July 16, 2021

July 16, 2021

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

Lawsuit claims abuse in 1980s by former Glenmary Missioner 3

As pandemic subsides, antiabuse training picks up 5

Getaways with God

Reconnect with your faith in a place of natural beauty and peace 12-13

INDEX

Contact us.....................................4 Español....................................... 14-17 Events calendar............................4 Our Faith........................................2 Our Parishes............................ 3-9 Scripture readings................. 2, 16 TV & Movies................................. 10 U.S. news.................................18-19 Viewpoints.............................22-23 World news............................ 20-21

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NFP AWARENESS WEEK July 25-31 ‘To have, to hold, to honor’ Natural Family Planning supports God’s gifts of love, life in marriage 6 La PFN apoya los dones de amor y vida de Dios en el matrimonio

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A light to others St. Joseph Workers spend summer helping people, parishes in diocese 3 Los trabajadores de San José pasan el verano ayudando a personas y parroquias de la diócesis

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Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. Martha Feast day: July 29

“Christ in the House of Martha and Mary,” by Jan Vermeer, 1655, housed in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. It is the largest painting by Vermeer and one of the very few with an overtly religious motif.

“Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus” (John 11:5).

St. Martha is mentioned in three Gospel passages: Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9, and the type of friendship between her and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus, with the Lord Jesus is evident in these passages.

In the Gospel of Luke, Martha receives Jesus into her home and worries herself with serving Him, a worry that her sister Mary, who sat beside the Lord’s feet “listening to Him speak,” doesn’t share. Her complaint that her sister is not helping her serve draws a reply from the Lord, who says to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

The overanxiousness she displays in serving is put into the right context by Jesus, who emphasizes the importance of contemplating Him before all things.

Yet she is seen next in the Gospel of John, outside the tomb of her brother Lazarus who had died four days earlier, as the one who receives the Revelation from the Lord that “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

When asked by the Lord if she believed this, she replied, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world,” displaying her great faith which is confirmed by Jesus’ subsequent raising of her brother Lazarus from the grave.

In the third and last instance, we see Martha, again in John, at a house in Bethany where Jesus was reclining at table with her brother Lazarus after He had raised him from the dead. During dinner, John’s Gospel tells us, “Martha served.”

She is revealed here performing the same task as when we first saw her, but now her service is infused with her faith, and the brevity of the description suggests the silence and peace in which she serves as opposed to the nervous anxiety she displayed earlier. Martha, whom we have seen serving, in Luke, and then believing, earlier in John, is now seen expressing her belief in the action of serving the Lord.

“Martha served,” and in doing so teaches us the way of Christian life.

St. Martha is the patron of housewives, servants, waiters and cooks.

— Catholic News Agency

Daily Scripture readings JULY 18-24

Sunday: Jeremiah 23:1-6, Ephesians 2:13-18, Mark 6:30-34; Monday: Exodus 14:5-18, Exodus 15:1-6, Matthew 12:38-42; Tuesday (St. Apollinaris): Exodus 14:21-15:1, Exodus 15:810, 12,17, Matthew 12:46-50; Wednesday (St. Lawrence of Brindisi): Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15, Matthew 13:1-9; Thursday (St. Mary Magdalene): Song of Songs 3:1-4b, 2 Corinthians 5:1417, John 20:1-2, 11-18; Friday (St. Bridget): Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 13:18-23; Saturday (St. Charbel Makhluf): Exodus 24:3-8, Matthew 13:24-30

JULY 25-31 Sunday: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15; Monday (Sts. Joachim and Anne): Exodus 32:15-24, 3034, Matthew 13:31-35; Tuesday: Exodus 33:7-11, 34:5b-9, 28, Matthew 13:36-43; Wednesday: Exodus 34:29-35, Matthew 13:44-46; Thursday (St. Martha): Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38, John 11:19-27, Luke 10:38-42; Friday (St. Peter Chrysologus): Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37, Matthew 13:54-58; Saturday (St. Ignatius of Loyola): Leviticus 25:1, 8-17, Matthew 14:1-12

AUG. 1-7 Sunday: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, Ephesians 4:17, 20-24, John 6:24-35; Monday (St. Eusebius of Vercelli, St. Peter Julian Eymard): Numbers 11:4b-15, Matthew 14:13-21; Tuesday: Numbers 12:1-13, Matthew 14:22-36; Wednesday (St. John Vianney): Numbers 13:1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29a, 34-35, Matthew 15:21-28; Thursday (The Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major): Numbers 20:1-13, Matthew 16:13-23; Friday (The Transfiguration of the Lord): Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, 2 Peter 1:1619, Mark 9:2-10; Saturday (St. Sixtus II and Companions, St. Cajetan): Deuteronomy 6:4-13, Matthew 17:14-20

Our parishes

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Lawsuit claims abuse in 1980s by former Glenmary Missioner PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE EDITOR

(From left) Charlotte seminarians and St. Joseph Workers Ronan Ostendorf, Gabriel Lugo and Carson Cannon clean up the area surrounding the Marian grotto next to the rectory at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte July 12.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAMES SARKIS

‘A light to others’ St. Joseph Workers spend summer helping people, parishes in diocese SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

MOUNT HOLLY — Men from St. Joseph College Seminary have become “St. Joseph Workers” this summer, spending their time out of school to do yardwork, refinish floors, build a fire pit, and more.

While not a formal aspect of their seminary formation, this work for people and parishes around the diocese aims to help build the seminarians spiritually and socially – another aspect

of St. Joseph College Seminary’s holistic approach to priestly formation, seminary leaders say.

“We started the St. Joseph Workers back in the summer of 2018 as a means of providing college seminarians with continuity in their formation by allowing them to stay at the seminary, giving them access to the sacraments and communal prayer, as well as continuing to build their fraternity through sharing a common life and work,” explains Father Matthew Buettner, the seminary’s house spiritual director.

One of the workers’ projects has been at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, where they have cleaned out and freshened up the area around the Marian grotto near the rectory.

Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector, says the workers have been incredibly helpful. “It’s terrific to have the young men here. Not only are we able to get a few extra projects completed, WORKERS, SEE PAGE 11

College seminary grad builds log chapel to honor Our Lady of Sorrows SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

MOUNT HOLLY — Nicholas Kramer graduated from St. Joseph College Seminary last month. But before he left, he wanted to leave behind a special gift in gratitude: a log chapel on the seminary campus dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, to whom he has a great devotion.

“I wanted to give something to the seminary as a ‘thank you’ for the formation and education I have received here,” Kramer explains. “I also wanted to use my talents to do something concrete for the honor and glory of God.” He spent weeks on the project – preparing the area, felling pine trees and cutting them to size for a chapel large enough to accommodate three to five people.

“Since the chapel is a pine log cabin, the vast majority of that time was spent hauling and notching the logs,” he says.

Inspiration for the name of the chapel came to him in prayer, he says.

“I honestly had no idea (what to name it) when I started building.

This project had been coming up consistently in my Holy Hour, but never with any sort of Kramer saint affiliated with it.”

Later, he says, “it finally hit me that I should name it after Our Lady of Sorrows” – because of his personal devotion and because of the special role Our Lady of Sorrows has played in the life of the college seminary.

Ground was broken for the college seminary on Sept. 15, 2018, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and the building was officially dedicated by Bishop Peter Jugis on the same day two years later.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICHOLAS KRAMER

“I love to work with my hands. Ever since I was little I loved building things, so this has been great for my discernment and growth in my spiritual life, because it allows me to use a skill set that I don’t normally get to use to glorify God,” Kramer says. “It also helps to keep me grounded in reality, because while it is important to spend time in prayer and to study, nothing teaches you humility and patient endurance like dragging a 600-pound pine log through the woods just to find out you mis-measured and it is too short.”

CHARLOTTE — A New York man has filed a lawsuit alleging he was exploited and sexually abused as a youth in North Carolina and elsewhere by former lay missionary Al Behm, who was assigned by his religious community to work in western North Carolina more than 40 years ago.

The civil suit filed July 6 in Mecklenburg County Superior Court names as defendants Behm and his former religious community, the Ohio-based Glenmary Home Missioners, as well as the Diocese of Charlotte.

The lawsuit alleges the misconduct began in the 1970s when the claimant was a minor living in Connecticut and continued into his college years at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Glenmary assigned Behm to work as campus chaplain there from 1980 to 1984. The suit contends Glenmary and the diocese were negligent in supervising Behm.

At the time of the alleged abuse, the Glenmary Home Missioners staffed communities in far western North Carolina where there were few Catholics, including Sylva.

Behm Glenmary clergy and missionaries running the Sylva parish also maintained a presence on the nearby WCU campus. Behm was not an ordained clergy member but worked there as a missionary, or brother, on behalf of the religious community until 1984 when Glenmary assigned him to work in another state.

Current leaders of the Charlotte diocese said July 9 they had no prior knowledge of this abuse allegation, and were reviewing the suit and praying for the claimant.

In a statement, the diocese said its historical review of clergy personnel and other files in 2019 “found no record of any allegations of child sexual abuse by Al Behm during his time in North Carolina 40 years ago.”

Glenmary President Father Dan Dorsey said in a July 9 statement, “I cannot comment on active lawsuits, but I can say that at times in the past Glenmary has failed to protect minors and vulnerable adults.

Moreover, our response to victims LAWSUIT, SEE PAGE 11

UPcoming events 4

catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following upcoming events: JULY 17 – 10 A.M. Ministry of Acolyte Mass St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

JULY 23 – 6 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation Our Lady of the Americas Church, Biscoe

JULY 20 – 4 P.M. Catholic Charities Board Meeting Pastoral Center, Charlotte

JULY 27 – 6 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation Immaculate Conception Church, Hendersonville

JULY 29 – 6 P.M. Sacrament of Confirmation St. Mary, Mother of God Church, Sylva

Diocesan calendar of events July 16, 2021

CONFERENCES & CATECHESIS

Volume 30 • NUMBER 21

EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS: Friday-Saturday, Sept. 17-18, Charlotte Convention Center, 501 South College St., Charlotte. This spiritually unifying event brings together thousands of Catholics from across the diocese and the Southeast for spiritual talks, music, prayer and fellowship – all centered around the Eucharist. Everyone is welcome! Go to www.goEucharist.com for details.

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

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

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

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

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

ESPAÑOL UNA VIGILIA DE ADORACIÓN POR LA PAZ Y LA JUSTICIA EN NICARAGUA: Los jueves a las 6 p.m., nos reunimos en la Catedral San Patricio para, que en estos últimos meses está pasando por momentos turbulentos y ataques físicos contra la Iglesia Católica, sus templos, y sus Obispos. Todos son bienvenidos a unirse a la Adoración, rezar el Santo Rosario y la corona de adoración y reparación, y terminando con la oración de exorcismo de San Miguel Arcángel. La vigilia de oración es en español. Vigilias de julio: 8, 15, 22 y 29.

VIGILIA DE LOS DOS CORAZONES: Primer viernes y sábado del mes, en la Catedral San Patricio, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. Únase cada primer viernes del mes a una vigilia nocturna para honrar los Corazones de Jesús y María, orar por nuestras familias, ofrecer penitencia por nuestros pecados y pedir por la conversión de nuestra nación. La devoción comienza el viernes 2 de Julio a las 8 p.m. con la celebración de la Santa Misa, seguido de Adoración nocturna y concluye con la Misa del sábado el 3 de Julio a las 8 a.m.

Para inscribirse a una hora de Adoración, visite www.

ProLifeCharlotte.org/dos-corazones.

PRAYER SERVICES & GROUPS RETURN TO GOD PRAYER MINISTRY: 1 p.m., Saturday, July 24, Veterans Park, 201 Huntersville-Concord Road, Huntersville. Come pray at this peaceful public prayer event with members of the St. Mark Church community.

All are welcome. For details, go to www.returntogodnow. com.

33-DAY CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH: Consider making a consecration to St. Joseph using “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father” by Father Donald Calloway, MIC. Starting the 33-day series of prayers on Tuesday, July 20, would conclude on Saturday, Aug. 21, the feast of Our Lady of Knock. Learn more at www.yearofstjoseph.org.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING “Protecting God’s Children” (“Protegiendo a los Niños de Dios”) workshops educate parish volunteers to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse. For details, contact your parish office. To register for training, go to www.virtus. org. Upcoming workshops are: ASHEBORO: 8-11 a.m. Saturday, July 17, at St. Joseph Church, 512 West Wainman Ave. Spanish only.

