Feb. 27, 2015

February 27, 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

Eucharistic Congress logo, dates announced, 3

Father Waters, Hispanic ministry pioneer, dies,

5, 12

INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Español............................12-13 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-11 Schools......................... 14-15 Scripture readings............ 2 U.S. news...................... 18-19 Viewpoints.................. 22-23 World news.................. 20-21

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Joy for a new year Thousands turn out to celebrate Lunar New Year at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church,

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Lent begins Faithful across Charlotte diocese receive ashes, 3 Pope Francis: Return with tears to God’s loving embrace during Lent, 20

St. Matthew Church launches ‘MATTtv’ video series, 16

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope Francis

Pope: Liberty, equality can turn selfish, unfair without brotherly love

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iberty and equality are not enough for the well-being of a nation, there must also be a strong sense of brotherhood that is first developed and nurtured in the family, Pope Francis said.

Without seeing each other as brothers and sisters, a nation’s citizens may distort these values, letting freedom and equality “be filled with individualism and conformity,” he said at his general audience Feb. 18.

The pope continued a series of talks on the family by focusing on the importance of brothers and sisters, and how Christianity places special emphasis on the fraternal ties that unite the whole human family.

Speaking to more than 9,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said, “The bond of fraternity that forms in a family among brothers and sisters, if it happens in an atmosphere of learning to be open to others, is the great school of freedom and peace.”

“It is precisely the family that introduces fraternity to the world” because it is in the family that siblings learn “the human coexistence that one must live out in society,” he said.

Thanks to the affection and values experienced in the family, he said, this “fraternal style radiates out like a promise onto all of society.”

God, through His Son Jesus, brings further graces upon this natural bond, making it something that can “surpass all national, linguistic, cultural and even religious differences,” he said.

In fact, it is the Christian sense of brotherhood that lets people who are otherwise vastly different see and love each other as brother and sister, he said.

“For that matter, history has shown well enough that even liberty and equality, without fraternity, can be filled with individualism and conformity, even greed.”

“Today, more than ever, it is necessary to bring fraternity back to the heart of our technocratic and bureaucratic society so that freedom and equality also will find perfect harmony.”

“Therefore, let us not lightheartedly deprive our families – out of apprehension or fear – of the beauty of having a broad experience” of being a brother or sister, and do not lose faith in what God’s blessings can bring, he said.

Just as family members love and help each other, showing special care for those who are little, weak or sick, Christians, too, feel a special tenderness for those most in need, he said.

“The least, the weakest and the poorest must move us,” the pope said. “They have a ‘right’ to capture our hearts and souls.”

“Yes, they are our brothers and sisters and, as such, we have to love them and care for them,” he said, but not out of obedience to “an ideological program, but because the words and example of the Lord tell us that we are brothers and sisters.”

Unfortunately, brotherly bonds are often broken, and families may have siblings who have quarreled over big or “little things, over an inheritance, and then they don’t speak to one another, they don’t greet one another and this is terrible,” the pope said.

Jealousy and conflict tore apart the first fraternal bonds, those of Cain and Abel, and from that time on, God keeps asking every generation: “’Where is your brother?’ And unfortunately, in every generation, Cain’s dramatic reply doesn’t stop repeating itself, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’”

Having a sibling “is a great thing. Think how every brother and sister lived in the womb of the same mother for nine months, they come from the mother’s flesh,” said the pope, who was one of five children. “You cannot sever fraternity.”

The pope asked those at the audience to always pray for families who are divided and ask God to help rebuild those bonds that should never be broken.

At the end of the audience, the pope greeted Catholic bishops from Ukraine who were in Rome for their “ad limina” visit to report on the state of their dioceses. Speaking in Italian, with his words translated into Ukrainian by an aide, the pope said he, too, was praying that lasting peace would come “as soon as possible” to their nation.

Batrice Adcock

Marriage should be free, total, faithful and fruitful

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n a sacramental marriage, spouses are called to model their lives and their union not only on the original experience of Adam and Eve before the fall, but more so on the union of Christ and the Church.

At a wedding, when a father presents his daughter, we recall that Eve was a gift to Adam from the Father. The two were then able to enjoy a union that reflected God’s love. However, in our fallen state, we are married in the context of the Mass, because we are wounded and in need of the grace we receive

by Jesus’ selfless gift of His Body to His Bride. The spouses then are called to embody this same love in every aspect of their marriage, including the marital act, or conjugal union, to consummate the marriage.

Blessed Pope Paul VI, in “Humanae Vitae” describes marital love as free, total, faithful and fruitful.

He begins by explaining that this love is not merely based on the emotions or instinct but is a matter of the will. While spouses may experience a strong desire to engage in the marital act, we are called to exercise self-control for the good of the marriage and family.

Sometimes couples have wellgrounded reasons for avoiding pregnancy. The Church teaches that such couples should use periodic abstinence to avoid conception, avoiding intercourse during fertile times, which a couple learns to do with the various Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods.

Rather than simply using hormonal contraceptives and indulging a desire for instant gratification, the couple demonstrates their freedom in choosing to be responsible in a way that is also chaste.

They choose to love in other ways, growing their friendship. Desire grows with the wait, and the selfgift in ultimate union is more cherished. Hormonal contraceptives, on the contrary, have the biological effect of diminishing sexual desire.

In imitation of Christ, we give ourselves totally and for the good of the other, loving not just for the good we receive. Recall that we are made in God’s image, male and female (Gen. 1:27), and in marriage we are meant to become one (Gen. 2:24), sharing everything.

In the marital embrace, we would not want to neuter ourselves with a hormonal contraceptive or sterilization procedure. We would not want to introduce a physical barrier.

Marital love is also faithful both in good and challenging times. There is a willingness to endure sacrifice for the good of the other. Such is the case with the couple who is using NFP. The man recognizes the goodness of the way the woman’s body is created and is willing to sacrifice his own desire for her physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The woman’s desire to return love grows as she feels respected and cherished. However, women who use a contraceptive to be sexually available often come to feel used and objectified because they are taking the brunt of the side effects.

Finally, Pope Paul explains that marital love is fruitful, quoting the Vatican II document, the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today”: “Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents’ welfare” (50). Spouses should try to be both generous and practical in their prayerful discernment of God’s plan for the size of the family. When they must use NFP to space children or prevent pregnancy, they are doing nothing to change the nature of the marital act. Their love will bear fruit in many ways as they look to conform their own will to God’s.

To close this series of articles, the following quote summarizes the “Theology of the Body” and shows that the concepts we have discussed go beyond the marital act as we have applied them to family planning. This message is for anyone who has a body! “God created man in His own image and likeness: calling him to existence through love, He called him at the same time for love. God is love and in Himself He lives a mystery of personal loving communion… God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion.” (St. John Paul II, “Familiaris Consortio,” 11).

‘We are made in God’s image, male and female, and in marriage we are meant to become one, sharing everything.’

Batrice Adcock, MSN, is the Natural Family Planning program director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. This is the last in a series of reflections on Theology of the Body. She can be reached at bnadcock@charlottediocese.org. Read previous articles online at www. catholicnewsherald.com.

Your daily Scripture readings MARCH 1-7

Sunday (Second Sunday of Lent): Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10; Monday: Daniel 9:4-10, Luke 6:36-38; Tuesday (St. Katharine Drexel): Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, Matthew 23:1-12; Wednesday (St. Casimir): Jeremiah 18:18-20, Matthew 20:17-28; Thursday: Jeremiah 17:5-10, Luke 16:19-31; Friday: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, Matthew 21:33-43, 4546; Saturday (Sts. Perpetua and Felicity): Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

MARCH 8-14

Sunday (Third Sunday of Lent): Exodus 20:1-17, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, John 2:13-25; Monday (St. Frances of Rome): 2 Kings 5:1-15, Luke 4:2430; Tuesday: Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Matthew 18:21-35; Wednesday: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Matthew 5:1719; Thursday: Jeremiah 7:23-28, Luke 11:14-23; Friday: Hosea 14:2-10, Mark 12:28-34; Saturday: Hosea 6:1-6, Luke 18:9-14

MARCH 15-21

Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent): 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23, Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:14-21; Monday: Isaiah 65:17-21, John 4:4354; Tuesday (St. Patrick): Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, John 5:1-16; Wednesday (St. Cyril of Jerusalem): Isaiah 49:8-15, John 5:17-30; Thursday (St. Joseph): 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22, Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24; Friday: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30; Saturday: Jeremiah 11:18-20, John 7:40-53

Our parishes

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‘There always should be a connection between what is appearing externally on our forehead in the form of those ashes – the cross – and what is happening internally in our heart.’ Bishop Peter J. Jugis

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2015 Eucharistic Congress Diocese Of Charlotte

September 11 & 12

Eucharistic Congress logo, dates announced David Hains Director of Communication

(Right, then clockwise) Bishop Peter Jugis distributes ashes to Charlotte Catholic High School students during Mass Feb. 18; people at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, Charlotte Catholic parents and staff, Sacred Heart students in Salisbury and Holy Spirit parishioners in Denver are also pictured on Ash Wednesday.

Photos by David Hains, SueAnn Howell, Doreen Sugierski and Bill Washington | Catholic News Herald

At www. catholicnewsherald. com: See more photos from Ash Wednesday

Faithful across diocese receive ashes to mark the start of Lent Ashes outward sign of interior conversion, Bishop Jugis notes SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — Students, teachers and guests received ashen crosses on their foreheads during Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis at Charlotte Catholic High School on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, marking the beginning of the penitential season of Lent along with thousands of faithful across the Diocese of Charlotte.

Vested in the penitential color of violet, Bishop Jugis recalled the symbolism of receiving ashes on the first day of Lent and the importance of the next 40 days in the heart of each Christian.

“In a few moments we’ll be placing ashes on our foreheads,” Bishop Jugis told the

students. “The ashes are a sign, a sign of sorrow for our sins and for repentance.”

Because we are human we all sin, he said, so we need to seek forgiveness from God our Father, and Lent calls us to this examination of conscience in a more organized way.

Receiving ashes on the first day of our Lenten journey is just an external sign of what should be happening in our hearts, he said.

“What is happening and should be happening is a change of heart – a conversion that should be taking place,” he said. “There always should be a connection between what is appearing externally on our forehead in the form of those ashes – the cross – and what is happening internally in our heart.”

Ashes on our foreheads indicate that we intend to change our ways, that we mean to start on a new path in our lives and follow God more closely.

“Of course, what the Lord is most interested in is what is happening in the heart – the internal conversion, the change of heart,” he said.

“If the external sign does not indicate an interior conversion, an internal change of heart, then the external sign becomes a

false sign,” he continued. “It really becomes an empty sign, holding no meaning at all, because it is not being matched by an interior conversion or a turning away from sin and turning once again to the Lord.”

We should be consoled in the fact that God continually searches for us and calls us back to Himself, he said.

“There is constantly this interior dialogue taking place between you and the Lord in the interior of your heart, where the Lord is not going to let up speaking to your conscience,” he said. God is “always beckoning us to come back to Him if we have strayed, because He is the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd always cares for His sheep. He wants to always come to search for us, to bring us back to Himself.”

Asking God to bless the ashes that we place on our foreheads is also significant, Bishop Jugis added.

“Why bless ashes? Because they are going to be a sacred sign of a holy work of conversion that we are doing interiorly this season of Lent,” he said. We want God to bless “the interior holy work we are undertaking.”

CHARLOTTE — “I am the way and the truth and the life” – from the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to John – will be the theme for the 11th annual Eucharistic Congress, Bishop Peter J. Jugis has announced.

“For each one of us, Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life,” Bishop Jugis said. “During this year we are celebrating the Year of Consecrated Life, and at the same time we are preparing for the Synod on the Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and the World. Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life for the consecrated life, for marriage, for the family, and for all vocations in the Church. He nourishes all of us in our call to holiness by feeding us on His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.”

The images of the logo – the cross and the Eucharist – are familiar sights to regular attendees of the annual Congress. In six of the past events, they have been featured in the logo.

Lettering beneath the cross is stacked to look like the base of a monstrance.

Diocesan graphic artist Tim Faragher created the logo under the direction of Father Roger K. Arnsparger, head of the Congress planning committee.

The Eucharistic Congress will take place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12, at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York will be the keynote speaker. The Congress will also include a Eucharistic Procession through uptown Charlotte, Mass, the sacrament of confession, education tracks for adults and children, inspiring speakers and sacred music.

The springtime event associated with the Congress – the Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage for middle and high school youths – will be held Saturday, April 11, at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont.

(Usually a Lenten event, it was shifted later this year to accommodate the college’s spring break.)

For the first time, online registration for the youth pilgrimage is available for students and youth group leaders.

Go to www.goeucharist.com to register for the youth pilgrimage and learn more about the upcoming Congress.

UPcoming events 4

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events: Feb. 28 – 1 p.m.

Rite of Election St. Matthew Church, Charlotte March 7 – 12 p.m.

Rite of Election Immaculate Conception Church, Hendersonville March 10 – 11 a.m.

Presbyteral Council Meeting Diocesan Pastoral Center, Charlotte

March 11 – 11 a.m.

Blessing of Church Cemetery St. Frances of Rome Church Sparta

March 17 Mass for Closing of St. Patrick Cathedral’s 75th Anniversary Year St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

March 14 – Noon Mass for Final Profession of Brother Peter Muli, M.O.P. Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Monroe

Diocesan calendar of events February 27, 2015 Volume 23 • Number 11

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

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

LENT

Carolina Catholic Chorale Lenten Program: “Adoramus te Christe,” featuring 14 polyphonic settings of the “Adoramus te” text sung as responses to each of the Stations of the Cross, will be performed by the Carolina Catholic Chorale at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, and at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

Admission is free; donations will be accepted. For details, go to www.carolinacatholicchorale.weebly.com.

