estar en la Misa de la Primera Comunión de los niños especiales en la Iglesia de San Gabriel,” dijo el Padre Melo en una entrevista después de la Misa.

“Y como todos los años, esta es una ocasión especial y una oportunidad de ser testigos del amor de Dios que se manifiesta en la dedicación de los padres de estos niños y en los catequistas que están dedicados a servir y a manifestar el amor de Dios en este ministerio de Esperanza de Vida,” dijo el Padre Melo.

El Padre O’Rourke dijo, “Cuando vemos a los padres de estos niños especiales traerlos al Banquete de la Mesa del Señor, esto da un gran testimonio de la dignidad de estos niños como hijos de Dios.”

“Quiero darle las gracias a Elenita Vásquez por su gran liderazgo como Coordinadora del Grupo Esperanza de Vida,” Concluyó el Padre Melo.

Para mayor información acerca del Grupo Esperanza de Vida, comuníquense con Elena Vásquez-Donoso por correo electrónico en hopeoflivegrupoesperanzadevida@yahoo.com.

Our schools

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

15

St. Leo summer reading program benefits Winston-Salem area students Nicole Witten Special to the Catholic News Herald

MACS Education Foundation sponsors winning team CHARLOTTE — Once again, the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools have proven that their students are among the top achievers in the country. The annual Academic Games Leagues of America National Tournament, held this year in Knoxville, Tenn., attracted more than 1,000 competitors from across the country who battled for team and individual supremacy.

The MACS Academic Games Team was comprised of students from Our Lady of the Assumption and Holy Trinity schools.

The games challenge elementary and middle school students to take on content that would normally be taught at high school and college levels, for the purpose of enrichment and competition.

The MACS Education Foundation has remained the primary sponsor of the MACS Academic Games League, as it supports academic enrichment activities through the Principal’s Grant and direct contributions.

The following national awards are indicative of the effort put forward by the students, coaches and teachers: n Elementary Team Awards: first Place propaganda; second place - presidents; fifth place - world events n National Top Ten Individual Awards: Ethan Sorreda (OLA) second place propaganda; Ethan Sorreda (OLA) fourth place - presidents; and Liam Park (HTMS) seventh place - presidents n Middle Team Awards: fourth place propaganda; sixth place - presidents; and 10th place - world events Pictured are team members: (back row, from left) Kevin Santschi, Martin Ricart, Tyler Vance, Kevin Santschi, Tommy Nowak, Sam Scott, Ari Moya, Rhea Desai and Joie Mill; (second row) Rachel Sarvey, Daniel Bertsch, Thomas Nguyen, Nikki Tan, Ricardo Arevalo and Gloria Kankienza; and (front row) Candice Habtom, Louis Ciano, Miguel Santiago, Jack Meehan, Liam Park, Ethan Sorreda and Steven Medrano.

The league wishes to specially thank Mary Morales, Holy Trinity and National Team (Head) Coach, and Yasmin Santschi, OLA and National Team Coach.

To find out more about getting your child or school involved in the MACS League, contact Allana-Rae Ramkissoon, Head of League, at 704-531-0067. To learn more about the Academic Games Leagues of America, go online to www.agloa.org.

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

WINSTON-SALEM — Thanks to generous grants from the Diocese of Charlotte and St. Leo the Great Parish, St. Leo School has once again been able to host summer reading enrichment sessions based on the Read Naturally Read Live program. From June 24 to July 18, three St. Leo’s teachers (Patti Eiffe, fourthgrade teacher, Christine Hurley, librarian and French teacher, and Maria Iturralde, Spanish teacher) helped 48 students from the local community to improve their fluency and reading comprehension.

Read Naturally is a research-based program designed to build oral reading fluency, which is highly correlated with success in reading comprehension.

“This is a program we use during the school year for our students at St. Leo’s,“ Eiffe said. “It’s great that during the summer we can extend the program to children in our parishes and local communities as well. We have all levels of readers – some who are already reading at or above grade level and some who struggle – so it really serves both remedial and enrichment purposes.”

Students ranged in age from a rising kindergartner to rising ninth-graders, with many for whom English is a second language.

“This is a very flexible program,” Hurley said. “All the students enjoy and learn from the non-fiction stories, get help with phonetic patterns if they need it, and most of all have the opportunity to ‘read along’ with a proficient reader, which builds their confidence as they hone their skills.”

This growing program is in its 10th summer, with many students returning year after year, but with many new faces as well.

“It’s been a busy, but very exciting summer for us,” Hurley said.

“We call ourselves the United Nations, because we have children and families who hail from all parts of the globe, including Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Cuba, Mexico and Burma. With the help of Priscilla Zambor and Karen Galiger of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, we began working with eight Karinni students, who ranged from rising first-graders to high school students. The results have been extremely positive for them: several students have made more than a year’s worth of progress in reading fluency in just the first two weeks of sessions, and all of them have begun attending double sessions to push those gains even further. And it’s wonderfully fulfilling for us as well. After the children attended several sessions, some of their mothers asked if they could also

Photo provided by Nicole Witten

Dozens of students have improved their English fluency this summer at St. Leo School in Winston-Salem, thanks to a reading program funded in part by St. Leo Parish and the Diocese of Charlotte.

use the program to improve their English language skills. It didn’t take more than a split second for us to answer ‘Yes!’”

Nicole Witten is the director of communications at St. Leo the Great Church.

OLM’s Science Expo brings science to everyday life WINSTON-SALEM — Applying the scientific method doesn’t have to be complex, and it can help solve everyday problems. This is what Our Lady of Mercy Middle Schoolers learned this past year as they answered everyday questions like “What’s the Fastest Way to Cool a Soda?” These and many other questions were answered with great projects presented at their annual Science Expo in May. Science Expo was a six-month project that gave middle school students experience in research, experimentation, scientific writing, activity creation and presentation. They worked in groups to develop ideas around a given theme and structured an experiment based on their ideas. The students then created an interactive display to demonstrate to the community on Science Expo day. First-, second-, and third-place winners were determined per grade, then overall project awards were also given.

Winners were: Best Experimentation – “Wet Water Rockets” by Jacob Babcock, Matthew Hammes, Vance Jacobsen and Jake Rademaker; Best Project Paper – “Finding the Best Angle to Launch a Catapult” by Derrick Meyer; Best Interactive Model – “Rainbow Fire” by Sarah Aguirre, Morgan Carnes, Anna Lammel and Martina Lammel; and Best Display – “What Paper is Best for Paper Airplanes?” by Gennaro Coppola, Phillip Johnson, Marcos Lammel and Maximo Sprenkle.

Pictured is seventh-grader Sarah Aguirre demonstrating the different substances that burn with different colors with her group’s project “Rainbow Fire,” which won a prize for Best Interactive Display.

By the way, the fastest way to cool a soda is in an ice and water bath!

Photo provided by Lara Davenport

Mix 16

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV n Saturday, Aug. 2, 11 a.m.

(EWTN) “Lives of the Saints: St. Francis of Assisi.” A docudrama on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, who renounced everything for God.

In Brief

This portrait of Pope Leo XIII, pontiff from 1878 to 1903, shows him holding a quill pen.

The pope anonymously crafted Latin riddles for a Roman magazine.

