July 3, 2020

July 3, 2020

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COVID-19 Latinos caen en la brecha de un sistema de salud imperfecto

The heart of a parish Parishioners renovate St. Paul the Apostle Church, pastor dedicates new altar

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10 INDEX

Contact us.....................................4 Español.......................................10-13 Online Masses...............................4 Our Faith........................................2 Our Parishes............................ 3-8 Scripture readings.......................2 TV & Movies...................................9 U.S. news.................................14-15 Viewpoints..............................18-19 World news............................. 16-17

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‘Taking it a day at a time’ Airport Chaplaincy slowly emerges from holding pattern

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in a quarantined summer

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Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope Francis

God listens to everybody – sinner, saint, victim, killer

A statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha stands amid trees on the grounds of the shrine dedicated to her in Fonda, N.Y., July 14, her U.S. feast day. The 17th-century MohawkAlgonquin woman became the first member of a North American tribe to be declared a saint when she was canonized in 2012.

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veryone lives a life that is often inconsistent or a “contradiction” because people can be both a sinner and a saint, a victim and a tormentor, Pope Francis said.

No matter what one’s situation is, people can put themselves back in God’s hands through prayer, he said June 24 during his weekly general audience.

“Prayer gives us nobility; it is able to protect one’s relationship with God, who is the true companion along humanity’s journey, amidst thousands of hardships in life, good or bad, but always with prayer,” he said.

The audience, livestreamed from the library of the Apostolic Palace, was the pope’s last general audience talk until Aug. 5, according to Vatican News. His Sunday Angelus address will continue throughout July, however. With the start of summer vacation for many, the pope said he hoped people could have a peaceful moment of rest despite the ongoing restrictions “connected to the threat of infection from the coronavirus.”

May it be a time of “enjoyment of the beauty of creation and a strengthening of ties with mankind and with God,” he said in greetings to Polish-speaking viewers and listeners.

In his main talk, the pope continued his series on prayer and reflected on the role prayer played in the life of David – a young shepherd whom God called to become king of Israel. David learned early in life that a shepherd takes care of his flock, protects them from danger and provides for them, the pope said.

Jesus, too, is called “the good shepherd” because He offers His life for his flock, guiding them, knowing each one by name, he said.

When David was later confronted for his terrible sins, he realized he had become a “bad shepherd,” someone who was “sick with power, a poacher who kills and loots,” the pope said.

He no longer acted like a humble servant but had robbed another man of the only thing he loved when he took the man’s wife as his own.

David wanted to be a good shepherd, but sometimes he failed and sometimes he succeeded, the pope said.

“Saint and sinner, persecuted and persecutor, victim and even executioner,” David was full of contradictions – being all of these things in his life, he said.

But the one thing that stayed constant was his prayerful dialogue with God. “David the saint, prays, David the sinner, prays,” always lifting his voice to God either in joy or deep despair, the pope said. This is what David can teach the faithful today, he said: to always speak with God, no matter the circumstances or one’s state of being, because everyone’s life is often marked by contradiction and inconsistencies.

CNS | NANCY PHELAN WIECHEC

St. Kateri Tekakwitha, ‘Lily of the Mohawks’ Feast day: Monday, July 14 On July 14, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized. Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” Kateri lived a life of holiness and virtue, despite obstacles and opposition within her tribe.

Kateri was born in Auriesville, N.Y., in 1656 to a Christian Algonquin woman and a pagan Mohawk chief. When she was a child, a smallpox epidemic attacked her tribe and both her parents died. She was left with permanent scars on her face and impaired eyesight. Her uncle, who had now become chief of the tribe, adopted her and her aunts began planning her marriage while she was still very young.

When three Jesuit fathers were visiting the tribe in 1667 and staying in the tent of her uncle, they spoke to her of Christ, and though she did not ask to be baptized, she believed in Jesus with an incredible intensity. She also realized that she was called into an intimate union with God as a consecrated virgin.

Kateri had to struggle to maintain her faith amid the opposition of her tribe who ridiculed her for it and ostracized her for refusing the marriage that had been planned for her. When Kateri was 18, Father Jacques de Lamberville returned to the Mohawk village, and she asked to be baptized.

The life of the Mohawk village had become violent and debauchery was commonplace. Realizing that this was proving

too dangerous to her life and her call to perpetual virginity, Kateri escaped to the town of Caughnawaga in Quebec, near Montreal, where she grew in holiness and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

Kateri lived out the last years of her short life there, practicing austere penance and constant prayer. She was said to have reached the highest levels of mystical union with God, and many miracles were attributed to her while she was still alive.

She died on April 17, 1680, at the age of 24. Witnesses reported that within minutes of her death, the scars from smallpox completely vanished and her face shone with radiant beauty.

Devotion to Kateri began immediately after her death and her body, enshrined in Caughnawaga, is visited by many pilgrims each year. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and she was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

— Catholic News Agency

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: In the “Our Faith” section, read the stories of other saints whose feast days are in July, including: St. Augustine Zhao Rong and companions, July 9; St. Henry II, a German king, July 13; St. Lawrence of Brindisi, diplomat and missionary, July 21; St. Bridget of Sweden, co-patroness of Europe, July 23; and Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary, July 26.

Daily Scripture readings JULY 5-11

Sunday: Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9, 11-13, Matthew 11:25-30; Monday (St. Maria Goretti): Hosea 2:16-18, 21-22, Matthew 9:18-26; Tuesday: Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13, Matthew 9:32-38; Wednesday: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12, Matthew 10:1-7; Thursday (St. Augustine Zhao Ron and Companions): Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9, Matthew 10:7-15; Friday: Hosea 14:2-10, Matthew 10:16-23; Saturday (St. Benedict): Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 10:24-33

JULY 12-18

Sunday: Isaiah 55:10-11, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-23; Monday (St. Henry): Isaiah 1:10-17, Matthew 10:34-11:1; Tuesday (St. Kateri Tekakwitha): Isaiah 7:1-9, Matthew 11:20-24; Wednesday (St. Bonaventure): Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16, Matthew 11:25-27; Thursday (Our Lady of Mount Carmel): Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19, Matthew 11:28-30; Friday: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8, Isaiah 38:10-12, 16, Matthew 12:1-8; Saturday (St. Camillus de Lellis): Micah 2:1-5, Matthew 12:14-21

JULY 19-25

Sunday: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Romans 8:26-27, Matthew 13:24-43; Monday (St. Apollinaris): Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, Matthew 12:3842; Tuesday (St. Lawrence of Brindisi): Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Matthew 12:46-50; Wednesday (St. Mary Magdalene): Song of Songs 3:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, John 20:1-2, 11-18; Thursday (St. Bridget): Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13, Matthew 13:10-17; Friday (St. Sharbel Makhluf): Jeremiah 3:14-17, Jeremiah 31:10-13, Matthew 13:18-23; Saturday (St. James): 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, Matthew 20:20-28

Our parishes

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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The heart of a parish

Parishioners renovate St. Paul the Apostle Church, pastor dedicates new altar up to the plate. The Knights are here to support the church, and they came out in full force.”

Jeffries agreed. “There were people here who struggle to walk, and they were helping,” he said. “We just kind of sit in awe that it all took place as well as it did.”

Peggy MacDowall and Pam Johnson helped with the color scheme, making sure the carpet, stain for the pews, and existing woodwork complemented one another.

A porcelain dove, representing the Holy Spirit, graces the new ambo. The porcelain figure was discovered in the basement of the old parish rectory, and parishioner Erik Saalmuller applied white and gold leaf to refurbish it. Saalmuller also painted the existing “Conversion of St. Paul” image that hangs near the baptismal font.

ANNIE FERGUSON CORRESPONDENT

GREENSBORO — On a most fitting feast day, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Father Joseph Mack dedicated the new altar of St. Paul the Apostle Church. The June 19 celebration was the culmination of hard work and generosity from the parish family who, in imitation of the ineffable love of Jesus, poured their hearts and souls – and sweat – into the church’s recent renovations, only to give still more of themselves through patience as they waited out the pandemic restrictions to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

“What is an altar?” Father Mack asked the congregation during his homily. “On it is where we as God’s faithful people come together to participate in the one everlasting perpetual self-sacrifice of Christ on the altar of the cross for our redemption. On it comes down the power of the Holy Spirit upon ordinary bread and wine which is transubstantiated to become truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. Literally you can make the statement: An altar is at the very heart of the church, and I mean every parish church; it is His Heart.”

Indelibly adorned with a carving of Jesus and His Sacred Heart chosen long before the scheduling of the dedication, the altar underwent the rites of sprinkling, anointing, incensing, covering and lighting. According to the “Rite of the Dedication of an Altar,” these are visible signs of the invisible work the Lord accomplishes through the Church in the divine mysteries, especially the Eucharist.

Serving with Father Mack in the Mass and dedication rite were parish Deacons Larry Lisk and Mike Martini as well as members of the Ashby and Disney families, who placed the altar cloth and presented the cross and candles.

An altar dedication is relatively rare, usually happening just once in the life of a parish. Typically, a bishop celebrates this rite, but on this extraordinary occasion Father Mack was delegated to dedicate the altar.

In his homily, Father Mack explained that every church should have an altar that is permanent, immovable and substantial – the new one at the Greensboro church is more than 1,000 pounds and replaces one that was movable. The older altar will now be used when parish groups gather for Mass in other locations on campus.

PARISHIONERS PITCH IN

Through their many works of charity and lives centered around the Eucharist, the parishioners intuitively know that when they give their whole heart to Jesus, they receive far more in return. Francis and Patti Disney, who donated the altar and ambo in memory of deceased loved ones, are examples of this.

“There’s no greater gift than what happens on the altar. For us personally as family, our parish family, and then as a family of God as the universal Church, it’s

WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART

St. Paul the Apostle Church recently completed a renovation, capped off with a new altar featuring a carved image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pictured are Father Joseph Mack, pastor, and parishioners Dee Ashby and Patti Disney placing the altar cloth during the rite of dedication June 19.

PHOTOS BY ANNIE FERGUSON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

not just a piece of furniture. It is something that every day will be a place where graces just flow to those who receive,” Patti Disney said. She also noted the poignancy of knowing that their late daughter, Amy Elizabeth Disney, was at the dedication in spirit as part of the Communion of Saints.

“It’s not us,” Disney explained. “God is the one who provides; we just said yes. It’s the glory of God. It’s not Patti and Francis Disney. There’s no greater gift than the Eucharist and to know, in some small way, we are united to this is just so beautiful.”

Father Mack and Francis Disney, who owns Disney Custom Homes, hired Cardinal Millwork to bring the altar and ambo design to life. “The carved Sacred Heart image is something Father chose a year ago and the altar was designed around that and fastened to the floor,” Disney explained.

Because of the weight of the altar, Disney and other Knights of Columbus braced the floor so it wouldn’t creak or move.

They also did electrical work at that time.

Disney chose Amanzi Marble, Granite & Tile in Kernersville for the templating of the granite altar top that was selected to complement the existing credence tables.

Upon completion, first-class relics of St. John Neumann, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton were placed in the altar just prior to the placing of the

granite slab, sealing them inside.

Planning for the renovations began three years ago, and the parish set up a dedicated account for donations. After receiving a quote for updating the pews and adding kneelers, they were only $25,000 away from the goal. The parish’s Knights of Columbus Council 13236 donated $5,000 and organized a parish fundraiser, and soon the financial need was met.

The updates include the new altar and ambo as well as new carpet, pews, lighting and, for the first time, kneelers. Susan Rabold, the parish’s youth minister and a parishioner since 1993, reflected on the addition: “It’s so fantastic to have the kneelers in place now. During Mass, part of the congregation kneels and part stands, and I think that kneelers are going to bring unity because everyone can feel like they can kneel, get back up and not be hurting their knees on the floor.”

Getting the pews removed and replaced with kneelers was a team effort that involved much forethought and practice disassembling and reassembling pews.

“Arnold Jeffries and I spent weeks, if not months, pre-planning for any possible gotchas that might happen,” said parishioner and Knight of Columbus Peter Ashby, who helped lead the removal and installation of the pews. “Everything, including demolition, went smoothly. We planned three days, and we were done in six hours. By the time the flooring people came in, they were amazed. We put out a call for volunteers, and the parish stepped

Anticipation was palpable as the June 19 celebration approached. Parishioners hadn’t attended Mass inside their church since Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, when the renovations began. They planned to complete them in four weeks – in time for the Easter Triduum. In fact, they were two weeks ahead of schedule throughout the entire process.

However, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that began mid-March forbade large gatherings indoors through Easter and beyond. Until June 19, Mass was celebrated in the parish hall and attendance strictly limited. By mid-May, a larger congregation gathered outdoors for Mass on Sundays. Father Mack chose to wait until the state’s Phase II reopening was well underway to have more of a parish celebration.

“We’ve been waiting on pins and needles,” Ashby said prior to the dedication. “Because, you know, we did all this work, and now we’re in a holding pattern.”

MILESTONES AT ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE

Known for its community outreach coupled with emphasis on the Eucharist, St. Paul the Apostle Parish was founded in July 1974 when Bishop Michael J. Begley of Charlotte invited the Paulist Fathers to staff what would be the fifth Catholic parish in Greensboro.

The first Mass was celebrated in Cross of Christ Lutheran Church. During the three-phase building plan, the parish congregated in various Protestant churches and a funeral home. The Paulist Fathers ministered at the parish until 1991, when the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales assumed leadership. The parish is now led by diocesan clergy. Bishop John F. Donoghue dedicated the present church in 1993.

“I remember when we built this facility and how excited we were when we did the dedication,” Rabold recalled. “We were just thrilled to have the new sanctuary, and this is just as exciting as the day we opened and dedicated it. We’re excited about the new altar, the relics in the altar and bringing a HEART, SEE PAGE 20

Online Masses 4

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

July 3, 2020 Volume 29 • NUMBER 20

1123 S. CHURCH ST. CHARLOTTE, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

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

STAFF EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org SENIOR REPORTER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org ONLINE REPORTER: Kimberly Bender 704-808-7341, kdbender@charlottediocese.org HISPANIC COMMUNICATIONS REPORTER: Cesar Hurtado, 704-370-3375, rchurtado@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson, 704-370-3333, catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org

The following parishes are providing live or recorded Masses each week. An updated schedule is online at www.catholicnewsherald.com, or contact your parish for details.

LIVESTREAMED MASSES The following parishes offer Masses live at the following times on their Facebook page or YouTube or Vimeo channel. If no time is listed here, check their parish website for more information: DIVINE REDEEMER CHURCH, BOONVILLE: 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH, FOREST CITY

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH, KING: 11 a.m. English; 1:30 p.m.

Spanish Sunday

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, HIGH POINT OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION, CHARLOTTE

HOLY INFANT CHURCH, REIDSVILLE: 9 a.m. Sunday

(ST. HELEN MISSION, SPENCER MOUNTAIN)

OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION CHURCH, CHARLOTTE

OUR LADY OF GRACE CHURCH, GREENSBORO

OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH, MONROE: 9 a.m. daily QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES CHURCH, BELMONT: 9:15 and 11 a.m.

Sunday SACRED HEART CHURCH, BREVARD: 12 p.m. daily Mass, 10 a.m.

Sunday

OUR LADY OF MERCY CHURCH, WINSTON-SALEM SACRED HEART CHURCH, SALISBURY ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH, LENOIR ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, CHARLOTTE ST. JOAN OF ARC CHURCH, CANDLER

SACRED HEART CHURCH, SALISBURY: 9 a.m. daily (except Tuesday), Tuesday Mass, 6 p.m.

ST. JOSEPH CHURCH, ASHEBORO

ST. ALOYSIUS CHURCH, HICKORY: 9 a.m. daily; 11 a.m. Sunday English; 1 p.m. Sunday Spanish

ST. LEO THE GREAT CHURCH, WINSTON-SALEM

ST. ANN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Latin Mass) Sunday

ST. MARK CHURCH, HUNTERSVILLE

ST. BARNABAS CHURCH, ARDEN: 10 a.m. Sunday

ST. MICHAEL CHURCH, GASTONIA

ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CHURCH, WINSTON-SALEM: 9 a.m.

English; 2 p.m. Spanish

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.

