Nov. 20, 2015

November 20, 2015

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

Bishop McGuinness remembers Principal George Repass 21

‘SPOTLIGHT’ Catholic leaders hope film prompts new look at Church’s efforts on abuse

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INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Español................................20 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-19 Schools.........................21-23 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies...................... 25 U.S. news..................... 26-27 Viewpoints...................30-31 World news................. 28-29

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Giving thanks INSIDE: 6-9

Stories of gratitude and giving

Our faith

catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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Pope Francis

God never shuts the door; Church always must be open, too

B

ecause God always keeps open the door of His mercy and offer of salvation to everyone, the doors of every Church and every Christian heart must never be closed to others, Pope Francis said.

All over the world, individual Christians and the whole Church must be seen as “the hospitality of a God who never shuts the door in your face with the excuse that you’re not part of the family,” he said during his weekly general audience Nov. 18.

The pope dedicated his catechesis to the symbol of the Holy Door, which will be opened at St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 8 to mark the start of the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

Holy doors around the world represent the “great door of God’s mercy” and are generously opened to receive people’s repentance and offer the grace of God’s forgiveness, he said.

The recent Synod of Bishops on the family was an occasion to encourage the Church and all Catholics to meet God at this open door and to open their own doors to others – “to go out with the Lord” to encounter His children who are journeying, who are perhaps uncertain, perhaps lost, “in these difficult times,” he said.

“If the door of God’s mercy is always open, the doors of our churches, our love, our communities, our parishes, our institutions, our dioceses also must be open so that we all can go out to bring God’s mercy” to others, he said.

The jubilee year also represents the need to open the many small doors in everyone’s life so that “the Lord can come in or, many times, to let out the Lord imprisoned by our structures, our selfishness,” the pope said. “The jubilee means to let the Lord come in and go out.”

“No bolted doors in the Church. None. Everything open,” he said.

The symbolism of how a door is opened, how Jesus always knocks and asks permission to come in, “He never forces open the door” of one’s heart, is crucial, the pope said. The door is watched over and safeguarded by a custodian, but it is never slammed shut on anyone.

“The door is opened frequently in order to see if there is anyone outside waiting and perhaps doesn’t have the courage, perhaps not even the strength, to knock,” he said.

“These people have lost trust, they don’t have the courage to knock on the doors of our Christian hearts, the doors of our churches, and there they are – they don’t have the courage, we took away their trust,” Pope Francis said. “Please, this must never happen anymore.”

How people watch over this door says a lot about the Church and the community, he said, so how one cares for “the doorway” calls for great discernment and must inspire confidence and trust in people on the outside.

Pope Francis said people can learn from concierges, porters and doormen around the world, who always smile and make people feel welcome and at home. Thanking them for their work, he said the astuteness and politeness they display right at the entrance set the tone for the whole building.

Jesus is the door and the Good Shepherd whose sheep hear, recognize and follow Him, the pope said referring to chapter 10 of the Gospel of St. John.

Like the sheepfold, where God’s people are gathered, the pope said, “the house of God is a shelter, not a prison.” Jesus is the gate that lets people go in “without fear and go out without danger.”

The role of the gatekeeper is to listen to the shepherd, to open the door and to let in all the sheep, “all of them, including the ones that were lost in the wilderness that the good shepherd went to bring back. The gatekeeper does not choose the sheep, the parish secretary doesn’t choose them,” the pope said. “All the sheep are invited. They are chosen by the Good Shepherd.”

The gatekeeper, that is, everyone in the Church, must obey the voice of God and remember “the Church is the custodian of the Lord’s house, not the master of the Lord’s house.”

The pope also said that it takes courage to “cross the threshold” and accept God’s invitation.

“Each one of us has something that weighs on us inside, right? We are all sinners,” he said. “Let us take advantage of this moment that is coming and cross the threshold of this mercy of God who never tires of forgiving, who never tires of waiting for us, who looks upon us and is always by our side. Courage! Let’s enter through this door.”

St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions Feast day: Nov. 24 On June 19, 1988, St. John Paul II canonized a group of 117 martyrs who died for the Roman Catholic faith in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862.

The Vietnamese Martyrs were made up of 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spaniards and 10 French. Eight of the group were bishops, 50 were priests and 59 were lay Catholics. Some of the priests were Dominicans, while others were diocesan priests who belonged to the Foreign Mission Society of Paris. One was a mother of six, and one was a 9-year-old child. Of the 117 martyrs, 76 were beheaded, 21 were suffocated, six were burnt alive, five were mutilated and nine died in prison as a result of torture.

St. Andrew Dung-Lac, who represents this group of heroes, was a Vietnamese diocesan priest. Born Tran An Dung in Bac-Ninh, North Vietnam, about the year 1795, he came from a poor, non-Christian family. When he was 12 the family moved to Hanoi so his parents could find work. There he met a catechist and got food and shelter from him. He also received education in the Christian faith for three years, and was baptized in Vinh-Tri. He took the name Andrew (Anrê) at his baptism.

After learning Chinese and Latin, he became a catechist, working in the missions with the priests of the Foreign Mission Society of Paris. He was chosen to study theology, and on March 15, 1823, he was ordained a priest. As parish priest in Ke-Dâm, he was tireless in his preaching. He often fasted and lived a simple and moral life, he was a good example for the people, and he baptized many people.

He was imprisoned and repeatedly tortured during the reign of Minh-Mang, emperor of Vietnam from 1820 to 1840, who was infamous for his persecutions of the Christians and often compared to Nero.

The tortures these individuals underwent are considered by the Church to be among the worst in the history of Christian martyrdom. Emperor MinhMang expelled all foreign missionaries and ordered Vietnamese Christians to publicly renounce their faith by trampling on a crucifix. Christian families and entire villages suffered widespread extortion or were destroyed, and teaching Christianity was forbidden.

Torturers hacked off limbs joint by joint, burned people alive in bamboo cages, tore flesh with red hot tongs, and drugged people into recanting the faith.

Christians left alive were branded on the face with the words “ta dao” (“false religion”).

To avoid capture by the emperor’s authorities, Andrew Dung changed his surname to Lac and moved

“Martyrs of Vietnam” by the Vatican, artwork used for the 1988 canonization ceremony to another prefecture to continue his work. But on Nov. 10, 1839, he was arrested once again, this time along with St. Peter Thi (whom he was visiting so that he might go to confession). They were freed in exchange for bribe money, but soon were arrested again and taken to Hanoi where they were tortured.

The two priests were beheaded on Dec. 21, 1839, in Hanoi.

The 117 martyrs were beatified in four groups: the first of them on May 27, 1900, by Pope Leo XIII; the second (all Dominicans) on May 20, 1906, and a third on May 2, 1909, both by St. Pius X; and the last (including two Spanish bishops) on April 29, 1951, by Pope Pius XII. This feast day, and the witnesses of all the Vietnamese martyrs (estimated by the Church to be between 130,000 and 300,000), give testament to the sufferings inflicted on the Vietnamese Church, which are among the most terrible in the long history of Christian martyrdom.

— Sources: Catholic News Agency, www.catholicculture.org

Your daily Scripture readings NOV. 22-28

Sunday (Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe): Daniel 7:1314, Revelation 1:5-8, John 18:3337; Monday (St. Clement I, St. Columban, BI. Miguel Agustin Pro): Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20, Daniel 3:52-56, Luke 21:1-4; Tuesday (St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions): Daniel 2:31-45, Daniel 3:57-61, Luke 21:511; Wednesday (St. Catherine of Alexandria): Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28, Daniel 3:62-67, Luke 21:12-19; Thursday (Thanksgiving Day): Daniel 6:12-28, Daniel 3:68-74, Luke 21:20-28; Friday: Daniel 7:2-14, Daniel 3:75-81, Luke 21:29-33; Saturday: Daniel 7:1527, Daniel 3:82-87, Luke 21:34-36

NOV. 29-DEC. 5

Sunday: Jeremiah 33:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2, Luke 21:2528, 34-36; Monday (St. Andrew): Romans 10:9-18, Matthew 4:18-22; Tuesday: Isaiah 11:1-10, Luke 10:21-24; Wednesday: Isaiah 25:6-10, Matthew 15:29-37; Thursday (St. Francis Xavier): Isaiah 26:1-6, Matthew 7:21, 24-27; Friday (St. John Damascene): Isaiah 29:17-24, Matthew 9:27-31; Saturday: Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26, Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

DEC. 6-12

Sunday: Baruch 5:1-9, Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11, Luke 3:1-6; Monday (St. Ambrose): Isaiah 35:1-10, Luke 5:17-26; Tuesday (The Immaculate Conception): Genesis 3:9-15, 20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, Luke 1:2638; Wednesday (St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin): Isaiah 40:25-31, Matthew 11:28-30; Thursday: Isaiah 41:13-20, Matthew 11:11-15; Friday (St. Damasus I): Isaiah 48:17-19, Matthew 11:16-19; Saturday (Our Lady of Guadalupe): Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18-19, Luke 1:26-38

Our parishes

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Charlotte diocese passes annual audit

(Left) Archbishop Wilton Gregory distributes Holy Communion during Mass at Our Lady of Consolation Church Nov. 8.

(Below) Members of the Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir sing a hymn during the Mass, celebrated in honor of Black Catholic History Month.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Be peacemakers, give mercy to others, Atlanta archbishop preaches Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta was the special guest at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte Nov. 8, where he celebrated Mass in honor of National Black Catholic History Month.

The celebration of black Catholic history each November, Archbishop Gregory noted, is an occasion “in which the Church realizes More online its catholicity… It reminds all of us On the Diocese of that we belong to a universal family.”

Charlotte’s YouTube “The Church is present on each channel: Watch continent and … each culture and Archbishop Wilton race and each people … has something Gregory’s full homily of value to add to the fabric of the and see highlights Church, in music, in art, in literature, from the Mass in the saints,” he said.

In his homily, Archbishop Gregory encouraged the faithful to prepare for the Church’s upcoming jubilee Year of Mercy, which begins Dec. 8.

“From the state of things in our world, its arrival is none too soon,” he said. “Everywhere we see the unwelcome and harsh reality of hatred, violence and despair – both openly expressed and frequently acted upon – all too present in every community.”

Families and communities have been torn apart, the archbishop said, and in response Pope Francis is calling us to become peacemakers who bring the gift of mercy to others.

“The events of Ferguson, Charleston, Baltimore and many other locations remind us that our entire nation needs – more than ever – the gift of mercy that crosses all those racial, cultural and political chasms that too often divide us,” he continued.

“Our neighbors who are undocumented immigrants need the gift of mercy to help them to achieve what those immigrants from all other generations and times have achieved: a better life for themselves and for their families. Those Christians and other repressed groups in the Middle East need the gift of mercy so

that they can once again live in peace with all of their neighbors, without fear of persecution or even death.

The poor in our midst need the gift of mercy so that they can attain the human dignity that belongs to each one of God’s children.”

“We need to pause and to reflect on what genuine mercy is all about, and how it can and is intended to change us, and to change the world in which we live,” he said.

“Mercy is a two-fold grace – for those who receive it and for those who extend it toward others,” he continued. “We all need to experience the gift of mercy in our own lives, and then extend that same mercy to those around us.”

“May this coming Year of Mercy usher in a change of heart for all of us – to treat one another with greater compassion and tenderness that so often seem to be absent more than they can be discovered.”

After Mass Archbishop Gregory greeted parishioners and children of the parish before having to return to Atlanta. As Father Carl Del Giudice ushered him to the front door of the Parish Life Center, two jets from the 336th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base zoomed overhead on their way toward Bank of America Stadium for a flyover at the start of the Panthers vs. Packers game.

The archbishop looked up and laughed as Father Del Giudice quipped, “Look, Archbishop, you get your own flyover!”

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte has again passed an annual independent audit of its child protection procedures.

The yearly audit conducted by Stonebridge Business Partners monitors U.S. dioceses’ compliance with the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The charter was first issued in 2002 and revised in 2005 and 2011. It addresses the Church’s commitment to respond effectively, appropriately and compassionately to cases of abuse of minors by clergy or other Church personnel.

The Charlotte diocese’s child protection procedures have four components: effective policies for the protection of children, appropriate screening of employees and volunteers, education for adults and children about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children and young people, and procedures for reporting concerns to the proper authorities.

Independent auditors have found the Charlotte diocese in compliance with the Charter every year since its inception.

Since 2002, the diocese has conducted 51,000 criminal background checks of employees and volunteers. In the previous fiscal year (July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015), the diocese conducted 5,134 background checks.

Since 2002, 42,500 adults have also received training in the safe environment awareness program entitled “Protecting God’s Children.”

“Protecting God’s Children” consists of written and online information, classes and videos that help adults learn to recognize the warning signs of abuse and teach the appropriate ways to respond to suspicious behavior. It also helps raise awareness of child sexual abuse by helping adults become aware of its consequences. This includes the many ways that sexual abuse harms victims, their families, parishes and communities.

The diocese has invested approximately $1 million over the past 13 years in the training program to prevent abuse.

Since 2004, 14 allegations of sexual misconduct involving seven priests have been reported to the diocese, according to independent auditors.

Four of those priests were from religious orders based outside the diocese; three were diocesan priests. Two had died by the time the abuse allegations were reported. One was cleared and returned to ministry. The other four priests were removed from ministry.

Criminal charges were brought against two of them: one case was closed by the court shortly before the priest died; in the other case, the priest pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 7-10 years in prison.

During the previous fiscal year, the diocese provided financial assistance to, or on behalf of, victims totaling $23,660, all of which was for counseling and medical services. The diocese also incurred costs in connection with sexual misconduct lawsuits totaling $95,490. Diocesan insurance funds and the diocesan general fund were used for payment.

— Catholic News Herald

UPcoming events 4

catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following upcoming events: Nov. 20 – 8:30 a.m.

Holy Mass St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

Nov. 23 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. James Church, Concord

Nov. 20 Vineyard of Hope Carmel Country Club, Charlotte

Nov. 24 Diocesan Building Commission Meeting

Nov. 21 – 2 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Matthew Church, Charlotte

Dec. 1 – 10 A.M. Diocesan Foundation Board Meeting Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

Diocesan calendar of events November 20, 2015

Entertainment

Volume 25 • Number 4

Singer Kelley Mooney’s stirring Easter version of the Leonard Cohen classic, ‘Hallelujah’: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Mooney will perform the song that has made her a YouTube sensation along with other songs from her latest album. Please bring nonperishable food donations for the St. Matthew Food Pantry. A love offering will be taken for Mooney’s travel expenses. For details, visit www.KelleyMooney.com.

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

STAFF 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

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

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

ADVERTISING: Reach 165,000 Catholics across western North Carolina! For advertising rates and information, contact Advertising Manager Kevin Eagan at 704-370-3332 or keeagan@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

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

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

10th Annual Santa’s Craft Fair: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 5, St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. a cathedral Christmas concert: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. Presented by the adult and children’s choirs, featuring Francesco Durante’s “Magnificat” and MarcAntoine Charpentier’s “In Nativitatem Domini Canticum.”

Free will offering will be taken.

LECTURES & REFLECTIONS ‘Vatican II’s Decree on Religious Life 50 Years Later’: 2-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, Ilderton Hall at Pennybyrn at Maryfield Community Center, 109 Penny Road, High Point. Guest speaker will be Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey, who will also touch briefly on the upcoming opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Hosted by the SMG Sisters in High Point.

Holy happy hour,’the journey – where are you?’: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant, 238 W. Main St., Gastonia. Presented by Joel Stroot. For details, call the church office at 704-867-6212.

Drug use in the adolescent population seminar: 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the NLC Banquet Room, St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Hear about all the drugs of abuse that your teens and young adult children may hear about every day, and learn more about the methods to keep your children safe. RSVP required. To register, email jstumbo@stmatthewcatholic.org.

PRAYER SERVICES & GROUPS Pro-Life Rosary: 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, 901 North Main St. and Sunset Drive, High Point. Outdoors, rain or shine. Parking available nearby. Come to pray for the end of abortion. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336-882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

BLESSING OF THE BIKES: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4145 Johnson St., High Point.

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

Thursday, Dec. 17, St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. For details, call the church office at 704-543-7677.

Holy spirit charismatic prayer meeting: Meets every Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, 37 Murphy Dr., Maggie Valley. For details, call Don Zander at 828-400-9291.

Advent Night of Praise and Worship featuring John Finch: 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at St. Joseph Church, 720 West 13th St., Newton. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Finch is a young Catholic artist from Louisiana who has a passion for serving and praising God through acoustic music fitting for the whole family. For details, call Kara Thorpe at 828-464-9207.

EXPANDED confession times for Advent: From Monday, Nov. 30, to Wednesday, Dec. 23, St. Peter Church will offer expanded times for the sacrament of reconciliation. Times are: 11:15-11:45 a.m. MondayFriday and 4-4:45 p.m. Saturday. The Jesuit priests of the parish welcome everyone in uptown Charlotte and nearby neighborhoods to experience the mercy of reconciliation. St. Peter Church is located at 507 South Tryon St. For details, go to www.stpeterscatholic.org.

St. Joseph intercessory prayer group: 7:30 p.m. every Monday, choir room at St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St., Greensboro. For details, call 336-272-4681.

Divine Mercy Cenacle: 10 a.m. every first and third Wednesday of the month and 7 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at St. Mark Church, 14740 Stumptown Road, Charlotte. For details, call Donna Fodale at 704-237-4820.

Divine Mercy Prayer Service: Exposition and Benediction, sung Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and readings from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 7-8 p.m. every First Friday at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte. For details, call Paul Deer at 704577-3496 or Deacon James Witulski at 704-960-3704.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING “Protecting God’s Children” workshops are intended to educate parish volunteers to recognize and prevent sexual abuse. Upcoming workshops are listed below.

For details, contact your parish office. To register and confirm workshop times, go to www.virtus.org.

TRYON: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, St. John the Baptist Church, 180 Laurel Ave. Asheville: 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, St. Lawrence Basilica, 97 Haywood St. HUNTERSVILLE: 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, St. Mark Church, 14740 Stumptown Road

Worldwide Marriage Encounter: Weekends scheduled for Feb. 5-7, 2016, in Asheville, or April 29-May 1, 2016, in Chapel Hill. Early sign-up recommended. For details, go to www.NCMarriageDiscovery.org or call 704-315-2144.

POST-ABORTION HEALING: Rachel’s Vineyard is a weekend retreat for women and men to begin their healing journey after abortion. For information, go online to www.rachelsvineyard.org or contact Jennifer Ganser, diocesan Respect Life coordinator, at 336-209-2161 or jmganser@charlottediocese.org.

Grieving the loss of a spouse: Support group for husbands and wives who are mourning. Meets the second Monday of each month from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. For details, call Sister Marie Frechette at 704-543-7677.

Ministry of mothers sharing: 9-11 a.m. every other Tuesday, at Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 North Main St., Belmont. A time for fellowship and study for spiritual growth. For details, email Debbie at qoaformation@aol.com.

YOUNG ADULTS AQUINAS’ FINEST: A social group for Charlotte-area Catholics in their 20s and 30s, under the patronage of the Angelic Doctor. Go to www.stacharlotte.com/finest for details about upcoming events.