CNS | Library of Congress

‘Hercules’ Dwayne Johnson plays the strongman of the title in director Brett Ratner’s mildly demythologizing take on his legendary exploits. Based on Steve Moore’s graphic novel “Hercules: The Thracian Wars,” this passable 3-D adventure finds the hero, who may or may not be a demigod leading a band of super-skilled mercenaries around the political patchwork of ancient Greece. He and his followers get more than they bargained for, however, when, at the behest of a fetching princess (Rebecca Ferguson), they agree to help her father (John Hurt), the king of Thrace, rid his realm of a marauding rebel (Tobias Santelmann). The odd witticism and some on-target messages about believing in oneself and putting strength at the service of goodness are scattered through Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos’ script. But the real agenda of Ratner’s sweeping film is large-scale combat and plenty of it. Constant, mostly bloodless violence, some gory images, a glimpse of rear nudity, occasional sexual references, at least one use of the F-word, a handful of crude and crass terms.

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

‘Boyhood’ In a film shot in 39 days over the course of 12 years, writer-director Richard Linklater sets out to chart “the rocky terrain of childhood” as no one has done before. The result is a unique cinematic experience, as characters age naturally -- if not gracefully -- on the big screen. This is a work of fiction, however, not a documentary, and its tone of moral indifference ultimately will not resonate well with viewers of faith or with those who cherish the loving bonds of family. We follow a boy (Ellar Coltrane) from age 6 to 18, as well as his sister (Lorelei Linklater) and his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke). Mom and Dad’s split looms large as the children are forced to deal with both parents’ inadequacies and their opposing methods of parenting, a situation made all the more challenging when Mom remarries (twice), and Dad finds another wife.

In the end, the bratty kids essentially raise themselves, and decide on their own what is right and wrong. A benign attitude toward drug and underage alcohol use, teenage sex, and contraception, an ambivalent portrayal of religion, occasional profanity, frequent crude language.

CNS: L (limited audience); MPAA: R

Papal puzzler: Leo XIII anonymously published riddles in Latin Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Going by the pseudonym “X,” Pope Leo XIII anonymously crafted poetic puzzles in Latin for a Roman periodical at the turn of the 20th century.

The pope created lengthy riddles, known as “charades,” in Latin in which readers had to guess a rebus-like answer from two or more words that together formed the syllables of a new word.

Eight of his puzzles were published anonymously in “Vox Urbis,” a Rome newspaper that was printed entirely in Latin between 1898-1913, according to an article in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

A reader who submitted the correct answer to the riddle would receive a book of Latin poetry written by either Pope Leo or another noted Catholic figure.

The identity of the mysterious riddle-maker, however, was soon revealed by a French reporter covering the Vatican for the daily newspaper Le Figaro.

Felix Ziegler published his scoop Jan. 9, 1899, a year after the puzzles started appearing, revealing that “Mr. X” was, in fact, the reigning pope, the Vatican newspaper said July 20.

In the pope’s hometown, Carpineto Romano, which is about 35 miles southeast of Rome, students at the middle school now named for him have published 26 of the pope’s Latin puzzles in a new book titled, “Aenigmata. The Charades of Pope Leo XIII.” Three middle school teachers and their pupils said they have included puzzles they found, but which had never been published before.

One example of the pope’s Latin riddles talked of a “little boat nimbly dancing,” that sprung a leak as it “welcomed the shore so near advancing.”

“The whole your eyes have known, your pallid cheeks have shown; for oh! the swelling tide no bravest heart could hide, when your dear mother died,” continues the translation of part of the riddle-poem.

The answer, “lacrima,” (“teardrop”) merges clues elsewhere in the poem for “lac” (“milk”) and “rima” (“leak” or “fissure”).

Pope Leo, who headed the Church from 1878 to 1903, had the fourth-longest pontificate in history, after being nudged out of third place by Pope St. John Paul II. He wrote 86 encyclicals, including the Church’s groundbreaking “Rerum Novarum,” which ushered in the modern era of Catholic social teaching.

Known for his openness to historical sciences, Pope Leo ordered in 1881 that the Vatican Secret Archives be open to researchers and he formally established the Vatican Observatory in 1891 as a visible sign of the Church’s centuries-old support for science.

A trained Vatican diplomat and man of culture, the pope was also a member of an exclusive society of learning founded in Rome in 1690 called the Academy of Arcadia, whose purpose was to “wage war on the bad taste” engulfing baroque Italy. Pope Leo, whose club name was “Neandro Ecateo,” was the last pope to be a member of the circle of poets, artists, musicians and highly cultured aristocrats and religious.

The pope was also passionate about hunting and viniculture. Unable to leave the confines of the Vatican after Italy was unified and the papal states brought to an end in 1870, he pursued his hobbies in the Vatican Gardens.

He had a wooden blind set up to hide in while trapping birds, which he then would set free again immediately.

He also had his own small vineyard, which, according to one historical account, he tended himself, hoeing out the weeds, and visiting often for moments of prayer and writing poetry.

Apparently, one day, gunfire was heard from the pope’s vineyard, triggering fears of a papal assassination attempt.

Instead, it turned out the pope had ordered a papal guard to send a salvo of bullets into the air to scare off the sparrows who were threatening his grape harvest.

n Saturday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “St. Bernadette of Lourdes.” The story of St. Bernadette of Lourdes is told by a cast of more than 160 Catholic children and how she changed the lives of many with her visions of Mary. n Monday, Aug. 4, 6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “St. John Vianney: Heart of the Priesthood.” A reflection on St. John Vianney as a model for the priesthood of today, how his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was at the core of his vocation and the incredible renewal of his parish in the town of Ars, France. n Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2 p.m.

(EWTN) “To the Heights! Our Spiritual Ascent Towards God.” Father Antoine Thomas leads Catholic youth on a hiking expedition that embraces the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, and Pope St. John Paul II in their experience of nature. n Saturday, Aug. 9, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “St. Peter.” The story of the life of St. Peter, the man chosen by Jesus Christ to lead His Church as the first pope. Featuring acclaimed actor Omar Sharif. n Sunday, Aug. 10, 2:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Catholic Aid to Syria’s Refugees.” Filmmaker Elisabetta Valgiusti presents the humanitarian activities of the Catholic Church and Caritas International in service to Syria’s refugees, along with stories of individual Syrian refugees and commentary from Catholic leaders. n Monday, Aug. 11, 4 p.m.

(EWTN) “St. Francis and St. Clare.” The life and spirituality of Saint Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Order of St. Clare or better known as the “Poor Clares.” Witness how the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi set this noblewoman’s heart on fire to imitate Francis and live for Jesus.

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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IGBO:

FOUNDATION:

AMENDMENT:

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The group prays that someday the diocese might welcome an Igbo priest who would say Mass in their native language more often. The Greensboro Mass was only the second one ever celebrated in the diocese, and that was thanks to Father Oji traveling over from Raleigh. A resident Igbo priest, they said, could rotate among parishes to say Mass in the major cities of the diocese, enabling people to worship God in their native tongue.

Like other immigrant groups, the Igbo community leaders said they are concerned about passing on their Catholic faith and their native customs to their Americanborn children and grandchildren. Younger generations here in the U.S. are less attached to their Nigerian heritage, they noted, and evangelical Protestant churches have been winning converts with church services said in Igbo and targeted ministry efforts. They want their families to stay in the Church and to celebrate their Nigerian past as well as their American present.