ST. EUGENE CHURCH, ASHEVILLE: 5:30 p.m. Saturday Vigil; 5:30 p.m. Sunday Mass

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

HOLY CROSS CHURCH, KERNERSVILLE HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH, DENVER

THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

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

GOOD SHEPHERD MISSION, KING

BELMONT ABBEY MONASTERY: 11 a.m. daily

ST. BASIL THE GREAT EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 11 a.m. Sunday

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.

those platforms for the parish’s name to find the latest Mass information:

ST. JAMES CHURCH, CONCORD: English and Spanish ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 9 a.m. Sunday in English and 10 a.m. Sunday in Spanish ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CHURCH, WAYNESVILLE, AND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION MISSION, CANTON ST. LUKE CHURCH, MINT HILL: 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday in English; 1 p.m. Sunday bilingual; 4:30 p.m. Sunday ST. MARK CHURCH, HUNTERSVILLE: 7 and 9 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 7 a.m. Wednesday; 9 a.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday in English, and 1 p.m. in Spanish ST. MARY’S CHURCH, GREENSBORO: 8 a.m. Sunday ST. MARY, MOTHER OF GOD CHURCH, SYLVA: Noon Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; 9 a.m. Saturday; 11:30 a.m. Sunday in English and 7 p.m. Saturday in Spanish

ST. LAWRENCE BASILICA, ASHEVILLE ST. MARGARET MARY CHURCH, SWANNANOA ST. MARY MOTHER OF GOD CHURCH, SYLVA ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, CHARLOTTE ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, GREENSBORO ST. STEPHEN MISSION, ELKIN ST. THERESE CHURCH, MOORESVILLE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHURCH, CHARLOTTE EN ESPAÑOL Las siguientes parroquias ofrecen misas en vivo o grabadas cada semana. Un horario actualizado está en línea en www. catholicnewsherald.com, o comuníquese con su parroquia para más detalles: OUR LADY OF GRACE CHURCH, GREENSBORO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 8 a.m.

Domingo OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH, MONROE SACRED HEART CHURCH, SALISBURY: 11 a.m. Domingo ST. ALOYSIUS CHURCH, HICKORY: 1 p.m. Domingo ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CHURCH, WINSTON-SALEM: 1:30 p.m.

Domingo ST. EUGENE CHURCH, ASHEVILLE: 7:30 a.m. Sabado

ST. MICHAEL CHURCH, GASTONIA: 10:30 a.m. Sunday

ST. JOSEPH CHURCH, ASHEBORO

ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, CHARLOTTE: 12:30 p.m. Sunday

ST. LUKE CHURCH, MINT HILL: 1 p.m. Domingo

ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, GREENSBORO: 9 a.m.

Monday, Wednesday-Friday; 10:30 a.m. Sunday

ST. MARK CHURCH, HUNTERSVILLE: 1 p.m. Domingo

ST. PETER CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 11:30 a.m. Sunday

ST. MARY, MOTHER OF GOD CHURCH, SYLVA: 7 p.m. Sabado

ST. THERESE CHURCH, MOORESVILLE ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 9 a.m. daily; 9:30 a.m. Sunday ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 10 a.m. daily, 10 a.m.

Sunday in English and 2 p.m. Sunday in Spanish RECORDED MASSES The following parishes offer Masses recorded on their website, Facebook page, YouTube or Vimeo channel. Search

JULY 12 – 12:30 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation (Extraordinary Form) St. Ann Church, Charlotte JULY 17 – 10 A.M. Diaconate Ordination of Joseph Wasswa and Juan Miguel Sanchez St. Mark Church, Huntersville JULY 20 – 12:10 P.M. Rite of Candidacy St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte JULY 23 – 5 P.M. Holy Hour for Priesthood Candidates St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

ST. STEPHEN MARONITE CHURCH, CHARLOTTE

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 12 p.m. daily; 9 a.m.

Sunday

ST. STEPHEN MISSION, ELKIN: 9 a.m. Sunday

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following upcoming events:

ST. JAMES THE GREATER CHURCH, CONCORD

ST. MARY’S CHURCH, GREENSBORO: 11 a.m. Domingo

VIETNAMESE ST. JOSEPH VIETNAMESE CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday ST. MARY’S CHURCH, GREENSBORO: 9:30 Sunday LATIN ST. ANN CHURCH, CHARLOTTE: 12:30 p.m. Sunday OUR LADY OF GRACE CHURCH, GREENSBORO: 1 p.m. Sunday

JULY 24 – 10 A.M. Priesthood Ordination of Deacon Jacob Mlakar and Deacon Jonathan Torres St. Mark Church, Huntersville JULY 28 – 6 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation St. Joseph Church, Asheboro JULY 30 -6 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation St. Luke Church, Mint Hill

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Meet Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Catholic Schools CHARLOTTE — Since he started in the post of superintendent June 1, Dr. Greg Monroe has been visiting the Diocese of Charlotte’s 19 schools to meet principals and staff and marshal the efforts to reopen schools for in-person instruction this fall. The Catholic News Herald recently interviewed Monroe to learn more about him and his vision for the diocese’s schools: CNH: Can you share an overview of your experience in the field of education?

Monroe: I have been very fortunate to have served in many different roles in Catholic education. When I first graduated from college, I did not have a teaching license because I thought God’s plan for me was to work in the business field in Los Angeles, but through my experience volunteering with CCD and parish youth groups, I found myself drawn to working with students and helping them discover their vocation and preparing them for the future.

So I switched to teaching, then spent my weekends towards earning a master’s degree in education and teaching licensure. I began my tenure in the education field as a K-8 computer teacher at St. Louis Elementary School in the Arlington Diocese, before moving up to teach social studies at the high school level in the diocese.

A fun fact is that when I left Los Angeles and was discerning about whether to move into Catholic education, I took a sabbatical of sorts by working as a ranch hand in Ignacio, Colo. In fact, for the interview for my first teaching position, I had to climb a tree while leaving my horse hitched to a limb in order to get a cell signal to talk to the principal.

After teaching for a number of years in the Arlington diocese and working as a youth minister at St. John the Baptist Church, I was asked to return to my alma mater to lead the Career and Leadership Development department. This administration position led me to my first principalship in Florida, which led to my position in the Catholic Schools Office in the Archdiocese of Omaha, where I worked with 71 schools and 20,000 students.

Monroe: We are currently in the midst of a strategic planning reorientation to assess what the needs and opportunities are in our Catholic schools. We will be collecting stakeholder feedback and reassessing what our primary strengths are, so we can then plan how best to serve our schools moving forward. We are a small team, so we will be working closely together to determine how to best divvy up responsibilities, strategically plan for the future and allocate resources so that we can better serve all 19 of our schools.

use, encourage and promote communication channels and initiatives that will help unify our parishes and schools.

Additionally, we have many wonderful and exciting things happening in our schools every day. However, outside of parents and perhaps some donors, that news doesn’t always reach the wider community. We must continue to share stories of greatness occurring in our classrooms with the local community, and find ways to collaborate with local businesses and colleges for service and academic opportunities.

CNH: What is the top new or ongoing initiative our schools will be focused on in the coming year?

Monroe: We are creating a new strategic plan and vision for the next three years in the Catholic Schools Office, and that will lay out our goals and objectives. Part of this plan will include launching initiatives for leadership development and process optimization and evolution, as well as refreshing our Catholic Schools Office brand and marketing.

CNH: What is a recent trend that you think will have a major influence on our diocesan schools in the years to come?

Monroe: We will continue to see immigration from other states as the area continues to grow. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to recommit to sharing the welcoming message that we are a vibrant Catholic school system with a strong Catholic identity, committed to teaching all students regardless of socio-economic status, race, ethnicity or background. Many parents will find our schools a good fit for their family, and as St. John Paul II said, we must “open wide the doors for Christ.” Because we will see this trend of growth continue and people come to the area with various expectations, we must also stand firm in who we are: strong institutions rooted in our Catholic identity and tradition, that aim to produce missionary disciples of Christ who seek excellence in all that they do. This commitment to our Catholic identity is important in today’s culture, which doesn’t always understand the value of faith and a Gospel-centered education. We educate the whole person – mind, body and soul – and this holistic approach is something that sets us apart from other educational institutions.

As our society becomes increasingly secularized, we must continue proclaiming that a Catholic education is one that prepares students for whatever their vocation is in life, and one that ultimately seeks to instill a desire for Truth, Goodness and Beauty through the pursuit of faith and excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.

CNH: What is it about the Charlotte diocese that interested you in the position of superintendent?

Monroe: Having lived and attended school CNH: How has the COVID-19 pandemic this year in Virginia, the Diocese of Charlotte was impacted our diocesan schools? familiar to me – both because I had visited Monroe: Of course, our schools the area and because I had gone to school encountered many challenges because of with and worked with friends who were the pandemic – especially how to create from here. The overarching message I heard Christian community in our schools via was that this was a strong, family-friendly remote and distance learning. However, Catholic diocese, with a great history and our amazing school leaders and faculty PHOTO PROVIDED BY TARA HACKMAN future potential for its schools and parishes. proved how dynamic, agile and committed Dr. Greg Monroe, Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Schools superintendent, visited Immaculate Heart of Mary Having worked with multiple dioceses and they are to each student. Throughout the School in High Point June 24, where he met with retiring principal Greg Roberts and incoming principal studied Catholic education historically and diocese we heard stories about teachers and Ryan Schnaith-Ivan. nationwide, I was struck by the diocese’s principals rising to the challenge, learning vibrant Catholic identity. People are flooding new technology teaching tools, and finding in to the diocese from all over the United States, and there CNH: How important is it for you to have accessible and creative ways to gather in prayer online, post pictures is the potential here to build upon the great history of accurate data when making decisions about our schools’ futures? of “learning at home” and connect regularly with our our schools to grow, impact and further influence the Monroe: It is very important. We must make datafamilies. Our teachers also collaborated with other Church nationwide by being a shining example of Catholic driven decisions and informed, intentional choices based teachers from other schools using technology, and some education. Our parishes and schools have great leaders, on historical, current and forecasting data. We work teachers connected their classrooms with other classrooms and I see this position as an opportunity to help them in in collaboration with parents, as they are the primary for grade-level sharing across schools. sharing, ultimately, the inspiring story of what’s going on educators for their children, and they deserve the highest As school leaders, we also gained a new appreciation in our schools and developing future leaders for Catholic quality product when they send their children to us and for the hard work of our wonderful parents, who showed education and our nation. invest in Catholic schools. By analyzing, assessing and tenacity, courage and patience with the unexpected sharing this data, we can ensure our Catholic schools challenges of remote learning. Indeed, it was a reminder CNH: In your opinion, what is the primary role of a continue to be of the highest caliber. that parents are our primary collaborators in their superintendent today?

We are fortunate to have technology at our disposal children’s education.

Monroe: I believe it is not one of mere administration, that enables us to solicit immediate feedback from but of leadership development. The role is one in which stakeholders, online programs to assess students’ CNH: What challenges resulting from the pandemic do you I serve as a coach, mentor and servant to ensure that our academic strengths, and mobile devices to collect and foresee our schools need to overcome? schools’ leaders focus on continuous improvement, so they catalog notes and observations almost instantly. We can Monroe: As we approach the new school year, we will can fulfill our mission of developing students spiritually, now differentiate the educational experience for individual need to overcome the fear and uncertainty brought about intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. I students using the data available to us, and this data can by the pandemic. We still do not know as much as we’d like believe it is my duty to walk with and empower our school help us further hone in on what will be the best decisions to know about COVID-19, so it is a challenge to prepare leaders to create a culture that is data-driven, faith-filled for our students and schools. for every contingency when it comes to preventing the and mission-oriented, and one that is not afraid to hold spread of the virus. However, we have a knowledgeable fast to tradition while integrating the best 21st century CNH: What will you do to foster a productive partnership team developing protocols for returning to classroom tools. The superintendent must boldly champion the fact between the diocesan schools and the community? instruction this fall, and they are working with state our primary role as a Catholic school system is to remain Monroe: We must start with the stakeholders that are and school leaders to ensure every school has a plan for strong in our Catholic identity and seek excellence in all right in our backyard – our parishes. Unfortunately, there minimizing health risks to students and teachers when that we do, for all students at all times. are places where the parish and school community are school starts. seen as separate or isolated from each other, instead of the — SueAnn Howell, senior reporter CNH: How will you and the diocese’s two assistant symbiotic and true Catholic community we share as one superintendents work together moving forward?

Church. A goal of the Catholic Schools Office will be to

6

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 OUR PARISHES

Catholic Charities’ Wee Care Ministries assists families with infants and young children JOSEPH PURELLO SPECIAL TO THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For parents of infants and young children, a major expense is the regular purchase of diapers, baby wipes and clothing. The yearly cost of diapers can range from $600 to more than $1,000 per each child using diapers. Diaper purchases alone can make up a significant percentage of a monthly budget for families struggling to make ends meet.

Why do many households struggle with the cost of diapers and other baby items? While some families living in poverty or near poverty thresholds receive varied types of “safety-net” government assistance to obtain needed food, housing and health care, the purchase of diapers, baby wipes, and baby clothing usually must be made from limited family budgets.

Second, washable cloth diapers are often not a viable option. Many licensed child care centers permit only disposable diapers (which must be provided in advance of daily care). Parents who want to use cloth diapers but who lack access to a washer and dryer or a laundromat nearby find that choice difficult to make. Transportation hurdles also often force some families to buy diapers from local convenience stores near their home that often charge significantly higher prices for baby care items.

Catholic Charities Wee Care ministries of the Lenoir and Winston-Salem service regions assist families with young children by providing many of the items families find difficult to afford when facing tight budgets. Families seeking assistance can call Catholic Charities to get help from a case management coordinator, in English or in Spanish. Catholic Charities staff can

also try to connect families living outside of Lenoir and Winston-Salem with access to diaper banks and other services, as well.

Gina Cabrera, case management coordinator in Catholic Charities’ Lenoir office, sees this work as a special ministry.

“Wee Care is about helping the smallest in our communities, by making sure parents have a place to turn when they need help,” Cabrera says. “Parents have given their children life, and they are little blessings, but sometimes due to poverty, job loss or simply because the job they have does not pay enough, all needs cannot be covered. That’s when Catholic Charities can assist.”

“In many households facing limited income, parents with babies struggle to keep their little ones clothed, and a major expense for these families is diapers. In addition, babies outgrow their clothes and regularly need larger sizes over the first months and years of life,” according to Becky Dubois, Piedmont-Triad office director for Catholic Charities. “Providing assistance with diapers and baby clothes relieves the financial burden for families who need their resources for other household expenses.”

Catholic Charities welcomes financial donations (go to www.ccdoc.org/donate) as well as donations of baby items, especially diapers. Perhaps your parish or school might consider hosting a “Diaper Drive” to help stock Wee Care storage rooms of Catholic Charities? Catholic Charities will provide “ready to go” flyers for bulletins and will arrange pick up of bulk collections of diapers and wipes. Please call either the Lenoir or Winston-Salem Wee Care contact numbers to explore offering such assistance, and if you are making an individual donation of items, please

PHOTO PROVIDED

Gina Cabrera, case management coordinator at Catholic Charities’ Lenoir office, is pictured in the storage room of the Lenoir Wee Care Ministry. She sees this work of Catholic Charities as a special ministry.

call several days in advance to schedule a donation drop-off.

JOSEPH PURELLO is director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy.

Get more info Catholic Charities’ Wee Care assistance starts with a phone call: n Lenoir Office, 328-B Woodsway Lane N.W.:

828-434-5710 n Winston-Salem Office, 1612 E. 14th St. N.E.: 336-727-0705 Appointments for item pick-up are scheduled in Lenoir and Winston-Salem. If a voicemail message is reached, please leave name, phone number and home city. Items offered are: diapers, baby wipes, infant and toddler toiletries, and new and gently used clothing and baby blankets – for infants and toddlers up to 2 years old.

‘Taking it a day at a time’ Airport Chaplaincy slowly emerges from holding pattern SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — Custom-made cloth masks and bluecolored vests emblazoned “chaplain” are now standard uniform for volunteers with the Interfaith Airport Chaplaincy at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. As the airport ramps up its operations, the airport chaplains have returned following a hiatus of nearly three months.

But their ministry has had to adapt to the “new normal” prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 33-member team, like thousands of airport and airline staff, were unable to work at the nation’s 10th busiest airport during the height of the pandemic due to business shutdowns and a statewide “stay at home” order.