Asheville Theology on Tap: For Catholics in their 20s and 30s in the Asheville area. For details, check them out on Facebook, Twitter or MeetUp. Charlotte Area Young adults: Groups for Catholics in their 20s and 30s, single or married, are active in Charlotte at: St. Gabriel Church (on Facebook at “St. Gabriel Young Adult Ministry”), St. John Neumann Church (Meg VanGoethem, 815-545-2587), St. Mark Church (look them up on MeetUp), St. Matthew Church (on Facebook at “Young Adult Life: A St. Matthew Ministry”), St. Patrick Cathedral (on Facebook at “St. Patrick Cathedral Frassati Fellowship-Young Adult Ministry”), St. Peter Church (look them up on MeetUp) and Our Lady of Consolation Church (Denise Duliepre, 917-575-0871); and Holy Spirit Church in Denver (Nicole Lehman, 704-607-5207).

Winston-Salem Frassati Fellowship: For Catholics in their 20s and 30s in the Winston-Salem area, married or single, who are passionate about their faith and expressing it through fellowship, catechesis, devotion and service. Learn more at www.wsfrassati.com.

SUPPORT GROUPS RETROUVAILLE: Retrouvaille is a program for married couples struggling with problems in their marriage. For confidential information, call 1-800-470-2230 or 1-434793-0242, or email retrouvaillenc@msn.com. Learn more at www.retrouvaille.org.

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

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

Kernersville parish builds cemetery, columbarium Paul S. Doizé Correspondent

KERNERSVILLE — A quiet corner on the grounds of Holy Cross Church has been transformed into a peaceful place of remembrance for the dead featuring a combined cemetery and columbarium. The project is the result of the talents and labor of many in the parish community.

Oblates of St. Francis De Sales Father Paul Dechant, pastor, blessed the new cemetery and columbarium on All Souls’ Day Nov. 2 – celebrating the culmination of three years’ effort by the parish council, finance committee, the Knights of Columbus Council 8509, local firms and many other parishioners in collaboration with officials from the Diocese of Charlotte.

Designed as a final resting place for parishioners and their families, clergy and friends of the church, the cemetery and columbarium encircle a large statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A stone cross stands nearby.

It has a total of 1,200 plots and niches with room to expand in the future.

The niches of the columbarium, a circular brick structure, are arranged in groupings which feature the names of 20 saints: St. Juan Diego, St. Clare, St. Martin de Porres, St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis de Sales, St. Jane de Chantal, St. Patrick, St. Rose of Lima, St. Stanislaus, St. Thérèse, St. Michael, St. Leonie Aviat, St. Felipe de Jesus, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Andrew Dung-Lac, St. Bernadette, Blessed Carlos Rodriguez Santiago, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. George and St. Katharine Drexel.

Once the concept was approved by the parish council and finance committee, Father Dechant asked parishioner and architect Matt O’Brien to lead the design effort. He assigned Worth Yonts, at that time an intern in his office, to produce the conceptual drawings of the design for parish and diocesan leaders.

“I drew from my construction background, each rendering involving light versus shadow,” Yonts said. “It was a fairly successful project.”

So successful, in fact, that not only did the project get the green light but Yonts was named a partner at O’Brien’s architectural firm.

Parishioners Sharon Ladd, Rosemary Vasko and Dottie Saffer, members of the parish’s cemetery committee and self-described gardeners, worked out many of the details about how the cemetery and columbarium would be landscaped.

“There were a lot of details you wouldn’t consider,” Ladd noted.

The parish held a pre-sale for the new cemetery and columbarium in July, she added, with discounts offered off the prices of the plots and niches (normally $1,500 each or $2,500 for a double). “I was astonished at the number of people who purchased,” she said.

Fellow committee member Rosemary Vasko, who codesigned and assisted in the landscaping work for the cemetery and columbiarium, took a special personal interest in the project.

Earlier this month, she had her husband Tom Vasko Jr., who had passed away on Aug. 21, 2014, interred there.

“It was like having 10,000 pounds lifted off of my shoulders to have my husband laid to rest,” Vasko said.

About the cemetery project in general, she commented, “It was a beautiful thing that we accomplished – physically and spiritually an accomplishment. It was a lot of hard work.”

Since its completion by Beta Builders, LLC of WinstonSalem, several other parish members whose families have patiently awaited or labored for a place to inter their loved ones have been laid to rest at the new cemetery and columbarium.

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On Nov. 2, the Feast of All Souls’ Day, parishioners gathered with Oblate Father Paul Dechant in the rain and dark of the evening for a bilingual blessing of the new Holy Cross Parish cemetery and columbarium.

Photos by John Bunyea | Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 FROM THE COVER

Giving Thanks: For Heritage Vietnamese Catholics celebrate 40 years in diocese CHARLOTTE — This year parishioners at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church are celebrating 40 years since the first Vietnamese Catholics found refuge in the Diocese of Charlotte, and they are giving thanks in a special way this Thanksgiving holiday.

The diocese welcomed its first Vietnamese refugees in 1975, the year when Saigon fell and the Vietnam War ended.

Since then, many more Vietnamese immigrants have made the journey to settle in western North Carolina, and the Vietnamese Catholic community continues to grow. St. Joseph Church on Sandy Porter Road in southwest Charlotte is home to many of these first- and second-generation immigrant families.

“This year marks 40 years since we first arrived in Charlotte,” explained Father Tri Truong, pastor of St. Joseph Church and himself the child of a Vietnamese immigrant.

“It is a significant milestone for us on our journey. We have journeyed from a few families in 1975 to over 900 registered families at St. Joseph Church.

“We have journeyed from having Mass once a month at the parishes of St. Ann Church, Our Lady of Consolation Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Church, to having a parish serving the Vietnamese Catholics in the Charlotte area with Mass every day and four Masses on the weekend.”

The Vietnamese community has also fostered priestly vocations in the diocese, with five Vietnamese priests ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte.

“We have come so far in our journey, and we are very thankful for what we have,” Father Truong said.

On Thursday, Nov. 26, a Mass of Thanksgiving will be offered for this significant milestone.

Before Mass, the parish will also have a procession in honor of the Vietnamese Martyrs. (Editor’s note: For details about the Vietnamese Martyrs, see page 2.)

All of the parish choirs will sing and pay tribute to these saints at Mass. A celebration will follow in the parish fellowship hall featuring traditional music, dancing and food.

Vietnamese Catholics can find more information about the annual Thanksgiving celebration and St. Joseph Church at www. giaoxuthanhgiuse.net.

— Catholic News Herald

“The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth,” by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (1914)

Thanksgiving a family affair St. Thomas Aquinas’ pastor descends from Pilgrim Fathers SueAnn Howell and Patricia Guilfoyle Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — On Thanksgiving, one Charlotte priest has a particularly personal reason to celebrate.

Father Patrick J. Winslow, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, is directly descended from the original group of Pilgrim Fathers who landed in 1620 on Plymouth Rock in what is now Massachusetts, as well as a second group of Pilgrims who followed on a subsequent Mayflower voyage in 1629.

The Mayflower was the famous ship that transported a group of more than 100 English men, women and children – collectively known today as the Pilgrims – from Plymouth, England, to the New World, where they hoped to enjoy religious freedom.

The Pilgrims’ 1620 voyage on the Mayflower to the New World has become an iconic story in American history, with its story of death and survival in the harsh New England winter. And the culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact is an event which established a rudimentary form of democracy, with each member contributing to the welfare of the community.

Father Winslow remembers hearing his father retell stories about their family’s heritage that were passed down from his grandfather Chester, who was born in 1891.

“What I remember as a child was a story my grandfather told my father,” Father Winslow recalls. “He related to my father and my aunt about the Winslow brothers on the Mayflower. We never focused on it, but it was brought up occasionally.

“I also heard that my aunt, who lived in Boston, took her children

Edward Winslow, Pilgrim

Father Patrick Winslow, pastor

one year to see a display on the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. There was information on the three Winslow brothers. I grew up as one of three Winslow brothers, so that is kind of funny.”

Many of the Pilgrims were “Separatists” fleeing persistent religious persecution, but some were hired hands, servants or farmers recruited by London merchants. All planned to settle in Virginia, where England had already established its first successful colony at Jamestown, but instead they landed further up the East Coast in what is present-day Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims’ journey to religious freedom has become a central theme in American history and culture.

THANKSGIVING, SEE page 19

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM THE COVERI

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Giving Thanks: For Solidarity

Grateful to God for the opportunity to serve others A Thanksgiving message from Catholic Charities

F

or many, Thanksgiving is a time for loved ones to gather and celebrate their thankfulness with an abundance of turkey, mashed potatoes and their favorite pie, yet Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte sees many people at this holiday who have to make due with less. We strive to fill that void in the lives of those in need at Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season. The dedicated staff at Catholic Charities also take stock of the many blessings in our lives. The recent visit of Pope Francis to our country was a great gift for the Catholic Church in the USA, and a great source of inspiration for all in the Church working to protect human life and respect human dignity. His presence in our nation’s cities deepened our commitment to works of mercy and charity, to be a Church of, and for, the poor.

As the year ends, we at Catholic Charities reflect on what a meaningful year 2015 has been, we are thankful that we have been chosen to serve more than 19,000 people across 46 counties.

Catholic Charities is thankful that almost a half million pounds came into our regional food pantries – and went right back out again, feeding almost 15,000 people.

Your donations have helped people like Gail, who is supporting her two children and six grandchildren in her

small apartment. “It makes me feel good when my grandkids get up and they don’t have to say, ‘Nana, I’m hungry. We don’t have any food to eat.’ Just to hear that one time, something had to be done.” Gail was connected with the Catholic Charities food pantry in Charlotte. “They don’t have to go to bed hungry now. They can go to bed with food in their stomachs.”

Catholic Charities has also helped provide Gail and her family with holiday assistance for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “With eight people, you don’t want just macaroni and cheese, you want to be able to provide turkey.

And Catholic Charities has come through, in giving me the gift cards and food boxes. And they also gave toys and clothes for the kids. The only thing I could do was just cry.”

Catholic Charities is thankful for the partnerships that enhance the impacts of our work across the diocese.

“I am very grateful that there are so many people who are dedicated to the mission of Catholic Charities,” says Diane Bullard, director of the Piedmont Triad Office.

“Dedicated volunteers, donors, supporters, parishes and staff work together to serve as God’s hands and feet in our community. Such a partnership is truly rare and special.

Catholic Charities is truly blessed with support in the work to serve the most vulnerable.”

“As I reflect on the upcoming Thanksgiving season, I am reminded of the goodness and mercy the Lord bestows upon all of us. I am ever grateful for the opportunity to serve His children through Catholic Charities,” says Charlotte Regional Office Director Sharon Davis. “So often as an office director, we are busy with all of the competing priorities. A constant on our minds is the need to care for our staff, our constituents, donors,

collaborators and participants in our programs. Each and every day we work tirelessly so that at the end of the day we can have comfort in knowing that – together – we all can and will strengthen families, build communities and reduce poverty.

“The greatest comfort is that with God, everything we need to do and have to do is possible! I am truly thankful for that assurance.”

“Working with Catholic Charities permits me to be blessed by the presence of our brothers and sisters in Christ who come to our agency seeking assistance,” adds Joseph Purello, director of Social Concerns and Advocacy. “I am grateful that my work brings me into regular contact with wonderful clients, co-workers, volunteers, parishioners, priests, religious sisters, deacons, donors and community partners. My life is enriched, my relationship with the Lord is deepened, and my ministry at Catholic Charities is enhanced by all these people.

I am grateful that my work enables me to travel the length and breadth of the diocese, seeing so many beautiful places and experiencing the great diversity that exists among the people who call western North Carolina their home.”

Catholic Charities is forever thankful that we have been put in a position to help those in need. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve others, to transform lives.

We are thankful to each volunteer, donor and community supporter for their dedication to our mission, so that we can continue to strengthen families, build communities and reduce poverty in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Kathleen Durkin is the communications specialist for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. Learn more about Catholic Charities’ work at www.ccdoc.org.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 FROM THE COVER

Giving Thanks: For Renewal

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(Above, from left) The Basara family (names have been changed to respect their privacy) are grateful to be starting new lives in Charlotte after fleeing war-ravaged Syria in 2011, thanks to help from Catholic Charities. (Below, left) Members of the Basara family are greeted at the Charlotte airport by interpreter Mayada Idlibi upon their arrival last month. (Below, right) The children enjoy riding their new bicycles, a gift from the local Syrian community.

How you can help Cira Ponce is often asked what kind of aid is needed in resettling the refugees. Financial support gives Catholic Charities the greatest flexibility, she noted. “It covers everything, from going to the airport, to setting up an apartment, to training volunteers.”

She added, “We need twoand three-bedroom affordable apartments. We also need furniture – dining tables with chairs, sofas, loveseats and living room chairs, coffee tables, lamps and bedroom furniture – and household items like dishes, cooking supplies (pots, pans, rice cookers). We can also use volunteers who can help with pickup and delivery of donated items.”

More information about the needs of Catholic Charities and opportunities for volunteering is online at www.ccdoc.org. Click on the “Donate” or “Volunteer” tab to see all the ways you can assist and welcome refugees.

Monetary donations can be made online or sent to Catholic Charities, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.

For inquiries about how you can volunteer or how your parish can sponsor a refugee family, contact Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte at 704-370-3262.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos and video of the Basara family in their new home

Syrian refugee family grateful for welcome by Catholic Charities’ resettlement program Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Asim Basara left behind war, bombs and most of his family when he, his wife and their children fled their home in war-torn Daraa, Syria.

Three weeks ago, they arrived in the United States – finally safe, grateful to be able to rebuild their lives after four years of living in fear and uncertainty.

The Basara family is the first of what is expected to be many Syrian refugees that Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte expects to welcome over the coming months and years.

With the help of a member of the local Syrian community acting as an interpreter, Mayada Idlibi, Basara recounted how he was forced to abandon his home in 2011 out of fear for his life and the safety of his family.

“I’m sad to leave my family behind in Syria, but I hope to find in the United States safety to raise and educate my children,” Basara said.

As the Arab Spring unfolded throughout the Middle East and north Africa in late 2010, opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad grew – finally erupting in violence in March 2011 in the Basaras’ hometown of Daraa.

Dozens were killed in the subsequent security crackdown, provoking protests that spread to other parts of Syria. Things got worse after his brother Zeyad was tortured and killed by the Syrian regime in 2012, Basara said.

Now, five years later, tens of thousands of refugees are trying to escape what has become a brutal civil war – with an estimated 5,000 people

leaving daily. So far, 4.1 million Syrians have fled the country and another 6.5 million have been internally displaced. Exact numbers are impossible to know, but in January the United Nations estimated the number of deaths in the conflict at 220,000 – including 13,155 in Daraa.

Many of the refugees are facing hardships as they make their way to safety, and Pope Francis has called on dioceses and churches to respond by taking in refugee families.

For several weeks, the phone at Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte has been ringing with questions and offers of help.

Cira Ponce, director of Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Office, said they have received a growing number of calls from local churches and individuals, both Catholic

and non-Catholic, wanting to know how they can help. Until now, Catholic Charities had not received any Syrian refugees, as the U.S. government screening process for Middle Eastern refugees is typically slow. To date, the U.S. has accepted only about 1,600 refugees, but the Obama administration has pledged to accept tens of thousands more.

So, Ponce said, her office received news of the Basara family’s arrival last month with excitement and anticipation. The federal government approved the family’s asylum request more quickly than usual, she noted, because they had been sheltering in Jordan for the past three years.

REFUGEE, SEE page 15

FROM THE COVERI

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

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Giving Thanks: For Service ‘I said to myself, “The Holy Spirit is in charge.

Go be Christ to these children.”’

Deacon makes life-changing first mission trip to Haiti SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — A deacon’s life is one of service. Service to his Church, his family, his employer – and through his service he vows to provide an exemplary witness to the Gospel with his life. Deacon Daren Bitter, 49, ordained in 2011 and now serving at St. Matthew Church, is one such deacon.

Married to Michelle, and a father of two daughters, he works full-time as a sales executive in the technology recruiting field besides serving as a deacon at the largest Catholic parish in the country. Deacon Bitter More online had been feeling a call to At www.catholicnewsherald. go on mission for a long com: Watch two videos Deacon time, to see first-hand Bitter produced to capture how the Missionaries the spirit and mission of the of the Poor, whom he’d Missionaries of the Poor in Haiti come to know through their mission in Monroe, also serve those most in need at missions outside the U.S. This past October, he and three others from St. Matthew Church headed to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, to help a rural school Photos provided by Deacon Daren Bitter

CHILDREN, SEE page 15

Deacon Daren Bitter and Brother Patric, MOP, have fun with students at the Tremesse School in Tremesse, Haiti, in front of the community center where classes are regularly held. The first Mass for the Tremesse community was held there earlier in the day after being blessed by a local priest.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

St. Gabriel youths camp out to spotlight homelessness CHARLOTTE — To mark November as national Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte featured a display of its outreach ministries that serve the local homeless and hungry in the church’s courtyard during the weekend Masses Nov. 14-15. Some of the ministries include Habitat for Humanity, the St. Vincent RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD de Paul Society and the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte. Also, 20 young members of St. Gabriel’s Boy Scout troop and high school youths from the parish’s Venturing Crew camped out in cardboard tents on the church’s front lawn last Saturday night. Why? “To really kind of draw awareness to homeless issues, so the youth could be aware of these things, and hopefully also people passing by on Providence Road will also see us and think, ‘Why are we here?’” said Kris Knudsen, St. Gabriel’s Boy Scout and Venturing Crew adult leader.

At the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel: See more video highlights from the parish’s efforts to raise awareness about homelessness

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 OUR PARISHES

Hundreds pack St. Mark Church for healing Mass, prayer service with Alan Ames ‘In every moment, Jesus is calling out, ‘I love you’ ’ SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

HUNTERSVILLE — They came in quietly, prayerfully, slipping into the pews at St. Mark Church before the 6:30 p.m. healing Mass and prayer service Nov. 5. Some were in wheelchairs, some using canes and walkers, some bearing the physical signs of a battle with serious illnesses such as cancer.

All came to pray, to silently ask God for help in the exterior and interior struggles in their lives and to be blessed by Alan Ames, a layman who travels the world sharing his powerful conversion story and his gift of healing.

During his homily at Mass, Father John Putnam, pastor, said that inevitably whenever the Church hosts an event like this there are questions like, “Is all this Catholic?”

“My normal response is of course, and this is why,” Father Putnam explained.

“When we look at the life and the ministry of Jesus, what we see is the Lord leading a life in turn for people – His desire to be with people in their infirmities, in their troubles, in their hopes and in their dreams. In a special way He was conscious of those who were suffering, as we see in the Gospel.”

Father Putnam stressed that the Church is concerned about everything Jesus said and did because it is to the Church that He has entrusted carrying on His Presence, His preaching and His ministry in the world today.

“Jesus desires to strengthen His people.

Jesus desires to enter our hearts, our minds and our spirits. Jesus invites us to a closer walk with Him,” he said. There are many examples of this in the scriptures, he noted, including the story recounted in the Gospel reading at Mass, in which the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years touches Jesus’ garment and was healed.

Father Putnam also referenced the first reading about Elijah being strengthened for his 40-day walk in the desert. The angel appeared to Elijah and gave him a cake and water to sustain him on his journey.

“Obviously, that was no ordinary cake,” Father Putnam joked. “The scriptures give us an image of what is coming... an image of the Eucharist, of the Lord Himself who nourishes us with His very life, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.”

We are all invited to do much more than touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, Father Putnam said. We’re invited to receive Him, to become temples of the Holy Spirit.

“Alan is the first one to tell you that it is Jesus who heals, Jesus who works through His Church. Through the priest at the altar, the priest who sits in the confessional, who stands beside the sickbed. It is the priest, obviously, in the Lord Jesus, but it is the Lord who heals in confession and the Eucharist and who forgives all sins.”

“Jesus – who wants to be with us, to nourish us and to show us the way to His Father.”

After Mass, Ames spoke to the faithful, sharing the personal testimony of his conversion and how his life changed in 1993 when he realized how the sins of his former lifestyle had hurt God. He also

Sueann Howell | catholic news herald

Alan Ames, known for his international healing ministry, prays over Father Patrick Hoare (left), pastor of St. John Neumann Church, and Father Paul McNulty (right), parochial vicar of St. Mark Church. The priests were preparing to offer the sacrament of reconciliation after the Mass and healing prayer service at St. Mark Church Nov. 5. came to realize that Jesus offered him forgiveness from the cross.

Ames recounted that after some struggles, he accepted the forgiveness offered by Jesus. He shared that the Lord helped him to come back to the sacraments and to the Church and changed his hatred and pain into love. And he explained how later God called him to be one of His witnesses, sent to carry God’s love into the world.

“When I was 40, Jesus appeared to me (in a vision) and filled me with His Divine Love and told me He loved me,” Ames said.

He believes it is because of the prayers of the faithful who pray to God for healing of those with addictions and who have strayed from the Church that He was saved and received the gifts of healing from God. “It is because of your prayers, people like you, that God saved me. I thank you all for that and encourage you to never stop praying.”

Ames explained that he never wants to lose God’s love, now that he has had intimate encounters with Him in prayer.

“Many people have forgotten how God loves us... There is nothing to fear in God. He’s tender, loving... He’s near us! Not far away. Jesus is near us, right next to us.”

Ames noted that to God, every person is a treasure, a jewel. God is in love with each one of us, he said.

“In every moment, Jesus is calling out ‘I love you!’ He wants every one of you to be incredible, to be saints of this time... Jesus wants the best for you. He knows we have faults. He doesn’t expect you to do it by

yourself.”

We need to ask the Holy Spirit every day to help us, Ames stressed. The first prayer he prays every morning is to the Holy Spirit, asking for His intercession in his daily life.

“Now when I fall down, the Holy Spirit is there. He lifts me up and gives me the strength to carry the crosses... God just wants you to ask for it (the Holy Spirit), to accept it. (Life) won’t always be easy, but we’ll have the strength to persevere.”

Ames also spoke about the Blessed Virgin Mary and how she intercedes for us and always brings us closer to Jesus. He has also received visions of her and how she works to bring us healing and help us come to know and love Jesus.

“Jesus can’t refuse His Mother’s requests to help us.”

He explained that when we come to Mass, we must come in love and that Jesus is waiting for us at every Holy Mass.

“We should come as empty vessels to holy Mass. Jesus is saying, ‘I love you,’ and we should respond in love. When you do, Jesus draws your humanity into His Divinity. He empties Himself completely so we can be one in Him in the Holy Eucharist.

“That’s what we’re meant to do – to change, to be more and more like Jesus,” Ames stressed.

“Put all your crosses, family, etc., in the chalice as it is lifted (during Mass). Then you and your intentions will be raised to heaven and the Father.”

He also encouraged people to bring with

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See video highlights from Alan Ames’ healing service at St. Mark Church At www.alanames.org/en: Get more information about Ames and his healing ministry

them in prayer and in their hearts their loved ones who needed healing as they approached the sanctuary steps during the healing service, which followed the Mass.

Hundreds of people filed up to the steps of the sanctuary during Adoration to ask for healing. Ames made the sign of the cross on their foreheads and prayed over them. Some were overcome by the Holy Spirit and were gently laid on the floor by volunteers for the brief moment they were resting in the spirit. Others walked away from the blessing clutching photos of loved ones with a look of serenity on their faces and, for some, tears in their eyes.

Father Putnam said he was very happy to have Ames visit the parish. “His message is clear and simple and impacts people in a meaningful way. We all need some type of healing, and it was a wonderful opportunity to let the Great Physician minister to His flock,” Putnam said.

In his closing remarks, Ames shared that in his visions he saw that in heaven there is only love, forever.

“Heaven is what this life leads you to, if you believe and trust in God.”

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Diocese’s first vocations promoter discusses new role Bishop Peter J. Jugis elevates the Precious Blood during a Mass celebrated in honor of Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 4 at St. Patrick Cathedral.

sueann howell | catholic news herald

‘Vocation to the priesthood is mystery of God’s choice’ Bishop Jugis preaches at closing Mass for Vocation Awareness Week SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated Mass Nov. 4 at St. Patrick Cathedral to conclude a Forty Hours devotion to pray for more vocations in the Diocese of Charlotte.

The Forty Hours devotion Nov. 3-4 and the Mass commemorate the U.S. bishops’ National Vocation Awareness Week, which runs this year from Nov. 1 to 7. The weeklong celebration is dedicated to promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.

The Diocese of Charlotte’s celebration was organized in part

by Father Jason Barone, the new vocations promoter for the diocese.

Hundreds of people participated in the Forty Hours devotion at the cathedral, where special kneelers were on display that will be given to the two men expected to be ordained to the holy priesthood next June. The kneelers, a project of the lay apostolate Mary’s Sons, will travel throughout the diocese until then so that everyone can have the opportunity to pray for the two men – Deacon Cory Catron and Deacon David McCanless – as well as pray for an increase in religious vocations for the Church in western North Carolina.

During his homily at the Nov. 4 Mass, Bishop Jugis spoke about vocations as something God gives to each of us as a sign of His love.

“In love then He gives to each person whom He has created a special chosen vocation … by which that person will serve Him in this world,” he said.

“To some He gives the vocation to married life and parenthood. To others He gives the vocation to single life. To others the vocation to the priesthood. To others He gives the vocation to the consecrated religious life – but all comes as a gift of God.” The Mass was celebrated on the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, the patron saint of seminarians – a perfect opportunity to tie in praying for vocations and Vocation Awareness Week, he noted. St. Charles Borromeo’s own personal holiness and his reforming work as a bishop in the wake of the Council of Trent serves as an example for the priesthood today. He particularly was renowned for establishing many seminaries to better train and educate men for the priesthood.

Bishop Jugis went on to explain that the vocation to the priesthood is a mystery of God’s choice.

“He chooses certain individuals by His own free election to give them this special grace of following Jesus, leaving

everything to follow Him. It is a mystery why He chooses some and does not choose others. Some whom we might think, judging by human standards, might be quite capable and talented to fulfill the priestly office, He overlooks and instead directs His attention to others that we might not think at that moment to be worthy of such a call,” he said.

God is intimately involved in this call, he said, and young men must have the ability and openheartedness to listen to His voice. The call from God is experienced at the center of one’s heart and the process of discernment has to be conducted with great reverence and seriousness, he said.

“It requires attentive listening to God’s voice – in fact, a reverent listening to God’s voice. That’s why prayer is so essential. A seminarian has to be a man of prayer because he is engaged in that important work of reverently listening to God, who is speaking to him in the depths of his heart.”

Bishop Jugis also stressed that a priest cannot be reduced to just a “functionary,” someone who performs tasks or duties. “Priest” is not just a job title, as the secular world perhaps considers it.

“The priest is one who has been chosen as a sacrament instituted by Jesus, and (who has) received a special call. He is in special communication with the mystery of the divine.

It is God’s choice. It is God’s decision, the way He set up the sacrament and set up the Church hierarchically.

“The man, who is in communication constantly with the mystery of the divine in his heart, has important work to do bringing mankind’s needs to God. He’s another Christ, he is an ‘alter Christus,’ he’s a sacrament of Christ the high priest.”

Consequently, the priest must live the humility of Christ, being humble as Jesus Himself is humble. He must also live the mercy of Christ, as Jesus Himself is merciful. He must be reverent in his approach to life and reverent in his service to others, forgetting his own needs and placing himself at the service of others because of his love for God and His people.

“This is a mystery, this is a mystery of a call from God,” he reiterated, “which we know is stirring in the hearts of many teenagers and many young men in our diocese even now – as evidenced by the wonderful response we have had to our Quo Vadis Days over the last few years, and others who have approached for more counsel or more advice as they discern this call.

“And as they reverently and attentively listen to God’s voice in prayer, we must also accompany them with our own prayers,” he continued, “so that any obstacles that they encounter now as they take part in this journey may be removed from their lives…so that they can progress along the path of holiness and grow in their vocations.”

CHARLOTTE — As the Diocese of Charlotte’s new Promoter of Vocations, Father Jason Barone’s job will be encouraging people to listen to God’s will for them.

Bishop Peter Jugis named Father Barone to the new position in July, widening the diocese’s efforts to grow vocations under the leadership of the Director of Vocations, Father Christopher Gober.

God has a plan for each one of us, Bishop Jugis noted in his homily at Mass for National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 4, and we must listen reverently to His voice so that we may discern how best to serve Him in this world. Father Barone aims to carry this message far and wide in his position as Barone Promoter of Vocations.

The role is in addition to his other responsibilities as assistant chaplain at Charlotte Catholic High School and as parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.

“This position is important because by explicitly giving such an assignment to a priest, a special emphasis is being placed on the need for increased vocations,” Father Barone notes.

Father Barone already has experience organizing and leading “Quo Vadis Days,” the diocese’s annual vocations retreat for young men, as well as addressing youth at the annual Diocesan Youth Conference.

In his new role, Father Barone will continue to lead “Quo Vadis Days” as well as develop other discernment programs, including working with Sister Mary Raphael of the Daughters of the Virgin Mary to develop a future vocations retreat for young women entitled “Duc in Altum.”

He will also travel to parishes, schools and youth gatherings across the diocese to speak about vocations, and he will help organize efforts which encourage people to pray for vocations – such as the Forty Hours devotion held Nov. 3-4 at St. Patrick Cathedral in conjunction with National Vocation Awareness Week.

The overall aim, he said, is to encourage people to discern God’s will for them in life – whether that is to a vocation to the priesthood, consecrated life, married life or single life.

“While my focus will be on the priesthood and religious life, much of my job will assist vocations to family life as well,” Father Barone noted. “There’s an important teaching in Catholic theology that says ‘grace builds on nature.’ In other words, God and the supernatural life do not destroy our human nature.

Supernatural virtues are built on natural virtues.

A key first step in discernment is developing the natural virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. These must be employed for both vocations of celibacy and family life.

“In short, I see my job as providing the tools and opportunity for young people to discern well, and making sure people pray that ‘the Lord of the harvest sends more laborers into His harvest.’”

Since being ordained in 2012, Father Barone has also served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro and Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury. As a fairly “new” priest, how does he think his perspective on the priesthood and religious vocations may help him?

“As a priest ordained just three years, I still have a certain personal proximity to the key steps in discernment,” he replies. “Those questions were more recently on my mind and in my heart than, say, a priest of 10 or 20 years.”

And his work ministering to students at Charlotte Catholic High School will dovetail with his vocations efforts as well, he notes. “Personal contact with a priest has proven time and again to help a young person discover their vocation and pursue it successfully.”

— Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 OUR PARISHES

‘Keep loving. Keep listening.

Keep learning.’

Oblate Father Joe Zuschmidt shares lessons learned over the past 50 years SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

HIGH POINT — Shortly after the Diocese of Charlotte was established, native Philadelphian and Oblate Father Joe Zuschmidt found himself in Charlotte.

The year was 1978 and he was sent to help the young diocese after Bishop Michael J. Begley gave an address at Allentown College in Pennsylvania, asking for help to shepherd his growing flock in western North Carolina.

Father Joe, as he prefers to be called, had been a priest of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales for 13 years at that point.

He had entered seminary in Philadelphia immediately after graduating from his Oblate-run high school in 1955.

He speaks candidly about his call to the priesthood.

“I began to wrestle with what I was going to do by the beginning of senior year (in high school),” he recalls. “I wanted to be a part of community and I had a draw to teaching, so I thought of the Christian Brothers, but I didn’t stay long with that thought. The Oblates, through their wonderful way, attracted me more and the call to the priesthood became more prominent during that calling.”

“So I joined the Oblates 10 days after graduation. I was a young 18-year-old kid! I went to the novitiate in Maryland, and for a Philadelphian, going to Maryland was like going to the end of the world back in 1955,” he jokes.

As education and teaching are

fundamental to the Oblates’ mission, Father Joe was assigned a teaching post at an Oblate-run high school in Detroit after earning his undergraduate degree at Niagara University. After two years, he then entered an international exchange program with the Oblates and continued his advanced degree studies in theology in Germany.

Father Joe was ordained to the priesthood in the seminary chapel in Germany on Nov. 20, 1965, by Oblate Bishop Edward Schlotterback, a missionary to southern Africa and the first American Oblate of St. Francis de Sales to be consecrated a bishop. He happened to be in Rome for the Second Vatican Council and traveled to the seminary for the ordination.

“He was an American and an Oblate. I thought it was wonderful that he was able to come up and ordain me. My father was able to come, my sister, and my aunt who was my godmother were also able to come.”

For the next 13 years, Father Joe continued his studies and served at an Oblate high school and also at what was formerly known as Allentown College (now De Sales University) in Allentown, Pa., for five years.

After that fateful address by Bishop Begley and his move to Charlotte, Father Joe was assigned to campus ministry at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in July 1978.

“He didn’t talk to me, he talked to my superior. All of a sudden, I found myself in Charlotte!” Father Joe says with a laugh.

Father Joe has served under all four

Spend time with Our Lord The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed to have Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament offered in five locations. All of the faithful, of any age, are invited to participate!

Stop by anytime or sign up for a regular Holy Hour: BELMONT

Belmont Abbey College’s St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel 100 Belmont-Mt. Holly Road Margaret Fox (704) 648-8947 www.belmontabbeycollege.edu/about/ community

CHArLOTTE

HIGH POINT

Pennybyrn at Maryfield Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel 1315 Greensboro Road Edna Corrigan (336) 324-4366 www.maryfieldeucharistic.org

HuNTErSVILLE

St. Mark Church’s Monsignor Bellow St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road Perpetual Adoration Chapel Estelle Wisneski (704) 364-9568 (located in the Monsignor Joseph A. Kerin Family Center) 14740 Stumptown Road HICKOry St. Aloysius Church’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Sink (704) 892-5107 or email eucharistic.adoration@stmarknc.org Mary Perpetual Adoration Chapel www.stmarknc.org/adoration 921 Second Street N.E. Melanie & Dave King (828) 638-0462 www.staloysiushickory.org/perpetualadoration

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Joe Zuschmidt, senior priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point, is pictured with kindergartners from Immaculate Heart of Mary School in May. Photo provided by immaculate heart of Mary church

bishops of the Diocese of Charlotte since his arrival four decades ago.

“In fact, our present bishop (Bishop Peter J. Jugis), I knew as a student at UNCC when I was a campus minister there. Little did I ever dream that he would be my bishop!” he quips.

He remembers finding a very vibrant faith community after arriving in the diocese – it was new, young, energetic.

In addition to his campus ministry duties, Father Joe also served as the first pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in north Charlotte, which is adjacent to the campus.

He remained active in campus ministry until 1985. After that, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, building a second building as the parish expanded.

After a brief sabbatical in 1988, Father Joe was assigned to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point by then Bishop John F. Donoghue. For the most part, this is where he has served the most since the late 1980s. He was pastor for 10 years, during which time the parish purchased land to build a new church. It was dedicated by Bishop William G. Curlin in February 2002.

From 2003 to 2007 he was pastor of Queen of Apostles Church in Belmont, but he has been connected with Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish since 1989. He returned to the parish in 2007 as parochial vicar, and when he turned 75 in 2012, he was made senior priest.

Father Joe celebrated his 25th anniversary at Immaculate Heart of Mary

Church in 1990, so it seems fitting that now, as the parish’s senior priest, he celebrates his 50th anniversary there. He will offer the vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, and a reception will be held afterwards in St. Edward’s Hall.

Father Joe says he has learned many valuable lessons over the past 50 years of priestly ministry: “Three L’s: keep loving your vocation, keep listening and keep learning. You come out of the seminary you think you know everything and very quickly you learn you know nothing,” he jokes.

“I have always been learning, taking sabbaticals when I can, attending workshops, and I read a lot. Listening is also an extremely important part of priestly ministry, which has helped me a lot. “Keep loving your vocation and the people you minister to.”

His advice to men discerning a vocation to the priesthood?

“Talk to somebody! Go to your pastor, go to a priest you know, go to your deacon, go to somebody you trust who is a good, practicing Catholic and talk to them. Keep praying and listening, too, to the discerning voice while you are trying to hear the Lord talking to you.”

What does he love most about the priesthood?

“I love preaching, I love celebrating the Eucharist. And I love teaching. I am in charge of the RCIA program and am involved in the adult education in the parish. I love anything involving Catholic education and formation. Plus, I love celebrating the Mass and preaching.”

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

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Exchange party celebrates saints, families

Photos provided by Barbara Markun

GREENSBORO — Families recently gathered at Cheesecakes by Alex in downtown Greensboro for a “saint exchange” featuring hand-painted peg dolls that they had created.

The small wooden peg dolls included St. Benedict, St. Dymphna, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Jude and many more, arranged in little “armies” of saints on the restaurant tables. After praying an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and a Litany of the Saints present, each family introduced the saint peg doll they had chosen to craft and then explained why this saint was so special to them. Then, baskets in hand, they went around the room collecting the various saints, much like a cookie exchange.

Led by Barbara Markun, inspired by a similar “saint exchange” thrown by her sister-in-law’s rosary group, families in the Greensboro area joined in after hearing about the project by word of mouth. Each family chose its particular saint about seven months ago, did some research on that person and began fashioning the small peg dolls using acrylic paints. They also produced a prayer card to accompany their peg doll saint. Each family made 29 dolls, one for each of the other families at the party plus two extra to donate to Our Lady of

Grace School and to sell at the Franciscan Center.

The love really showed in everyone’s creations.

Some chose their saint because they wanted to get to know them better. Some already had a connection – either as a patron saint, confirmation name or patronage of that saint’s cause.

Mari Hill of Greensboro said she chose St. Jude, because her family in Costa Rica has a special devotion to St. Jude. Years ago when Hill’s sister was very young, Hill explained, she became ill and there was little hope for a recovery. Because St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes, her family and friends began praying to St. Jude. Hill’s sister survived her illness, and in gratitude the family has maintained a strong devotion to St. Jude. It was a happy occasion for her as the saint exchange party was held on Oct. 29, the day after the feast of St. Jude.

Markun said the event was such a success that she hopes to repeat it again.

Learn more about peg dolls (including Christmas project ideas!) at www.catholicicing.com or email Markun at bmarkun@me.com.

— Catholic News Herald

Retirement Fund for Religious During her first year of teaching, Precious Blood Sister Ann Hipp, 95, had 40 students in four grades. “It was only by the grace of God that I got through that first year,” she recalls, laughing. Sister Ann would go on to spend 50 years in the classroom and continues in volunteer ministry today. She and some 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your generosity helps provide prescription medications, nursing care, and more.

Please give to those who have given a lifetime. www.retiredreligious.org Over 93 percent of donations aid senior religious.

To donate: National Religious Retirement Office/CHA 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC 20017-1194 Make your check payable to Retirement Fund for Religious.

Or give at your local parish December 12–13.

Photos: (left) Sister Ann Hipp, CPPS, 95; (above from left) Brother Anselm Allen, OSB, 76; Sister Luanna Brucks, CPPS, 90; Sister Rosemary Zaffuto, ASCJ, 87. ©2015 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Photographer: Jim Judkis.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 OUR PARISHES

Celebrating the world St. Thomas Aquinas Parish celebrates World Feast Day 2015 Photos by Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

REFUGEE FROM PAGE 8

“They were fortunate enough to have been processed and approved for resettlement overseas earlier than the majority of other Syrian families,” she said.

Catholic Charities resettles about 360 refugees, who come from all over the world, to the Charlotte area each year. Over the past 40 years, the diocese has resettled approximately 15,000 refugees from 27 different countries. The resettlement work is a partnership among Catholic Charities, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department.

Through the USCCB, dioceses around the country may resettle up to 25 percent of the new refugees expected from the Syrian civil war, Ponce said.

For Basara and his family, the past five years have been filled with uncertainty. He was forced to abandon his grocery store in Daraa when they fled to Saudi Arabia. There, he worked at an oil change shop to make ends meet and provide for his family. After a blood clot in one of his legs prevented him from working at the shop anymore, Basara said, the family tried returning to Syria, but the intensifying civil war made that impossible.

So they moved to Jordan, where putting food on the table became even more of a struggle, Basara recalled. The

family was just one among thousands of refugees crowded into the small nation, all struggling to survive, with few prospects for a stable job or permanent home.

“Not many people would like to hire you over there,” explained Idlibi, the family’s interpreter. “They know you are a refugee sometimes and you are not stable. You might be here today and gone tomorrow.

Plus, there are a lot of people moving to Jordan – not much they can offer.”

The Basaras are Muslims, but that does not matter to Catholic Charities, which serves families regardless of their faith, ethnicity or race. And to Asim Basara, it doesn’t matter, either.

“We are all brothers. It’s a beautiful feeling,” he said, adding that before the war erupted, Syrian Christians, Jews and Muslim neighbors “always lived in peace.”

Ashir Haji-Mohamed, a Catholic Charities case worker supervisor, picked up the family at the Charlotte airport Oct. 28 and put them up in a hotel for a week until they were able to move into an apartment. With the help of Catholic Charities, the local Syrian community furnished the apartment for them and will continue to help the family adjust to life in a new country.

“We’ll be helping them until they become self-sufficient, finding jobs and everything,” Haji-Mohamed said.

The Basaras’ three oldest children, an 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old twin girls, have already enrolled in elementary school, while the two youngest, a 4-year-old boy and

CHILDREN FROM PAGE 9

sponsored by St. Matthew Church receive technology and also to work with the Missionaries of the Poor at their center in Haiti.

Deacon Bitter was familiar with the work of the Brothers, but never anticipated how much working alongside them caring for impoverished children, the elderly and the infirm would change his perspective on life.

“This was my first mission trip. I really didn’t go into it with any expectations,” he recalls. “I tried to remain open to the Holy Spirit. I tried not to pre-impose an image of what I would be doing or what that experience would be like. That was a blessing.”

Two of his fellow missionaries are regular volunteers in Haiti, and Deacon Bitter says the reception they all received was wonderful. He believes the trip was smoother and even more special because of the men’s familiarity with the people and their appreciation for the volunteers.

“They understand the people, the culture. It was so moving how we were received. The warmth, the appreciation. The Brothers were so warm, so hospitable. I felt like I had known them for years.”

Deacon Bitter and the volunteers spent a majority of their time at the mission in Cap-Haïtien. They also spent time at a school that is heavily supported by the Charlotte parish.

“We’ve done a great deal for this school. This is in an area that does not have electricity. They do not have clean water – no plumbing or running water. The Haitians call that area ‘the bush.’ It’s a remote area of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.”

Deacon Bitter and the volunteers traveled to the school to deliver 16 laptops, which will be powered by electricity coming through solar panels and a wireless router.

“We went down and configured those computers to work on their wireless network. We did an extremely elementary training with the teachers at the school so they could start working with the students. It was amazing. The teachers and the students had never heard of Google!”

To give them some hands-on experience, they typed in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, and when the picture of their city and information came up on the screen, “their faces just lit up, they couldn’t understand how it was happening,” Deacon Bitter recounts.

He says the children stood there for over 45 minutes – speechless, just watching what was happening on the computer screens.

When Deacon Bitter and the volunteers were working

an 8-month-old baby, remain at home.

Arriving in the United States has been a happy but bittersweet turn in their lives, Basara said. “We were so happy to come to America, and this happiness was stronger than the pain of leaving my mom and brothers behind.”

The 25 or so families that comprise the close-knit Syrian community in Charlotte have provided a welcome connection. They have brought food to the family each day and are helping them bridge the language gap, as no one in the family speaks English.

Idlibi has lived in Charlotte since the early 1980s, but her 85-year-old mother still lives in Syria. She expressed admiration and gratitude for the work of Catholic Charities.

“I wish as a Muslim I would be able to do that … be able to help someone to come. You guys are so lucky that you are able to get that reward from God, that you are to save some families and bring them here,” she said.

“It’s an amazing, very noble job and I admire you for that.”

Life in America has provided a safe haven and better future for his family, as well as the chance for him to find work and restore the dignity that felt lost to them on their refugee journey, Asim Basara said.

Meanwhile, Catholic Charities is gearing up for the arrival of more Syrian refugee families – how many, though, Ponce cannot predict. Translators, case workers, donations and furnishings are all being marshaled so they can be prepared whenever needed. Most importantly, she said, they will be ready to

with the Brothers, they had the opportunity to serve the poorest of the poor at their center. The Brothers serve the elderly, HIV-infected children and adults, mentally and physically handicapped children, and children who have been abandoned.

“The kids are beyond adorable!” Deacon Bitter says. “You just wanted to take them and hug and squeeze them. We got to feed and hold and play with them. It was such a joy.”

Their days with the Brothers were also marked by prayer, which he says fuels the love and joy that exudes from them as they go about their work each day. One of the most profound things he witnessed was seeing the Holy Father’s call to charity and serving those most in need in action with the Brothers and all those they serve.

“I don’t see how there could possibly be any more need than the people I spent time with. It is truly the poorest of the poor there.”

He was also moved by seeing the Brothers themselves living their vow of poverty.

“The Brothers have taken that vow, so you literally have the poor feeding the poorest of the poor. They are dispensing medication.

They are doing things the Haitian government cannot or will not do.”

The Haiti center also places the living quarters of the Missionaries of the Poor right next to those whom they serve.

“So they literally pray, live, eat and sleep – that prayer and action, that dynamic, that interplay is 30 yards apart,” he explains. “They live out the spirituality of being Christ to one another. The simplicity of prayer in action was profound… They live what they believe!”

Deacon Bitter says he was spiritually fed during his time there by the Brothers’ work ethic and their joy. He loved watching them play a rousing match of soccer and the friendship among them. He also loved their detachment from material things.

Most of all, he was moved by the love the Brothers have for the children and people they serve.

“I was fed by that, deeply. To see their love and their joy… These kids and these Brothers are like family. The love of the children for the Brothers and the love of the

‘The people of Haiti need us. Don’t underestimate the impact of what we are doing and what we can do.’

OUR PARISHESI

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welcome these refugees with smiles and open arms, just as they have done over the past four decades for refugees from other conflict zones around the world.

Editor’s note: The names of the refugee family have been changed or omitted to respect their privacy.

‘Dear migrants and refugees! You have a special place in the heart of the Church, and you help her to enlarge her heart and to manifest her motherhood towards the entire human family.’

Pope Francis

Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2015

Brothers for those they serve are obvious. The kids come out from school skipping and laughing and the Brothers are there to pick them up smiling.”

During his service in Haiti, Deacon Bitter felt the call to work with the disabled children.

“I remember walking towards the centers, not knowing what I should do. I just felt a pull to go spend time with the mentally and physically disabled children. As I was walking in the door, I’m thinking, ‘Now what are you going to do?’ I just said, ‘The Holy Spirit is in charge. Go be Christ to these children.’”

He didn’t speak their language and some children were severely disabled, so what Deacon Bitter did to show his love was rub their necks and show his love through that physical touch.

“I’d go up and start touching them, and they’d give me the biggest smile I had ever seen. That’s how I connected with them. That was my way, through touch, to let them know they are loved.”

He learned many valuable lessons during his visit to Haiti.

“I need to reconsider what it truly important in my own life as a husband, father, deacon. And also what is important in life. And how do I take the time and place where I am in my life and use that. And keep it in balance with what is important in life, which is relationships and helping those in need.

“That’s easy to say, but when you see it, feel it and touch it, it brings it to life.”

He was thankful to see the tangible results of the work of St. Matthew Church in providing meals, food and other needs for the Missionaries of the Poor. At one point he was standing in a room stacked with boxes and bags of rice for families, workers and the poor who are served at the center. He realized those boxes had come from St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.

“Those were probably some of the boxes I had personally moved. That was a poignant moment for me,” he says.

“The people of Haiti need us. Don’t underestimate the impact of what we are doing and what we can do. If it were not for St. Matthew, those who give and the Brothers, I don’t know what the people would do. There would be a substantial loss there.”

Deacon Bitter also believes that some people may go on a mission trip for themselves, to feel good. But they end up coming back fed, changed more than they could ever have imagined.

“I had no idea why I was going. I believed the Lord was calling me to go. I’ve been to the Holy Land, and (the mission trip) spoke the message of Jesus much more than the Holy Land. The Holy Land is a physical representation of the Lord’s life. This (mission) is a presentation of Our Lord’s message, the spirit of what Jesus preached.”

catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

LEFT SIDE PAGE PAID ADVERTISEMENT

African Schools for the Poor Get Important Boost From Cross Catholic Outreach Scholarships Cross Catholic Outreach’s scholarship program for the poor (see story on opposite page) is having a major impact halfway around the globe in the African nation of Kenya, and the ministry’s president, Jim Cavnar, feels the timing couldn’t be better given recent calls to action by our Holy Father.

“This is a signicant story in light of Pope Francis’ focus on helping the poor and the excitement building around the Jubilee Year of Mercy,” explained Jim Cavnar, president of Cross Catholic Outreach.

“Our plan is to help American Catholics establish inexpensive scholarships to lift up the neediest children in Kenya. Those who sponsor one today will be helping educate a desperately poor child during the 201516 school year — a perfect tribute to the Jubilee Year of Mercy.”

Even the name of the program is tting — those who contribute fund a Sacred Mercy School Scholarship!

In addition to helping hundreds of young children gain a primary education, Cross Catholic’s efforts will have an important second benet. It will encourage and empower the priests and nuns behind two of Kenya’s most exciting outreaches — the Brother Beausang Catholic School and St. Andrew Nkaimurunya School.

“The priests and nuns who established these Catholic schools have made tremendous personal sacrices to extend Christ’s love in the communities they serve.

When American Catholics step forward and

fund a $110 scholarship to their schools, it will be incredibly encouraging to them. It will show them that we American Catholics are grateful for their work and want to help them in their noble cause of educating the poorest of the poor.”

Why is the Sacred Mercy School Scholarship so important? The answer is simple. Without this support, children would simply go unschooled. Families earning only a few dollars a week simply can’t afford to send a child to school.

“Those who establish a scholarship are helping put a child in school for a full year and the daily classroom experience also includes a meal — sometimes the only meal that child eats all day,” Cavnar said.

“And what is the alternative? Leaving a child illiterate and without hope? Is that really an option? I doubt Pope Francis would see it that way.”

Some will ask if there is a way to support the goal without funding a full $110 scholarship for a school year. The answer from Cavnar was “yes!”

“Every gift, large or small, will make a difference,” Cavnar said. “As a newspaper reader responding to this need, you can have a profound impact on the poor with any and every gift you make toward this cause.”

Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred during the school year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess

Children will walk miles to attend school — if they are given the opportunity to learn. funds, if any, will be used to meet Cross Catholic Outreach’s most urgent needs.

To support the Cross Catholic Outreach scholarship program for the poor, use the ministry brochure enclosed in this issue of the paper or

mail your donation to Cross Catholic Outreach, Dept. AC01199, PO Box 97168, Washington DC 20090-7168.

Please write “SCHOLARSHIP” in the comment line of the brochure to ensure your gift is routed to the proper fund.

Cross Catholic Outreach Website Highlights Ministry’s Key Strengths Visit the website of Cross Catholic Outreach (www.CrossCatholic.org) and you’ll notice the charity’s three indisputable strengths — its costeffectiveness, its impressive Catholic leadership and its impact on the poor.

The ministry is hitting high marks both overseas and here in the U.S. “Donors often notice our outstanding ratio of effectiveness — the fact that nearly 95 percent of donations are used for program services and so little of our expenses are allocated to fundraising and administration,” explained Cross 2014 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Catholic Outreach’s president, Jim Cavnar. “The second thing they look for is integrity in our leadership, and they nd that in the bishops and archbishops who serve on our board of directors.

It shows we aren’t just a charity fundraising from Catholics. We are a Catholic outreach. We promote Catholic teachings and values through our work.”

This fact has been noticed by Catholic bishops and archbishops in the U.S., and they have endorsed the charity as a result. As of this moment, Cross Catholic Outreach has the endorsement of some 70 U.S. dioceses and the list has been growing steadily through the years.

“Through the years, we have provided food and safe water, constructed homes for the homeless and supported many schools and medical outreaches, doing virtually all of that work through the Catholic parishes and ministries already working in the trenches overseas,” explained Cavnar. “We have embraced Pope Francis’ call to action!”

PHOTO COURTESY OF L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

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Pope Francis recently met with Cross Catholic Outreach’s president, Jim Cavnar.

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

RIGHT SIDE PAGE PAID ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. Catholics Having Huge Impact On Illiteracy, Poverty By Sponsoring “Cross” Scholarships American Catholics were offered a unique way to help the poorest of the poor when Cross Catholic Outreach launched a new scholarship program to help needy kids in developing countries. At a cost of just $110 for a full year of schooling, the scholarships have been a tremendous blessing for both participating sponsors and the poor children being served.

“Cross Catholic Outreach established its Sacred Mercy School Scholarship program to ght illiteracy and poverty in Africa and it has been so successful, we plan to extend the opportunity to Catholic schools in Latin America and the Caribbean region too. The program was launched to help unschooled children ages 4 to 12, and each scholarship a donor sponsors helps us fund a life-changing education for a boy or girl at a cost of just $110 for the full school year,” explained Jim Cavnar, the Catholic ministry’s president.

Many Americans are familiar with the premise of establishing a college scholarship, and this program offers a similar opportunity — even to the point of setting up the scholarship in your family’s name. Mr. and Mrs. Jones can create the Jones Family Scholarship, for example, or Dr. Smith can establish the Mary Smith Scholarship in memory of his mother. Each scholarship can be for a single school year or renewed annually to keep the gift going as part of a family legacy to benet the poor.

“Launching a scholarship will have a life-changing impact on a child in need,” Cavnar explained. “It’s a priceless gift you are giving. An education brings opportunities, new hope and self-dignity.

You can’t buy those things off a shelf, but they can be accomplished through this outreach.”

Of course, Cross has also had great success with the primary goal of the scholarship — to give children a solid education in reading, writing, math and other basics. Most Catholic missionaries agree that this kind of training is essential for poor families in developing countries to break from their cycle of poverty.

“Illiteracy often plagues a family generation after generation,” Cavnar said, “but an education can turn that trend completely around. Rescue a child and you can initiate a blessed cycle of prosperity for a family that will continue for many generations to come.”

Since the program specically places children in quality schools that emphasize Catholic formation in the classroom, Cross Catholic Outreach’s scholarship program also supports the important goals of The New Evangelization and integral ministry — the goal of helping the poor both materially and spiritually.

“In establishing this scholarship

program, we started by choosing quality institutions that could qualify as Crossaccredited Catholic Schools,” Cavnar said. “These schools are also monitored to ensure they continue to meet our standards.

We insist each school has a strong Catholic identity, hires a capable staff of teachers, includes spiritual teachings within the curriculum and provides students with a broad, practical education. It’s important that our scholarship students end up with a solid education and greater opportunities in their communities.”

In 2015, Cross Catholic Outreach has set a goal of educating 5,000 needy youngsters who are currently “on the outside, looking in” — and some children are literally in that position.

“When you travel to places like Haiti, Kenya, Zambia or the Philippines, you see how hungry the poor are for hope,” Cavnar said. “In some of the countries where we serve, children pass by outside schools and watch longingly as others enter. They’re fearful they’ll forever be left outside the educational system. These kids are illiterate, but they’re wise enough to know an education provides new opportunities and a way out of the slums, and they pray the school door will someday open for them.”

According to Cavnar, this will only happen if poor families get help from their Catholic brothers and sisters in America.

Most parents in the slums are too poor to afford even the few, meager meals, much less the expenses needed for their children to attend school.

The new Cross Catholic Scholarship Outreach meets this need. It serves as a “golden ticket” — opening the door to a quality education. Amazing, considering the scholarships can be provided for just $110 per year. And, despite the low cost, the quality of the education is high.

Some potential benefactors are likely to

be surprised at the low cost of establishing a scholarship. Most of us are only familiar with U.S. college scholarships, which are typically valued in the thousands of dollars. The difference, Cavnar admits, is startling. But, he adds, it also makes the program affordable to virtually everyone

who wants to help the poor.

“Who among us can deny the value and impact of this program? The Catholic schools overseas are extremely efcient.

The teachers who work there are also sacricing. Many work for a few dollars a day in order to ensure these children get an education. When a donor contributes his or her portion by funding a scholarship, amazing things are being accomplished,” he said. “So my hope is that many will step forward to sponsor one scholarship or more. If just a few dozen of this newspaper’s readers make that decision, the impact will be profound. It will turn lives around.”

This optimistic view of Catholic charity avors everything Cross Catholic Outreach does. Catholic priests and nuns working “in the trenches” have been empowered

by Cross Catholic Outreach and its U.S. benefactors to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide safe water to the thirsty, house the homeless, protect the orphaned and — as this case demonstrates — educate the poor.

How to Help: To fund a Cross Catholic Outreach scholarship for the poor, use the postage-paid brochure inserted in this newspaper or mail your gift to Cross Catholic Outreach, Dept. AC01199, PO Box 97168, Washington DC 200907168. Write “SCHOLARSHIP” in the comment line of the brochure to ensure your gift is routed properly.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 OUR PARISHES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Vatican II’s take on religious life topic of upcoming presentation

reconciliation through the Advent season.

From Monday, Nov. 30, to Wednesday, Dec. 23, confession times are: 11:15-11:45 a.m. MondayFriday and 4-4:45 p.m. Saturday. The Jesuit priests of the parish welcome everyone in uptown Charlotte and nearby neighborhoods to experience the mercy of reconciliation.

The parish will also have an Advent penance service with individual confession at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 15.

For details, go to www.stpeterscatholic.org.

than 8,500 quilted blankets as well as hundreds of crocheted shawls, chemotherapy hats and scarves to those in need of comfort.

Members meet twice a week to do the crochet work, and most of the sewing work for the blankets is done at home. The workshops draw men and women of all ages and sewing skill levels to help complete the quilts.

— Doreen Sugierski, correspondent

HIGH POINT — The Sisters of Mary, Mother of God in High Point will host a special presentation on “Vatican II’s Decree on Religious Life 50 Years Later,” with guest speaker Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari from Belmont Abbey, from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Ilderton Hall at Pennybyrn at Maryfield Community Center, 109 Penny Road in High Point. Abbot Placid will also touch briefly on the upcoming opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

All are welcome.

Christmas concert coming up at St. Patrick Cathedral CHARLOTTE — The adult and children’s choirs at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte will perform a free Christmas concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11. The concert will feature Francesco Durante’s “Magnificat” and Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “In Nativitatem Domini Canticum.” A free will offering will be taken.

St. Peter’s offers expanded confession times for Advent CHARLOTTE — St. Peter Church, located at South Tryon St. in uptown Charlotte, will have expanded times for the sacrament of

communication and money management skills learned at the center. Activities included: gathering doubloons, having their pictures taken with pirates and talking to a mechanical parrot. Residents dressed in costumes for the event and were treated to pirate-themed food and a small treasure.

Members of the two Knights of Columbus councils created a nearly life-sized pirate ship as a centerpiece to the gala event, then staffed the event with members of their councils and their spouses. Parrots from Kiki’s Legacy, a local parrot rescue organization, also made an appearance.

The J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center is a state-operated, residential facility for individuals with intellectual and other disabilities.

The center is a beneficiary of the L.A.M.B. Foundation, a non-profit entity run by the N.C. Knights of Columbus that supports organizations providing services to people with intellectual disabilities. Monies donated are designated for resident enrichment projects and events.

— Lynn A. Doll

Marking World AIDS Day

Knights put on ‘Parrot Palooza’ Blanket and Shawl Ministry marks 15 years of knitting, sewing and crocheting DENVER — Members of Holy Spirit Church’s Blanket and Shawl Ministry recently held their semi-annual “workshop day.” The ministry, which began 15 years ago, has provided more

MORGANTON — Staff and residents of the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center in Morganton recently celebrated a “Parrot Palooza” with the help of Knights of Columbus from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton and St. Aloysius Church in Hickory as part of its annual “Talk Like a Pirate Day” observance.

Through the efforts of these organizations, activities encouraged residents to use their

BELMONT — A World AIDS Day commemoration will take place at 5:45 p.m.

Dec. 1 to remember and honor the 318 House of Mercy residents since 1991. It will take place at 304 McAuley Circle on the Sisters of Mercy’s campus in Belmont. A tour will be offered of the House of Mercy residence afterwards. House of Mercy is an AIDS ministry founded by the Sisters of Mercy in Belmont, World AIDS Day, observed since 1988, raises AIDS awareness to support millions of people living with and affected by HIV. This year World AIDS Day falls on Giving Tuesday.

We welcome your parish’s news! Please email news items to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org.

Over 8,000 babies killed in Mecklenburg County alone last year!!

Come and save our children today… join the 10th Annual March for Life Charlotte and pray.

Save the date! Friday, January 15

Be a witness for the sanctity of human life and an act of reparation for an end to abortion.

March for Life Schedule

Mass for the Unborn 9:00am St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte, NC 28210 Guest Preacher Fr. Casey Coleman, Parochial Vicar, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church 11:00am Start to gather in overflow parking lot across from the Pastoral Center at 1123 S. Church St. to prepare for march

Fr. Casey Coleman Parochial Vicar

11:45am Instructions for march and prayer before march 12:00pm Begin march to Trade and Tryon Streets where Fr. Casey Coleman will preach; then to the courthouse at 401 W. Trade St. to pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Go to www.marchforlifecharlotte.org for details on parking and signs

Singing for the Lord CHARLOTTE — The Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir performed its 35th anniversary concert last weekend, part of the parish’s celebration of Black Catholic History Month.

Travis Burton, T O Squared Photography | Catholic News Herald

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

THANKSGIVING

many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, FROM PAGE 6 and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the Their leadership came from the religious captain and others. And although it be not congregations of Brownist English always so plentiful as it was at this time Dissenters who had fled the volatile with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are political environment in England for so far from want that we often wish you the relative calm and tolerance of 16thpartakers of our plenty.”

17th century Holland. Concerned with Edward and Gilbert’s 30-year-old brother losing their cultural identity, the group Kenelm followed them to Plymouth on a later arranged with English investors to second Mayflower ship that landed on May establish a new colony in the promising 16, 1629, with 35 passengers. Kenelm frontier of North America. The Winslow is Father Winslow’s greatcolony, founded in 1620, became great-great-great-great-great-greatthe second successful English great-grandfather. settlement (after the founding of Kenelm Winslow purchased Jamestown in 1607) and later the several land grants, later becoming oldest continuously inhabited one of the 26 founding proprietors of English settlement in what was Assonet (now Freetown), Mass. He to much later become the United held various town offices, including States. deputy to the general court from The Pilgrims are not to be 1642 to 1644 and from 1649 to 1653. confused with the Puritans, He had considerable litigation who established their own experience, as early court records Massachusetts Bay Colony nearby show. He died in Salem, Mass., on (present-day Boston) in 1628. Both Sept. 13, 1672. groups were strict Calvinists, but Like his ancestor more than 350 differed in their views regarding years ago, Father Winslow has also the Church of England. Puritans served as a lawyer – a canon, or wished to remain in the Anglican Church, lawyer.

Church and reform it, but Pilgrims Originally from upstate New York, wanted complete separation from Father Winslow was ordained in the state-sanctioned church, which 1999 by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard they suspiciously viewed as being at the Cathedral of the Immaculate too “papist.”

Conception in Albany, N.Y. He “My grandfather, Chester, was transferred to the Diocese of not Catholic. So he would have been Charlotte in 2002. part of the tradition of those who He earned an advanced degree had come over on the Mayflower. in canon law from The Catholic But my grandmother, Margaret, University of America and serves was Catholic. My father and his the marriage tribunal as “defender sister were raised Catholic in of the bond,” a diocesan official Albany, N.Y.,” says Father Winslow. charged with defending the validity “It’s kind of an irony (that I of the marriage bond in annulment am now a Catholic priest). (My cases. ancestors) found that the Anglican Father Winslow attributes Church was too Catholic!” he learning more about his family laughs. history to a moment of Divine The Winslow family emerged Providence not long ago. He was in the early 14th century England leading a mission at Sacred Heart as a loosely-knit clan living in the Church in Salisbury when a smiling vicinity of the hamlet of Winslow, woman approached him. in Buckinghamshire (50 miles She said, “Father, I think we’re northwest of London), from which related.” He said, “Really? Why’s they adopted their name. that?” She told him her maiden Father Winslow traces his lineage name was Winslow. He looked at back to three Pilgrim Fathers: two her more closely and found that she of whom are uncles, and one a looked just like his aunt, his father’s direct ancestor. sister. She told Father Winslow that One of his great-great-greatA partial snapshot of the 1620 Mayflower passenger list: near the top he looked just like members of her great-great-great-great-great-uncles left of the list Edward Winslow’s name is recorded. family. was Edward Winslow, who later “She said, ‘Let me guess, you’re became the third governor of the all Renaissance men.’ I said, ‘What do you Plymouth colony, serving from 1633 to 1634. for them. Squanto had learned to speak mean by that?’ She said ‘Arts and sciences, English while living in England, where he Just 25 when he boarded the Mayflower had worked after being freed by Franciscan accomplished…it’s a family trait.’” and set out for the New World, he was She sent Father Winslow the chain of priests from his Spanish slave owners and joined by his 20-year-old brother Gilbert genealogy so he could see clearly their then converting to Catholicism.

Winslow. family line.

The Pilgrims celebrated at Plymouth Both Edward and Gilbert Winslow signed “It was really funny. Here I am in North for three days after their first harvest in the Mayflower Compact.

Carolina and a woman comes up and 1621. It included 50 Pilgrims (all who had “Being raised in upstate New York and makes that connection,” he says. survived of the original 100) and 90 Native visiting New England, when I would go to What does Father Winslow think his Americans invited as guests. a hotel or people would see my name on a Pilgrim ancestors must have been like?

The feast was cooked by the four adult credit card, people would make comments “They must have been courageous, Pilgrim women who survived that first about having a family connection to a because of that journey and going into harsh winter in the New World, including Winslow… People who are local grew up what would have been an exotic and one of Father Winslow’s distant aunts, with that being a historical name in the unknown land,” he says. “They must have Susanna (White) Winslow. area.” had a confidence in their abilities.”

Edward Winslow, in his account of the Edward Winslow did not stay in And the younger generations of early days of the Plymouth colony entitled Plymouth, though. In 1646 he traveled to Winslows? How do they view their family “Mourt’s Relation,” wrote: “Our harvest England to serve the Puritan government tree? being gotten in, our governor sent four of Oliver Cromwell, and never returned.

“My nephew loves it!” Father Winslow men on fowling, that so we might after a In 1655 he died of fever while on a British says of his nephew Matthew, now a sixthspecial manner rejoice together after we naval expedition against the Spanish in grader.“He’s taken a great interest in the had gathered the fruits of our labor. They the Caribbean. He was buried at sea. He is four in one day killed as much fowl as, with family history. It has really captured his the only Plymouth colonist with a portrait, imagination. He is really proud of that fact a little help beside, served the company which today is displayed at Pilgrim Hall in and it is certainly becoming a part of his almost a week. At which time, amongst Plymouth. memory.” other recreations, we exercised our arms, Edward Winslow was also the author of several important pamphlets, including “Good Newes from New England,” and he co-wrote with William Bradford the historic “Mourt’s Relation,” which is one of only two eyewitness accounts we have of the First Thanksgiving in 1621.

We commonly trace the Thanksgiving holiday to this 1621 celebration at the Plymouth colony, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season.

Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who lived among the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter

‘They must have been courageous because of that journey, and going into what would have been an exotic and unknown land.’

OUR PARISHESI

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facebook.com/ catholic news HERALD ESPAÑOL

catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 20

Padre Ángel Espinosa a dar charla en la Iglesia de San Gabriel Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — El Padre Ángel Espinosa de los Monteros dará una charla titulada, “Perdonar de Corazón,” el Martes, 24 de Noviembre a las 6 pm en la Iglesia de San Gabriel en Charlotte.

El Padre Espinosa es originario de Puebla, México, y realizó sus estudios de Filosofía en la Pontificia Universidad Gregoriana de Roma y los de Teología en el Ateneo Regina Apostolorum, Espinosa donde obtuvo la Licenciatura en Teología Moral, con especialización en Bioética.

El sacerdote también posee una Maestría en Humanidades Clásicas por el Instituto de Estudios Humanísticos de Salamanca, España. Impartió conferencias sobre matrimonio y valores familiares en México, Estados Unidos, Colombia, Chile, Italia, Francia. Publicó el libro: “El anillo es para siempre” traducido en varios idiomas.

Actualmente trabaja en Roma como consultor familiar y formación de adultos en la fe. Sus charlas han tenido amplia

difusión a través de su colección de CDs. Trabajó durante siete años como orientador familiar en Guadalajara, fue director del Cumbres de Medellín, Colombia, y colaboró en la formación de adultos en París, orientador familiar, en la preparatoria de Cumbres de México, también ha impartido conferencias sobre matrimonio, valores familiares y espiritualidad en diferentes ciudades de Europa, y América.

“La visita del Padre Ángel Espinoza de los Monteros será una oportunidad maravillosa de trabajar en el perdón en nuestras vidas. Estamos cerca de celebrar el ‘Día de Acción de Gracias,’ la preparación del ‘Adviento’ y las ‘Navidades’ por lo que será de gran ayuda disfrutar de su charla,” dijo Yasmín Todd, miembro del Grupo de Emaús de la Iglesia de San Gabriel.

“Dada su preparación y lo lleno del Espíritu Santo, sus charlas siempre van acompañadas de un bueno y muy fino sentido del humor y de su gran carisma,” agregó Todd.

El evento es patrocinado por el Ministerio Hispano de Emaús de San Gabriel. La Parroquia está localizada en la 3016 Providence Road, esquina con la Sharon Amity Road. Todos están invitados.

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We also specialize in custom trips for Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. www.proximotravel.com 508-340-9370 Hablamos Español 855-842-8001 anthony@proximotravel.com Call us 24/7

Cesar Hurtado

‘Thanksgiving,’ una oportunidad para volver a apreciar los dones que Dios nos regala todos los días

C

uando mi familia y yo llegamos a los Estados Unidos, nos llamó la atención la celebración de ‘Thanksgiving’, ‘la fiesta del pavo’, como la llamaban algunas personas.

Extrañados, mi esposa y yo no entendíamos esta festividad que competía en importancia con la misma Navidad.

“Qué locos estos gringos”, nos decíamos.

Por unos años no lo celebramos y solo íbamos a la casa de la familia de mi esposa, donde nos hartábamos de pavo, jamón y ‘green bean casserole’.

“De bien nacido es ser agradecido”, solía decir en esas ocasiones el tío de mi esposa, parafraseando un popular refrán, ya casi olvidado en nuestras conversaciones.

Pero, en verdad, ¿Sabemos agradecer lo que recibimos?

Nuestra ajetreada vida nos lleva a una rutina difícil de romper. Tenemos que obtener el dinero necesario para sostener a la familia, y también para darnos un pequeño gustito de vez en cuando. ¿Verdad? Si no, ¿De qué vale la vida? O por lo menos así lo creemos.

Por ello, nos levantamos temprano, desayunamos una taza de café, un waffle y nos vamos rápido al trabajo. De regreso, cansados y hambrientos, volvemos a casa para darnos un baño, preparar la comida, tomar nuestra cena, ver algo de tele mientras los niños hacen las tareas y nos vamos a la cama para, al día siguiente, repetir la misma historia.

Entonces, ahora viene la pregunta: ¿Tenemos algo que agradecer por esta vida que llevamos?

Hace algún tiempo caí enfermo por un malestar ligero. Un poco de fiebre me obligó a quedarme en casa, mientras que la familia continuaba sus actividades normales.

Después de despertar, quejándome de mis dolores de cuerpo, prendí la tele y decidí quedarme en cama. Al rato me levanté y abrí la puerta del jardín posterior. Sin obligaciones, sin apuros, tuve tiempo para detenerme y observar a mi alrededor. ¡Qué sorpresa me di! Pude nuevamente ver los colores de los árboles, escuchar el canto de los pajaritos, sentir el viento frío en mi rostro. Asombrado por mi redescubrimiento saqué una silla y permanecí en el jardín de la casa por un buen rato, viendo cosas que no recordaba haber apreciado hace mucho tiempo.

Habían permanecido allí. Simplemente yo había dejado de disfrutarlas.

Como la vida misma, como la libertad,

como a la madre o al padre, como a la esposa, a los hijos, el trabajo, la posibilidad de caminar, de ver, de oír, de cantar, de gritar, de decir ‘te amo’ y tantas otras cosas. Yo había cerrado mi corazón y mis sentidos para dedicarme a producir, a acumular bienes materiales, a proporcionar comodidades a mi familia, dejando de lado otras cosas, tan o más importantes que la pura estabilidad económica.

Y lo peor de todo, al no disfrutarlas perdí la capacidad de reconocer su trascendencia y no las valoraba. Y sin valoración no hay agradecimiento.

Deje, sin quererlo, de agradecer a Dios por mi esposa, por la familia, por los amigos y los enemigos, por las dichas y las desdichas, por el calor y el frío, por la saciedad y el hambre, por la ayuda que se recibe sin esperarla, por el trabajo, la casa, por la vida.

No sé cuál habrá sido tu historia. No sé si llegaste cruzando la frontera, por avión, con un visado o directamente con una residencia legal. Sea cual fuese, sé que llegaste, solo o con tu familia, con una maleta casi vacía y tu mente llena de sueños.

Sé, que después de muchos sufrimientos, estás mejor que antes. Sé que a veces te desesperas porque sientes que no avanzas y que la vida, pese a que ha mejorado, sigue siendo una lucha diaria.

Comprendiendo todo esto, cobra sentido el Día de Acción de Gracias, el ‘Thanksgiving’ o ‘San Guivin’, como lo llaman muchos. Una fiesta que nos era extraña pero que hemos adoptado como nuestra. Más que una hermosa celebración, un tiempo para detenerse, reflexionar, volver a apreciar los dones que Dios nos regala todos los días, pero que por alguna razón dejamos de ver, y por tanto de agradecer.

‘Pero, en verdad, ¿Sabemos agradecer lo que recibimos?’

Cesar Hurtado, productor audiovisual graduado en la Universidad de Lima, es miembro de la Iglesia San Gabriel en Charlotte y periodista para HOLA Noticias en Charlotte.

Our schools

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Charlotte Catholic announces 14 National Merit Commended Students CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School Principal Kurt Telford announced that 14 CCHS seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corp., which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

The 2016 National Merit Program Commended Students are: Will R. Burket, Emma G. Caponigro, Liam C. Cune, Katherine A. Cunnane, Jesse G. Curran, Grayson P. Hahn, Logan F. Hoff, Ryan J. Kennedy, Christina T. Merkel, Ifeyinwa V. Ogu, Sarah C. Poetsch, Katherine N. Powell, Matthew J. Salvino and Owen C. Winters.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

Although they will not continue in the 2016 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2016 competition by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/ NMSQT).

— Nanine Hartzenbusch Fox

Photos by John Bunyea | Catholic News Herald

Bishop McGuinness High School students led a prayer vigil Nov. 11 following the sudden death of Principal George Repass.

Bishop McGuinness remembers Principal George Repass Long-time Catholic educator died Nov. 8

Charlotte Catholic High announces fall signees CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School announces its Class of 2016 fall signees: n Baseball: McCann Mellett, Wingate University; Kris Yarbrough, Brevard College n Golf: Quinn Tardif, James Madison University; Will Straub, Marshall University n Men’s Lacrosse: Zach Strassner, University of Delaware; Jackson Harris, Mercer University; Michael O’Brien, Mercer University; Ryan Young, Sewanee: The University of the South n Women’s Softball: Carrie Eberle, Virginia Tech n Women’s Volleyball: Emma Mitchell, University of Alabama at Birmingham — Sally McArdle IN BRIEF, SEE page 23

Kimberly Bender Online reporter

KERNERSVILLE — George L. Repass, principal of Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville, passed away peacefully in his sleep Nov. 8, 2015. He was 69.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 19 at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro with Father Brian Cook officiating.

Bishop McGuinness High School was also closed Thursday to “honor the memory of Mr. Repass.”

A vigil service, including a student-led rosary, was also held Nov. 18.

Repass’s unexpected death was announced by diocesan and school officials Nov. 9.

“It is with deep regret that we inform you of the sudden death of Mr. Repass. His untimely passing is of deep shock to the entire school community but our faith is a source of comfort for us at this difficult time,” said Katie Williams, Repass director of advancement for the high school.

“We ask for your prayers for Mr. Repass and his family and the entire school community. We will help each other through this difficult time using our faith to give us strength.”

Clergy from the diocese and counselors from other Catholic schools and Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte responded quickly to assist students and faculty in their time of grief.

Diane Bullard, director of Catholic Charities’ Piedmont Triad Office in Winston-Salem, said she was impressed with how the counselors from nearby Catholic schools offered support.

“The Catholic community really came together to support these kids and teachers at Bishop McGuinness during this time of tragedy. It’s a testimony for Catholic school education and how the

faith plays such a strong role in healing,” she said.

On Nov. 11, the high school community came together to remember their beloved principal, who had led Bishop McGuinness for 25 years. The two-hour memorial service was organized and led by students, said Assistant Principal Tracy Shaw.

“We gathered together in prayer and song, and hugged and cried

Memorial fund established In lieu of flowers, the George L. Repass Memorial Scholarship Fund has been set up at Bishop McGuinness High School. Donations from this fund will be distributed to families who need financial assistance to attend Bishop McGuinness High School.

For details, go to www.bmhs.us or call Katie Williams at 336-564-1009. and remembered Mr. Repass,” Shaw said.

The students signed a banner with messages for their late principal, prayed, painted the school spirit rock and put flowers, candles and luminaries around the rock.

“On Monday when the students gathered back at school after learning that their principal had passed away, they felt the need that they had to do something. A group of seniors took it upon themselves to put together a prayer vigil,” Shaw said.

“They organized the whole thing. It was so impressive. George REPASS, SEE page 23

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Saints alive!

Schools across the Diocese of Charlotte learned more about the Communion of Saints earlier this month, during celebrations of All Saints Day.

Photos provided by Amy Burger

HUNTERSVILLE — Second-grade students from St. Mark School led the All Saints Day Mass at St. Mark Church Nov. 4. In what has become an annual tradition at the school, all of the second-graders dressed up as their favorite saint for the school-wide Mass, which was attended by more than 800 people. Retired Monsignor Richard Bellow, dean of students, was the celebrant for the Mass, which was a culmination of a month-long project for the second-grade students. At the beginning of October, each student chose a saint who had personal meaning for them. The students spent the month researching the life of their saint and completing a detailed written report. Each student also created a poster for their saint, which was a visual representation of the facts that they learned through their research. For most second-graders, this was their first experience with a research project. Through this project, students learned how to access information and put it into words, but they also gained a greater insight into their faith by learning about the various ways the saints devoted their lives to God. Pictured are Brady Milligan dressed as St. John the Baptist; and (from left) Jay Barton as St. James, Jorge Gonzalez as St. Michael, Natalie Ferguson as St. Joan of Arc and Riley Mau as St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

WINSTON-SALEM — Students at Our Lady of Mercy School researched their favorite saint and gave presentations about what they had learned to fellow students, teachers and parents.

Photos by Raymond Taber | Catholic News Herald

Photo provided by Amy Burger

HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark preschoolers also enjoyed dressing as their favorite saints in celebration of All Saints Day.

Photos provided by Michele Snoke

CHARLOTTE — St. Luke, St. Claire, St. Monica, St. Mary, St. Theresa, St. Julie and many others were represented at St. Gabriel School Nov. 4 at the 8:45 a.m. Mass celebrated by Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor. Second-graders dressed as saints, marching into the church to “When the Saints Come Marching In.” Second-grade students read the first reading, responsorial psalm and prayers of the faithful, and others presented the offertory gifts.

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

IN BRIEF

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exercise and fitness ideas. We are committed to fitness and wellness and hope to build on this success throughout the year with other activities,” Petrilli said.

— Denise Reis and Missy Erfurt

FROM PAGE 21

BMHS student earns scholar-athlete award KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness High School senior Maia Cancro was recently selected for the Time Warner Cable Scholar Athlete Award for the entire Piedmont Triad Region.

Time Warner Cable selects only five total winners each year, one for each region of the state.

Cancro, an all-conference swimmer for Bishop McGuinness, is also a member of the National Honor Society. She also Cancro is a National Latin Exam Silver Medal winner and a Cum Laude Latin certificate winner from The American Classic League.

Cancro was recognized for all of her extracurricular activities including her community service work. In addition to being a peer minister and staff writer for the high school newspaper, she volunteers at the Kernersville YMCA with Helping Hands of Mercy, a program that she helped found at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem. Cancro is active at Holy Cross Church in Kernersville volunteering for Operation L.A.M.B. fundraisers and other charitable efforts. She was a 2014 member of the community outreach program “Kernersville Connections.”

— Jeff Stoller

St. Mark launches Family Fitness Night HUNTERSVILLE — After nearly two hours

REPASS FROM PAGE 21

Repass, we know, is very proud of all of them for what they did.”

Students sang Repass’s favorite hymns, including “Lift High the Cross,” and ended the vigil with the prayer that Repass used to say at the end of each school day: “Lord, you have given us the day trusting that we will respond to Your will for our lives. Your name is praised from sunrise to sunset because of Your loving providence and constant care. As we thank You, we ask that You make us worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.”

The students had prayer cards made with Repass’s picture on one side and this prayer on the other, Shaw said.

“I am beyond amazed at the students and how they are handling the situation,” she said. “They are lifting each other up and all of us up, really, including the adults in the building.

“We’ve all known him longer than the students have known him. Some of the teachers here have known him since the day he started. It’s tough on the teachers, and it’s really lifting their spirits, too.”

Shaw said she also personally feels the loss of the school’s leader.

“He hired me and has been my mentor.

I have learned more from that man than from any schooling I ever had. I miss his laugh. I miss him popping in my office and talking about the silly stuff as well as the significant.

“Catholic education was a top priority for him. It was his whole life.”

of exercise and fitness activities Oct. 16, students and their families left St. Mark School feeling energized and educated about physical fitness. The school’s first family fitness event was a fun and lively evening. Event attendees participated in a variety of activities from exercise boot camp and speed boxing to karate and dance. Organizers set-up activity stations and posted signs to direct attendees to the stations around campus.

Besides exercise stations, several stations promoted healthy eating choices and stressed wellness awareness. Many of these stations were sponsored by local community companies. The school’s athletic association sponsored a hydration station to promote the importance of staying hydrated throughout the day. School nurse Sherri Petrilli, RN, who helped organize the event, conducted blood pressure screenings for participants. Dieticians and other medical professionals were on hand to discuss and educate attendees about healthy fitness choices.

Students were delighted to meet and exercise with Homer, the Charlotte Knights’ mascot, who joined them for the evening.

“Overall, our first family fitness night was a great success. Everyone enjoyed the fellowship,

Repass was born Nov. 27, 1945, in Bluefield, W.Va., to the late George Wiley and Mary Katherine Repass.

He graduated from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Ind., and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he majored in American history.

He dedicated his entire life to Catholic education, serving as an educator and administrator in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and for the past 25 years as principal at Bishop McGuinness High School.

He had a love for history, art, the classics and sacred music, but nothing could eclipse his love for Christ and his students before all else. He was a member of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem and sang faithfully in the choir for many years.

Since Repass’s death, people have been expressing their grief and paying tribute to him.

“What a gentleman he was. There is no doubt that he will be missed and remembered fondly for years to come.

Our children were lucky to have had him in their lives. Rest in Peace, sweet Mr. Repass,” wrote Ashley Toups Raborn on the high school’s Facebook page.

Kurt Telford, principal of Charlotte Catholic High School, noted, “I am still in shock about the news of Mr. Repass’s death. George was one of the first persons to welcome me to the diocese when I was appointed principal at Our Lady Of Grace (School). When I came to Charlotte Catholic he again offered congratulations.

In the almost 18 months that I have been at Catholic, there are many times when I have sought George’s knowledge and expertise on a variety of issues. He was always on

GLOBAL CATHOLIC TOURS OF VIRGINIA 2016 PILGRIMAGES

Firefighters visit with St. Michael students GASTONIA — Pre-kindergarten students at St. Michael School enjoyed a visit Nov. 11 with the crew and fire engine from Gastonia Fire Department’s Engine 5 – part of the students’ lesson about community helpers. Among other things, the kids learned that the fire engine can hold 750 gallons of water and it can be used up in 2-3 minutes if not connected to a hydrant.

One of the firefighters put on all of his gear to show the students what it looks like when he goes into a fire, and students toured the inside of the fire engine.

— Pat Burr

point.”

“The Diocese of Charlotte has lost a champion for Catholic education,” he said.

In addition to his parents, Repass was preceded in death by his nephew, Matthew George Repass. He is survived by his brother Robert Tom Repass and his wife Dannielle, and nieces and nephews, Andrew Repass, Charisse Repass and Christin Repass.

Burial will take place privately at a later time.

Hanes Lineberry North Elm Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be made to www. haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

24

David Hains Catholics and the media

Movie offers painful, yet frank reminder of how far the Church has come

A

rchbishop Wilton Gregory was recently in Charlotte to celebrate Mass, and he took a few moments to comment on the upcoming release of “Spotlight,” a movie retelling the story of how in 2002 the Boston Globe uncovered the problem of pervasive child sexual abuse among priests, a problem which had been kept hidden for decades in the U.S. Church.

Archbishop Gregory was president of the U.S. bishops’ conference in 2002 when the scandal broke. He quickly became the face of the Catholic Church in America. He responded to the seismic eruption of the problem uncovered by the Globe – first with an apology to the victims and then with a resolute attitude that things were going to change.

“I spent my entire three years (as USCCB president) confronting the issue and dealing with the issue,” he said to a brief press gathering Nov. 8.

“Spotlight” opens nationwide Friday, Nov. 20. Reviews, trailers and most of all advanced publicity from the film studio, including interviews with the director and stars of the film, coupled with knowledge of the story, makes it conceivable to comment on “Spotlight” before seeing it. But any comment needs to be accompanied by an apology to the victims. On behalf of the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Peter Jugis gave a very public apology shortly after he was installed as bishop, during a homily on Ash Wednesday 2004. I repeat that apology here and I urge any victim of sexual abuse anywhere to contact the authorities.

The archbishop said he hadn’t seen the movie before his Charlotte visit, but his perception of the film is one of painful gratitude.

He said he recognizes the suffering of the victims while down-playing the pain inflicted upon the institutional Church. “While it may be very difficult for the institutional Church to watch it and go back, it is infinitely more painful to those who were harmed,” he noted.

The Boston Globe quite rightly won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its work, and the movie “Spotlight” apparently tells a riveting tale of how a dogged team of reporters pursued the individual perpetrators and the institutional Church.

Great journalism not only wins prizes, it changes things for the better. If I have a quibble with the film it is that the movie ends long before the story does. The film concludes as the first story is being published. But what that story accomplished is astonishing, both here in the U.S. and around the world.

Since 2002, the Church has undertaken a litany of changes, some of which can be measured: n The adoption of a zero-tolerance policy for Church workers who engage in sexual abuse, mandated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the 2002 “Charter for the HAINS, SEE page 32

Catholic leaders hope film prompts new look at Church’s efforts on abuse Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Catholic leaders, both ordained and lay, said in op-ed essays they welcomed the attention certain to be paid to the Catholic Church upon the nationwide release of the movie “Spotlight,” which chronicles the Boston Globe’s uncovering of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002.

In the essays, they say the changes made by the Church since the revelations made by the Globe have made children safer.

“No institution in the United States has done more in recent years than the Catholic Church to take proactive steps to protect children from the evil of sexual abuse,” wrote Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington in a Nov. 2 letter emailed to Catholics in his archdiocese. The letter was reprinted in the Nov. 5 issue of the Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper.

“While the film focuses on events of the past, viewers may think that the film is portraying the present situation in the Church, concluding that nothing has changed in the Church’s response to the CNS | Open Road Films sexual abuse of minors,” said an op-ed Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Brian d’Arcy James star in a scene from the movie “Spotlight.” essay by Francesco C. Cesareo, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board. we do to protect young people.”

“However,” Cesareo added, “it is important to realize that the “Over the last 13 years, the Church has created safe Church has implemented numerous successful steps in the years environments for children and become a place where victims since the revelations of abuse.” and survivors can begin a process of healing,” Cesareo said in The all-lay National Review Board was established by the his essay, published in The Catholic Free Press, newspaper of the bishops in 2002 to provide an independent review of policies Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts. “Bishops across the United and programs the bishops were establishing to prevent and States – and around the world – have sought forgiveness for the respond to sexual abuse of minors, and assess their compliance lapses in Church policy and decisions made that led to harm for in implementation of the “Charter for the Protection of Children its most innocent and cherished members,” he said, “and will and Young People” through an annual audit of each U.S. diocese continue to apologize to victims and survivors for the abuse they and eparchy. have endured.”

Cardinal Wuerl outlined steps taken in the Washington But “the Church has done more than apologize. It has enacted Archdiocese to stop what he called the “shameful evil” of abuse. an aggressive program to encourage prevention of such abuse “My wish is that other entities, like the public school system, and to provide a comprehensive support system for victims and would attempt to do what the Church has done and offer the survivors,” added Cesareo, who is president of Assumption same level of protection to children in their care as we do,” Cardinal Wuerl said. “For this reason, the archdiocese has shared its materials with public schools and other societal CHURCH, SEE page 32 institutions, and we have offered to meet with them to explain all

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Spotlight’ The clergy abuse-themed drama “Spotlight” is a movie no Catholic will want to see.

Whether it’s a film many mature Catholics ought to see is a different question entirely.

This hard-hitting journalism procedural – which inescapably invites comparison with 1976’s “All the President’s Men” – recounts the real-life events that led up to the public disclosure, in early 2002, of a shocking pattern of priestly misconduct within the Archdiocese of Boston. In the process, the equally disturbing concealment of such wrongdoing on the part of high-ranking Church officials also was laid bare.

One of the picture’s themes is the way in which Beantown’s inward-looking, small-town mentality contributed to the long-standing cover-up. For the supposed good of the community, locals suppressed the knowledge of what was happening, subconsciously choosing not to see what was transpiring just behind the scenes.

So it’s appropriate that the whitewash begins to peel away with the arrival of a stranger to the Hub, the newly imported editor of the Boston Globe, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber).

Marty’s outsider status isn’t just based on his geographical origins; he’s also Jewish.

Perplexed that his paper has devoted so little attention to the earliest cases in what would become, over time, an avalanche of legal actions against clerics, Baron commissions the investigative unit of the title, which specializes in in-depth investigations of local stories, to dig deeper.

Led by even-keeled Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson (Michael Keaton), the Spotlight team – which also includes tightly wound Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), intrepid Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and relentless research whiz Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) – uncovers a widespread and sickening scandal involving scores of clergymen and hundreds of young victims.

Director and co-writer Tom McCarthy

maintains a taut rhythm as he focuses primarily on the dogged professionalism required to breach the walls of secrecy surrounding a respected, and therefore protected, institution. And his script, penned with Josh Singer, apportions blame across a broad spectrum that includes the Globe itself – John Slattery plays veteran editor Ben Bradlee Jr., whose semi-willful blindness to the problem typifies the attitude discussed above.

Like most of his colleagues, Slattery is a former Catholic, distanced from, but not – initially at least – embittered toward, the faith in which he were raised. Witnessing the further fraying of the reporters’ already fragile ties to the Church adds to the overwhelming sense of grief Catholic viewers will feel throughout “Spotlight.” Yet this generally accurate chronicle can provide them with a valuable insight into one of the darkest chapters in FILM, SEE page 32

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV n Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 p.m.

(EWTN) “Syria’s Christian Exodus: Syria’s Christian Exodus.” Filmmaker Elisabetta Valgiusti presents the stories of Syrian Christians who have been forced to flee to neighboring countries due to extreme threats from radical Islamic groups. Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops give their own insights on the situation.

In theaters

n Sunday, Nov. 22, 10 p.m.

(EWTN) “Africa: Life Under Siege.” Filmed on location in Africa, this documentary looks at the enormous pressure African countries are under to adapt to secular, mainly Western, views of human life, sexuality, marriage, motherhood and family.

‘Love the Coopers’ Four generations of a dysfunctional clan gather for Christmas Eve in this vulgar comedy from director Jessie Nelson. The family dog (voice of Steve Martin) narrates the action as the about-to-split parents (Diane Keaton and John Goodman) await the arrival of their uniformly unsettled offspring. Their divorced son (Ed Helms), a struggling single parent, shows up with his potty-mouthed 5-year-old in tow. Their single daughter (Olivia Wilde), who’s engaged in an adulterous affair back home, attempts to disguise the situation by convincing a soldier she meets in an airport bar to pose as her boyfriend. As the film’s lone Christian believer, the GI becomes the butt of many lame gags. Yet his influence can be felt in the generally moral wrap-up, a conclusion that, together with a slender message about the enduring bonds of family as well as the value of tolerance and forgiveness, just barely pulls this project back from complete offensiveness. Pervasive indecent and some sacrilegious humor, occasional profane and crude language.

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

‘The Peanuts Movie’ Charming animated comedy, populated by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz’s familiar “Peanuts” gang, in which hapless Charlie Brown (voice of Noah Schnapp) pines for his classmate, the Little Red-Haired Girl (voice of Francesca Capaldi) while his fantasy-prone beagle, Snoopy (voiced, via recordings, by the late Bill Melendez), pursues romance with the World War I-era aviatrix of his daydreams. In extending a big-screen legacy that dates back to 1971, director Steve Martino is scrupulously faithful both to the understated tone and the tried-and-true chemistry of his source material. Though the needless incorporation of 3-D effects leads to an overemphasis on Snoopy’s airborne adventures, back on the ground top-notch values, including altruism, honesty and loyalty as well as a touch of prayerful spirituality, prevail in a story well calculated to win the hearts of old and young alike. Imaginary combat, some minor peril.

CNS: A-I (general patronage); MPAA: G

Other movies n ‘Spectre’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13

25

Parish creates customized calendars promoting Catholic identity, active participation SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — The parish family of St. Joseph Vietnamese Church in southwest Charlotte is a growing, vibrant faith community. So Father Tri Truong, pastor, came up with an idea to keep parishioners connected and provide helpful information about parish ministries and groups by developing a yearly calendar featuring 12 groups – one for each month of the calendar year.

Father Truong stresses that the idea to have parish groups on the church’s liturgical calendar instead of business advertisements promotes Catholic identity and participation among parishioners.

“Our Catholic identity needs to be at the center of our activities, because what we do comes from what we believe,” he explains.

Parishioner Tony Do sponsors the calendar each year, so that families can get them for free and post them in their homes to remember special feast days in the Church and other parish celebrations.

The mastermind behind the calendar’s design is volunteer and parishioner Tuan Nguyen, who is tasked with the challenge of coming up with a new color scheme each year. He also takes all the photos besides maintaining the parish’s website.

“I do computers for a living,” Nguyen says.

“It’s a fun project, I like doing it. I have to come up with a new color scheme and make it look different every year.”

Nguyen photographs seven of the main groups at the parish including the parish council, finance council, liturgy committee and fundraising committee. He also photographs five other important ministries, including the Association of Eucharistic

Reparation, Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society and the Marriage Family Enrichment Program.

He says he takes these groups into consideration when choosing his color palette, so it corresponds to their ministry if possible.

For instance, he has selected a shade of blue for the month when the parish’s Legion of Mary group is featured.

Names and contact information for each committee chair or ministry leader is published in the calendar as well.

Nguyen works with Father Truong and another volunteer to place the important dates in the calendar.

n Thursday, Nov. 26, 6 p.m.

(EWTN) “Miami: Restoration of Tradition.” The history and growth of Miami’s Latin Mass community; tour a chapel and museum for restored, traditional Catholic art; Archbishop Thomas Wenski explains his role as moderator and celebrator of the Extraordinary Form in his archdiocese. n Thursday, Nov. 26, 9 p.m.

(EWTN) “Take a Chance on Happiness.” Nine couples from Ireland, Scotland, and England testify to how they’ve incorporated Opus Dei Founder St. Josemaría Escrivá’s practical teachings on marriage and parenting into their lives. n Friday, Nov. 27, 6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Giorgio: A Modern Day Miracle Story.” The family of a comatose young adult finds the miracle they’ve been praying for after beseeching for Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s heavenly intercession. n Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “Night of the Prophet.”

Through the eyes of a Roman journalist, a dramatization of Padre Pio, who is unveiled as a man of purity and Christian charity. n Tuesday, Dec. 1, 4 p.m. (EWTN) “Feast with the Friar: Advent Special.” Father John teaches Renata, Leopold, and Timothy about the Advent wreath and encourages the children to prepare their hearts during Advent to receive the Infant Jesus by making acts of love to God and to others. n Tuesday, Dec. 1, 4:30 p.m.

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

“We like giving the calendars out at the beginning of each year. When I go to their homes and see it hanging on the wall, I feel good,” Nguyen shares.

Father Truong notes the importance of the calendar project each year: “We are a community of faith, so it is important for our parishioners to remember that as much as we love and honor our traditions and customs, our Catholic identity needs to take a prominent place.”

n Thursday Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Catholic Aid to Syria’s Refugees.” Filmmaker Elisabetta Valgiusti presents the humanitarian activities of the Catholic Church and Caritas International in service to Syria’s refugees, along with stories of individual Syrian refugees and commentary from Catholic leaders.

Our nation 26

catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Church leaders disturbed by calls to end resettlement of Syrian refugees U.S. Catholics offer prayers, condolences after ‘horrific’ Paris attacks Catholic News Service

BALTIMORE — The head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration said he was disturbed by calls from federal and state officials for an end to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States.

“These refugees are fleeing terror themselves – violence like we have witnessed in Paris,” said Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, chairman of the migration committee. “They are extremely vulnerable families, women, and children who are fleeing for their lives. We cannot and should not blame them for the actions of a terrorist organization.”

In a statement issued Nov. 17 during the bishops’ general assembly in Baltimore, Bishop Elizondo offered condolences to the French people, especially families of the victims of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. He said he supported “all who are working to ensure such attacks do not occur again – both in France and around the world.”

But addressing calls from some governors and federal officials – including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. – to pause or halt refugee resettlement until the U.S. can ensure the safety of its citizens, Bishop Elizondo said refugees “must pass

security checks and multiple interviews before entering the United States – more than any arrival to the United States. It can take up to two years for a refugee to pass through the whole vetting process. We can look at strengthening the already stringent screening program, but we should continue to welcome those in desperate need.”

He urged public officials to work together to end the conflict in Syria so the country’s nearly 4 million refugees can return home.

“Until that goal is achieved, we must work with the world community to provide safe haven to vulnerable and deserving refugees who are simply attempting to survive. As a great nation, the United States must show leadership during this crisis and bring nations together to protect those in danger and bring an end to the conflicts in the Middle East,” he said.

An outpouring of grief, condolences and prayers came from Catholics across the United States in reaction to the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.

The U.S. bishops pledged their prayers for those killed and injured at three sites in France’s capital and voiced their support for those “working to build just and peaceful societies.”

“Terror always seeks to separate us from those we most love,” said a statement issued by the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Through their suffering, courage and compassion, Parisians are reminding us that the common bond of humanity is strongest when the need is greatest.”

“To the people of France, we mourn with

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you and honor the lives lost from several nations, including our own,” said the committee, which is comprised of USCCB’s officers, committee chairmen and other bishops representing every region of the U.S. “To our brothers and sisters in the Church in France, your family in the United States holds you close to our hearts. May the tender and merciful love of Jesus Christ give you comfort during this great trial and lead you on a path toward healing and peace,” added the statement, issued from Baltimore, where the bishops were meeting ahead of their Nov. 16-19 general fall assembly.

“We at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities, we are always open to helping families who come into the United States in need of help,” Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told reporters Nov. 16.

“We have that tradition of doing it and we’re going to contribute.” He explained that any assistance provided to refugees and immigrants is carried out under government contracts and that the vetting of newcomers will have been completed by government agencies long before church agencies become involved. “Our efforts are going to be to reach out to people and to serve them,” he said.

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory in a Nov. 16 statement urged people to work together to “bring an end to such hatred” that led to the terrorism attack.

“The tragedy of the terrorist attack on the people of Paris is but another sign of the violence of a radical group of people who seek to destroy not only human life, but societal stability and harmony,” he said. “They cannot succeed. We must not, however, simply become imitators of their hatred, but remain determined members of humanity who will not tolerate such brutality, but will work together to bring about an end to such hatred and human destruction.”

The U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency, Catholic Relief Services, emphasized how carefully refugees are vetted in a five-point post called “5 Reasons Not to Punish Syrian Refugees for the Paris Attacks.”

The column, by Michael Hill, CRS senior writer, noted: “Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, it’s estimated that more than 250,000 people have died. Countless homes and places of work have been destroyed.

Refugees arriving in Europe have recounted in horrific detail the atrocities they witnessed within their homeland.

“These people should not be blamed for the actions of an extremist fringe group like ISIS. If anything, the Paris attacks should increase our sympathy for their plight,” Hill wrote.

“While we recognize legitimate security concerns, our leaders and politicians must understand that refusing to welcome the stranger and failing to work together toward a solution to this refugee crisis only aids our enemies,” he wrote. “We understand the fear many American people, including members of our Catholic population, have that the senseless violence perpetrated in Paris, Beirut, and so many other places will find its way here. But as followers of Christ, we cannot allow our attitudes and our actions to be overtaken by this fear.”

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief U.S. bishops OK statement calling pornography ‘mortal sin’ WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. bishops approved a statement on pornography on the second day of their Nov. 16-19 fall general meeting in Baltimore. “Producing or using pornography is a mortal sin that needs to be confessed in order for the person to receive God’s forgiveness,” says the draft version of “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography.” “Those who produce and distribute pornography harm the common good by encouraging and even causing others to sin,” it says.

The statement, prepared by the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, adds, “There are many victims of pornography. ... All child pornography is automatically trafficking and a crime, because it involves the sexual exploitation of a minor for commercial gain and it is against the child’s will due to the inability to give consent.” It noted, “Many people struggle with pornography use, including faithful Catholics, people of faith, people of no faith, married and single people, fathers and mothers, the young and the old, clergy and those in consecrated life.”

High court to hear challenge to Texas abortion law WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 13 said it will hear a challenge to two provisions of a Texas law regulating abortion clinics in the state. The 2013 state law requires the clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers when performing abortions and also requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital near an abortion facility. It is the first abortion case the high court has taken in eight years. The challenge to the law was brought by a coalition of abortion providers.

Church stands ready to help abuse victims, says bishop WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Church still stands ready to help the victims of clergy sexual abuse, according to Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau, Alaska, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Child and Youth Protection. “Victims of abuse have helped us see the errors of the past,” Bishop Burns said Nov. 10. “It’s important that we assist them in the healing process.” He added, “We express our gratitude for the way they’ve called us to look at ourselves, and see that there is a need to change, to be contrite, and to assist in the healing process. It’s important that we continue to work together in order to be sure that there is a safe environment within the Church, and that we never grow lax in assuring that all our children are safe.”

He cited background checks for close to 99 percent of the diocesan and religious priests and deacons, and safe environment instruction for 92 percent of the estimated 4.4 million children who have been enrolled in Catholic educational programs. “What needs to be done? We need to get to 100 percent,” he said.

— Catholic News Service

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

27

USCCB president urges bishops pray to ‘see as Jesus sees’ Catholic News Service

BALTIMORE — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ urged his brother bishops to pray for virtues that would help them be better spiritual leaders.

“Lord, give us an understanding heart and a credible moral voice,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., in his homily at a Nov. 16 Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.

The afternoon Mass was celebrated after the bishops spent the earlier half of the day discussing a varied slate of items as their Nov. 16-19 fall general assembly opened in Baltimore.

Archbishop Kurtz also urged the bishops to pray for the “eyesight to see as Jesus sees” and for the renewed grace to love God and serve others.

“Help us steer straight,” he added, referring to how good administrators have the ability to steer their ships through rough waters.

The next morning, the bishops voted on a new USCCB general secretary and committee chairmen-elect; debated and voted on a proposed statement on pornography titled “Create a Clean Heart in Me”; and debated revisions to their quadrennial statement on political responsibility.

In the elections, they chose Monsignor J. Brian Bransfield as the new general secretary; he has been associate general secretary for five years. They also voted for Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati as treasurer-elect.

The previous day, in presenting the

pornography statement to the bishops, Bishop Richard J. Malone, of Buffalo, N.Y., chair of the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, described pornography as a “dark shadow in our world today.”

He added that pornography is a “particularly sinister instance of consumption” where men, women and children are “consumed for the pleasure of others.”

The bishops also debated proposed revisions to their quadrennial political responsibility statement, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”

The 2015 version reflects on long-held concerns related to abortion and the needs of poor people. It also references emerging issues related to court decisions on homosexual “marriage,” public policies that affect religious freedom, and a rising concern for the environment as climate change affects more people around the world.

In his address as president of the USCCB, Archbishop Kurtz called on his fellow bishops Nov. 16 to imitate the “pastor’s presence” exhibited by Pope Francis during his recent U.S. visit, “touching the hearts of the most influential, the forgotten and all of us in between.”

Noting the upcoming Year of Mercy that begins Dec. 8, Archbishop Kurtz said a ministry of “presence means making time and never letting administration come between me and the person. It’s seeing the person first.”

“Our hearts respond to (the pope’s) call to be pastors who are present, welcoming and eager to walk with our people,” he

added.

He said the role of the bishops “as a conference in our public actions” was to “seek to be a presence in the public square – always seeking the common good and making room for faith to act – never imposing but always inviting, serving.”

A convocation for Catholic leaders planned for 2017 represents “a new way of reaching and teaching our people,” Bishop Malone said in a presentation to his fellow bishops.

Bishop Malone was joined by two other bishops in a presentation on the national convocation, planned for July 1-4, 2017, in Orlando, Fla., and the communications research leading up to it. The theme of the meeting is “The Joy of the Gospel in America.”

Church resettlement programs in the United States will continue to aid refugees who are fleeing violence and social ills despite calls that the country’s borders should be closed to anyone but Christians.

The Church’s response is focused on people in need of food, shelter and safety and not their particular faith Archbishop Kurtz told reporters during a midday break in the bishops’ fall general assembly Nov. 16.

“We at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities, we are always open to helping families who come into the United States in need of help,” he said at a news conference. “We have that tradition of doing it and we’re going to contribute.”

Archbishop Kurtz explained that any assistance provided to refugees and immigrants is carried out under government contracts and that the vetting of newcomers will have been completed by government agencies long before Church agencies become involved.

“Our efforts are going to be to reach out to people and to serve them,” the archbishop said.

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Nothing can justify terrorist attacks, pope says Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Using God’s name to try to justify violence and murder is “blasphemy,” Pope Francis said Nov. 15 speaking about the terrorist attacks on Paris.

“Such barbarity leaves us dismayed and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events,” the pope said after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square.

The attacks in Paris Nov. 13 – attacks the French government said were carried out by three teams of Islamic State terrorists – caused the deaths of 129 people and left more than 350 injured, many of them critically. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a soccer stadium, gunmen attacked customers at cafes and restaurants, and a team of terrorists gunned down dozens of people at a concert.

The attacks, Pope Francis said, were an “unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person.”

“The path of violence and hatred cannot resolve the problems of human and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy,” he said.

Pope Francis asked the thousands of people who gathered at St. Peter’s for the Sunday midday prayer to observe a moment of silence and to join him in reciting a Hail Mary.

“May the Virgin Mary, mother of mercy, give rise in the hearts of everyone thoughts of wisdom and proposals for peace,” he said. “We ask her to protect and watch over the dear French nation, the first daughter of the Church, over Europe and the whole world.”

“Let us entrust to the mercy of God

the innocent victims of this tragedy,” the pope said.

Speaking Nov. 14, the day after the terrorist attacks, Pope Francis had told the television station of the Italian bishops’ conference, “I am shaken and pained.”

“I don’t understand, but these things are difficult to understand, how human beings can do this,” the pope said.

“That is why I am shaken, pained and am praying.”

The director of the television station recalled how the pope has spoken many times about a “third world war being fought in pieces.”

“This is a piece,” the pope responded. “There are no justifications for these things.”

On social media, Islamic State militants claimed responsibility, but Pope Francis insisted there can be no “religious or human” excuse for killing innocent people and sowing terror. “This is not human.”

French authorities reported Nov. 14 that eight terrorists were CNS | Paul Haring dead after the night of attacks; People light candles in the shape of a cross and heart in Republique square in Paris Nov. 14 in memory of victims of terrorist six of them committed suicide attacks the previous evening that claimed the lives of 129 people and injured more than 350. and two were killed by police, who stormed the concert hall peacemakers. We must never lose our hope the security guidelines of the police, but where the terrorists had taken hostages for peace if we work for justice.” also asked for special memorial Masses and where the majority of victims died.

Just a few hours after the attacks over the weekend. He celebrated a special Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris occurred, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Mass for the victims Nov. 15 in Notre Dame issued a statement calling for calm and Vatican spokesman, issued a statement Cathedral. for prayers, not only for the Paris victims, “May no one allow himself to be defeated but also for the victims of recent terrorist by panic and hatred,” the cardinal attacks in Lebanon and in Africa. said. “Let us ask for the grace of being He urged all parishes to strictly follow ATTACKS, SEE page 29

Pope to visit Africa Nov. 25-30; including Central African Republic Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Despite continued instability and outbreaks of violence in the Central African Republic, the Vatican announced Pope Francis will spend about 33 hours in the country during a Nov. 25-30 visit to Africa.

Releasing the schedule for the trip, the Vatican said that while the pope is in the Central African Republic Nov. 29-30, he will visit a refugee camp, hold a meeting with evangelical Christians and visit a mosque in Bangui, the nation’s capital.

The country has known little peace or development in its 55 years of independence. In March 2013, a rebel movement led by Arab-speaking Islamists suspended the nation’s constitution. Although religious leaders insist the conflict is political and ethnic, the fighting has divided the country on religious lines – with mostly Muslim rebel forces battling mainly Christian militias.

French and African peacekeepers were deployed in January 2014 and the rebels were driven out of the capital.

Local Christian and Muslim leaders, as well as organizations such as the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services, are bringing people from all faiths together in an effort to sow peace.

The National Reconciliation Forum, convened by the country’s transitional parliament in May, has been trying to bring the Islamists and its Christian-dominated rival, Anti-Balaka, into talks and preparations for elections that originally were scheduled for Oct. 18. The vote, however, was postponed after violence broke out again in late September.

POPE FRANCIS’ FIRST PASTORAL VISIT TO AFRICA NAIROBI, KENYA NOVEMBER

25-27

POPULATION CATHOLICS NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE

45.9 MILLION

309,200

23%

BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC NOVEMBER

KAMPALA, UGANDA NOVEMBER

27-29

29-30

POPULATION CATHOLICS NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE

5.4 MILLION

25%

417,000

POPULATION CATHOLICS NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE

37.1 MILLION

41.9%

30,140

Source: CIA Factbook 2014-15 ©2015 Catholic News Service

Church leaders in Central African Republic said the pope’s Nov. 29-30 visit will go ahead, despite warnings that international peacekeepers may be unable to ensure his safety.

“We’re full of hope the Holy Father’s presence will bring great benefits by enabling our people to achieve reconciliation; we must respond to this opportunity,” said Monsignor Cyriaque Gbate Doumalo, secretary-general of the bishops’ conference. “The whole population is now

actively preparing itself, and we think we can maintain security at least in the capital, Bangui. For the moment, there’s no reason or justification to place the visit in doubt.”

On Nov. 11, media reported that French government officials had asked the Vatican to postpone or shorten the two-day visit, after an upsurge of violence left at least 61 dead and 30,000 people displaced.

Before visiting Central African Republic, Pope Francis will visit Kenya and Uganda Nov. 25-27.

In Kenya, he will meet with ecumenical and interreligious leaders, but he also will visit the Kangemi slum on the outskirts of Nairobi.

“The exceptional visit by Pope Francis presents us with a unique opportunity to appreciate our country, region and continent afresh. This is an opportunity to appreciate our motherland and reaffirm our common destiny,” said a statement by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pope Francis’ visit “will be an opportunity of renewal for all of us Kenyans as we expect his message to inspire us to a greater sense of responsibility and duty to build a country that is peaceful and God-fearing,” they said.

Traveling to Uganda Nov. 27, the pope will honor the memory of the 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic Ugandan martyrs, killed for their faith on the orders of King Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887.

Pope Francis’ visit has the theme, “You will be my witnesses.” The Ugandan bishops said the pope will help Ugandans celebrate the 50th anniversary of the canonization of the Uganda Martyrs, who were canonized in 1964.

— Jonathan Luxmoore and Sister Grace Candiru contributed.

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Nothing can justify terrorist attacks, pope says VATICAN CITY — Using God’s name to try to justify violence and murder is “blasphemy,” Pope Francis said Nov. 15, speaking about the terrorist attacks on Paris. “Such barbarity leaves us dismayed, and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events,” the pope said after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square. The attacks, Pope Francis said, were an “unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person.”

“The path of violence and hatred cannot resolve the problems of humanity, and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy,” he said. Pope Francis asked the thousands of people who gathered at St. Peter’s for the Sunday midday prayer to observe a moment of silence and to join him in reciting a Hail Mary.

Laity are disciples, not ‘second-class members’ of Church, pope says VATICAN CITY — Laypeople are not secondclass members at the service of the Church hierarchy, but are disciples of Christ called to “enliven every environment, every activity and every human relationship according to the Gospel,” Pope Francis said. The pope sent a message Nov. 10 to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and participants of a workshop marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, which defined the role, vocation and mission of laypeople in the Catholic Church. In his message, the pope said that the Second Vatican Council did not just highlight the importance of the laity in the Church, but defined their role as a vocation. The proclamation of the Gospel “is not reserved to some ‘mission professionals,’ but should be the profound aspiration of all lay faithful who are called to evangelize by virtue of their baptism,” he said. The pope said that while the council’s teachings have contributed to the growth of lay formation, its application challenges “every generation of pastors and laypeople, because it is a priceless gift of the Holy Spirit that must be accepted with gratitude and a sense of responsibility.”

ATTACKS FROM PAGE 28

saying the Vatican was “shocked by this new manifestation of maddening terrorist violence and hatred, which we condemn in the most radical way.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent a message in the pope’s name to Cardinal Vingt-Trois calling the attacks “horrific” and relaying the pope’s prayers for the victims, their families and the entire nation.

“He invokes God, the father of mercy, asking that He welcome the victims into the peace of His light and bring comfort and hope to the injured and their families,” Cardinal Parolin wrote.

The pope also “vigorously condemns violence, which cannot solve anything, and he asks God to inspire thoughts of peace

Pope: Keep Christ in Christmas, fight pressure of worldliness VATICAN CITY — Keeping the “Christ” in “Christmas” is part of not giving in to pressure to conform to the “norm” and become like nonbelievers, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. Giving in to the things of the world is like saying, “Let’s put our ID up for auction.

We are the same as everyone,” the pope said.

Celebrating an early morning Mass Nov. 16, Pope Francis warned against the very small, hidden way worldliness takes root in a culture and then leads to apostasy and religious persecution. In fact, “the liturgy in these final days of the liturgical year” urges people to be careful of the “poisonous roots” that lead people away from God, he said.

Keep your eyes on what is eternal, pope says at Mass VATICAN CITY — As the Church’s liturgical year draws to a close, Catholics are reminded that the source of all beauty and the final destiny of all things lie in God, Pope Francis said. Celebrating an early morning Mass Nov. 13, Pope Francis noted how the readings at Mass turn more and more to the “end times” as the Church approaches the feast of Christ the King Nov. 22 and the beginning of a new Church year the next week. The Mass readings for Nov. 13 – from the Book of Wisdom and the Gospel of St. Luke – do not ignore the good of God’s creation and of earthly life, but insist that believers not “idolize” them as if they were eternal, the pope said at the Mass in the chapel of his residence.

Pope Francis described as “the idolatry of immanence” the tendency described in Wisdom 13:1-9 to admire the beauty of creation but never look beyond it to recognize the power and goodness of the creator. People, he said, “are attached to this idolatry. They are awestruck by the power and energy” of fire, wind, stars and seas. But “they don’t think how superior the Lord is because He, the principle and author of beauty, created them.”

Cardinal: Catholic identity is caring witness, not defensive ideology VATICAN CITY — Strong Catholic identity for Catholic schools and educational institutes depends on fostering proactive, creative and charitable witnesses of God’s love and Gospel values, not defending abstract ideologies, said the head of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Catholic identity must recognize the major mission of evangelization is “salvation and not conflict,” said Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, the congregation’s prefect. “If one uses an abstract

rationality, one heads for an ideological battle that does not take into account the essence of the proclamation of the Gospel, which is for people, not for ideas,” he said. The cardinal and others were giving a preview of a world congress sponsored by the congregation titled, “Educating Today and Tomorrow. A Renewing Passion.” Some 2,500 people had signed up for the gathering to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration On Christian Education and the 25th anniversary of the apostolic constitution “Ex Corde Ecclesiae.”

— Catholic News Service

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Mexican foreign minister confirms pope to visit CUAUTITLAN IZCALLI, Mexico — Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit the capital, Mexico City, along with the states of Chihuahua and Chiapas – on the northern and southern borders respectively – and Michoacan in western Mexico. “The details will be known in December,” she said Nov. 11, acknowledging where the pope will travel early next year.

and solidarity in all.”

Father Lombardi was asked about security concerns throughout Europe, and particularly whether the terrorist attacks would impact plans for the Year of Mercy, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 8.

“These murderers, possessed by senseless hatred, are called terrorists precisely because they want to spread terror,” Father Lombardi responded in a statement. “If we let ourselves be frightened, they will have already reached their first objective.”

“It goes without saying that we must be cautious, and not irresponsible,” he said, but “we must go on living by building peace and mutual trust.”

“I would say that the Jubilee of Mercy shows itself even more necessary,” Father Lombardi said. Preaching God’s love and mercy also is a call for people to love one another and reconcile with each other. It “is precisely the answer we must give in times of temptation to mistrust.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

‘We have replaced the crucified Lord with a veritable anti-Christ – a Jesus of our own making, one who asks nothing of us, who demands no obedience nor conversion, but rather accommodates us in our sins.’

Miserere Nobis: Sam Guzman

T

he world, it seems, is falling to pieces.

Each day brings ever worsening reports of war, violence and devastation. Protests, riots, bombings, beheadings, rapes, kidnappings, persecutions – the list goes on and on. Last week, yet another horror unfolded in Paris, one of the most devastating yet in the Western world, and we feel with foreboding that it likely will not be the last such act of terror.

The weight of such tragedies weighs heavily on us. It is hard not to be downcast when we see evil engulfing all we hold dear like a great and ominous storm cloud, its lightnings and blackness overwhelming all. Neither is it a wonder that a growing number of Americans are on antidepressants and anxiety medication.

What should we do then? How should we

A plea for conversion in the midst of a world in crisis respond? I will leave the difficult answers of a public response to those wiser than myself. But faced with a world broken and bleeding, a world in the throes of a great crisis at once moral, social and spiritual, I want to issue a call to true, personal conversion, a call to sincere repentance.

What should we do? We should fall on our knees and cry out in the words of the psalmist, “Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri” (“Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us”). We should turn from our sins and toward the living God, the God who loves mankind and who is full of mercy and pardon.

Whom the Lord loves, He chastens

Throughout the Scriptures and the earthly sojourn of the Church, it is undeniable

that God permitted times of great suffering frequently to chasten the people He loves.

While God is never the direct cause of evil (we are, through our sin and disobedience), He permits it as a remedy to drive His forgetful people back to Himself. And forgotten Him we have. For decades now, perhaps even centuries, modern man has been on a quest to throw off the yoke of Christ’s authority. We have systematically driven Him from the public square, from our schools, our families and even, tragically, from our Church. We have replaced the crucified Lord with a veritable anti-Christ – a Jesus of our own making, one who asks nothing of us, who demands no obedience nor conversion, but rather accommodates us in our sins.

Faced with a people whose hearts have gone cold and who have rejected His gentle rule, Our Lord allows us to face the consequences of our rebellion toward Him full on. Put another way, He allows us to reap what we have sown, and the harvest is rarely pleasant. Yet, Our Lord permits this calamity for our good and ultimately because He loves us. As St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Hebrews, “It is where He loves that He bestows correction; there is no recognition for any child of His, without chastisement. Be patient, then, while correction lasts; God is treating you as His children…. He does it for our good, to give us a share in that holiness which is His.”

Be converted

Faced with a world in the convulsions of great crisis, then, we must not despair or doubt. Rather, we must turn back to our Father who loves us, full of contrition for our sins and with a heart submissive to His will, no matter the cost. In the words of St. Peter, our first pope, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

Have you been far from God? Be converted with a sincere heart and confess your sins. Hear the words of absolution and be at peace.

Have you perhaps been receiving your Eucharistic Lord with a heart cold and devoid of love? Meditate on the goodness of Jesus to you, His self-emptying on the cross to save you, and stir again the fading coals of love.

Have you failed to pray, to heed the longing that you feel for God? Make time for Our Lord intentionally. Give Him the best of your day, rising early if you must to call on Him. Have you been in love with the comforts and things of the world, filled with materialism and worldliness? Shed this vain pursuit and return to your good Savior.

Have you been enslaved by lust and hedonism? Reject these empty lies of the devil and seek the love that lasts forever.

Have the cares of this world choked the life of God in your soul? Remember the one needful thing: love of God from whom all good things come.

In short, renew once again your baptismal promises in which you vowed to serve Christ the King and be true to Him ’til death. Do not wait any longer.

Answer the call of your confirmation and do battle for the Lord who loves you.

Turn from this broken world to Our Lord and His merciful mother, whose infinite compassion will reject no one and from whom alone you can find true healing.

Shake off the coldheartedness and apathy that so easily sets in, and once again with fervor determine to follow Christ with your whole heart.

Have hope

Finally, never lose hope, for the Lord’s mercy is endless, and He has promised us that the Woman, our Immaculate Mother Mary, will crush the head of the serpent and seal Our Lord’s eternal victory. When the canker of doubt begins to gnaw at you, when you are tempted to despair by both your own sins and the sins of the world, remember the words of Jeremiah the prophet: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’” When you feel the palpitations of fear and of anxiety besetting you, remember too the words of St. Paul, a man who knew the meaning of suffering: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? For Thy sake, says the scripture, we face death at every moment, reckoned no better than sheep marked down for slaughter. Yet in all this we are conquerors, through Him who has granted us His love. Of this I am fully persuaded; neither death nor life, no angels or principalities or powers, neither what is present nor what is to come, no force whatever, neither the height above us nor the depth beneath us, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which comes to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Sam Guzman is founder and editor of the Catholic Gentleman, a website aimed at Catholic man who want to grow in their faith, online at www.catholicgentleman. net. This blog was originally published Nov. 14. Besides writing, blogging and public speaking, he serves as the communications director for Pro-Life Wisconsin.

November 20, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Parish spotlight

Deacon James H. Toner

What we know that ain’t so:

“What you think is the right road may lead to death” (Prv 14:12)

Know Nothings What we think is the right road

I

t is the height of arrogance to think that we know right from wrong and good from evil. We may know right from wrong, for us; but we do not know it for others. We have no right to try to tell others what is virtuous and what is vicious, for those things depend upon the group involved or the time of the event. The only thing we can be sure of is that we don’t know anything for sure. Everything depends upon time and space, and nothing is certain – except for death and taxes, of course!

‘Do not let all kinds of strange teaching lead you from the right way.’

But it’s the wrong road

Once upon a time in U.S. history, the Know Nothing Movement comprised a group of 19th-century anti-Catholics who said they knew nothing about their aims and Hebrews 13:8 (GNB) policies. Their descendants are evidently back in force. On many campuses today, one may easily find professors who ‘The Revenge of claim not only that Conscience,’ by J. they know nothing Budziszewski. Dallas, – that appears Spence, 1999. to be a credible claim – but that nothing can be known. It gets worse, though: moral relativists are powerless in the face of evil, for they refuse to call it what it is.

As St. John Paul II told us in the encyclical “Evangelium Vitae”: “We need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name.” As the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (5:20). Philosopher J. Budziszewski of the University of Texas contends that there some things we cannot not know. In other words, there are some things written on our hearts (see, for example, Romans 2:14). The point is that atheism means not only that one denies God but that one denies Ultimate Truth, Ultimate Goodness and Ultimate Beauty. To the extent that anything holy exists, the practical atheist insists, he defines it, he determines it, he delimits it.

Ultimately, Catholic philosophers tell us, there is an Ultimate. If and when we reject God – who is the Ultimate – distinguishing between the sacred and the profane is up to us. It is the original sin, on steroids. And the belief only in the grand, imperial self

Suggested reading

is the beginning and end of much ethical reasoning today in the secular world. For us, as Catholics, the alpha and the omega of all that is noble and decent and kind and lovely is Christ (see Phil 4:8).

One can reasonably argue that the most important verse in the Bible lies in Job’s soul-stirring declaration: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that in the last day I shall arise out of the earth” (19:25 DRB).

With Job, we know that we are sinners in need of redemption which comes to us through the grace of a merciful God; with Job, we know that we live in and through Him; with Job, we know that we are destined for eternity; and, with Job, we know that God has defeated death. In the Bible, only a few pages after Job, we read in the Psalms about the evil man who “rejects God and does not have reverence for Him. Because he thinks so highly of himself, he thinks God will not discover his sin and condemn it. His speech is wicked and full of lies; he no longer does what is wise and good. He makes evil plans ... (and) nothing he does is good, and he never rejects anything evil” (36:1-4 GNB).

Get it wrong about a merciful and just God; get it wrong that we are called to obey His divine will; get it wrong that our peace is the fruit of conforming to His commands – and we destined to a life of moral chaos.

So much around us today is the work not of light, but of darkness, because the Light of Christ has been rejected and ridiculed.

In the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass, there is almost always a reading of the “Last Gospel” in addition to an Epistle (or Lesson) and the Proper Gospel (a selection from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). Right after the last blessing, there is a reading from St. John 1:1-14, which powerfully reminds us that the saving grace of Christ is our light, but “the world knew Him not.” The “Last Gospel” testifies that Christ is full of grace and of truth. He is, as St. John Paul II once said, “the answer to the question that is every human life.”

Job 19:25 points to John 1:1-14. Indeed, all of history points to John 1:1-14. Our own lives testify to the meaning and the nobility of John 1:1-14. St. John tells us that those who receive Christ become His sons and daughters – and they are not saved and they will not flourish because of secular power or because of their own will (1:13), but because God was born, suffered, died and was resurrected for us. One of the reasons we Catholics honor the cross and have a crucifix in our homes is to always remind us that there is a point to what we think and say and do; there is a purpose to our life and to our death; and ultimately, that there is an Ultimate who does not leave us morally rudderless, ethically bewildered or religiously uncertain.

We know something because we know Someone. The first thing we know is that our Redeemer liveth. Deo gratias!

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

Della Sue Bryson | Catholic News Herald

SYLVA — Parishioners of St. Mary, Mother of God Church stood downtown and in front of the courthouse Oct. 25 to pray for an end to abortion, during the parish’s annual remembrance of Respect Life Month.

Most-read stories on the web

‘Lord, give us an understanding heart and a credible moral voice.’

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky.

From online story: ‘Pray to lead with understanding hearts, credible voices, bishops told’ Through press time on Nov. 18, 9,304 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 15,749 pages. The top 10 headlines in November are: n Bishop McGuinness Principal George Repass dies.........................................................................3,201 n Hundreds pack St. Mark Church for healing Mass, prayer service with Alan Ames..............1,463 n Smiles, tears as Poor Clares bid farewell.............................................................................................828 n Conscience protection alert issued.......................................................................................................304 n Syrian refugee family welcomed to Charlotte by Catholic Charities’...........................................275 n View the current print edition of the Catholic News Herald...........................................................206 n Charlotte Catholic student swimmer qualifies for Olympic trials.................................................. 166 n Sister Mary Raphael: Lady of Sorrows, in faith she walked............................................................. 130 n Greensboro, Charlotte parishes host relics of St. Maria Goretti.................................................... 102 n Black Catholic popes, saints and leaders............................................................................................... 84

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catholicnewsherald.com | November 20, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CHURCH

FILM

HAINS

FROM PAGE 24

FROM PAGE 24

FROM PAGE 24

College in Worcester.

The charter, first adopted in 2002 and revised in 2005 and 2011, mandates background checks for clergy and any Church employee or volunteer who have contact with children and ensures that children and adults in parishes or schools participate in safe-environment training. To date, Cesareo said, more than 1.9 million adults, or 98 percent, working in Catholic parishes and schools have gone through background checks and had the training, according to the U.S. bishops, and more than 4.4 million children, or 93 percent, in parishes and schools have been taught how to protect themselves from abuse and how to report an incident should it occur.

The president of the commission is Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston – successor to Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who resigned amid criticism of his handling of clerical sex abuse cases as the scandal roiled the archdiocese.

Cardinal O’Malley said the movie’s release “depicts a very painful time in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States and particularly here in the Archdiocese of Boston. It is very understandable that this time of the film’s release can be especially painful for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy.”

In the statement, published Oct. 28 in The Pilot, the archdiocesan newspaper, Cardinal O’Malley said: “The media’s investigative reporting on the abuse crisis instigated a call for the Church to take responsibility for its failings and to reform itself – to deal with what was shameful and hidden – and to make the commitment to put the protection of children first, ahead of all other interests.”

He added, “We have asked for and continue to ask for forgiveness from all those harmed by the crimes of the abuse of minors. As archbishop of Boston I have personally met with hundreds of survivors of clergy abuse over the last twelve years, hearing the accounts of their sufferings and humbly seeking their pardon.”

ecclesiastical history.

The movie is open to a few criticisms, large and small, however. The portrayal of Boston’s then-archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou), is predictably negative.

But it also includes details that are subject to interpretation.

Thus Cardinal Law’s gift to Baron of a copy of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” is treated as a both a religious and social snub. Yet Cardinal Law played an important role in translating that landmark text into English, so his gift may have been motivated more by a sense of pride in one of the most significant accomplishments of his career than by a desire to cut the newcomer down to size.

Much more significantly, the screenplay’s uncritical adoption of the results of research conducted by ex-priest A.W. Richard Sipe (a figure heard but not seen) opens its analysis to legitimate questioning.

The thesis that the scandal was the inevitable outcome of the Latin Church’s tradition of priestly celibacy – a discipline Sipe maintains is routinely violated by fully half the clergy, thus creating a culture of secrecy among them – is ill-founded, to say the least. To dispute that theory, however, is not at all to downplay the horrifying nature of what unfolds under this otherwise painfully illuminating “Spotlight.”

The film contains mature themes, multiple, sometimes coarse, references to perverse sexual acts, several uses of profanity as well as a few rough and numerous crude terms.

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

Protection of Children and Young People.” n Independent research that examined data from a 52-year period (1950-2002) to determine the scope, the causes and the context of the problem of child sexual abuse in the U.S. Church. This led to significant changes in how future priests are selected, screened and trained in the seminary, as well as how parishes and schools operate every day. n Annual independent audits that monitor each diocese’s compliance to every provision of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

In the Diocese of Charlotte, like others around the country, these changes have impacted every aspect of church life.

Everyone who works for or volunteers at a church, school or ministry in the diocese must go through a criminal background check and take part in regular awareness training called “Protecting God’s Children.” Since 2002, 42,500 people have gone through this training and 51,000 background checks have been conducted.

In its annual report the diocese also details how much has been spent on training, payments to victims and attorneys fees. To date, $2.9 million has been paid. For the U.S. Church as a whole, that figure is $2.8 billion.

But what can’t be measured is the awareness at all church locations and gatherings that we cannot let these abuses happen ever again, that we must all remain vigilant. If you

‘All organizations that serve children can and must learn from the Church’s painful experience.’ have ever encountered the security processes at the Children’s Track of the diocese’s Eucharistic Congress, you know that adults have given a lot of thought to protecting the many children in their care.

Archbishop Gregory spoke with pride about his term as USCCB president during the turbulence of the Globe coverage: “I am very proud to say that the Catholic Church took appropriate, strong and direct action to address the issue. In the U.S. (we have) the Charter for the Protection of Children, the audits that take place in dioceses, the offices for outreach to victims and comfort to those who have been harmed.”

“Spotlight” is a movie about children, but it is not a film for children. Its A-III and R ratings indicate the graphic seriousness of the subject matter.

That probably means lower ticket sales, but the frank statement the movie makes about the recent past of the Church is a reminder that the safety and well-being of children is more important than the reputation of an institution. All organizations that serve children can and must learn from the Church’s painful experience.

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

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