Deacon Emmanuel Ukattah, who was ordained just last May, is a big step in that direction, they said. A native Nigerian and naturalized American citizen, Deacon Ukattah is now ministering to the Igbo community at the parish.

Dr. Frank Odili Walson and his wife Carol, who helped to organize the Igbo Mass, said the celebration at St. Mary Church was an important aspect of preserving their culture and heritage as Nigerian Catholics. And personally, Carol Walson noted about the Mass in her native language, “It takes me back home.”

Office: $3,500 for its food pantry n St. Joseph Church, Asheboro: $2,000 for a Life Teen youth faith formation program n St. Lucien Church, Spruce Pine: $2,000 for its Ave Maria Ministries Program providing food, personal hygiene products and used clothing to people in need n St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Margaret Mary Church, Swannanoa: $2,000 for its Warming the Home Program n St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. William Church, Murphy: $2,000 to provide financial assistance to people in crisis n St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Benedict Church, Greensboro: $2,000 for emergency financial assistance to non-parishioners n St. Leo the Great Church, Winston-Salem: $2,000 for its Read Naturally – Ready Fluency Intervention Program n St. Francis of Assisi Church, Mocksville: $2,000 for a parish community garden n Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, Cherokee: $2,500 for outreach to the poor n Queen of the Apostles Church, Belmont: $2,000 for its Backpack Weekend Food Program for children n St. Matthew Church, Charlotte: $2,000 for the Special Religious Development (SPRED) Program n St. Philip the Apostle Church, Statesville: $1,000 for faith formation textbooks n Smoky Mountain Vicariate Hispanic Ministry, Waynesville: $1,000 for its Family Pastoral, Mission and Apologetics programs n St. John Neumann Church, Charlotte: $2,000 for its Catechist and Youth Ministry Mentor Program n St. John Baptist de La Salle Church, North Wilkesboro: $1,500 for expansion of existing English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for the local Vietnamese and Hispanic communities Since 2001, the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation has distributed 285 grants totaling $735,805.

wait for an “ultimate resolution” from the Supreme Court.

“Today, we know our law almost surely will be overturned as well,” Cooper said. “Simply put, it is time to stop making arguments we will lose and instead move forward.”

In 2012 North Carolina voters overwhelmingly approved, by a 3-to-2 margin, an amendment to the state constitution protecting the state’s existing definition of marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. At the time, supporters of the marriage amendment said the vote would help protect North Carolina from any state judge’s ruling to allow gay “marriage.”

Same-sex “marriage” is now legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

A similarly split panel of judges of the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals struck down Utah’s ban on gay “marriage” in June and Oklahoma’s ban last week. A Colorado judge also ruled July 9 that a voter-approved marriage law was unconstitutional. The Colorado ruling was the 16th in a row striking down the marriage restrictions since the Supreme Court ruled against the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year.

Utah has said it will appeal its case to the Supreme Court, and the Virginia case could go there as well. The high court’s next term starts in October.

“Clearly the issue is going to end up in the Supreme Court,” said Will Esser, an attorney with Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein in Charlotte and a member of the St. Thomas More Society, a group of Catholic attorneys.

“What is being asked for is not that the government protect the fundamental right of marriage, but to recognize a new right, the right to same-sex ‘marriage,’” Esser said. Just because someone calls a relationship a “marriage” does not make it one, he noted.

“There is such a big division between what civil marriage is, and is becoming, and what the Church teaches is marriage,” he said.

Catholics need to pray, read and understand Church teaching, and lead by example with strong marriages themselves, he said. And we need to distinguish between the sacramental union that the Church has always recognized as marriage, and what secular society and popular opinion may call marriage.

“Because they are not the same.”

— Catholic News Service contributed.

Business Operations Manager Charlotte Catholic High School is accepting applications for the position of Business Operations Manager. This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week.

The position oversees issues related to budget, business office management and school finances; supervises and coordinates the work activities of the accounting and clerical staff; performs accounting functions and assists in the development of accounting procedures and systems for the school.

Requirements include: • Minimum of 5 years experience in an office manager/bookkeeping capacity, including experience in the supervision of office staff, preferably in a school setting • College degree • Excellent oral and written communication skills • Strong administrative and organizational skills • Computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office and QuickBooks • Ability to collaborate effectively and foster teamwork

Please send cover letter and resume by August 11, 2014 to: Human Resources Director Diocese of Charlotte 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203

Or email: twilhelm@charlottediocese.org

Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Archbishop Chaput says Pope Francis will visit Philadelphia Nancy Wiechec Catholic News Service

FARGO, N.D. — Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said Pope Francis has accepted his invitation to attend the World Meeting of Families in the U.S. next year, even though the Philadelphia Archdiocese still has not received official confirmation from the Vatican.

Archbishop Chaput made the announcement July 24 before giving his homily during the opening Mass of the Tekakwitha Conference in Fargo.

“Pope Francis has told me that he is coming,” said the archbishop as he invited his fellow Native Americans to the 2015 celebration being held in Philadelphia Sept.

22-27. “The pope will be with us the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of that week.”

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said July 25 Pope Francis has

expressed “his willingness to participate in the World Meeting of Families” in Philadelphia, and has received invitations to visit other cities as well, which he is considering. Those invitations include New York, the United Nations and Washington, D.C. “There has been no official confirmation by the Vatican or the Holy See of Pope Francis’ attendance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “We still expect that any official confirmation will come approximately six months prior to the event.”

It said Archbishop Chaput “has frequently shared his confidence in Pope Francis’ attendance at the World Meeting and his personal conversations with the Holy Father are the foundation for that confidence.”

— Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden at the Vatican.

Bishops: To end border crisis, address issues forcing people to flee Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To end the U.S.Mexico border crisis, the United States must address the flow of illegal drugs and arms and the harmful economic policies forcing children and families to leave Central America for the U.S., said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.

Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, made the comments in a July 24 letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, following a trip he and other bishops and Church leaders made to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

In a separate statement, Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio L. Elizondo, who heads the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, urged President Barack Obama and the presidents of the three Central American countries that Bishop Pates visited to protect and care for children and families fleeing violence in the region.

Bishop Elizondo’s letter was issued a day before a July 25 meeting in Washington of Obama and Presidents Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala, Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador and Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras.

“The leaders should focus upon the protection of these children and families, as they are charged with as the heads of their nations,” the bishop said. “Instead of cooperating on intercepting them and sending them back to dangerous situations, they should work together to protect them from those dangers, including providing them asylum in neighboring countries and in the United States.”

The Pew Research Center estimates that more than 57,500 unaccompanied children and youths crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in the nine months between Oct. 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014, an increase from 38,700 youths in fiscal year 2013. Its July 22 report shows that children 12 and older are the fastest growing group of unaccompanied

Learn more and help At www.confrontglobalpoverty.org: Catholic Confront Global Poverty, an initiative of the U.S. bishops and Catholic Relief Services, represents the official voice of the U.S. Church on policy issues related to improving the lives of poor and vulnerable people worldwide. At this website, get more information about the plight of child migrants, understand Church teaching on immigration and poverty, and take action.

At www.catholiccharitiesusa.org: Catholic Charities is on the front lines of assisting these migrant children and their families, both locally and nationally.

At this website, get more information about the issue and donate to support the Church’s work to aid our brothers and sisters in need.

At catholiccharitiesrgv.org: Send donations of clothing, baby supplies or money directly to Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, one of the Catholic Charities agencies directly involved with the border crisis.

minors crossing the border.