“When you step down from processing 120,000 people a day (at the airport) to 11,000 people a day, there is a system shock,” explained Deacon George Szalony, the airport chaplaincy’s executive director.

The Airport Chaplaincy honored public health restrictions put in place to fight the pandemic, ceasing its three Sunday worship services and converting its inperson support efforts to electronic and phone outreach.

“We had an online 24/7 presence (on the chaplaincy website) and staffed the phone line,” Deacon Szalony said.

“People could reach out to chaplains that way.”

Their biggest concern? Those thousands of airport employees either laid off or dismissed from their jobs because of the shutdown.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Volunteer chaplains at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are clearly visible as they mingle with airport employees and the traveling public, in this photo from late 2019. For years the chaplains have provided a comforting “ministry of presence” to people in times of need or crisis, and as the airport resumes normal operations this summer they are gearing back up as well.

“Those were the shopkeepers, restaurant servers and cooks, folks who assisted with the wheelchairs and bus drivers,” said Deacon David Reiser, an airport chaplain

for the past 10 years. “The chaplaincy attempted its best to communicate to these workers that spiritual and emotional assistance was available if needed. Unfortunately, many had already left their positions prior to the word getting out to them.”

Some of the chaplains had grown to know some of the workers through their “ministry of presence,” and they were able reach out and pass the word on to those in need.

“I’ve noticed that although a phone call to check on someone was OK, it was not the same as seeing the person face-to-face at their posts,” he noted. “Much of the ‘ministry of presence’ is a smile and a nod, maybe an occasional ‘hello’ and a word on how they are doing.

That was not possible over the phone or even Zoom (video conferencing).”

As North Carolina has begun relaxing some public health restrictions, the airport is seeing more flight arrivals and departures, and the uptick in business has meant some stores and restaurants are beginning to reopen. Employees are cautious, wearing face masks and gloves and trying to maintain social distancing.

“I’ve been back to the airport for the last six weeks and have slowly seen it come back to life, albeit still very slowly,” Deacon Reiser said. “But, as I walk around or am on the bus from the parking deck, many returning employees are glad to see a chaplain around and are sometimes surprised to see that some of us are back offering our ministry.”

More travelers are passing in and through the airport, he also noted, but they’re not the usual business travelers he was used to seeing on his daily walks through the terminal. Most are people going on vacations, and most of them are wearing face coverings.

Deacon Szalony has been back at the airport now for CHAPLAINCY, SEE PAGE 20

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

7

VBS

in a quarantined summer How to DIY a home VBS experience for your children

T

MARY BETH RICHARDSON CORRESPONDENT

he opportunity for your child to experience Vacation Bible School this summer isn’t totally lost!

While most parishes will not have their typical VBS and Summer Catechesis programs, and the Diocese of Charlotte’s Totus Tuus traveling summer program is canceled, maybe you too are looking for a way to pull off VBS for your children.

The VBS programs listed here are specifically Catholic programs (not generally Christian) with content that is written for at-home use and to be purchased by individual families. According to your own comfort level, some of these programs could also be used for small groups of two or three families.

day program “is designed to do at home as a family, complete with lesson plans for each day, suggested prayers, songs, virtues to study, and a saint video each day to learn about how those who deeply love Jesus were able to live that out in their lives,” said Mary Wilson, program director for Catholic Brain. The program consists of videos and printables.

Cat Chat

Canada-based Cat Chat adapted this summer’s 5-day “Marvelous Mystery: The Mass Comes Alive” VBS specifically for at-home use. Cat Chat – known for their appearances on EWTN and FORMED – has incorporated their music into the experience: the program includes two songs per day via video plus dancing. There are also printables for crafts and coloring, discussion starters, and a daily memory verse. “Kids will receive a new appreciation for the Mass and a deeper love for Jesus present in the Eucharist,” said Gerald Montpetit, Cat Chat founder. Cat Chat invites children to submit their coloring for prizes! www.catchat.ca/at-home-vbs: $29 for family access; available through Aug. 28

Catholic Brain

“Jesus The Incredible Savior” is the theme of Catholic Brain’s at-home VBS this summer produced in conjunction with Brother Francis and Adventure Catechism Media. This five-

In addition, the Catholic Icing blog is a storehouse of Catholic craft ideas should you be interested in developing your own VBS on a different theme using the various crafts on the website or incorporating Catholic craft time outside of a home VBS program: www. catholicicing.com/catholic-vacation-bible-schoolideas/

www.vbs.catholicbrain.com: Access to the program is $49.99 per family and includes 30-day access to the entire site

Holy Heroes Catholic Icing

The theme for Catholic Icing’s VBS is “Summer with the Sacred Heart.” For over a decade, Catholic Icing creator Lacy Lynch, a mother of four, has produced Catholic craft projects that are creative, teach a holy lesson, and are not overwhelming for mom.

This three-day program includes crafts, lessons, games, songs and outdoors activities.

“Easy-button” alternatives that are especially doable, plus more advanced options for teens, are included. Printable decorations and “swag-bag items” recreate an authentic VBS experience! While the lesson and songs of the program involve video, the majority of this program’s components are not computerbased. www.catholicicing.com/vbs: Access for family use is $10

Known for engaging audio dramas of Catholic saints, Diocese of Charlotte-based Holy Heroes has relaunched its “Summer Faith Adventure: The New Kingdom of David” as a free, five-day program from July 20-24.

With several videos each day, the program also includes online quizzes, and suggestions for snacks and games. “Our Summer Faith Adventure has been unavailable for the last 4-5 years, but given the current state of the world, we thought an at-home VBS experience was an important need in summer 2020. We relaunched our original program with a few differences,” explains Clara Davison, one of the Holy Heroes Adventure Guides. www.holyheroes.com/sfa: Optional PDF prepurchase cost is $9.95; otherwise it is free.

The content doesn’t expire, so links can be used to do the program at home anytime.

If you’re not up to a whole VBS program, but still want to incorporate faith-based fun into your summer, Holy Heroes also has excellent games for a Catholic Game Night: www.holyheroes.com/Catholic-Games-s/119.htm

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 OUR PARISHES

Deacon assigned to Brevard parish

executive orders on public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BREVARD — Deacon James Frederick has received faculties from Bishop Peter Jugis and been assigned as a permanent deacon to Sacred Heart Parish in Brevard, effective May 15.

A Cincinnati native, he served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service, retiring at the rank of chief petty officer. After he retired from the military, he attended Ascension Parish in Bastrop, Texas, where he served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, taught faith formation and provided Frederick training for altar servers. In 1993, he moved to Radisson, Wis., where he attended Sacred Heart Parish in Radisson and St. Peter Parish in Winter, Wis. He was ordained a permanent deacon in 2008 for the Diocese of Superior, Wis., and served Sacred Heart and St. Peter parishes.

In 2019 Bishop James Powers appointed Deacon Frederick parish life coordinator of both parishes until a priest could be assigned.

In making the appointment, Bishop Powers noted, “Your presence in the parishes has truly been a blessing to me and to everyone you have mentored, supported and guided.

Your faithfulness to God and His Church is a tremendous blessing.”

He recently moved to Brevard, North Carolina from Radisson, Wis., to be closer to family, and is looking forward to serving Sacred Heart Parish.

Quo Vadis Days canceled CHARLOTTE — The annual Quo Vadis Days discernment camp has been canceled for 2020 due to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest

CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants available CHARLOTTE — CRS Rice Bowl MiniGrants of up to $1,000 are available to fund projects of Diocese of Charlotte entities that are addressing poverty and hunger in local communities.

Grant applications, guidelines and eligibility information are available from Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, online 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. Grant applications must be received by email by Friday, Aug. 21.

Last year, nine CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants were awarded to support local poverty and hunger relief efforts in Charlotte, Clemmons, Asheboro, Asheville, Franklin, Lenoir, Morganton and Salisbury. Recipients of 2019 CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants are not eligible to apply in the 2020 round of grants.

— Joseph Purello

St. Peter teens need your help CHARLOTTE — Youth taking part in St. Peter Parish’s annual “Teen Serve Week” this month are seeking donations to help them in their summer service projects.

St. Peter Teen Serve Week will be held July 12-16, with the youth helping Catholic Charities’ Charlotte food pantry, Baby Bundles, A Roof Above and the Charlotte Rescue Mission. From 10 a.m. to noon each day July 12 through July 16, people are invited to drop off donations curbside in front of the church, located at 507 S. Tryon St. in uptown Charlotte. Items needed are:

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n Catholic Charities Food Pantry: canned fruit, rice, spaghetti sauce, tuna, pasta, toiletries, laundry detergent, paper products, juice, coffee and tea n Baby Bundles: New or gently used 3-6 month outfits, pajamas 0-12 months, burp cloths, and bibs (no monograms) n A Roof Above: New or gently used towels and wash cloths n Charlotte Rescue Mission: hair brushes, twin blade disposable razors, shampoo and toothbrushes As part of their service efforts, the teens are also busy making face masks and donating them, with 200 masks given to the Boys and Girls Club and Freedom School so far. Their goal is to make 1,000 masks.

— Cathy Chiappetta

Two youths receive St. Timothy Award Two young men were recently awarded the St. Timothy Award for the Diocese of Charlotte in recognition of their faith-filled service and example to others: n Jacob Dembski (pictured at top right) was honored in recognition of his faith-filled service and example to others at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Morganton. The son of Drs. John and Vivian Dembski, he is a 2020 graduate of Freedom High School, where he participated in many activities including four years on the varsity swim team and three on the varsity football team, besides membership in the Key Club and the National Honor Society. He has been active in St. Charles Borromeo Parish’s youth group and participates in Catholic Heart Workcamp. He will attend North Carolina State University this fall to major in biology and then pursue a medical career. n Award recipient Kevin Joseph Santschi, the son of David and Yasmin Santschi of Harrisburg, has served for two years as a member of the Diocesan Youth Advisory Council and as a Peer Leader for the diocese’s Faithful Servant

Conference. A member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, Kevin achieved the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 232 at the parish, where he has participated in youth ministry and as an altar server. A 2020 graduate of Christ the King High School, he was active in the Fraternity of St. Joseph and the student government. He plans to attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville this fall to study computer science.

He is pictured above with Father Matthew Codd, pastor.

The St. Timothy Award is a national award given annually to outstanding high school juniors and seniors who work zealously to improve their own parish ministry programs, high school ministry teams or youth ministry in the Charlotte diocese. Nominees must be Catholic and exemplify the qualities of moral integrity, prayer, good works and Christian leadership. This award, sponsored by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, is the highest honor a diocese may bestow on a youth.

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Establish a legacy that responds to the many gifts God has given you.

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For more information on how to leave a legacy for your parish, please contact Gina Rhodes, Director of Planned Giving at 704/370-3364 or gmrhodes@charlottediocese.org.

Mix

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV

Catholic Book Pick ‘The Story of the Church: From Pentecost to Modern Times’

by Philip Campbell

In theaters

9

No nation, institution, empire or dynasty has helped shape the world more than the Catholic Church. Armies have marched upon one another.

Kings have risen and fallen. Ideological and political movements have taken hold of entire continents. Diseases and plagues have ravished millions.

And through it all, Holy Mother Church has endured, standing as the one source of light in a world so often covered by shadows.

In this thrilling narrative, Phillip Campbell,

n Friday, July 3, 5:30 p.m. EWTN “Serra: Ever Forward, Never Back: Almas del Fuego” Despite casualties and a seemingly failed expedition attempt that would send them back to Mexico, a relief ship arrives on March 19th, the feast of St. Joseph.

Serra goes on to establish nine missions in California before his death at Carmel in 1784. n Saturday, July 4, 6:30 a.m. EWTN “Jean-Jacques Rousseau Vs. Augustine of Hippo.” Dr. Wiker welcomes the 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau to discuss his book Confessions. Unlike St. Augustine’s book that bears the same name, Rousseau outlines his negative views of the Church and why society must free itself from it. n Saturday, July 4, 8 p.m. EWTN “Maria Goretti.” Saint Maria Goretti, one of the youngest saints in the history of the Church, gave up her life to protect her purity. A remarkable film, explore her life in the gritty detail of family poverty and harsh living conditions. n Saturday, July 4, 4:30 p.m. EWTN “Saint Kateri Tekakwithat: A Pilgrimage into Her Heart.” Stories of Saint Kateri, a miraculous healing and her 2012 canonization, with members of every Indian nation present, are intertwined portraying her as a model of the New Evangelization and a call for all people to treat God’s creation responsibly.

‘Irresistible’ After a video of his impassioned speech to a meeting of the town council in his small, cashstrapped Wisconsin farming community comes to the attention of a high-powered Democratic Party strategist (Steve Carell), a retired Marine colonel (Chris Cooper) agrees to run for mayor if the Washington-based pol will stay in the Badger State and personally supervise his campaign.

With the operative skillfully stirring things up, the race becomes the focus of a national media frenzy that only intensifies with the arrival of his longtime Republican adversary (Rose Byrne).

TV comedian Jon Stewart writes and directs a clever satire that lampoons both the cynicism underlying the current electoral system and the cultural divide separating the coasts from the heartland. He also works in some innocent romance as the adviser falls for his candidate’s daughter (Mackenzie Davis). A couple of profanities, about a dozen milder oaths, frequent rough and crude language, sexual references, obscene gestures.

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

‘7500’(Amazon) A hijacking thriller exclusively from the viewpoint of the captured vessel’s co-pilot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Confined within the cramped cockpit, he has only occasional glimpses of cabin violence via a small monitor and must weigh his professionalism and training against the need to preserve lives of the passengers and crew, including his flight-attendant girlfriend (Aylin Tezel), with whom he has a 2-year-old son. The drama is effective in showing how one man’s series of decisions can affect the lives of others. But Islamist terrorists are such predictable villains that the plot gets drained of suspense after a while. Some physical violence, frequent rough language.

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

author of the best-selling “Story of Civilization” series, takes children on a journey through Church history, beginning at Pentecost when Peter and the other apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and preached in the streets of Jerusalem, all the way through the pontificate of John Paul II and into modern times. Campbell’s storybook style brings the narrative to life for young readers, taking them back in time and awakening a love and appreciation for history.

At www.tanbooks.com: Order your copy of “The Story of the Church: From Pentecost to Modern Times.” Catholic News Herald readers enjoy 20 percent off their order – use the exclusive coupon code “CNH20.”

n Monday, July 6, 1:30 p.m. EWTN “Love’s Bravest Choice.” The inspirational story of St. Maria Goretti whose life was an example of purity and chastity. She died at age 11 from knife wounds inflicted by a young man who desired to rob her of her virginity. She forgave him before her death. n Wednesday, July 8, 1:30 p.m. EWTN “Catherine of Siena.” Catherine of Siena lived in 1300 and she was already a spiritual mother. Social life was not going well at the time, she was almost killed. She knew problems do not get solved by themselves. n Friday, July 10, 8 p.m. EWTN “Saint Benedict of Nursia.” An EWTN docudrama examines the spirituality of St. Benedict, founder of the monastic order the Benedictines, who left his wealth and the decadence of Rome behind to dedicate himself to a life of prayer.

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Sister Rose Marie Tresp, RSM

Reflexionando sobre la carta pastoral de los obispos de Estados Unidos sobre el racismo

L

os eventos de las últimas semanas nos llaman a leer, estudiar y reflexionar sobre la carta pastoral de 2018 de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos, “Abramos nuestros corazones: el incesante llamado al amor, carta pastoral contra el racismo”.

Este documento nos brinda orientación para una mayor reflexión, comprensión y acción, a medida que respondemos al asesinato de George Floyd, las protestas posteriores y el racismo subyacente en nuestro país.

Este documento llama al racismo “una forma de maldad particularmente destructiva y persistente”. Nuestra fe requiere que trabajemos contra el racismo porque todos somos hijos de Dios, todos hechos a imagen y semejanza de Dios. El racismo viola la dignidad humana. Los obispos “declaran inequívocamente que el racismo es un problema de vida”. El Papa Francisco recientemente agregó, al condenar la muerte de George Floyd, “mis amigos, no podemos tolerar, ni hacer de la vista gorda ante el racismo y la exclusión de ninguna forma y, sin embargo, afirmar defender lo sagrado de toda vida humana”.