FILE | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Volunteers at the annual Eucharistic Congress enjoy lending a hand and having fellowship with fellow Catholics at this diocesan “family reunion.”

2021 Eucharistic Congress: Calling all volunteers CHARLOTTE — Parishioners are invited to volunteer their time and talents to the 17th annual Eucharistic Congress, which will take place Sept. 17-18 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Every year hundreds of volunteers pitch in to make this growing event an exciting, spirit-filled day for themselves and thousands of others.

For the 2021 Eucharistic Congress, help is needed on Friday, Sept. 17, and Saturday, Sept. 18, with the roles of ushers, greeters, procession assistants, information booth

staff and book sales.

Volunteers serve in 1.5- to threehour shifts based on their interests and availability. Shifts start at 6 p.m. Friday and continue until the close of the Eucharistic Congress at the vigil Mass on Saturday.

— Catholic News Herald

FRANKLIN: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 299 Maple St. English only. Lunch provided.

SUPPORT GROUPS

HICKORY: 2-5 p.m. Friday, July 30, and 2-5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. N.E. Both sessions offered in Spanish only.

HIGH POINT: 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4145 Johnson St. Meet in St. Edwards A.

Go online At www.goeucharist.com: Learn more about the 2021 Eucharistic Congress and sign up to be a volunteer

RACHEL’S VINEYARD: Are you or a loved one seeking healing from the effects of a past abortion? Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreats are offered. For details: Jackie Childers at 980-241-0251 or Jackie.childers1@gmail.com.

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

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

Elder Ministry urges all to celebrate grandparents, the elderly KIMBERLY BENDER ONLINE REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — “I am with you always” is the theme of the Church’s first World Day of Grandparents and Elderly July 25. Catholic Charities’ Elder Ministry encourages everyone to celebrate.

Pope Francis said he created the day because “grandparents are often forgotten, and we forget this wealth of preserving roots and passing on” what the elderly have received.

Adding this celebration comes at a time marked by the pandemic and the suffering it has brought to older generations. Many of the elderly are dying alone, and families have been unable to attend funeral Masses.

The World Day is an opportunity to reaffirm that the Church can never remain distant from those who carry a cross. The theme chosen by Pope Francis expresses clearly that, during the pandemic and in the better times that we hope will follow, we as members of the Church need to support and uplift the elderly.

All generations can celebrate the day by expressing gratitude and love for the elderly among us, praying for them and not letting them feel forgotten. People are encouraged to visit their grandparents and the elderly to mark the occasion. The elderly can obtain a plenary indulgence by participating in a Mass offered that day.

Elder Ministry reaches out to engage and celebrate with the elderly all year long. They collaborate with private, state and community-based organizations to promote opportunities for advocacy and education while helping raise awareness of aging issues.

In May, Elder Ministry hosted a webinar series entitled “Options for Paying for Long-Term Care,” which included information about VA benefits, Medicaid/Medicare and long-term care insurance.

During three Masses last month at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte, Elder Ministry, along with the Department of Justice, worked to raise awareness of elders who are abused and victimized.

Elder Ministry also collaborated with Guilford County Department of Social Services’ Adult Protective Services on a webinar, “Elder Abuse Awareness and Prevention,” on June 15 in recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The World Day for Grandparents and Elderly will be celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July to coincide with the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents. The artwork above illustrates the special day.

More online At www.ccdoc.org/en/elder-ministry: Find upcoming Elder Ministry events and resources

Adult education program embraces digital trend CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CHARLOTTE — The growing popularity of online learning is changing the way the Diocese of Charlotte delivers adult faith education, with more programming going virtual to give people easy access to resources that will help them more fully live their faith.

While the diocese continues to offer in-person faith education opportunities – such as the upcoming fifth annual Diocesan Catechetical Conference in October – it also plans to enhance online courses so more people can engage at their convenience.

“People are increasingly comfortable using online learning platforms, particularly as a result of the pandemic,” said Father Roger Arnsparger, vicar of education for catechetical formation. “We’ll continue to offer in-person education for faith formation, community building, networking and discussion – and at the same time, we’ll extend our reach online.”

Online programs offer high-quality, comprehensive training that is available on demand, he said. “They offer a wide array of opportunities and methods for parishioners to study the faith in preparation for serving the Church.”

Many Catholic universities are also offering online programs of formation for the laity, such as Franciscan University, the University of Dayton, and the University of Notre Dame.

Digital natives in particular are accustomed to exploring online offerings that teach in a variety of ways, through elements such as video, graphics and different lecture and writing styles, diocesan officials said.

Online learning is a complement to more traditional educational outreach, Father Arnsparger said, such as the diocese’s catechetical conference, where adults from across the diocese come together for a day of prayer, continuing education and collaboration. The last conference drew 550 participants.

The shift in programming meant the recent closure of

the diocese’s Lay Ministry Program, which graduated 119 people in 2020 but saw enrollment in the current program drop to an unsustainable 66 participants, Father Arnsparger said. The diocese hopes to build on the program’s 31-year legacy with online content that provides in-depth lessons delivered wherever participants are, on any device.

“Some of this diocese’s most devoted lay leaders have come through the Lay Ministry Program over the years, and we want to use technology to continue – and elevate – that tradition,” said Monsignor Patrick Winslow, the diocese’s vicar general and chancellor. “Digital programming helps us meet parishioners where they are and enable them to deepen their education at their own pace.”

Current participants in the two-year Lay Ministry Program have been offered the option to continue their second year of learning free through the diocese’s online catechist certification program. The diocese’s Faith Formation Office is planning to accompany the students with online assistance and in-person group meetings. Candidates seeking to become permanent deacons have already moved to this program as part of their formation process.

Donna Schronce, a parishioner at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton, is among current Lay Ministry participants who said she will shift to the online offerings. While Schronce enjoyed her local class in Lenoir, she looks forward to deepening her knowledge of Catholicism through the online format, to help in her new role as altar guild director at her parish.

“I want to learn more about the Catholic faith, and the online program (format) doesn’t bother me,” said Schronce, who converted to Catholicism three years ago. “If I’m going to be more involved in a leadership LAY MINISTRY, SEE PAGE 11

OUR PARISHESI

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As pandemic subsides, anti-abuse training picks up KIMBERLY BENDER ONLINE REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — Abuse-prevention training for volunteers is ramping up as activities return to parishes and schools in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Volunteers, like staff, undergo VIRTUS training, called “Protecting God’s Children,” and undergo a background check. “Protecting God’s Children” helps adults learn to recognize the warning signs of abuse and the many ways that sexual abuse harms victims, families, parishes and communities. It teaches them appropriate ways to respond to suspicious behaviors and how they can help to prevent abuse.

While VIRTUS training never stopped when COVID-19 forced parishes and schools to halt in-person gatherings, activities and volunteerism, Amy Ankenbruck, the safe environment program coordinator for the Diocese of Charlotte, said she is thrilled to see an increase in both the number of in-person training sessions and the number of volunteers completing training.

“I see a real uptick of volunteers now, especially parents registering to complete training to help at their child’s school,” Ankenbruck said. “Schools and parishes rely heavily on volunteers.”

After a year without in-person training sessions, there are nine scheduled from July through September. For all of the last fiscal year, ending in June 2021, there were only 20 inperson training sessions held. That’s down from 127 the prior year ending in June 2020 and 196 in the year before.

From July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, 1,383 people completed this training, about 10 percent of them in live sessions.

That’s a third of the number of people who completed the course the year before. And more than half of those were trained in-person. The year prior, which was not impacted by the shutdown, had nearly 4,500 people complete VIRTUS, with 3,352 trained live.

Background checks obtained by the diocese are also starting to trend toward a typical year’s amount. There were nearly 5,000 background check requests in the fiscal year prior to COVID-19.

The fiscal year of 2019-’20, which was only affected by the shutdown for a few months, saw 4,644 background requests.

Last fiscal year’s total was 3,786. That number was only that high because the diocese switched vendors and had a “free” grace period where they completed a lot of renewals during that time to save money, diocesan officials noted.

“Background checks are definitely picking up again,” said diocesan Human Resources Director Terri Wilhelm.

VIRTUS has always had online training available and some people did take advantage of that during the shutdown, Ankenbruck said. There were even a couple training sessions held virtually over Zoom.

“We prefer the live training,” she said. “You get so much more out of having a facilitator there to answer questions and to lead group discussions.”

A challenge for Ankenbruck and parish-level facilitators now is that some volunteer accounts lapsed over the past year. If you need help with reinstating your account, contact Ankenbruck or your parish.

UPDATED PROGRAM COMING

People often ask: “Why do I need this training?”

Ankenbruck said.

“Protecting God’s Children” focuses on how to create a safe environment for children – not looking at everyone, including those who attend the classes, as a potential abuser, she noted. “We don’t teach fire safety because we think you’re an arsonist. We all learn about fire safety. It’s not because you think you’re going to set the world on fire. It’s learning how to conduct ourselves to be safe and identifying if someone else isn’t acting in a safe way.”

“Protecting God’s Children” is releasing a new, updated program with revamped videos, discussion points and more precise language. Ankenbruck said she hopes to start training parish facilitators with the new program next month.

“The biggest thing with the training is it really focuses on how to detect something that is of concern, not even to the level of abuse,” she said. “It’s recognizing something wrong and being able to report what is happening.”

She said the revamped program emphasizes the message of hope and that we do have the ability to make a difference in others’ lives. The new program also has clear directives on what to do if you notice something that isn’t right.

More online At www.virtusonline.org: Find an upcoming training session or continue your ongoing training

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 OUR PARISHES

NFP WEEK: JULY 25-31, 2021

Natural Family Planning supports God’s gifts of love and life in marriage

NFP Awareness Week: ‘To have, to hold, to honor’ CHARLOTTE — “To have … To hold … To honor, Natural Family Planning, Supporting God’s gifts of love and life in marriage” is the theme of this year’s national Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, an educational campaign of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to celebrate God’s vision for marriage and promote the methods of Natural Family Planning.

Natural Family Planning is the general title for ethical, natural, safe and effective methods for both achieving and avoiding pregnancy in marriage. NFP methods teach couples how to observe and interpret the wife’s signs of fertility and infertility. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, NFP methods “respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them and favor the education of an authentic freedom” (CCC 2370).

The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week are July 25-31. These dates highlight the July 25 anniversary of the papal encyclical “Humanae vitae,” which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.

The Diocese of Charlotte joins with the U.S. bishops in highlighting the benefits of NFP as ethical methods to help married couples live God’s design for their marriages.

Services, regularly offers free NFP-focused courses, in English and in Spanish, around the diocese for small groups. Online and private instruction options are also available. Continued support is provided for follow-up, when seeking to prepare for pregnancy, and during transitions, such as postpartum or perimenopause.

The diocese also offers laypeople and health professionals guidance for making their medical practices pro-life and affirming of fertility. Are you looking for an NFP-supportive physician, or are you a health professional interested in continuing education related to NFP? Contact Natural Family Planning Program Director Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-370-3230 or bnadcock@ charlottediocese.org.

Learn more online At www.ccdoc.org/en/services/family-enrichment/naturalfamily-planning: Learn more about NFP classes offered in the Diocese of Charlotte

The diocese’s NFP program, which falls under the umbrella of Catholic Charities’ Family Enrichment

At www.usccb.org/topics/natural-family-planning/churchteaching: Learn more about embracing God’s plan for married love and the Church’s teachings that support the use of NFP in marriage

MY STORY: Megan Blum

MY STORY: Jillian Martel

Two pink lines stared back at my husband and me, as we read the test strip for the first time trumpeting the revelation that God had blessed our new marriage, just in its second month, with the gift of life. I was in the middle of my fast-paced physician assistant training program, and getting pregnant was not in our plan. But it was in God’s plan. Many emotions hit us that day – excitement, joy, anxiety, fear and faith. We had many questions for God, including: Would we be able to find a Catholic medical practice to support us during our journey to parenthood and beyond? Thankfully, we were able to find a local Catholic physician in our small town in the North Carolina foothills. However, this is not always the case for women and their spouses in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Many of you may have struggled, or know of someone who has struggled, to find a medical practice that provides holistic women’s healthcare that honors and respects the teachings of the Catholic faith. Or maybe you have found a practice, only to find out that it’s too far away or not accepting new patients. I aim to fix this problem for rural Catholic North Carolinians and anyone seeking pro-life women’s care.