National Catholic leaders have called for a compassionate response to the youths who have crossed the border, many of whom are fleeing drug-related violence.

In his letter to Kerry, Bishop Pates said the U.S. cannot separate the humanitarian crisis of many thousands of unaccompanied minors journeying to the U.S. border from several root causes in Latin America, many of which he said are generated by U.S. BORDER, SEE page 19

CNS | Thomas Gannam, Reuters

Supporters of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty attend a candlelight vigil for death-row inmate Joseph Franklin on the steps of St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis Nov. 19, 2013.

Franklin, a white supremacist who targeted blacks and Jews in a cross-country killing spree from 1977 to 1980, was put to death Nov. 20 in Missouri, the state’s first execution in nearly three years.

Capital punishment: Gains being made on another pro-life issue Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — People don’t seem to count gains and setbacks on the death penalty issue with quite the same intensity as they do with other issues.

Even so, slowly but surely, gains are being made – and more gains than setbacks.

Even the setbacks can, ironically, be counted as gains.

One notable case in point is the July 23 execution of Joseph Wood in Arizona.

Wood’s attorneys had briefly won a temporary blockage of his execution by demanding to know what kinds of drugs were planned for use by the state in the death chamber.

The state successfully challenged the stay and Wood, convicted of two 1989 murders, was executed according to schedule, but hardly according to plan.

After the drug cocktail was injected in him, it took an hour and 57 minutes for Wood to die. Although a relative of one of the victims witnessing the execution said Wood was snoring, others witnessing the scene said Wood was gasping. Wood’s lawyers tried, albeit without success, to get the Supreme Court to order the state to halt the execution process as it was taking place, calling it cruel and unusual punishment. Arizona ultimately called

for an internal review of the process.

The Wood case echoed that of an Oklahoma death-row prisoner, Clayton Lockett, who writhed in agony for 40 minutes before being unhooked from the drug dispenser in the death chamber. Lockett soon died of apparent heart failure. The incident prompted Oklahoma officials to review its execution procedures. Oklahoma recently moved ahead of Virginia, taking second place in a list of the states with the most executions; Texas is still in first place.

Death penalty opponents have already made headway with physicians, almost all of whom now will refuse to assist at an execution. Opponents’ next step is getting pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies to stop supplying the drugs used in lethal injections, saying drugs should be used for healing, not for killing.

States have fought efforts like those made by Wood’s attorneys to keep the drugs and their sources secret, claiming suppliers will be harassed and intimidated.

Even so, the initial Arizona ruling “was full of nuance – getting in to the moral aspect of it,” said Karen Clifton, executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network Against the Death Penalty. “The practice is just cruel and unusual. ... It goes against ISSUE, SEE page 19

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

BORDER: FROM PAGE 18

policies.

“The crisis on our borders will not be minimally resolved until drugs and arms flows, harmful trade provisions, and other critical economic policies that contribute to violence are addressed and rectified,” Bishop Pates wrote.

Church leaders and U.S. diplomats in each country his delegation visited, he said, agreed that long-term resolutions would only come from investment in education and jobs.

Bishop Pates said he frequently heard that the Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, “and similar trade policies, had devastated small agricultural producers and businesses in the region, while depressing labor conditions and wages.”

Regarding the drugs and violence that often drive people to leave their home countries, Bishop Pates said the U.S. must recognize its “own complicity in this crisis, and support more effective programs that reduce drug usage here at home.”

“Similarly, the regulation of gun exports, coupled with criminal justice reforms that foster rehabilitation rather than retribution,” he said, “need to be implemented by our states and our federal government.”

ISSUE: FROM PAGE 18

our Constitution as cruel and unusual punishment. I hope there is another judge in another state that has a conscience and will make similar ruling on it.”

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, noted the “slow erosion of support” for capital punishment in public-opinion polls.

A Gallup poll question registered 80 percent support for capital punishment in 1994. “That has dropped to 60 percent very recently – the same Gallup poll, the same question,” Dieter said.

He also cited an ABC News-Washington Post poll showing more respondents choosing life without parole over the death penalty for convicted murderers when given the choice.

Catholics “used to be right up there” with the rest of the country in their support for capital punishment, Dieter said. Now, “they are more opposed to the death penalty than the average among voters. In some polls, they appear to be against the death penalty,” he added.

The U.S. bishops, who have long advocated against capital punishment, began an ongoing Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty in 2005.

One long-held argument for capital punishment was that “it’s an essential part of the criminal system,” Dieter said. It’s ceased being part of that, if it ever was. ... It’s a marker rather than an essential element that people feel in some personal way. And courts are a little reluctant to get too far ahead, lest they do wrong in reading the public opinion.”

The Catholic Church has taught clearly that while the death penalty might be allowed if it were the only way to protect society against an aggressor, those cases, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are “very rare if practically nonexistent.”

One big test of public opinion is likely to come in 2016, when Californians will vote on a referendum, the Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act, that could abolish the death

He pointed to another factor he said is making life intolerable for many in Central America: destructive environmental impact and public health consequences of U.S. and Canadian mining companies in Latin America. He said the U.S. and Canadian governments need to hold companies with operations in the region to the same standards of protecting human life and the environment as they require in their own countries.

In his statement, Bishop Elizondo echoed Bishop Pates’ remarks about the need for a strategy to address “over the long term ... the violence and lack of opportunity in the countries of Central America. Specific attention should be paid to helping at-risk youth remain safe and access opportunity at home.”

Bishop Elizondo also reaffirmed the U.S. bishops’ opposition to proposals to amend current law to speed the deportations of the children without giving them the benefit of an immigration hearing.

Congress was scheduled to consider supplemental appropriations legislation the last week of July to fund the care of children and families arriving at the border.

“We oppose linking changes to the law – changes which could send children back to harm – to the funding bill, which is needed to humanely respond to this situation,” Bishop Elizondo said. “Families, as well, should receive a fair hearing of their asylum claims.”

penalty in the nation’s most populous state.

The last execution in California was in 2006. Later that year, a federal judge imposed a moratorium on executions in California, which has continued to this day. A 2011 study said the state had spent $4 billion trying capital cases. On July 16, another federal judge declared the state’s death penalty unconstitutional, saying it was arbitrary and plagued with delay.

A 2012 referendum to abolish capital punishment in the Golden State was rejected by a 52 to 48 percent margin.

California falls into a significant group of states with a death penalty still on the books, but with no executions in recent years. A half-dozen states have only executed prisoners who said they wanted to be put to death for their crimes. In other states, governors or courts have imposed moratoriums on capital punishment.

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Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Social media links people to crises overseas Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — Increased violence in the Middle East is spurring prayer vigils and protests outside the White House Aug. 2 and Aug. 9 – and social media is enabling local Catholics to join in solidarity with them, virtually as well as physically.

“National March on the White House: End the Massacre in Gaza!” on Saturday, Aug. 2, and “End the Genocide of Christians in Iraq: Public Witness and Vigil at the White House” on Saturday, Aug. 9, are separate protests being organized through social media including Facebook and Twitter to encourage people to speak out on the continuing violence in the Holy Land as well as against the persecution of Christians in Mosul, Iraq.

Both protests are planned for outside the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Gaza protest is being organized in part by the Answer Coalition, a nonpartisan, anti-war, anti-globalization group which supports the creation of a Palestinian state, according to its website.