En respuesta al movimiento ‘Black Lives Matter’, algunos responden “todas las vidas importan”. Pero no hemos actuado como si todas las vidas importaran. La pastoral afirma que “debemos admitir la simple verdad que para muchos de nuestros conciudadanos, que no han hecho nada malo, las interacciones con la policía a menudo están llenas de miedo e incluso de peligro”.

Los obispos reconocen la realidad que los afroamericanos, los latinos y otros grupos minoritarios enfrentan discriminación en la contratación, vivienda, oportunidades educativas y encarcelamiento. En mi propia familia y en mi comunidad religiosa, he escuchado experiencias de la aplicación de perfil racial.

Mi cuñado, que es México Americano, es detenido frecuentemente por la policía en su vecindario, pero sus hijastros blancos no lo son.

Mi comunidad religiosa, las Hermanas de la Misericordia de las Américas, nos comprometió a la conversión con esta declaración: “Profundizaremos nuestra respuesta al racismo pasado y presente no reconocido y no conciliado dentro de nuestra comunidad”. ¿Poco reconocido? En la pastoral, los obispos reconocen el racismo histórico e institucional en nuestro país, nuestras instituciones y nuestra Iglesia. San Juan Pablo II también lo reconoció cuando llamó al racismo “el mal más persistente y destructivo de la nación”.

Como católicos, especialmente como católicos blancos, ¿nos hemos tomado el tiempo para reconocer y conocer la realidad histórica del racismo que nuestros hermanos y hermanas afroamericanos, latinos, indígenas y asiáticos experimentaron al contribuir con su trabajo a construir este país en plantaciones, ferrocarriles, minas y de tantas otras maneras? ¿Nos hemos tomado el tiempo de aprender sobre la realidad actual del racismo en el sistema de justicia, en los lugares de trabajo e incluso en nuestras iglesias?

El cardenal Peter Turkson señaló recientemente que la falta de acogida de los inmigrantes católicos de África a menudo se ha sentido en las iglesias católicas de Estados Unidos, y muchos RACISMO, PASA A LA PÁGINA 20

IMAGEN REFERENCIAL DE PIXABAY

La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado de manera desproporcionada a la comunidad hispana de Carolina del Norte. Cerca del 46 por ciento del total de casos detectados corresponden a pacientes latinos, la mayoría de ellos trabajadores en industrias consideradas como esenciales.

COVID-19: Latinos caen en la brecha de un sistema de salud imperfecto KARINA NEYRA CONDENSADO DE QUÉ PASA MI GENTE

GREENSBORO — No tener estatus legal ha impedido a Carlos Díaz, un trabajador de la construcción, someterse a la prueba de COVID-19.

Gioconda Muñoz tiene una deuda médica de más de $3,400 por su primer ingreso en el hospital donde, a pesar que le diagnosticaron neumonía, no le hicieron la prueba del coronavirus. María Guevara, una trabajadora de una pollera, vio reducido su cheque semanal a solo $50 luego de faltar al trabajo por 33 días, tras haber enfermado del virus.

Todos ellos son el reflejo de una disparidad e inequidad al acceso a la salud que enfrentan los latinos en Carolina del Norte, un problema que se ha agudizado con la pandemia y que, durante las últimas semanas, han reconocido en innumerables ocasiones el gobernador Roy Cooper y la Secretaria de Salud y Recursos Humanos (NCDHHS), Mady Cohen. Una situación a la que se ha llegado tras años siendo una de la comunidades más vulnerables del estado.

“El COVID-19 ha sacado a la luz el hecho de que tenemos inequidades en nuestra sociedad y definitivamente tenemos disparidades en el acceso a la salud. Este es un problema a largo plazo que tenemos que resolver”, dijo Cohen, en una entrevista con Qué Pasa.

Al 25 de junio, Carolina del Norte ya ha superado los 57.000 casos positivos por COVID-19, de los cuales más de 17.000 corresponden a personas de origen latino. Hay más de 1.290 muertes, 116 son hispanos.

“La comunidad latina representa algo más del 9% de la población del estado, pero supone el 46% de los casos positivos de COVID-19. Esto es preocupante. Es aquí donde está la disparidad”,

cuyas razones, afirma Cohen, se remiten a “las inequidades estructurales de nuestro sistema. Sé que la comunidad latina lo sufre todos los días, ya sea porque trabaja en empleos esenciales, como en el campo, en las fábricas, en la construcción... Son trabajadores críticos”.

Lariza Garzón, directora ejecutiva del Ministerio Episcopal para los Trabajadores del Campo, también coincide en que el problema de la disparidad ya existía. “Lo que ha hecho la pandemia es magnificarlo, ponerle una lupa”.

Según Garzón, la brecha en el acceso a la salud que enfrenta la comunidad latina, “crea una angustia en las familias por no tener seguro médico, porque creen que puede afectar sus posibilidades de arreglar sus papeles debido a la carga pública.

Tienen que pagar de su bolsillo, tienen que navegar en un sistema que no provee facilidades para ellos”.

SIN PRUEBA POR INDOCUMENTADO

Si Carlos Díaz, trabajador de construcción, hubiera tenido seguro médico, posiblemente no habría necesitado recurrir a la farmacia CVS más cercana a su vivienda, donde le negaron la prueba al no poder presentar una licencia de conducir válida ni un número de seguro social.

Qué Pasa contactó por teléfono con el personal del establecimiento de CVS de W. Webb Avenue, en el poblado de Glen Raven, en el condado Alamance, quienes nos confirmaron que las personas deben presentar una licencia válida o un número de seguro social para hacerse la prueba.

Esta práctica contradice de alguna manera los lineamientos emitidos por el gobierno estatal para establecimientos como CVS, el cual forma parte COVID-19, PASA A LA PÁGINA 20

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

11

Consternación por robo sacrílego SERGIO LÓPEZ CORRESPONSAL

BOONE — Han pasado más de dos semanas después que ocurriera el robo sacrílego del tabernáculo en Iglesia de Santa Elizabeth en Boone y hasta el momento las investigaciones del hecho no han arrojado ninguna luz sobre lo sucedido.

El pasado martes 16 de junio, pasadas las 9 de la noche, desconocidos ingresaron al templo y tomaron el tabernáculo que contenía en su interior un ciborium con hostias consagradas. Al parecer, quienes perpetraron el robo, habían estado previamente en el lugar donde presumiblemente dejaron una de las ventanas sin seguro.

El tabernáculo sustraído mide aproximadamente 2 pies de alto por 1 pie de ancho y está hecho de cobre.

Personal de la parroquia se percató del robo el miércoles 17 a primera hora de la mañana y de inmediato dio aviso a las autoridades.

El Reverendo Brendan Buckler, pastor de Santa Elizabeth, pidió a los responsables que devuelvan las sagradas hostias guardadas dentro del tabernáculo, sino el tabernáculo mismo. “Oramos para que sus corazones puedan conmoverse para que nos devuelvan el tabernáculo, pero especialmente el contenido”, dijo, pidiendo a las personas que recen y pidan reparación por el robo y la profanación de la iglesia.

Durante su homilía en la Misa celebrada el pasado 22 de junio, el P. Buckler dijo que “cuando la profanación del Santísimo Sacramento ocurre, es necesario de ofrecer reparación por estas acciones”. Informó que el Obispo Jugis lo delegó para llevar a cabo las oraciones de reparación antes de celebrar la Santa Misa nuevamente, por lo que las ofreció, “así como una hora Santa para la reparación”.

“Estos tiempos son muy parecidos a lo que le pasó a los Cristeros en México, donde asesinaban a sacerdotes, destruían iglesias y robaban los Sagrarios. Así como los Cristeros, con tal confianza en Dios, nuestra respuesta es que no tengamos miedo, tengamos confianza en Dios, en su Sagradísimo Corazón. Ese es nuestro refugio en estos momentos. Por eso es importante hacer estas oraciones de desagravio al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús”, señaló.

Entre la comunidad hispana hay una gran consternación.

Familias enteras se han sumado a las oraciones de reparación así como el rezo del Santo Rosario que el párroco encarecidamente solicitó. Álvaro Gutiérrez, parroquiano y padre de familia, dijo haberse sentido “muy triste” al enterarse que el tabernáculo robado “aún contenía el cuerpo de Cristo Eucaristía”. Indicó tener conocimiento que ese fín de semana se realizó una “marcha luciferiana”, y cuando se aprecia ese tipo de evidencia, “te das cuenta que fueron tras el sagrario, por alguna razón”.

Gutiérrez sospecha que el motivo del robo fue sacrílego pues, “el que haya entrado a robar, y haya pensado que el sagrario tal vez era de oro, se hubiese llevado los candelabros también.

Pero no, fueron directamente al tabernáculo”, recalcó.

El feligrés señaló estar de acuerdo con su párroco que concluye que en estos tiempos se libran batallas espirituales, “y ahora es cuando debemos de estar más cerca de Dios”.

El Departamento de Policía de Boone continúa sus investigaciones. Cualquier persona que tenga información sobre el crimen sacrílego puede llamar a ese departamento al 828-268-6900 o a Crime Stoppers al 828-2686959 or 828-737-0125. También puede enviar una pista a través de su página web www. highcountrycrimestoppers.com o por texto al 274637 (CRIMES). Toda la información es estrictamente confidencial.

SERGIO LÓPEZ | CORRESPONSAL

Confirmaciones en Divino Redentor BOONVILLE — Más de un centenar de personas recibieron el sacramento de Confirmación en cuatro diferentes celebraciones realizadas desde las 9 de la mañana del pasado sábado 27 de junio en la parroquia Divino Redentor. Debido a las restricciones de reunión para evitar la propagación de COVID-19, el Padre Enrique González, párroco, fue delegado por el Obispo Peter J. Jugis para impartir el sacramento.

Todas las medidas de distanciamiento social y uso de protección facial fueron estrictamente acatadas. De igual manera, en obediencia a los límites de asistencia en espacios cerrados, fueron pocos los familiares que pudieron presentarse.

Padre Julio Domínguez

Vocaciones

Q

uiero dedicar estas líneas a un tema que me apasiona muchísimo y al que, por gracia de Dios, puedo estar al pendiente de lo que va pasando en mi diócesis.

Sabemos que la vocación es un llamado de Dios a cada uno de sus hijos para seguirle en una misión específica.

De hecho, la palabra vocación viene del vocablo latino “vocare” que significa llamado; de aquí vemos que muchos son llamados al matrimonio, muchos a la vida religiosa, muchos a quedarse solteros en el servicio a Dios y otros muchos a la vida clerical.

Quiero meditar en la vocación clerical porque en nuestra diócesis está sucediendo un fenómeno que nos debe de alentar muchísimo y que debemos todos de participar. En los últimos años hemos estado viendo un incremento en las vocaciones y un acompañamiento muy cercano a los seminaristas de parte de sus formadores. Gracias a Dios tenemos un obispo que se preocupa por promover vocaciones en todos lados. Siempre recuerdo como en mi parroquia no perdía la oportunidad de preguntar a los jóvenes si alguno había sentido el llamado de Dios, o personalmente les ofrecía a algunos jóvenes un rosario para que discernieran su vocación.

Sabemos que actualmente hemos abierto el Seminario San José y tan solo en este año tenemos 10 nuevos candidatos en proceso de aceptación que harán su experiencia en la vida sacerdotal. Todo gracias a los esfuerzos de nuestro obispo como promotor, algunos sacerdotes bien comprometidos en la formación y muchísimos fieles laicos que oran y aportan para esta magna obra.

Todos estamos implicados en el trabajo de las vocaciones. En primer lugar, debemos pensar que todos vamos a necesitar sacerdotes de alguna u otra manera y aquí hasta mis mismos hermanos sacerdotes quedan implicados, pues ellos también requieren de la confesión y la extremaunción. La vocación va a ser considerada cuando haya conocimiento de lo que se trata, por lo tanto, todos los padres de familia quedan implicados también. Es bueno que desde la formacion en casa todos los niños sepan los caminos por los cuales les podría llamar el Señor.

Cada sacerdote de nuestra diócesis tiene el deber de estar atento a aquellos jovencitos que por tendencia natural y por unción del Espíritu Santo buscan las cosas de Dios y el servicio. A estos jóvenes hay que presentarles el ideal, el ideal de servir a Cristo y a las almas de una manera heroica. La presentación del ideal ayudará a nuestros jóvenes a discernir el llamado de Dios.

Tenemos promotores vocacionales y un consejo de vocaciones que estamos para ayudar en el discernimiento de la vocación. Es necesario que los promotores tengan conocimiento de

estos jóvenes para que puedan realizar su trabajo.

En los grupos juveniles se tiene que hablar del tema de las vocaciones, pues es en estas edades juveniles donde Dios llama fuertemente a muchos jóvenes.

Los encuentros con seminaristas, el curso Quo Vadis (¿a dónde vas? O ¿hacia dónde te diriges?) y encuentros vocacionales deben ser promovidos ampliamente en nuestras parroquias para que los jóvenes puedan recibir información de lo que es ser sacerdote.

La experiencia de visitar el seminario es de gran ayuda para los jóvenes, allí ellos se dan cuenta que la formación de un seminarista no está basada solamente en la oración, o solamente en los estudios, sino que es todo un programa integral de formación que abarca la vida de oración, la formación intelectual, la llamada constante a la misión o vida pastoral, la perfección de las virtudes humanas y cristianas, el deporte que es parte de la formación humana y una de las cosas que más me gustan a mí, la capacidad de encontrarse con un grupo de jóvenes como ellos que han decidido entrar en el gran ejército del Señor para luchar mano a mano con Él en la salvación de las almas.

No quiero dejar de mencionar la necesidad de que familias pongan en consideración delante de Dios el adoptar a un seminarista y ayudarle con sus oraciones constantes pidiendo sobre todo por su perseverancia y discernimiento, pues aún en el seminario ellos deberán estar discerniendo si es la voluntad de Dios que ellos lleguen a ser sacerdotes.

Estas familias pueden ayudar también con los gastos de formación, pues muchos de los que son llamados en ocasiones no tienen los medios para poder pagar toda la formación que se requiere. En realidad, es la mejor inversión que podemos hacer como familia diocesana, pues pagamos una “carrera” que al final se convertirá en el bien de muchas almas.

Yo como sacerdote tengo dos amigos que son sacerdotes y que siempre me dan gracias por haberlos invitado, tengo un seminarista que ya pronto será diácono, al quien, por gracia de Dios, invité a considerar la vocación.

Y uno que está a la espera de ser aceptado al Seminario San José, pero que ya lleva años siguiendo el camino de Dios; además de dos hermanas religiosas, una contemplativa y otra activa que seguramente pedirán por mí. Siento una profunda alegría espiritual al saber que fui el medio para que ellos pudieran llegar a considerar el llamado que Dios ya hacía en su corazón y espero que muchos nos comprometamos a pedir al dueño de la mies que envíe trabajadores a ella. Dios les bendiga.

EL PADRE JULIO DOMÍNGUEZ es el director del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

12

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Rosario virtual de la parroquia San Gabriel trasciende fronteras CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

CHARLOTTE ­— Demostrando que la fe no tiene frontera ni edad, más de doscientas personas de siete diferentes países participan diariamente en el Rosario virtual organizado por el Coro Alegría Hispana de la parroquia San Gabriel en Charlotte.

“No me imaginé que se fuera a extender y sobretodo a mantener con un grupo que cada vez crece más. Estamos felices porque el rezar unidos y con ese fervor ha sido un logro grandísimo”, dijo Augusto Fratini, una de las cuatro personas que emprendió el proyecto de continuar el rezo del Santo Rosario que llevaba a cabo regularmente el Coro Alegría Hispana cuando irrumpió la pandemia de COVID-19.

Carmen Calvar, directora del coro, explicó que la tradición de rezar el Santo Rosario se inició hace “como quince años” con la aparición del grupo vocal.

“Se rezaba y se ha rezado una vez al mes, y todos y cualquiera estaban invitados siempre. Mientras más venían, mejor”, explicó Calvar, para quien era importante mantener la unidad de los integrantes, “amarnos, ser parte los unos de los otros”, y además porque “la Virgen pide que se rece el Rosario y pensé que la necesitábamos como nuestra directora principal”, por lo que no sólo le cantaban al Señor en la Misa sino que utilizaban “el arma del Rosario para rezar por los nuestros, nuestras intenciones y las intenciones que nos traían de afuera”.