Living Stations of the Cross: 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, 217 Brawley School Road, Mooresville.

Fund raisers Partners In Hope Gala: Thursday, March 19, to benefit Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s work in the Triad region. This 12th annual dinner will feature guest speaker Stephen Martin, St. Pius X parishioner and author. For details, contact Gwen Easter at gmeaster@ charlottediocese.org or 336-714-3227.

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org

LAY ORGANIZATIONS

SENIOR REPORTER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org

Catholic Conference for Moms: A free, online conference March 6-9 for today’s busy moms. Be encouraged in your faith and vocation to motherhood as you listen to popular speakers in the convenience of your own home. Listen to as many of the presentations as you like. Sign up at www.CatholicConference4Moms.com.

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

SQUIRETTES OF MARY CIRCLETTE open house: 7 p.m. Monday, March 9, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte. Catholic girls aged 10-17 are invited.

For details, email Anne DeSart at annedesart@gmail.com.

LECTURES

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.

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“The American Church at the Crossroads, Who are American Catholics and Where are they Going?”: 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 28 and March 7, in the Family Life Center at St. Luke Church, 13700 Lawyers Road, Mint Hill. Led by Growing in Faith & Theology (GIFT) teacher David Galusha, adjunct professor of philosophy and theology at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J. Light refreshments available. For details, call Ann Helms at 704-289-8105.

“End of Life” Seminar: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 1, in the Family Center Rooms 3-4 at Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Road, Clemmons. A priest, financial planner, lawyer and funeral pre-planning director will answer questions and aid in your preparations. RSVP to a2harrison@aol.com so the presenters will be able to provide enough materials for everyone.

Women’s Morning reflection: 9 a.m. Monday, March 9, at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte. Led by Father Jason Barone, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. Coffee and fellowship to follow. All women are welcome. For details, go to www.charlottecatholicwomensgroup.org.

“Don’t Abolish the Prophets”: 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Tequila’s Mexican Grill, 238 West Main St., Gastonia. Featuring Dr. Gratton Brown of Belmont Abbey College. Part of St. Michael Parish’s “Holy Happy Hour” apostolate for Catholic young adults aged 21 and older.

For details, email st.michaelsholyhappyhour@gmail.com.

Penance Services: 7:15 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 North Main St. Belmont; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte; 7 p.m. Monday, March 9, at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, 217 Brawley School Road, Mooresville.

Holy hour for vocations During lent: 6-7 p.m.

Thursdays at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 708 St. Michael’s Lane, Gastonia. Pray March 5 for married couples, March 12 for consecrated and religious, March 19 for seminarians and March 26 for priests.

NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING NFP Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m.

Saturday, March 7, at St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Road, Charlotte. Sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-3703230.

PRAYER SERVICES & GROUPS Byzantine Rite Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Immaculate Conception Mission, 42 Newfound St., Canton. Ukrainian Catholic Father Mark Shuey will celebrate Vespers and the Divine Liturgy (Mass) in English. Catholics of any rite are welcome.

Pro-Life Rosary: 11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, rain or shine at 901 North Main St. and Sunset Drive, to pray for an end to abortion. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

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.

Holy Hour with the Divine Mercy: Holy Hour with Exposition and Benediction, sung Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and readings from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska every First Friday from 7 to 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte. For details, call Paul Deer at 704-577-3496 or Deacon James Witulski at 704-960-3704.

St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer and grave diseases. The healing prayer service is offered for all those suffering with cancer or other diseases. For details, call the parish office at 704-543-7677.

composer and writer of contemporary liturgical music such as “Table of Plenty and “Here I Am Lord.” For details, email Mary Connelly at mconnolly@ihmchurch.org.

Charlotte Catholic Women’s Lenten Retreat, “Sacrifice and Offering – A Lenten Reflection on the Mass”: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Road, Charlotte. Retreat will include Mass, recitation of the rosary, Holy Hour and Benediction. The sacrament of confession will be available. Led by Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church. Sponsored by the Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group; all women welcome. For details, go to www. charlottecatholicwomensgroup.org.

“O Holy Pascha – A retreat in Preparation for Easter”: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in the chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte. Led by Father Deacon Kevin Bezner of St. Basil Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte.

Polish Lenten retreat: 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 24-26 in the chapel at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Led by Father Andrzej Jaczewski from the Diocese of Siedlce, Poland. For details, call Elizabeth Spytkowski at 704-948-1678.

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.

Asheville: 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at St. Eugene Church, 72 Culvern St.; 9 a.m. Saturday, March 14, at St. Lawrence Basilica, 97 Haywood St. Charlotte: 12 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.)

SUPPORT GROUPS Called to be Mom: 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, March 19, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Supports the vocation of motherhood by strengthening mothers’ faith through Scripture readings.

Separated or Divorced Catholics: Group for separated or divorced Catholics meets every third Sunday after the 5 p.m. Mass at St Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Road, Greensboro.

Confidential; all welcome. Childcare provided with a reservation. For details, call Joanne at 336-509-2304.

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.

RETREATS & Missions “From Ashes to Glory” – A Parish Mission with Dan Schutte: Starting at 7 p.m. nightly March 1-3, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4145 Johnson St., High Point. Daytime sessions of this parish mission will be held starting at 10 a.m.

March 2 and 3. Presented by Dan Schutte, Catholic musician,

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.

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

Father Joe Waters, pioneer of Hispanic Ministry in the Charlotte diocese, dies HIGH POINT — Father Joseph John Waters, a retired priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, died Feb. 18, 2015.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Feb. 23, 2015, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point. Interment was at Gilmore Memorial Park in Julian.

Known as “Padre José” by the Hispanic people whom he served for more than three decades, Father Waters was a pioneer of Hispanic ministry in the Charlotte diocese. He devoted much of his long ministry as a priest to serving Spanish-speaking Catholics in Central America, South America and North Carolina. He served for 13 years as a missionary in Mexico and Peru, was director of the Hispanic Catholic Center in Charlotte, and served as director of migrant ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte.

He was born 22 May, 1926, in Bristol, Pa., and spent most of his childhood in Arlington, N.Y., and Westfield, N.J. His father’s job transfer brought the family to North Carolina in 1946, about the time the future priest began his studies at St. Charles College, Catonsville, Md. He completed his studies for the priesthood at St. John Seminary, Little Rock, Ark., and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Vincent S. Waters on May 24, 1956, at Immaculate Conception Church in Durham.

After one year with the Missionary Father Apostolate at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Newton Grove, Father Waters become an assistant at

OUR PARISHESI

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Local Hispanics recall ‘Padre José’ with love Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

St. Anne, Edenton, with summer service in the apostolate’s outdoor missions. From March 1959 until February 1962, he served as administrator of the missions at Plymouth, Williamston and Columbia.

He spent the next four years as pastor of St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville. In July 1966, Bishop Waters sent Father Waters to Mexico City, where he served for eight years at a mission operated by the Diocese of Raleigh. Upon his return to North Carolina Waters in 1974, Father Waters became a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, which had been established while he was in Mexico. After two months as administrator of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton, he took up residence at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte, and became director of the Hispanic Catholic Center, a post he held until September 1977.

He also worked with Catholic Social Services to establish Natural Family Planning centers around the diocese before becoming pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte in May 1975. He was to have become rector of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte in September 1977, but was loaned to the Society of Saint James

HIGH POINT — The Diocese of Charlotte lost a faithful servant on Ash Wednesday.

Father Joseph John Waters, a retired priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, died Feb. 18, 2015, at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point.

Known simply as “Padre José” among the Hispanic people whom he served over the decades, Father Waters was considered by laypeople, priests and religious as a pioneer of Hispanic ministry in the Charlotte diocese. News of his passing last week evoked an outpouring of fond memories of Father Waters and his impact on the people he served.

“He was John Vianney for us (patron saint of parish priests) – a true missionary priest. It was nothing for him to say five Masses for migrant workers on any given Sunday,” remembered Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.

“If someone were to ask me if I had ever talked to a saint, I would say many times I spoke and lived around a holy priest! Farewell, Padre José,” commented Xiomara Palma from Newton, on the Catholic News Herald-Español Facebook page.

His priestly ministry spanned 45 years, including being appointed by thenBishop John Donoghue to do full-time Hispanic Ministry in the Hickory and Boone vicariates in 1988 – at that time, an area populated mostly by Hispanic migrant workers.

It was as an administrator at Holy Trinity in Taylorsville, a mission of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Statesville, that Father Waters first left a mark on the Hispanic community and won the hearts of Latinos everywhere he ministered.

“He had such great love and humility in the way he treated you as a human being…He had such great interest in helping Hispanics. That was something that impacted me deeply when I first met him and throughout my dealings with him,” said Father Luis Osorio, a priest from the Charlotte diocese now serving elsewhere.

Father Osorio credits Father Waters for finding his calling as a priest. A native of Pereira, Colombia, Father Osorio recalls a fateful visit to his sister in Statesville, when Father Waters was the pastor of St. Philip Church. Not fluent in English at the

WATERS, SEE page 17

LOVE, SEE page 17

Bishop Jugis lauds the exemplary priesthood of Monsignor Kovacic at funeral Mass SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

BELMONT — Hundreds of faithful gathered Feb. 12 at Queen of the Apostles Church to bid farewell to one of the founding priests of the Diocese of Charlotte. Monsignor Anthony Kovacic, 95, also known as “Father Tony,” passed away Feb. 8 at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis was the main celebrant and homilist for the funeral Mass. In his homily, Bishop Jugis Kovacic cited three particular Scripture verses that he said summed up the priestly vocation of the Slovenian native.

Monsignor Kovacic was ordained a priest in Rome in 1947.

The first verse he selected was from John 14:1-6, the Gospel reading in which Jesus declares, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”

“From a very early age, Monsignor took Jesus as his way, his truth, and his life, and never wavered from that commitment,” Bishop Jugis said. “At the age of 5 he had already expressed his desire to become a priest. And despite the iron grip of the Nazi occupation of his country later on, which threatened to derail his path to priesthood, he doggedly pursued his vocation, never being deterred.”

Bishop Jugis explained that because of what he endured and had to give up, Monsignor Kovacic learned the truth of the Mass’s second reading from Romans (8:3135, 37-39): nothing could separate him from the love of Christ.

The second verse which exemplified Monsignor Kovacic’s life, he said, was

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“As a 21-year-old seminarian he left behind everything in his native Slovenia, fled the country because of the persecution of the Church, and carried that spirit of leaving all behind for Christ and living simply for Christ his whole life long.

“During his whole priestly ministry here in North Carolina, 64 years, he had no relatives or family members here in this country – a true missionary, fully integrating himself in the local Church. He experienced the truth of Jesus’ beatitude; ‘You are blessed because of the poverty you have chosen of total dependency on Jesus because you now have the freedom to be for the Kingdom of Heaven.’”

His third and final Scripture passage was “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel.”

“The Holy Spirit gave him a fervent missionary spirit that drove him from his home, to Italy, to the missions of North Carolina. He chose to come to an area that was less than 1 percent Catholic... With great energy and enthusiasm he took up every charge that the bishops of North Carolina gave him for priestly service and pastoral ministry, to ‘go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel.’”

Bishop Jugis also spoke about Monsignor Kovacic’s affection for permanent deacons, as he was responsible for creating the permanent diaconate program in the diocese.

“This strong dedication to Christ and the Church, he also communicated to his deacons whom he formed for ordained service in the Church... Just a few weeks before he died, in conversation with him he said, ‘I love deacons!’”

Bishop Jugis also recounted Monsignor Kovavic’s interest in the Cursillo movement, which resulted in the faith enrichment of thousands of Catholics

sueann howell | catholic news herald

Bishop Peter Jugis incenses the casket at the end of the funeral Mass for Monsignor Anthony Kovacic Feb. 12 at Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont. Monsignor Kovacic requested to be buried in his home country of Slovenia. across the diocese. He also had a great love for the Knights of Columbus, for whom he served as chaplain, and many of them were present at the funeral Mass to serve as pallbearers and as honor guard.

More than 20 of Monsignor Kovacic’s brother priests of the diocese concelebrated the Mass, and several more were present in the congregation.

Among those concelebrating were Bishop Emeritus William Curlin; Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey; and Monsignor Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese.

Monsignor Kovacic will be laid to rest near his childhood home in Slovenia.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read the full obituary for Monsignor Anthony Kovacic, and see more photos from the funeral Mass

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 OUR PARISHES

Diocese updates ‘Protecting God’s Children’ 40,000+ adults trained over past 12 years SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

CHARLOTTE — The training program used by the Diocese of Charlotte to train clergy, employees and volunteers about effectively providing safe environments for children and preventing child sexual abuse has undergone an update.

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

The Diocese of Charlotte’s safe environment program includes 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.

The training program, known as “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 training program has been updated particularly to include more education about the risks and warning signs of predators online and in social media.

“We’ve been using the program since 2002,” said Terri Wilhelm, diocesan human resources director.

There was also an update in 2010, she noted.

“Basically, the changes that were made (recently) make it more consistent with relevant cultural and technological advances. It really has a lot of information in it related to current technology,” she said.

In the 2010 update, she said, another victim’s story was added to the training videos, featuring a young person who met the perpetrator online.

In the 2015 update, both cases discussed in the training videos feature more information. In addition to the videos, the facilitator manuals, workbooks and participant handouts have also been updated.

After a facilitators training meeting Jan. 14 to introduce the updated materials, Wilhelm said, attendees were “very pleased” with the updates.

“We’ve had 12 workshops total (both in English and in Spanish) since we rolled out the updated program in January,” she said.

She believes the changes make the training program more relevant given today’s world of social media and digital technology.

“People are more aware of the dangers of child abuse now. I think that is a radical shift in the way people think about these things,” she said of the program, adding, “For anyone who went through the training in the beginning, it may be beneficial to do it again.”

“If even one child ends up being protected, we’ve all done our jobs,” she said.

To date, 40,200 adults have received training in the diocese’s Protecting God’s Children program.

The diocese has invested approximately $886,885 over the past 12 years in the training program to prevent abuse.

For more information about the program, go to www.charlottediocese.net/safe-environment/pgctraining.

College students ‘give their hearts away’ during annual service weekend HICKORY — Approximately 60 college students from 10 colleges across the Diocese of Charlotte participated over the Valentine’s Day weekend in “Give Your Heart Away,” a collaborative effort by the diocese’s various Catholic campus ministries to foster faith, service and vocation awareness.

The annual event drew students from Appalachian State University, Davidson College, High Point University, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Wake Forest University, Western Carolina University, Wingate University, and the campuses of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Charlotte and Greensboro. Students spent time during the week on their campuses with three vocation directors who spoke to them about consecrated life. Then over the weekend, they performed various service projects in the Hickory area.

Stephanie Zaino, a sophomore at UNC-Charlotte, said the “Give Your Heart Away” weekend drew her closer to God through service to others, prayer and fellowship.

“GYHA not only lets you interact with students from various colleges, but also connects the Catholic Community together as a whole through service.

This was the first time I had been on this diocesan-wide activity for college students, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I had just transferred to UNC at Charlotte, and to be quite honest, I was kind of nervous. I am so glad I decided to go because I didn’t realize how much impact the weekend would have on me,” Zaino said.

“GYHA also helped me learn so much about myself, others and God. When the weekend began, I barely knew anyone, but it taught me that it’s OK to step out of my comfort zone. Sometimes God wants you to reach out to others and meet new people,” she added.

“During our service, God was in our hearts and at the center of our work. I enjoyed growing as a team and growing closer to Christ through this service.

I definitely recommend Give Your Heart Away Weekend to anyone who is interested.”

One of the three vocation directors for the event, Mercy Sister Pat Pepitone of Denver, said she and the other leaders were gratified to spend time with the students on their campuses as well as at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory that weekend.

“This program and this week always give me hope for the future,” Sister Pat said. “It is building vocations within our Church.”

Brothers of the Sacred Heart Brother Mike Migacz traveled from New York and Maryellen Glackin, vocation director for the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, returned to this year’s GYHA from Philadelphia for the opportunity to meet and talk with students.

Along with Sister Pat, they strove to help students get to know about the unique love that consecrated religious have for the people of God, and especially the young people of our Church. They challenged the students to think about how their own lives could be lived in service to others.

Glackin said she was impressed with the strong faith among the college

Photo provided by Gloria Schweizer

Sister Mary Francis Xavier from Maryvale Mother House in Vale looks on as Jessica McLawhorn, a student at Western Carolina University, paints a statue of the Blessed Mother at the Maryvale sisters’ Convent and Daycare Center, one of seven work sites where students “Gave their Hearts Away.” The annual weekend of service is a collaborative effort of the Catholic campus ministries of the diocese. students of the Charlotte diocese.

“In the Philadelphia tri-state area, Catholic students can tend to take their faith for granted – there is generally a strong Catholic presence on their campuses. But with the Charlotte students, they are much more aware of their responsibility to evangelize – even among fellow Catholics,” she said.

“They see their faith as a true gift, from the Spirit and from their families. They are proud of being Catholic in a locale that isn’t predominantly Catholic.”

The three vocation directors joined in weekly suppers and other gatherings at Wake Forest, Wingate, Winston-Salem School of the Arts, UNC-Charlotte, High Point University and Davidson.

On Saturday, the students were sent out to serve in the local community.

Some were involved in direct service at places such as Heritage Care and Trinity Village. Others performed much needed work for people they will never know or see. When they returned to the Catholic Conference Center, the students had an opportunity

to consider their experience through a process of theological reflection and an experience of Catholic social teaching. They learned that service is not just something to do for a day, but something to incorporate into their lives and future work.

Although they walked into the Conference Center on Friday night as strangers from a variety of schools, the students quickly merged into a cohesive group, sharing their hands, hearts and faith to help wherever they were needed. On Sunday, they left as friends connected by a love deeper than hearts and flowers on Valentine’s Day, and more like the true love of people like St. Valentine himself.

Sister Pat summed it up: “The fact that 60 young Catholic men and women would take a weekend out of their studies to serve and look at justice issues within our Church makes my heart sing, and makes this weekend so worth my time and energy.”

— Contributors: Maryellen Glackin and Stephanie Zaino

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

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Local autism initiative takes step toward adult living community Erika Giovanetti Watauga Democrat

BOONE — KAMPN’s newest program is set to give adults on the autism spectrum “LIFE” with a purpose.

The Boone community has welcomed the Kids with Autism Making Progress in Nature program since its inception in May 2011. KAMPN has helped children with autism to try new experiences in a safe and caring environment with families that go through the same everyday struggles related to the disorder.

Autism awareness has been on the rise as more and more cases are being recognized in children every year, according to a news release. It is only natural for organizations such as KAMPN to want to create programs to help these children in their transition into adulthood.

According to the news release, more than 500,000 children with autism spectrum disorders will be entering adulthood within the next 15 years. Communities nationwide are starting to look at how to address these growing concerns: Who will take care of these adults with ASD once their parents and caretakers have died?

KAMPN’s new Living Innovations for Exceptional (LIFE) program aims to address this concern. LIFE is a residential and community living village that gives adults with ASD a safe place to grow and learn throughout adulthood, and is expected to open within the next three to five years.

LIFE’s mission is “to meet the ongoing residential and community living needs of adults on the autism spectrum and other exceptional individuals who fall between the cracks.”

LIFE works not only to provide housing, but also to give people living on the spectrum purpose in their lives by helping them to succeed in their social and community lives as well as in their jobs, according to the program.

Jim Taylor, president of KAMPN, has

been working with special needs adults and children for nearly 50 years. Taylor’s career working with children with disabilities begun in 1964 when he was attending school at Ball State University.

It wasn’t until Taylor’s 3-year-old grandson was diagnosed with autism that he decided to create programs addressing ASD in the local community.

Starting a living program for adults with ASD has been a goal of Taylor’s since the very beginning of the KAMPN program.

However, as KAMPN grew, that facet of the program wasn’t fulfilled. It wasn’t until Candace Lang visited KAMPN this summer when the possibility reemerged.

Lang, who has a daughter with autism, wanted to be a part of the program to build a better future for her 14-year-old daughter and other young adults who are on their way to adulthood, she said in a LIFE meeting held Dec. 8.

LIFE is not the first program like this to begin to offer assisted living for adults with autism.

At the Dec. 8 meeting, LIFE representatives held a conference call with Deirdre Sheerin, CEO of the Sweetwater Spectrum Community.

Sweetwater Spectrum Community, located in Sonoma, Calif., has been in the works since 2009 and took in its first residents starting in 2013, Taylor said.

It was formed much in the same way that LIFE is starting now, founded by community members and professionals, as well as families of people with ASD. Sweetwater works under a landlordtenant agreement and is designed in many ways to accommodate people with ASD, whether it be safety or sensory needs.

“Safety and security are paramount and healthy, durable materials are utilized throughout,” the Sweetwater website reads. “Individuals may customize their personal living spaces to accommodate their preferences and particular needs.”

Sweetwater and its associates have not

only designed the specialized living space to accommodate certain needs, Sheerin said, but that the design is available for other assisted living communities to adopt.

LIFE chooses to follow many of the suggestions that Sweetwater utilizes, while still making it their own.

For example, Sheerin said, Sweetwater had to reject some guests with certain social and physical problems, but Taylor intends to make adjustments to accommodate people living all across the autism spectrum.

Sweetwater has four four-bedroom houses with the ability to house 16 residents at one time. Taylor indicated that he was interested in an array of different housing options, such as one-bedroom or four-bedroom houses.

The contractor and architecture firms that designed Sweetwater’s innovative and specialized facilities took home the American Institute of Architects’ 2014 Housing Award.

In addition to its housing options, Sweetwater’s campus is within walking distance to the downtown Sonoma community. In Boone, it would be hard for LIFE to find land that’s appropriate to build the community that they have in mind that is also close to downtown.

Taylor said that he plans for LIFE to be a partly agricultural community, in line with the KAMPN values, to connect people with autism to nature. Taylor wants LIFE residents to be able to work with wildlife and native gardening, while also being able to share in the fruits of their labors, using homegrown vegetables and farm-raised eggs in their own menu.

Appalachian State University will also prove to be a vital tool in the operation of LIFE. Taylor said that students could benefit from hands-on internships and volunteering, giving the special education program at ASU an interesting new venue.

“I was looking into groups like

Sweetwater, and it takes interested parents and community members,” Taylor said. “Well here we’ve got interested community members, with the mayor and commissioner, we’ve got the parents, and then we’ve got the university.”

Much like Sweetwater, Taylor wants LIFE’s facilities to operate in an environmentally friendly fashion. Taylor plans on utilizing the plethora of local green contractors to design and build the facilities.

Although it would be difficult to find a piece of agricultural land in the heart of Boone for LIFE’s campus, Taylor said he still wants the residents to be integrated within the larger High Country community.

At the LIFE meeting, Boone Mayor Andy Ball suggested placing the LIFE campus on or near a direct AppalCART route, and added that AppalCART has a program for shuttling mentally and physically handicapped residents around town. Taylor said he was not opposed to the idea of getting a van to easily transport the LIFE residents.

Fundraising for LIFE will build up funds in the next few years to ensure that its residents will receive top quality care and facilities, organizers said. Other than community fundraisers, LIFE expects to file for grants and other forms of government assistance.

Recently, LIFE benefited from the national Subaru “Share the Love” event, in which Subaru of Boone donated $250 back to the community for every Subaru sold in December. Also, the Boone Bojangles’ donated some of its proceeds in January to the cause.

Leaders of the LIFE program are looking for up to 40 acres of farmable, relatively flat land around the Boone area.

They’re also looking for architecture firms interested in building green, sustainable housing. Inquiries should be directed to kampn4autism@gmail.com.

— Reprinted with permission from the Watauga Democrat.

Bishop Peter Jugis offers Mass, accepts Carmelite promises Feb. 14

Photo provided by Ruben Tamayo

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read more and see additional photos from the Mass

CHARLOTTE — It’s been more than seven years since the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites formed at St. Ann Church under the leadership of the late Frances Martini. On Feb. 14, her dreams of more fully professed Carmelite Seculars were realized as five members of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel group professed definitive promises before Bishop Peter Jugis during Mass at St. Ann Church.

Martini, a fully-professed Carmelite for more than 30 years, passed away Aug. 16 after battling cancer. She had personally mentored the five Secular Carmelites who stood before Bishop Jugis. They included: Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church; Cheryl Hadley; Gerri Hillis; Sharon Kauth; and Aida Tamayo. Also, Dee Christian make her first promise, and four members – Janine Derscheid, Patrick Yodzis, Linn Mary Brosnan and Anne McClintock – received the brown scapular.

In his homily, Bishop Jugis spoke about the importance of the Carmelite charism. “It is God’s initiative that brings you here, and your response to that initiative of grace is by responding with a resounding ‘yes’ to

the gift that the Lord is holding out to you,” he said. “He offers this gift for your own personal sanctification as you make your way toward eternal life, and He offers this gift for the sanctification of the Church and of the whole world – to use the secular Carmelites as instruments of His grace for the Church and for the whole world. So, it is a double purpose to which He is calling you in this very beautiful vocation of following the Lord and the example of the Blessed Mother, and the teachings of St. Teresa (of Avila) and St. John of the Cross.”

It was an emotional day for the group, and Father Reid’s comments at the end of the Mass reflected the gratitude and sadness experienced at the milestone the community had achieved in the wake of Martini’s passing. “Our ceremonies would be incomplete today if I did not mention our foundress, Frances Martini, and thank her posthumously,” Father Reid said. “Without Frances’ guidance and direction, without her example of holiness, we wouldn’t be who we are.”

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 OUR PARISHES

Members of the Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team were among those who provided entertainment and fun during the three-day Tet Festival at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church. Each lion is manipulated by two young men, who must work in close coordination with each other and the other lion dancers to perform at their best. Their antics delighted children and adults alike, including Missionary of Charity Sister Edward of Charlotte (right).

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới – Happy New Year!

Vietnamese Catholics welcomed in the Lunar New Year during the annual Tet Festival at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church in Charlotte Feb. 20-22. After Father Tri Truong, pastor, celebrated Mass on Sunday, everyone enjoyed traditional Vietnamese cuisine, music, and of course, the amazing Hidden Dragon Lion Dancers (comprised of youth from the parish).