The Facebook event page for the Gaza protest states, “The atrocities committed by the Israeli regime keep piling up in Gaza. Over 70 people were murdered by relentless Israeli artillery fire in just one neighborhood alone, al-Shujayeh, and bombings of hospitals and schools take place on a daily basis. In response to this ongoing massacre, a broad coalition of anti-war, Muslim and Arab-American groups have joined together to organize a national march on the White House on August 2.”

The group is encouraging supporters to spread the word about the protest using the Twitter hashtag “#FreePalestine.”

The Iraqi Christians protest is being organized in part by the D.C.-based Christian Defense Coalition.

“Today we are witnessing the genocide of Christians in Iraq which could result in the extermination of Christianity in that country,” stated organizers of the Iraq march on a Facebook event page created last week. “In the City of Mosul, Iraqi Christians are having the Arabic letter ‘nun’ placed on their door so terrorists can identify them for persecution, violence and even death. ... We have to go back over 60 years to find a group of people singled out for persecution because of their religious beliefs with a physical symbol. We cannot be silent on this issue! America must lead the world in condemning this genocide and standing against violence against Christians.”

Besides communicating through Facebook, proponents are using the Twitter hashtag “#WeAreNazarene” to organize participants and build conversation. The slogan comes from the Arabic symbol for the letter “n,” as in Nazarene, which was being painted by Islamic terrorists on the doors of Christian homes in Mosul before the Christians were ordered to leave the city, convert to Islam, or face death.

Over the past two weeks, people have been appropriating the symbol on their Facebook pages.

SOCIAL MEDIA, SEE page 21

Expulsion of Christians a ‘crime against humanity,’ Mosul bishop says Patriarch decries ‘mass cleansing’ of Mosul by ‘a bed of criminals’ Mark Pattison and Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Backed up by death threats and property seizures, the expulsion of the entire Christian community from Mosul is “a crime against humanity,” said an archbishop from Mosul, whose criticism of the violence has been echoed by other Church leaders in the region as well as Pope Francis.

Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona said the Islamic State, which took control of Iraq’s second-largest city in the province of Ninevah in early June, is carrying out “religious cleansing.” Support and prayers are needed, he said, but “we also expect all Christians to show solidarity with concrete action” and “without being afraid to talk about this tragedy.”

Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad added, “We need action first. The world is not bothering with what is happening to Christians in Mosul.” The international community must help those being displaced, not because they are Christians, but because they are human beings, he said.

ISIS (also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and recently renamed the Islamic State) has forced thousands of Christians from their homes, seizing their property and then robbed them of their belongings at checkpoints as they fled the city. They threatened to kill any Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a tax.

According to a recent report by the Christian Aid Program, CAPNI, all churches and monasteries in Mosul, numbering around 30 structures, were confiscated and are under the Islamic State’s control. Crosses were removed from Christian churches, which in many cases were then looted, burned, destroyed or occupied by the militants. Shiite mosques also were demolished and all Sunni, Shiite and Christian tombs in the city were destroyed, too, the report said.

Such destruction was endangering many of the nation’s ancient historical, cultural and religious sites, including the tomb of Jonah, which reportedly was broken into in mid-July, the report said.

Those who escaped Mosul and found shelter in neighboring Kurd-controlled areas were still facing hardship, it said, as the Islamic State cut off electric and water supplies to neighboring villages.

Bishop Warduni was one of several Iraqi Christian bishops who gathered near Irbil July 21-22 to talk about the crisis unfolding in Mosul with representatives from the United Nations, UNICEF, Caritas and local government leaders. At the end of the meeting, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako and bishops from the Chaldean, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic and Armenian churches called on the Iraqi government to “stop the catastrophe” and guarantee the “necessary protection” needed for Christians and other minorities being targeted by the fighters.

Christian refugees march against persecution by Islamic State fighters outside the U.N. compound near the airport in Irbil, Iraq, July 24.

CNS | Sahar Mansour

“A crime is a crime, and it cannot be denied or justified. We expect concrete actions to assure our people, not just press releases of denunciation and condemnation,” the statement said.

Syriac Catholic Archbishop Yohanna Moshe of Mosul also told the Vatican’s Fides news agency that Islamic State fighters took possession of a Syrian Catholic monastery outside of Mosul, near Qaraqosh, July 20.

Earlier, militants occupied Mosul’s Chaldean Catholic and Syriac Orthodox cathedrals, removed the crosses at the front of the buildings and replaced them with the Islamic state’s black flag.

Tombs and other places of worship were reported to have been desecrated, too. The militants also burned to the ground the building housing the Syriac bishop’s office, residence and library, and everything inside.

They singled out homes belonging to Christians and marked them in red paint with the letter “N,” for “Nazarat,” which means Christian, said Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Saad Sirop of Baghdad.

“Our worst fears have come true and we don’t know what to do,” he told Aid to the Church in Need.

Those who fled their homes with whatever possessions they could carry were then stripped of everything they owned by the militants at the city’s checkpoints, said Archbishop Jean Sleiman, the Latin-rite bishop of Baghdad.

Patriarch Sako said that as late as the end of June, 35,000 Christians had lived in Mosul, and more than 60,000 lived there before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. But now, “for the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians.”

Syriac Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, in Washington, D.C. to meet with federal government representatives and members of Congress, also decried the “mass cleansing” of Christians from Mosul, Iraq, by what he called “a bed of criminals.”

Patriarch Younan also traveled to Rome with retired Syriac Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul and Syriac Catholic Archbishop Ephrem Yousif Mansoor Abba of Baghdad to meet with the Vatican’s foreign minister and explain the plight of Christians in Mosul and surrounding areas. He proposed that the Vatican call on its diplomatic

corps members to urge their respective governments to take “appropriate measures in order to prevent further killing and abusing of Christians and other minorities in the name of a religion.”

“We wonder how could those criminals, this bed of criminals, cross the border from Syria into Mosul and occupy the whole city of Mosul ... imposing on the population their Shariah (law) without any knowledge of the international community,” he said July 25. “It is a shame that in the 21st century, you have such kind of behavior. It’s mass cleansing based on religion, not only for Christians, the Christian minority, but for other minorities.”

In Mosul itself, “there is no more Christian presence,” he said. “It’s tragic because it’s the largest Christian city in Iraq; it was what you call the nucleus of Christian presence for many centuries.

And we have at least 25 churches in that city. All are abandoned. No more prayers, no services, no more Masses on Sundays in Mosul because no clergy, no people there that are Christian.”

“Christians used to make at the time of Saddam (Hussein), especially before 1980, about 2.5 percent. That means almost 1.4 million. Now they account for less than 300,000. This is a kind of tragic dwindling of their number,” he said.

As the last Iraqi Christians fled Mosul last week, Pope Francis urgently called for prayers, dialogue and peace.

“Violence isn’t overcome with violence.

Violence is conquered with peace,” the pope said before leading thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square in a moment of silent prayer July 20. “Our brothers and sisters are persecuted, they are chased away,” he said, as he assured Christians in all of Iraq and the Middle East of his “constant prayers.”

Patriarch Younan spoke with Pope Francis by telephone July 20 while visiting Rome and told him of the “disastrous” situation in Mosul.