Pese a las interrupciones que en algún momento se produjeron en la participación del coro en las Misas de la parroquia San Gabriel, el rezo del Santo Rosario nunca se interrumpió. “Ha habido más o menos personas, ¡pero se ha rezado siempre! ¡Y hemos tenido nuestro milagrito o dos!”, asegura la directora. “Ahora con la pandemia el Rosario se ha intensificado y oramos para que la Virgen nos acompañe y que sea de su agrado que continuemos rezando hasta que ella quiera”, subrayó.

INICIO MODESTO

“Cuando empezó toda esta pandemia me quedé media pasmada pensando en que no podíamos reunirnos a rezar ni nada”, dijo Calvar. Sin embargo, Augusto Frattini, quien se define como un católico de inspiración mariana, le propuso a Calvar, “que ha sido nuestra líder, que

lo hiciéramos aunque fuera de manera virtual”, y fue así que conversaron con Pilar Castañeda, “para ver en qué forma podríamos hacerlo”.

Castañeda, quien domina la parte de tecnología, fue la encargada de proporcionar el soporte técnico para impulsar el proyecto que comenzó con solo ocho participantes, todos integrantes del Coro Alegría Hispana.

Calvar cree firmemente “que la Virgen le puso a Augusto ese pensamiento” de rezar el Santo Rosario de manera virtual.

Y después de comenzar con ocho, “fíjate que no sólo tenemos a nuestra gente de Charlotte sino que arrastramos a nuestras familias y amigos de nuestros países.

Hemos tenido gente rezando desde Canadá, Ecuador, Colombia, Perú, Costa Rica, República Dominicana, Miami y Nueva York en Estados Unidos. Inclusive algunos a diario”.

PLANES A FUTURO

Pilar Castañeda refiere que inicialmente se propusieron lograr la participación de cien personas en el rezo del Santo Rosario.

“Luego, cuando cumplimos la meta nos propusimos llegar a las 200 personas” y, posteriormente para ampliar el alcance, realizaron un video en el que trataron de integrar a todas las familias participantes, las que enviaron sus videos donde aparecían recibiendo un rosario que luego imaginariamente pasaban a otra persona.

“Fue muy emotivo”, explicó. “Cuando lo emitimos al terminar el rezo de uno de los días creo que todos lloramos”, dijo conmovida.

El tiempo ha pasado rápidamente y ya se acercan los 100 días de haber iniciado la tarea de oración, por lo que trabajan, junto con los jóvenes y niños de las familias que participan, en una celebración.

“El plan es no soltar la oración. Estamos pasando por momentos difíciles pero sabemos que Dios nos va a escuchar y no podemos dejar de proclamarlo y pedir a la Virgencita que sea nuestra intercesora”, dijo Castañeda al explicar que, “por el momento no hay planes de parar” el rezo del Santo Rosario.

Calvar subrayó que “a través de María, le continuaremos pidiendo al Señor salud, consuelo y su sonrisa para todos. De su mano todo se puede”.

El Rosario del Coro Alegría Hispana se lleva a cabo diariamente a las 8:15 de la noche. Si desea participar u obtener mayor

CAPTURAS DE PANTALLA

CAPTURA DE PANTALLA FACEBOOK

Arriba: Durante el rezo del Santo Rosario se incluyen gráficas generadas que refrescan visualmente el contenido de las oraciones. Abajo, izquierda: Ya son más de 200 las personas de siete diferentes países las que participan diariamente en la iniciativa virtual del Coro Alegría Hispana de la parroquia San Gabriel en Charlotte.

Abajo derecha: Pilar Castañeda, una de las cuatro personas que impulsaron el desarrollo del Santo Rosario virtual del Coro Alegría Hispana, es quien aparece inicialmente en el video que publicaron en Facebook. Castañeda toma un rosario de las manos de la imagen de la Santísima Virgen María, que luego compartirá ‘virtualmente’ con otros participantes.

información, contacte a Pilar Castañeda por WhatsApp al 704-779-8736.

Más online En www.facebook.com/stgabrielcharlotte: Puede encontrar el video realizado por el grupo del Rosario del Coro Alegría Hispana

John Carroll, sacerdote patriota y primer obispo en Estados Unidos CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

John Carroll, sacerdote jesuita, fue el primer obispo y arzobispo en Estados Unidos. También es reconocido por ser el fundador de la universidad cátolica más antigua del país, Georgetown, ubicada en Washington, D.C. Carroll nació en el condado Prince George, Maryland, el 8 de enero de 1735, en una familia de hombres que contribuyeron al desarrollo de Maryland y al establecimiento en 1729 de su capital, Baltimore, que se convertiría en la tercera ciudad más grande de Norteamérica.

Daniel Carroll II, su hermano mayor, es uno de los cinco únicos hombres en firmar los “Artículos de la Confederación y Unión Perpetua” (1778) y la Constitución de los Estados Unidos (1787). Charles Carroll de Carrollton, su primo, fue el único católico firmante de la Declaración de Independencia y primer senador por Maryland.

A los trece años, John Carroll fue enviado al Colegio de

St. Omer en el norte de Francia y a los 18 años se unió a la Compañía de Jesús como postulante. Después de catorce años, fue ordenado al diaconado y más tarde al sacerdocio en 1761, para luego profesar formalmente como jesuita en 1771.

Cuando el papa Clemente XIV suprimió la Compañía de Jesús en 1773 en Europa, Carroll regresó a Maryland para trabajar como misionero. En 1774, fundó la Parroquia San Juan Evangelista en Silver Spring.

En 1776, viajó junto con su primo Charles, Samuel Chase y Benjamin Franklin a Montreal en para persuadir a la provincia de Quebec para que se una a la Revolución con las trece colonias.

De retorno en Maryland, Carroll y otros cinco sacerdotes comenzaron una serie de reuniones y, a partir de junio de 1783, organizaron la Iglesia Católica en Estados Unidos.

Un año después, Carroll fue nombrado y confirmado por el Papa Pío VI como “Superior de las Misiones provisionales en los trece Estados Unidos de Norteamérica”. A fines de noviembre del mismo año, la Santa Sede estableció la Prefectura Apostólica de Estados Unidos.

Carroll fue elegido obispo de Baltimore por el clero en

abril de 1789. Para noviembre, el Papa Pío VI aprobó la elección, nombrándolo primer obispo católico de la joven nación.

En 1791, después de fundar la Universidad de Georgetown, Carroll convocó el primer sínodo diocesano en los Estados Unidos, en el que veintidós sacerdotes discutieron sobre el bautismo, la confirmación, la penitencia, la celebración de la liturgia, la unción de los enfermos, los matrimonios mixtos y otros temas.

Carroll supervisó la construcción de la primera catedral, la Catedral de la Asunción, hoy llamada Basílica del Santuario Nacional de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María, en Baltimore.

En abril de 1808, el papa Pío VII convirtió a Baltimore en la primera arquidiócesis de los Estados Unidos, con jurisdicción en Boston, Nueva York, Filadelfia y Bardstown.

Carroll murió en Baltimore el 3 de diciembre de 1815.

Sus restos están enterrados en la cripta de la primera catedral de Estados Unidos, la que no llegó a ver terminada.

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

13

Santo Tomás Apóstol, ver para creer CONDENSADO DE ACIPRENSA

Cada 3 de julio la Iglesia Católica celebra la fiesta de Santo Tomás Apóstol, el pescador de Galilea que hizo la confesión de fe: “Señor Mío y Dios Mío”, luego que Jesús, a los ocho días de haber resucitado, se apareció nuevamente ante sus discípulos y lo invitó a meter su mano en la llaga de su costado.

El Evangelio de San Juan narra la incredulidad de Santo Tomás ante las palabras de los discípulos que decían: “Hemos visto al Señor”, a lo que contestó: “si no veo en sus manos los agujeros de los clavos, y si no meto mis dedos en los agujeros sus clavos, y no meto mi mano en la herida de su costado, no creeré”. Es por eso que frente a la invitación del Señor de acercarse, el Santo cae postrado ante él.

“Porque me has visto has creído.

Dichosos los que no han visto y han creído”, dijo el Señor luego que Tomás reconociera que es Dios.

También por este Apóstol, Jesús revela “Yo soy el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida. Nadie va al Padre sino por mí”, luego que este le preguntara: “Señor, no sabemos a dónde vas, ¿cómo podemos saber el camino?”

Santo Tomás predicó en Persia y otros lugares cercanos, así como en Etiopía e India donde la tradición cuenta que sufrió martirio.

Al Santo se le atribuye el cinto de la Santísima Virgen María, con el que es a veces representado, ya que una leyenda relata que él no creía en la Asunción, e hizo abrir la tumba de la Virgen encontrándola llena de flores.

La Tradición señala que la Madre de Dios, desde el cielo, desató su cinturón y lo dejó caer en las manos del Apóstol.

Santo Tomás es patrono de los arquitectos, constructores, jueces, teólogos y de las ciudades de Prato, Parma y Urbino en Italia.

El Papa Francisco, en la fiesta del Santo en 2013, recordó a los fieles que “el Señor sabe por qué hace las cosas. A cada uno de nosotros le da el tiempo que él piensa que es mejor para nosotros. A Tomás le ha concedido una semana. Jesús se presenta con sus llagas: todo su cuerpo estaba limpio, hermoso, lleno de luz, pero las llagas estaban y están todavía, y cuando el Señor vendrá, al final del mundo, nos enseñará sus llagas”.

“Tomás, para creer, quería meter sus dedos en las llagas: era un testarudo.

Pero el Señor quiso precisamente un testarudo para hacernos comprender algo más grande. Tomás vio al Señor, que le invitó a meter el dedo en la herida de los clavos, a poner su mano en el costado y no dijo: es verdad: el Señor ha resucitado. ¡No! Fue más allá. Dijo: ¡Dios! Es el primer discípulo que confiesa la la divinidad de Cristo después de la resurrección. Y que

adora”.

El Martirologio Romano, que combina varias leyendas, afirma que Santo Tomás predicó el Evangelio en el imperio de los partos, región histórica situada en el noreste de Irán; a los medos (habitantes de una región localizada entre el mar Caspio y los ríos de Mesopotamia), persas (ahora Irán) e hircanios (pobladores de una antigua región histórica del Asia central, situada en la costa meridional del mar Caspio). Conmemora el 3 de julio la traslación de las reliquias de Santo Tomás a Edesa. En el Malabar y en todas las iglesias sirias dicha fecha es la de la fiesta principal, pues el martirio tuvo lugar el 3 de julio del año 72.

Parroquianos en la Catedral de la Sagrada Cruz en Boston en octubre de 2015, ofrecieron sus respetos a las reliquias de María Goretti, patrona de la pureza, en un peregrinaje “de misericordia” que visitó 20 estados de la Unión Americana.

FOTO DE GREGORY L. TRACY PARA CNS

Santa María Goretti, patrona de los niños abusados y las víctimas de violación CONDENSADO DE ACIPRENSA

IMAGEN CORTESÍA DEL MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID

‘El Apóstol Santo Tomás’, óleo sobre lienzo de autor anónimo (1635-1665)

Oración a Santo Tomás Apóstol Dios todopoderoso, concédenos celebrar con alegría la fiesta de tu apóstol santo Tomás; que él nos ayude con su protección, para que tengamos en nosotros vida abundante por la fe en Jesucristo, tu Hijo, a quien tu apóstol reconoció como su Señor y su Dios, exclamando: ¡”Señor mío y Dios mío”!.

Que vive y reina contigo, por los siglos de los siglos.

Amén.

El 6 de julio se celebrará la fiesta de Santa María Goretti, a quien el Papa Pío XII definió como “pequeña y dulce mártir de la pureza”.

María nació el 16 de octubre de 1890, en Corinaldo, provincia de Ancona, Italia.

Tercera de siete hermanos de una familia pobre, al día siguiente de su nacimiento fue bautizada y consagrada a la Virgen.

Luigi Goretti, padre de María, falleció de paludismo. Su esposa, Assunta, tuvo que trabajar dejando la casa a cargo de los hermanos mayores.

María desde muy chica anhelaba recibir la Sagrada Eucaristía. El 29 de mayo de 1902, después de recibir la ayuda de todo el pueblo, hizo su Primera Comunión, la que acrecentó en ella el amor por la pureza, animándola a tomar la resolución de conservar esa angélica virtud a toda costa.

Debido a su condición económica, la familia Goretti compartía la cocina con una familia de apellido Serenelli. El hijo mayor de esta última, Alessandro, comenzó a hacer proposiciones deshonestas a la inocente María, quien rechazó la adulación y amenazas.

La víspera de su muerte, María pide llorando a su madre que no la deje sola, pero, al no recibir más explicaciones, ésta lo considera un capricho y no concede ninguna importancia a aquella reiterada súplica.

Alessandro había amenazado de muerte a María si contaba algo.

El 5 de julio, Alessandro tomó violentamente del brazo a María y la arrastró hasta la cocina, trancando la puerta. Al no conseguir que la víctima se someta, la acuchilló.

María recibió catorce heridas graves y quedó inconsciente. Los vecinos llamaron al médico y a los guardias, que llegan a tiempo para impedir que los vecinos, muy exaltados, den muerte a Alessandro en el acto.

Al llegar al hospital, los médicos se sorprendieron al ver que la niña todavía no hubiera sucumbido a sus heridas. Al diagnosticar que no tenía cura, llamaron al capellán. María se confiesa, no deja de rezar

y ofrece sus sufrimientos a la Santísima Virgen, Madre de los Dolores.

En el momento de darle la Sagrada Comunión, el sacerdote le preguntó si perdonaba de todo corazón a su asesino.

Ella respondió, “sí, lo perdono por el amor de Jesús, y quiero que él también venga conmigo al paraíso. Quiero que esté a mi lado. Que Dios lo perdone, porque yo ya lo he perdonado”.

Finalmente, María entró en la gloria inmensa de la Comunión con Dios Amor. Es el día 6 de julio de 1902, a las tres de la tarde.

Alessandro fue condenado a 30 años de trabajos forzados. Después de tener un sueño donde se le apareció María, vestida de blanco en los jardines del paraíso, Alessandro escribió a Monseñor Blandino, obispo de la diócesis donde estaba la prisión: “Lamento sobre todo el crimen que cometí porque soy consciente de haberle quitado la vida a una pobre niña inocente que, hasta el último momento, quiso salvar su honor, sacrificándose antes que ceder a mi criminal voluntad. Pido perdón a Dios públicamente, y a la pobre familia, por el enorme crimen que cometí. Confío obtener también yo el perdón, como tantos otros en la tierra”. Su sincero arrepentimiento y su buena conducta en el penal le devuelven la libertad cuatro años antes de cumplir la pena. Después, ocupó el puesto de hortelano en un convento de capuchinos, mostrando una conducta ejemplar, siendo admitido en la orden tercera de San Francisco.

Gracias a su buena disposición, Alessandro fue llamado como testigo en el proceso de beatificación de María. En la Navidad de 1937, Alessandro se dirigió a Corinaldo, lugar donde Assunta Goretti se había retirado con sus hijos. Nada más llegar ante ella, le preguntó llorando, “Assunta, ¿puede perdonarme?”. “Si María te perdonó”, balbuceó ella, “¿cómo no voy a perdonarte yo?”.

María Goretti, santa patrona de los niños abusados y víctimas de violación fue elevada a los altares el 24 de junio del año 1950 por el Papa Pío XII en Roma, Italia.