More online: At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos and video highlights from the Tet Festival At www.youtube.com/hdliondance: See more videos of the Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com

(Right) During the recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer, Father Tri Truong, pastor, and Father Van Nguyen from Tulsa, Okla., invoke the Holy Spirit to sanctify the offerings of bread and wine so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Feb. 22 Mass was the culmination of the parish’s three-day celebration of the Lunar New Year. Father Nguyen served as homilist.

(Below and below right) Yellow chrysanthemums were placed before the statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, the patron of the parish, for the special occasion.

(Left) Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup, was one of the most popular dishes at the Tet festival, which drew more than 4,500 people this year, the parish estimated. (Above and right) The Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team trains all year to prepare for the Tet festivities, and they wowed the crowd again this year.

Many parishioners, from the youngest to the oldest, wore traditional clothing to celebrate their Vietnamese heritage. And red, of course, is symbolic of happiness, long life, and good luck.

After Mass Father Truong helped distribute envelopes to everyone containing a holy card and a $1 bill for good fortune (“lì xì,” or “lucky money”) in the new year. Two parish youth group members also presented the two priests with orchids as a gesture of thanksgiving.

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 OUR PARISHES

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Youth Pilgrimage coming up at Belmont Abbey College BELMONT — All middle and high school youths are invited to attend the annual Bishop’s Youth Abbey Pilgrimage Saturday, April 11, at Belmont Abbey College. The event, held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include dynamic talks, music and games, as well as Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. The sacrament of penance will also be offered. Information about various religious orders and the priesthood will also be available during a vocations fair.

All youth must be accompanied and supervised by parents or parish youth ministers and chaperones. Registration is $15 and includes a T-shirt and lunch. For details and to register by March 16, go to www.goeucharist.com.

Upcoming Eastern Catholic liturgies planned CANTON — Byzantine rite Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom will be celebrated at Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton on Saturday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 21, by Father Mark Shuey, a Ukrainian Catholic priest from Cary.

Vespers will begin at 4 p.m. and Divine Liturgy (Mass) at 5 p.m., all said in English. Participating in Divine Liturgy fulfills the Sunday obligation for Catholics of any rite.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is located at 42 Newfound St., Canton.

Knights donate to Holy Angels BELMONT — Knights of Columbus Council 11076 from Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont recently presented a donation to Holy Angels from proceeds of its work throughout 2014.

Volunteers, comprised of members of Council

11076 and their family and friends, spent more than 300 hours last year collecting donations to support Holy Angels and other organizations and schools in Gaston County that care for and educate individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Each year, the Knights of Columbus across North Carolina donate funds raised from their Operation LAMB campaign to fulfill a specific need of Holy Angels. LAMB is the acronym derived from the biblical phrase from Matthew: “to serve the Least Among My Brethren.”

Pictured are Peter Liberatore, LAMB Chairman for the Knights of Columbus Council 11076, and Regina Moody, CEO of Holy Angels.

Holy Hour with the Divine Mercy CHARLOTTE — Pope St. John Paul II said, “Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love.

Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world.

May our adoration never cease.” All are welcome to attend Divine Mercy Holy Hour with Exposition and Benediction, sung Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and readings from the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska every First Friday from 7 to 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Road in Charlotte. For details, call Paul Deer at 704-577-3496 or Deacon James Witulski at 704-960-3704.

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com spoke specifically about Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings on marriage and how they bring good news for those in married life. Asci noted the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality are indeed good news for all people, even though it is frequently misunderstood by the world and even some Catholics. The talk was hosted by the parish’s faith formation ministry.

— Mike FitzGerald

Call for Rice Bowl grant applications Scouts visit CNH office CHARLOTTE — Cub Scouts from Pack 8 at St. Matthew Church recently toured the Catholic News Herald office at the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center. Scouts in Tiger Den 1, led by Bill Hobbs and Tim Hall, learned about the diocese’s print and online communication efforts and made pressman caps using pages out of the Catholic News Herald. The Scouts are pictured with Patricia Guilfoyle, editor, and her son Stephen, who is also a Cub Scout.

Does your parish help run a food pantry, operate a thrift store, or sponsor an emergency services program? If so, consider applying for a CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant for up to $1,000 in grant funds. Grants will be accepted through the postmark deadline of March 16, 2015, in a special round of grants with more than $9,000 available for distribution.

Information about this upcoming round of grants (including application, guidelines and eligibility) is available at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.

Only one grant can be submitted per Catholic entity and grant applications must be reviewed and signed by the pastor of the parish, principal of the school, or director of the diocesan office applying for the grant. Parishes and Catholic entities in the diocese which received a Rice Bowl grant in the most recent fall 2014 round are not eligible to apply in this special round of grants, but are eligible to apply in next year’s fall 2015 round of grants.

OUR PARISHESI

Join us as we celebrate the family and its role in our society, and rejoice in the Holy Father’s first visit the to the U.S.

Diocese of Charlotte Pilgrimage September 23 – 27, 2015

Limited Seats Available!

Lead by Father Michael Kottar from the Diocese of Charlotte 4 nights accommodations Roundtrip motor oach from Charlotte to Philadelphia 4 dinners / 4 breakfasts Half day guided tour of Philadelphia Visit two local shrines Daily Mass / Papal Mass … and much more!

For more information or to register please contact: Henry Dennis Mrs. Jean Judge AAA Vacations 800- 645-9650 ext: 14811 hddennis@mailaaa.com

Secretary, St. Mary Help of Christians 704-487-7697 ext: 103 jmjudge@charlottediocese.org

CCDOC.ORG

Special needs nursery now offered at Mass in Huntersville

CFC Youth for Christ members meet CHARLOTTE — About 25 Couples For Christ (CFC) Youth For Christ members attended a “Covenant Orientation” Jan. 31 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. As part of a threeyear pastoral formation, this daylong activity is given to new members within three months after joining the Youth Camp, the official entry point to becoming a member of the community.

It helps them learn how to put their faith into action by deepening their commitment to God. CFC youth coordinators for Charlotte John and Lorena Ostrea, with parent coordinator Ida Bauer, organize events and activities for the youth members. The youth leaders for Charlotte are Christian Bauer and Frances Rebollo. To learn more about the CFC Youth Charlotte community, email cfcyouth.charlotte@gmail. com.

HUNTERSVILLE — A Special Needs Nursery/ Classroom at St. Mark Church in Huntersville is now available to Catholic families during the 9 a.m. Mass each Sunday in the Parish Hall. It is open to children aged 2-7 who have Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, speech/ hearing delays, or any other developmental delay. It is a free service, staffed by certified and qualified professionals in the field of developmental disabilities. These professionals create a fun, loving and nurturing environment for each child, providing an opportunity for families to attend Mass while their child is experiencing developmentally appropriate faith formation and play. Volunteers or adults with special education training are also welcome. Call Connie Andrews at 704-651-6047 to register, get details or offer to help.

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

— John and Lorena Ostrea

Forgiveness and Healing Following Abortion Catholic Charities can help men and women who have experienced abortion begin their healing journey. Rachel’s Vineyard Weekend Retreat creates a healing environment of prayer and forgiveness. The retreat works to reconnect individuals to themselves, their friends, and family and to realize God’s ever present love.

Retreat in North Carolina March 27 – 29, 2015 / Asheville, NC For more information please contact Shelley Glanton: 828-230-4940 or sglan1234@aol.com

St. Mark Parish hosts talk on marriage HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church in Huntersville hosted a talk about marriage

by Dr. Donald Asci, professor of theology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Asci

We are a Home Care Service Agency

Retreats in South Carolina March 13-15, 2015 / Columbia, SC April 24-26, 2015 / Rock Hill, SC (Spanish) June 12-15, 2015 / Charleston, SC

Companionship – Meal Preparation – Laundry/Ironing – Transportaion – Water Plants and Assist with personal services.

For more information on South Carolina retreats please contact Christy 803 554 6088 or Kathy 803 546 6010 or grace4healing@gmail.com

Contact: Peggy Lindsay Agency Director/Owner 704-770-1394 St. Gabriel Parish Member

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

11

www.rachelsvineyard.org

Catholic News Herald-Español Necesitamos 100 ‘likes’ mas para llegar a los 500 antes del Domingo de Pascua en Facebook. ¡Corran la voz!

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 12

Padre Joe Waters, pionero del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte, fallece HIGH POINT — El Padre Joseph John Waters, sacerdote retirado de la Diócesis de Charlotte, falleció el 18 de Febrero del 2015.

La Misa de cristiana sepultura se celebró el 23 de Febrero del 2015, en la Parroquia del Inmaculado Corazón de María en High Point. Su cuerpo fue enterrado en el Cementerio Gilmore Memorial Park en Julian.

Conocido en la comunidad Hispana como el “Padre José,” comunidad a la que sirvió por más de 30 años. El Padre Waters fue un pionero del Ministerio Hispano en la Diócesis de Charlotte. El Padre Waters trabajó la mayor parte de su ministerio sacerdotal sirviendo a los católicos de habla-hispana en Centro y Sur América, y en Carolina del Norte. Sirvió como sacerdote misionero en México y Perú, fue director del Centro Católico Hispano en Charlotte, y también sirvió como el director del ministerio a los trabajadores inmigrantes de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Nació el 22 de Mayo de 1926 en Bristol, Pa., y pasó la mayor parte de su infancia en Arlington, N.Y., y en Westfield, N.J. Por el trabajo de su padre fue transferido a Carolina del Norte, y la familia se mudó a las Carolinas en 1946, época en la cual el futuro sacerdote empezó sus estudios en la universidad St. Charles College en Catonsville, Md. El Padre Waters completó sus estudios sacerdotales en el Seminario St. John Seminary en Little Rock, Ark., y fue ordenado al sacerdocio por el Obispo Vincent S. Waters el 24 de Mayo de 1956 en la Parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepción en Durham.

Después de un año de servicio con el Missionary Father Apostolate en la Iglesia de Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe en Newton Grove, el Padre Waters fue nombrado vicario de la Iglesia de Santa Ana en Edenton, y también sirvió durante el verano en el Apostolado. Desde Marzo de 1959 hasta Febrero de 1952, sirvió como administrador de las Misiones en Plymouth, Williamston y Columbia. Después, sirvió los cuatro años siguientes como párroco de la Iglesia de Santa Teresa en Mooresville. En Julio Waters de 1966, el Obispo Waters envió al Padre Waters a la Ciudad de México, en donde sirvió por ocho años en una Misión operada por la Diócesis de Raleigh. A su regreso a Carolina del Norte en 1974, el Padre Waters se convirtió en sacerdote de la Diócesis de Charlotte, la cual había sido establecida mientras él servía en México. Después de dos meses como administrador de la Iglesia de San Carlos Borromeo en Morganton, el Padre Waters tomó residencia en la Iglesia de la Asunción en Charlotte, y se convirtió en el director del Centro Católico Hispano en Charlotte, puesto que ocupó hasta Septiembre de 1977.

El Padre Waters también trabajó con las oficinas en la diócesis de Catholic Social Services para establecer centros para enseñar el método Natural de Planeación Familiar alrededor de la diócesis antes de convertirse en el párroco de la Iglesia de San Vicente de Paul en Charlotte en Mayo de 1975. En Septiembre de 1977 el Padre Waters fue enviado por la Sociedad de Sacerdotes del Apóstol Santiago como sacerdote misionero al Perú. En Septiembre de 1982, regreso del Perú. En 1983, el Padre Waters fue nombrado párroco de la Iglesia de San Felipe el Apóstol en Statesville, y director del Ministerio a los trabajadores inmigrantes del campo en Enero de 1983 con su residencia en la Misión de la Santísima Trinidad en Taylorsville, y también con la responsabilidad de operar la Misión ahí. En Marzo de 1985, el Padre Waters asumió responsabilidades adicionales como miembro del Comité de Formación Diocesano de los Seminaristas.

El Padre Waters se retiró voluntariamente del sacerdocio ministerial activo en el 2001, pero continuo sirviendo a la población de la diócesis, especialmente a los miembros de la comunidad Hispana.

Sobreviven al Padre Waters dos hermanos, Albert Waters y su esposa Shirley de Greensboro, y Robert “Bob” Waters y su esposa Donna de Aiken, S.C.; una hermana, Rosemary Waters Pagura y su esposo Frank de Elk Grove, Ill.; y un sin-número de sobrinos y sobrinas Condolencias se pueden enviar a su hermana del Padre Waters, Sra. Rosemary Pagura al 944 Wisconsin Lane, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.

— Catholic News Herald

Hispanos de la diócesis recuerdan al ‘Padre José’ con amor Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

HIGH POINT — El Miércoles de Ceniza murió un muy buen sacerdote.

El Padre Joseph John Waters, sacerdote retirado de la Diócesis de Charlotte, falleció el 18 de Febrero del 2015 en el hogar Pennybyrn en Maryfield en High Point.

Conocido en los círculos hispanos simplemente como el “Padre José” comunidad a la que sirvió por más de 30 años. El Padre Waters era considerado por laicos, religiosos y otros sacerdotes como un pionero del Ministerio Hispano en la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Considerado por muchos de sus hermanos sacerdotes como un hombre santo, el Padre Waters también era muy querido en la comunidad Hispana a lo largo del oeste de North Carolina. La noticia de su muerte produjo respuestas y recuerdos muy emotivos del impacto del Padre José a las personas que él sirvió como sacerdote.

“El Padre Joe Waters era un verdadero sacerdote misionero. Para él no era nada celebrar cinco Misas cualquier Domingo, especialmente para los que trabajaban en el campo y no podían ir a la Iglesia los Domingos,” dijo el Padre Frank O’Rourke, Párroco de la Iglesia de San Gabriel en Charlotte.

“Si me preguntarán que si he hablado con un santo diría: Muchísimas veces hablé y conviví con este santo sacerdote! Hasta pronto Padre José,” comentó Xiomara Palma en la página Facebook del Catholic News Herald-Español.

Con un ministerio sacerdotal que abarcó más de 45 años, el Padre Waters fue nombrado por elentonces Obispo de Charlotte, John Donoghue, a que se desempeñara tiempo completo en el Ministerio Hispano en 1988 en los Vicariatos de Hickory y Boone- en esos tiempos áreas que estaban pobladas mayormente por trabajadores del campo Latinos.

Fue ahí en la Misión de Holy Trinity en Taylorsville, en donde el Padre Waters dejó su marca en la comunidad Hispana y se ganó los corazones de los hispanos que se encontraba en su ministerio sacerdotal.

“Ese amor, esa compasión, esa humildad para tratarlo a uno y a cualquiera, y el interés por ayudar a los Hispanos. Eso a mí me impactó mucho,” dijo el Padre Luis Osorio, sacerdote de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

El Padre Osorio acredita al Padre Waters en haber podido discernir el llamado al sacerdocio y haber podido discernir su vocación. El Padre Osorio, originario de Colombia, conoció al Padre Waters por primera vez cuando visito a su hermana en 1987 y ella lo llevó a la Parroquia de San Felipe en Statesville, en donde el Padre Waters era el Párroco en ese entonces. El Padre Osorio recuerda la primera vez que conoció al Padre Waters, “El Padre a mí me mostró la posibilidad de ser sacerdote. A pesar de lo tardío que fue mi llamado. Pero yo creo que su ejemplo y su forma de ser, me mostró que era posible. Porque yo no creía.”

“El Padre José fue mi mentor… Un sacerdote que no le importaba si manejar carro; si manejar bus; si manejar un van. Nunca había conocido un sacerdote así, ni había tenida una experiencia de esa clase. Eso a mí me impacto mucho,” dijo el Padre Osorio.

“El siempre estar disponible; no importaba la hora o quien. Eso también, la disponibilidad que tenía el Padre José. Nosotros que ya estamos ordenados, Ave María, si nos falta todavía para siquiera acercarnos a un pequeño porcentaje a lo que era él,” concluyó el

SERGIO LOPEZ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Fieles de la comunidad Hispana orando junto al ataúd del Padre Jose Waters durante la Vigilia de cuerpo presente la tarde del 22 de Febrero en la Iglesia del Divino Redentor in Boonville.

Padre Osorio.

El Padre Mark Lawlor, Párroco de la Iglesia de San Vicente de Paul en Charlotte, también recuerda al Padre Waters como “Un modelo de humildad, caridad, paz y de un cuidado pastoral ejemplar.”

“Yo conocí al Padre José poco después de mi ordenación hace 20 años. De alguna manera, yo seguí sus pasos cuando me asignaron como el ministro sacramental para la comunidad Hispana en Yadkinville, que era el área que el Padre José había hecho su ministerio activo en la diócesis por muchos años,” dijo el Padre Lawlor. “El Padre José era un verdadero misionario en el fondo de su corazón, y él fue un gran ejemplo para mí cuando yo apenas estaba empezando mi ministerio sacerdotal. Cuando fui asignado como párroco de la Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís en Jefferson en 1999, el Padre José ya había estado celebrando la Misa en español ahí y en la Misión de Sparta por varios años. El Padre José enriqueció las vidas de todos los que lo conocieron y de todos a cuales él sirvió.”

El Padre Fidel Melo, Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte, recuerda al Padre Waters como un hombre, “Sereno y descomplicado; humilde y servicial; entregado; lleno de fe y paciente; generoso a mas no poder. En fin, para terminar pronto, un hombre santo, verdaderamente un hombre de Dios” Continua el Padre Melo, “Me siento muy agradecido con Dios de haber conocido a alguien como él. Fue un incansable misionero en el ministerio que dio todo de sí. Con él nunca se notó si era moderado, conservador o liberal, como a menudo suele suceder... En pocas palabras, nos enseñó que para servir a Dios no tenemos más que seguir muy de cerca, lo más cerca posible a Cristo.”

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Father Mark Lawlor

Una familia de fe

U

aceptar una invitación al Perú y visitarles.

En Huánuco, la población está creciendo rápidamente y muchas personas están construyendo viviendas primitivas en las laderas adyacentes de las montañas.

La mayoría de los recién llegados son muy pobres y la diócesis está tratando responder a sus necesidades espirituales y físicas. Visité una clínica la cual la Diócesis de Huánuco va a dedicar este mes. Dicha clínica brindara asistencia a los más necesitados y constará de consultorios médicos, una clínica dental, un laboratorio, también brindará servicios de fisioterapia, Rayos X, mamografías y otras entidades médicas. Como párroco, me dio mucho agrado el enterarme que parte de los fondos donados por nuestros feligreses fueron asignados a esta gran obra de misericordia a favor de los más necesitados.

Muchos de los pobladores que viven en las montañas tienen poco o cero acceso a los centros médicos o de medicina preventiva.

Me enriqueció conocer a la gente de Huánuco y me impresionó de cuan manera ver lo que han podido lograr con tan escasos recursos.

También visité la ciudad de Callao, el puerto principal del país. En Callao, un sacerdote amigo mío, cuya familia son feligreses en nuestra parroquia, trabaja en uno de los vecindarios, el cual él describe como uno de los más difíciles del país. Intenta ayudar un área llena de problemas sociales con ministerios pastorales juveniles y educación. Visité una escuela pequeña construida sobre la capilla en la cual los Foto proporcionada por el Padre Mark Lawlor niños tienen acceso a El Padre Marcos y el Padre Huver en el Convento con las Hermanas y Novicias seguridad, alimentación después de la celebración de la Misa durante la visita del Padre Marcos al y formación en la fe.

Peru el mes pasado.

En Huánuco, la población está creciendo rápidamente y muchas personas están Misa. Al terminar, entré a la sacristía y me construyendo viviendas primitivas en presente a él, le dije que era de los Estados las laderas adyacentes de montañas. La Unidos y andaba visitando la región. Para mayoría de los recién llegados son muy mi sorpresa, el Obispo Jaime Rodríguez pobres y la diócesis está respondiendo a sus Salazar nos invitó a hospedarnos en su necesidades espirituales y físicas. residencia. Su hospitalidad fue simple y A lo largo de los años, el Señor me ha sencillamente extraordinaria lo que dio bendecido con viajes estupendos. En este inicio a lo que es hoy una gran amistad. último viaje, me recibieron como hermano Durante los últimos dos años, he invitado a la Diócesis de Huánuco a nuestra parroquia y amigo, otro recordatorio que somos uno en nuestra fe católica. Invité al Obispo para hacer colectas misioneras para ellos.

Jaime y al Padre Huver a que regresen En el año 2013, el Padre Huver Navarro a San Vicente de Paul este año. Estoy visitó nuestra parroquia y asistió a una seguro que nuestros feligreses nuevamente jornada misionera. El verano pasado, extenderán su hospitalidad y generosidad regresó junto con el Obispo Jaime, o para con ellos. como cariñosamente le llamamos ‘Padre Obispo’. Fue una linda experiencia para El Padre MARcos LAWLOR es el Párroco de la Iglesia de todos y nuestros feligreses respondieron San Vicente de Paul en Charlotte. El Padre Lawlor ofrece generosamente al llamado. El año pasado Misa en español en esa parroquia todos los Domingos a se recaudó más de $23,000.00 para la las 2 p.m.

Diócesis de Huánuco.

Hace unas semanas, tuve la dicha de no de los mayores beneficios de ser católico es el saber que encontraremos hermanos y hermanas de fe en diversas partes del mundo. Es en el sacramento del Bautismo que nos hacemos miembros de la Familia de Dios, la Iglesia.

Hace más de ocho años, uno de nuestros feligreses, Luis Lecaros, me invitó a visitar la región selvática de Perú, el Vicariato de Pucallpa, con el fin de analizar la posibilidad de asistir económicamente a las misiones de dicha región - muchas de las cuales no contaban con sacerdotes residentes. Fue en el año 2006 cuando viaje a la región y conocí a varios sacerdotes y hermanas misioneras, catequistas y ministros pastorales juveniles.

En nuestro regreso de la selva peruana a Lima, nos detuvimos en la ciudad de Huánuco y entramos a la catedral en la cual el obispo se encontraba celebrando la

See the many ways you can make a difference Christian Appalachian Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build hope, transform lives, and share Christ’s love through service in Appalachia, offers a variety of short and long term missionary opportunities close to home.

St Luke Church will host a trip to Eastern Kentucky May 10th through the 15th to provide home repair for an elderly resident in need.

For information on this trip contact Dave Esposito (djesposito@Hotmail.com), Steve Uzzell (soulman13@carolina.rr) or Jim Lawrence (jdl0628@earthlink.net).

To learn more about Christian Appalachian Project visit www.christianapp.org.

ccdoc.org

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2015

March 8, 2015.

13

Our schools 14

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Sacred Heart Beta Club wins at state competition SALISBURY — Four members of the Beta Club at Sacred Heart School in Salisbury won third place in the Beta Club State Convention Competition’s Quiz Bowl: Hannah Smith, Mary Sobataka, Spencer Blackwell and Lauren Denhard. The Beta Club’s North Carolina State Convention was held at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel in Greensboro on Feb. 9-10.

— Robin Fisher

Photos provided by St. Gabriel School and Our Lady of the Assumption School

OLG students make ‘living museum’ GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School first-graders recently completed a study of famous Americans with a Living Museum. OLG students picked a favorite famous American to dress up as and then presented a short report on their choice.

— Karen L. Hornfeck

Students at Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gabriel schools have been focusing on family, fitness and fun this year. At OLA, pre-kindergartners and fifth-graders are pictured doing their morning exercise routine: Dance Moves, part of the school’s “Move to Improve” initiative, is a two-minute dancing exercise set to music so students can get their bodies and brains revved up for the school day. An important part of the activity is that students have to listen to their teacher’s commands directing their movements, principal Allana Ramkissoon notes. By engaging the brain in this way, not only do students become energized, but their brain activity spikes and prepares them better for learning, she said.

Also pictured are scenes from St. Gabriel School’s “Family Fit & Fun Night.” Those who attended were able to take advantage of lots of activities, including free blood pressure screenings and nutrition coaching; Zumba, Taekwando and stretching classes; and even an obstacle course.

Students and families take up the fitness challenge CHARLOTTE — Food! Fitness! Fun! Go together? Students and families of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gabriel schools are answering that question, showing how we can learn to eat better, feel better and have fun in the process.

At Our Lady of the Assumption School, principal Allana Ramkissoon and school nurse Michelle Gassaway recently put together a one-month “Family Fitness Challenge,” offering physical activities and healthy eating options that the family can do together. It’s become a tradition at the school to designate a family fitness month during each school year. Activities and discussions suggest: How about taking a family walk after supper, or packing raisins in everyone’s lunch? Families track their progress each week and complete

calendars that tell the story on the school’s “Wall of Fame.”

This year Ramkissoon is also adding a few minutes of exercise routines to music in the classroom before students begin their daily devotions. She intends to show that the addition of physical activity before classroom studies improves students’ cognitive ability.

At St. Gabriel School, approximately 200 students and their families turned out for “Family Fit & Fun Night,” an evening of fun held at the beginning of the school year. Those who attended were able to take advantage of lots of activities, including free blood pressure screenings and nutrition coaching; Zumba, Taekwando and stretching classes; and even an obstacle course. The event was supported

by a host of local vendors and featured Charlotte Knights’ mascot Homer.

Physical education teacher Kelli Dumser and St. Gabriel school nurse Sherri Petrilli wished to show everyone how eating better and being more active can be fun, and something that families can do together.

In addition to planning next year’s “Family Fit & Fun Night,” Dumser has kicked off a six-week “Faculty Wellness Challenge” that includes exercise class after school.

Principal Sharon Broxterman added that St. Gabriel School aims to offer a free family event once each month that gives parents the opportunity to connect with other parents and meet their children’s classmates.

— Submitted by Karen Verney

talking.

Let’s keep talking.

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

IHM ‘Mathletes’ win two awards HIGH POINT — Immaculate Heart of Mary Middle School “Mathletes” competed recently against other schools at the Guilford County Middle School Math Day held at Jamestown Middle School, bringing home two awards.

Competing for IHM were: Reece Burmeister, Badar Cha, Haneul Cha, Alexander Chinnasami, Logan Grunwald, Angel Lapiz, Catherine Lucas and Nick Sojka. Badar Cha won the first prize on the written test among 15 schools in Guilford County and more than 100 top math participants for his grade level. IHM placed third in the written test team competition.

— Carrie Vest

15 MACS students named to All-District Honor Band CHARLOTTE — Fifteen band members from

Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools were chosen to participate in the 2015 South Central District Bandmasters Association All-District Honor Band Clinic held Jan. 31 at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory. Students were members of select bands who performed in rehearsals and concert during the weekend.

Students representing Charlotte Catholic High School were Abbey Roper (flute), Bryan Borders (percussion) and David Wasson (trumpet). Representing Holy Trinity Middle School were Victoria Dichak, Emma Joseph, Elizabeth Branch, Rhea Desai, Rachel Sarvey, Matthew Sie, William Branch, Gregory Moritz, Ian Adamson and Sophie Roper. Representing St. Mark Middle School was Austin Munn.

Representing Our Lady of the Assumption Middle School was Haven Nealy.

Charlotte Catholic senior David Wasson placed well enough to audition for membership in the North Carolina All-State Band.

Guest clinicians/conductors for this year’s AllDistrict Honor Band Clinic were: David Stroud from Newport; William Owens from Fort Worth, Texas; Brian Balmages from Timonium, Md.; and Robert Sheldon from Bloomington, Ind. — Stanley Michalski and Timothy Cook

St. Leo Road Race coming up WINSTON-SALEM — The St. Leo Race, Run Leo, is celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday, March 21. Twenty years ago this little 5K and Fun Run hosted almost 300 runners.

Thanks to sponsors, volunteers and community support it now anticipates hosting 1,200-1,400 runners for the 5K, 10K and Fun Run. Come out and run or walk on race day and enjoy the great food, door prizes and fun that has made has made the St. Leo Race one of Winston Salem’s favorite racing events. For details, go to www. stleocatholic.com/road-race.html.

— Melissa Kinsley

15

13th Annual Ignited By Truth

Bringing to light the truth of the teachings

of the Catholic Church and igniting in our

March 20-21, 2014

Raleigh Convention CenteR

hearts a love for our Faith

Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM Saturday Celebrant and Homilist BISHOP MICHAEL F. BURBIDGE Diocese of Raleigh, NC

Register Now for Early Discounts

www.IgnitedByTruth.com

• 919-789-1IBT (428) •

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x

Life Teen Song Leader

St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Charlotte seeks a faith-filled song leader who wants to ignite the faith of youth and families by leading music during our Sunday Life Teen Mass!

Responsibilities: • Leading Life Teen praise band during rehearsal, Sunday Mass, youth events, retreats and Easter Sunrise Mass.

• Work closely with Youth Minister and report to Director of Music Ministry.

Requirements: • Familiar with the Roman Catholic Liturgy.

• Familiar with / willing to learn contemporary Christian music on a regular basis.

• Strong vocals, good people skills and ability to work with others.

Preferences: • Practicing Roman Catholic, faithful to Church teachings.

Charlotte Catholic High School announces winter signees CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School is pleased to announce the Class of 2015 Winter Signees:

Soccer Brendan McDonough – Georgetown University Jamir James – Appalachian State University Jack Miller – Washington and Lee University Jordan Poff – Wofford College Kevin Lynch – Colorado School of Mines Chris Efenecy – Brevard College Price Keough – University of San Francisco Megan Archer – Presbyterian College

Football Matt Kowalewski – Elon University Alex Lapiana – Tufts University

Basketball Joe Scibelli – Haverford College

Volleyball Bridget Wilkinson – Belmont Abbey College

Photos provided by Sally McArdle

• Ability to play guitar or keyboard and sight read music.

Stipend position per call.

Send cover letter and resume to Director of Music Ministry, Soo-Jin Ridgell, at ridgell@4sjnc.org.

“No one in the Church of Jesus Christ should feel excused from receiving catechesis.”

— St. John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae

How well do you know your Catholic Faith?

A four-part Lenten Lecture Series on the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part II The Celebration of the Christian Liturgy The Sacred Liturgy. The seven sacraments.

Fr. Noah Carter -- Monday, March 2d, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Part III Life in Christ The dignity of the human person, the natural moral law and the Ten Commandments Fr. Matthew Kauth -- Monday, March 9th, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Part IV Christian Prayer Our life in prayer. The Lord’s Prayer Fr. Adrian Porras -- Wednesday, March 25th, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

St. Barnabas Catholic Church 109 Crescent Hill Drive Arden, NC 28704 Call 828-684-6098 for more information

Mix 16

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV n Friday, Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “The Crusades: Failures and Successes.”

A look at the legacy of the Crusades.

In Brief

n Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Brother Joseph and the Grotto.” A German Benedictine monk’s masterpiece of a miniature city built in the Alabama woods of St. Bernard Abbey. n Sunday, March 1, 10:30 a.m.

(EWTN) “Second Week of Lent: The Father’s Faith in His Son.” For the second week of Lent, Father John Forsythe reveals how we can come to trust God more by seeing Him as our loving Father.

Image courtesy of YouTube

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ James Bond gets younger competition via this suave but excessively violent adaptation of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ comic book series “The Secret Service.” A young hooligan (Taron Egerton) is invited by a spy to turn his life around by joining a top-secret independent intelligence agency. The lad’s recruitment coincides with the organization’s efforts to save the world from a wicked megalomaniac (Samuel L. Jackson) bent on mass slaughter. While it’s intended as an amusing send-up of classic espionage movies, film is marred by an amount of bloodletting that even many adults will likely find repellent. Strong gory violence, requent profane language.

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

Additional reviews: n ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R n ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R n ‘Whiplash’: CNS: L (limited adult audience); MPAA: R

O Holy St. Jude!

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

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

St. Jude pray for us who invoke your aid.

(Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Mary’s, 3 Glory Be) Publication must be promised.

Through short news episodes, MATTtv highlights activities and ministries happening at St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte.

Pictured above is a screen shot from Episode 4, which highlights the work of faith formation students for the Sandwich Ministry.

St. Matthew Church launches ‘MATTtv’ video series Kimberly Bender Online reporter

CHARLOTTE —With more than 9,500 families participating in a hundred-plus ministries at St. Matthew Church, it’s challenging for parishioners to keep up with everything happening at one of the nation’s largest Catholic churches.

Jim Alvarez, St. Matthew’s audiovisual coordinator, is sharing his talents and the news about the south Charlotte parish through online broadcasts called “MATTtv.” “Honestly, the goal is to electronically evangelize,” Alvarez said. “To show how much of God’s work is here and what goes on around us. I think some people tend to feel like they get lost here in the community, but ‘MATTtv’ connects them a bit.”

Alvarez, who spent three decades in television, writes, shoots and produces the bi-weekly internet news broadcast.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s been a personal journey, about how I can use my talents at the church to serve others.

“I came up with this crazy, wild thought of shooting some of the happenings here and sharing it with the community, our community.”

Alvarez started working part-time at the parish about four years ago, and now he produces gospel reflections and video series for the parish, including the Puzzle of Life Lenten reflections.

He said he put together the first show “under the radar.” He handed the pilot to Monsignor John McSweeney, pastor, and asked him to review

See the broadcasts online At www.youtube.com/stmatthewcatholic: Tune into St. Matthew Church’s biweekly broadcasts of ‘MATTtv’

it. Monsignor McSweeney gave Alvarez the green light and he’s up to nine episodes now.

“Monsignor has been awesome, even participating in the broadcasts. Having his support has been helpful,” Alvarez said.

Monsignor McSweeney said he is delighted with the success of the broadcasts.

“Following the leadership of Pope Francis, we are trying to utilize every means of social media to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ, and I am pleased that our teens and young adults are so involved in the production of our ‘MATTtv’ series,” he said via email.

The idea of the brief news broadcasts is to share information about the ministries at the parish as well as personal stories of people’s spiritual journeys, Alvarez said. “What I found were people were aware of what was going on, that there were these ministries, but not what they did or who they served.”

Alvarez wanted to produce the show every week, but said he had to be realistic. A new show is posted online every two weeks and promoted series, SEE page 17

n Sunday, March 1, 10 p.m.

(EWTN) “The Seven Deadly Sins.” The roundtable discusses how to identify and combat the iconic seven deadly sins from our daily lives, with special guest Father David Meconi, professor of early Christian history. n Monday, March 2, 3:20 p.m.

(EWTN) “Saint Clement.” Dr. Timothy O’Donnell visits the Church of St. Clement, named after the third successor to St. Peter. n Tuesday, March 3, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Alter Christus.”

Reflections from various cardinals on important aspects of the priesthood. n Wednesday, March 4, 4:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Glorious Mysteries.” From the resurrection of Jesus to the crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, this delightfully animated program both inspires as well as teaches children the glorious mysteries of the rosary. n Friday, March 6, 3:20 p.m. (EWTN) “A Lenten Pilgrimage: St. Vitalis.” Dr. Timothy O’Donnell explores the Church of San Vitalis.

St. Vitalis was a father who suffered martyrdom along with his sons. n Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “Duns Scotus.”

Feature film on the life of Franciscan priest and theologian Blessed John Duns Scotus, a great defender of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. n Sunday, March 8, 9 p.m.

(EWTN) “St. Frances of Rome.” A look at the life of St. Frances of Rome. Despite her forced marriage at the age of 12, the difficult relationship with her husband and her family’s political wars, she contributed generously to the city’s poor and to the Church.

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

LOVE: FROM PAGE 5

time, Father Osorio remembers meeting the pastor then: “The fact that we could speak in Spanish was key. I was able to relate to him immediately. He was the first person that ever encouraged me to discover the possibility of a priestly vocation.

“He was my mentor. I remembered visiting Hispanic families with him as a lay person when I moved to Statesville in 1990… He was the kind of priest that didn’t care if he had to drive a car, a bus or a van to reach out to the people. I had never met a priest like him, or had witnessed anything like that. It made a huge impact on me. His pastoral feel was such – it was impossible to measure. He was always available to everyone,” Father Osorio said.

Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, also remembers Father Waters as “a model of humility, charity, peacefulness and pastoral care.”

“I first met Father Joe shortly after my ordination almost 20 years ago. In

SERIES: FROM PAGE 16

through social media. Eventually, he said he hopes it can play on the electronic billboard televisions across the church campus.

“It boils down to reaching people where they are – on their tablets, on their phones,” Alvarez said. “I feel like it’s really where God wants me and needs me to be now. I’m happy and it’s fun.”

The broadcasts are hosted by parishioner Valerie Mazel and a small group of teens who contribute the youth angle.

some ways, I followed in his footsteps when I was assigned as the sacramental minister to the Hispanic community in Yadkinville, as Father Joe had been active in ministry in that part of the diocese for many years,” Father Lawlor said. “He was a true missionary at heart and was a great example to me when I was just beginning priestly ministry. When I was assigned as the pastor to St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson in 1999, he had been celebrating the Spanish Mass there and at the mission in Sparta for several years. He enriched the lives of those who knew him and those he served.”

Father Fidel Melo, diocesan Vicar for Hispanic Ministry, remembers Father Waters as “serene and uncomplicated; humble and always willing to serve; patient and faith filled; generous to the nth degree; a saintly man and a true man of God.” “I am very thankful to God for having met someone like him. With Padre José, you never noticed if he was a moderate, conservative or liberal, as is often the case.

He showed us that in order to serve God, the only thing necessary is to follow Christ as closely as we can.”

Producing the broadcasts doesn’t cost anything additional, as Alvarez is on staff and the equipment was purchased when the church started its Lenten reflection videos.

Each episode of “MATTtv” has garnered a couple hundred views on You Tube, with the most-viewed episode, an interview with Monsignor McSweeney at his 40th anniversary of the priesthood, reaching more than 500 views.

“The people who have seen it have been realty positive,” Alvarez said. “Their response has been that they love it and they didn’t know that the ministry we highlighted was all about.

“It’s still a work in progress for us. It’s still new enough that we can tweak it as we go.”

WATERS:

GLOBAL CATHOLIC TOURS OF VIRGINIA 2015 PILGRIMAGES

FROM PAGE 5

for service as a missionary in Peru. He returned from Peru in September 1982.

After a three-month sabbatical leave for study at St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, Calif., Father Waters become pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Church in Statesville, and director of migrant ministry in January 1983 with residence at Holy Trinity Mission in Taylorsville, with responsibility for operating the mission church. In March 1985, he assumed additional duties as a member of the Diocesan Seminarian Formation committee.

At his request, Father Waters retired in June 2001, but continued to serve the people of the diocese, especially the Spanish-speaking members of the community.

He is survived by two brothers, Albert Waters and wife Shirley of Greensboro, and Robert “Bob” Waters and wife Donna of Aiken, S.C.; a sister, Rosemary Waters Pagura and husband Frank of Elk Grove, Ill.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Condolences may be sent to his sister Rosemary Pagura, 944 Wisconsin Lane, Elk Grove, Village, Ill. 60007.

Cumby Family Funeral Service of High Point was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

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Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Religious leaders urge action to combat climate change Mark Pattison Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Religious leaders from across the faith spectrum gathered Feb. 20 at the Capitol to seek action to combat climate change and to mitigate its effects, whether it be at the federal level or in local communities.

The ongoing buzz about the forthcoming encyclical from Pope Francis on the environment was addressed by Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

“This is the first time a pope has addressed the issue of the environment and climate change with an encyclical – and for us Catholics and not only for Catholics, this is a big deal,” Archbishop Wenski said, noting, “Encyclicals are an important way for popes to exercise their teaching office.”

Archbishop Wenski added, “Although I am not privy to what the pope will say, I think he will insist that the ‘natural ecology’ is inseparably linked to ‘human ecology.’ In other words, we have to recognize the interrelatedness of the various social, economic, political or environmental crises that confront the human family today.”

The archbishop made the comments as part of a panel sponsored by the National Religious Partnership for the Environment and held in a meeting room at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.

Given what Pope Francis has said in the past on the environment, “I think that he will call us to prudent action that promotes the common good for present and future generations and respects human life and dignity while always giving priority to the poor and vulnerable,” Archbishop Wenski said.

“Care for creation should engage us all – and thus I also think that the pope will tell us also to be mindful of and heed the voices of poor who are impacted most by climate change and certainly will be impacted either for good or ill by the policies proposed to address climate change.”

At their essence, the archbishop said, “these all are moral crises which require new rules and forms of engagement – in other words, a rethinking of the path that we are traveling down together.”

Bishops are not scientists, Archbishop Wenski cautioned, “but we are pastors – and insofar as climate change affects concrete human beings, it is a moral issue; and, pastors in exercising their care of their flocks do weigh in – and appropriately so – on moral issues. Also, as Catholics, we firmly believe that the poor have a first claim on our consciences in matters pertaining to the common good.”

Archbishop Wenski alluded to past statements on the environment by Pope Benedict XVI and the U.S. bishops’ own 2001 statement, “Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good,” in which “we expressed our concern that disproportionate and unfair burdens not be placed on poor, developing nations. We called for collective action for the common good.”

Baby born after RU-486 reversal is ‘light of our life,’ says father Nate Madden Catholic News Service

she wanted to have an abortion. After being informed of the rate of her unborn son’s heartbeat, she said, she couldn’t bring herself to swallow the large, white pill in her hand.

But she was repeatedly chided by the supervising doctor, she said, and so gave in and took the pill.

“I knew immediately after I swallowed the pill that I had made a bad decision,” Minichini said. “I even tried throwing up, but nothing happened.” At a hospital in New Jersey, she was told that her child would be deformed and disabled if she didn’t take the second pill in the RU-486 procedure.

“I was just at an end,” she said. “I didn’t have any hope, so I just

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two-month-old Gabriel Caicedo is one of 78 children saved by a new medical protocol being used to reverse the effects of the RU-486 abortion regimen in its early stages – and one of the doctors involved lives and practices medicine in the Diocese of Charlotte.

The baby is “the light of our life,” said his father, Chris Caicedo.

He and Gabriel’s mother, Andrea Minichini, told their story at a Feb. 23 news conference held by the American Association of ProLife Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life to call attention to a RU-486 reversal kit available to physicians.

The RU-486 medical abortion procedure is a twoday regimen used to terminate early pregnancies by blocking the hormone progesterone needed to sustain a pregnancy. It involves two types of medication: RU-486 itself, which is mifepristone, and a prostaglandin, known as misoprostol, that stimulates uterine contractions, and taken two days later to expel the fetus.

At the news conference, association officials and Father Pavone said the reversal kits work to counteract the “abortion pill” by increasing the levels of progesterone in the mother’s body.

The RU-486 protocol, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, involves three visits to a physician’s office over the course of two weeks and has been known to cause complications ranging from stomach pain and bleeding to death resulting from sepsis.

According to the FDA’s website, despite the risks associated with it, many women go through with the protocol but end up having a surgical abortion because of “medical abortion treatment failures.”

CNS | Priests for Life “It’s not a ‘quick and easy process,’” said Dr. Mary Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, poses with Chris Caicedo, Andrea Minichini L. Davenport, a former president of the obstetrician and their son, Gabriel Caicedo, following a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, association. Besides the 20 percent risk that a D.C., Feb. 23 to call attention to a protocol to reverse RU-486 medical abortions. woman will have a serious complication such as blood loss, severe infection or ectopic pregnancy, started Googling,” before finding a hotline number that put her in “the woman also has the guilt of knowing that she terminated her touch with a physician who could reverse the medical abortion. pregnancy,” she told reporters.

Gabriel David Caicedo was born Dec. 31, 2014, weighing 8 Dr. Matthew Harrison, a family practice physician in Concord, pounds 9 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. Despite what his was the first doctor to perform a medical abortion reversal, and he mother was told back in May, Gabriel is an extremely healthy and also addressed the news conference. energetic child.

He recounted the case of a woman who came to him in 2007.

“He’s very active, always awake and alert, making eye contact,” According to Harrison, the woman had been to an abortion clinic where Minichini said. “He just rolled over for the first time last week at 6 she was “bullied and pressured” into opting for a medical abortion. weeks old.”

The mother wanted to know if there was any way to stop the To other young men facing unexpected fatherhood, Gabriel’s effects of the drug. At the clinic, he said, “they gave her no hope. father urged contemplation.

They said, ‘There’s nothing you can do; you have to complete this “Take a deep breath and think about the situation. It’s a hard procedure.’” situation to go through, but it’s not as bad as many fathers think Harrison told the woman, “I need to step out and pray” about her that it is. They (kids) are just a blessing, to be quite honest. He request. “Then I said a prayer and started looking through books and gives us more ambition to progress (in life). ... You just have to thinking about how RU-486 works,” he told reporters. “It essentially grab the bull by the horns,” said Chris Caicedo, adding, “Gabe is just blocks the progesterone receptors and starves the baby.” the light of our life, and this (pro-life) message is his purpose.”

Harrison then immediately took some progesterone he had on Andrea, 22, is currently studying to be a physician’s assistant hand for fertility treatments and, after informing the mother that and Chris, 23, is studying accounting. the treatment might not work, injected her with the hormone.

Stories such as Gabriel’s are important because they have the She later gave birth to a little girl, who survived with “no power to change minds about life and inspire hope in the face of problems and no ill effects” and, according to Harrison, is now abortion, according to Father Pavone. “The pro-life movement is “an excited little cheerleader for her local football team and just a about saving lives,” he stated, “and we save lives by taking despair great little joy to be around. She’s doing wonderfully.” Her mother and replacing it with hope.” went back to school and is now a respiratory technician and has “There is not one person here who cannot save a life by purchased a house. spreading the news about this technique,” the priest told Since Harrison’s discovery, Davenport and Dr. George Delgado, reporters, “the goal of the pro-life movement is to end all abortion, medical director of the Culture of Life Family Services in San and for babies like Gabriel, who are here today because of this Diego, have published a series of case studies “demonstrating technique, abortion did end. It was conquered; it was overcome.” successful reversal of mifepristone effects in women who chose to The Culture of Life Family Services has a network of about 200 reverse the medical abortion process.” participating physicians around the country using the reversal Delgado, who also is a member of the American Association of procedure. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, heads the Culture of and Gynecologists hopes that the reversal kits will eventually be Life’s reversal program. available in emergency rooms and pregnancy crisis centers across In her comments at the news conference, Minichini, recounted the country to become more accessible to women who want to her experience in a Planned Parenthood exam room last summer. reverse the effects of RU-486.

Through tears of pain and uncertainty, she told the nurses that

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Catholic schools must evangelize, sanctify, says archbishop SAN FRANCISCO — Amid banner newspaper headlines, and a stream of television stories about Catholic sexual morality clauses in the Archdiocese of San Francisco high school

handbooks, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone presented his vision of Catholic education Feb. 6. “In the end, our Catholic schools exist to help young people attain holiness in their lives, that is, to become saints,” he told an annual convocation of Catholic high school teachers.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is proposing three new clauses to contracts for teachers in archdiocesan Catholic high schools to further clarify that Catholic schools “exist to affirm and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as held and taught by his Catholic Church.”

The archdiocese is adding detailed statements of Catholic teaching on sexual morality and religious practice – taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church – into the faculty and staff handbooks of the four archdiocesan high

schools. The handbook additions will take effect in the 2015-’16 school year.

Cardinal urges solidarity with persecuted Christians WASHINGTON, D.C. — Making an impassioned plea at the end of his Feb. 18 Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., urged Catholics to offer prayers and speak out for Christians being persecuted throughout the world. “Lent is a time of prayer – pray for those who are suffering and offer your voice,” Cardinal Wuerl said.

“Say, ‘This is wrong. There is no political, social,

cultural or religious reason for this.’”

Pa. governor puts off executions PHILADELPHIA — Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia praised the announcement by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Feb. 13 that he is granting a reprieve for death-row inmate Terrence Williams, who was scheduled to be executed March 4. Wolf said he would extend the reprieve to each of the 186 inmates on the state’s death row as their scheduled executions approach, all pending the outcome of a study of the use of the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

— Catholic News Service

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Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope names St. Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — A 10th-century Armenian monk has been named among the Doctors of the Church.

Pope Francis approved the designation for St. Gregory of Narek during a meeting Feb. 21 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

The Church confers this designation on saints whose writings are considered to offer key theological insights for the faith.

St. Gregory of Narek is considered one of the foremost figures of Armenian theology and thought, and many of his prayers are included in the Armenian Divine Liturgy.

He was born in 950 in the Armenian town of Andzevatsik, located in present-day Turkey. He entered a monastery at a young age and was ordained a priest at 25. He lived at the monastery at Narek his whole priestly life and taught at the monastic school.

His best-known writings include a commentary on the Song of Songs and his “Book of Lamentations,” more commonly known as “Narek.”

“Narek” is considered his masterpiece.

It includes 95 prayers and has been translated into more than 30 languages.

St. Gregory died in Narek around 1005.

St. Gregory brings the current number of Doctors of the Church to 36.

His feast day in the Armenian churches is Oct. 13; he is remembered in the Roman Catholic Church Feb. 27.

Pope Francis elevates the Eucharist during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome Feb. 18.

CNS | Paul Haring

Return with tears to God’s loving embrace during Lent, pope says Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

ROME — Lent is a journey of purification and penance, a movement that should bring one tearfully back to the loving arms of the merciful Father, Pope Francis said at an Ash Wednesday Mass that began with a procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill.

After walking from the Benedictine monastery of St. Anselm to the Dominicanrun Basilica of Santa Sabina Feb. 18, Pope Francis celebrated Mass. He received ashes on the top of his head from Cardinal Jozef Tomko, titular cardinal of the basilica, and distributed ashes to the Benedictines, the Dominicans, his closest aides and a family of five.

When a priest places ashes on one’s head or forehead, he recites: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Both, Pope Francis said, are “a reminder of the truth of human existence: We are limited creatures, sinners always in need of repentance and conversion. How important it is to listen and accept these reminders.”

In his homily before the ashes were distributed, the pope encouraged Catholics to ask God for “the gift of tears in order

to make our prayer and our journey of conversion more authentic and without hypocrisy.”

The day’s first reading, Joel 2:12-18, described the Old Testament priests weeping as they prayed that God would spare their people. “It would do us good to ask, do I cry?

Does the pope cry? Do the cardinals? The bishops? Consecrated people? Priests? Do tears come when we pray?”

In the day’s Gospel reading (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18), Jesus warns His disciples three times against showing off the good works they do “like the hypocrites do.”

“When we do something good, almost instinctively the desire is born in us to be esteemed and admired for this good action, to get some satisfaction from it,” the pope said. But Jesus “calls us to do these things without any ostentation and to trust only in God’s reward.”

“Do you know something, brothers and sisters? Hypocrites do not know how to cry,” the pope said. “They have forgotten how to cry. They don’t ask for the gift of tears.”

The Lenten call to conversion, he said, means returning “to the arms of God, the tender and merciful Father, to cry in that embrace, to trust Him and entrust oneself to Him.” During the 40 days of Lent, he said, Christians should make a greater effort

to draw closer to Christ, which is why the Church recommends the tools of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

But, he said, “conversion is not just a human work. Reconciliation between us and God is possible thanks to the mercy of the Father who, out of love for us, did not hesitate to sacrifice His only-begotten Son.” In the reading from Joel, the prophet calls people to “interior conversion,” the pope said, a conversion that requires a return to God “with your whole heart.”

“Please,” the pope said. “Let’s stop. Let’s pause a while and allow ourselves to be reconciled with God.” Lent, he said, is time “to begin the journey of a conversion that is not superficial and transitory, but a spiritual itinerary” that goes straight to a person’s heart, the focal point “of our sentiments, the center in which our choices and attitudes mature.”

What is more, he said, the reading makes clear that the call is addressed to the whole community, which is to “proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people, notify the congregation; assemble the elders, gather the children.”

Pope Francis prayed that Mary would accompany Christians in their “spiritual battle against sin” and would accompany them in their Lenten journey so they could exult with her at Easter.

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In Brief Catholic aid group pledges $2.8M for Syrian Christians NEW YORK — Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians around the world, has pledged $2.8 million in emergency aid to help Christians in Syria.

They have “benefited only to a limited extent� from relief provided by the United Nations and secular nongovernmental organizations, the charity said. It will fund projects to help Christian communities in Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and other Syrian cities and villages hard hit by the war, which has reportedly killed more than 200,000.

Pope urges cardinals to go in search of the lost, bring them in VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church cannot call itself church if it is a “closed caste� where the sick, the wounded and sinners are shunned, Pope Francis told the 20 new cardinals he created last week. “The way of the Church is precisely to leave her four walls behind and to go out in search of those who are distant, those essentially on the outskirts of life,� he said. “Total openness to serving others is our hallmark; it alone is our title of honor.�

The Feb. 15 Mass capped a four-day gathering of the cardinals, who met with the pope to review ideas for the reform of the Roman Curia and Vatican finances as well as the progress made in the work of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Pope: Pray for beheaded Egyptians VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called for prayers for the Egyptian Christians beheaded

by Islamic State militants in Libya and asked that God recognize these men killed for their faith. He offered Mass Feb. 17 in the chapel of his residence for the slain Christians he termed “our 21 brother Copts� whose throats had been slit “for the sole reason of being Christians,� and he requested people pray for the victims so “that the Lord welcome them as martyrs.� He called on people to pray as well for the victims’ families and for Egypt’s Orthodox leader, Pope Tawadros II, “who is suffering so much.�

Pope tells Ukraine’s bishops to unite against unfolding tragedies VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged Ukraine’s Catholic bishops Feb. 20 to focus on the social and human tragedies unfolding in their country and avoid politicizing their role as Church leaders. He asked bishops from the nation’s Eastern- and Latin-rite traditions to work together and be a clear moral voice calling for peace and harmony as well as strong defenders of families, the poor and weak.

Pope: Liturgies need to help people experience mystery of God VATICAN CITY — The liturgy should help the faithful enter into God’s mystery and to experience the wonder of encountering Christ, Pope Francis told priests of the Diocese of Rome. People should feel the wonder and allure “that the apostles felt when they were called, invited. It attracts – wonder attracts – and it lets you reflect,� he said Feb. 19 during an annual Lenten meeting with Rome pastors about the homily and “ars celebrandi,� the art of celebrating the liturgy well. — Catholic News Service

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Matthew Hoefling

The Poor Clares

Religious liberty under assault in our nation’s capital

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on’t blink or you will miss yet another assault on religious liberty in America, this time in the name of “sexual health,” “reproductive rights” and “gender identity” – all according to two innocuously-titled proposed pieces of legislation from the District of Columbia: the Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Amendment Act of 2014 and the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014.

Who could ever be against “human rights” or be in favor of “discrimination,” right? In this instance, we all should. And we all should ask whose rights are being promoted and just who is being protected from discrimination, because it sure is not Catholics. What is most concerning with legislation such as this is its transparency in trying to silence those who might disagree with or conscientiously object to abortion, homosexual “marriage,” or other issues that don’t comport with Catholic teaching.

For example, the proposed Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 prohibits discrimination against an employee or prospective employee for reasons that include the employee’s use or intended use of contraception or the planned or prior termination of a pregnancy. Such language effectively turns those who have had abortions or outwardly support pro-abortion causes into a “suspect” class deserving of the highest of legal protections much like race, sex or religion.

In practice, should this law pass, an owner of a Catholic book store in our nation’s capital would be forced to hire an employee who outwardly promotes contraception or abortion rights. Similarly, an area Catholic school would be prevented from terminating a teacher who openly discusses her decision to abort her unborn child while at school, on social media, or through some other public means.

Similarly, the proposed Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 requires religiously-

affiliated institutions to endorse, sponsor and provide school resources to persons or groups which support “sexual rights” and “gender identity.” While it is lost on me exactly what those terms mean, it is not a stretch to assume that they would require a Catholic high school or college to recognize a group whose practices undermine Catholic teaching, and to financially support that group and its anti-Catholic mission.

So you do not think I am overreacting here or somehow misreading the proposed language in these proposed laws, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agrees with me and has recently described the statutes as “unprecedented assaults” upon Catholic organizations that would “violate freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association protected by the First Amendment and other federal laws.” The bishops’ letter also was signed by the Archbishop of Washington, the Archdiocese of Military Services, the Catholic University of America, the Family Research Council and many others.

While these laws may not impact you directly and while they may never actually pass, they are concerning because they are symbolic of a greater movement away from religious liberty and, ironically, from genuine tolerance. It always has been a hallmark of this country to afford its citizens the right to disagree, the right to conscientiously object, and the right to practice one’s religion freely. As James Madison once remarked, “The religion of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man, and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate.” Clearly, Mr. Madison never met the legislature for the District of Columbia.

Matthew Hoefling is an attorney in Charlotte and a member of the St. Thomas More Society. He is a former federal prosecutor and graduate of the University of Notre Dame and University of Notre Dame Law School. He is married to an attorney, Jennifer Hoefling, and they have five children.

The St. Thomas More Society The St. Thomas More Society Inc. is an independent charitable organization sponsored by members of the North Carolina Bar. We believe that the legal profession is a high calling in which the principal objective of every lawyer should be to promote and seek justice in society. Ultimately, we believe that the duty of a Christian lawyer is to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church at all times regardless of the personal consequences. Through fellowship with like-minded lawyers, we strive to support and to assist individual members of the St. Thomas More Society in their own efforts toward incorporating spiritual growth, Christian principles and the pursuit of truth in their spiritual and professional lives. We look to the example and ideals of St. Thomas More in our pursuit of the highest ethical principles in the legal profession generally and, in particular, in the community of Catholic lawyers. In addition, we encourage interfaith understanding and community, in part through sponsorship of an annual Red Mass to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit for the judiciary, lawyers, law enforcement, and other members of the legal community.

‘Chastity is the external sign of an interior love affair with Christ.’

Reflections on the Year for Consecrated Life:

Self-giving love: The gift of chastity

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eligious men and women, in their radical following of Christ, embrace the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. All the faithful are called to imitate the Lord Jesus by living out these virtues in their daily lives, but those in the consecrated life take this a step further. They vow to conform themselves to the pattern laid out by Christ lived while He lived on earth.

Church documents often treat these three counsels in very specific order, moving from poverty and the renunciation of material goods, to the deeper level of a person’s self-gift: living consecrated chastity for the sake of the Kingdom. While much is given up and the world is “left behind” when one answers the call to a religious vocation, what God desires most is the gift of one’s self.

Chastity is not a by-product of a religious vocation or merely a necessary element in a life of self-renunciation. The vow of chastity is the external sign of an interior love affair with Christ. It is the passionate response of a soul to the discovery of the depths of love found in the Heart of the Divine Bridegroom.

Chastity is a jealous guarding of the precious treasure of purity against the temptations of a world saturated with lust. It is a discipline of the heart to seek one’s satisfaction and fulfillment not in earthly attachments but in God, who fashioned our hearts that He might complete them. It is a renunciation of the incredible beauties of natural love and family life found in the sacrament of matrimony. Chastity is all this, but at its core it is a joy-filled “yes!” to a spousal relationship with Christ.

The religious becomes, in the truest sense, the spouse of God by virtue of their consecration. The consecrated soul is invited to the intimacy of a spousal relationship of total union, love and fidelity with God Himself, rather than with another human being. This covenantal relationship supersedes the natural in every way. Here, God receives the fullness of all that they are as persons.

The religious lives on earth what we are all called to live in eternity. He or she stands as a reminder of God’s immense, burning desire for our souls, and a witness to the depths of pure love found within the embrace of the Holy Trinity.

When such passionate mercy is encountered, the spouse’s response must be to pour out all his or her love for Him who has poured Himself out to the end for them.

They are called to have a heart undivided, a love without limits, to be consumed by Love.

In the words of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “Should not a bride love, and above all, Love’s bride? To love so ardently then is to share the marriage bond ... It is in the perfect union of two hearts that complete and perfected marriage exists.”

St. Clare of Assisi counseled her sisters to “never let the thought of Him leave your minds.” Jesus, whose love has captured the heart of His Bride, is the Heart and center of a religious vocation. The most vital aspect of consecrated life is union with Christ, contemplating Him in a life of prayer, seeking His face at every moment.

It is for Him that a religious sacrifices, suffers and lives a life of selfless service for His Body, the Church. It is He whom they love in the members of their religious communities, in the people encountered in their apostolates, in the souls for whom they offer their hidden intercessions.

The consummation of love leads to the fruitfulness of the spouses, and this is no less true in the union of God and the consecrated soul. He or she bears, by His grace, new life in the hearts of His children.

In the book “Christian Totality.” Father Basil Cole and Father Paul Connor speak of this spiritual parenthood: “(Religious) become fathers and mothers to those who have none, and the new lives begotten of the consecrated person and Christ belong to both of them, not to one alone. Neither can think of them as ‘mine’ or ‘yours,’ but as with natural parents, each must consider their children as ‘ours.’” What an unfathomable grace!

Becoming one with God through a life of consecrated chastity brings with it overflowing joy and new reservoirs of love for others. The religious gives his or her heart completely to Christ that through it, His own Love may draw others to the delights of His Kingdom, where He will be All in all.

Sister Marie Thérèse of the Divine Child Jesus is professed with the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration St. Joseph Monastery in Charlotte. This is the second of her commentaries on the Year for Consecrated Life, which is being celebrated by the universal Church until Feb. 2, 2016. Learn more about the Poor Clares at www.stjosephmonastery.com.

February 27, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Parish spotlight New St. Thérèse Church rises in Mooresville

Deacon James H. Toner

What we know that ain’t so:

Holy war

What we think is the right road

I

f ever there were an oxymoron – a contradiction in terms – it surely is “holy war.” War is always horrible, always a great evil, always morally unjustifiable. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes the point plainly: we are all called “to prayer and to action” so that we may be freed “from the ancient bondage of war” (2307). Our Lord called us to be peacemakers, not warriors (Mt 5:9).

The only true Catholic position today is the pacifist approach.

But it’s the wrong road Not every war is defensible, but the mainstream of Catholic thinking has been that war can be just.

Quoting a well-known document of Vatican II, the Catechism asserts that “as long as the danger of war persists ..., governments cannot be denied the right of lawful selfdefense, once all peace efforts have failed” (2308).

The Pope St. John Paul II Catechism goes on to charge political leaders with the moral responsibility of exercising prudential judgment for evaluating such “Just War Against circumstances.

Terror,” by Jean (That is a key Bethke Elshtain. New reason we must York: Basic Books, 2003. choose men and women of sound character for our political and military leadership.)

Note that the default position in just war theory is not peace; it is justice. There can be such a thing as a remorseless, pitiless peace. Sometimes the only ethical avenue to take in the face of aggression is to stop it – and by military means if necessary.

Some years ago, I spoke on this subject at a meeting of the Vermont Council of the Humanities. I fully recognized that few, if any, would share my religious and political views, and I was correct. In defending the possible justice of war, I was alone that day.

Then an older man stood up in the back of the hall and announced that he was a musician, that he agreed with me, and that he wanted to mention what his favorite music was.

‘We are not pacifists.

We do not want peace at any price.’

Suggested reading

“Terrific,” I thought. “There is only one person in this entire conference who publicly agrees with me, and he’s probably a nut.”

But the gentleman went on: “I was a Jewish boy in a concentration camp in Germany in 1945. My family had been killed in that camp, and I thought I was sure to die there soon. One day in April 1945, we heard the rumblings of what proved to be U.S. Army tanks. That sound meant that I would be freed and would grow to be a man. Of all the music I have ever heard or played, those tanks made the sweetest sound.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

The killing of the innocent is always and everywhere wrong (see Romans 3:8).

However, there are times when we are morally justified – and, I would contend, morally obligated – to prevent or stop evil.

The Church explains this by what is called in medicine and in military affairs the “Doctrine of Double Effect” (CCC 1737, 2263). In fact, legitimate defense “can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others” (2265). And soldiers, if they act honorably, are to be commended (2310).

It is the words of a Roman centurion – a soldier – which we recall at every Mass.

When Our Lord is asked by the soldier to heal that soldier’s servant, Jesus does not admonish him for being a soldier but praises his faith when the soldier says, “I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof” (Mt 8:8).

St. John the Baptist, similarly, told soldiers not to use their powers to extort money and to be content with their pay (Luke 3:14). Nothing there was said about how they were sinning simply by being soldiers. As there are good and bad doctors, plumbers or mechanics, so there are good and bad soldiers. The profession of arms, though, is honorable. And my musical friend in Vermont – and many thousands of others – lived because of U.S. Army tanks.

As civil laws or commands should customarily be obeyed (Rom 13:1, CCC 2239), we also have the superior duty to disobey unjust laws and commands (Acts 5:29, CCC 2242). Merely because the leader, or the boss, or the commander gives an order does not mean it is morally sound.

When rulers “enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience” (CCC 1903). Even in just war, we know that certain technologies, tactics or targets may be morally condemned.

What matters for all of us – soldiers and civilians alike – is education in virtue, which means the ability to choose the right course of action even in moments of great difficulty.

Deacon James H. Toner serves at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. He is a former U.S. Army officer and military ethicist.

Only a couple of weeks remain before the new 1,100-seat church for St. Thérèse Parish in Mooresville is completed.

The brick-faced church is capped by this eyecatching 7,000-pound steel cross crafted by Panther Ironworks. The dedication of the new church will be held soon.

— Source: James Boggs, superintendent, with Shiel Sexton Construction

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‘They are united: love toward God and love to your neighbor are one, and if you want to practice real, not formal, penance, you have to do it before God and also with your brother and sister, your neighbor.’

Pope Francis

From the online story “Pope: Don’t let meatless Fridays be selfish, soulless, seafood splurge” Through press time on Feb. 25, 9,668 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 12,603 pages. The top 10 headlines in February were: n Father Joe Waters, pioneer of Hispanic Ministry in the Charlotte diocese, dies................... 602 n Monsignor Kovacic, historic Catholic leader in N.C., dies at age 95......................................... 486 n Charlotte Carmelites celebrate emotional milestone....................................................................379 n Pope Francis and Bishop Jugis want your input about the state of the family today......... 268 n Four Charlotte seminarians admitted to candidacy for holy orders...........................................261 n Mural in St. Matthew Church nursery a gift of love.........................................................................255 n Ashes outward sign of interior conversion, Bishop Jugis notes..................................................149 n Bishop Jugis encourages children: Grow closer to Jesus.............................................................255 n Queen of the Apostles Parish celebrates 50 years.........................................................................168 n Student athletes at Charlotte Catholic sign college letters of intent.........................................124

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catholicnewsherald.com | February 27, 2015 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE

Bishop’s Youth Abbey Pilgrimage Saturday, April 11, 2015

9 am to 3 pm Belmont Abbey College, Belmont NC

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I F E – Jo h n1 EL 4

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