During their conversation, the patriarch begged the pope “to continue intensifying efforts with the powerful of this world” and to warn them “that it is a mass purification based on religion which is underway in the province of Ninevah.”

— Contributing to this story was Doreen Abi Raad in Beirut.

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Vatican revising canon law on abuse penalties, cardinal says VATICAN CITY — Church law has procedures and penalties for effectively dealing with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, but the Vatican is working to revise a section of the Code of Canon Law to make those norms and procedures clearer and, therefore, more effective, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. “We want to make this delicate material more accessible, more understandable and easier for bishops to apply,” Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, council president, told the Vatican newspaper.

In the interview published July 24 in L’Osservatore Romano, the cardinal said his office has been working since 2008 to revise “Book VI: Sanctions in the Church,” a section of the Code of Canon Law. The penalties and punishments offered by Church law should be applied, he said.

“In the face of a negative action, which harms the good of a person and therefore the good of the Church, penal law expects a reaction, that is the pastor inflicting a canonical penalty,” the cardinal said. If a bishop does not react by imposing a punishment on a priest guilty of the crime of sexual abuse, he said, “in some way that would be, or would seem to be, consenting to the evil committed. A negative act necessarily must be condemned; it requires a reaction.”

Changes in synod process designed to increase discussion, cardinal says VATICAN CITY — The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will be shorter than a usual synod and will include new rules aimed at helping the bishops really grapple with the issues together, said the general secretary of the synod. “We want a frank, open, civilized discussion,” Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri said. The extraordinary synod will meet at the Vatican Oct. 5-19, bringing together the presidents of national bishops’ conferences, the heads of Eastern Catholic churches and Vatican officials. The world Synod of Bishops, which

SOCIAL MEDIA: FROM PAGE 20

D.C.-based Presbyterian pastor Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition and a vocal opponent of the Obama Administration, emphasized the importance of prayer on this issue – both publicly and personally.

“Prayer is always critical and important,” Mahoney said. “When there is crisis and challenge, prayer is always the first and most important resource we should look to.”

Prayer enables us to join in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering, even though they may be thousands of miles away, and ask for God to strengthen and protect them in their time of need.

“We are not separated by geography,” he said. “We stand in solidarity with them.”

The protest outside the White House also gives people an opportunity to speak out about the violence “in a very clear and

will include more bishops – many elected by their peers – will meet at the Vatican Oct. 4-25, 2015, to continue the discussion on pastoral approaches to the challenges facing families today.

Although the number of participants in the extraordinary synod is smaller, it will include a dozen or more voting members named by the pope, three priests chosen by the Union of Superiors General, a dozen or more expert advisers, about a dozen representatives of other Christian churches and up to 30 observers, more than half comprised of married couples -- who will be encouraged to address the assembly, the cardinal said. Cardinal Baldisseri said he is not surprised by all the attention the synod is getting in the Church and the media, because “the problems of the family are what people are dealing with every day.”

Jerusalem patriarch: Don’t punish all Gaza Palestinians because of Hamas WASHINGTON, D.C. — It is impossible for Israeli military to target Hamas missiles without hitting civilians in the Gaza Strip, said Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem. People might not agree with Hamas, which controls Gaza, but “we cannot punish all the population because you do not agree with Hamas,” he said July 23.

“We have hundreds and hundreds of killed people, innocent people, 80 percent innocent,” he said, noting the deaths of “mothers, children, students. In Gaza, when (Israelis) strike, there is no shelter. The Israeli people are happy to have bomb shelters, and they can go escape when they want,” he said, referring to the rockets Hamas has been firing into Israel. “Meanwhile, in Gaza, we have nothing. No shelters, and they (people) are in the street.”

Patriarch Twal emphasized that the church “absolutely condemns” the firing of Hamas rockets. “But remember these rockets: They make noise, they make fear, they never killed one person,” he said.

The patriarch was visiting the United States July 17 when Israel began its ground campaign into Gaza in response to a string of escalating events that began with the kidnappings and deaths of Israeli and Palestinian teens. Israel began airstrikes July 8 and by July 23, the Israeli death toll stood at 32 soldiers and three civilians; the Health Ministry in Gaza said more than 660 Palestinians had been killed and more than 4,120 wounded.

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public way,” he said, and social media is bridging the gap between the American public, our elected leaders, and our brothers and sisters in crisis so far away.

“I think it’s important that people in Mosul, particularly the faith community, know that they are not standing alone, that we are standing with them.

“They are not alone,” Mahoney said.

Brice Griffin of Charlotte, who regularly uses social media to communicate and evangelize in her own pro-life ministry efforts, said the prayer vigil goes beyond just a few clicks on a computer.

“So many people are reading the headlines and thinking, ‘What can I do?’

Sure, we can change our profile photo on Facebook in hopes of encouraging dialog, but we need to make others aware of the reality that is religious persecution!

“Our goal, then, is to make sure that our fellow Americans are aware of this persecution, and ask them to pray and stand in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Christ.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Father Robert Barron

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‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

ohn Green’s novel “The Fault in Our Stars” has proven to be wildly popular among young adults in the English-speaking world, and the recently released film adaptation of the book has garnered both impressive reviews and a massive audience. A one-time divinity school student and Christian minister, Green is not reluctant to explore the “big” questions, though he doesn’t claim to provide anything like definitive answers. In this, he both reflects and helps to shape the inchoate, eclectic spirituality that holds sway in the teen and 20-something set today. After watching the film however, I began to wonder whether his Christian sensibility doesn’t assert itself perhaps even more clearly and strongly than he realizes.

The story is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenager suffering from a debilitating and most likely terminal form of cancer. At her mother’s prompting, Hazel attends a support group for young cancer patients that takes place at the local Episcopal church. The group is presided over by a well-meaning but nerdy youth minister who commences each meeting by rolling out a tapestry of Jesus displaying His Sacred Heart.

“We are gathering, literally, in the heart of Jesus,” he eagerly tells the skeptical and desultory gaggle of teens.

At one of these sessions, Hazel rises to share her utterly bleak, even nihilistic philosophy of life: “There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. ... There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after.

And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that’s what everyone else does.”

The only response that the hapless leader can muster to that outburst is, “good advice for everyone.” It would be hard to imagine a more damning commentary on the state of much of so-called Christian ministry today!

At one of these meetings, Hazel meets a handsome, charming cancer survivor named Augustus Waters, and the two fall almost immediately in love. Though they both consider the support group fairly lame, there is no denying that they were brought together over the Heart of Christ. Kind, encouraging, funny and utterly devoted, Gus draws Hazel out of herself and lures her into a more active engagement with life. They both love a novel called “An Imperial Affliction,” written by a reclusive author named Peter Van Houten. After establishing e-mail contact with Van Houten, they arrange, through a kind of “MakeA-Wish” foundation, to fly to Amsterdam to commune with their literary hero. Just before the encounter, Gus and Hazel engage in some serious conversation about God and the afterlife. Gus says that he believes in God and in some sort of life after death; otherwise, he argues, “What is the point?” Still clinging to her bleak materialism, Hazel retorts, “What if there is no point?”

The next day the young couple, filled with enthusiasm, comes to Van Houten’s home only to find that their hero is a depressed alcoholic who has no interest in talking to them. When they press him for answers about mysteries in his novel, he comments on the meaninglessness of life, effectively mirroring Hazel’s nihilism back to her.