Lecturas Diarias JULIO 5-11

Domingo: Zacarías 9:9-10, Romanos 8:9, 11-13, Mateo 11:2530; Lunes (Santa María Goretti): Oseas 2:16-18, 21-22, Mateo 9:18-26; Martes: Oseas 8:4-7, 11-13, Mateo 9:32-38; Miércoles: Oseas 10:1-3, 7-8, 12, Mateo 10:1-7; Jueves (San Agustín Zhao Ron y Compañeros): Oseas 11:1-4, 8-9, Mateo 10:7-15; Viernes: Oseas 14:2-10, Mateo 10:16-23; Sábado (San Benedicto): Isaías 6:1-8, Mateo 10:24-33

JULIO 12-18

Domingo: Isaiah 55:10-11, Romanos 8:18-23, Mateo 13:1-23; Lunes (San Enrique): Isaías 1:10-17, Mateo 10:34-11:1; Martes (Santa Catalina Tekakwitha): Isaías 7:1-9, Mateo 11:20-24; Miércoles (San Buenaventura): Isaías 10:5-7, 13-16, Mateo 11:25-27; Jueves (Nuestra Señora de Monte Carmelo): Isaías 26:7-9, 12, 16-19, Mateo 11:28-30; Viernes: Isaías 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8, 38:10-12, 16, Mateo 12:1-8; Sábado (San Camilo de Lellis): Miqueas 2:1-5, Mateo 12:14-21

JULIO 19-25

Domingo: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19, Romanos 8:26-27, Mateo 13:24-43; Lunes (San Apolinario): Miqueas 6:1-4, 6-8, Mateo 12:38-42; Martes (San Lorenzo de Brindisi): Miqueas 7:14-15, 18-20, Mateo 12:46-50; Miércoles (Sta. María Magdalena): Cantar de los Cantares 3:1-4, 2 Corintios 5:14-17, Juan 20:1-2, 11-18; Jueves (Santa Brígida): Jeremías 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13, Mateo 13:10-17; Viernes (San Chárbel Makhlouf): Jeremías 3:14-17, 31:10-13, Mateo 13:18-23; Sábado (Santiago el Mayor): 2 Corintios 4:7-15, Mateo 20:20-28

Our nation 14

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pro-life advocates say ruling puts clinic profits over women’s health

USCCB president ‘deeply concerned’ about court’s LGBT ruling CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

IAN ALVANO CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pro-life advocates said the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29 ruling striking down a Louisiana abortion law puts women’s health in danger, allows subpar care of women and gives abortion clinics a pass on “commonsense regulations” for “the sake of profit.”

“Women were dealt a huge blow in today’s ruling from the Supreme Court,” said Abby Johnson, who used to be the director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Texas and currently leads the group And Then There Were None, which she founded.

“By deciding that abortion doctors and clinics need to follow a separate, less stringent set of rules than every other medical facility leaves women open to the consequences of an industry that has mastered cutting corners on health care,” said Johnson, whose organization assists abortion workers in leaving the abortion industry.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional Louisiana’s 2014 Unsafe Abortion Protection Act requiring that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote the majority opinion in the case, June Medical Services v. Russo, said the law posed a “substantial obstacle” for women seeking abortions while providing “no significant health-related benefits.”

As a result of the ruling, pro-life advocates believe abortion clinics around the country will continue to cut corners on health care for women – which was the concern that led Louisiana state Sen. Katrina Jackson, a pro-life Democrat, to write the bill when she was a state representative.

Jackson said in a statement after the Supreme Court issued its ruling that one of the reasons she wrote the measure was the fact that in Louisiana, when a man chooses to go an outpatient surgical center, ambulatory surgical center and have a vasectomy, that physician is required to have admitting privileges.

But not so for abortion clinics. The law passed with a bipartisan vote.

“As you know, in Louisiana, radiologists and ophthalmologists have performed abortions,” said Jackson.

“The March for Life is appalled by the Supreme Court’s decision today, which failed to hold Louisiana abortion facilities accountable for their numerous health and safety violations,” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, said in a June 29 statement. “The legislation at issue in June Medical Services v. Russo was designed to safeguard women’s health and safety, which the abortion business in Louisiana egregiously sidelined for the sake of profit.”

CNS | RHINA GUIDOS

News crews film supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program holding signs and cheering at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington June 18, after the justices handed down a 5-4 ruling rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order to cancel DACA. The program was established by the Obama administration to provide legal protections and work authorization to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children by their parents without legal documents.

Reaction positive to Supreme Court decision on bid to end DACA MARK PATTISON CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reaction was largely laudatory to the Supreme Court’s June 18 rejection of a Trump administration bid to revoke Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, an Obamaera executive order that allowed young people brought into the country illegally as minors by their parents to stay in the United States.

Under DACA, about 700,000 young people who qualify for the program have been protected from deportation and have been able to work, go to college, get health insurance and obtain a driver’s license. In the meantime, Congress has considered measures to provide these “Dreamers” a pathway to U.S. citizenship, such as the proposed Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act. “We welcome the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision noting that the Trump administration did not follow proper administrative procedures required to repeal the DACA program,” said a June 18 statement from Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration.

They told DACA recipients: “Through today’s decision and beyond, we will continue to accompany you and your families. You are a vital part of our Church and our community of faith. We are with you.” They also urged President Donald Trump to keep DACA intact.

“Immigrant communities are really hurting now amidst COVID-19 and moving forward with this action needlessly places

many families into further anxiety and chaos,” they said. “In times of uncertainty, let us remember the teachings of the Gospel which encourage us to be open and receptive to those in need,” quoting from 1 John: “If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?”

“In this moment,” the prelates added, “we must show compassion and mercy for the vulnerable.”

“Just as the Church has stood by immigrants and refugees throughout our nation’s history, we will walk alongside our brothers and sisters who have DACA during the legal steps ahead,” said a statement from Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., board chair of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.

“This ruling gives a reprieve to DACA holders, but Congress should quickly pass legislation granting these Americans a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship.”

“While we are grateful that today’s Supreme Court decision stops the administration from terminating DACA, this movement is far from over,” said CLINIC Executive Director Anna Gallagher, also in a June 18 statement.

“Congress must act now to reflect the will of the people in this democracy and to make official what is true – DACA recipients are Americans and this is their home.”

“The Catholic higher education community stands committed to the individuals in the DACA program who are enrolled at our colleges and universities,” the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities said, calling the Trump move DACA, SEE PAGE 15

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he is “deeply concerned” that by ruling federal law protects LGBT workers from discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court “has effectively redefined the legal meaning of ‘sex’ in our nation’s civil rights law.”

“This is an injustice that will have implications in many areas of life,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a statement issued late June 15.

Earlier in the day the high court in a 6-3 vote said LGBT people are protected from job discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” said Justice Neil Gorsuch in writing the opinion in the case, argued at the start of the court’s term last October.

“Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit,” Gorsuch wrote. Dissenting votes were from Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.

Archbishop Gomez said that “by erasing the beautiful differences and complementary relationship between man and woman, we ignore the glory of God’s creation and harm the human family, the first building block of society.”

“Our sex, whether we are male or female, is part of God’s plan for creation and for our lives,” he continued. “As Pope Francis has taught with such sensitivity, to live in the truth with God’s intended gifts in our lives requires that we receive our bodily and sexual identity with gratitude from our Creator. No one can find true happiness by pursuing a path that is contrary to God’s plan.”

The decision handed down was for two consolidated cases about fired gay employees and a separate case concerning a fired transgender worker who had sued for employment discrimination after being fired.

At issue in this case is the wording in the Civil Rights Act, which prevents employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex. The court had to determine if discrimination that was not allowed based on sex applied to sexual orientation as well as gender identity.

In his statement, Archbishop Gomez said that “protecting our neighbors from unjust discrimination does not require redefining human nature.”

Every human person “is made in the image and likeness of God and, without exception, must be treated with dignity, compassion and respect,” he said.

“We pray that the Church, with the help of Mary, the Mother of God, will be able to continue her mission to bring Jesus Christ to every man and woman,” he said.

July 3, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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In Brief Annual audit shows more than 4,400 allegations of clergy abuse reported WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 4,400 allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy were reported during the year ending June 30, 2019, a significant jump from the previous auditing period, according to a report on diocesan and eparchial compliance with the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” Released June 25, the 17th annual report from the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection states that 4,220 child sexual abuse survivors filed 4,434 allegations. In the 2017-18 audit period, 1,381 survivors filed 1,451 allegations.

The report said only 37 allegations involved current minors. Of these, it said, eight allegations were substantiated, seven were unsubstantiated, six were unable to be proven, 12 remained under investigation, three were referred to religious orders and one was referred to another diocese.

The report attributed 37 percent of the new allegations to lawsuits, the introduction of victim compensation programs by dioceses and eparchies, and bankruptcies. An additional 3 percent of allegations emerged after a review of clergy personnel files, according to the report.

The allegations involved 2,982 clerics, including 2,623 priests, 46 deacons, 260 unknown persons and 53 others. The full report is at https://bit.ly/2Ns8XkH.

Allegations against late Springfield, Mass., bishop found credible SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Diocese of Springfield has released a report submitted by retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis documenting his investigation into a claim of sexual abuse by the late Springfield Bishop Christopher J. Weldon and his finding the claim to be “unequivocally credible.” The report also covers how the diocese handled this complaint and opportunities for improvement on handling future abuse allegations. The full report was released June 24 on the diocesan website, www. diospringfield.org.

Bishop Weldon, a native of the Archdiocese of New York, served as the fourth bishop of the Springfield Diocese from 1950 to 1977. He died in 1982. Allegations of sexual abuse by Bishop Weldon, dating back to the early 1960s, were first related to diocesan staff in 2014, and in July 2019, Velis was appointed by the diocese to investigate.

Catholic leaders denounce rejection of federal death penalty appeal WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the Supreme Court announced June 29 that it would not hear an appeal by federal death-row inmates challenging the method to be used in their upcoming executions, a longtime advocate against capital punishment said the court “abdicated its legal and moral responsibilities. This means that the federal government will likely execute four people” starting in July “using an untested lethal injection protocol during a global pandemic without any real oversight from the Supreme Court,” tweeted Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille. The inmates had appealed a lower court order allowing the federal government to proceed with executions using a single-drug protocol instead of a three-drug protocol carried out in most recent federal

executions and by several states. The federal executions, which have not taken place since 2003, are set to resume in mid-July.

Advocates call order advancing religious freedom globally a needed action WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s executive order on religious freedom issued in early June lays out a strategy for expanding U.S. support for international religious freedom that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has been urging, said the chair of the commission.

“USCIRF has long called on the U.S. government to develop an overall strategy for promoting religious freedom abroad, as well as country-specific action plans, and we welcome the fact that this executive order requires the State Department and USAID to do exactly that,” Gayle Manchin said June 24 in a statement. “We also appreciate the express reference to U.S. officials working for the release of religious prisoners of conscience, which is a high priority for USCIRF,” she added.

On June 2, Trump signed the order to promote and advance religious freedom across the globe. The State Department and USAID have 180 days since the order was issued to develop a strategy to prioritize international religious freedom in the planning and implementation of U.S. foreign policy and in their foreign assistance programs.

Trump’s order on foster care backs partnerships with faithbased agencies WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump June 24 called for creating partnerships between state agencies and public, private, faith-based and community organizations “to help keep families together and, when that is not possible, to find children forever families.” His support for faith-based agencies’ involvement in foster care and adoption services was among a number of provisions included in an executive order he said was meant to “enhance our child welfare system and promote permanency for children in the foster care system nationwide.” “All children deserve a stable, supportive and loving home in which to grow, thrive and realize their full potential,” Trump said.

To create these partnerships, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is authorized under the executive order “to develop guidance for states on best practices for effective partnering with faith-based and community organizations, aimed at improving outcomes for children and families.”

The issue of “freedom of conscience in adoption and foster care” happened to be highlighted on the fourth day of the U.S. bishops’ Religious Freedom Week, June 22-29.

Supreme Court says asylum-seekers can’t challenge deportations WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a 7-2 decision June 25, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration can deport some asylum-seekers without granting them a federal court hearing.

The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said asylum-seekers on track for expedited removal from the U.S. are not entitled to seek habeas corpus – or the right to challenge government detention. The court also ruled that a 1996 law allowing for fast-tracked deportations is constitutional. The high court reversed a lower court ruling in favor of a Sri Lankan farmer, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, who fled his country saying he was persecuted as a member of the country’s Tamil minority and was apprehended just across the U.S.-Mexican border in 2017. An immigration officer said Thuraissigiam failed to show “credible fear of persecution” if he returned home, so like other

asylum-seekers who fail their initial screenings, he was placed on a track for expedited removal, meaning he would not receive the right to an attorney or a hearing before a judge.

Thuraissigiam petitioned a federal court to challenge his deportation.

U.S. suspends some visas, extends immigration restrictions WASHINGTON, D.C. — Catholic organizations have joined others in protesting some of the latest immigration restrictions issued by the Trump administration, including a popular visa program now suspended until the end of the year. The Trump administration said it was taking the actions to protect U.S. workers who have lost jobs because of the coronavirus crisis.

The June 22 order blocks the popular H-1B visa for highly skilled workers, among many other work visas, and extends a previous freeze on permanent residency cards, popularly known as green cards, until the end of the year.

“Under the extraordinary circumstances of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, certain nonimmigrant visa programs authorizing such employment pose an unusual threat to the employment of American workers,” said President Donald Trump in the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” order issued by the White House.

Visas for seasonal workers, including those on work-study summer programs, and for au pairs, summer camp workers and temporary hospitality industry workers also will be affected.

Bishops urge Congress to address better police training, accountability WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chairmen of three U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees have called for “better practices for formation and accountability for police” in a joint letter to all members of Congress. “Law enforcement officers perform a great and needed service; they serve to promote justice and the common good in society,” they said. “But it is clear that there have been too many failures in serving everyone, with tragic consequences.”

The “terrible and unjust killing of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and so many more” in police custody demonstrates the urgent need for police reforms, they said in a letter issued June 24. “There must be better practices for formation and accountability for police, certainly in the use of lethal force, but also in patterns of discrimination and prejudice, so that real accountability can happen before more lives are lost,” the bishops said.

The letter was signed by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the Committee on Migration; and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La., chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. The full text of the letter is at https://bit.ly/2YvVQFK.

Court says tax credit program can’t exclude religious schools WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a 5-4 ruling June 30, the Supreme Court said the exclusion of religious schools in Montana’s state scholarship aid program violated the federal Constitution. In the opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that if a state offers financial assistance to private schools, it has to allow religious schools to also take part. Roberts said the decision by the Montana Supreme Court to invalidate the school scholarship program because it would provide funding to both religious schools and secular schools “bars religious schools from public benefits solely because of the religious character of the schools.”

— Catholic News Service

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DACA FROM PAGE 14

to end DACA “a moral and a political failure.”

“We pray that today’s decision means they will be able to continue their studies without interruption and that, one day soon, others in their situation will be encouraged to pursue their education goals,” the ACCU said.

Said Lawrence E. Couch, director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd: “We feel the weight lifted from the shoulders of those young people who have been living in a sort of purgatory and we press Congress for a permanent resolution keeping Dreamers in the United States.”

“These young people have had their lives thrown into turmoil because of hatred and fear. How cruel it would have been to force them out of the only land they have known,” said Sister Maureen McGowan, province leader for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd’s New York/Toronto province. “I pray that they now find peace and welcome.”

“Young people bring such zest to life and work so hard to improve their communities. ... We need dreams and today the Supreme Court gave the Dreamers their dreams back,” Sister Francesca Aguillon, the Good Shepherd Sisters’ province leader for the Central South province, said in a separate statement, also issued June 18.

Good Shepherd Sister Madeleine Munday, province leader for her order’s Mid-North America province, noted that amid the COVID pandemic the world is enduring, the court decision shows “some bad dreams are coming to an end.”

“We all hope that these young people and their families know how much they are appreciated and welcomed by the vast majority of people living in this country,” she added. “More now than ever, we hope that everyone sees one another as a member of the human family.”

Catholic Extension – which gives aid to the nation’s mission dioceses, which are rural and poor dioceses and those have a small population of Catholics – also weighed in: “In the last several weeks, our nation has come into a greater awareness of our unjust systems that exclude, harm or hinder the God-given potential of some of our people. Among those facing systemic exclusion are our DACA brothers and sisters.”

“The Catholic Church has long affirmed that their lives matter, and that this young generation must no longer be systemically marginalized,” the statement added. “Catholic Extension is proud to invest in them and their future through our various leadership and ministry programs throughout the country.”

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, called the high court’s 5-4 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, “an astounding victory for the hundreds of thousands of Dreamers whose lives have hung in the balance for too long.”

“We are thrilled that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of justice for these tenacious young people, and we hope that they are able to breathe just a little bit easier as they go about their daily lives as educators, activists, and essential workers,” she added. “We know the fight is not over, but we’re optimistic that this historic decision will be a fundamental step in creating a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and all those who call the United States home.”