My name is Megan Blum, and I am a Catholic physician assistant living in the diocese. This is my sixth year in the Church, and St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body played a huge part in my conversion. I strive to honor women’s God-given dignity and design in my medical practice. I am eager to start a telehealth practice through My Catholic Doctor to provide fertility-awareness-based medicine to women living in the two dioceses of North Carolina – especially women living in rural North Carolina. My goal is to offer medical management of women’s health issues, such as infertility, premenstrual syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome, irregular cycles, acne, menopause symptom management, and post-partum anxiety and depression – among many others. I want to offer this care via telehealth using top fertility-awareness based medicine models, including Naprotechnology, FEMM and Marquette.

I cannot do this without the support of time, talent and treasure from the faithful of our great diocese. Many talented medical professionals and natural family planning instructors in our diocese have given their time and talent to mentor me on this journey. For this, I am beyond grateful. Some have given their treasure, as well. To become certified in the three models mentioned above, I need to raise $13,000 for tuition and other educational expenses. I am about $11,000 short of my goal.

I am raising money through a GoFundMe page. If you find it in your heart to give to my cause, any amount donated is a huge blessing and would help offset the cost of the training.

If you cannot donate, would you consider lifting my medical practice up in your prayers? Please pray that women in rural North Carolina and in other rural areas of the United States will find medical professionals who acknowledge their true and beautiful design. I will leave you with one last thought from Psalm 139:14: “I praise you, for I am wondrously made. Wonderful are your works!”

May we all experience the wonder in God’s glorious design of women and their gift of fertility.

You can find my GoFundMe here: www.gofund.me/d9603aeb. Additionally, please help me get the word out about my fundraiser and about the lack of fertility-awareness-based medicine in North Carolina by sharing my story to friends, family or colleagues. For further information, contact me at pablumfundraiser@gmail.com.

I think the Holy Spirit has to work extra hard on some people. I’m one of those people. I have been practicing as an OB/GYN physician in the south Charlotte area for eight years now. A lifelong Catholic, I always considered myself a pro-life physician. But working in a secular practice, prescribing hormonal birth control was a part of my daily work. While I always knew of the Church’s teaching about hormonal contraception, I honestly just chose to ignore it – convincing myself that the teaching was antiquated and therefore didn’t apply for women today, either for myself or my patients. Sadly, in medical training, we are taught to treat a majority of gynecologic conditions with hormonal birth control, implants or IUDs, and so that’s what I did for four years of residency and eight years of private practice.

It wasn’t until 2020, when the pandemic hit, that I began to see the error in this thinking and this way of practicing. As so many of my internal medicine, ICU and ER colleagues were putting their lives at risk treating COVID-19 patients, I was sitting safely at home doing virtual visits prescribing birth control over the internet. It just felt lonely and wrong. So I began to look more closely at Scripture and the Church’s teaching.

This is where the Holy Spirit led me to a conversion of heart, leading me to several people who helped guide me in this process.

While sitting in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport waiting on a delayed flight, I read “Humane vitae” for the first time. I began looking into fertility-awareness-based methods (FABM) of treating gynecologic and other hormonal problems. I began really talking to patients and began to recognize that many of my patients – Catholic or not – are simply looking for a better way to plan pregnancies and to treat hormonal and fertility problems. Many, if not most, of my patients were frustrated with the risks, side effects and costs of the hormonal contraception I had been prescribing them.

St. Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

And here I was, a cradle Catholic, prescribing birth control that was harming both the spiritual and physical aspects of my patients’ lives.

The Holy Spirit went to work in my personal life as well. After seven years of marriage, most of those spent using hormonal contraception, my husband and I began using NFP. It has made a world of difference in our communication and in the health of our marriage.

Like I said, the Holy Spirit really had to work on me. It took a pandemic and eight years of secular practice to move this mountain. I have at last accepted the calling to transition my practice to FABM, or Natural Family Planning (NFP). Unfortunately, the medical profession of OB/GYN is completely at odds with the tenets of NFP and therefore, medical training in this particular arena is not provided in the vast majority of medical schools and residency programs. I have completed training in fertility education and medical management (FEMM), and have been blown away by how much there is to learn. I will be attending the natural procreative technology (NAPRO) training in the fall in Omaha, Neb., to better serve Charlotte-area residents looking for this type of medical care. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to be patient with me, guiding me to always practice with His truth in my heart and to practice medicine as a servant of God and His people.

— Megan Blum

— Jillian Johnston, MD, FACOG; Novant Health Southeast OB/GYN

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Deacon Voegele passes away, aged 79

St. Matthew Church’s annual Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive draws thousands of volunteers to benefit local and international antihunger efforts.

FILE | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. Matthew Parish launches 2021 World Hunger Drive CHARLOTTE — Headlines out of Haiti over the past week have brought a heightened focus to St. Matthew Church’s annual Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive.

The Charlotte parish’s annual anti-hunger campaign benefits the people of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where 80 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day. Political instability, COVID-19, a failing economy, gang violence, droughts and hurricanes are not only raising the levels of hunger but also leading to increased levels of severe child malnutrition. Last year, five out of every eight children suffered from chronic malnutrition.

To help respond to the need, this year’s World Hunger Drive will include both a virtual fundraising event as well as an in-person mealpacking event.

The virtual fundraiser launched July 10 and will continue until Aug. 1. On Sept. 11, the parish will host an in-person meal-packing event, where an expected 1,200 volunteers will pack 300,000 meals.

The meal-packing event will be part of a number of engaging parish-wide events in September to celebrate the parish’s 35th anniversary.

Now in its 19th year, the World Hunger Drive has made a huge difference in people’s lives.

“Despite the many challenges faced by all of us in 2020, and through the overwhelming generosity of our parish family and the community, we were able to exceed our goals by raising $270,000,” the parish said in a statement. “This enabled us to collect over 250,000 pounds of food and supplies for aid in Haiti and our own community.”

In response to critical food shortages caused by the pandemic, the parish sent $50,000 to the Missionaries of the Poor to purchase emergency food. The parish also provided materials and spiritual support to people in need in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, as well as the students at St. Marc Tremesse School by donating $30,000, which will support sixty students with education, food and health care over the course of the year.

Beyond this support for the people of Haiti, the parish also sent $3,000 to Venezuela to help support a parish food program for children, and committed $20,000 to India to provide food and education at a boys’ hostel.

This year, the parish’s goal is to provide a minimum of 320,000 pounds of food and critical supplies to the Missionaries of the Poor to distribute in Cap-Haitien. Donations will fund sustainability projects and continue to subsidize education at St. Marc School, while expanding the secondary school and starting a trade school. A donation of $100 will feed one of these children for a year.

The 2021 drive will also enable the parish to continue supportive efforts in Venezuela and India, as well as providing food and funds to assist Charlotte-area homeless through food banks such as Second Harvest and Mel’s Diner.

— Catholic News Herald

How you can help At www.stmatthewcatholic.org/world-hunger-drive: Get information on ways to donate and view an inspiring video of the project

First Responder Appreciation Week MOORESVILLE — Volunteers at St. Therese Church recently had the honor of holding their second annual “First Responder Appreciation Week.”

Many of the parish’s ministries participated during the week of May 24 to make sure that local first responders had a place to grab a meal and take a break. First responders were treated to breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Although theirs may sometimes be a thankless job, local firefighters, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, EMS and state troopers were shown God’s love as the parish opened its doors. The week concluded with a prayer service in their honor and asking for God’s protection and blessings.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MOLLIE ANDERSON AND LISA CASH

HENDERSONVILLE — Deacon Richard “Rich” G. Voegele, 79, passed away Monday, July 5, 2021, at The Elizabeth House Hospice Care in the Asheville area.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Friday, July 9, 2021, at St. Barnabas Voegele Church in Arden with Father Adrian Porras, pastor, officiating. Burial followed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hendersonville.

A native of Glendale, N.Y., he was born Aug. 9, 1941, the son of the late Rudolph and Anna Langhans Voegele.

His career included 16 years as an avionics supervisor. Later, he felt drawn to full-time study for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He then devoted his time and energy as a social worker helping those with special needs.

Soon after, his pastor encouraged him to study for the diaconate. He was ordained on May 22, 1999, for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., by Bishop John R. McGann. Deacon Voegele’s first assignment was at St. Rosalie Parish in Hampton Bays, N.Y., where he served for 18 years. In 2004, he was also granted faculties for the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla., where he served as a seasonal deacon for St. Sebastian Parish. Upon moving to Arden, he was granted faculties and assigned to St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville effective March 19, 2007. When he relocated to Hendersonville six years later, Deacon Voegele was assigned to Immaculate Conception Parish in Hendersonville on Aug. 1, 2013.

On July 2, 2015, he was granted retirement while maintaining all faculties.

During his 22 years of service to the people of God, Deacon Voegele and his wife Regina were active participants in parish activities and in outreach into the communities in which they lived. His was truly a life of following the Spirit of God. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Regina Wieman Voegele; one sister, Maryann Stack of Phoenix, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials contributions be made to Hendersonville Rescue Mission, online at www. hendersonvillerescuemission. com.

Groce Funeral Home and Cremation Service was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 OUR PARISHES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Deacon Jeff Evers, 35 years of faithful service Thank you for your strong faith and for being such a blessing to St. Luke Church.

St. Luke's Knights of Columbus Council 12832

Director of Human Resources Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., a rapidly growing region, is seeking an experienced professional for the position of Director of Human Resources and Safe Environment. The position develops, plans and executes initiatives based on a strategic vision for HR aligned with the mission of the Diocese of Charlotte. The position supervises a department of five and is responsible for oversight of all HR functions, including the development of personnel policies and procedures to ensure compliance with legal and diocesan requirements, consultation with diocesan entities regarding HR matters, and management of employee benefit programs. The Human Resources Director also has oversight responsibility for the administration of the diocesan Safe Environment programs, including training, screening and recordkeeping functions.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS: • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources Management, or a related field; HRCI and SHRM certifications preferred; • Have a minimum of ten years’ professional experience in Human Resources management and benefits planning and administration, including three years supervising, managing and evaluating staff; • Knowledge of applicable employment laws, rules, regulations and payroll practices; •Knowledge of the Catholic faith and the structures of the Catholic faith;

Monthly vigil held at cathedral to pray for an end to abortion CHARLOTTE — Skipping the usual Independence Day weekend activities of gatherings and fireworks, more than 40 faithful attendees traveled to St. Patrick Cathedral to pray for an end of abortion and for the conversion of the nation back to God at the Vigil of the Two Hearts devotion on first Friday evening, July 2. Father Jacob Mlakar, parochial vicar of St. Vincent De Paul Church in Charlotte, offered Mass, followed by a Holy Hour of Reparation led by Deacon Peter Tonon of St. Ann Church in Charlotte and then nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration.

The Vigil of the Two Hearts is offered each first Friday evening through first Saturday morning at the cathedral to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary devotions, while praying for the end of abortion, for strength of families, and for the country’s conversion back to God. The event is organized by the Carolina Pro-Life Action Network of Charlotte (C-PLAN). For more information, contact info@prolifecharlotte.org or visit www. prolifecharlotte.org/two-hearts.

CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

ASHEVILLE — Vandals defaced the longrevered statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus outside St. Lawrence Basilica over the Fourth of July weekend, but the majesty was quickly restored by parish staff.

Arriving for Mass around 8 a.m. Sunday, July 4, staff discovered the 7-foot statue of Jesus was covered in gallons of oil-based red paint. The damage occurred sometime after the vigil Mass on Saturday evening.

Parish Property Manager Bud Hansbury used graffiti remover, then repainted

St. Jude Novena St. Jude Novena

•Ability to maintain confidentiality.

be adored, glorified, loved and

Applications accepted through August 16, 2021

preserved throughout the world now and forever.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us, St. Jude, help of the hopeless, pray for us.

Published in gratitude for prayers answered.

DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE

— Donald Barrett

Beauty restored after vandalism to statue at Asheville basilica

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Interested candidates are invited to send a letter of interest with resume and salary history to employment@charlottediocese.org. The letter of interest should elaborate on why the candidate is interested in this position with the Catholic Church and explain (with examples) why they are uniquely qualified for the position.

HIGH POINT — Three Immaculate Heart of Mary School graduates were recognized for winning entries in the school’s annual Respect Life Essay Contest during a year-end Mass and closing ceremony June 8: n Sofia Schnaith-Ivan won first place for her essay about protecting God’s creation n Margaret Solka won second place for her essay about suicide n Mahol Chom won third place for an essay about abortion The annual essay contest is organized by the parish’s Respect Life Committee, under the guidance of Maryann Leonard, PhD, NBCT, who teaches language arts to students in grades 6-8. Sponsored by the Bishop Haley Council 4507 Knights of Columbus, the contest encourages graduating eighth-graders to give early thought to today’s important human life issues.