Just after this awful conversation, the two teenagers make their way to the Anne Frank house, where Hazel manages, despite her cumbersome oxygen tank and her weakened lungs, to climb to the attic where Anne Frank hid from the Nazis. In that room, evocative of both horrific, meaningless violence and real spiritual hope, Hazel and Gus passionately kiss for the first time. It is as though their love, which began in the Heart of Jesus, asserted itself strongly even in the face of darkness.

But we are not allowed to dwell on this hopeful moment,

for Gus reveals, just before they return home, that his cancer has reasserted itself and that his condition is terminal. Not long after they return, Gus dies, at the age of 18, and Hazel sinks into profound sadness: “Each minute,” she says, “is worse than the previous one.” At the funeral, even as Christian prayers are uttered, Hazel just goes

CNS | Fox

Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley star in a scene from the movie “The Fault in Our Stars.” The Catholic News Service classification is A-III (adults), and the MPAA rating is PG-13. through the motions, pretending to find comfort, precisely for the sake of her family and friends. But some days after the funeral, she discovers that Gus had written a note to her just before his death. It closes with the words, “OK, Hazel Grace?” To which the young woman responds, while gazing up into the sky, “OK.” With that word, the film ends.

Pretty grim stuff ? Yes…but. Does nihilism have the last word? I don’t know. The question that haunts the entire movie is how can there be meaning in the universe when two wonderful young kids are dying of cancer? As any Philosophy 101 student knows, our attempts to justify the existence of evil through abstract argumentation are a fairly useless exercise. However, a kind of answer can be found precisely where Hazel and Gus met – that is to say, in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The central claim of Christianity is that God became one of us and that He shared our condition utterly, accepting even death, death on a cross. God entered into our suffering and thereby transformed it into a place of springs, a place of grace. I don’t think it is the least bit accidental that Waters (Gus’s last name) and Grace (Hazel’s middle name) met in the Sacred Heart of Christ and thereby, despite their shared suffering, managed to give life to one another. And is this why I think Hazel effectively repudiates her nihilism and materialism as she responds across the barrier of death to Gus’s “OK.” I’m convinced that Hazel senses, by the end of the story, the central truth of Christian faith that real love is more powerful than death.

Is this film a satisfying presentation of Christianity?

Hardly. But for those who are struggling to find their way to meaning and faith, it’s not an entirely bad place to start.

Father Robert Barron is the founder of the global ministry, Word on Fire, and the rector/president of Mundelein Seminary. He is the creator of the award-winning documentary series, “Catholicism” and “Catholicism: The New Evangelization.” Learn more at www.WordonFire.org.

Steve Brosnan

Courage in the face of evil

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t. Maximilian Kolbe, who feast day is Aug. 14, volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The following is an account of another individual whose courage in the face of evil deserves to be remembered.

It was 1932 and Hitler was about to take over in Germany. Voices of opposition were being silenced

by Hitler’s SS squads. Those who spoke out against the Nazis usually were murdered or disappeared.

In spite of the great danger, Fritz Gerlich, editor of the newspaper Der Gerade Weg (The Straight Way), worked continuously to alert the public to the evil intentions of Hitler. He paid the price of his courage with his life.

Gerlich, whose heroic life is detailed by Ron Rosenbaum in his book “Explaining Hitler,” early in his career was a potential associate of Adolf Hitler.

Like Hitler, he was driven to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party after World War I when Germany was beset by harsh sanctions and economic collapse. His patriotic fervor led him to become the editor of the political party’s newspaper. In 1923, he met Hitler. They both sought to restore Germany to a position of power. However, Gerlich soon broke away from Hitler when he saw that Hitler resorted to illegal and violent means to obtain power. Throughout the 1920s, Gerlich became a vocal critic of the Nazis.

In 1927, Gerlich had a religious experience which helped form his conscience and focus his actions. At that time, he visited Therese Neumann, a 27-yearold farm girl who was becoming well-known due to her claims that she had visits from Mary and Jesus.

Gerlich was deeply impressed by what he saw and, in fact, converted to Catholicism soon after his visit.

In her visions, Therese warned that Germany was heading towards disaster. Gerlich associated this vision with Hitler’s rise to power and he redoubled his efforts to warn against the Nazi menace.

Der Gerade Weg (The Straight Way) was founded

by Gerlich in 1930 and became a leading voice of opposition to Hitler’s rise. This weekly newspaper, published in Munich, relentlessly exposed the Nazi lies and uncovered the cases of murder and intimidation perpetrated by Hitler’s men. In his book, Rosenbaum describes a courageous (and amusing) article which appeared in July 1932. In the article, Gerlich cleverly employs Hitler’s so-called “racial science” to argue that Hitler was in fact not truly Aryan. As evidence, he showed a series of pictures of Hitler and proved, by examining Hitler’s nose, that he could not be of true German descent. He goes on to argue that Hitler also did not share the true characteristics of the German “soul” and thus was unfit to be Germany’s leader.

Now, Gerlich was no racist. He was merely using the rhetoric of Hitler’s own racists and turning the words around to expose the hatred and evil inherent in the Nazi ideology. He was hopeful that there was still time for the public to awaken and topple Hitler from power.

It was a dangerous thing to write and publish such articles. Gerlich was soon abducted by the SS and was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp in 1934.

As it turns out, he couldn’t stop Hitler, yet we should never forget his courage.

Steve Brosnan is an associate professor of math and physics at Belmont Abbey College.

August 1, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Letter to the editor

‘The Holy Spirit doesn’t make mistakes, and the Holy Spirit was at Vatican II.’

Thank you for commentary on recent Latino Catholics Rico De Silva’s recent commentary entitled “Growing number of Latino Catholics in the U.S. flying below the Church’s radar” was so spot on that it had me immediately thanking God, this column, and the Catholic News Herald.

The media are too focused on connecting the labels “Hispanic” or “Latino” with “immigrant” and “Spanish speaking.” The fact is, Hispanics have been in America for generations, calmly and quietly living their lives. Many of them continue their traditions from the “old country,” whether that be Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico or elsewhere. Many of them don’t.

Just as European immigrants quickly lost their native language and culture, so too have many Hispanics. As the wife of a third-generation Hispanic man and the mother of a Spanish-Mexican-Italian-IrishEnglish-Danish daughter, and the sisterin-law, mother-in-law and grandmother of Hispanics, I am so disheartened when I see the media leading the way to this stereotype.

The Church has also sometimes succumbed to this stereotype.

Many of us do not need or want a Spanish-language Mass, yet that seems to be the one-size-fits-all solution in approaches to Hispanic ministry. A Spanish-language Mass serves a great need, and I am glad for it. However, we want to be embraced as other Catholics who are American, simply that. Not all of us are solely Spanish speaking. In fact, many of us don’t speak Spanish at all. This is not unusual in America; many Americans have grandparents or great-grandparents from “the old country,” yet they themselves don’t speak their native tongue.

However, as mainstream American as many Hispanics have become, there are still cultural differences. It’s these cultural differences that are often overlooked.

Just as there are Irish, Polish, Ukrainian, German, Chinese, Dutch, AfricanAmerican, etc. cultures, there are Hispanic American cultures. We have holidays we observe and customs we practice. We have common stories of overcoming adversity, of becoming successful.

We are also humble. Perhaps that is why the Church and the media often underserve Hispanic Americans. We are not self-promoters. Thank you, Mr. De Silva, for your voice.