Our world 16

catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope at pallium Mass: World needs to pray more, complain less CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Some people always will want to destroy unity and stifle prophets, Pope Francis said on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

And yet, Jesus challenges everyone to be – like Peter – a rock for building a renewed Church and renewed humanity, and – like Paul – a missionary who brings the Gospel to others, he said during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica June 29.

People also need to complain less and pray more, especially for those who govern, the pope said.

People must ask themselves whether they “simply talk and do nothing” because God wants people to pray and “be mindful of those who do not think as we do, those who have slammed the door in our face, those whom we find it hard to forgive.”

The feast day celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica was markedly different from other years because of ongoing restrictions in place to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Normally archbishops appointed over the course of the previous year would have been invited to concelebrate the feast day Mass with the pope and watch as he blessed their palliums, woolen bands worn around their shoulders.

The 54 archbishops from 33 different countries who were named over the past 12 months included: Archbishops Paul D. Etienne of Seattle; Nelson J. Perez of Philadelphia; Andrew E. Bellisario of Anchorage-Juneau, Alaska; Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis; Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta; Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa-Cornwall, Ontario; and Patrick M. O’Regan of Adelaide, Australia.

But the archbishops were not there. Instead, a congregation of about 90 people attended the Mass concelebrated by the pope, nine of the 11 cardinal-bishops resident in Rome and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

While the actual imposition of the pallium was to take place in each archbishop’s archdiocese, Pope Francis did place a pallium on Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the new dean of the College of Cardinals. Conferring a pallium on a new dean was a custom begun by St. John Paul II. The pallium symbolizes an archbishop’s unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him. The pope blessed the palliums after they were brought up from the crypt above the tomb of St. Peter.

In his homily, the pope said Sts. Peter and Paul demonstrate unity in diversity; they were two very different individuals, who sometimes argued heatedly, but they saw one another as brothers, united by Jesus.

Jesus “did not command us to like one another, but to love one another,” the pope said. “He is the one who unites us, without making us all alike.”

When the early Church faced fierce persecution, the pope said, “no one ran away, no one thought about saving his own skin, no one abandoned the others, but all joined in prayer,” which created “a unity more powerful than any threat.”

They also prayed instead of complaining about the injustice they faced, the pope added.

“It is pointless, even tedious, for Christians to waste their time complaining about the world, about society, about everything that is not right,” he said. “Complaints change nothing.”

“Are we protecting our unity with prayer, the unity of

CNS | PAUL HARING

Pope Francis places a pallium on Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, as he celebrates Mass marking the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 29. the Church?” the pope suggested people ask themselves.

“Are we praying for one another? What would happen if we prayed more and complained less?”

The answer, he said, is what happened to Peter in prison: closed doors open and chains break.

The pope asked people to pray for everyone, especially those who govern.

“God will judge them, but we should pray for those who govern. Pray. They need prayers. This is a task that the Lord has entrusted to us. Are we carrying it out? Or do we simply talk, insult them and that’s all?” he said.

The feast day also highlights the importance of prophecy, which is “born whenever we allow ourselves to be challenged by God, not when we are concerned to keep everything quiet and under control,” Pope Francis said.

“Today the world needs real prophecy, not fast talkers who promise the impossible, but testimonies that the Gospel is possible,” he said.

“What is needed are not miraculous shows,” he said, “but lives that show the miracle of God’s love. Not forcefulness, but forthrightness.”

The world needs “not speeches, but service. Not theory, but testimony,” he said. “We are not to become rich, but rather to love the poor. We are not to save up for ourselves,

but to spend ourselves for others. To seek not the approval of this world, but the joy of the world to come. Not better pastoral plans, but pastors who offer their lives – lovers of God.” Before the Mass, the pope spent a few minutes alone praying in the crypt above St. Peter’s tomb. Customarily, he would have been joined by the head of a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, but “it was not possible because of the pandemic,” the pope said after praying the Angelus.

“Spiritually I send an embrace to dear brother Patriarch Bartholomew, in the hope that our mutual visits may resume as soon as possible,” the pope said.

During his Angelus address, the pope said Jesus called Simon, “Peter” or “rock,” not because he was a “solid and trustworthy man. No, he made many mistakes,” even denying Jesus.

Peter is the rock because “he chose to build his life on Jesus,” not on himself, the pope said. “Jesus is the rock on which Simon became stone.”

St. Peter became a hero “because he gave his life here.

His gift transformed a place of execution into the beautiful place of hope in which we find ourselves,” the pope said to the sparse crowd spread out in St. Peter’s Square.

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Syrians internally displaced and having sought refuge in Syria’s neighboring countries, is now being further compounded by the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.” Pope Francis asked Catholics to “pray for this important meeting, so that it may improve the dramatic situation of the Syrian people and neighboring peoples, particularly Lebanon, in the context of serious sociopolitical and economic crises that have been made even more difficult by the pandemic.”

In Brief Pope asks prayers for Syria, Yemen, Ukraine VATICAN CITY — With the coronavirus pandemic continuing, Pope Francis asked people to also remember the ongoing crises in Syria and Yemen, and he offered prayers to the thousands of people in western Ukraine suffering the effects of violent flooding. After reciting the Angelus prayer June 28 with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, the pope noted that June 30, the European Union and the United Nations were to hold their fourth conference on “supporting the future of Syria and the region.” Because of the pandemic, the conference was to be held virtually. A statement from the EU said that “with the conflict entering its 10th year, the situation in Syria and the region remains highly critical: the dire humanitarian situation, with millions of

Pope adds ‘Comfort of Migrants,’ other Marian titles to litany VATICAN CITY — Among the many titles under which Catholics invoke Mary, Pope Francis has asked them to add “Mother of Mercy,” “Mother of Hope” and “Comfort of Migrants.” Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, sent a letter to the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world asking that the titles be inserted into the “Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” more commonly known as the “Litany of Loreto.” The litany, which begins by invoking God’s mercy, then turns to Mary, asking for her prayers. The Litany of Loreto traces its origins back to the 16th century and already had close to 50 titles

for Mary with verses like “Holy Mother of God, pray for us” and “Queen of All Saints, pray for us.” Cardinal Sarah’s letter, released June 20 by the Vatican, said, “The Church, which walks along the pathways of history as a pilgrim toward the heavenly Jerusalem and enjoys inseparable communion with Christ her spouse and savior,” entrusts itself to the intercession of Mary, “who believed in the word of the Lord.”

Turkish bishops won’t contest plan to turn cathedral into a mosque OXFORD, England — Catholic bishops in Turkey pledged not to contest plans to turn Istanbul’s ancient Hagia Sophia cathedral that now serves as a museum into a Muslim place of worship. In announcing their decision June 18, the bishops backed government claims that the monument’s future is a question of national sovereignty. “We are a church deprived of

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juridical status, so we cannot give any advice on this country’s internal questions,” the Turkish bishops’ conference said in a statement.

“Although we would wish Hagia Sophia to retain its character as a museum, it isn’t for us to intervene or even give our opinion on a decision which solely concerns the Republic of Turkey,” the bishops said. The statement came amid international protests against Turkish government calls for the 6th-century landmark to be converted into a mosque. A plan for the conversion was expected to be approved by Turkey’s highest court July 2.

— Catholic News Service

PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (Never known to fail) O Most Beautiful Flower of Mt. Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity (make request).

There are none that can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times).

Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3 times).

3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, 3 Glory Be Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days.

You must publish it, and it will be granted to you.

Thank you, A.S.

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Catholic Charities Director of Development The Diocesan Office of Development has an opening for a full-time Catholic Charities Director of Development. The candidate must have an undergraduate degree and a minimum of 5 years’ experience in fundraising; extensive fundraising experience may be substituted for a completed undergraduate degree. A knowledge of Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge or other fundraising database software is preferred.

Responsibilities include: creating and executing the annual development plan for Catholic Charities; engaging, retaining, nurturing and recognizing current donors; identifying and cultivating new donors.

Please submit cover letter and resume

by July 31, 2020 to: Jim Kelley, Office of Development, jkkelley@charlottediocese.org

Live Your Faith Be affirmed in your present ministry.

Upgrade your certification as a catechist and religion teacher.

Fulfill the prerequisite for the Permanent Diaconate.

Grow in your faith.

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

Potential sites include Arden, Charlotte, Greensboro and Lenoir.

We are currently accepting applications for the 2020-2022 program.

For more information:

Frank Villaronga

Director, Evangelization and Adult Education Office F O R M AT I O N P R O G R A M

frankv@charlottediocese.org

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How does a Christian respond in time of social crisis?

Father Blake Britton

I

n the early 2000s an infestation of bark beetles decimated the pine forest behind my childhood home in central Florida.

My father fought the insects for months, but to no avail. Over a year-long period, whole acres of trees were lost, some of which had stood on that ground for centuries. Our family was devastated. A once lush forest was reduced to barren dirt and shrubbery.

Only one pine tree survived. We still do not know why. Originally, it was just one among many hundreds of trees, but now it stood boldly in an empty field, a sad reminder of what used to be. For years the tree grew alone withstanding lightning strikes, droughts and even a few hurricanes. Though the tree was strong, it appeared barren, not producing any pine cones.

We eventually reconciled with the fact the forest would never grow back and resigned to making the plot of land into a grazing area for horses or cattle.

Then, one spring day when I was walking past the field, I looked up at the tree and noticed clumps of pine cones weighing down its branches. I ran inside to tell my family. When we gathered around the trunk and looked up into the foliage, we were astonished. Not only was the pine filled with cones; it was the most amount of seeds any of us had ever seen on a single tree. Over the next couple of years, the “Mother Tree” as we now called her, yielded copious amounts of seedlings.

Before long, a young forest started to bud around her base. Today, a decade later, that desolate field is among the most fertile pieces of our land. Every spring, the chirps of fledgling birds and the rustling of baby squirrels fill the trees’ canopies while the rich scent of pine and wild blackberry blossoms incense the air with sweet perfume.

My father used to say that Mother Nature is among the best of teachers: “There is always a lesson hidden in nature, Blake.”

How true.

The current political, moral, societal

and economic environment appears for some to be a barren wasteland. Things we used to take for granted – faith, marriage, family, morality, truth –appear to be relics of the past. Even within the Church we constantly hear about the crisis of vocations, the growing number of unaffiliated Catholics and the general lull in people practicing the faith. Much like the forest of pines decimated by pestilence on my family’s property, every cultural foundation is seemingly crumbling around us, devoured by the plague of relativism, irrationality, egoism and superficiality.

The Church is standing alone in the field of the world while various structures of civilization deconstruct around her.

What is the role of the Church amid such erosion? What is our task in a world torn by violence, hedonism and strife?

In the Gospel of John, chapter 15, we hear Jesus’ keen metaphor about the vine and the branches: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn. 15:5). There are many wonderful commentaries on this particular verse of scripture. However, if we examine the entirety of Jesus’ homily on the vine and the branches, specifically in light of the first two verses, we will notice another profound insight about the basic attitude of the Christian life.

The Lord opens His reflection by stating: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit and everyone that does he prunes so as to produce more fruit” (Jn. 15:1-2).

Reading this line in tandem with verse 5 reveals three key characters in the analogy, each with a specific role: The Father (vinedresser), the Son (vine) and the individual Christian (branch). It is important to note that the primary actor is the Father. He is the vinedresser, the one entrusted to harvest the plant.

Herein lies a vital point. We cannot care for and prune ourselves. A person who tries to manifest their own destiny or live according to their own designs will always go awry. The branch is essentially a receptive entity, it is the part of the plant that receives. It becomes apparent, therefore, that the metaphor employed

by Christ in John 15 is intended not only to instruct us on our place in relation to Himself and the Father, but also the basic attitude and modus operandi of our Christian lives.

There is a temptation in times of crisis to imprudently react or needlessly despair.

We allow the circumstances of the world to

dictate our responses to it. As a result, the residue of secular mentalities seeps into Catholic spirituality, blinding us to God’s presence.

We are the branches. A branch has only one job: to be nourished. In so doing, it naturally produces fruit under the watchful eye of the gardener.

‘We must keep our eyes on Christ – not our television set or social media accounts.’

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). In times of upheaval, our first responsibility is not political activism or societal revolution. These are not how Christians respond to evil or injustice.

The uniqueness of Christian action lies in its ability to rise above the chaos which surrounds it by acknowledging the freedom wrought for us through the Risen Lord. This is accompanied by a sagacious foresight which allows the Church to see beyond immediate troubles and short-term solutions.

Throughout history, the Church has always been able to play the long game.

She acknowledges the trials of the day with the wisdom of tomorrow. She never allows herself to get caught up in the frenzy and shortsightedness of the moment. That is why she is constantly able to address the concerns of her children with prophetic clarity when the rest of the world is seduced by its own passing ideals.

One such example is when St. Paul VI practically stood alone in his renunciation of contraception while other religious and political leaders were lauding it as a great innovation. He did not succumb to popular pressure. The saint prayed, fasted and listened. He was still when civilization was thrashing. As a result, he recognized a danger long before many others could.

“Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). Prayerful stillness and recognition of God’s sovereignty are the foundations of Christian action.

I am well aware of the anger, fear, anxiety and confusion consuming the

hearts of so many people. Yet Catholics must be vigilant and wise in how we respond to what is before us, as well as where we may best invest our energies.

Now is a time for prayer and formation.

Like St. Benedict after the Fall of Rome, our generation of Christians will be entrusted with the re-humanization of culture. As such, we cannot fall victim to the whims and emotions of the age. We must govern our passions with reason and discern how Christ desires us to act for the greatest good. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus did not command His apostles to violence or protest. His command was simple: “Watch and pray” (Matt. 26:41). We must keep our eyes on Christ – not our television set or social media accounts. Jesus must be our premier social commentator and influencer. If not, we will make the fatal mistake of thinking our own ideas are the solutions to society’s problems. Only with Christ can we develop authentic reforms and programs to ensure true justice and freedom for all.

Some may recall Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (Mt. 21:12-17) or His confrontation with the Pharisees during the Feast of Booths (Jn. 8:48-59). But, we must always read Sacred Scripture in the context of the whole. Our Lord spent 40 days in the desert and three years of prayer and fasting with the Father before setting these events in motion. With a heart both pure and sacred, Christ opposed the wrongs of His day, but always in dialogue with Father. He was not reactionary. He was always acting in obedience and mercy. Many of us have yet to arrive at such a purity of intent in our own hearts, and that can only be achieved by following our Lord’s example of “frequently withdrawing into the wilderness to pray” (Lk. 5:16).

The field around Mother Church seems barren and desolate, but a great springtime awaits us. It is not hopeless. There is a forest of grace waiting to bloom. All we have to do – and it is hard enough for most of us – is faithfully abide and be rooted in Christ. The Father will ensure the blossoming of the pasture; the birth of a civilization of love. The Lord can take the mustard seed of our faith and transform it into “the largest of plants where even the birds come to nest within its branches” (Mt. 13:32).

FATHER BLAKE BRITTON serves in the Diocese of Orlando, Fla., where he is parochial vicar at St. Mary Church and School in Rockledge, Fla. This commentary first appeared on the Word on Fire blog, online at www.wordonfire.org.

The Our Father: The most radical prayer

A Jesuit Father John Michalowski

bout 40 years ago, Capuchin Franciscan Father Michael Crosby, wrote a book with the title “Thy Will Be Done: Praying the Our Father as a Subversive Activity.”

He was right on many counts, beginning with the first two words: “Our Father, our Abba, our Daddy.”

We do not pray “my Father,” or “the Father of my group, of my race, of my economic or social group,” but “Our Father.”

To call God “Father” means that all lives matter and, as a Caucasian, I can’t rest until “Black lives matter,” and “Brown lives matter,” and “Red lives matter,” and “Yellow lives matter” as much as “White lives matter.” Because if everyone else’s life doesn’t matter as much as my life matters, then I am rejecting God’s Fatherhood in His children, who are my brothers and sisters.

Furthermore, since Jesus has identified Himself with those

on the margins – “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to Me” (Mt. 25:31-46) – then we are standing with Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers and the Sanhedrin in crucifying Jesus once again. As Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, “Why are you persecuting Me?” In persecuting Jesus in our black, brown, red or yellow brothers and sisters, we are rejecting too our loving Abba, God the Father.

Thus, it is good that we pray, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. … Deliver us (our nation and our world) from evil.”