Pictured are (from left): Sofia Schnaight-Ivan, Mahol Chom and Margaret Sojka.

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent

•Strong verbal, written, analytical, public presentation, computer and interpersonal skills; For more information about the Diocese of Charlotte and this position, please visit https://bit.ly/3r90NRj.

IHM essay contest winners announced by Knights and parish

Thank you, K.D.

the statue of Jesus from the neck down, restoring its beauty before the noon Mass on Sunday.

The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which has greeted westbound motorists on I-240 for decades, features Jesus with His arms outstretched and the image of a heart upon His chest, representing Christ’s love for all of humanity. It stands 10 feet tall including the base.

Father Roger Arnsparger, pastor, spoke to parishioners about the incident during Masses that weekend, asking them to pray for peace and respect for everyone.

The parish reported the incident to the Asheville Police Department.

“We are praying for those who did this, and we are endlessly grateful for the support of our community,” Father Arnsparger told the Catholic News Herald.

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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Celebrating the sacraments BOONVILLE — Children at Divine Redeemer (Divino Redentor) Church recently received the sacrament of first Holy Communion. Four Masses were offered by Father José Enrique Gonzalez Gaytán, pastor, at the Boonville parish.

PHOTOS BY SERGIO LOPEZ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY AMY BURGER

HUNTERSVILLE — Approximately 170 children received the sacrament of first Holy Communion during five Masses in May at St. Mark Parish. Pictured are First Communicants Jacob Dennis McCuen and Kayslee Brito.

BOONVILLE — Dozens of young people at Divine Redeemer (Divino Redentor) Church recently received the sacrament of confirmation. Mass was offered by Bishop Peter Jugis and concelebrated

by Father José Enrique Gonzalez Gaytán, pastor.

SERGIO LOPEZ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Southern Homes of the Carolinas David Fuller REALTOR / Broker

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV n Saturday, July 17, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Saint Bridget of Sweden.” An EWTN original movie presenting the life and mystical revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden, known for her great charity and prayer.

In theaters

Pope Francis CNS | COURTESY DISTRIB FILMS

This is an image from the documentary “Lourdes,” which is a portrait of one of the world’s most popular pilgrimage sites and of the suffering people who are drawn to it.

‘Black Widow’ With the Avengers ensemble of superheroes temporarily in disarray, one of its members (Scarlett Johansson), from whose moniker the film takes its title, battles a Russian villain (Ray Winstone) bent on world domination. She finds potential allies in the ostensible sister (Florence Pugh) and parents (David Harbour and Rachel Weisz) with whom she posed as a family in childhood while the grown-ups worked as sleeper agents in the United States.

Large-scale special effects and intrepid derringdo are wedded to themes of clan solidarity, compassion toward adversaries and contrition for past misdeeds in director Cate Shortland’s Marvel Comics-derived action adventure. But the former overshadow the latter, weakening the impact of the morally respectable points screenwriter Eric Pearson seeks to make.

Frequent stylized but sometimes harsh violence, a few mild oaths, about a half-dozen uses each of crude and crass language.

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

‘The Boss Baby: Family Business’ Its chaotic plot and somewhat colicky disposition may leave viewers of this followup to the 2017 animated comedy wishing the stork had stayed home this time. Now grown to maturity, the brothers (voices of James Marsden and Alec Baldwin) whose childhood rivalry-turned-partnership was charted in the original have also become estranged. Marsden’s character is a dedicated husband and father while Baldwin’s is a hard-driving unmarried tycoon too busy to nurture relations with his relatives. But the siblings are compelled to work together after dad’s infant daughter, who is inexplicably endowed, as was her uncle at her age, with some of the attributes of an adult, discovers that the principal of her older sister’s school is plotting to disrupt family life worldwide. The movie’s laughs are few, its pace frenetic and its tone irritating. Perilous situations, a mild oath, at least one crass term.

CNS: A-II (adults and adolescents); MPAA: PG

Other movies: n ‘Luca’: CNS: A-I (general patronage); MPAA: PG n ‘F9: The Fast Saga’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘The Forever Purge’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R n ‘Zola’: CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R

‘LOURDES’ Film lets devotees provide visual, emotional substance of Lourdes’ story JOHN MULDERIG CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

NEW YORK — In the documentary “Lourdes” (Distrib Films), filmmakers Alban Teurlai and Thierry Demaiziere present a moving portrait of one of the world’s most popular pilgrimage sites and of the suffering people who are drawn to it.

Their accomplished work is currently showing at New York City’s Film Forum.

Far too wrenching for youngsters, the movie also contains thematic material and some dialogue that make it appropriate for adult viewers only. One of the first travelers to the sacred venue to whom the audience is introduced, for example, is a sexually confused transvestite prostitute trying to break free of his degraded lifestyle.

Other pilgrims have more conventional stories. They range from a 40-year-old man who was profoundly disabled when hit by a car in childhood to a patient suffering from ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the father and brother of a 2-year-old boy in palliative care.

Wisely, Teurlai and Demaiziere adopt a hands-off approach, allowing Lourdes and its devotees to provide the visual and emotional substance, respectively. Voiceovers, by contrast, allow us to eavesdrop on some of the voyagers’ heartfelt prayers. Yet this does not feel intrusive. Instead, their invocations bear powerful witness to the faith by which they are motivated.

As most Catholics will already know, the religious significance of the titular French community, which lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees, began in 1858 when Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879).

Since then, as the documentarians point out, many miraculous healings have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Of these, 70 have been recognized as supernatural by the church.

As if to balance the transcendental nature of such occurrences – and of the hopes they continue to spark – the narrative also includes some of the earthy realities by which those who serve the ailing sojourners to Lourdes are confronted.

Some may regard these concrete details as unpleasant. But viewers will be unanimous in recognizing that the physical effort devoted to allowing those who cannot fend for themselves to bathe in the shrine’s spring water is nothing short of inspiring. The depiction of this ritual marks the movie’s poignant climax.

While unsuitable for group catechesis, “Lourdes” will touch the hearts and renew the spirits of individual moviegoers. They will also appreciate the respectful tone with which matters of faith are treated in this challenging, but ultimately uplifting, picture.

In French. Subtitles.

n Sunday, July 18, 6 a.m. (EWTN) “Angelus with Pope Francis.” Pope Francis leads the world in the recitation of the Angelus, live from Rome. n Sunday, July 18, 6 p.m. (EWTN) “Messiah: Exile by the Waters of Babylon.” Through 70 years of slavery, exile and defeat, Israel clings to the promise of a Messiah who will conquer their enemies, free them from oppression and build a temple that will never be destroyed. n Sunday, July 18, 9 p.m. (History) “The Machines That Built America.”

First two back-to-back episodes of a new series exploring the groundbreaking technological innovations that helped turn the United States into a superpower. n Monday, July 19, 11:30 a.m. (EWTN) “They Might be Saints: Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich.” The short, impactful life of Teresa Demjanovich.

Michael O’Neill presents the case for canonization for this Sister of Charity, which includes the only known cure of bilateral macular degeneration. n Wednesday, July 21, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “EWTN Live” On this episode of the weekly program, series host Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa is joined by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, who discusses the order’s mission and spirituality. n Friday, July 23, 11:30 a.m. (EWTN) “St. Teresa of Avila.” An illuminating docudrama examining the life of the 16th Century saint and mystic Teresa of Avila. n Saturday, July 24, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “Charbel.”

An intimate biography of Saint Charbel Makhluf, a Lebanese monk known as a healer and miracle worker. Living a Makhluf solitary life, he dedicated himself fully to sharing and humility, uniting both Christians and Muslims.

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

WORKERS FROM PAGE 3

but they are meeting folks who come to the church and office, and this allows them to be known in person.”

Seminarian Peter Townsend, who attends St. Ann Parish in Charlotte, is one of this year’s St. Joseph Workers.

“The St. Joseph Workers program is a great opportunity to continue living the life of a seminarian while on summer vacation,” Townsend says. “It can be difficult, especially after becoming accustomed to seminary life and its daily schedule, to going back to a more relaxed routine.

“However, with the St. Joseph Workers program, I am able to maintain our prayer schedule, remain in community, and live with the Blessed Sacrament, all while traveling to different locations throughout the diocese to serve the people of God.” Seminarians want to participate in the program, he adds, so they can remain connected to prayer, brotherhood and the Holy Eucharist during the summer break.

LAWSUIT FROM PAGE 3

has often been inadequate. On behalf of Glenmary I deeply regret these failures.

Glenmary is committed to healing and justice for all involved.”

In October 2019, Glenmary publicly named Behm on its list of credibly accused missioners for an allegation of abuse it said was reported to have occurred outside North Carolina. That list prompted the Diocese of Charlotte to include Behm on the diocese’s accountability website, on a list of those who once served here and later were accused of abuse elsewhere.

LAY MINISTRY FROM PAGE 5

position, I really want to deepen my understanding of the faith.”

Lay Ministry student Jesse Boeckermann said he too will complete the program online. He’s the director of Catholic Charities’ Western Regional Office. “The knowledge that I’ve gained from the Lay Ministry Program has added to my ability to be a better parishioner, volunteer and member of the Knights of Columbus and other parish ministries.”

Established in 1990, the diocese’s Lay Ministry Program trained 1,287

‘I hope that our witness will allow people to get to know us on a more personal level – we aren’t just faces on a card!’ Peter Townsend, St. Joseph College seminarian “I hope that our witness will allow people to get to know us on a more personal level – we aren’t just faces on a card!

– and will let them know that we are willing to serve them,” Townsend says, referring to the seminarian posters and prayer cards found in every parish throughout the diocese.

“I think that a man’s character is revealed in how he treats his work and responsibilities,” he also says. “As a result, the seminarians with the St. Joseph Workers program are hoping that by working well, being a light to

“The Charlotte diocese has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and we continue to encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to seek help and report to authorities,” the diocese’s statement said.

According to information provided by Glenmary, Behm joined the order as a lay missionary in 1960 and served in nine dioceses before leaving the society in 1993.

Attorneys filed the lawsuit claiming it is timely under North Carolina’s 2019 SAFE Child Act, which provides for a two-year window to bring certain civil claims of child sexual abuse that had been precluded by the state’s statute of limitations.

The full statement from the Diocese of Charlotte reads: The Diocese of Charlotte’s historical file review found no record of any allegations

laypeople for service in their parishes and communities. Until last year, it was a prerequisite in the diocese’s permanent deacon formation program.

The online catechist certification program is free to registrants thanks to funding from the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. It is produced by the Catholic Education Center, a privately-owned initiative based in the Diocese of Arlington, Va. “We’d like to make this program and many others available to all adults interested in learning more about the faith,” Father Arnsparger said. “One thing we learned from COVID is that good digital content can reach significant numbers of people and can play a key role in our efforts to bring people to Our Lord.”

“Get your ducks in a row!”

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others and by putting all of our effort into any project, the people of the diocese will know that we will work just as hard as their pastors and priests.

“There are good and hard-working men with the program this year, and I’m proud to work alongside them wherever we go and whatever we do.”

The St. Joseph Workers program benefits parishes and families who hire them by having contact with the men, getting to know them and contributing to their formation, as well as supporting vocations generally.

“One man who spent time with the seminarians told me, ‘They are amazing young men. They work hard, fast and smart,’” Father Buettner says. “Another man who worked with them reported, ‘The young men you sent did a fabulous job. I was very impressed by the knowledge they already had, how well they quickly grasped the scope of the project, and how well they took direction.’”

He says the program has grown so well in its short history that for the first time this summer, the workers didn’t have to look for work to do. “Requests for the St. Joseph Workers extended beyond what the workers could accomplish in a summer,” he notes.

of child sexual abuse by Al Behm during his time in North Carolina 40 years ago.

Behm was a lay missionary whose supervising religious order, the Ohiobased Glenmary Home Missioners, served sparsely populated areas of far western North Carolina. The order assigned Behm to work at Western Carolina University in 1980. They assigned him to ministry outside of North Carolina in 1984, and Behm left the Glenmary order in 1993.

In October 2019, Behm was publicly named on Glenmary’s list of members accused of abuse, for an allegation the order said was reported to have occurred in Kentucky in the 1970s. Glenmary’s list prompted the Diocese of Charlotte to include Behm’s name on our accountability website, on a list of those who served here

and were later accused of abuse elsewhere.