Dawn Gonzalez is a member of St. Mark Church in Huntersville.

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Deacon James H. Toner

Vatican II: What we know that ain’t so “But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.” — Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

A

s a political scientist, I have listened to, read about and participated in numerous rancorous debates about U.S. defense and foreign policy. These debates pale in comparison, though, to the arguments I have heard for 50 years about the Second Vatican Council (19621965).

One group of Catholics – so delighted by what they perceived as a Church-wide embrace of a much-needed progressive and innovative spirit – brought stunning changes to liturgy (new music, new prayer, new architecture, new kinds of Masses) and, in many cases, to Catholic moral life. The rigid ways of the 1950s and before were to be cast aside in favor of novelty, creativity and innovation, even if that meant occasionally compromising with the secular world and embracing religious indifferentism.

Another group of Catholics – so angered by what they perceived as a Church-wide rejection of traditional Catholic moral teaching and liturgical orthodoxy (the timeless sacred music, the consolation of traditional prayer, the “catechesis in stone” of ageless architecture, the constancy of the Holy Mass in Latin) – that they left the Church in many cases, forming their own schismatic society.

The increasingly universal appeal of the Church of the 1950s and before was to be preserved and promulgated, even if that meant abjuring papal authority and embracing religious insularity.

Some Catholics earnestly believe that Vatican II was a “mistake.” Other Catholics seek out parishes which proclaim themselves “Vatican II churches.” The Holy Spirit, however, doesn’t make mistakes, and the Holy Spirit was at Vatican II. And at Vatican I (1869-1870). And at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). And at the Council of Jerusalem (see Acts 15). And at about 17 other ecumenical (that is, global) Church councils. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, in part: “‘The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium,’ above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine ‘for belief as being divinely revealed,’ and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions ‘must be adhered to with the obedience of faith.’” (891) Catholics must not select their favorite councils while ignoring the others.

Pick-and-choose conciliarism is hardly consistent with Catholic teaching and belief.

Having cited the Catechism as an authority, I recall giving a presentation at a West Coast university. During that talk, I cited the Catechism a few times. A person approached me after the talk and ridiculed my references to the Catechism because “they cut off conversation.”

My reply that I thought such references

informed conversation was, evidently, unacceptable. People from the group of Catholics who reject Vatican II also, a bit ironically, reject the Catechism, judging it as religiously dangerous. Today there are even instances in which “progressives” exalt one pope and “traditionalists” exalt another.

There will always be some philosophical tension in the Church; there always has been (see Gal 2:11-14). A great portion of this unholy dispute can be resolved, though, if we really studied what Vatican II “said.” A few examples follow of what we “know” about Vatican II that ain’t so – with mention of relevant Vatican II documents: n Vatican II encouraged extensive liturgical innovation. No, it didn’t. In fact, no one – not even a priest – “may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority” (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” 22). The regulation of the liturgy normally depends upon the diocesan bishop. n Modern music featuring guitars and drums was suggested by Vatican II. No, it wasn’t. The Vatican II constitution “Sacrosanctum Concilium” tells us that Gregorian chant “should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (116) and that the pipe organ “is to be held in high esteem” because it can “add a wonderful splendor” to Mass, and it “powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things” (120). n Kneelers were scrapped after Vatican II. Well, yes, in some places. But there was no such mandate from Vatican II, and Scripture is pretty clear about kneeling in the presence of the Lord. See Psalm 95:6, Ephesians 3:14 and Philippians 2:10. n Vatican II got rid of Latin. A common error. Not true. “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” while permitting a wider use of the vernacular language, insisted that “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved” (36; also see 54). n Vatican II required the priest, called a “presider,” to face the people during Mass. No. In fact, a reading of Mass rubrics (what the priest is supposed to do during Mass) supposes that the priest is facing Our Lord in the tabernacle on the altar and that he turns toward the people to say some prayers. And he’s a priest, not a “presider.” n Vatican II strongly supports Communion in the hand, not on the tongue. Again, not true. Communion in the hand is permissible in the United States. But Vatican II nowhere requires it. A great Jesuit priest, the late Father John Hardon, seeing many abuses of Holy Communion, said that “whatever you can do to stop Communion in the hand will be blessed by God.” n We are encouraged by Vatican II to applaud the music and the homily.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that “wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment” (“The Spirit of the

Liturgy,” 198). n Vatican II was wrong because it rejected the idea that the Church should have political priority, especially in Catholic countries. Partly correct: Vatican II insists upon “religious liberty” and does not require unique Catholic legal privilege, even in Catholic countries (“Dignitatis Humanae,” 2). The Council Fathers thought, correctly in my view, that “nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will” (10). n Vatican II rejected traditional Church teaching that the Catholic Church is the one true Church. No, it did not reject that teaching. Vatican II taught that the “one true religion continues to exist in the Catholic and Apostolic Church” which “is by the will of Christ the teacher of truth” (“Dignitatis Humanae,” 1, 14). n Vatican II let Catholics believe and do whatever they choose – it encouraged being a “cafeteria Catholic.” No, it did not.

“In forming their consciences the faithful must pay careful attention to the sacred and certain teaching of the Church” (“Dignitatis Humanae,” 14). Those joining the Church at the Easter Vigil profess: “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be revealed by God.” The important word “all” is found, also, in Our Lord’s charge to the disciples – and to us (see Mt 28:20). Vatican II did not endorse “conditional,” or “comfortable,” or “cafeteria” Catholicism. n Vatican II downplayed Church authority. No, it did not. The faithful are expected to adhere to their bishop’s decisions “with a ready and respectful allegiance of mind,” and the pope “has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” (“Lumen Gentium,” 25, 22).

The Second Vatican Council taught wisely and well, but many of its teachings have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. In other words, what people sometimes “know” about Vatican II is mistaken. They don’t know that they don’t know. The late Ralph McInerny, a devout Catholic and brilliant philosopher, wrote “What Went Wrong With Vatican II,” a readable and concise book on this theme. I can’t recommend it too highly.

There may and should be discussions about many points concerning Vatican II, and there will be occasional disagreements. But can’t those discussions be based upon a serious reading of the documents? Can’t those discussions be courteous and civil? Can’t those discussions be conducted as Pope St. John XXIII would have wanted, would have expected, would have prayed for (and, no doubt, is praying for)?

St. Paul, as usual, is to the point: “Avoid the profane talk and foolish arguments of what some people wrongly call ‘knowledge.’ For some have claimed to possess it, and as a result they have lost the way of faith” (1 Tim 6:20-21).

Deacon James H. Toner serves at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

catholicnewsherald.com | August 1, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

“Behold, I make all things new.”

(Rev. 21:5)

Tenth Eucharistic Congress, September 19 – 20, 2014 Charlotte Convention Center

FRIDAY

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

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

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz “The Holy Eucharist: Building Our Spiritual Lives to Build a Culture of the Family”

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

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

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

Fr. Angel Espinoza de los Monteros “Es hora de volver a Dios” Fr. Angel Espinoza de los Monteros “¿Educas y formas o sólo domesticas?”

E ALL THI NG

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M

AK

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- Rev. 21:5

His Eminence, Edwin F. Cardinal O’Brien “The Holy Eucharist:”Making All Things New from the Upper Room to the New Jerusalem”

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

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

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

BEHOL

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

GoEucharist.com