Father, give us a new heart so that Your will might be ”done on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.

JESUIT FATHER JOHN MICHALOWSKI is parochial vicar of St. Peter Church in Charlotte.

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Kathryn Evans

Common men and women are called to be saints

I

love to read about the lives of different saints and to see the great variety of people that God has loved and called to serve Him – from the battle-tested St. Joan of Arc to the “Little Way” of St. Therese of Lisieux to the humble yet famous St. Teresa of Calcutta, and from the vibrant St. Francis of Assisi to the studious St. Thomas Aquinas to the charismatic St. John Paul II. Throughout the ages of Christianity, there have been saints who are kings and queens, and there have been saints barely known in their own towns while they were alive. There have been warrior saints and child saints and those who simply raised their families while loving God. There have been saints of every nation and color, and of every demographic and social class.

The saints are held up to us as examples, and they come in vast varieties because God created us with great diversity so that, while we are all part of one Body, the Body of Christ, we might also serve in our different roles as the limbs of that Body.

Even in all our diversity of personalities and temperaments and backgrounds, the greatest examples that we can all look to are the saints of the New Testament, those whom were closest and most beloved to Our Lord Jesus, whom God chose from throughout the ages to witness and partake of His time on earth: the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the Apostles.

In the humble and quiet lives of the Holy Family, we see the importance of domestic life, that vocation to which the majority of us are called. The “hidden years” before Christ started His public ministry were not just incidental in the life of Our Lord, for there is nothing incidental in the plan of God. God the Father chose that Jesus would be born into this simple life – that He would spend His first 30 years in obscurity, working alongside St. Joseph, sitting at the knee of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and enjoying the comforts of home life.

God, who could have chosen and formed any man to be His earthly father, chose a craftsman with such a quiet nature that we are left with not even a single account of him speaking. For His own mother, she who would be crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth, He chose a modest young girl from a humble family, whose only desire was to love and serve Him. This Year of St. Joseph in our diocese is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the many virtues of the Holy Family. We hear in the Litany of St. Joseph how he is the Lover of Poverty, Model of Workers, and Mirror of Patience, among many other titles that should provide us a roadmap of how best to live our lives. As we are all spending more time at home and with our families these days because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should ask the Holy Family to intercede for us so that this time might be a blessing and help to strengthen our domestic churches.

When Jesus called the Twelve, separating them from the rest of the disciples already following Him, He first prayed to the

Father for wisdom and guidance. The choices were not made arbitrarily, and the men did not stand up and volunteer themselves to walk so intimately beside Our Lord. The Apostles were not political leaders or priests or academics; they were not the elites of their time and place. They were common, working-class men. Many of them were fishermen who spent their lives working to feed others and support their families. Until they met Christ, they had no ambitions to go out and forever change the world; and until they were filled by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they would not have even been capable of such farreaching change. These humble, ordinary men were the ones that God chose out of all the world to be closest to Him and to do His great work.

These men may have had only the most basic education taught in the home and synagogue, but this would not have meant they were unintelligent. The skills and knowledge necessary in any trade require the use of great wisdom and intelligence to be successful, and the trades of the Apostles would be no different. Even after they left their own livelihoods to follow Christ, they would still have been required to use their knowledge and wisdom to work together, feed themselves and others, and find shelter and lodging as they traveled.

These are the practical, everyday skills of common men and women.

During the past few months, our country has been given a powerful reminder and hopefully a renewed appreciation for the men and women who make our society possible: The truck drivers, warehouse workers, and retail clerks who keep our stores stocked. The plumbers, mechanics and tradesmen who made sure our lives stay in working order. The priests and clergy who fight to keep ministering to their flocks any way they can. The parents who have stepped up to the task of educating their children at home. The doctors, nurses and first responders who put the rest of us before their own health and safety when there are still so many unknowns involved with the coronavirus.

These are the men and women who have kept our country afloat during these uncertain times, and you can be sure they are the closest to Christ as they work ceaselessly to serve His Body.

It is in difficult times that God showers us most with His mercy and grace, and it is in fire that great saints are forged. The Virgin Mary and the Apostles may have lived simple and humble lives at first, but they also experienced the greatest anguish and adversity as they witnessed the Passion of Our Lord and the persecutions of the early Christians, and it is also they who now sit closest to Our Lord in heaven. Let us look to them as examples, now and always.

KATHRYN EVANS is an author living on the outskirts of Charlotte, where she keeps chickens, experiments with cooking, and reads too many books. Find her work at www.evanswriting.com, including her book, “An Adult-ish Toolkit: 30 Things I Have Learned in 30 Years.”

Letters to the Editor

Pain can unite, create empathy Greetings in Christ Jesus, God the Father and the Love of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

By definition, this greeting is unending.

To contemplate God is like holding a rope in an effort to “plumb the depths” of this great mystery. The rope could never be long enough, and we could never carry the weight of it if it were. God is good not to burden us with weights we cannot bear. So what can we surmise of the perceived “unbearable weight” of loss and pain that we suffer? Pain is both felt physically and perceived. Pain can be internalized or utilized for its potential to clarify, define, break down, change, heal, intensify, solidify or orient us to ourselves, one another and God. Pain is neither the end nor the goal.

Rather, it is a necessary part of the journey for humanity. Pain suffered by one is suffered by all who are united in truth, love and hope. Pain has no gender, nationality, sex or creed and thus it can draw us to compassion and empathy rather than divide. Christ suffered the pain associated with denial, hatred and death, but His love conquered sin and death. In Him we are invited to live truly united in the mystery of His Incarnation.

DOLORES KING is a member of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, a lay Dominican, and member of the Apostles of Divine Mercy.

Racism must be fought as a spiritual battle With the torrent of words from all quarters trying to explain how to end racism, I am amazed at the absence of any spiritual input into the conversation.

Just more of the age-old failed ideas of throwing more money at the cities and states. Our Lord gave us the solution over 2,000 years ago: “Love your neighbor as yourself for the love of God” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” His words weren’t prescriptive of how to end racism on a global or national level. Instead, He told me how to do it, He told you how to do it, He told all faith leaders how to do it, and He told all of us that there will be a long-running battle between good and evil. Racism has to be fought by each of us on our streets, in our neighborhoods, in our grocery stores and in our churches every day, every week, year after year after year. If we fight that fight, I believe we will hear the words of Our Lord in Matthew 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Racism is an evil and can only be defeated with practical applications of Our Lord’s commandment to “love thy neighbor”: saying hello to your neighbor, holding open the door, helping to carry a bundle, asking how they’re doing, wishing them well. Tiny steps, admittedly, but every long journey begins with a single step.

I wish all of us well as we go about doing God’s work.

STEPHEN F. BAGNELL is a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point.

Letters policy The Catholic News Herald welcomes letters from readers. We ask that letters be originals of 250 words or fewer, pertain to recent newspaper content or Catholic issues, and be written from a perspective of Christian charity.

To be considered for publication, each letter must include the name, address and daytime phone number of the writer for purpose of verification. Letters may be condensed due to space limitations and edited for clarity, style and factual accuracy.

The Catholic News Herald does not publish poetry, form letters or petitions. Items submitted to The Catholic News Herald become the property of the newspaper and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 3, 2020 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

RACISMO VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 10

han abandonado la Iglesia. ¿Invitamos personal e individualmente a los nuevos feligreses, especialmente a los de un grupo minoritario, a unirse a las organizaciones parroquiales?

Una señal de bienvenida en nuestras iglesias y escuelas es la decoración. ¿Tenemos arte religioso que refleje la amplia diversidad de la Iglesia? En cada parte del mundo donde se practica la fe católica, hay representaciones de santos de esa cultura. ¿Nuestro arte religioso y nuestros programas de formación en la fe incluyen múltiples culturas y razas como Santa Josefina Bakhita, la santa patrona sudanesa de las víctimas de tráfico humano o el Venerable Padre Augustine Tolton, el primer sacerdote afroamericano nacido esclavo en Estados Unidos?

También a menudo no se reconoce, como afirman los obispos, “con demasiada frecuencia el racismo se presenta en forma de pecado de omisión, cuando los individuos,

COVID-19 VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 10

del grupo de 26 proveedores calificados por el estado de Carolina del Norte para hacer pruebas a las comunidades desproporcionadamente impactadas por el COVID-19, entre ellas la latina/hispana.

“Es denigrante que hagan eso ”, dijo Díaz indignado.

“Dicen que quieren parar la situación. Esa señora me negó la prueba... sabrá Dios a quién más habré contagiado sin saber”.

TRES PRUEBAS Y UN GRAN DEUDA MÉDICA

A principios de mayo, Gioconda Muñoz ingresó en el hospital Cone Health de Greensboro con un dolor en la espalda. No le hicieron la prueba del COVID-19 pero sí le diagnosticaron neumonía, según pudo verificar Qué Pasa mediante los documentos proporcionados por la inmigrante hondureña, quien sospechaba haber sido contagiada de COVID-19.

“Seis días después me llamaron para decirme que había pasado algo y que debía hacerme otra prueba”.

Al día siguiente del segundo test, Muñoz ingresó de

las comunidades e incluso las iglesias permanecen en silencio y no actúan contra la injusticia racial cuando se encuentran ante ella”. Personalmente, como católico, ¿estoy dispuesto a discutir, incluso con familiares y amigos, cuando escucho un comentario racista, o respondo a un comentario racista en las redes sociales? Permanecer en silencio es ser cómplice.

Como católica blanca, un pecado de omisión para muchos de nosotros es que no hemos reconocido que vivimos en una sociedad que privilegia a los blancos.

Si bien es posible que no me sienta privilegiada, no tengo miedo cuando la policía me detiene por exceso de velocidad, y nunca me siguen dentro de una tienda ni me piden mi identificación cuando uso mi tarjeta de crédito. Cuando viajo dentro de Estados Unidos no llevo mi pasaporte porque no preveo ningún problema por seguridad. Una de mis hermanas mexicoamericanas de la congregación me dijo que siempre llevaba su certificado de nacimiento, pasaporte y licencia de conducir.

La pastoral dice: “Lo que se necesita, y lo que estamos pidiendo, es una conversión genuina de corazón, una conversión que obligue al cambio y la reforma de nuestras instituciones y sociedad. La conversión es un largo

camino por recorrer para el individuo”. He servido en el Equipo de Transformación Antirracista del Instituto de las Hermanas de la Misericordia durante 10 años. Todavía estoy aprendiendo, aún estoy tomando conciencia de mis prejuicios implícitos o inconscientes, y todavía estoy trabajando en mi conversión.

El Arzobispo de Los Ángeles y presidente de la USCCB, José H. Gómez, dijo: “Todos debemos entender que las protestas que estamos viendo en nuestras ciudades reflejan la frustración y la ira justificada de millones de nuestros hermanos y hermanas que incluso hoy experimentan humillación, indignidad y desigualdad en las oportunidades solo por su raza o el color de su piel”.

Poner fin al racismo requiere tanto una conversión individual del corazón como una reforma de nuestros injustos sistemas e instituciones racistas. La pastoral nos alienta a emprender este viaje en la fe porque “en Cristo podemos encontrar la fuerza y la gracia necesarias”.

nuevo en el hospital, ya que su estado de salud había empeorado. Ahí le diagnosticaron COVID-19.

Muñoz ha recibido la primera cuenta médica por más de $3,400 y espera temerosa la segunda factura. Ambas deudas médicas son un duro golpe económico para esta madre inmigrante, quien trabaja como consultora de belleza.

El 28 de mayo, Cooper reconoció públicamente por primera vez que los hispanos y afroamericanos están siendo afectados desproporcionadamente por el COVID-19.

A inicios de junio firmó la orden ejecutiva 143 con el fin de “abordar las disparidades sociales, ambientales, económicas y de salud” de las comunidades minoritarias afectadas por la pandemia.

La orden cuenta con una serie de lineamientos y la creación de un grupo de trabajo, que estaría integrado por varios sectores que representen a las minorías. Aunque todavía no se han hecho públicas las acciones concretas derivadas de esta nueva orden ejecutiva, ya han empezado a surgir algunas preguntas: ¿Estas medidas serán suficientes para acortar la brecha de inequidad? ¿Serán el camino para reparar un error histórico que ha hecho que la comunidad latina caiga en la grieta de un sistema de salud imperfecto?

“Es un paso hacia la dirección correcta, pero me temo que no es suficiente”, opina Garzón.

33 DÍAS EN CUARENTENA

Luego de pasar 33 días en cuarentena, María Guevara volvió a trabajar a la procesadora de aves de corral Butterball, situada en el condado de Duplin, donde se contagió de COVID-19.

Al terminar la primera semana de trabajo tras su regreso, Guevara recibió su cheque semanal por solo $50, trescientos dólares menos que lo normal, debido a que se le habían acumulado las cuotas atrasadas de seguro médico.

El dejar de laborar durante más de un mes supuso muchos problemas económicos para Guevara y su familia.

No tenía para pagar la renta, los alimentos y mucho menos para la cuota de la bomba de oxígeno que le permite dormir debido a la apnea que padece, y por la cual le ha quedado una deuda de más de $1,000.

ACCIONES DESDE EL GOBIERNO

LA HERMANA DE LA MISERICORDIA ROSE MARIE TRESP es directora de justicia de la Comunidad Centro Sur de las Hermanas de la Misericordia de las Américas.

NOTA DE REDACCIÓN: Agradecemos a Karina Neyra, editora general de Qué Pasa, quien nos permitió compartir este importante artículo publicado por ese semanario. Desde el viernes 26 de junio, a las cinco de la tarde, el gobernador Roy Cooper decretó el uso obligatorio de mascarillas faciales con la finalidad de contener el rebrote de COVID-19 en Carolina del Norte.

HEART

CHAPLAINCY

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greater level of sacredness to the prayer space.”

A month before the 2020 renovations started, parish facilities director Bruce Tucker told his pastor he was having dreams they wouldn’t finish in time. “Father said, ‘Don’t worry.

We’ll make it.’ He had all the confidence in the world,” Tucker said in awe.

“I know who I have working for me,” Father Mack added with a smile. “This parish is blessed with an amazing staff and volunteers.”

Becoming more serious, he explained what the enhancements mean to him.

“For any priest, Holy Mass is the center of our daily prayer life. It helps us to come together in our faith and recognize the importance of what we’re doing here.” Then, he pointed to the altar: “Central focus.”

more than four weeks.

“People are thrilled to see us,” he said.

“As someone who has been a minister for a long time, it’s amazing to be so welcomed back.”

“There is obviously a high level of fear of people contracting the virus,” he also noted. “We listen to their concerns.”

The volunteer airport chaplains are interdenominational and do not proselytize, but offer spiritual and emotional support to everyone in need.

Their colorful vests help them stand out in the crowd – a visible advertisement for the care they can offer at a moment’s notice.

It’s a ministry of literally meeting people where they are – and now that includes how to respond based on how the pandemic has changed daily life and social interactions.

“It is much more difficult to have a conversation with someone, at perhaps a difficult time, keeping safe distance,” explained Deacon Jim Bozik, an airport chaplain for four years. “If you are not careful, your focus changes from listening with the ear of your heart to, ‘When was the last time I used hand sanitizer?’ or, “Did I just rub my eyes with my hands?’”

The renovated sanctuary of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro ANNIE FERGUSON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Of the 33 members of the Airport Chaplaincy team, 11 are now back at the airport working their regular four-hour rounds. Others will return when they are comfortable ministering to the public again, depending on the pandemic’s progress and when a vaccine becomes available.

“Our volunteers want to come back,” Deacon Szalony said. “We can only take it a day at a time. I’m adamant that no volunteer come back until they are comfortable.”

The chaplains who aren’t coming in are volunteering to staff the phones and answer emails.

“We can’t be everywhere, but if you have concerns, at a minimum you can go to our website. People can still email and call Airport Operations, which has a number of chaplains,” he added.

The three Sunday services in the Airport Chapel, including Mass, resumed June 21. Returning to some kind of normal – even if that normal looks a bit different than before – is a welcome balm during these unsettled times, Deacon Szalony said.

“Even though airport employees are working on Sundays,” he said, “people know we are offering Mass. Even just the announcement is touching their souls.”

More online At www.cltairportchapel.org: Learn more about the Interfaith Airport Chaplaincy at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport