Aug. 15, 2014

August 15, 2014

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Catholic Conference Center in Hickory begins major renovations, 3A

New diocesan shield design unveiled, 6A

INDEX

Contact us........................ 4A Español...............................17A Events calendar............... 4A Our Faith........................... 2A Our Parishes............... 3-15A Schools....................... 16-19A Scripture readings.......... 2A TV & Movies................ 18-19A U.S. news........................ 22A Viewpoints................ 26-27A World news............... 24-25A

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A new blessing St. Vincent de Paul Parish celebrates opening of Holy Family Chapel, new ministry office,

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THANK YOU!

Eden celebrates its 75th anniversary Rainy day does not dampen spirits for St. Joseph of the Hills parishioners on 75th anniversary of church’s dedication,

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INSIDE A special look at our diocesan schools, including the new Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro

‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ drawing to a successful end Over $66.7M pledged to fund broader ministries, parish initiatives, 3A

Our faith 2A

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

In interview, Pope Francis reveals top 10 secrets to happiness Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Slowing down, being generous and fighting for peace are part of Pope Francis’ secret recipe for happiness.

In an interview published in part in the Argentine weekly “Viva” July 27, the pope listed his Top 10 tips for bringing greater joy to one’s life: 1. “Live and let live.” Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, “Move forward and let others do the same.”

2. “Be giving of yourself to others.”

People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because “if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”

3. “Proceed calmly” in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel

by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist – gaucho Don Segundo Sombra – looks back on how he lived his life.

“He says that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still moving, but slowly, like a pool” of water, the pope said. He said he likes this latter image of a pool of water – to have “the ability to move with kindness and humility, a calmness in life.”

4. “A healthy sense of leisure.” The pleasures of art, literature and playing together with children have been lost, he said.

“Consumerism has brought us anxiety” and stress, causing people to lose a “healthy culture of leisure.” Their time is “swallowed up” so people can’t share it with anyone.

Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to play with their children; work schedules make it “complicated, but you must do it,” he said.

Families must also turn off the TV when they sit down to eat because, even though television is useful for keeping up with the news, having it on during mealtime “doesn’t let you communicate” with each other, the pope said.

5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because “Sunday is for family,” he said.

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. “We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs”

and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.

“It’s not enough to give them food,” he said. “Dignity is given to you when you can bring food home” from one’s own labor.

7. Respect and take care of nature.

Environmental degradation “is one of the biggest challenges we have,” he said.

“I think a question that we’re not asking ourselves is: ‘Isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?’”

8. Stop being negative. “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low selfesteem. That means, ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,’” the pope said. “Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”

9. Don’t proselytize; respect others’ beliefs. “We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you,’ No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The Church grows by attraction, not proselytizing,” the pope said.

10. Work for peace. “We are living in a time of many wars,” he said, and “the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive” and dynamic.

Pope Francis also talked about the importance of helping immigrants, praising Sweden’s generosity in opening its doors to so many people, while noting anti-immigration policies show the rest of Europe “is afraid.”

He also fondly recalled the woman who helped his mother with the housework when he was growing up in Buenos Aires.

Concepcion Maria Minuto was a Sicilian immigrant, a widow and mother of two boys, who went three times a week to help the pope’s mother do laundry, since in those days it was all done by hand. He said this hard-working, dignified woman made a big impression on the 10-year-old future pope, as she would talk to him about World War II in Italy and how they farmed in Sicily.

“She was as clever as a fox, she had every penny accounted for, she wouldn’t be cheated. She had many great qualities,” he said.

Even though his family lost touch with her when they moved, the then-Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio later sought her out and visited her for the last 10 years of her life.

CNS | Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters

Pope Francis smiles as he meets children during his June 25 general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

“A few days before she died, she took this small medal out of her pocket, gave it to me and said: ‘I want you to have it!’ So every night, when I take it off and kiss it, and every morning when I put it back on, this woman comes to my mind.”

“She died happy, with a smile on her face and with the dignity of someone who worked. For that reason I am very sympathetic toward housecleaners and

domestic workers, whose rights, all of them, should be recognized” and protected, he said. “They must never be exploited or mistreated.”

Pope Francis’ concern was underlined in his @Pontifex Twitter feed just a few days later, July 29, with the message: “May we be always more grateful for the help of domestic workers and caregivers; theirs is a precious service.”

Your daily Scripture readings 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

AUG. 24-30

Sunday: Isaiah 22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20; Monday (St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz): 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12, Matthew 23:13-22; Tuesday: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17, Matthew 23:23-26; Wednesday (St. Monica): 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18, Matthew 23:27-32; Thursday (St. Augustine): 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Matthew 24:42-51; Friday (The Passion of St. John the Baptist): 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Mark 6:17-29; Saturday: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 25:14-30

AUG. 31-SEPT. 5

Sunday: Jeremiah 20:7-9, Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 16:21-27; Monday: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Luke 4:16-30; Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Luke 4:31-37; Wednesday (St. Gregory the Great): 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Luke 4:38-44; Thursday: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Luke 5:1-11; Friday: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Luke 5:33-39; Saturday: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15, Luke 6:1-5

Our parishes

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ campaign drawing to successful close Over $66.7M pledged to fund broader ministries, parish initiatives SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love,” the Diocese of Charlotte’s historic campaign to fund longrange initiatives, is coming to a close after having raised more than $66,725,463 in pledges. The diocesan campaign goal was $65 million after expenses, which includes $16.25 million for parishes and $48.75 million for broader ministries.

To date, pledges have come from 15,076 donors across the diocese, with the average gift being $4,426. The largest gift from a single donor was $1.5 million. A total of 51 donors gave six- or seven-figure donations to the campaign.

“Our pastors saw the importance of this campaign for the future of the Catholic “Forward in Faith, Church in western North Hope, and Love” is Carolina. Our parishioners the diocesan-wide responded with great campaign to fund generosity because of their capital projects, love for the Church and they endowments and wanted to make a difference parish initiatives. in the lives of others for Learn more at www. years to come,” said Jim forwardfaithhopelove.

Kelley, diocesan development org. director. “For that we are grateful.”

The success of the “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign can be attributed to a joint effort on the part of the pastors, volunteers, parishioners and campaign staff who worked tirelessly over the past two years to create awareness for the campaign and the specific needs the funds will address.

Besides funding projects at parishes throughout the diocese, money committed to the campaign will also go to

endowments and capital projects that will benefit Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, faith formation programs, the priest retirement trust fund, seminarian education, and college campus ministries, among other efforts.

There are 13 different components to the diocesan campaign. Twenty-five percent of the goal goes towards specific parish projects. The other 75 percent goes towards 12 other broader ministries which directly or indirectly impact each parish.

“Our priests, along with their parish teams, receive my sincere gratitude for their work on this campaign,” said Bishop Peter Jugis. “Their excellent leadership brought about the positive results of the campaign. We are laying a strong foundation to address the present and future growth of our local Church, in service to the New Evangelization.

“The campaign continues, as now the pledges are fulfilled over the next five years. I ask God’s blessing upon all the faithful for their generous participation in this effort. Almighty God is accomplishing wonderful things throughout the Diocese of Charlotte!”

Here is what laity and clergy around the diocese are also saying about their involvement in the historic “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign: “Working on the ‘Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love’ campaign at St. Francis of Assisi Church was a great experience. It provided me with the opportunity to reach out to parishioners I didn’t know, and reconnect with parishioners I don’t see on a regular basis.

“I decided to participate because of the monies that will benefit seminarians, priest retirement and tuition assistance, as well as the money returned to the parish, which will assist in the parking lot replacement. I am excited to see the impact the campaign will make on the Catholic Church in our area.”

— George Gover, St. Francis of Assisi Church, Franklin “The spirit of stewardship which has been cultivated here over the years was a huge factor in the fantastic success of our first ever diocesan campaign. Another factor was the broad vision of the people that enabled them to look beyond their own parish

and see the need of the larger Church in western North Carolina.

“It was particularly gratifying to witness our parish, with a campaign for construction exceeding $7 million, still raise over $1.9 million for the needs of the diocese. The truly incredible thing is that while St. Pius has but 1,600 households, our diocesan contribution is the third largest of any parish.

“Our people also identified with the idea that the fruit of this successful campaign will be preserved for the future through endowments of the diocese, not swallowed up by the operating budget. By augmenting our priests’ retirement fund, that infusion of capital, combined with the dynamic of compounding interest, will help offset the real cost of caring for our retired priests, which is currently an annual assessment amounting to over 3 percent of each parish’s offertory.”

— Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church, Greensboro “I wanted to make sure that my wife and I did everything we could to catechize our youth to stand firmly in their faith so they can have a better way of life for their entire lives and for generations to come! I cannot change the world by myself.

But God gives us opportunities to work together to move our world forward in faith, hope and love. This campaign gave us the opportunity to do that.”

— Chris Parker, Holy Family Church, Clemmons “We had a great group of volunteers working on the campaign at St. Lucien, who were eager to share the campaign story with parishioners. The campaign is complex, and the personal approach was really the best way to explain all the details.

I am excited by the response St. Lucien parishioners had to the campaign, that we went over goal and will be able to use additional monies to take care of our facilities, but mostly inspired by our parishioners’ ability to see beyond the St. Lucien community and to truly strengthen the Catholic Church in western North Carolina.”

— Norma McAlonan, St. Lucien Church, Spruce Pine “The generosity of the people made this campaign so CAMPAIGN, SEE page 20A

Catholic Conference Center in Hickory begins major renovations HICKORY — A major makeover that will “completely transform” the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory is getting under way, Diocese of Charlotte officials have announced.

The $1 million renovation project began Aug. 4 and is expected to take about three months.

The work is being done in phases so that the center can remain open to accommodate guests.

The extensive renovation will include new floor and wall coverings, new lighting, completely redesigned dining room, gift shop and new furniture in the guest rooms.

Returning guests to the center will see improvements beginning with new signage as they enter the property and a newly designed lobby as they enter the building.

The conference center, a mission of the Charlotte diocese, was developed primarily as

a support facility for the diocese, its programs, parishes and offices. The 180-acre site just minutes from downtown Hickory has grown to become a meeting, education and retreat center for parishes and ministries of the diocese, as well as serving other organizations and businesses. It has been used by youth groups, government agencies, educational organizations and schools, family reunions, and as a location for corporate training seminars.

The center welcomed 3,800 guests last fiscal year, which ended June 30.

“We are very excited about the renovations that will be undertaking this summer and very happy that Morlando Construction will be overseeing the project,” said the conference center’s director, Paul C. Cronin. “We have been RENOVATIONS, SEE page 20A

Photo provided by Paul C. Cronin

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events ALBEMARLE OUR LADY OF THE ANNUNCIATION CHURCH, 416 N. SECOND ST.

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

Aug. 18 – 20 Province Assembly of Bishops and Priests Savannah, Ga.

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. 1 – 7 p.m.

Mass for 75th Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Patrick Cathedral St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte Sept. 5 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. John Neumann Church, Charlotte

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

Aug. 16 – 4 p.m.

Dedication of new Church St. Francis of Assisi Church, Jefferson

Aug. 24 – 12 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Holy Infant Church, Reidsville

— Annual Parish Picnic: 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at Cannon Park. Join parishioners for great food, games and prizes. Bring a beverage and side dish to share.

For details, call Jerry Maiden at 704-982-5261.

BELMONT QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES church, 503 North Main St. — RCIA Inquiry Session: 10-11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, in the Education Building. All interested in learning more about the Catholic faith are welcome to attend.

— Community Breakfast: 8-11 a.m. Saturday, Aug 16, in the MAK Family Life Center. Everyone welcome.

CANDLER St. Joan of Arc Church, 768 Asbury Road — Catholic Daughters of the Americas Annual Tea Party Social: 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24. Ladies of all ages are invited to attend. For details, call Diane ClarkeHawkins at 828-667-0236.

CHARLOTTE — Eucharistic Congress: Saturday, Sept. 19, and Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Charlotte Convention Center. For details, visit www.GoEucharist.com.

— Wedding Anniversary Mass: 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept.

28, at St. Matthew Church, celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis. A light reception will follow. All couples celebrating their 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries are invited to attend; register with your parish office.

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.

details, call Sister Marie Frechette at 704-543-7677, ext. 1073.

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. — Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16. Topics include: Effectiveness of modern NFP, health risks of popular contraceptives and what the Church teaches about responsible parenting. Sponsored by Catholic Charities. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704370-3230.

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

— St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service: 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 28, in the Sanctuary. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer and grave diseases.

The healing prayer service is offered for all those suffering with cancer or other diseases. For details, call the Church Office at 704-543-7677.

St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth road — 75th Anniversary Mass, honoring the Dedication of St. Patrick Cathedral: 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1 — Post-Abortion Scripture Study: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Family Life Center. This 12-week study is open to men and women who are recovering from an abortion. For details and registration, email brice@charlottecenterforwomen.org.

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.

— Fatima Procession: 7;30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.

Monthly devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. We will recite the rosary, have a candlelit procession and close with a litany. All are welcome.

HIGH POINT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, 4145 JOHNSON St. — Pro-Life Rosary: 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at 901 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.

CHRIST THE KING CHURCH, 1505 East Kivett Dr. — Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. Topics include: Effectiveness of modern NFP, health risks of popular contraceptives and what the Church teaches about responsible parenting. Sponsored by Catholic Charities. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704370-3230.

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. . 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 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.

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

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 Providence Road — “Pope Francis: Taking the World by Storm”: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in the church. Take a closer look at what drives this charismatic and popular pontiff.

Presented by renowned homilist Mosignor Henry Kriegel of Erie, Pa. For details, contact Cathy Esposito at cesposito@stgabrielchurch.org.

— 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

August 15, 2014 Volume 23 • Number 22

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

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.

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August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI 5A

A NEW BLESSING

Father Mark Lawlor, pastor, showcases the new multi-purpose room and kitchen area of the new ministry center to some of his parishioners at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte during the blessing ceremony Aug. 5.

PHOTOS BY RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. Vincent de Paul celebrates blessing of chapel, ministry office Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul Church gathered Aug. 5 to give thanks at Mass and witness the blessing of their new chapel and ministry center – new facilities designed to meet the growing parish’s needs for many years to come.

The blessing ceremony, led by Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, was the culmination of years of planning and more than a year of construction on the $3.2 million project.

“We’re very fortunate that we had a lot of parishioners that supported the project over years of our capital campaign, and even really before the official capital campaign, through planning meetings and surveys,” said Father Mark Lawlor, pastor.

The celebration started with the vigil Mass and concluded with the blessing of St. Vincent de Paul’s new Ministry Center and Holy Family Chapel immediately after Mass.

Bishop Curlin was the main celebrant at the vigil Mass and blessing afterwards. Monsignor Mauricio West, chancellor and vicar general of the Diocese of Charlotte, and Father Lawlor concelebrated, and Deacon Ruben Tamayo, Deacon John Kopfle and Deacon Guillermo Anzola assisted at the Mass.

As Mass ended, a Knights of Columbus Honor Guard led the way as close to 50 parishioners and clergy processed to the doorsteps of the new Holy Family Chapel located about 20 feet next to the main church.

“The image here, and in any chapel or any parish church, is that you are entering into sacred space – a place where the Presence of the Lord is in His Blessed Sacrament and certainly in His Holy Word as well,” Father Lawlor told those present as they stood at the front door of the new Holy Family Chapel.

Then Bishop Curlin pronounced the initial prayer of

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos and video highlights from the blessing of St. Vincent de Paul’s new chapel and ministry center

dedication prior to everyone entering the chapel. Once inside, Bishop Curlin sprinkled holy water to bless the chapel, the large crucifix above the tabernacle, and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. Father Lawlor then led the blessing of the ministry center.

Ground was broken June 15, 2013, on the 19,000-squarefoot, two-story facility. Besides the chapel, it features 12 offices, eight classrooms, and a multi-purpose room, kitchen and storage area. The $3.2 million project was the fruit of a recent parish capital campaign, and the generosity of the 2,200 families who call St. Vincent de Paul Parish home.

Monsignor West thanked St. Vincent de Paul’s parishioners for their support of the parish’s capital campaign, as well as Father Lawlor and the rest of the St. Vincent de Paul clergy present during the ceremony for their hard work and contribution leading up to the new building’s official opening.

A joyful and thankful Father Lawlor shared his view of the new building’s future.

“It was time to demolish the old office, which had many flaws to it. And we also had the need to expand our faith formation capacity with the growth of the parish.

The new ministry center will serve the parish for many years to come: with eight classrooms, with our pastoral administration offices, meeting rooms, counseling room, an assembly room and also the chapel, which really is the heart of the facility.”

(Pictured from left) Father Mark Lawlor, pastor, Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, Deacon Ruben Tamayo and Deacon John Kopfle stand outside the new Holy Family Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte at the start of the new ministry center and chapel blessing ceremony. Bishop Curlin led the blessing ceremony.

The new Holy Family Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Church seats 38 people and will be used for the celebration of the sacraments of marriage, baptisms and funerals.

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocese of Charlotte Archives

The cornerstone for St. Patrick Church is laid in 1938 as construction began on the church. On Sept. 4, 1939, Raleigh Bishop Eugene J. McGuinness consecrated the church under the patronage of St. Patrick.

St. Patrick Cathedral celebrates 75th anniversary Sept. 1 SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis will celebrate a Mass commemorating the dedication of St. Patrick Cathedral at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1.

St. Patrick Cathedral began as St. Patrick Church, built to accommodate the growing presence of Catholics in the Charlotte region. John Henry

Phelan of Beaumont, Texas, donated funds to have a church built next to the O’Donoghue School in Charlotte (now St. Patrick School) in memory of his parents.

Construction began in March 1938, and on Sept. 4, 1939, Bishop Eugene J. McGuinness of Raleigh consecrated the church under the patronage of St. Patrick. It became the first church in North Carolina to be consecrated immediately upon completion, and in 1942 it became a parish. On Jan. 12, 1972, Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of Charlotte and St. Patrick Church was designated its cathedral church.

Bishop Jugis designated the cathedral a special “place of pilgrimage” from March 17, 2014, until March 17, 2015, in honor of the 75th anniversary. Faithful are encouraged to visit the cathedral during the year to pray and attend Mass. Those who visit the cathedral on six particular feast days as noted in his decree, may receive a plenary (or full) indulgence.

Pilgrims should recite an Our Father and the Creed during their pilgrimage to the cathedral, and within a few days either before or after their visit, receive Communion, go to confession, and pray for Pope Francis’ intentions.

“An indulgence is a remission before

God of the temporary punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Jerry Jones, a member of the Phelan family who is a lifelong member of the parish and serves as head usher, is proud of his family’s history with the cathedral.

“I’m one of a handful of us who are family historians who have taken it upon ourselves to keep up with the family,” he said. “My greatgrandparents, who the church was built in honor of, had 11 children, one died in childbirth. Six of them live in Charlotte and three of them went to Texas.

His mother was one of the 45 grandchildren, the oldest of seven girls. The grandchildren had 124 greatgrandchildren.

“We’re just everywhere!” Jones said.

Jones has a framed copy of a plenary indulgence from Pope Pius XI given to his great-grandmother.

“We are a really proud family and have always been proud of the fact that Uncle Harry built this church in honor of our great-grandparents. There’s a great deal of family pride in that.”

Jones and the Phelan family will welcome relatives from around the country for a private family reunion to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the cathedral.

“We are all thrilled at being able to get together to celebrate this anniversary,” he said.

Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector of the cathedral, takes to heart his role in keeping the cathedral a prayerful, pristine place of pilgrimage.

The cathedral has undergone extensive renovations over the past 75 years, including the construction of the Bishop William G. Curlin staircase and new front entrance in 2013. It remains a beloved religious site for faithful across the diocese.

All are welcome to attend the Mass and reception in honor of the 75th anniversary at 7 p.m. Sept. 1. The cathedral is located at 1621 Dilworth Road East. For more information about the 75th anniversary celebration or the pilgrimage, go to www.stpatricks.org.

New shield steeped in tradition David Hains Director of Communication

CHARLOTTE — A dramatically different but traditionally correct shield is the new emblem of the Diocese of Charlotte.

The design of the new shield, the symbolic representation of the Diocese of Charlotte, is being rolled out starting Aug. 15. It features several symbols of the bishop’s authority as shepherd of the diocese.

Among the changes: the diagonal line that splits the shield’s design has been replaced with a horizontal one.

“The thought is to return to the original design which was commissioned by our first bishop, Bishop Michael J. Begley, with the cross and crown in a vertical relationship to each other, rather than in a diagonal relationship as the crest came to be altered over time,” noted Bishop Peter Jugis.

Heraldic artist Matthew Alderman of Concord, Mass., a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s classical design program, created the redesign. Alderman has been commissioned for shields in parishes and two seminaries, including the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

The Josephinum is one of the seminaries responsible for the formation of the men studying for the priesthood in the diocese.

This is Alderman’s first diocesan shield.

“This is a very exciting time in my career that I have this opportunity,” he said.

Both Alderman and Father Christopher Roux, rector and pastor of St. Patrick Cathedral, who supervised the redesign process, said they felt the former shield reflected graphic conventions, such as the diagonal line, and the use of pastel colors that have gone out of style in recent decades.

Heraldic art, which the new shield conforms to, uses conventions that are centuries old.

“We are a 2,000-year-old institution and tradition is important,” said Father Roux.

Discussions about changing the shield have been held for several years and the redesign process itself took about one year, Father Roux noted. It cost approximately $2,200.

The new shield adds a pair of traditional symbols not found on the former shield, positioned in the heraldic “saltire” cross shape of the letter X. At the upper left is the crosier, the pastoral staff of a bishop. On the other side of the mitre, the ecclesiastical symbol that is always part of a diocesan shield, is the

processional cross used to lead processions of the faithful. The bases of the crosier and the processional cross peek out from behind the shield, giving depth to the design.

The epaulet-like objects outside the middle of the shield are a more elaborate representation of the lappets, the ribbons that hang from the mitre in the former shield.

In the center of the shield stands a white Celtic cross honoring St. Patrick, patron saint of the cathedral.

According to Alderman, “The most important image (in this shield) is the cross, and that says a lot about what is central to the Diocese of Charlotte.”

Below the cross is a gold, jeweled crown recalling the person for whom the See city of Charlotte is named: Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III of England.

The colors behind the symbols are similar to the blue and green of the original design, but there is a subtle depth and gradation in color not found in the 1972 version. The blue color is a traditional reference to the Blessed Mother.

One of the most noticeable departures from the former design is the use of images of precious stones. The new shield features 68 pearls, 29 of which are around the mitre and 14 green and red precious stones drawn in a diamond pattern. For Alderman, the use of the precious stones in his design is a reflection of the glory of God. The new shield has already made an appearance and is literally cast in stone at the front entrance to St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, which was redesigned and enlarged last year in honor of Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin. The granite stone with the shield carving was a gift from an unnamed donor as a part of the parish’s 75th anniversary celebration, according to Father Roux.

Other places where the diocesan shield is displayed are being updated to the new design when practicable. The diocesan flag will be updated, and a stained glass window in the lobby of the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center in Charlotte will also be replaced.

The updated emblem will appear on diocesan stationary and business cards, too, but that implementation is expected to take several months as supplies featuring the former shield design are exhausted.

Various formats of the diocesan shield design are available for download at www.RCDOC.org/ shield.

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI 7A

‘RSRECTD’ parishioner starts B.I.K.E.R.S. ministry Group revs up Aug. 28 Gary Burgess arrived at the Arctic Circle on a Sunday, which he said is the best day to ride the Dalton Highway as there are less trucks to contend with as bikers take in the natural beauty of God’s creation. photo provided by gary burgess

The ride of a lifetime

St. Matthew biker completes 13,000-mile Arctic Circle journey SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — The “great outdoors” takes on an entirely new meaning when you commit to ride a motorcycle from North Carolina to the Arctic Circle and back in the short span of six weeks. And just as much as the people or the wildlife you encounter along the way, the journey is one of lessons learned.

Gary Burgess, a St. Matthew parishioner with a passion for motorcycles, set out on his grand Alaska adventure in the summer of 2013. He had spent months preparing for the Arctic Circle ride, carefully mapping his route and planning his pace so that he could accomplish his goal in the set amount of time.

He hopped aboard his yellow Honda Gold Wing on July 29 and began what would be the trip of a lifetime for the then 62-year-old engineer. No stranger to travel, Burgess has worked as a project manager in engineering on assignments around the world.

But this time he was on his own, in charge of his own destiny.

“Riders do share a sense of freedom, a sense of adventure,” Burgess said. “When you get out West, you are kind of like the last American cowboy in some sense – you have your motorcycle like your horse right next to your tent.”

The numbers that describe his trip are impressive: Burgess logged 12,885 land miles and 470 ocean miles on the Alaskan ferry from Prince Rupert to Juneau to Haines, Alaska. He ventured 17 miles north of the Arctic Circle. He crossed 16 states and visited 11 capitals in the U.S., and he rode through four provinces and two territories in Canada, for a total number of 42 capital cities.

“On my trip I rode from 8:30 in the morning to 9 or 10 at night, so I was riding and seeing things for 14 hours a day or so. I would typically eat two meals and sleep and then ride all day.”

He said one of the challenging aspects of the ride was driving over gravel roads, which can be dangerous, especially when large trucks and wildlife compete with a biker for use of the road.

“It is an adventure, and you do appreciate nature,” he said. “You see majestic animals alongside the road, as well as dead animals alongside the road.”

He describes one close call with a buffalo that was going to charge him while he was going around a mountain curve. They made eye contact and the buffalo made one step toward him, just as a trucker caught up to Gary. Gary and his bike were the size of the buffalo – but the buffalo knew it was much smaller than the truck, so it took off.

But despite the risks, Burgess said it was invigorating to venture out into the wilds of Alaska – seeing moose, bison, elk, eagles, mountain goats, bears and other animals native to that part of the world. The Northern Lights and Big Dipper were on impressive display, too.

“Probably the best thing I saw was the Big Dipper. It’s incredibly dark, so the sky is totally different. The Big Dipper appeared to fill the whole sky. It was unbelievable.”

He also enjoyed the full experience of riding his bike as opposed to traveling in a car.

“On a motorcycle you have panoramic vision, you can feel the temperature grade and you also smell things. I remember on one leg going through miles and miles of raspberry fields, and the dew point was such that the smells were enhanced. It was a wonderful sensation.”

Burgess took more than 2,500 photos during his sixweek ride. He saw double rainbows, numerous glaciers, and beautiful highways including the Icefields Parkway.

He marveled at majestic rivers, streams, waterfalls and mountains including Denali, Mount Robson, Mount Wrangell and Mount St. Elias. He also made it a point to stop at museums along the way.

“Charlie” rode with Burgess for most of his Arctic Circle journey. sueann howell | catholic news herald

During the course of his travels, he picked up a stuffed teddy bear he named “Charlie,” who sat perched on the side of his motorcycle to keep him company.

Burgess was also accompanied on the six-week journey with his thoughts.

“You have all day to think,” he said. He brought a couple of MP3 players with music. “You think about the meaning of the songs. You have a chance to reflect on your life and your relationships and life adventures. You can analyze them. You’re not distracted by TV. You focus on the sights, the smells, the changing environment.”

He also said his 13,355-mile journey impacted his faith.

“I crossed the Arctic Circle on a Sunday,” Burgess recalled, making that a particularly special moment he’ll always be grateful for.

He said he’ll also be thankful for the people he met along the way: the truck drivers who offered him advice on his journey, the pipeline workers he shared meals with, the friendly people who live without access to TV or radio but have the splendid Alaskan wilderness to surround them.

His 13,000-mile journey was also a lesson in endurance, he said.

“You learn a lot about patience. You know you’re not going to get to the Arctic Circle in a day.”

SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Vincent Esposito wasn’t always a biker or a Catholic, which makes the creation of one of the newest ministries at St. Matthew Church somewhat of a miracle. Originally from Slate Hill, N.Y., Esposito grew up in Charlotte, not attending any church.

He started going to Mass in 2004 before he became engaged to his wife Lacy. She is a cradle Catholic who attended Catholic school in Charlotte, and Esposito admits he started going to church with her to win over her mother.

When his fiancée’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Esposito wanted to get married in the Church and become Catholic while his future mother-in-law was still alive. He approached Father John Starczewski, then parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, to see if that could be possible.

“I was told to get him the timeline from a doctor and he’d see what he could do,” Esposito recalls. “Well, that timeline was eight weeks to 10 months, depending on how she responded to the treatment. Next thing we knew, Father John had us on the Catholic ‘fast track,’ as he called it, and six weeks later we were married at St. Vincent (Church) in a full ceremony.

“I entered (the Catholic Church) through RCIA at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, as we moved near UNC-C following my mother-in-law’s passing.”

Esposito, who fell in love with motorcycles in college, bought his first bike, a 1983 Suzuki GS450A, for $600.

“Nothing to look at, but the first time I sat on it, it had a soul that spoke to me,” Esposito explains. “Dry rotted tires and hadn’t had a tag on it since 1997. I put the windshield, the ammo cans for saddlebags, new tires, battery; just rehabbed it. She has always run, even that first day she ran – not good, but she ran. Today, she flies!”

He recently gave his old motorcycle a new paint job to go along with its license plate: “RSRECTD.” Esposito admits that he has had some rough times and that his wife has been a good influence on him, “an angel.”

He says he feels his life and thus his family have been resurrected since they started attending St. Matthew Church last November.

“What’s ironic is St. Matthew on the outside was everything I always said I didn’t want in my church. I didn’t want to be in a mega church because of the stigma of them. However, St. Matthew did to my soul and my family’s soul what I did to that motorcycle, resurrected it, and really resurrected my marriage.”

He sees the biker ministry as a way to give back to the parish community and connect with other like-minded souls.

Like any respectable biker association, Esposito knew they would need to have their own “colors,” so he asked St. Matthew parishioner Julia Turner to create a ministry logo. It features a cross in orange and white on a black background. Members will be able to put a patch on a vest or jacket to display their colors when they ride.

Esposito hopes the ministry will bring bikers together for fellowship, worship and, of course, some rides. He says the key mission behind the ministry is to provide service. That’s what the St. Matthew B.I.K.E.R.S. was founded on: ‘Believers Inspiring Kindness Encouraging Religious Service.’

“There is a dichotomy between motorcyclists and religion. Everyone thinks of bikers in the image of the law breakers. Not all bikers are like that. The Blessing of the Motorcycles showed that. I hope through our service projects in the future, we can show the Catholic community and all of the Charlotte area that there is a BIKER, SEE page 21A

8A

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Father Noah Carter delivers the homily at St. Ann Church during the Aug. 1 Mass offered for the Christians being persecuted in the Middle East.

Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald

The gifts are presented at last year’s Polish Mass. This year’s Mass will be held Aug. 24 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.

Polish Mass, celebration at St. Thomas Church set for Aug. 24 SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — St. Thomas Aquinas Church invites the faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte to attend the third annual Polish Mass in honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24, at the church on 1400 Suther Road in Charlotte.

Father Matt Nycz, a Polish priest from Buffalo, N.Y., will celebrate the Mass. Deacon James Witulski of the parish will assist as deacon.

“Being of Polish heritage has been a special part of my life,” Deacon Witulski said. “After my ordination as permanent deacon 10 years ago, I was assigned to the Polish-American parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Rochester, N.Y. “In 2011, after relocating to Charlotte, I was blessed to be assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. Part of the beauty of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish is the fact that we have parishioners from over 30 different nations. This diverse congregation allows parishioners to gain a sense of the great gift of experiencing different cultures. It also allows us to appreciate the universality of the Catholic Church – different cultures, same Catholic faith. What a unique gift!”

Deacon Witulski appreciates the opportunity to assist at Mass in honor Our Lady of Czestochowa.

“Our Lady of Czestochowa is dear to the hearts and history of both Poles and of those who embrace the God-given right to freedom,” he explained.

Deacon Witulski’s wife Mary helps organize the annual Mass.

“For me, being of Polish heritage (both of my parents emigrated from Poland), cannot be separated from being Catholic and having a devotion to Our Lady of Czestochowa, the patron and protectress of Poland, as well as having a devotion to our beloved Polish Pope St. John Paul II,” she explains.

“I love the beauty of the Polish language, and especially the Polish prayers and hymns. After moving south from a former Polish parish in the North, I wanted to once again attend a Polish Mass. I discovered there are Catholics of Polish ancestry spread throughout the Charlotte diocese who also had a similar desire. “(Pope) St. John Paul II also had particular devotion to our Blessed Mother, and with his recent canonization, the Mass is also being held in his honor.”

The sacrament of reconciliation will be available in both Polish and English starting at 1 p.m.

A Polish choir will sing traditional Marian hymns during the Mass and children in native Polish attire will also be present to honor Our Lady of Czestochowa and Pope St. John Paul II. After Mass, a first-class relic of Pope St. John Paul II will be displayed for veneration. It is a drop of his blood on a piece of his cassock from the day he was shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981.

A reception featuring Polish food will follow Mass. Donations of Polish or American food are appreciated. Please drop off food donations in Aquinas Hall located across the courtyard from the church before the Mass. All are invited to attend the Mass and reception.

“This Mass is important because it is an opportunity to share with others, the beauty of the Polish culture and Catholic devotion to Our Lady and our Polish pope,” Deacon Witulski said.

For more information, call Mary Witulski at 704-290-6012 or go to the parish’s website at www.stacharlotte.com.

Mike FitzGerald | Catholic News Herald

Catholics asked to pray for persecuted Christians in Middle East CHARLOTTE — People gathered to pray for persecuted Christians in the Middle East during a special Mass in Latin Aug. 1 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte. The Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form – a “Mass in defense of the Church” – was celebrated by newly ordained Father Noah Carter.

In his homily, Father Carter encouraged the faithful to pray for God to intercede in the brutal conflicts that are raging throughout the Middle East, in Iraq, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

“The principal weapon that you and I have against evil is prayer and sacrifice,” Father Carter emphasized.

And while the prayers of this Mass date from centuries ago, he said, the persecution of Christians today in these regions is not that much different from what it used to be.

“The greatest enemy to the faith is not the Protestant who mocks us; it is not the solitary pagan who blasphemes us; it is not even the apostate who denies us. Our greatest enemy in the world – apart from the prince of darkness – is the nonChristian who can programmatically attempt to drive Christians to despair,” he said. “They trust in themselves, their own power, their own ability to control the rest of the world. They have made their own dominance an idol, rather than surrendering to God’s merciful providence and care.”

So what are we to do in the face of such brutality as what is being witnessed today in the Middle East?

Pray for God to intercede, just as His people have done throughout the ages.

“Will you join the Church in praying and sacrificing for our brethren in the Middle East? Will you join your prayers to the prayer of the Church so that we may crush the head of the enemy, making him powerless in the fight?” Father Carter said, quoting from the collect of the Mass, which alludes to how the Blessed Virgin Mary crushed the head of the serpent when she bore the Savior of man, Jesus Christ.

“Our brethren in the Middle East need our intercession to persevere in defense of the Church’s dignity and the Church’s profession that the Triune God is supreme among the nations, supreme on earth,” he continued. “Will you, by your prayers, arm our brothers with grace? Will you lend them your weapons of perseverance and fortitude?”

Father Carter noted that in the old 1962 Missal, the votive Mass being celebrated “in defense of the Church” is preceded by the Mass for the evangelization of peoples, and followed by the Mass

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read Father Noah Carter’s entire homily

for the unity of the Church.

“That is, the Church spreads the Good News, prays to remove those obstacles that prevent the spread of true doctrine, and – once those obstacles are removed – she prays that all may be one, that all peoples be unified in her,” he said.

The Mass and preceding Holy Hour at St. Ann Church were offered in reparation for the persecuted and martyred Christians in Iraq, Syria and the Middle East. The date was proposed by the Fraternity of St. Peter as a day all Christians worldwide could pray for those affected by the genocide occurring in that region.

— Catholic News Herald

Worldwide prayer for peace scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 17 The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international justice and peace committee, Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, has called for collective prayer for peace in Iraq on Aug. 17 using a prayer written by the Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon.

“Lord, the plight of our country is deep and the suffering of Christians is severe and frightening,” reads the prayer of Patriarch Louis Rafael I Sako.

“Therefore, we ask you Lord to spare our lives, and to grant us patience, and courage to continue our witness of Christian values with trust and hope.”

“Lord, peace is the foundation of life; grant us the peace and stability that will enable us to live with each other without fear and anxiety, and with dignity and joy,” the prayer concludes. “Glory be to you forever.”

— CNA/EWTN News At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Download the text of the entire prayer for unity

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI 9A

What some of the teens said:

‘I know one thing, I never want to be homeless. It is the hardest life. People won’t let you use a bathroom, no water fountains around, people can be mean and it’s scary.’

A group of middle and high school students from St. Peter Church served more than seven charitable organizations in the Charlotte community during a week of service July 21-25.

Photos provided by Joan Guthrie and Cathy Chiappetta

St. Peter teens make impact on the community Joan Guthrie Special to the Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — During the week of July 21-25, a group of middle and high school students representing St. Peter Church served more than seven charitable organizations in the Charlotte community. Led by the parish’s faith formation team, Mark Bartholet and Cathy Chiappetta, the youth saw first-hand the plight of the homeless, the hungry, the disabled and those who are rebuilding their lives. Most of all, the teens answered the call of Christ: to love one another with all that we do.

Here is an interview with St. Peter’s Cathy Chiappetta, who planned and implemented the week: C: As St. Peter’s mission statement calls us to serve, we wanted to expose our middle can high school youth to community service for the poor and disadvantaged. It was a successful week in that lessons were learned and many needs were met. This was a great start. We are looking for future opportunities to build fellowship among our teens – social and service-oriented.

Q: How many participated?

C: Over the week we had 40 teens serving with several parent volunteers.

Q: Where did they serve?

C: On Monday we built a home entrance ramp for a woman named Mabel. She watched our teens as they built in the rain and gave them thanks and encouragement. They returned on Tuesday to finish. It was a joy to finally see Mabel enter her house safely on the ramp. Other teens helped sort clothes at Crisis Assistance. We helped pack shoes at Samaritan’s Feet. Wednesday was the toughest – both physically and emotionally – because we experience Urban Ministry’s “Walk in Your Shoes” program. Our teens faced first-hand how it feels to be homeless walking through the city without resources. We visited

the residents at McCreesh Place. Parishioner/chef Alex Allson made breakfast casseroles. Our teens served, played games, and took a tour with residents of this supportive housing community. We had groups go to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s Food Pantry to work.

Several put together meals for Friendship Trays Inc. and cleaned a lot of tomatoes.

Q: What about the rest of the day?

C: We returned each day to St. Peter Church and had lunch, then listened to a reflection by Mark Bartholet about homelessness and poverty. Deacon Jim Bozik and Jesuit Father Tom McDonnell stopped in for visits. The Missionaries of the Poor also joined us one day and gave the kids a preview of their musical show “The Messiah,” and they had the kids singing and dancing to a Caribbean tune “Alle Alle” (“Alleluia”). Friday we had a bowling party at Strike City to celebrate everyone’s hard work.

Joan Guthrie is the communications/event coordinator for St. Peter Church in Charlotte. This article was originally published in the parish bulletin.

‘The men at McCreesh place have interesting stories about their lives, and they are pretty talented.’

‘The Catholic Charities Food Pantry needs more food! It is like a store, but they run out fast.’

‘It was fun working together.’

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 10A OUR PARISHES

Help God save babies in Charlotte 'Celebrate Life' Benefit Dinner & Concert September 18 - 6 p.m.

Charlotte Convention Center Featuring a performance by award-winning

Catholic musician

MATT MAHER Also hear from special guest speaker Brian Fisher

No cost to attend - donations accepted Proceeds will aid Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte. Dress is business attire.

Bishops attend CLI leadership training session in Charlotte CHARLOTTE — More than a dozen bishops from around the country gathered at the Ballantyne Lodge in Charlotte, N.C., July 28-31 for a conference directed by the Catholic Leadership Institute.

CLI is a non-profit lay association founded in 1991 to help clergy and lay leaders maximize their potential and fulfill their God-given purpose. Among its offerings is “episcopal ongoing formation and support” – conferences for bishops from across the U.S. and Canada to gather together, share best practices, and reflect on ways they can improve in their roles as primary teachers of the faith in their dioceses.

During the three-day retreat in Charlotte, the 17 bishops in attendance talked about ways they could improve their roles as “chief evangelizers” – getting in touch with people on a more personal level, especially reaching out to those who are hurting or in need, and providing even greater witness to the message of Jesus Christ.

Of the 17 bishops in attendance, four were from Canada and one was from Dublin, Ireland. Among the participants were Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, who serves as the episcopal moderator for CLI, and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who also serves on CLI’s episcopal advisory board. Bishop Peter Jugis was unable to attend this year due to schedule conflicts, but he has attended CLI seminars in previous years.

Speakers included Dr. Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries, a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, and Curtis Martin, president and founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

The theme was “Leading in the New Evangelization: Diocesan Ministry and Parish Vibrancy.”

The New Evangelization must be more than a program or ministry, noted Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock, Ark. It is

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Marian Eucharistic Conference

St. Joseph’s Catholic School

100 St. Joseph’s Drive Greenville, SC 29607

Our featured speakers will focus on seeking to anchor ourselves to the two pillars of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

www.friendsofprc.com or 704-372-5981

Featured Speakers

Table Host opportunities are also available

Most Rev. Robert E. Guglielmone Bishop of Charleston Fr. Bill Casey, CPM The Fathers of Mercy

God saved 827 babies from abortion at the Pregnancy Resource Center in Charlotte last year.

Help us in God's work to end abortion in Charlotte.

Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte is a 501(c)(3) non-denominational, non-political organization providing compassion, information and support to anyone facing an unintended pregnancy. It has served nearly 75,000 women since 1982.

about cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, opening up people’s hearts to the truth of the Gospel.

“If love is offered but not responded to, it has not been experienced,” Bishop Taylor said. Encountering Jesus necessarily is a “life-changing experience” – not a one-time event, but an ongoing journey. His role as bishop is to help bring “clarity to the kerygma,” the heart of the Gospel message of hope, he said.

“The rest should flow from it, and does flow from it.”

It is the Gospel that gives people hope, and that is desperately needed in today’s world – particularly among families, who face so many challenges, Bishop Taylor said.

“We live in a world right now where there’s a lot of pleasure, but not much joy,” he said. “People need hope” to be set free from their burdens, and they need to be able to “trust in God’s providence.”

Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal said the CLI conference gave him the chance to hear from his brother bishops about their experiences, and what works for them in their dioceses.

The New Evangelization, Archbishop Lépine said, is to him a way of cultivating “contagious disciples” who want to imitate the life of Christ and encourage others to do so, too.

“It’s encouraging and full of hope. It’s a renewed sense of hope that God is at work and He has the power to touch people,” he said. After all, he added, it’s not “our Church,” it’s “His Church.”

Bishop Taylor also commended Archbishop Lépine for giving him one of several ideas he’s taking home from the conference: arranging for Eucharistic Adoration for the staffs at the diocesan pastoral office during Lent.

This was the third time that the conference was held in Charlotte.

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor

Fr. Wade Menezes, CPM The Fathers of Mercy Dcn. Harold Burke-Sivers Catholic Evangelist and Speaker Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez Eucharistic Miracle Researcher All are required to register by Sept.10 by mail. and Clinical Psychologist Saturday and Sunday lunches are included.

No registration at the door.

For more information, call (864) 354-7160 or go to www.meconferencesc.net

General Admission: $40, Youth: $20

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

OUR PARISHESI 11A

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

After first completing a year as a postulant, Sister Marie Jeanette Lewis has now completed her novitiate, a two-year period of prayer, discernment and limited apostolic work. She has professed temporary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and after a period of at least five years in temporary vows, she hopes to be eligible for final vows.

She is the daughter of Craig and Kathleen Lewis of Davidson.

New seminarian

Mike FitzGerald | Catholic News Herald

Fr. Rossi to discern monastic life, to give vocations talk Aug. 17 CHARLOTTE — Father Lucas Rossi will be leaving St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte Aug. 31 to begin a period of discernment with the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey.

Ordained in 2010, Father Rossi has served as parochial vicar at the cathedral since July 2013.

Father Rossi will lead a public discussion on Sunday, Aug. 17, about discernment and talk about his decision to explore priestly life as a Benedictine monk. “Pathways of Love: Vocational Discernment” will start at 2 p.m. in the cathedral’s Family Life Center.

Joining him in the program will be Father Elias Correa-Torres, who was ordained to the priesthood at Belmont Abbey last April.

Father Elias is now serving as sub-prior and vocation director for Belmont Abbey. They will share their vocation stories, talk about the various vocations (single life, married life and religious life), explain what a religious vocation involves, and discuss how a follower of Christ can ascertain his or her vocation. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Additionally, the cathedral parish is planning a farewell party for Father Rossi following the 12:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday, Aug. 31.

Pictured above, Father Rossi leads his last evening reflection with the parish’s young adult group Aug. 4. The reflections, covering aspects of the spiritual life, were held each first Monday of the month.

CHARLOTTE — St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner Camilo X. Salas-Bowen is entering the seminary this fall for the Diocese of Charlotte.

He has been appointed to studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Salas-Bowen Columbus, Ohio, the diocese announced.

As the new academic year begins this fall, the Diocese of Charlotte has 18 seminarians in formation, either at the Pontifical College Josephinum or the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Hear program on Pope Francis CHARLOTTE — A free program on “Pope Francis: Taking the World by Storm” will be presented Wednesday, Sept. 10, at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, starting at 6:30 p.m. The talk will be given by Monsignor Henry Kriegel of the Diocese of Erie, Pa. For details, contact Cathy Esposito at cesposito@stgabrielchurch.org.

Matt Maher in concert for PRC fundraiser

— Catholic News Herald

Nun makes first profession CHARLOTTE — St. Ann parishioner Sister Marie Jeannette (formerly Katie Lewis) recently made her first profession of vows with the

Getting ready for school DENVER — When you combine 82 hard-working parishioners with 21 gallons of paint, 10 pounds of spackle, 20 tubes of caulk, a dozen paint brushes, two dozen rollers, some donuts and lunches, you get 11 faith formation classrooms all freshened up and ready to greet the children in September. Parishioners from Holy Spirit Parish in Denver recently came together to clean and paint all the rooms in preparation for the fall faith formation children returning to school next month. Knights of Columbus Deputy Grand Knight Jim Barbara headed up the project, securing volunteers and donations of funds and supplies.

CHARLOTTE — Renowned Catholic musician and composer Matt Maher will appear in concert during a special gala fundraiser for Maher the Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte on Thursday, Sept. 18. The “Celebrate Life” Benefit Dinner and Concert will be held starting at 6 p.m. at the Charlotte Convention Center. There is no cost to attend, but donations will be taken.

“Table Host” opportunities are also available.

For details, go online to www.friendsofprc.com or call 704-372-5981.

Proceeds will aid Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte, a 501(c)(3) non-denominational, non-political organization providing compassion, information and support to anyone facing an unintended pregnancy. It has served nearly 75,000 women since 1982.

N.C. bishops hopeful about ‘Choose Life’ license plates

photo provided by craig lewis

Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — The North Carolina bishops have asked the faithful to pray for the “Choose Life” license plates as the case may be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a Aug. 8 Catholic Voice North Carolina email sent to members of Catholic Voice N.C., Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis and Raleigh Bishop Michael Burbidge expressed hope.

“There is reason to be very hopeful in this development,” the email stated. “Other appeals courts in the country have ruled in favor of the Choose Life license plate and the U.S. Supreme Court often reviews cases in which lower courts disagree.”

Catholic Voice N.C. is the non-partisan public policy watchdog organization for North Carolina’s two bishops.

In July, several lawmakers in North Carolina petitioned the U.S. Supreme Courts to review BRIEFS, SEE page 12A

CCDOC.ORG

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

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 12A OUR PARISHES

BRIEFS: FROM PAGE 11A

a censorship case related to pro-life specialty license plates in the state.

Alliance Defending Freedom filed the appeal on behalf of Thom Tillis, speaker of the state House of Representatives, and Phil Berger, president pro tempore of the state Senate.

The North Carolina General Assembly authorized the specialty license plates featuring the phrase “Choose Life” in 2011. The plates would have been available for an additional $25 fee, $15 of which would support the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, which serves pregnant women in North Carolina.

Before the state could begin issuing the plates for hundreds of interested citizens, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on First Amendment grounds.

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

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

— Catholic News Herald

Two soccer events scheduled John Bunyea, Blue Ridge Photo | Catholic News Herald

Girl Scouts at work KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross parishioner Katie Beth Fradenburg and fellow Girl Scouts recently collected 650 items and $200 for Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. Girl Scout Troop 41029 as a whole collected 1,700 items to donate to the children’s hospital, and the money was used to buy video games and controllers for the young patients to enjoy. The effort was part of their service work to earn the Bronze Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. The Scouts also visited the hospital, especially to see 14-year-old fellow parishioner Savannah Williams, who has leukemia. Williams was the inspiration for Fradenburg’s idea for the troop to help the children and families at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. Pictured with her above are her parents, Susan and Jim Fradenburg.

CHARLOTTE — From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 6, the St. John Neumann Cardinals Soccer Club will continue its annual registration for boys and girls aged 5 to 15, at St John Neumann Ball Field, 8451 Idlewild Road At the same time and in the same location, the St. John Neumann Knights of Columbus 7343 will host a Knights of Columbus Youth Soccer Competition. Boys and girls aged 9-14 are invited to participate in the local

level of competition (in their respective age divisions) for the 2014 Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge. All contestants in the K of C Challenge will be recognized for their participation in the event with winners progressing through local, district and state competitions. Participants are required to furnish proof of age and written parental consent. Entry forms will be available at the event.

For details, contact Grand Knight Steve Coradini at sesejjt@yahoo.com or 704-2220377.

— Al Tinson

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.

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.

2014 South Carolina Catholic Charismatic Conference October 24 - 26

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OUR PARISHESI 13A

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

Diocesan anniversary Mass set for Sept. 28 CHARLOTTE — Couples who are celebrating their 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries in 2014 will be honored during a special anniversary Mass on Sunday, Sept. 28. The annual diocesan Mass will be celebrated this year at St. Matthew Church, located at 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. The Mass will begin at 2 p.m. and a reception will follow. Bishop Peter Jugis will be the celebrant. Call your parish office to register and get more details.

All welcome to Catholic Homeschooler Fine Arts Festival CHARLOTTE — More than 100 homeschoolers from across the Charlotte region are putting on a fine arts festival in honor of the Queenship of Mary the weekend of Aug. 22-24, and everyone is welcome to attend.

“Celebrating Truth, Goodness and especially Beauty” is the theme of the three-day festival being held at St. Ann Church, which will include film, plays, sacred music and visual arts presentations. The festival is free, but donations will be accepted. Proceeds will fund beautification efforts at St. Patrick Cathedral in honor of its 75th anniversary.

The festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, with “War of Ages,” a movie written, directed and produced by members of the homeschool film club Angelic Films. It will be held in St. Ann’s cafe.

The festival continues with a production of “Taming of the Shrew,” starting at 4 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 23, in St. Ann’s gymnasium.

The performance features 78 students ranging from age 5 to 17. A repeat performance with alternate cast members will be held at 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 24.

The event also features a performance titled “Cantica Sacra Liberi” (“Sacred Songs of Children”) by the Polyphonic Schola, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Savoy from St. Thomas Aquinas Church. It starts at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, Aug. 23, in St. Ann Church, and will be followed by a light reception, art show and silent auction featuring work from the homeschool drawing classes.

Healing prayer service planned CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church will offer a St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer and grave diseases.

The healing prayer service is offered for all those suffering with cancer or other diseases.

For details, call the parish office at 704-5437677.

Live Your Faith Be affirmed in your present ministry.

Upgrade your certification as a catechist and religion teacher.

Fulfill the prerequisite for the Permanent Diaconate.

Grow in your faith.

The Diocesan Office of Lay Ministry offers a two-year program designed to help you understand more fully your baptismal call to minister to your family, to others in the Church, and to those in your daily life.

Sites include Arden, Bryson City, Charlotte, Greensboro and Lenoir.

We are currently accepting applications for the 2014-2016 program.

For more information: F O R M AT I O N P R O G R A M

Parish leaders attend retreat

Dr. Frank Villaronga Director, Evangelization and Adult Education Office

704-370-3274

favillaronga@charlottediocese.org

CCDOC.ORG

MOORESVILLE — Members of the St. Thérèse Church Pastoral Council recently attended their yearly retreat at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville. Pictured (from left) are Joann Horan, Jack Madey, Bill Michalak, Ron Toney, Jesuit Father Vince Curtin (pastor), Leo Fahey and Bill Streiff.

— Rosemary Hyman

Congratulations!

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church It was a pleasure to provide Design-Build Services on your new Ministry Center and Chapel

Upcoming Days of Reflection Join Catholic Charities for an opportunity to gather with other seniors from around the diocese to deepen and share one’s faith. Days of Reflection provide the chance to experience the inspiring power of God’s love and be nourished by His word as one continues a life-long journey of faith.

• September 16 – St. Luke Catholic Church, Charlotte Presenter: Father David Brzoska

H. C. Barrett & Associates, Inc. 704-542-1105 www.hcbarrett.com

• September 24 – Catholic Conference Center, Hickory Presenter: Monsignor John McSweeney • November 12 – Holy Family Catholic Church, Winston-Salem Presenter: Father Brian Cook Visit our website for more information or contact Sandra Breakfield at 704.370.3220, 704.370.3228 or sabreakfield@charlottediocese.org.

Building Clients for Life

14A iiiAugust 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM TH

Eden parish celebrates ch Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

EDEN — A steady rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of parishioners at St. Joseph of the Hills Church in Eden, who gathered for Mass Aug. 10 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their church and the confirmation of 25 youths. An overflow crowd of about a hundred faithful huddled under tents and umbrellas outside the church to watch a live video feed of the bilingual Mass, celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis.

Concelebrating the Mass were Father Joseph Dinh, pastor, More online along with former pastor Franciscan Father Louis Canino and retired Monsignor Joseph Showfety, who was the only person At www.catholicnewsherald. at the celebration who personally com: See more photos from the witnessed the early days of the little parish, the first Catholic church built in Rockingham 75th anniversary Mass at St. County. Joseph of the Hills Church, and Mercy Sister Bernadette McNamara, who served as the read more about its history parish’s pastoral administrator from 1996 to 2001, was also present for the celebration. Deacon Gerald Potkay and Deacon Carlos Medina assisted at Mass.

St. Joseph of the Hills was dedicated on New Year’s Day in 1939 by Raleigh Bishop Eugene McGuinness.

Up to that point, Rockingham Catholics had to travel to Greensboro for Mass about 40 miles away. Donations from Catholics up North and a $5,000 gift from the Catholic Extension Society were collected to build a 200-seat church for what the local newspaper called the “thriving” Catholic community which had migrated from the North to work in the textile mills of nearby Leaksville. “There is not a single native North Carolinian in the parish,” the paper noted in its coverage of the 1939 dedication.

Today that history of diversity lives on. More than half of the parish’s 200-plus families are Latino Catholics and Father Dinh, a native of Vietnam, leads them as pastor.

Wayne Carter, 75, is one of the parish’s oldest members and a convert to the faith. After Mass, Carter pointed to the front pew where he had just been sitting for the anniversary celebration. “I sat right there when I came into the Church on May 5, 1980,” he said.

St. Joseph of the Hills “is a welcoming parish. It’s like a home, and the people are the most wonderful in the world,” he said.

Music director and organist Becky Hale also noted the parish’s diversity and fellowship, despite its small size. For the bilingual Mass, she led the combined English and Spanish choirs in bilingual hymns arranged so that everyone could sing together.

“The people are very welcoming and work well together,” Hale said. She has been a member of St. Joseph’s for nearly 30 years, she said, and while things have changed over time, some things haven’t. People still socialize well together, and they are willing to work together for the good of the parish, she said.

In his remarks after Mass, Father Dinh thanked all of the clergy and visitors for making the 75th anniversary celebration so special, despite the wet weather. He smiled as he smoothly switched from English to Spanish and back to English, another sign of the parish’s comfortable diversity.

“Gracias,” he concluded.

Later, Father Dinh noted, “As we look back over the years, we must be grateful to the Lord for all the blessings our parish has received from Him. We also admire and appreciate the vision of the Catholic pioneers in Rockingham County.

Seventy-five years ago, just a few Catholics envisioned the growth of a Catholic church in this area and started building a new church for the glory of God. Today we come together to share in their vision – the vision of a parish as dynamic, spiritfilled and multi-cultural – to serve the Lord and His people.

And we are to be unified in their vision because God has called all of us to work for the Kingdom, to make it visible to the people around here. So be not afraid to stand up for truth and beauty of our faith. I believe that this parish is special because for years people have been working together to fulfill the dream of these Catholic pioneers for the glory of God.”

Pastors of St. Joseph of the Hills 1939 - 1940 1940 - 1948 1948 - 1950 1951 - 1954 1954 - 1954 1954 - 1956 1956

Father William Kuder Father James Noonan Father Arthur Freeman Father Francis Tait Father Francis McCourt Father Philip J. O’Mara Father Walter Sullivan

1957 - 1959 1959 - 1962 1965 - 1966 1966 - 1967 1967 - 1968 1968 - 1970 1970 - 1972

Father Cranor Graves Father Thomas Carney Father Thomas Clements Father Dennis Lynch Father Thomas Clements Father Thomas McAvoy Father Joseph Woods

1972 - 1980 1981 - 1986 1986 - 1992 1992 - 1994 1994 - 1996 1996 - 1997 1997

Father Thom Father Carl K Father Thom Father John Father Jose Father Jose Franciscan F

HE COVER

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.comiii

15A

hurch’s 75th anniversary

mas Long Kaltreider mas Scott n D. Hanic eph Ayatupadam eph Valentine Father Louis Canino

(Left) Deacon Gerald Potkay incenses the Book of the Gospels before proclaiming the Gospel reading at Mass. Looking on are (from left) Father Dinh, Monsignor Joseph Showfety, Franciscan Father Louis Canino and altar server Daniel Dinh.

(Above) At the end of Mass, people show their appreciation for Monsignor Showfety for being the only person present who remembered the early days of the Eden parish.

(Left) Bishop Peter Jugis confers the sacrament of confirmation on one of 25 youths at the parish. In his homily, he told the teens that the gift of the Holy Spirit is meant to strengthen them in their faith. He encouraged them to pray for the Spirit to guide and help them in their lives, especially as they go out into the world to share the truth of Christ with others. “The rest of the days of your lives, you will be living your confirmation,” he said. “Always remember this day.”

(Above) Parishioners watch Mass outside on a live video feed.

(Left) With a little help from parishioner Lidia Angeles Perez holding the umbrella, Father Joseph Dinh distributes the Precious Blood and blesses children during Communion. Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of Mass-goers stayed dry under tents and umbrellas for the anniversary celebration at St. Joseph of the Hills in Eden.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

1997 - 2000 2000 - 2001 2001 - 2007 2007 - 2009 2010 - 2011 2011 - present

Father John Putnam Father Christopher Davis Father Thomas Selvaraj Father Johnathan H. Hanic Father Frank Cintula Father Joseph Dinh

(Below) Arnold Brown, a Knight of Columbus, compiled the parish’s 75th anniversary history book and thanked parishioners during the reception after Mass. Father Canino, a former pastor of St. Joseph’s, greets longtime parishioner Wayne Carter.

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 16A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

THANK YOU! Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love has surpassed $66 million in pledged commitments! To date, more than 15,000 families have made gifts and pledges to our Church, making this a genuinely historic engagement of people in the life of the Diocese of Charlotte. We can now move forward and transform our diocese through investing in our parishes and broader ministries.

Deep appreciation goes to all the individuals and families who have made generous sacrificial commitments to the campaign through prayers and extraordinary financial investments to their parishes and to the broader ministries.

The success of this united effort will help us renew, strengthen, and advance our diocese and parishes in the work of putting into action Jesus’ Gospel message of salvation.

www.forwardfaithhopelove.org

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

17A

Mariella Buscaglia

La Asunción de la Virgen Maria, un llamado para consagrarse a Jesús por medio de Maria

E

l 15 de Agosto se celebra la Asunción de la Virgen María, cuando María fue llevada al cielo en cuerpo y alma después de su dormición, es una fiesta muy importante de guardar para nosotros los católicos. Este mes de Agosto es también uno de los meses donde se encuentran muchas festividades en honor de nuestra Madre, aunque esto no es una novedad, porque durante el año hay más de 25 celebraciones Marianas por toda la Iglesia.

En nuestros países hispanos las fiestas de la Virgen son muchas más, ya que contamos con una Virgen protectora del país, de las ciudades, de las poblaciones, de los caseríos y demás. Es por eso que la imagen de esta Niña buena que dio el “Sí” a Dios, se encuentra identificada con cada una de las diversas razas del mundo, con diferentes denominaciones, con toda clase de vestimentas clásicas y típicas de cada lugar; la variedad es inagotable. Nos cansaríamos de tratar de acumular todos los nombres con los que se le conoce a la Madre de Jesús. Si nos ponemos a pensar, podríamos sacar rápidamente más de 50 nombres diferentes.

Una muestra clara de que María siempre está presente para todos nosotros es el 12 de Diciembre, la fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe. Aparecen, como por arte de magia, miles de personas que son devotas, muchas veces son católicos no practicantes o de otras religiones, y más aún, muchos que se hacen llamar “ateos.” Todos ellos acuden a festejar a la Virgen del Tepeyac, y también lo hacen cuando sus necesidades son urgentes y no las pueden controlar. Estas personas confían en María como Madre e intercesora que escucha y ayuda a todos.

Entonces, podemos llegar a la conclusión de que la Virgen María siempre ha estado muy cerca de nosotros.

Nuestra Mamita linda la tenemos cerca en nuestras alegrías, tristezas, problemas, y pidiéndole siempre su intercesión y su protección, consagrando, a sus hijos desde recién nacidos, a sus padres ancianos, a sus enfermos y entregando todos sus problemas para que ella interceda por nuestras peticiones.

Podremos recordar que María en las Bodas de Caná, al enterarse de la falta de vino en la fiesta, inmediatamente pidió a su Hijo que atendiera el problema, Jesús le contesto “Mujer, no ha llegado mi hora.” Sin embargo, ante el pedido de su Madre (María la intercesora) Jesús accedió e hizo su primer milagro.

La Virgen María, nuestra Madre amorosa esta allí, cerca de mi y de ti, cerca de todos nosotros, esperándonos y pidiendo que un día nos entreguemos totalmente a ella, no solo para seguir protegiéndonos y cuidándolos, sino para ayudarnos a ser católicos santos. También, para que seamos los mas entusiastas promotores de la consagración a María, es decir la consagración a Jesús por medio de María. Por la cual, María puede lograr lo que nosotros no logramos solos, ya que ella es la intercesora por excelencia. Algo que hemos visto desde las Bodas de Caná y que sigue sucediendo en nuestras vidas hasta el presente.

Para hacer nuestra consagración a María, hay muchos caminos a seguir: Desde el mas simple que seria, María me entrego a ti en cuerpo y alma, o entrego a mi hijo o a alguien que no puede hacerlo por si mismo; o con un Bendita sea tu pureza que dentro de sus lines dice “yo te ofrezco en este día, alma, vida y corazón.” O mejor aún, con una preparación responsable de católicos practicantes.

Los puntos mas importantes para conocer más a María, y para que nuestra relación con ella sea más intima, más fuerte y segura, llegando a la culminación de la preparación donde se hace urgente y necesaria la entrega total “totus tuus” (“todo tuyo” en latín, que era el lema del Papa San Juan Pablo II, considerado uno de los Papas más Marianos en la historia de la Iglesia).

Estas preparaciones generalmente constan de una cantidad de días donde uno va conociendo más y más a nuestra Madre, relacionándose íntimamente con ella y dejando atrás todos los obstáculos que puedan obstaculizar esta entrega.

Uno de los métodos más importantes de preparación para las consagraciones marianas es el de San Luis de Montfort , quien durante los años 1600s escribió el libro

“La Consagración a Jesús por María.” Esta Consagración tiene 33 días de duración en donde los candidatos conocen y reflexionan sobre todo lo relativo a esta entrega, es como un retiro personal que uno hace en la intimidad solo con María. Siguiendo los pasos del libro, como una guía que nos ayuda y apoya maravillosamente, podemos así consagrarnos a la Virgen. Además, se aconseja que una vez ya hecha la consagración, los consagrados a María hagan su renovación a esta por lo menos una vez al año posteriormente. Esto cambiará sus vidas. Háganlo y lo verán.

Hay diferentes guías de reflexión y retiro para seguir los días de preparación, pero casi al unísono tocan los mismos temas a revisar. El libro “33 días hacia un Glorioso Amanecer,” es una preparación que incluye los escritos Marianos de San Luis de Montfort, San Maximiliano Kolbe, la Beata Madre Teresa de Calcuta y de nuestro querido y buen Papa San Juan Pablo II; todos ellos grandes seguidores y devotos de María.

Esta celebración de la Asunción, este 15 de Agosto, es un llamado mas de nuestra Mamita para que nos entreguemos a ella totalmente, y para que seamos los principales promotores de su consagración, para que formemos un Ejército Mariano, atendiendo todos esos mensajes que María nos ha dejado a través de la historia de sus apariciones de orar con ella para así seguir y servir mejor a su Hijo Jesús.

Repitiendo lo que dice el Evangelio según San Lucas: Por medio de una niña adolecente y virgen llamada María, la quien dijo ‘Sí’ vino el Hijo de Dios, Jesús para redimirnos.

Entonces, ahora es nuestro turno de decir: ‘Si.’ Mariella Buscaglia es miembro de la Parroquia de San Marcos en Huntersville. Buscaglia es una de las coordinadoras del grupo de los Consagrados a Jesús por María de la Iglesia de San Marcos. Para mayor información acerca de las consagraciones Marianas, comuníquese por e-mail con ella en alleiram04@gmail.com.

Pastoral Juvenil Hispana dirige retiro juvenil en Boonville BOONVILLE — El equipo de la Pastoral Juvenil Hispana de la Diócesis de Charlotte facilitó un retiro juvenil en la Parroquia del Divino Redentor en Boonville. Unos 164 jóvenes hispanos de los Vicariatos de WinstonSalem, Salisbury, Albemarle y Booneville participaron en el retiro que tuvo lugar del 25 al 27 de Julio en esa parroquia. (Arriba a la derecha) El Padre J. Enrique González-Gaytán, Párroco del Divino Redentor, celebró la Misa de clausura y también ofreció Exposición del Santísimo Sacramento para los jóvenes participantes el Sábado, 26 de Julio.

FOTOS PROPORCIONADAS POR IBIS CENTENo

Mix

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 18A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

On TV n Saturday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m. (EWTN) “Apostolic Journey to the Republic of Korea.” Holy Mass for the Beatification of Paul Yin Ji-Ching, From the Gwanghwamun Gate in Seoul. n Saturday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m. (EWTN) “Missionary Servants of the Poor of the Third World.” Community of religious and lay people in Peru who aid impoverished children and provide education and specialized care for the disabled. n Saturday, Aug. 16, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Son of Maryam.” A poignant story about the friendship between a Muslim adolescent and an elderly Catholic priest living in Iran, this film highlights the common ground between Muslims and Catholics. n Sunday, Aug. 17, 6 a.m. (EWTN) “Mysteries of the Rosary: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.”

The fourth glorious mystery of the rosary. Produced by the famous Family Theater ministry founded by the late Father Patrick Peyton, CSC.

Photos provided by Louis Smith Jr.

Pictures taken by St. John Neumann parishioner Louis Smith Jr. in parks and greenways around Charlotte illustrate his recently published series of prayer e-books. (Above) A scene from a bridge at the McAlpine Creek Greenway in Charlotte.

n Thursday, Aug. 21, 5:30 p.m. (EWTN) “The Story of Knock.” Learn how Knock has developed into one of the major Marian shrines in the world, and how pilgrims make their way to Knock from around the world, including Pope John Paul II in 1979 and Mother Teresa in 1983. n Tuesday, Aug. 26, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Church in Puerto Rico.” An engaging look at aspects of the Catholic faith in Puerto Rico, highlighting a dramatic prison conversion and the San Juan Children’s Choir. n Wednesday, Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “The Monks of Moyross.”

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal witness to the residents of Moyross, Ireland, a poverty stricken and crimeridden housing project in Limerick. n Friday, Aug. 29, 2 p.m. (EWTN) “Jeanne Jugan: Yesterday and Today.”

A look at the life and ministry of the Little Sisters of the Poor, founded by Jeanne Jugan with a special mission of hospitality, particularly towards the elderly. n Friday, Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Mother Teresa: All for Jesus a Carrier of God’s Love.”After a brief introduction of his background, Father Maasburg shares memories of how he first came to meet Mother Teresa and became a part of her global ministry.

SJN parishioner uses personal experiences, photography to publish book of prayers Kimberly Bender Online reporter

CHARLOTTE — A new series of visually appealing e-books written by a St. John Neumann parishioner aims at guiding and enhancing your prayer life.

Louis Smith Jr. just published a series of e-books in June called, “Walking Toward God: Prayers from the Heart of a Wounded Saint,” which pair personal prayers with stunning imagery of greenways around the Charlotte area.

“It’s accessible to anyone who is even the slightest interested in developing a prayer life the littlest bit,” said Donna Tarney,

a fellow parishioner at SJN who also taught the “Living your Strengths” class that inspired Smith to write the books.

“The books are wonderful,” she said. “Louis’ writing style is intimate and familiar. He doesn’t try to preach about prayer; it’s an intimate understanding of what prayer can be in your life.

“It’s almost like you pray as you start reading it.”

At St. John Neumann, Smith is a member of the Knights of Columbus, sings in the choir and teaches a free tai chi class.

Tarney, who teaches at Charlotte Catholic High School, also sings in the choir with Smith and helped proofread the book.

BOOK, SEE page 19A

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

BOOK: FROM PAGE 18A

The e-book, published as four separate volumes, contains a visual feast of images shot by Smith of the greenways in the Charlotte area.

While the book was written as one work, it was split into four shorter volumes for easier download and reading.

Download “I don’t see “Walking them as books Toward God: to read, rather Prayers from as books to be the Heart of a dipped into,” Wounded Saint” Smith said.

by L. Christopher “I think of Butler from the them as prayer Apple iTunes/ starters, like iBookstore. Each a fire starter volume sells for 99 for a barbecue. cents.

Each one has a list of prayers that is included in them that lets you jump to a specific prayer topic.”

An architect by trade, Smith lost his job shortly after moving to Charlotte in 2007. He sought relief and healing from depression by walking and praying in the greenways in Charlotte.

“Often with a camera along, I managed to catch more than a few beautiful moments in each season and interesting temporary phenomena including halfformed ice; leaf prints on pavement from sand carried up in a flood; a variety of

Want to read it?

For more movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

Movie reviews

‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ Food-themed romantic fantasy in which an Indian clan of restaurateurs (headed by patriarch Om Puri) moves to a small town in France and sets up shop across the road from the region’s most venerable eatery, drawing the disdain of its formidable proprietress (Helen Mirren). As cultures clash, Puri’s prodigiously gifted son (Manish Dayal) expands his culinary horizons with the help of one of Mirren’s sous chefs (Charlotte Le Bon) beginning a spectacular rise into the stratosphere of haute cuisine. Cupid has a field day in this picturesque, stately, thoroughly unrealistic tale adapted by director Lasse Hallstrom from the bestselling novel by Richard C. Morais. Like an airy souffle, the film has an elegant appearance and a charming taste, but not much substance.

Probably acceptable for mature adolescents.

Scenes of mob violence, implications of an intimate encounter.

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

sunlit vegetation at morning, noon and night; the character of the creek in flood; and many peaceful idyllic scenes,” he said.

The books include more than 150 of those images with a prayer associated with most of them.

Through the “Living your Strengths” program at his parish, Smith said, he discovered skills he wasn’t paying attention to.

“Living Your Strengths” enables people to recognize and evaluate their skills, then discern how best to use them in the world and in the Church, Tarney said. At the end of the six weeks, Smith knew he needed to publish the book.

“I’m often asked to lead prayer at choir practice,” Smith explained. “People seem to like the way I string words together. So at the encouragement from a number of choir members that I should write down some of the prayers, I gave it a shot.”

Since the prayers in the e-books are based on personal, revealing conversations Smith had with God that in some cases are a bit more revealing than he is comfortable with, he was encouraged to publish under a pseudonym, L. Christopher Butler. He also chose to separate his faith-based books from his other writings.

“I wrote the prayers all in the first person, as they are my prayers,” Smith said. “I didn’t write them as ‘Hey, I’m more wise than you, so you should pray as I pray,’ but rather as an encouragement (to readers) to pray what’s in their heart and not worry about the words.”

“The prayer on transportation is quite humorous,” he said. “It’s funny because it starts out ‘Heavenly Father, may I borrow the car.’ We think of transportation as a way to get around. I often asked my father

‘Magic in the Moonlight’ Writer-director Woody Allen revisits the ageold debate between faith and reason, between a strictly rationalist standpoint and openness to Divine Providence, in this, his 44th film, a period comedy set on the French Riviera during the Roaring Twenties. A master magician (Colin Firth) who sidelines as a debunker of spiritualists is summoned by a fellow illusionist (Simon McBurney) to the home of a rich American widow (Jacki Weaver) who has fallen under the spell of a comely clairvoyant (Emma Stone). Even as he tries to expose the latter as a fraud, the conjurer falls madly in love, and her convincing supernatural powers lead him to question his narrow views on God and the afterlife. A cynical view of faith and religion, mature references.

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

‘Into the Storm’ A crew of professional storm chasers (led by Matt Walsh and Sarah Wayne Callies) along with some of the residents of a small Midwestern burg , most prominently dad Richard Armitage and sons Max Deacon and Nathan Kress find their survival skills tested by an unprecedented series of havoc-wreaking tornadoes. Essentially a found-footage “Poseidon Adventure” for the landlocked, director Steven Quale’s oldfashioned, special effects-driven disaster movie does boast helpful touches of humor as well as such unimpeachable values as family solidarity and life-at-stake altruism. Still, the intensity of the building peril together with the vocabulary it elicits from the cast makes this ride on the whirlwind best for fully-grown thrill seekers.

Occasional grim violence and pervasive menace, a few sexual references, a couple of uses of profanity, frequent crude and crass language.

CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13 MOVIES, SEE page 21A

to borrow the car growing up, and it’s also an acknowledgement that everything we have belongs to Christ.”

The intimate nature of the prayers was part of what made the book worthwhile, his family and friends say. Though Smith is Catholic, the prayers are appropriate for people of any faith.

“If you get the opportunity to meet him and talk to him, there’s something about him. He is just one of the most gentle, calming and positive persons,” Tarney said. “If there’s anyone I would take advice from on praying, based on Louis’ life, it would be Louis.”

The book is available exclusively on Apple’s iTunes/iBookstore and each volume sells for 99 cents. The individual books are: “Volume 1: The Dignity of Prayer”; “Volume 2: To Forgive Again”; “Volume 3: To Heal Body, Spirit & Life”; and “Volume 4: To Live More Fully.”

The book includes interactive content mentioned comes in two areas: an interactive prayer list and a chapter explaining the Catholic tradition of praying the rosary and a special nonsanctioned rosary he wrote aligned with the theme of each book.

“I don’t anticipate that everyone who reads this will be Catholic,” he said. “To me the rosaries are important because as a Catholic, sometimes we lose track of the present because of our value and tradition. At the same time as Catholics, I don’t think we spend enough time in thanksgiving.”

Smith is exploring the possibility and the technical aspect of releasing the book on other platforms.

“I’m not doing this for the money – that’s why the books are only a dollar,” Smith said. “I do this for the love of it.”

19A

Check it out: ‘10 Things to Know About Jesus’ Jesuit Father James Martin, author of the Christopher Award-winning book “My Life with the Saints” and more recently known as the “chaplain” for the satirical news show “The Colbert Report,” just published a new video series on CatholicTV called “10 Things to Know About Jesus.”

The 10-part series, which consists of 10 short videos of about 2 minutes each, offers reflections on the life of Jesus Christ and how He is present in our lives today.

In the series, which is appropriate for all ages, Father Martin discusses the facts that Jesus worked and came from a small town, as well as His dual human and Divine nature and His resurrection from the dead.

Father Martin is also the author of “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything” and “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life.” His latest book is “Jesus: A Pilgrimage.”

At www.CatholicTV.com: View the entire series online.

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Special advance shows Thursday, August 21 in select locations

“WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL is a must-see for every team and every person!”

John Gagliardi, Saint John’s University, Winningest Football Coach in History

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 20A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CAMPAIGN:

is our turn to give back.”

— Father Tri Truong, pastor of St. Joseph Vietnamese Church, Charlotte

FROM PAGE 3A

successful. The goodness is there. It’s always there. St. Joseph parishioners realize and understand that they are an important part of the Diocese of Charlotte and have an obligation to be part of this campaign.

When many of our parishioners first arrived in Charlotte, the Catholic Charities Refugee Office provided help in one way or another. We are doing well financially speaking, and now it

O Holy St. Jude!

Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor for all who invoke your, special patronage in time of need; to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart, and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, come to my assistance.

In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked.

St. Jude pray for us who invoke your aid.

(Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Mary’s, 3 Glory Be)

“We have been very blessed ourselves, and take our stewardship of our time, talent and treasure very seriously. Specifically, we think this campaign will secure the future of our Church.”

— Joe Gigler, St. Matthew Church, Charlotte “Overall, our campaign was a huge success in several areas....we not only reached our goal of $1.1 million we reached our challenge goal of $2.1 million. Father Pat (Cahill) always had the faith that we would accomplish our goal.

St. Eugene’s has a large Hispanic population and they stepped up to the challenge giving faithfully and without pause.”

— Jim Torpey, campaign manager, St. Eugene Church, Asheville “As far as I know, I may be the only pastor that began in a pilot parish (Sacred Heart) and ended up in a Block 2 parish (St. Mark’s).

Campaigns are never easy. The key is to explain clearly why it is needed and where the money will go.

“For Sacred Heart, the primary focus was reducing the debt. For St. Mark, it’s about supporting the broader ministries of the diocese while at the same time addressing capital needs here at the parish and freeing up funding for charitable outreach.

“The FFHL effort has given all of us an opportunity to be a part of the future. All of us, whether we know it or not, have benefitted from the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. This is our opportunity to provide a firm foundation for those who will come in the future.”

— Father John Putnam, pastor of St. Mark Church, Huntersville

CCDOC.ORG

“IHM is delighted to share in the success of “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love.” It is aweinspiring to see over 90 parishes and missions come together to build the Kingdom of God in western North Carolina. This campaign marks a significant milestone in our diocese as we continue to grow in numbers, ministries and outreach.

“For IHM the campaign allows us to support the broader ministries and pay down the debt on our brand new $10.7 million Parish Life and Education Center.”

— Matthew Thiel, campaign chair, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, High Point “My wife Pam and I felt very privileged to be able to participate in the diocese’s first capital campaign.”

— Larry Leturmy, St. William Church, Murphy “The generosity of the people overwhelms me. Parishioners gave because they were asked to help and they were willing to do that.

We have some projects over the next five years that this will help accomplish. It was a real parish effort. The Hispanic community was particularly generous with more than 70 families committing gifts of $2,000! Their support helped us surpass our goal.”

— Father John Hanic, pastor of St. John Baptist de la Salle Church, North Wilkesboro “I feel that volunteering to be an ambassador was another way to contribute to the growth of our parish and our diocese. The campaign encouraged prayer, stewardship and fellowship, all of which leads to spiritual growth and stronger faith. I am honored to have been part of the campaign.”

— Regina Reid, St. Helen Mission, Spencer Mountain

RENOVATIONS: FROM PAGE 3A

working closely with the architectural firm of K2M for the past three months on these improvements and feel confident our guests will be pleased with the major enhancements to all the areas within the center.”

“We will be updating our Facebook page throughout the renovation process to keep everyone informed of our progress,” Cronin added.

The conference center was built in 1988 and dedicated on Dec. 18, 1988, by thenBishop John F. Donoghue. This is the first major renovation for the 26-year-old property.

“It is a major undertaking and will completely transform the building into a much more modern facility,” Cronin said.

Funding for the $1 million renovation project is coming from the diocese’s Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love campaign and the center’s general operating fund.

For more information, contact Paul C. Cronin at 828-327-7441 or email pccronin@ charlottediocese.org.

— Catholic News Herald

More online At www.catholicconference.org: Learn more about the Catholic Conference Center On Facebook at “Catholic Conference Center”: Keep up with the progress of renovations at the conference center

Invites You

Twentieth Annual Fundraising Banquet

Featured Speaker ~ Raymond Arroyo

Job Developer

Based out of Murphy, NC Catholic Charities is seeking an experienced professional to assist underemployed and unemployed clients in moving out of poverty through paid employment. This individual will train, coach and support participants through training and development to help them successfully secure permanent, stable employment.

Successful candidate must hold at least an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution and have job coaching/workforce development experience.

Cover letter and resume must be submitted electronically by 5pm Friday, September 5, 2014 to sbluc@charlottediocese.org.

No telephone calls please.

For a complete job description visit ccdoc.org/jobs.

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.

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

MOVIES:

BIKER:

FROM PAGE 19A

FROM PAGE 7A

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Thirty years after bursting onto the comic book scene, the wise-cracking, pizza-loving heroes created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman re-emerge from the sewers of New York City. Their mission, once again: to save the world. This fifth film in the franchise, directed by Jonathan Liebesman, ramps up the 3-D action and destruction but keeps tongue firmly in cheek, and slips in a few good lessons about honor and family. The reptilian quartet, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard, live beneath the Big Apple with a wise Japanese rat (Danny Woodburn) who has trained them in the martial arts. They emerge from the darkness to fight a seemingly invincible gang of criminals led by a razorsharp monster. Helping the turtles navigate the human world are an intrepid TV reporter (Megan Fox) and her cameraman. Intense but bloodless cartoon violence, some bathroom humor, a few vague references to sexuality.

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

God-fearing, charitable soul underneath the blue jeans, black T-shirts and leather.”

Their first meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 in Room 132/135 of the New Life Center at St. Matthew Church will be to get the ministry established and to discuss their participation in the Eucharistic Procession during the Eucharistic Congress on Saturday, Sept. 20.

For more information about this new biker ministry, contact Esposito at 704641-1576 or Stmatthewbikers@gmail. com.

21A

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

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Additional reviews: n ‘Calvary”: CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R n ‘Get On Up’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘Lucy’: CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R n ‘Step Up All In’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘The Fluffy Movie’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13

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15720 John J. Delaney Drive - Suite 300 - Charlotte, North Carolina 28277 (704) 843-1446 swinters@sabrinawinterslaw.com www.ncestateplanninginfo.com

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Our nation

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 22A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Anderson says Knights’ efforts follow pope’s call to help world’s poor

‘Wounds of Christ’ can be seen in suffering of migrants, cardinal says

Tom Tracy Catholic News Service

ORLANDO, Fla. — As an international fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus is wellpositioned to follow Pope Francis’ witness of “love for the sick, the suffering and the poor,” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson.

That “extraordinary witness” and the pope’s admonition to all to cast aside indifference have “captured the imagination of the world,” he said Aug. 5 at the opening business session of the Knights’ 132nd Supreme Convention in Orlando.

“As Knights of Columbus, we are well-positioned to respond,” said Anderson.

He made the remarks in a lengthy annual report detailing the organization’s accomplishments and initiatives in 2013.

The Aug. 5-7 convention celebrated a year in which the organization reported an all-time record for charitable giving: more than $170 million and more than 70.5 million hours of service to charitable causes in the United States and elsewhere the Knights are active.

Response to unexpected tragedies played a large role in members’ activities last year, according to Anderson, while the Knights continued their support within their communities for the Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids and Food for Families initiatives; programs for those with intellectual disabilities; blood drives; and partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics and the American Wheelchair Mission.

Knights were part of relief efforts following two natural disasters in the Philippines; tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma; floods in Alberta, Canada; the factory explosion in West, Texas; and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Anderson noted the year also saw the Knights continue their support for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, the October 2012 super storm, and for the people of Newtown, Connecticut, as they recovered from the late 2012 school shooting that left 20 children and seven adults dead.

“Charity has been at the heart of the Knights’ mission for the past 132 years,” said Anderson. “Whether with funds or service, and whether quietly helping someone overcome a personal tragedy or assisting in the aftermath of a widely known humanitarian disaster, the outpouring of charity by our members produces meaningful results, especially by helping to bring peace of mind to those who find themselves in incredibly difficult situations.”

Tom Tracy Catholic News Service

CNS | Tom Tracy

Actor Gary Sinise smiles as he speaks Aug. 5 at the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus held in Orlando, Fla. Sinise, who is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Dan in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump,” spoke about his support for disabled veterans and his own journey to the Catholic faith.

Knights convene to celebrate their charitable works, fraternal programs Tom Tracy Catholic News Service

ORLANDO, Fla. — Setting the tone for the 132nd annual Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, Orlando Bishop John. G. Noonan noted shifting social trends and the turbulence of world events but also emphasized the hope of faith and fraternity among Christians.

Nearly 90 archbishops and bishops – including 11 cardinals – were expected to join approximately 2,000 Knights and their family members for the Aug. 5-7 convention in Orlando.

On the anniversary of the founding of Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major, Bishop Noonan noted the difficulty of the times, of political gridlock and apparent social and moral decay, challenges to marriage and family life, dwindling belief in God and challenges in the Church.

“The challenges we are facing are whether we are willing to recognize God in our lives and are we willing to have a relationship with him,” the Irish-born Bishop Noonan said in his homily.

“Along comes a man named Jorge Mario Bergoglio who becomes Pope Francis. He captures the world with his humility and simplicity. Riding on the bus with other cardinals after his election; paying his hotel bill; riding around in a Ford Focus,” he continued.

In his first message to the world, Pope Francis “is telling us not to view the world with fear but with the joy of the Gospel,” Bishop Noonan said.

“Pope Francis challenges us to let God into our lives. He illustrates this by telling us that the moon has no lights, but we have to be like the moon, because the moon reflects the light of the sun just

as we must reflect the love of Christ in our lives.”

The pope reminds Catholics that fear will always be interwoven with their hopes, Bishop Noonan said. “We need to discern not only our hopes but also our fear, that our fears will not overcome our hopes and leave us in doubt. The joy of the Gospel is a gift of the Holy Spirit; it is in our relationship with Christ that we overcome all fears and doubts.”

This year’s convention, with the theme “You Will All be Brothers: Our Vocation to Fraternity,” was to include a mix of business, fellowship, prayer and recognition of Knights who have distinguished themselves over the past year. The theme comes from Pope Francis’ message for World Day of Peace, in which he observed: “Without fraternity it is impossible to build a just society.” Catholics, he said, share “a vocation to fraternity.”

Knights families and Church leaders were delighted by a surprise encounter with actor Gary Sinise during the fraternal organization’s Aug. 5-7 convention in Orlando. Sinise spoke at the States Dinner Aug. 5 about his love for wounded veterans and a new collaboration between the Knights and his own charitable foundation.

The Chicago native, a star of stage, film and television who is widely known for his portrayal of Lt. Dan in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” also described his gradual move toward the Catholic faith and of his family’s decision to join the Church. Earlier this year, the Knights of Columbus partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation to build a high-tech “smart home” for a disabled veteran in Ohio.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley challenged all in attendance at the Knights of Columbus convention to be transforming agents in the world and to “connect the dots” between Christ and the suffering.

He was one of several bishops at the 132nd Supreme Convention in Orlando who spoke about the need for greater compassion for a flood of child immigrants to the U.S. who have arrived without a parent in recent months.

“In our own country in the last 10 months, 60,000 children have left behind the violence of their homelands and risked their lives crossing the border, many of them from El Salvador,” Cardinal O’Malley said Aug. 6, noting that El Salvador is the only nation on earth named for Christ the savior.

“It was to pray for them and all those who perished in the desert that a group of bishops went to (the U.S.-Mexico border) in Nogales, Arizona, to celebrate the Eucharist at the border,” Cardinal O’Malley said of the April 1 Mass, during which the congregation remembered the 6,000 or so migrants who have died in the U.S. desert since 1998.

“We were amazed at the response,” he said. “I believe most Catholics understood our message, which was that of Pope Francis -- whose first trip as pope was to Lampedusa, Italy, where thousands of immigrants have perished in their attempts to enter Europe.”

Pope Francis warns about the “globalization of indifference,” Cardinal O’Malley noted, adding, “We cannot be indifferent to the wounds of Christ manifested in so many ways in suffering humanity.”

“May our lives be filled with transfigurations, glimpses of glory and love in surprising places, in unlikely people,” Cardinal O’Malley told the Knights during a morning Mass on the feast of the Transfiguration. “We will find not strangers but brothers and sisters, and indeed Christ.”

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI 23A

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

Archbishop William E. Lori, Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; and Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

In Brief

First U.S. black priests ‘opened door for rest of us,’ says pastor

Archbishop calls for prayer, penance to counter ‘black mass’

MOBILE, Ala. — Black Catholic bishops, priests, deacons and religious brothers who gathered in Mobile for an annual joint conference celebrated the 80th anniversary of the first class of black priests who were educated and ordained in the U.S. “As we begin our preparations for the 50th anniversary of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, it is important for us to remember those pioneers who came before us,” said Father Kenneth Taylor, president of the caucus and pastor of the Church of the Holy Angels in Indianapolis. “These men who were educated and ordained here in the United States opened the door for the rest of us. Because of what they did, we can do what we do.”

The clergy caucus holds an annual joint conference with the National Black Sisters’ Conference, the National Black Catholic Seminarians’ Association and the National Association of Black Catholic Deacons. This year’s joint conference took place July 27-31 in Mobile, where the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary national convention took place July 25-30. A highlight of the joint conference was a review of the history of black Catholic priests ministering in the United States.

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago also gave a progress report on the sainthood cause for Father Augustus Tolton.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Archbishop Paul S. Coakley has asked Catholics to offer prayer and penance to prevent a Satanic group from holding a “black mass” Sept. 21 at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City. “Even though tickets are being sold for this event as if it were merely some sort of dark entertainment, this Satanic ritual is deadly serious. It is a blasphemous and obscene inversion of the Catholic Mass,” said the Oklahoma City archbishop. “Using a consecrated host obtained illicitly from a Catholic church and desecrating it in the vilest ways imaginable, the practitioners offer it in sacrifice to Satan. This terrible sacrilege is a deliberate attack on the Catholic Mass as well as the foundational beliefs of all Christians.” He made the comments in an Aug. 4 letter to priests and parishioners throughout the archdiocese. He said that despite “repeated requests, there has been no indication that the city intends to prevent this.” He called for a united campaign of prayer, procession and benediction in response to the “black mass.”

Bill aims to protect faith-based adoption agencies WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two lawmakers July 30 introduced a measure they say is needed to protect faith-based agencies that provide adoption and foster care services from discrimination based on their religious beliefs.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pennsylvania, introduced companion bills titled the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2014.

“This bill is about fairness and inclusion. It is about ensuring that everyone who wants to help provide foster or adoptive care to children is able to have a seat at the table,” Kelly said in a statement. “Faith-based charities and organizations do an amazing job of administering adoption, foster care and a host of other services,” Enzi said. “Limiting their work because someone might disagree with what they believe only ends up hurting the families they could be bringing together.”

The chairmen of three U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees said July 31 they support the measure: San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage; Baltimore

Bishops support national rules to reduce carbon pollution WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chairmen of two U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees offered their support for national standards to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants in an effort to limit climate change. Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, voiced their support in a letter read during an Environmental Protection Agency hearing in Washington July 30. Standards to reduce power plant pollution should protect the health and welfare of people, especially children, the elderly, the poor and the vulnerable, they said, and cited the words of Pope Francis, who has described creation as a gift from God that humans must protect and use for the benefit of all people.

Experiencing difficulties in your marriage?

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

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

CCDOC.ORG

— Catholic News Service

Success in School Starts Here Hundreds of refugees arrive in North Carolina each year. Children living in refugee camps and war-torn countries have limited access to education and often arrive years behind educational standards.

Catholic Charities provides homework assistance, enrichment, mentoring, and additional learning experiences to ensure students have the skills they need to excel in school and achieve educational goals.

To donate school supplies to help refugee youth and other children in need as a new school year begins, visit ccdoc.org or call 800-227-7261 to schedule a drop off at a local office.

Our world

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 24A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. John Korean Church pastor grateful for pope’s visit to South Korea SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Pope Francis will make his first trip to South Korea Aug. 14-18.

During his visit, the pope will attend the 6th Annual Asia Youth Day, beatify Watch the coverage 124 Korean martyrs and At www.ewtn. celebrate com/papaltravels/ Mass with korea2014: Live the youth in coverage of the pope’s the Diocese visit to South Korea of Daejeon. will be broadcast South on the Eternal Word Koreans Television Network and have waited on its website.

25 years to receive another visit from a pope. The last visit was in 1986 by Pope St. John Paul II, when he celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Catholic Church of Korea and canonized 103 Korean martyrs. The late pontiff returned in 1989 to attend the 44th Eucharistic Congress.

Gertrude Kim, part-time parish secretary and parishioner at St. John Lee Korean Church in Charlotte, remembers the excitement of having Pope St. John Paul II visit her homeland. Kim, who moved to the U.S. in XXXX, is thrilled that her countrymen will have another opportunity to see a pope on their own soil.

“We are all excited about it,” Kim said. She was reading the Korean Catholic recently and saw how proud her homeland is to host Pope Francis.

“The people and the government are very ready and very proud to have the pope visit,” she said.

The pope’s trip to Korea will center on the message “Arise, shine!” (taken from Isaiah 60:1). He is attending the 6th Asian Youth Day, which will be held from Aug. 13-17.

During this time, Pope Francis will talk with young Asian Catholics and celebrate Mass on Aug. 15. The Holy Father will also meet Aug. 16 with the disabled children of “Flower Neighborhood,” one of the best known Catholic welfare facilities in South Korea.

Father Deokkyo Seo, pastor of St. John Lee Korean Church in Charlotte, commented on the papal visit.

“We desperately need God’s healing hand and reconciliation for the hearts of those who are experiencing confusion, hurt or need,” Father Seo said. “As with the two sides of a flipped coin, we don’t know how God’s blessing will come to us.”

He said he sees the Holy Father’s trip to Korea also as an opportunity to give thanks.

“The words of our chosen hymn (“Rise Up in Splendor”) for this 124-Martyr Beatification Ceremony show our gratitude to God, and give Him all the glory and honor that He is due.”

CNS | YONHAPNEWS via EPA

A Catholic ceremony takes place at the historic Chon Jin Am site in Gwangju, South Korea, June 24. The country is set to host about 30 countries for a five-day Asian Youth Day event that is focused on formation and spiritual life, particularly for youth leaders. The event will coincide with Pope Francis’ visit to that country, where he is scheduled to beatify 124 Korean martyrs.

Papal visit to South Korea: Legacy of martyrs, lay leadership lives on Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — When Pope Francis visits South Korea Aug. 14-18, he will find a Catholic Church that exemplifies much of what he hopes for the Church around the world, including a highly active laity, extensive efforts to help the needy and strong relations with non-Christian communities. So says a retired American missionary who spent nearly half a century building up Catholicism in the country.

Bishop William J. McNaughton, 87, arrived in Korea as a Maryknoll missionary in 1954 and served as the first bishop of Inchon from 1962 until his retirement 2002.

“The blood of martyrs is why the Church is so strong in Korea,” the bishop said, noting the more than 10,000 Korean Catholics killed for their faith between 1785 and 1886, 124 of whom Pope Francis will beatify Aug. 16.

“To this day, they talk about it, they urge people to have the spirit of the martyrs,” the bishop said.

One legacy of that persecution is an extraordinarily prominent role for lay Catholics. The Church was founded in the late 18th century by laypeople who embraced Catholicism after studying it in books imported from China, and for more than half of its first century, it had to survive without the ministry of clergy.

That tradition manifests itself today in the popularity of ecclesial movements such as the Legion of Mary, Cursillo, Marriage Encounter and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Bishop McNaughton says.

In Korea, the “evangelizers are not so much the priests and the sisters as the very persons themselves, the Catholic laity,” he said. “Once they get the faith, they propagate it among themselves. They know how to spread the faith.”

Yet the bishop, whose achievements included opening a diocesan seminary, notes that Korea has a strong tradition of cultivating native clergy, starting with a clandestine seminary founded in the mountains in 1855. At the end of 2013, according to statistics supplied by the local Church, South Korea had 4,261

priests and 1,489 major seminarians out of a total of 5.4 million Catholics (almost 11 percent of the country’s population).

Notwithstanding Korean rulers’ long-standing hostility to Christianity, which was banned until 1886, Bishop McNaughton says the local culture is naturally receptive to it.

One reason is the deep-rooted religiosity, whose traditional forms include Buddhism, Laoism and Confucianism.

“There are very few atheists,” said the bishop, noting that he enjoyed cordial relationships with Buddhist monks as well as Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries during his years in Korea.

The typical strength of extended families in Korea is also conducive to Catholicism, since converts tend to share their faith with relatives, he says. The economic level of Catholics has risen with that of South Korea as a whole, which is today the world’s 13th richest economy. When Bishop McNaughton arrived in the country, most of his flock was poor, but Catholics are now actually wealthier than average, a condition he attributes largely to the excellence of Catholic schools.

The Church has channeled some of that wealth into apostolates for the poor, he notes, including the House of Hope rehabilitation center in Kkottongnae, which Pope Francis will visit Aug. 16, and the World Villages for Children, founded by the late Father Aloysius Schwartz, a U.S.-born priest of the Diocese of Busan.

Bishop McNaughton’s account of the Church in South Korea is not unremittingly sunny. He says only about 25 percent of Catholics there now attend Mass regularly, and notes that Catholic families have shrunken in conformity to the overall trend, in a country whose fertility rate of 1.25 children per woman is one of the lowest in the world.

These developments reflect a materialism born of prosperity, he says: “When people live well they forget God.” Another factor is inadequate catechesis of adult converts, particularly on Catholic moral teaching against contraception and abortion, in the face of government policies promoting population control.

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI 25A

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In Brief Nigerian archbishops suspend sign of peace to help prevent Ebola LAGOS, Nigeria — In an effort to curtail the spread of Ebola, the archdioceses of Lagos and Abuja instructed their priests to suspend all forms of physical contact during Mass, including the traditional sign of peace. “Taking into consideration the fact that this rite is optional, we shall henceforth omit it, i.e., not invite people to offer the sign of peace. When you get to this rite, skip it,” Lagos Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins said in a statement Aug. 10. He said while holy water could be used in homes and offices, the fonts at church entrances should be emptied. He also encouraged the use of gloves when counting money from Mass collections.

He advised priests to use extra care when visiting the sick, especially when administering the sacrament of anointing of the sick. The archbishop also advised them “to avoid physical contact when giving out Holy Communion.”

Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan told journalists Aug. 10 that the Church was taking necessary precautionary steps to avoid the spread of the disease.

Vatican calls on Muslim leaders to condemn Islamic State VATICAN CITY — The Vatican called on Muslim leaders to condemn the “barbarity” and “unspeakable criminal acts” of Islamic

State militants in Iraq, saying a failure to do so would jeopardize the future of interreligious dialogue. “The plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious and ethnic communities that are numeric minorities in Iraq demands a clear and courageous stance on the part of religious leaders, especially Muslims, those engaged in interfaith dialogue and everyone of goodwill,” said a statement from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released by the Vatican Aug. 12. “All must be unanimous in condemning unequivocally these crimes and must denounce the invocation of religion to justify them,” the statement said. “Otherwise, what credibility will religions, their followers and their leaders have? What credibility would remain to the interreligious dialogue patiently pursued in recent years?” The document noted that the “majority of Muslim religious and political institutions” have opposed the Islamic State’s avowed mission of restoring a caliphate, a sovereign Muslim state under Islamic law, to succeed the Ottoman Caliphate abolished after the founding of modern Turkey in 1923.

Pope: Family love gives security, ability to hope for better world VATICAN CITY — A healthy society relies on citizens who learn love, responsibility, loyalty, acceptance of others and solidarity from their family relationships, Pope Francis said. “The family is a ‘center of love’ where the laws of respect and communion reign, giving people the ability to resist the forces of manipulation and domination by worldly ‘centers of power,’” the pope said in a message to the Latin American bishops’ congress on pastoral work with families. The congress, which convened Aug. 4-9 in Panama City, focused on the Church’s support of families and the role of families in “social development for a full life.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 26A CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Joseph McCullough

Harboring the children The St. Thomas More Society The St. Thomas More Society Inc. is an independent charitable organization sponsored by members of the North Carolina Bar. We believe that the legal profession is a high calling in which the principal objective of every lawyer should be to promote and seek justice in society. Ultimately, we believe that the duty of a Christian lawyer is to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church at all times regardless of the personal consequences.

Through fellowship with like-minded lawyers, we strive to support and to assist individual members of the St. Thomas More Society in their own efforts toward incorporating spiritual growth, Christian principles and the pursuit of truth in their spiritual and professional lives. We look to the example and ideals of St. Thomas More in our pursuit of the highest ethical principles in the legal profession generally and, in particular, in the community of Catholic lawyers. In addition, we encourage interfaith understanding and community, in part through sponsorship of an annual Red Mass to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit for the judiciary, lawyers, law enforcement, and other members of the legal community.

I

n Washington, D.C., and all along the U.S.-Mexico border a passionate debate rages concerning the plight of unaccompanied child migrants who are flooding into our country. What in past years was a small but steady stream of refugees escaping violence and poverty in Central America has increased exponentially, in part, due to the perception of the children and their families that our government will not or cannot enforce immigration laws and send them home.

The unprecedented increase in the number of unaccompanied migrating children from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico is staggering.

Between 2004 and 2011, the U.S. government apprehended an average of 6,000-8,000 migrant children per year. The number of children apprehended jumped to more than 13,000 in 2012 and to more than 24,000 in 2013. Projections for 2014 are 90,000 (52,000 have been detained through June 20). For 2015 the projection is more than 130,000. The resulting strain on the welfare resources of the border states has exasperated critics of the administration’s current border control policies.

As Catholics and as Americans, how should we respond to this crisis?

Underlying any discussion of migration policies is the contradiction between the tenet that emigration is a human right and the view that immigration is a matter of

Protecting God’s Children We proclaim Christ to the world around us by our efforts to provide a safe environment for all people, especially the young and the vulnerable.

In 2002, the bishops of the United States issued the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The charter addresses the Church’s commitment to respond effectively, appropriately and compassionately to cases of abuse of minors by priests, deacons or other church personnel.

DIOCESAN REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTING MINISTRY-RELATED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR 1. Any individual having actual knowledge of or reasonable cause to suspect an incident of ministry-related sexual abuse is to immediately report the incident to the Chancery.

2. The Chancery will then report the incident to the proper civil authorities. The individual reporting the incident to the Chancery will be notified of the particulars regarding the Chancery’s filing of the incident with civil authorities.

3. This reporting requirement is not intended to supersede the right of an individual to make a report to civil authorities, but is to ensure proper, complete and timely reporting.

Should an individual choose to make a report to civil authorities, a report is still to be made to the Chancery.

The charter can be found on the diocesan website, Charlottediocese.org, click on the tab, “Safe Environment.”

national sovereignty. To most citizens the argument in favor of national sovereignty, controlling migration, is a no-brainer.

Globalists who insist that justice can only be served by a world with unrestricted migration presume a fairy tale world without borders, without oppressive regimes, and without disparities among countries’ health, education and welfare services. A real world without borders would result in a catastrophic crush on the resources of a country like ours. It is simply impossible for any one country to provide protection to all who seek it.

As Catholics our obligation to refugees of all ages is clear – we are instructed to harbor the harborless. But does this corporal work of mercy extend to the state?

If so, how do we balance the economic and security concerns of our country with the needs of the refugees? We do not personally provide money and shelter to every homeless person whose path we cross because we simply can’t afford to. Likewise our country cannot take in every refugee seeking asylum – otherwise we would be flooded with refugees from Nigeria, Syria, Iraq and countless other countries.

Tackling any large social issue brings into focus the two equally important and intertwined principles of Catholic social teaching: solidarity and subsidiarity.

Solidarity is the principle that we are all connected to each other as God’s children and, as such, we have shared duties to one another, particularly the poor and helpless.

Subsidiarity is the complementary principle that, in general, the smaller units of our society, such as family, Church, neighborhood and local volunteer and charitable organizations are preferable to big government in solving social problems.

Any resolution to the border crisis must include both principles.

The balancing of migrant rights and sovereign rights is not a novel concept.

In his 1999 exhortation “Ecclesia in America,” Pope St. John Paul II addressed migration by affirming the need to respect the human dignity of all, while also acknowledging the need to balance the rights of migrants with the rights of nations to protect their borders.

In 2010 Pope Benedict addressed the dignity of all immigrants while acknowledging nations’ rights to regulate immigration, asking Christians to pray “that hearts may open to Christian welcome and to the effort to increase in the world justice and charity...” He continued by adding, “States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person.”

This summer, in a message sent to the Mexico-Holy See Colloquium on Migration and Development, Pope Francis directly addressed the child migration crisis and called for an immediate humanitarian

response, stating “They (the children) are increasing day by day. This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first measure, these children be welcomed and protected.”

Pope Francis did not limit his comments to the United States, adding that the international community should also address the violence and poverty which are prompting children to flee.

Last month, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the plight of unaccompanied migrant children. Bishop Seitz gave Congress the Catholic Church’s perspective on the humanitarian crisis at the border. Pointing out that at one time Jesus was a child migrant, Bishop Seitz based the Church’s efforts in assisting unaccompanied migrant children on the tenet that every person is created in God’s image. While recognizing the government’s sovereign right to control and protect the border, Bishop Seitz reaffirmed the Church’s pastoral interest in the welfare of migrants and pledged the support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the entire Catholic Church’s charitable network to work in conjunction with Congress to pursue just and humane solutions to the challenge of child migration.

So, facing the daunting complexities of immigration policies, what are we as Catholics to do? Of course,we should pray for the safety and welfare of these children, as well as for the end of the cycles of violence and poverty in their home countries. But should we do more than pray? Should we bus the children home? Or should we welcome the children? Can we trust this decision to a government rife with self-serving politicians and bureaucrats, a government that is inefficient, irresponsible and, in many respects, openly hostile to Catholic teaching? Or do we throw up our hands in resignation and do nothing?

As Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia states in his book “Render Unto Caesar,” “the nature of the Gospel forces the Church as a community and the individual Catholic as a believer to actively engage the world. That means all of it – including its social, economic and political structures.” While recognizing that we will never successfully build God’s kingdom on earth, Archbishop Chaput emphasizes that we are not released from “the duty to sanctify, humanize and bring Jesus Christ to the public square in which we live.”

Faithful Catholics may disagree on how best to help the refugee children on the border but, whatever we do, we would do well to remember the words of Mother Teresa: “Every day I see Jesus Christ in all His distressing disguises.”

Joseph McCullough is a lawyer in Charlotte and a member of St. Patrick Cathedral and of the St. Thomas More Society Charlotte chapter.

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI 27A

Fred Gallagher

Deacon James H. Toner

Don’t follow your conscience

A letter to our last one off to college

D

ear Son, Your mother and I have done this before but you’re the last one to leave, and that means the nest will be empty. We are not the kind to jump for joy when we finally have the house to ourselves.

We are the kind to mourn the empty rooms. You’ve been easy, and it will be hard to let you go.

We will remember so much, from the good times in the old neighborhood, to the transitions from elementary to middle to high school, to the departures of your sisters as they ventured out to new lives. We are grateful for so many years of Catholic education, and we look back fondly on the annual first-day-of-school photos taken on the front porch with a notion that your mother and I would, indeed, do it all over again. And we remain pretty doggoned enchanted by your humor: how you goofed on your sisters, flirted with your mother and bantered with me. We are all here to tell you, your scheme has been thoroughly successful. We’ve been snowed from the very beginning.

But in the end, it is not what we remember that is important. It is what you remember. We know you don’t recall our singing you to sleep with Irish songs while the same crib your sisters had still took up most of your room. You cannot know the joy you gave us in the first days and months of your life. But somewhere along the line the figures of your childhood begin to emerge. Your aunts and your uncles, your cousins and those “like family” to us appear. Keep them in mind, son; they love you and familial love is mightily underrated these days.

It is our hope, too, that the first images of our faith are implanted firmly in your heart and mind: Baby Jesus in stained glass above us in the pew at Mass; your first Holy Communion and the big to-do it really was. I know you remember from confirmation the acronym I gave you to bring to mind the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Whisper those gifts to yourself every now and then just to see how present they are. We so hope the sights, sounds and smells, the taste and the feel of our faith as we have embraced it will remain in your heart and in your mind as you enter a more secular world than you have ever known before.

And as you enter that world, son, know that the majority of the people you will encounter do not believe in the existence of objective truth. And that fact will color everything they teach you, just as my belief in it has colored everything I have taught you. And most of the people you encounter will not believe in the sanctity of human life the way you do. I do not ask you to be an activist; there will be plenty of time for that later. But please don’t be a follower, either. We don’t want to lose you, son.

Make your education a true adventure by not ruling out the importance of the transcendent, of the possibilities inherent in a belief in a Prime Mover and in the greatest of all living poems, the Incarnation. Know that, historically, if not for the Catholic Church there would be no university for you to attend. It fostered the discovery of scientific principles, inspired wondrous art and put forth the greatest literature the world has known.

This will also be a time for you to cultivate the power and enchantment of thought itself. And perhaps the best person throughout the ages to study for that is someone whose name you will probably never hear, Thomas Aquinas. Read him anyway and quote him in a term paper just to see what happens! And if you feel yourself slipping away, read Augustine of Hippo; he will bring you home.

Few will mention to you the growing consensus that the greatest of all wordsmiths, William Shakespeare, was a bona fide Roman Catholic. But if modernity suits you better, read John Henry Newman, Flannery O’Connor, Henri de Lubac, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy, G.K. Chesterton, Gabriel Marcel, Paul Johnson, Allen Tate, Graham Greene, Dorothy Day, Joseph Ratzinger, Gerard Manly Hopkins, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Hugh Benson, Peter Kreeft, Francois Mauriac, Thomas Howard, Paul Mariani and Karol Wojtyla, among so many others in whose direction you will most likely not be pointed.

Don’t be afraid to continue to believe, son. There is a bright and wondrous Catholic intelligentsia waiting for your discovery. Take the initiative. It will change your life for the good and forever. I promise you that.

And finally, your mother and I would simply like you to recall the years when one of the two of us made the Sign of the Cross upon your head as you went to bed. We want you to feel our hands there crossing you each and every night, son, from here on out – wherever you are – each and every night.

Love, as ever, Mom and Dad. Fred Gallagher is a restless Catholic who is also an author, book editor and former addictions counselor. He and his wife Kim are members of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.

“The worst thing in the world is not sin; it is the denial of sin by a false conscience.” — Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“

Don’t follow your conscience”? Isn’t that about as “unCatholic” as anyone can get? After all, it was St. Paul who told us, “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made a shipwreck of their faith” (1 Tim 1:19). So isn’t the core of Catholic moral teaching concerned with following our personal conscience? In a word: No. Much of genuine Catholic education correctly consists in inoculating us against the vices of the world (see John 16:33). These vices have an insidious ability to worm their way into our minds and hearts; they have an evil talent for subverting our thoughts, words, and actions; in short, they morally stupefy us (Acts 28:26-27, Isaiah 6:9-10).

We can do two kinds of wrong: the kind we consciously choose to do and the kind which we do unconsciously, not recognizing its character. A form of the latter evil manifests itself commonly in speech patterns in which we thoughtlessly take the Lord’s name in vain or in other ways abuse the power of speech, against which St. James specifically admonishes us (3:8-12; cf. Eph 5:4).

We rarely think of Frank Sinatra as a great philosopher, but he had it exactly right in crooning “Do-be-do-be-do,” for what we routinely do, we tend to become. Then what we become leads us to do things “in character.”

Habit can thus be vicious – or virtuous. If we do not build up our virtue, we become “blind” (2 Peter 1:9) and unable to distinguish right from wrong.

I once knew a convict who testified to the truth of St. Peter’s warning. He had been a judge. Approached by criminal elements to help one of them who was being tried, the judge was unable to resist their bribes and blandishments, and he subtly influenced the course of the trial.

As the months wore on, the criminals came to him again and again, always asking little favors with big payoffs. The day came, of course, when they asked something which, if done, would clearly expose the judge, and he demurred. The criminals then told him, correctly: “We’ve got you. We own you. If you don’t do what we tell you, we’ll tip off the authorities about you.” He ended up in prison. He had repeatedly done a “little” wrong; in doing so, he had formed a character, a pattern, which led to his destruction.

One of the fruits of the sacrament of reconciliation is that it encourages us to examine our conscience in the light of Church teaching.

When our consciences are formed on the basis of the ubiquitous but often corrupt messages of the secular world, we may know – or we may not know (until we reflect in the cold light of the truth) – that what we reflexively think, say and do is, in fact, sinful. What we subjectively think is right may objectively be grievously wrong (see Titus 1:15).

Therefore, the core of Catholic moral teaching is the need to follow our informed conscience. A free conscience is thus one formed in and by the truth, not by personal caprice or private appetite (see John 8:34).

“Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you, but let your behavior change, modeled by your new mind. That is the only way to discover

‘We cannot fool God, but we are masters, all of us, at fooling ourselves.’

the will of God and know what is good, what it is God wants, what is the perfect thing to do” (Romans 12:2).

In short, we may have what is known in moral theology as a lax conscience or an erroneous conscience. We have a compelling moral obligation to form right consciences. That is not easy because, first, selfishly, we may not want to and because, second, we are so bruised and battered by secular and commercial messages which are virulently opposed to Church teaching (especially in the realm of sexual ethics) that we have “lost consciousness” morally.

This point is made concisely and cogently in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which tells us all humans “are tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.”

(1783-1785) Ryan N.S. Topping, whose book “Rebuilding Catholic Culture” is a recent and especially well-done study deserving a key place in parish discussion groups, points out that conscience “is a guide, but we are warned: the tide of human judgment runs downstream. ... Lazily floating along the river of life with a raft filled only with other fellows and good times will not eventually land you on a sandy beach but will carry you over a steep fall.” That is one reason that, in the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church begs the Lord to “heal our troubled conscience” (Week Two, Friday morning prayer, after Psalm 51).

The word conscience means “with knowledge.” If we are mentally lazy or morally apathetic (and sloth is one of the deadly sins), we will develop a false conscience which worships our pleasure as our god.

The Second Vatican Council warned against our being the kind of people who take “little trouble to find out what is good or true” (“Gaudium et Spes,” 16; see also “Lumen Gentium,” 16). We are called to serve the Lord; but we will not serve Him until we love Him; and we will not love Him until we know Him – and know His Body, the Church (see CCC 1792).

Pope St. John Paul II told us that “the Church puts herself always and only at the service of conscience, helping it to avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine proposed by human deceit (see Eph 4:14), and helping it not to swerve from the truth about the good of man, but rather, especially in more difficult questions, to attain the truth with certainty and to abide by it” (“Evangelium Vitae,” 64). And Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote, “Conscience cannot come to us from the rulings of society; otherwise it would never reprove us when society approves us, nor console us when society condemns.”

There are eternal moral concepts and principles which we rational humans can and should understand. In fact, the term “moral consciousness,” or a synonym for it, appears six times in the three pastoral epistles and more than 20 times in the rest of the New Testament. Conscience, moral consciousness, is the application of these eternal principles to particular circumstances, requiring knowledge (catechesis) and will (the desire to do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason).

We hear so much, so often, that is grievously mistaken or morally twisted that we can lose our way, for the darkness of our times is very deep.

The Truth of Christ is the reservoir from which flows the water of life. Drink this water, and you will never be thirsty – that is, morally confused – again: “The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

As we are free to form our consciences according to sacred teaching, so are we “free” to rebel and to reject that teaching, wholly or partially. We cannot fool God, but we are masters, all of us, at fooling ourselves.

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

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 28A 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

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 S

D, I

BEHOL

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

M

AK

- 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

EW

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

N

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

20

14

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

GoEucharist.com

August 15, 2014

A S P EC I A L e d i t i o n o f T H E C AT H O L I C N E W S H E R A L D

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org

WELCOME New principals named for 5 schools

NEW HOME OLG School opens the new year in a new, larger building

SUCCESS Iraqi refugee, CCHS grad earns full scholarship to college

ALSO INSIDE Upcoming open houses, special needs programs, and more

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Dr. Janice Ritter

Looking forward to a successful school year

I

t’s hard to believe that the summer is winding to an end and we are about to begin another new school year.

There is an air of excitement in each of our 19 schools across the diocese as they prepare to welcome back more than 7,500 students.

The mission of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Charlotte is to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and to provide a religious and academic program that allows each student to develop spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially, so that each is prepared to live and serve in a changing society as a self-respecting citizen.

The strength of our schools is that the teachers, staff and students live out this mission every day and it is readily evident to anyone who is in contact with our schools.

Catholic schools have been providing this kind of impact on the area since 1882 with the first Catholic school in Salisbury and continuing to grow to the 19 quality schools we have today.

This includes our latest addition with the expansion of Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, opening this year in a beautiful new building.

We are truly fortunate to have this vibrate collection of Catholic schools that emphasize the qualities of faith, tradition and academic excellence in all that they do. We are also very fortunate to have a very strong leadership group for this coming year, which includes new principals for five of our schools.

Meredith Canning will become principal for Immaculata in Hendersonville, Katie Meseroll will become principal for St. Michael in Gastonia, Greg Roberts will become principal for Immaculate Heart of Mary in High Point, Brendan Keane will become principal for Christ the King High School in Huntersville and Kurt Telford will become interim principal for Charlotte Catholic High School. We are blessed to have these talented individuals bring a wealth of experience and leadership to our schools.

I would like to wish our administration, teachers, students and Catholic schools families a very successful school year – both academically and spiritually.

Dr. Janice Ritter is superintendent of the Diocese of Charlotte Schools.

Photos provided by Karen Hornfeck

Our Lady of Grace’s new school features spacious classrooms with large windows that overlook the campus Improvements also include state-of-the-art technology in each room.

Our Lady of Grace Parish opens larger school building Karen Hornfeck Special to the Catholic News Herald

GREENSBORO — Throughout the summer, there has been a flurry of activity at Our Lady of Grace School as faculty and staff excitedly move into classrooms in their new school building. Our Lady of Grace School will start classes in the new three-story building Aug. 25.

The new school, part of a $4.575 million capital campaign, was designed by J. Hyatt Hammond with construction handled by Landmark Construction. The school is comprised of 16 state-of-the-art classrooms and is linked to an existing school building that houses the school library, offices, cafeteria, extra classrooms and gymnasium.

“For over 60 years, Our Lady of Grace School has had two separate buildings,” explains Celia McMullen, a second-grade teacher whose college-aged children graduated from the school. “Not only is having a new building wonderful, but it’s exciting to have our whole school under one roof.”

As part of the new building, the school also has updated security with a state-ofthe-art system that includes 16 cameras across the campus. Each classroom, prekindergarten through eighth grade, also has upgraded technology that includes SmartBoards and Epsom Brightlight interactive whiteboards.

The school has also put time into meaningfully decorating the halls. Our

Lady of Grace School won a United Arts Council of Greensboro grant last year for a tile art mural project entitled “This is Me, This is Us.” The tiled mural, made up of

student self portraits, now decorates the front office and visually communicates that the school is one family made up of many in God’s image.

Renowned artist and OLG parent Paul Nixon created an original sculpture called “The Tree of Wisdom” that decorates a hall on the first floor. School supporters, parishioners, parents, alumni and faculty purchased leaves, acorns and other parts of the tree to support the school. Nixon’s work of art is made of wood with branches and leaves that reach out along a wall.

For the pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, the tree represents what is so special about the OLG community.

“There are so many branches in our parish that come together to make this a vibrant and growing church,” Father Eric Kowalski explains. “The building process is just one example of the OLG parish working hard to realize its dream of providing a place for children to grow in faith and knowledge.”

Our Lady of Grace is located in the heart of Greensboro’s historic Sunset Hills neighborhood. The original church was built in 1952 by Julian Price in memory of his wife, Ethel Clay Price. That same year, the original school building was also built and the school opened its doors to students in January 1953. Since that time, more than 25,000 students have been educated at the school.

Now that the school building has been completed, the original classroom building, which was constructed in the same Gothic style as the church, is being renovated into a family life center. Church offices, parish meeting spaces and a special events room will round out the facility and offer muchneeded space for the parish community to come together.

“Our building project is the result of a tremendous commitment of prayer, time, talent and resources of both our school and church community,” says Father Kowalski.

“The Diocese of Charlotte has also been a fundamental partner in assisting us in bringing this project to fruition.”

Father Kowalski says he just can’t wait until the students see their new school. “It is going to be a very exciting year at OLG!”

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Other new principals Meredith Canning is the new principal at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.

Canning had been serving as interim principal after Carole Breerwood retired in December.

A graduate of Canning St. Bonaventure University in New York, Canning taught first, second and fourth grades in New York and New Jersey before moving to North Carolina.

She taught first grade at Immaculata for four years. She and her husband Brian have three children, who all attend Immaculata, and they live in Hendersonville.

Katie Meseroll is the new principal at St. Michael School in Gastonia. For the past four years Meseroll served as assistant principal and athletic director at Sacred Heart School in Salisbury, where she Meseroll also taught math and physical education.

A former Sacred Heart student herself, Meseroll graduated from Belmont Abbey College with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She earned a master’s degree in school administration from Gardner-Webb University in 2011.

Greg Roberts is the new principal at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point. New to North Carolina, Roberts earned an industrial engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma, where Roberts he also participated in wrestling and football. He worked for nine years as an engineer before entering the teaching profession in New Hampshire. He served seven years in public schools there as a middle school volunteer, substitute teacher and high school wrestling coach.

For the past 17 years, he taught math and served as assistant principal, interim principal, and softball/football coach at a high school in the Diocese of Manchester.

He and his wife have three children aged 29, 25 and 19.

Telford looks forward to new year at Charlotte Catholic SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Kurt Telford, the former principal of Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro, has been hired as the interim principal of Charlotte Catholic High School for the 2014-’15 school year.

“Having served at OLG for the past two years, he is very familiar with the Diocese of Charlotte and has established a fine working relationship with his fellow diocesan principals,” said Dr. Janice Ritter, diocesan Telford schools superintendent, in a recent letter to faculty, students and parents.

Before coming to the diocesan schools system, Telford worked in public schools, including serving as principal at West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, which has about 2,000 students and 110 teachers. Telford was named the 2010-’11 Winston-SalemForsyth County Principal of the Year.

“During his tenure,” Ritter’s letter noted, “the school posted impressive academic achievement.”

Before serving as principal of West Forsyth High, Telford served as principal of East Forsyth High School, which has about 1,500 students and 105 teachers. He was also principal of Northwest Middle School, and he was an adjunct instructor in educational leadership and school finance at Western Carolina University.

He has extensive experience in overseeing high school athletics programs, and he has coached football, swimming and track.

A product of Catholic schools himself, Telford has a Bachelor of Science in education with a concentration in social studies from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Science in education with a concentration in social studies from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and a certificate in educational administration from North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.

He and his wife Betty are members of Holy Family Parish in Clemmons.

Charlotte Catholic, founded in 1955, is the largest of the three high schools in the diocesan system of 19 schools.

“Statewide, the reputation of this school is tremendous so I am really humbled to have been selected to be the interim principal. I am excited for the opportunity to serve at Charlotte Catholic,” Telford said.

Celebrating over 70 years!

St. Michael Catholic School Now Enrolling PK-8th grade Come see what St. Michaels has to offer!

Tours and information available upon drop in or by scheduling an appointment.

Financial Assistance available!

704 St Michael Lane, Gastonia, NC 28052 704-865-4382 Katie Meseroll, Principal kcmeseroll@www.stmichaelsgastonia.org

Last school year was difficult for the Charlotte Catholic community, which endured the death of a recent graduate, a controversial student assembly, and the resignation of the school’s long-time principal. Vocal criticism about the assembly and divided loyalties over the principal’s departure rocked the school community.

Telford hopes the new school year will mark the start of the school community’s moving forward in a positive direction. He said his goal now is to put the focus back on the students and their academic and spiritual growth.

“We need to focus on what our purpose is, not to focus on where there may have been a bump in the road or where we may disagree. It’s to try to pull people in and focus on what our purpose is. There are things that are sometimes beyond our control. So what we – our classroom teachers and me as principal – can control is that kids are engaged in their education and we are giving them the best education that we can.”

Telford said he is looking forward to meeting students and their families, and he pledged to listen to them as the school begins a new year in August.

“Sometimes people don’t want you to necessarily change things, but they want you to listen. Over my career, I have become a better listener. Sometimes people come in and have great suggestions. And it could be a student, a parent, an alumnus. Because I don’t have any history at Charlotte Catholic, it’s a great learning curve for me to listen and see how Charlotte Catholic does things,” he said.

“I have been asked to come in and make sure we’re on track to help our kids be successful.

That’s what my focus is. The challenge is to focus on what we’re here for, what we do well and what we have in common,” he said.

“We’re a Catholic school, so we’re here for kids and that should be our focus. At the end of the day, it’s what we’re doing for young adults to prepare them for college within the teachings of the Catholic Church that matters.”

Search under way Kurt Telford will serve as principal for the 2014-’15 school year while Diocese of Charlotte Schools leaders conduct a nationwide search for a permanent principal for the diocese’s largest high school. A search committee is being developed that will help to look for and evaluate potential candidates, according to school officials.

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Keane named new principal at Christ the King High School HUNTERSVILLE — The Diocese of Charlotte has hired a new principal for Christ the King High School in Huntersville. Brendan Keane is taking over the diocese’s newest high school after the departure last spring of its founding principal, Dr. Dan Dolan, who accepted a position outside the diocese.

Keane has worked as a history teacher at Charlotte Catholic High School for 10 years, and before that, he taught for three years at East Mecklenburg High School. A member of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, he is a graduate of the diocesan school Keane system. He has a Bachelor of Science in education with a concentration in history from Appalachian State University and a Master of Arts in educational administration from the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program at the University of Notre Dame.

“I am excited about the opportunity to join the growing community at Christ the King,” he said. “I am looking forward to meeting the students, parents and faculty of the school and evaluating the opportunities and challenges that exist for Christ the King as well as working with them to build a shared vision for the school going forward.”

He said he is also thankful for the chance to put his education and experiences to work for the Diocese of Charlotte in a new way in a new place.

“Although I am a proud graduate and longtime member of the community at Charlotte Catholic High School, I believe it will be invigorating to spread my wings a bit and can’t wait to go to work with the good people at Christ the King,” he said.

Christ the King High School has more than 140 students, making it the smallest of the diocese’s three high schools. It opened in a temporary location in Mooresville in 2011 and moved to its current 100-acre location just outside Huntersville last August to serve the growing Catholic population north of Charlotte. The school will graduate its first senior class in 2015.

— Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Iraqi refugee graduates from Charlotte Catholic, earns full scholarship to Davidson Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

By the numbers 99% of graduates of both Bishop McGuinness and Charlotte Catholic high schools continue on to higher education.

(Christ the King High School will have its first graduating class this year.)

Scholarships awarded last year: Bishop McGuinness: $6,905,026 Charlotte Catholic: $19,026,716

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANMAR JERJEES

Charlotte Catholic High School Class of 2014 graduate Anmar Jerjees was one of only 15 students nationwide out of 440 finalists to receive a QuestBridge full scholarship to attend Davidson College this fall.

CHARLOTTE — Dec. 2, 2013, is a date that Anmar Jerjees will never forget.

That’s the day Jerjees learned he was receiving a full scholarship to attend Davidson College this fall.

Attending Davidson had been his dream since he was an eighth-grader at Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte. A scholarship to the private liberal arts college is a valuable prize, but what makes his story even more amazing is that date was exactly four years and 10 months to the day since Jerjees, his mother Nazik and his two siblings arrived in the U.S. after fleeing religious persecution in Iraq.

The Jerjees family was resettled in Charlotte thanks to the Refugee Resettlement Office of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. The father, Joseph Jerjees, followed later.

Nazik Jerjees says of their arrival on Feb. 2, 2009: “I was so worried. I came with my three kids, without my husband. Then at the airport, I was asking myself, ‘Who’s going to come and get us? What are we going to do?’” But Ashir Haji-Mohamed, a Catholic Charities refugee case worker, was there waiting for them – holding a big sign and wearing a broad smile.

“Ashir was the first face I saw when we came to Charlotte. He picked us up at the airport, and took us to a furnished apartment that was waiting for us when we arrived,” Nazik recalls.

Only 12 at the time, Jerjees remembers being “a little nervous, but mostly excited” about coming to America. He spoke no English, yet within a month he and his siblings were enrolled in school.

“To me personally, I didn’t think language was the hardest part, but the cultural shock really got me,” he recalls.

The Catholic family was welcomed by St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte, where Respect Life ministry volunteer Mary Lou Powers introduced them to the pastor, Father Frank O’Rourke, and drove them to Mass each Sunday until they got a car. Besides Catholic Charities, the family credits Father O’Rourke and parishioners for helping them begin to build a new life in the U.S. That fall Jerjees transferred from public middle school to Holy Trinity, where he completed the eighth grade, and then he went on to Charlotte Catholic High School. He graduated in June.

While he was still at Holy Trinity – less than a year after leaving his war-torn homeland – a friend invited Jerjees to visit the Davidson campus. Jerjees never forgot what he saw on that visit, and he yearned to go to college there. Going to Davidson College might have seemed out of reach for this new immigrant, but Jerjees was determined. He focused more on his studies, more on his English skills, more on his SAT scores. He set his sights on his goal, working hard and doing what the teachers and counselors at Charlotte Catholic asked him to do.

“Junior year, the more I got into school and my grades and SAT scores improved, I saw the opportunity coming,” he remembers.

In his senior year Jerjees applied for a QuestBridge Scholarship, a highly competitive award that enables low-income/high-achieving high school students to attend some of the country’s best universities.

As one of 12,000 students competing for only 440 scholarships, his odds of success seemed remote.

“When I applied for that scholarship, I didn’t think I was going to get it because the acceptance choice was only 3.3 percent. To get into Davidson is 25 GRAD, SEE page 9B

Celebrating 60 years of excellence!

• Half-day & Full-day Pre-k • Grade-level & Advanced Classes for All Grades • Spanish Instruction Starting in Pre-k • Extra-curricular Clubs for All Ages • Learning Through Service to Others • New 17,000 square foot state-of-art school opening August 2014 • Building a Firm Foundation in Faith to Last a Lifetime

Limited space available for 2014-2015 Call today to schedule a tour of our new school

There’s a Bright Future Ahead at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School Our Lady of the Assumption Pre-Kindergarten vFull day and half day programs vAfter-school care until 6:00pm at a nominal cost vCurriculum that promotes literacy & numeracy skills vDaily religion classes vInstruction by special area teachers in: sMusic sArt sSpanish sPhyscical Education sComputer sLibrary sCatechesis of the Good Shepherd

For an application and admissions information visit www.olainfo.com For tours and information call 704-531-0067 4225 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Catholic schools committed to serving students with special needs Kathleen Miller Special to the Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — Diocese of Charlotte schools offer an array of special education initiatives designed to meet the individual academic and social needs of each student with a disability.

From resource to self-contained, its programs impart a Catholic education that embraces the belief that we are called as a Catholic community to pursue “its mission by furthering the spiritual, intellectual, moral, and physical development of the people it serves” (“Pastoral Statement of U.S. Bishops on People with Disabilities,” 1978).

PACE

This year the diocese is launching a program structured to provide intensive strategy training to remediate the specific learning disabilities of dyslexia (deficiency in the ability to read) and dysgraphia (deficiency in the ability to write). Providing an Appropriate Academic Catholic Education (PACE) will be housed at Our Lady of Assumption School in Charlotte and is for students in grades 2-5. Since OLA is a K-8 school, the program has the potential to add both lower and upper grades as needed.

Students in PACE will receive training in the Orton-Gillingham method in all subjects in a self-contained classroom. They will move gradually back to the general classroom as their reading and writing skills improve.

They will receive the same “specials” (art, music, library, PE, computer) all students receive, as well as the opportunity to participate in all extracurricular activities.

MAP (formerly LLSP)

MAP (Modified Academic Program, formerly called LLSP) is designed for disabled students who require a self-contained classroom and modified curriculum based on specific individual needs. This program is located in Charlotte at St. Ann School for grades 2-5, at Holy Trinity Middle School, and at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Besides instruction in core subjects, students may also receive weekly occupational therapy and speech/language therapy. Students are taught religion, academics and social skills according to their ability. Since the curriculum is modified, students in this program receive a certificate, not a diploma, at graduation.

MATTHEW-MORGAN PROGRAM

The Matthew-Morgan Program at St.

Believe

Patrick School in Charlotte is an inclusion program for students with Down Syndrome.

Students are included to the extent possible with their general education peers in grades K-2. Academic material is modified to support each student in achieving his or her full potential.

The Catholic Schools Office is excited about the possibility of expanding the number of grades in the 2015-’16 school year and will be examining the need, interest and classroom format in expanding this program at St. Patrick School.

Where Faith

ST. LEO READING PROGRAM

St. Leo School in Winston-Salem offers a summer reading program to improve reading fluency and reading comprehension for rising kindergartners through rising ninth-graders. It aids students and their parents who are not native English speakers, but the program’s flexibility allows it to act as an enrichment program as well for students who excel at reading and want to expand on their reading skills.

Also, St. Leo’s is in its second year of piloting a program titled “Green Angel.”

The program provides funds for middle school students who need tutoring in reading or math, organizational assistance or developmental/social assistance.

and Knowledge

GROTTO SCHOOL

The Grotto School in Hendersonville serves students aged 2 1/2 to 8 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. While not part of the diocesan school system, it is part of a comprehensive support system offered by St. Gerard House. The non-profit St. Gerard House provides evidence-based treatment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral health needs. In addition, training, consultation and support for families, educators, institutions and any others involved with the treatment or care of these individuals is also provided.

For students with mild disabilities, our diocesan schools have teachers who provide additional learning support to students who struggle in a particular area. Students usually receive this grade-level academic support in a resource or inclusion setting as their learning needs do not require a self-contained setting.

Kathleen Miller is the assistant superintendent for MACS. For more about the diocese’s special needs programs, contact her at kmiller@charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3355.

Think

Serve

2011 Crusader Way • Huntersville, NC 28078

meet the world.

Now enrolling Pre K through 8th grade.

Visit us at www.ashevillecatholic.org or call for your personal tour at 828-252-7896.

Upcoming Events, Meet the Teacher - Tuesday, August 19th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Bring your students to meet their teacher for the 2014-15 school year!

Back to School Cookout - Friday, August 22nd from 5:00-7:00 PM - meet new families and friends!

Enjoy hamburgers & hotdogs with our friends from the St. Eugene Knights of Columbus and indulge in some ice cream from our friends at The Hop!

To schedule a visit, please call 704-799-4400.

First day of school: August 20st

Our Cathol

The Diocese of Charlotte School System is comprise Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS), diocesan pa

Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Schools Mission Statement The Mission of the Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Charlotte is to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and to provide a religious and academic program that allows each student to develop spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially, so that each is prepared to live and serve in a changing society as a self-respecting citizen.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27127; 336-722-7204 www.ourladyofmercyschool.org Sister Geri Rogers, SSJ, principal Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 220 Student-teacher ratio: 10:1 for PK, 15:1 for K-8 Open houses: 5-7 p.m. Jan. 15; 9-11 a.m. Jan. 27; 5-7 p.m. Feb. 12; 9-11 a.m. Feb. 24

St. Leo Catholic School

St. Pius X Cathol

333 Springdale Ave., Winston-Salem, NC 27104; 336-748-8252 www.stleocatholic.com Georgette Schraeder, principal Grades: PS3-8 Enrollment: 242 Student-teacher ratio: 15:1 Open houses: noon-2 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 22; 5-7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 18

2200 North Elm St., G 27408; 336-273-986 www.spxschool.com Anne W. Knapke, princ Grades: K-8 Enrollment: 450 Student-teacher ratio Open houses: 9:30-11 Oct. 3; 9:30-11 a.m. Th

Diocesan Parish-based Schools This includes 9 schools serving kindergarten through 8th grade and, in some instances, preschool. While each school is part of the Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Schools, they are directly tied to, and administered by, a corresponding parish. For admissions details, contact the individual school.

5 essential marks of a Catholic school 1. Inspired by a supernatural vision

Asheville Catholic School 12 Culvern St., Asheville, NC 28804; 828-252-7896 www.ashevillecatholic.org Michael Miller, principal Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 181 Student-teacher ratio: 18:1 Open houses: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23

2. Founded on Christian anthropology 3. Animated by communion and community 4. Imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum

Sacred H

385 Lumen 704-633-2 www.salisb Frank Card Grades: PK Enrollment Student-te Open hous a.m.-noon T

St. Michael Catholic School 704 St. Michael’s Lane, Gastonia, NC 28052; 704-865-4382 www.stmichaelsgastonia.org/stmichaelsschool/ Katie Meseroll, principal Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 188 Student-teacher ratio: 15:1 for K-5, 18:1 for 6-8 Open houses: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29; 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 6

5. Sustained by Gospel witness — From: “The Holy See’s Teaching On Catholic Schools,” Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B.

Immaculata Catholic School 711 N. Buncombe St., Hendersonville, NC 28791; 828-693-3277 www.immac.org Meredith Canning, principal Grades: PK (ages 3-4), K-8 Enrollment: 157 Open houses: 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Oct. 14; 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, March 11

Note: Enrollment numbers are for the prior academic year.

Sources include the Education Vicariate’s website at www.charlottediocese.org, diocesan schools staff, and the individual school websites.

Student-teacher ratios are approximate averages, as reported by each school.

Photos provided by Kylie Moore (MACS), Georgianna Penn (BMHS), and Anna Bragg (IHM).

Online extra!

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See a timeline of the development of Catholic schools in western North Carolina, from 1882 when the predecessor of Sacred Heart School in Salisbury was built until the present day.

lic Schools

Leadership

Diocesan High School

The diocesan school system is overseen by Vicar of Education Father Roger K. Arnsparger and led by Dr. Janice Ritter, superintendent of schools. Kathleen Miller is assistant superintendent of schools, and Jacqueline Durrett is director of educational technology and special projects.

Lay leadership is provided by an appointed diocesan school board comprised of parents, teachers and principals. Incoming diocesan school board president is Josef Strasser, a member of St. Pius X Parish in Greensboro. MACS also has its own appointed school board.

Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville serves the Triad area of North Carolina.

Accreditation

ed of 19 schools operating in three separate formats: arish-based schools and a diocesan-based high school.

lic School

Greensboro, NC 65

ncipal

o: 15:1 a.m. Friday, hursday, Nov. 13

Our Lady of Grace Catholic School 2205 West Market St., Greensboro, NC 27403; 336-275-1522 www.olgsch.org Kathleen Miller, interim (expected to be filled in January) Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 245 Student-teacher ratio: 20-25:1 Open houses: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18; Thursday, Oct. 23; Thursday, Nov. 20; Tuesday, Dec. 9; Tuesday, Jan. 27; Thursday, Feb. 19; Thursday, March 12; Thursday, April 16; Thursday, May 14

Heart Catholic School

n Christi Lane, Salisbury, NC 28147; 2841 burycatholic.org/school delle, principal K (ages 3-4), K-8 t: 232 eacher ratio: 10:1 ses: 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Jan. 10; 9 Thursday, Jan. 15

Bishop McGuinness High School

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School 4145 Johnson St., High Point, NC 27265; 336-887-2613 www.ihm-school.com Greg Roberts, principal Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 252 Student-teacher ratio: 8:1 Open houses: 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28; 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27

1725 N.C. Hwy. 66 South, Kernersville, NC 27284; 336-564-1010 www.bmhs.us George Repass, principal Grades: 9-12 Enrollment: 516 Student-teacher ratio: 15:1 Open houses: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5; 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 4

Admissions, tuition

Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS) A centralized, regional system of schools in the Charlotte area that includes 9 schools (2 high schools, a middle school, 6 elementary schools, some with PK and TK, and 2 K-8 schools). Tuition for participating Catholics ranges from $3,420 for half-day PK to $9,366 for high school. For admissions info, call 704-370-3273.

Christ the King Catholic High School

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School

2011 Crusader Way, Huntersville, NC 28078; 704-799-4400 www.christthekinghs.com Brendan Keane, principal Grades: 9-12 Enrollment: 140 Student-teacher ratio: 7:1

4225 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215; 704-531-0067 www.olainfo.com Allana-Rae Ramkissoon, principal Grades: PK-8 Enrollment: 145 Student-teacher ratio: 10:1

Charlotte Catholic High School

St. Ann Catholic School

7702 Pineville-Matthews Road, Charlotte, NC 28226; 704-543-1127 www.charlottecatholic.org Kurt Telford, principal Grades: 9-12 Enrollment: 1,418 Student-teacher ratio: 15:1

600 Hillside Ave., Charlotte, NC 28209; 704-525-4938 www.stannscatholicschool.com Kathy McKinney, principal Grades: PK, TK and K-5 Enrollment: 187 Student-teacher ratio: 18:1

Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School

St. Gabriel Catholic School

3100 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28209; 704-527-7822 www.htcms.org Kevin Parks, principal Grades: 6-8 Enrollment: 857 Student-teacher ratio: 14:1

3028 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28211; 704-366-2409 www.stgabrielcatholicschool.org Sharon Broxterman, principal Grades: K-5 Enrollment: 556 Student-teacher ratio: 16:1

St. Mark Catholic School 14750 Stumptown Road, Huntersville, NC 28078; 704-766-­5000 www.stmarkcatholicschool.net Deborah Butler, principal Grades: K-8 Enrollment: 762 Student-teacher ratio: 18:1

St. Matthew Catholic School 11525 Elm Lane, Charlotte, NC 28277; 704-544-2070 www.st-matts.com Kevin O’Herron, principal Grades: TK-5 Enrollment: 590 Student-teacher ratio: 17:1

St. Patrick Catholic School 1125 Buchanan St., Charlotte, NC 28203; 704-333-3174 www.saintpatrickschool.org Debbie Mixer, principal Grades: K-5 Enrollment: 290 Student-teacher ratio: 12:1

Open houses MACS will hold the following open houses: n Elementary schools: noon-2 p.m. n Holy Trinity Middle School: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 11; 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Oct. 14 Saturday, Oct. 4; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6

All of the diocese’s 19 schools are fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS-CASI), a division of AdvancEd. AdvancEd is the world’s largest education community, serving more than 30,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in more than 70 countries that educate more than 16 million students.

n High schools: noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4

The admissions process begins with early admissions in January and general admissions in March, continuing as space is available.

Tuition rates and fees vary by school and by grade, with diocesan parishbased schools setting their own tuition rates and MACS schools having a uniform set of rates. MACS tuition rates for the 2014-’15 year are posted online at schools.charlottediocese.net/ macs/admissions/tuition.

All of the schools offer some sort of tuition discount or subsidy for registered participating Catholic families, up to 30 percent in some cases. Generally speaking, tuition amounts range from $3,100 to $9,300 for registered Catholics, with non-participating Catholics and non-Catholics paying higher amounts.

Multiple child discounts are available.

For MACS schools, go to the diocesan schools’ webpage, schools. charlottediocese.net, to learn more and download application information, or call 704-370-3273. Admission information for each diocesan parish-based school and at Bishop McGuinness High School can be found on their websites.

Prospective parents are encouraged to attend open houses at the school or schools they are eyeing. (Open house dates are featured for each school at left.)

Tuition assistance Have you ever considered Catholic education for your children but wondered if it was within your reach? A Catholic education may be more accessible than you realize, with needs-based tuition assistance available to qualified Catholics. For details about the MACS tuition assistance program, call 704-370-3273 or go online to schools.charlottediocese.net/macs/ admissions/tuitionassistance.

The diocesan parish-based schools and Bishop McGuinness High School offer similar need-based tuition assistance to qualified students. Details can be found on each school’s website.

8B

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

OLA School stands out with diverse student body, innovations Did you know?

The Diocese of Charlotte Schools welcomes students of all backgrounds, even as most of its students are Catholic and the school system strives to inculcate the beliefs and values of the Catholic Church.

Catholic: 91.3% Non-Catholic: 8.7% Boys: 50.4% Girls: 49.6% Asian: 4% Black: 3.1% Hispanic: 6.7% Caucasian: 85.9%

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School Principal AllanaRae Ramkissoon (pictured right) and administrative assistant Kathy Spado are ready for the beginning of the new school year Aug. 20. With students from as far as the Philippines, all across Europe, Central and South America, OLA is the most culturally and ethnically diverse Mecklenburg Area Catholic School in Charlotte.

Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of the Assumption School in east Charlotte is not only the most ethnically and culturally diverse of the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, it also has small class sizes and innovative academic approaches – features that are increasingly incorporated into all of the diocese’s Catholic schools.

“We have students coming from as far as the Philippines, and of course South America, Brazil, the Caribbean and all across Europe. And we are very proud because not only does that say that we are rich ethnically, but it also says that there’s so much information, so much education to be gained from the families that come here,” says Principal Allana-Rae Ramkissoon.

With a current enrollment of approximately 150 ethnically diverse students starting from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, OLA’s students come from various parts of Charlotte. Ramkissoon said the school does a demographic report every year called “The Fourth Friday Count.”

Based on the Fourth Friday Count, Ramkissoon says, “If you look at those statistics it’s safe to say, in Charlotte anyway, we are a very diverse school.

Those statistics will show that 32 percent of our students are white, 24 percent Latino, 18 percent Asian and 21 percent African-American.”

OLA honors that cultural and ethnic diversity in several ways, most notably with a school-wide multicultural festival.

“This (festival) is done to delve deeper into the heritage of some of our students because about 90 percent of our students were born in the United States, but their parents and grandparents come from different countries,” Ramkissoon says.

Like all of the diocesan schools, OLA also imparts Catholic teaching on social justice, drawing from its students’ diverse backgrounds to spread the Church’s teachings on solidarity and charity.

“It really is a great way to include our faith and the teachings of the Catholic Church into the academic part of the school activities,” Ramkissoon says.

Besides its diversity, one of the things that sets OLA apart from other Charlotte schools, private or public, Catholic or non-Catholic, is its small class sizes. With an average of 18 students per class, the school attracts parents of children who are looking for that kind of school environment “because their children learn differently, or because they don’t do well in a large school with 30 kids to a class,” she says. “Apart from the ethnic diversity, we are also looking at

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

learning styles and abilities. Anybody that moves into our classrooms realizes that immediately.”

OLA’s smaller class sizes have also allowed the school to employ innovative teaching programs. One such program is the Shelter Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP), a collaborative effort with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. It is “both an instrument, as well as a method of teaching, that allows you to shelter instruction, especially for English language learners,” Ramkissoon says.

Teachers use SIOP to plan their lessons to make sure the language used to explain a concept is clear enough for all students to comprehend. “What we found happening was that it’s not only working for English language learners, but it’s working for all students: dyslexic students, ADHD students, students who have a problem with reading and writing or who have a problem with comprehending language,” she explains.

OLA also emphasizes learning Spanish as early as pre-kindergarten through

Pre-K through 8th grade

_______

Forming an educational partnership between your family and our faith-learning community since 1926 ________

Academic Excellence In-classroom Technology Athletics Service to Community Spiritual Development 711 Buncombe St. Hendersonville, NC 28791

828-693-3277 www.immac.org

OLA, SEE page 9B

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

9B

Come Grow With Us!

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

The Jerjees family (left to right): father, Joseph; sister, Luna; younger brother, Elie; Anmar; and mother, Nazik.

Luna attends Holy Trinity Middle School and younger brother Elie attends St. Ann School in Charlotte. Nazik brought her children to the U.S. in 2009 through the Refugee Resettlement Office of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, escaping religious persecution in Iraq. Joseph was able to reunite with his family in 2010.

GRAD: FROM PAGE 4B

percent, but to get a scholarship into Davidson was only 3.3 percent,” he says.

Jerjees beat those odds, learning last October that he was among the finalists for the scholarship. Now he just had to earn admission to Davidson to get the scholarship.

Jerjees’ high school counselor Jennifer Murlless recalls, “It was certainly not a sure thing. I knew Anmar was the type of student and person that would be competitive in the process. Anmar worked incredibly hard through the arduous application process. There were many revisions and conversations about the application and essays he needed to write.”

Then on Dec. 2, Jerjees recalls, “they called me around 4:30, when I was riding back home from school with my dad and my siblings. I was really nervous, and I’d been stressed all day. I took a nap in the car, then my dad wakes me up and he gives me the phone. I’m still a little out of it because I just woke up from my nap. I’m talking to the lady, and she keeps telling me all these things. But I stopped her halfway through the conversation and I asked her, ‘So, did I get it? Am I going for free?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’”

She just kept talking and talking, and when she was done, I just handed the phone to my dad and ran a victory lap around the place we had stopped.”

In his scholarship application, Jerjees described his experiences growing up in Iraq and his family’s struggle to reach freedom and safety in the U.S. He wrote: “You might be wondering, ‘What makes this student an important addition to this university?’ As a child growing up, I used to wonder why my life is so much harder than an average person that lives elsewhere.

While an 11-year-old born in the U.S.

OLA: FROM PAGE 8B

the eighth grade. Other diocesan schools offer Spanish, but OLA offers double the number of Spanish sessions, including putting a focus on conversational knowledge of the language. And with nearly a quarter of students being Latino, that means students have unique

was watching the Disney Channel, I was watching people dying on the streets with no one to help them. Is that just? While I’m writing this, innocent children are suffering in Syria, which poses the question, where is justice? After years of frustration, it (has) become apparent to me what my calling is in this world: to make a difference in this impure world. After taking advantage of the incredible opportunities available at this prestigious university, I can return to Iraq and teach the illiterate children how to build a prosperous future for our country.

As harsh as my life has been, it makes me want to change the world for the better, to make sure that no one will have the same experiences. All around the Middle East, innocent humans are suffering due to political instability. Thousands are dropping out of school and joining violent gangs.

Others are victims of the wars. It is my duty to make a difference in the lives of my people and attending this university is the first step to achieve my goal.”

What does Jerjees think of realizing his dream of going to college? “I just think the idea of the American dream has been so polluted, and it’s not as pure as it should be. People think Lebron James or Kanye West is the American dream, that you have to be like a super celebrity with millions and millions of dollars. But honestly, the American dream is you having your goal, then going and achieving it.”

Jerjees is grateful for the support he and his family got from Charlotte Catholic.

“I would like to show my love and my gratefulness to all of my teachers, and the student body who helped me get to this point in my life. If it weren’t for those amazing people in my life, I wouldn’t have gotten into Davidson.”

Ultimately, he credits God with where he is today and what his future may hold.

“While I did study and I did what I was supposed to do, It’s the Lord who brought this. It’s not my doing. It’s the Lord’s.”

opportunities to share their expanding language skills and learn together.

OLA has been expanding since 2011 and last year it had its first eighth-grade graduating class, making it one of three Catholic middle schools in the Charlotte area (the others are Holy Trinity and St. Mark).

This means additional choices and flexibility for Charlotte area parents, who now have multiple options for Catholic education for their children, from prekindergarten all the way through high school.

After 132 Years in Rowan County...

We Know Education!

Classes begin with Pre-K (3-4 year old) through 8th grade

Why Sacred Heart Catholic School?

• Small teacher to student ratios in math and language arts in elementary (1:13) • 21st Century Classrooms with SMART technology including iPads, tablets, laptops • Onsite affordable After School Care until 6pm • Competitive Athletic Programs offered in 4th - 8th grades • NC State Certified and AdvancED/SACS/CASI District Accredited • Secure campus located on 100+ acres with NEW facilities • Affordable - Tuition assistance is available! Sacred Heart participates in NC Opportunity Scholarship & NC Child Care Subsidy Programs.

• And so much more...Spanish, Latin, Children's Choir, Master Gardener's Program, Math Olympiad, Battle of the Books, Beta Club, SGA, Creative Art, Drama Program, Advanced Curriculums...

Sacred Heart Catholic School 385 Lumen Christi Lane, Salisbury NC 28147 For more information, call 704-633-2841 www.salisburycatholic.org

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 10B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

August 15, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Belmont Abbey College: Developing students’ minds, bodies and spirits

College is 4 years...

Your Catholic faith is 4-ever!

Emily Williams Correspondent

BELMONT — Home to more than 1,700 students, Belmont Abbey College is a Benedictine liberal arts college that believes in the development of the whole person – mind, body and spirit – so that “in all things God may be glorified.” Its mission is to provide an education that will enable students to lead lives of integrity, succeed professionally, become responsible citizens and be a blessing to themselves and others.

With its intimate, historic setting and a student/teacher ratio of 16:1, Belmont Abbey College has become one of the most recognized Catholic campuses in the United States. It was recently named one of the top 50 “All-American Colleges” by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The Cardinal Newman Society calls Belmont Abbey College one of the top Catholic colleges in America for faithfulness and affordability. First Things Magazine recently named the college America’s number one “School on the Rise, Filled with Excitement.”

The Princeton Review called it “a best Southeastern college,” and U.S. News and World Report gave it a “Top-Tier Ranking.”

Founded in 1876, the college began as a small monastery and school that has grown to become the pride of the local Catholic community for its commitment to high academic standards and its Benedictine heritage.

The monks of Belmont Abbey are a constant presence on the beautiful campus, located only minutes from Charlotte, and it is this unique combination of liberal arts education coupled with a monastic connection that is so appealing to Catholic students in the region, across the nation and around the world. Though it is founded on Benedictine traditions, the college welcomes a diverse body of students regardless of religious affiliation.

The college also boasts a vibrant Adult Degree Program for students aged 23 or older, which is a major draw for those wishing to change careers or continue their education. Both day and evening courses are available, with majors such as Liberal Studies, Accounting, Business Management, Elementary Education (K-6) and Psychology. The college also has a satellite campus at Charlotte Catholic High School for those in the Charlotte metro area wishing to take classes closer to home.

11B

Campus Ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte serves college students throughout western North Carolina, enabling Catholic college students to continue their faith journey as young adults.

The guiding principles of Campus Ministry are encouraging young Catholics to develop a closer relationship to God and continue forming their conscience within the teachings of our faith, building faith communities among young adults on campus, developing future leaders and stewards for the Catholic community, learning more about the faith and how to live it each day, and engaging in social justice-oriented learning and activities.

All Catholic students attending university or college in the Diocese of Charlotte are encouraged to get to know their respective campus ministries and pray about how they can get involved in spreading the light of Christ on their campuses.

Campuses served:

Photo provided by Rolando Rivas

Online At www.bac.edu: Learn more about Belmont Abbey College

Appalachian State University Asheville Buncombe Tech Bennett College Davidson College Greensboro College Guilford College High Point University Johnson C. Smith University Mars Hill College North Carolina A&T

Queens College Salem College UNC-School of the Arts UNC-Asheville UNC-Charlotte UNC-Greensboro Wake Forest University Warren Wilson College Western Carolina University Wingate University

For more information about Catholic Campus Ministry, go to www.CatholiconCampus.com.

P A C E P

roviding an Appropriate

Register now for the 2014 – 2015 school year Limited openings available grades K – 8

Academic Catholic Education vEvery child is important. vEvery child brings their own blessings to this world. vEvery child deserves the opportunity to develop to his or her greatest potential.

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School Offers

The PACE program that provides a self-contained, Catholic education program for students grades 2-5 who have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability in the areas of reading and writing.

for more information or to schedule a tour of the school campus.

Contact Jean Navarro at 336-273-9865 ext:101 or email her at jnavarro@spxschool.com

vIndividualized Student Accommodations Plan (SAP) designed to meet the student’s learning needs vTeachers trained in the Orton-Gillingham method of reading instruction vTeachers certified in Special Education by the state of North Carolina vThe goal of the program is to return the student to the general education classroom once they have the necessary skills to achieve on grade level.

For an application and admissions information visit www.olainfo.com For tours and information call 704-531-0067 4225 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215

catholicnewsherald.com | August 15, 2014 12B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Put your faith in Catholic education

Learning about our faith is a lifelong endeavor. From preparing for the sacraments when we are young, to our journey into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ as we grow older, we are all called to know and to live our Catholic faith – with conviction, understanding and love.

The Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love campaign seeks to help the people of the Diocese of Charlotte to grow in their knowledge of the faith by allocating

a substantial percentage of the funds raised – $12.75 million – to supporting Catholic education in its various aspects.

The campaign will raise funds to assist in the professional training of parish catechists, enrich programs for faith formation, provide tuition assistance so more children may attend Catholic school, renovate existing Catholic schools, and support Catholic college campus ministry.

www.forwardfaithhopelove.org