The Charlotte diocese has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and we continue to encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to seek help and report to authorities.

Suspect sexual abuse or misconduct?

If you have information about possible sexual abuse or misconduct by any clergy, employee or volunteer of the Diocese of Charlotte, please contact law enforcement. You can also report concerns safely, securely and anonymously 24/7 over the phone at 888-630-5929 or online at www.RedFlagReporting.com/RCDOC.

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CATHOLIC N CATHOL

Getaways with A

MAUREEN PRATT CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

comfortable outfit. A question about life’s direction. A toothbrush, toothpaste. And these days, a pandemic-weary heart.

Along with everyday items, people making retreats often “pack” questions or concerns that they hope to engage with during their time in quiet, away. These vary from person to person, influenced by personal experience, present concerns and even, perhaps, anxiety about personal piety or “worthiness.”

The type of retreat can frame questions, too. A preached, group retreat might focus on a particular topic about faith or spirituality, whereas a self-directed retreat might provide less structure and more spiritual breathing room.

But whether for a 30-day Ignatian experience or a weekend of faith exploration, one of the blessings of a retreat is that neither the packing nor the person making the “getaway with God” need be perfect. Unexpected peace, new forms of prayer, insight, relaxation and reflection can bring the retreatant, however imperfect, into a profoundly rich experience.

“Retreats aren’t just for pious people. They’re for people trying to find God in their lives, in whatever clumsy or bumbling way. You don’t have to be perfect to walk in the retreat door,” says Jesuit Father William Campbell, director of Gonzaga Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, Mass.

“Once the person is here, we begin from a place of Ignatian spirituality,” Father Campbell says. “We’ll often ask the directee or retreatant, ‘Why are you here? What’s the desire within you that’s prompted you to make the retreat? In the midst of this desire, who is God for you now?’”

He added, “Focus on the present can be a blessed beginning for first-time retreatants afraid of being ‘inadequately prepared.’ It can also encourage those with more retreat experience, but who might have been so distanced from faith during the pandemic that they are not sure how to reengage.”

A blessing on any retreat, more time to pray can spark insight and connections with profound faith traditions.

Retreats also provide a way to find solace for anyone who has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People are definitely thrilled to be able to gather together,” says Deacon Scott Gilfillan, who runs the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. “I see a deep human longing for interpersonal contact that was suppressed for over a year. In May, groups started returning in significant numbers. Every person I talked to said the same: It’s good to be back in the company of other people of faith.”

This special encounter with prayer and liturgy in a retreat’s quieter and usually lovely setting can also be a good way to ease back into parish life.

“People want to reconnect with their faith,” says Benedictine Father Patrick Sheridan, “and do it in a place that’s a little less crowded, a little more calm than their parish.” Father Sheridan is the guestmaster at St. Andrew’s Abbey Retreat Center in Valyermo, Calif.

Deacon Gilfillan agrees. “I think people are also longing to find a deeper connection with God. Midway through the pandemic, we started promoting private ‘Find Your Center’ retreats. Going from maybe one private retreat a year in the pre-pandemic days, we’re now getting one or two a month.”

The “Find Your Center” retreats have become so popular, he said, that he is refurbishing a 100-year-old farmhouse on the property to better accommodate private, silent retreats, and he is obtaining continuing education in spiritual direction to be able to better serve retreat participants.

What are retreat-goers looking for?

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NEWS HERALD LIC NEWS HERALD

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ility to get away from the worries of rectors of the Diocese of Charlotte’s two

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.comiii 13 catholicnewsWherald.com | July 16, 2021 13

Reconnect with your faith in a place of natural beauty and peace

Catholic Conference Center 1551 Trinity Lane, Hickory, NC 28602 828-327-7441 www.catholicconference.org The Catholic Conference Center, located amid the beautiful rolling hills near Baker Mountain State Park, offers a unique site where guests can be renewed and transformed – whether it’s for Sunday brunch, a weekend or overnight retreat, or a weeklong conference. With its stunning architecture and expansive grounds, it’s no surprise the center has become a preferred location for religious, civic, school and business groups to have retreats, training, workshops, reunions and receptions. The center features meeting spaces for up to 200 people, state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and amenities, 50 rooms for overnight stays, fine dining provided by an award-winning chef, and an experienced hospitality staff.

Looking for a place for a group retreat? Weekends into 2022 are already filling up fast, so contact them soon. The “Find Your Center” private retreats are also a popular choice anytime – call the center or go online for details.

Upcoming events include “From Soldier to Saint: A Men’s Retreat” with Father Peter Tremblay Aug. 6-8, a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Aug. 27-29, and a Women’s Walk with Christ Weekend Sept. 24-26.

on retreat close to home – either mall groups – has been especially helpful e pandemic, says Deacon William Shaw, aters Catholic Reflection Center in h appropriate health measures in place, able to continue welcoming retreatants e and tranquil retreat experience during

as been to allay the apprehensions with orted the words of St. John Paul II – s those who came for a day, a weekend e seeking hope and peace during the rsonal contacts,” Deacon Shaw says. well in the line in the Gospel, ‘Let us et place and be renewed.’” he idea of a retreat sounds pretty good an you start? ormation at right provided by the at centers: the Catholic Conference Waters Catholic Reflection Center. ckory, located at the foot of the Blue has ample space for large groups but is mpus for individual retreats. Nestled amid ountain views, Living Waters offers a ty and the soul-satisfying natural beauty

“perfect” enough for a retreat? is to relax in the Lord,” says Father ut a lot of pressure on yourself. Let the retreat can be an opening of a different process, rather than a one-off experience. ’ll come back again.”

— Catholic News Herald contributed.

Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center 103 Living Waters Lane, Maggie Valley, NC 28751 828-926-3833 www.catholicretreat.org Nestled within the beautiful Smoky Mountains at Maggie Valley, Living Waters is a serene and peaceful location that offers private or group retreats as well as preached, directed, and nature retreats. Guests come to enjoy incredible mountain views all year long to renew their spirits and reconnect with God’s creation. Come drink in the beauty of the mountains and spend time in prayer in the valley. Overnight lodging is provided in the main building, as well as separate lodging for groups or families in the four-bedroom Our Lady of Lourdes Cottage.

Upcoming retreats are “No Lasting City” with Father Ray Williams Aug. 13-15, “Hearing the Call: Women of the Gospels who Encounter Jesus” with Olivia Woodford Aug. 27-29, and “Gospel Portraits” with Michael Coyle Sept. 24-26.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 14

Padre Gregorio Gay, CM FOTOS CORTESÍA MARY CRUZ

“¡Levántate, vive tu fe!”

Alrededor de 500 personas se congregaron en la Iglesia San José en Asheboro para celebrar el retorno a la normalidad de las actividades parroquiales. El Padre Philip Kollithanath, párroco, felicitó a toda la comunidad “por su perseverancia, por su persistencia y el no desistir” durante la pandemia, pues “a pesar de las situaciones nunca dejaron de asistir”, de una u otra manera a los servicios religiosos.

H

oy se han reunido para ofrecerme una despedida. Tengo que aclarar algunas cosas, pues alguna gente piensa que me voy porque quiero.

Pero quiero ser claro. Yo sí he pedido ir a una nueva misión.

Y no es porque no quiero a la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Yo he dicho esto en muchos lugares, y últimamente también cuando compartí dos noches con grupos de la parroquia. He dicho con claridad que una vez fui yo el responsable de la Congregación de la Misión en el mundo entero. Visité, y a veces en más de una ocasión, a nuestros padres y a Las Hijas de la Caridad en más de 93 países. Y sin duda no he estado en ninguna parroquia tan activa como esta parroquia.

Y no es simplemente ser activo, pues esto tampoco es suficiente. La actividad debe tener una base. Y en nuestra parroquia la actividad va a continuar porque la base es firme. La base es nuestra fe en Nuestro Señor Jesucristo y la capacidad de abrir nuestros corazones a esa gracia que Él nos da para ir motivándonos a ir hacia los demás.

Yo me voy edificado por la generosidad de esta comunidad.

Pero voy a una situación donde la necesidad es grande por la falta de sacerdotes.

Primeramente había ofrecido ir a Alaska, porque inicié esa misión cuando era superior general debido a que los obispos decían que había entre 30 mil y 50 mil latinos que no tenían sacerdotes. Entonces, para responder, desde nuestro carisma vicentino, a las necesidades espirituales de la gente y acompañarlos en sus necesidades físicas, materiales, por allá iba yo, por la gran necesidad que existía.

Pero luego, como ya comenté, descubrí una gran necesidad en la República de Panamá, donde antes había trabajado hace 21 años con gran alegría porque estuvimos recibiendo vocaciones para el sacerdocio.

Pero últimamente hemos tenido varias crisis. Sacerdotes de la misión han fallecido, otro ha quedado inválido por el COVID, y otros jóvenes, que han perdido este celo de querer servir al Señor, han salido.

Entonces sentí que hay una necesidad grande.

Necesidad aquí sí hay, sin duda, pero con la base que tenemos aquí, entre los que están llamados a servir, los que desean servir más y junto a los sacerdotes, podemos responder y continuar respondiendo con generosidad. Y Dios va a bendecir esta parroquia siempre.

Entonces, lo que yo he deseado en mi tiempo aquí, es tener esta capacidad de decir a las personas que había encontrado, ¡levántate, vive tu fe!, ¡sin miedo!, con confianza en nosotros mismos, abiertos a los dones que Dios nos ha dado a todos.

Somos una Iglesia donde todos los bautizados estamos llamados a cumplir la misión de Jesucristo. Vamos a seguir haciendo esto, levantándonos, alabando al Señor.

Una de las responsabilidades que nosotros los sacerdotes de la comunidad, junto con los líderes preparados para educarnos en la fe, es de ir precisamente ofreciendo una línea de acción para ayudarnos a todos a vivir, animándonos a confiar primero en nosotros mismos para podernos levantar de nuestras situaciones, precarias a veces, y luego movernos hacia adelante, a la vida.

Y, si en estos cinco años he llevado a personas no a la vida, sino a sentir la muerte, les pido que me perdonen y recen por mí.

EL PADRE GREGORIO GAY, CM, ex pastor de la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, ha sido transferido por la orden vicentina a la República de Panamá.

Este es un extracto, publicado con su autorización, de su homilía pronunciada en su Misa de despedida.

Iglesia San José en Asheboro celebró retorno de actividades CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

ASHEBORO — Con una procesión y Misa en la que participaron cerca de quinientos fieles, la Iglesia San José en Asheboro celebró por lo alto el retorno de la totalidad de sus actividades parroquiales después de más de un año de pandemia que, debido a las restricciones sanitarias dictadas por las autoridades federales y estatales, alejó obligatoriamente a los fieles de sus iglesias.

La procesión, que partió de Memorial Park y concluyó en Frazier Park, en los exteriores de la Iglesia San José, recorrió poco más de tres cuadras desde las 10:30 de la mañana del domingo 11 de julio.

Abría paso una gran banderola estandarte de la iglesia, seguida por un altar dedicado a la Virgen de Guadalupe. Más atrás los fieles acompañaron las delegaciones de los Caballeros de Colón, las comunidades neocatecumenales, un gran cuadro de San José y a una banda musical de vientos que fue invitada para la especial ocasión. Monaguillos que portaban la cruz y el Padre Philip Kollithanath, párroco, cerraban la extensa romería.

Al término de la procesión, se celebró una Misa de Acción de Gracias en los exteriores de la iglesia, que por su reducida capacidad no podía albergar a la totalidad de los asistentes.

Durante la homilía, el Padre Kollithanath felicitó a toda la comunidad “por su perseverancia, por su persistencia y el no desistir” durante la pandemia, pues “a pesar de las situaciones nunca dejaron de asistir”, de una u otra manera a los servicios religiosos.

En los peores momentos de la pandemia, la comunidad pudo seguir participando de la Misa a través de las transmisiones online en la página de Facebook de la parroquia, que realizaba Misas “en vivo” en inglés y español. Posteriormente, el Padre Kollithanath ofreció el Sagrado Sacramento, con toda seguridad y respetando el protocolo sanitario, a los fieles que se acercaban en sus automóviles.

Largas filas de coches se formaron por ese entonces en los exteriores del templo.

Más adelante, cuando se permitieron actividades con cupo limitado, la feligresía respondió de inmediato y reinició su vida de fe en la iglesia.

Mary Chuy, parroquiana y secretaria parroquial en San José, dijo que la actividad se programó con la finalidad de motivar a los fieles a retornar a las actividades presenciales. Sin embargo, resaltó que “nunca nos fuimos” y hoy, “el cien por ciento de la feligresía está ya de regreso”.

“Fue algo muy emotivo el ver a toda la gente de regreso, cantando, aplaudiendo, era un sentir que, a pesar de todo, nuestra fe sigue viva y muy dentro de nosotros”, subrayó.

La Iglesia San José está localizada en 512 W. Wainman Ave., Asheboro, N.C. 27203. El Padre Philip Kollithanath, su pastor, atiende alrededor de 1.500 familias registradas. Gracias a su gestión, en los últimos 11 años se ha producido un gran crecimiento de la comunidad hispana. Actualmente, ocho de cada diez feligreses son de origen latino y, en un fin de semana regular, se celebran cuatro Misas en español y dos en inglés.

Lamentablemente, la pandemia de COVID-19 cobró varias víctimas entre los feligreses de la parroquia, especialmente entre personas de la tercera edad

Más online En www.stjoenc.org encuentre: Mayor información sobre la parroquia En www.facebook.com/CNHEspañol: Vea más fotos sobre la celebración del retorno de actividades en la Iglesia San José en Asheboro

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Padre Julio Domínguez

Poner la otra mejilla

H

ace ya un buen tiempo que empezó la costumbre de quemar iglesias y publicarlas en medios sociales. Con esto se genera bastante circulación de publicidad y comentarios, que es en realidad lo que quieren quienes hacen estas cosas contra la Iglesia Católica.

Por una parte quieren generar miedo y decirnos que es mejor callar y ocultar la verdad. Por otro lado, desean generar odio tanto de los que están en contra como de los que están en favor de la Iglesia, haciendo ver lo que pueden hacer o lo que están haciendo.

Quieren centrarnos en el hecho que nos están destruyendo y por eso la quema de iglesias se está haciendo más y más común, pues nosotros mismos pasamos la información a otros. Se esfuerzan en presentar lo negativo de la historia de la Iglesia, pasando por alto lo positivo y hermoso que hay en ella.

Lo importante es saber poner la otra mejilla, como lo dijo nuestro Señor.

Sabemos que el cristianismo por su propia naturaleza va a ser golpeado y perseguido. “Los perseguirán por mi causa”, dijo el Señor refiriéndose a que Él es la Verdad, la única verdad que irá en contra de los criterios de este mundo cada vez más secularizado y ateo.

Debemos pensar que la verdad no puede ocultarse y que el cristianismo no fue hecho para pelear, para destruir, para implementar el odio, sino para regenerar lo que el enemigo intenta destruir, que la mayoría de veces es la dignidad de la persona humana. Debemos iluminar las tinieblas del error y presentar la luz de Cristo que nos hace libres.

Al inicio del cristianismo se hizo muy común la persecución de los cristianos. Se tomaban presas a miles de personas y eran martirizadas, quemadas, llevadas ante tribunales, ante leones en los circos, etc. Esto se hacía para infundir miedo a la gente y que no optaran por el cristianismo.

Sin embargo, el testimonio de los Santos Mártires era tan ejemplar y auténtico, que todos se sentían conmovidos y, en lugar de sentir odio hacia el cristianismo, quedaban fascinados al ver cómo era declarada la verdad, hasta el punto de dar la vida por ella.

En ese entonces no quemaban iglesias materiales, que con un poco de esfuerzo pueden ser restauradas, sino que quemaban vidas humanas tratando de acabarlas. Y sin embargo, después de veinte siglos, vemos esta misma Iglesia en pie, creciendo cada vez más y más.

Mi punto al escribir esto es que no debemos dejarnos llevar por el odio, o por el desánimo de esta persecución, y mucho menos hacernos portadores y transmitir lo que ellos hacen, sino tener una auto-edificación de la Iglesia de Cristo, que se logra sobre todo por la oración, el entusiasmo de ser cristiano y seguir perseverando en la regeneración de este mundo.

Vamos, si nos han de quemar todas las iglesias nos iremos a el Monte de las Bienaventuranzas, donde el Señor predicó al aire libre. El punto fuerte del cristianismo en todas las etapas de la vida ha sido el corazón fiel que sabe aferrarse a los valores fundamentales de Cristo que hace relucir en el modo más perfecto la dignidad de la persona humana y la santidad a la que está llamada.

La persecución seguirá queridos hermanos, eso es algo que no podremos evitar. Pero recuerden que “el que persevere hasta el fin de salvará”, y es por eso que hoy más que nunca debemos conocer mejor nuestros principios cristianos y ser fieles al Señor.

Que nadie se sienta desanimado, por el contrario, que nos sintamos con el mejor de los entusiasmos, sabiendo que si la Iglesia es perseguida es porque se está oponiendo a muchas cosas negativas que quieren introducirnos.

Oremos y venceremos, actuemos con auténtica paz y ejemplo y veremos grandes frutos en nuestras vidas y en las de tantos hermanos nuestros.

Dios les bendiga.

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

FOTO DE JAMES SARKIS

(De izquieda a derecha) Los seminaristas universitarios y trabajadores de San José Ronan Ostendorf, Gabriel Lugo y Carson Cannon limpian el área de los alrededores de la gruta Mariana, cercana a la rectoría de la Catedral San Patricio en Charlotte el 12 de julio.

“Una luz para otros” Los trabajadores de San José pasan el verano ayudando a personas y parroquias de la diócesis SUEANN HOWELL REPORTERA SENIOR

MOUNT HOLLY — Siete jóvenes del Seminario Universitario San José se han convertido en los “trabajadores de San José” este verano, pasando su tiempo fuera de la escuela para trabajar en el jardín, reparar pisos, construir fogatas y otros.

Si bien no es un aspecto formal de la formación en el seminario, este trabajo destinado a favorecer a las personas y parroquias de la diócesis tiene como objetivo ayudar a fortalecer espiritual y socialmente a los jóvenes, un aspecto importante del enfoque holístico en la formación sacerdotal que ofrece el Seminario Universitario San José, dijeron los líderes del seminario.

“Comenzamos el programa en el verano de 2018 como un medio para brindar a los seminaristas universitarios continuidad en su formación al permitirles permanecer en el seminario, darles acceso a los sacramentos y la oración comunitaria, así como el continuar construyendo su fraternidad al compartir una vida y trabajo en común”, explicó el Padre Matthew Buettner, director espiritual de esa casa.

Uno de los proyectos se realizó en la Catedral San Patricio en Charlotte, donde los trabajadores limpiaron y renovaron el área alrededor de la gruta mariana cercana a la rectoría.

El Padre Christopher Roux, párroco, dijo que los trabajadores han sido de gran ayuda. “Es fantástico tener a los jóvenes aquí. No solo podemos completar algunos proyectos adicionales, sino que también se están reuniendo con personas que vienen a la iglesia y la oficina, y esto les permite ser conocidos en persona”.

El seminarista Peter Townsend, feligrés de la parroquia Santa Ana en Charlotte, es uno de los trabajadores de San José de este año.

“El programa es una gran oportunidad para seguir

viviendo la vida de un seminarista durante las vacaciones de verano”, dijo Townsend. “Puede ser difícil, especialmente después de acostumbrarse a la vida del seminario y su horario diario, volver a una rutina más relajada”.

“Sin embargo, con el programa puedo mantener nuestro horario de oración, permanecer en comunidad y vivir con el Santísimo Sacramento mientras viajo a diferentes lugares de la diócesis para servir al pueblo de Dios”.

Agregó que los seminaristas desean participar en el programa para poder permanecer conectados con la oración, la hermandad y la Sagrada Eucaristía durante las vacaciones de verano.

“Espero que nuestro testimonio permita que la gente nos conozca a un nivel más personal. ¡No somos solo caras en una tarjeta! Y les haremos saber que estamos dispuestos a servirles”, señaló, refiriéndose a los posters de los seminaristas y las tarjetas de oración que se encuentran en todas las parroquias de la diócesis.

“Creo que el carácter de un hombre se revela en la forma en que trabaja y asume sus responsabilidades”, dijo Townsend. “Como resultado, los seminaristas del programa esperamos que trabajando bien, siendo una luz para los demás y poniendo todo nuestro esfuerzo en cualquier proyecto, la gente de la diócesis pueda saber que trabajaremos igual de duro como sus pastores y sacerdotes. Hay jóvenes buenos y muy trabajadores en el programa este año y estoy orgulloso de trabajar con ellos donde sea que vayamos y hagamos lo que hagamos”.

El programa de trabajadores de San José beneficia a las parroquias y familias que los contratan al tener contacto con los jóvenes, conocerlos y contribuir a su formación, además de apoyar las vocaciones en general.

“Un hombre que contrató a los seminaristas me dijo: ‘Son jóvenes increíbles. Trabajan duro, rápido y con inteligencia’”, dijo el Padre Buettner. “Otro hombre que trabajó con ellos me informó: ‘Los jóvenes que envió hicieron un trabajo fabuloso. Me impresionó mucho el conocimiento que ya tenían, su comprensión rápida del alcance del proyecto y lo bien que tomaron la dirección’”.

El Padre Buettner señaló que el programa ha crecido tan bien en su corta historia que, por primera vez este verano, los trabajadores no tuvieron que buscar trabajo para hacer. “Las solicitudes de trabajadores de San José se extendieron más allá de lo que podían lograr en un verano”, dijo.

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catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Padre Leo Tiburcio Nació en 1978 en Santa María Zacatepec, Cholula, Puebla, México.

Tercero de nueve hijos de Felipe Tiburcio y Herlinda Ordaz.

Emigró en 1994 a Nueva York, donde por más Tiburcio de seis años trabajó en restaurantes.

En 2001 viajó a Atlanta, donde continuó su trabajo en las actividades de la industria restaurantera.

A finales de 2004 pidió su traslado a Charlotte y, buscando una iglesia donde congregarse, comenzó a asistir a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Ingresó en 2005 a la casa de discernimiento parroquial, invitado por el Padre Vicente Finnerty, después de inicialmente descartar la propuesta.

Tras una breve pausa y completar sus estudios de GED, decidió seguir la vocación de servicio sacerdotal y asistir al Seminario Menor en Nueva York.

En 2014 se trasladó a Filadelfia donde concluyó sus estudios y pronunció sus votos temporales.

En 2018 ofreció sus votos perpetuos y fue ordenado diácono.

El 1 de junio de 2019, fue ordenado sacerdote.

El domingo 2 de junio de 2019 celebró su primera Misa en la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, en compañía de otros sacerdotes de su congregación.

Posteriormente fue nombrado vicario parroquial.

Ante el anuncio de la partida del Padre Gregorio Gay, fue nombrado párroco de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe por el Reverendísimo Peter J. Jugis, Obispo de Charlotte.

El Padre Leo Tiburcio asume un nuevo rol como párroco de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

CHARLOTTE — El 6 de julio, el Padre Leo Tiburcio fue oficialmente instalado como pastor de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte, la parroquia que cuenta con la feligresía hispana más numerosa en la Diócesis de Charlotte.

El Padre Tiburcio, quien anteriormente se desempeñaba como vicario parroquial en esta misma iglesia, pertenece a la orden de la Congregación de la Misión, más conocida como Vicentinos, y fue ordenado el 1 de junio de 2019 por el sacerdote Vicentino Padre Alfonso Cabezas, Obispo Emérito de Villavicencio, Colombia, en el Santuario de la Medalla Milagrosa en Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

El Padre Leo, como cariñosamente lo llaman los fieles, es una vocación local que fue guiada por el Padre Vicente Finnerty, quien fue pastor de la parroquia alrededor de dos décadas y dejó Charlotte en 2019.

Durante el rito de instalación, al inicio de la Misa, se dio lectura a la carta oficial de designación en la que el Reverendísimo Peter J. Jugis, Obispo de Charlotte, “en acuerdo con el Muy Reverendo Stephen M. Grozio, C.M., Provincial Superior de la Provincia del Este de la Congregación de la Misión”, señalaba al Padre Tiburcio como párroco desde el 4 de julio de 2021.

“Estoy agradecido por el buen trabajo pastoral y cuidado que ha dado a los feligreses durante su ministerio como vicario parroquial. Gracias por su celo en el servicio a Cristo y su Iglesia”, dijo.

Después, de rodillas ante el altar, el Padre Tiburcio hizo una profesión de fe, renovó su juramento de fidelidad a la Iglesia y se comprometió a ayudar “fielmente a los obispos diocesanos para que la acción apostólica que he de ejercer, en nombre y por mandato de la Iglesia, se realice siempre en comunión con ella”.

Posteriormente, y teniendo como testigo al Padre Hugo Medellín, vicario de la misma parroquia, y a un feligrés, firmó los documentos oficiales de nombramiento que le presentó el Obispo Jugis.

Bromeando sobre el tiempo que se tomaban los testigos y el Padre Tiburcio en firmar los documentos, el Obispo Jugis explicó que eran varias las copias de la profesión de fe y del juramento de fidelidad que se destinaban a diferentes oficinas de la parroquia y la diócesis, “por eso son muchas las firmas”, añadió sonriendo.

Luego, el Obispo Jugis leyó el documento oficial de instalación en inglés. Al finalizar dio un fuerte aplauso al flamante párroco, acto que fue imitado por la feligresía

El flamante párroco, instalado por el Obispo Peter Jugis durante una Misa celebrada el 6 de julio, al término de la celebración agradeció la presencia del Obispo Jugis, de la feligresía, sus padres, hermanos y familiares. Citando las palabras del obispo, dijo que fieles y sacerdotes “caminamos juntos en la fe... Por favor, oren por nosotros para que sigamos fieles a lo que es el ministerio y a lo que hoy acabamos de profesar”.

CÉSAR HURTADO | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

GRAN RESPONSABILIDAD

Durante su homilía, el obispo resaltó la gran responsabilidad que le espera al Padre Leo. “Pero no está solo, porque tiene a su lado una multitud de ustedes, todos los parroquianos, que primordialmente rezan por él y también dan su ayuda para que juntos, como una parroquia, una sola familia, evangelizar y anunciar la Buena Nueva a todo el pueblo”, subrayó.

Siguiendo con el rito, el Obispo Jugis, en compañía del P. Hugo Medellín, mostró al Padre Tiburcio los puntos más importantes de la iglesia, dándole recomendaciones para el buen cumplimiento de su labor como párroco.

“Usted Padre Leo, ya tiene las llaves de esta iglesia como signo de autoridad. Cuide de abrirla oportunamente para que los fieles puedan acudir a celebrar los misterios cristianos y a orar en la presencia del Señor que está siempre aquí”, le dijo el obispo en la puerta del templo.

Frente a la pila bautismal, a la que definió como “la fuente de la vida que emana del costado de Cristo y limpia los pecados del mundo”, el obispo dijo que ahí el Padre Tiburcio “hará renacer, por el agua y el Espíritu Santo, tanto a los niños que le presenten los padres cristianos como los adultos que se conviertan a la fe”.

En el confesionario, que se encuentra dentro de la oficina parroquial, el obispo dijo que su ministerio “realizará maravillas en los corazones arrepentidos”, por lo que debe cuidar de “reconciliar con Dios a los fieles que, después del bautismo, hayan recaído en el pecado y a aquellos que acudan a ti deseando convertirse más plenamente a Dios. Este es el trono de la gracia para alcanzar misericordia”.

Ya en el Sagrario, “preparado para preservar el cuerpo y la sangre santísimos de Jesucristo”, el obispo pidió que se “cuide de llevar la

Eucaristía a los moribundos y a los demás enfermos”, así como que sea “asiduo en adorar el Santísimo Sacramento del altar” y que enseñe a los fieles a que constantemente visiten a Nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

Retornando al altar, el obispo pidió que “como cooperador de tu obispo, ocupando esta sede y siendo imagen de Jesucristo”, predique el Evangelio y presida la oración de la Iglesia que se reúne en esta parroquia.

En la mesa del Señor, le indicó debe congregar “a los hijos de la Iglesia”, y en nombre de Jesucristo presidir “la Eucaristía para que tus fieles puedan unirse al sacrificio de Cristo y participen así de la Cena del Señor”.

“De esta manera, el Padre Leo Tiburcio Ordaz queda jurídica y litúrgicamente constituido párroco. Le brindamos un fuerte aplauso y le deseamos que la gracia y el espíritu le ayuden”, dijo la lectora oficial, tras lo cual nuevamente la feligresía estalló en aplausos.

Al término de la Misa, el Padre Tiburcio agradeció la presencia del Obispo Jugis, de la feligresía, sus padres, hermanos y familiares en la celebración. Citando las palabras del obispo, dijo que fieles y sacerdotes “caminamos juntos en la fe, no hay nadie delante sino que todos vamos unidos hacia un mismo lugar, hacia Nuestro Señor Jesucristo”, “y de mi parte, y el Padre Hugo, estamos aquí para servirles.

Cuenten con nuestras oraciones y, por favor, oren por nosotros para que sigamos fieles a lo que es el ministerio y a lo que hoy acabamos de profesar”. “Que el Señor los bendiga”, finalizó.

Más online En www.facebook.com/CNHEspañol: Vea videos y fotografías de la Misa de instalación del Padre Leo Tiburcio

Lecturas Diarias 18-24 JULIO

25-31 JULIO

Domingo: Jeremías 23:1-6, Efesios 2:1318, Marcos 6:30-34; Lunes: Éxodo 14:5-18, Mateo 12:38-42; Martes: Éxodo 14:21-15, Mateo 12:46-50; Miércoles: Éxodo 16:1-5, 9-15, Mateo 13:1-9; Jueves (Santa María Magdalena): Cantar de los cantares 3:1-4b, Juan 20:1-2, 11-18; Viernes: Éxodo 20:1-17, Mateo 13:18-23; Sábado: Éxodo 24:3-8, Mateo 13:24-30

Domingo: 2 Reyes 4:42-44, Efesios 4:1-6, Juan 6:1-15; Lunes (Santos Joaquín y Ana): Éxodo 32:15-24, 30-34, Mateo 13:31-35; Martes: Éxodo 33:7-11, 34:5b-9, Mateo 13:3643; Miércoles: Éxodo 34:29-35, Mateo 13:4446; Jueves (Santos Marta, María y Lázaro): Éxodo 40:16-21, 34-38, Juan 11:19-27; Viernes: Levítico 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37, Mateo 13:54-58; Sábado (San Ignacio de Loyola): Levítico 25:1, 8-17, Mateo 14:1-12 ‘Santa Ana, San Joaquín y la Virgen’, óleo sobre lienzo de Francisco Camilo (Madrid, 16151673). Imagen cortesía del Museo del Prado, Madrid.

1-7 AGOSTO

Domingo: Éxodo 16:2-4, 12-15, Efesios 4:17, 20-24, Juan 6:24-35; Lunes: Números 11:4b-15, Mateo 14:13-21; Martes: Números 12:1-13, Mateo 14:22-36; Miércoles (San Juan María Vianney): Números 13:1-2, 25:14, 26a-29a, 34-35, Mateo 15:2128; Jueves: Números 20:1-13, Mateo 16:13-23; Viernes (Fiesta de la Transfiguración del Señor): Deuteronomio 7:9-10, 13-14, 2 Pedro 1:16-19, Marcos 9-2-10; Sábado: Deuteronomio 6:4-13, Mateo 17:14-20

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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SEMANA DE PFN: 25-31 DE JULIO DE 2021

La Planificación Familiar Natural apoya los dones de amor y vida de Dios en el matrimonio

Semana de PFN: ‘Tenerte, quererte, respetarte’ CHARLOTTE — “Tenerte, quererte, respetarte. La Planificación Natural de la Familia, Apoyando los dones de amor y vida de Dios en el matrimonio” es el tema de la Semana Nacional de Concientización de la Planificación Natural de la Familia, una campaña educativa de la Conferencia de los Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos para celebrar la visión de Dios para el matrimonio y promover los métodos de Planificación Familiar Natural.

Planificación Familiar Natural es un título general para referirse a los métodos éticos, naturales, seguros y efectivos para lograr y evitar el embarazo en el matrimonio. Los métodos de PFN enseñan a las parejas cómo observar e interpretar los signos de fertilidad e infertilidad de la esposa. En palabras del Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, los métodos de la PFN “respetan el cuerpo de los esposos,

fomentan la ternura entre ellos y favorecen la educación de una auténtica libertad” (CIC, 2370).

La Semana de Concientización sobre la Planificación Familiar Natural será del 25 al 31 de julio, destacándose el 25 de julio el aniversario de la encíclica papal “Humanae Vitae”, que articula las creencias católicas sobre la sexualidad humana, el matrimonio, el amor conyugal y la paternidad responsable.

La Diócesis de Charlotte se une a los obispos de Estados Unidos para destacar los beneficios de la PFN como métodos éticos para ayudar a las parejas casadas a vivir el diseño de Dios para sus matrimonios.

El programa de PFN de la diócesis, que se encuentra bajo la cobertura de los Servicios de Enriquecimiento Familiar de Caridades Católicas, ofrece regularmente

cursos gratuitos centrados en PFN, en inglés y en español, en territorio diocesano para grupos pequeños. También se encuentran disponibles opciones de instrucción online y privada. Se brinda apoyo continuo para el seguimiento, cuando se busca prepararse para el embarazo, y durante las transiciones, como el postparto o la perimenopausia.

La diócesis también ofrece a los laicos y profesionales de la salud orientación para hacer que sus prácticas médicas sean provida y afirmen la fertilidad. ¿Está buscando un médico que apoye la PFN o es un profesional de la salud interesado en la educación continua relacionada con la PFN? Comuníquese con la Directora del Programa de Planificación Familiar Natural, Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, al 704-370-3230 o por correo electrónico a bnadcock@charlottediocese.org.

Es posible que muchos de ustedes hayan tenido problemas, o conozcan de alguien que haya sufrido para encontrar una práctica médica que brinde atención médica integral a la mujer que honre y respete las enseñanzas de la fe católica. O tal vez haya encontrado un doctor o doctora, solo para descubrir que está demasiado lejos o no acepta nuevos pacientes.

Mi objetivo es solucionar este problema para los católicos rurales de Carolina del Norte y para cualquiera que busque atención para mujeres pro-vida.

Mi nombre es Megan Blum y soy una asistente médica católica que vive en la diócesis. Este es mi sexto año en la Iglesia, y la Teología del Cuerpo de San Juan Pablo II jugó un papel muy importante en mi conversión.

Me esfuerzo por honrar la dignidad y el diseño otorgado por Dios a la mujer en mi práctica médica. Estoy ansiosa por comenzar una práctica de telesalud a través de My Catholic Doctor para brindar servicios médicos basados en el conocimiento de la fertilidad a las mujeres que viven en las dos diócesis de Carolina del Norte, especialmente a las mujeres que viven en las zonas rurales de Carolina del Norte.

Mi objetivo es ofrecer tratamiento médico de los problemas de salud de la mujer, como infertilidad, síndrome premenstrual, síndrome de ovario poliquístico, ciclos irregulares, acné, tratamiento de los síntomas de la menopausia, ansiedad y depresión posparto, entre muchos otros. Quiero ofrecer esta atención a través de telesalud utilizando los mejores modelos de medicina basados en la conciencia de la fertilidad, incluyendo Naprotechnology, FEMM y Marquette.

No puedo hacer esto sin el apoyo del tiempo, talento y tesoro de los fieles de nuestra gran diócesis. Muchos profesionales médicos talentosos e instructores de Planificación Familiar Natural en nuestra diócesis han brindado su tiempo y talento para guiarme en esta tarea. Por ello estoy más que agradecida.

Algunos también han dado su tesoro. Para obtener la certificación en los tres modelos mencionados anteriormente, necesito recaudar $ 13,000 para la matrícula y otros gastos educativos. Estoy cerca de $ 11,000 por debajo de mi meta y recaudo dinero a través de una página de GoFundMe. Si usted, de corazón desea ayudar a mi causa, cualquier monto que

pueda donar sería de gran bendición y ayudaría a cubrir el costo de la capacitación.

Si usted no puede efectuar un donativo, ¿podría considerar incluir mi práctica médica en sus oraciones? Por favor, ore para que las mujeres en las zonas rurales de Carolina del Norte y otras de Estados Unidos puedan encontrar profesionales médicos que reconozcan su verdad y hermoso diseño. Los dejo con un último pensamiento de Salmos 139:14: “Te daré gracias, porque asombrosa y maravillosamente he sido hecho; Maravillosas son Tus obras, Y mi alma lo sabe muy bien”.

Ojalá que todos experimentemos la maravilla del glorioso diseño de la mujer por parte de Dios y su don de la fertilidad.

Pueden encontrar mi página de GoFundMe aquí: www.gofund.me/d9603aeb. Además, ayúdenme a correr la voz sobre mi recaudación de fondos y sobre la falta de medicina basada en la fertilidad en Carolina del Norte compartiendo mi historia con amigos, familiares o colegas. Para más información, contáctenme en pablumfundraiser@gmail.com.

práctica privada.

No fue hasta 2020, cuando golpeó la pandemia, que comencé a ver el error en este pensamiento y forma de practicar la medicina.

Mientras muchos de mis colegas de medicina interna, UCI y ER, ponían en riesgo sus vidas al tratar pacientes con COVID-19, yo estaba sentada segura en casa haciendo visitas virtuales, prescribiendo anticonceptivos a través de Internet. Simplemente me sentía sola y mal. Entonces comencé a mirar más de cerca las Escrituras y las enseñanzas de la Iglesia.

Aquí es donde el Espíritu Santo me guió a una conversión de corazón, llevándome varias personas que me ayudaron en este proceso.

Mientras esperaba un vuelo retrasado en el aeropuerto de Charlotte, leí “Humane Vitae” por primera vez. Comencé a buscar métodos basados en el conocimiento de la fertilidad (FABM) para tratar problemas ginecológicos y otros problemas hormonales. Comencé a hablar realmente con los pacientes y a reconocer que muchos de ellos, católicos o no, simplemente buscan una mejor manera de planificar embarazos y tratar problemas hormonales

y de fertilidad. Muchos, si no la mayoría, de mis pacientes estaban frustrados con los riesgos, efectos secundarios y costos de la anticoncepción hormonal que les había estado recetando.

San Pablo dice en su primera carta a los Corintios: “¿O no saben que su cuerpo es templo del Espíritu Santo que está en ustedes, el cual tienen de Dios, y que ustedes no se pertenecen a sí mismos? Porque han sido comprados por un precio. Por tanto, glorifiquen a Dios en su cuerpo y en su espíritu, los cuales son de Dios” (1 Corintios 6:19-20).

Y aquí estaba yo, una católica de cuna, prescribiendo métodos anticonceptivos que dañaban los aspectos espirituales y físicos de la vida de mis pacientes.

El Espíritu Santo también se puso a trabajar en mi vida personal. Después de siete años de matrimonio, la mayoría de los que pasaron usando anticonceptivos hormonales, mi esposo y yo comenzamos a usar PFN. Ha marcado una gran diferencia en nuestra comunicación y en la salud de nuestro matrimonio.

Como dije, el Espíritu Santo realmente

tuvo que trabajar en mí. Se necesitó de una pandemia y ocho años de práctica secular para mover esta montaña. Por fin acepté el llamado para hacer la transición de mi práctica a FABM, o Planificación Familiar Natural (PFN).

Desafortunadamente, la profesión médica de OB/GYN está completamente en desacuerdo con los principios de la PFN y, por lo tanto, la capacitación médica en este campo no se brinda en la gran mayoría de las escuelas de medicina y los programas de residencia. He completado la formación en educación para la fertilidad y manejo médico (FEMM), y me ha impresionado lo mucho que hay que aprender. Asistiré a la capacitación sobre tecnología procreativa natural (NAPRO) en otoño en Omaha, Nebraska, para brindar un mejor servicio a las residentes del área de Charlotte que buscan este tipo de atención médica. Oro para que el Espíritu Santo continúe siendo paciente conmigo, guiándome a practicar siempre con Su verdad en mi corazón como sierva de Dios y de Su pueblo.

Aprenda más online En www.ccdoc.org/en/services/familyenrichment/natural-family-planning: Conozca más sobre las clases de PNF que se ofrecen En www.usccb.org/topics/natural-familyplanning/church-teaching: Obtenga mayor información sobre cómo abrazar el plan de Dios para el amor matrimonial y las enseñanzas de la Iglesia que respaldan el uso de la PFN

MI HISTORIA: Megan Blum Dos líneas rosadas nos devolvieron la mirada a mi esposo y a mí, mientras veíamos la tira reactiva de la prueba de embarazo por primera vez anunciando la revelación de que Dios había bendecido nuestro nuevo matrimonio, apenas en su segundo mes, con el Blum regalo de la vida. Estaba en medio de mi acelerado programa de capacitación para asistente médico y quedar embarazada no estaba en nuestros planes. Pero estaba en el plan de Dios. Muchas emociones nos golpearon ese día: emoción, alegría, ansiedad, miedo y fe. Teníamos muchas preguntas para Dios, entre ellas: ¿Podríamos encontrar una práctica médica católica que nos apoye durante nuestro viaje hacia la paternidad y más allá?

Afortunadamente, pudimos encontrar un médico católico local en nuestro pequeño pueblo en Carolina del Norte. Sin embargo, este no es siempre el caso de las mujeres y sus esposos en la Diócesis de Charlotte.

— Megan Blum

MI HISTORIA: Jillian Martel Creo que el Espíritu Santo tiene que trabajar más fuertemente en algunas personas. Yo soy una de esas personas. He estado ejerciendo como médico obstetra/ginecóloga en el área sur de Charlotte durante ocho años. Católica de toda la vida, siempre Martel me consideré una médico provida. Pero, al trabajar en una práctica secular, recetar anticonceptivos hormonales era parte de mi trabajo diario. Si bien siempre supe de la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre la anticoncepción hormonal, honestamente decidí ignorarla, convenciéndome de que la enseñanza era anticuada y, por lo tanto, no se aplicaba a las mujeres de hoy, ni a mí ni a mis pacientes.

Lamentablemente, en la formación médica nos enseñan a tratar la mayoría de las afecciones ginecológicas con anticonceptivos hormonales, implantes o DIU, y eso es lo que hice durante cuatro años de residencia y ocho años de

— Jillian Johnston, MD, FACOG; Novant Health Southeast OB/GYN

Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

U.S. bishops again urge House members to restore Hyde to spending bill JULIE ASHER CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Committee on Appropriations is poised to mark up “the most extreme pro-abortion appropriations bill we have seen” because it excludes the 46-year-old Hyde Amendment and other longstanding bipartisan provisions that prevent tax money from being spent on abortion, two U.S. bishops’ committee chairmen said July 13.

If the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill is marked up as-is, it is “effectively mandating health care professionals to participate in abortion, and forcing American citizens to pay for abortion with their tax dollars,” said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan. The cardinal is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty and Archbishop Naumann is chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“By eliminating the Hyde Amendment, and other Hydelike policies, the financial fruits of Americans’ labor would advance the destruction of the smallest, most vulnerable humans,” they said in a joint statement.

In late June, Archbishop Naumann and Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Ill., chairman of the bishops’ international policy committee, issued a similar statement on Hype provisions being left out of proposed spending bills for the District of Columbia, several federal agencies and U.S. foreign operations.

Hyde first became law in 1976 to prohibit federal funds appropriated through the Labor Department, the Health and Human Services Department and related agencies

from being used to cover abortion or fund health plans that cover abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman would be endangered.

Hyde has been reenacted in spending bills every year since it was first passed.

Also left out of the spending bill addressed by Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Naumann is the Weldon Amendment, which has been included in the annual appropriation for HHS since 2005. It allows health care providers as well as insurance plans to refuse to provide abortions, pay for them or refer women to abortion clinics.

“Eliminating the Weldon Amendment would be an egregious violation of conscience rights by forcing individuals and entities to perform, pay for, or otherwise participate in an abortion against their beliefs,” they said.

“We implore the House Committee on Appropriations to reverse course on these bills that currently expand taxpayer funding of abortion, and to restore the longstanding, bipartisan Hyde provisions and Weldon Amendment that have saved millions of lives and protected conscience rights,” Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Naumann said.

“These bills include many other provisions and funding for critically needed services that we support,” they added.

“Americans’ tax dollars should be used for the common good and welfare of all, not to finance abortion or force Americans to violate deeply held beliefs.”

In Congress, after hearings on a bill are completed, the measure is then considered in a committee session known as the “mark-up” session. At this time, amendments may be offered to the bill, and the committee members vote to accept or reject these changes.

Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Naumann called on U.S. Catholics and “all people of goodwill to contact their

legislators and make their voices heard” on the need to retain these amendments.

“The lives of millions of vulnerable children, and the well-being of their mothers, depend on our advocacy,” they said.

They also urged people go to www.NoTaxpayerAbortion. com and sign a petition on the site before July 16 to send “an urgent message” to Congress to preserve the Hyde Amendment. The petition is sponsored by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“Abortion is not health care nor a ‘human service’ to anyone,” Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Naumann said.

“Rather, abortion is inhumane. It is a painful death to an innocent baby, and often leaves women physically harmed and emotionally devastated.”

In recent days, a number of other Catholic leaders also have urged Congress to retain Hyde, including Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J., Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, and the New York State Catholic Conference on behalf of Cardinal Dolan and the other Catholic bishops of the state.

On July 9, Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action participated in “Save Hyde” rallies alongside Democrats for Life of America in Philadelphia and in Akron, Ohio, to urge U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and all Democrats to support the Hyde Amendment.

Make your voice heard At www.NoTaxpayerAbortion.com: Sign the petition, sponsored by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, before July 16 to send “an urgent message” to Congress to preserve the Hyde Amendment

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July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Court sides with church, archdiocese in lawsuits filed by music director WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal appeals court July 9 dismissed a lawsuit filed against a Chicago Catholic parish and the Chicago Archdiocese by a former parish music director.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 7-3 en banc, or full court, decision, said the plaintiff’s claim against St. Andrew the Apostle Parish fell under the ministerial exemption that protects religious organizations from discrimination lawsuits by parish employees.

The former employee, Sandor Demkovich, claimed in his 2016 lawsuit that his parish priest subjected him to a hostile work environment because of his disability, including metabolic syndrome – a group of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

He also said he had been harassed and fired because of his same-sex marriage.

A district judge dismissed the same-sex marriage discrimination claim, saying the church had a religious basis for its decision, but it allowed the disability claim to go forward. Last year, a 7th Circuit panel upheld Demkovich’s disability claim and revived the same-sex marriage discrimination claim, which prompted the church and the archdiocese to seek a review by the full panel of 11 judges. The court agreed, with one judge recused, and heard arguments in the case last February.

ICE announces reversal of policy of detaining pregnant, nursing migrants WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency involved in deportations and other immigration-related detention proceedings, announced July 9 it would not detain, arrest or take into custody pregnant or nursing migrants for violating immigration laws except in exceptional circumstances. This includes women who have given birth within a year, the agency said, adding it was doing so “in recognition of the time needed for infant development and parental bonding.”

“ICE is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals,” said Tae D. Johnson, acting ICE director. “This reflects our commitment to treat all individuals with respect and dignity while still enforcing our nation’s laws.”

But when detention is necessary, the agency said in the statement, it would provide “general health and well-being care, including regular custody and medical reevaluation, ensuring appropriate pre- and/or post-natal and other medical and mental health care.”

Detention for pregnant migrants was rare during the Obama administration, the Trump administration ended the Obama-era policy against detaining pregnant migrants.

Poll: Most oppose unrestricted abortion access in late stages of pregnancy WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just a third of Americans overall say abortion should be legal in most or all cases in the second trimester

of a woman’s pregnancy and just 19 percent overall say this should be the case in the third trimester. Sixty-one percent say abortion should be legal in all or most cases during the first trimester of a women’s pregnancy while 38 percent say it should not be. These were among results released recently from a nationwide poll on attitudes on abortion conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago.

The percentages supporting abortion in each case are higher for respondents who identified as Democrats or “nonreligious” and lower for those identifying as Republican, Independent, born-again or evangelical Christians or members of “other religions.”

“Large majorities of the public believe it should be possible to obtain a legal abortion if the mother’s health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest,” said a report on the results posted at APNORC.org. “Only about half of the public believe it should be possible if the woman does not want to be pregnant for any reason.”

Bishops support investigation of former U.S. residential schools WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to a late June announcement, the United States will be conducting an investigation of former federally funded boarding schools to search for graves of Native American children, a spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said June 28 the bishops will “look for ways to be of assistance. It is important to understand what

19

might have occurred here in the United States,” said the statement from Chieko Noguchi, who added the bishops will be “following closely” the investigation announced June 22 by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Haaland, who is a member of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and is Catholic, announced this upcoming review, called the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, during her remarks at the virtual conference of the National Congress of American Indians. “I know that this process will be long and difficult. I know that this process will be painful. It won’t undo the heartbreak and loss we feel. But only by acknowledging the past can we work toward a future that we’re all proud to embrace,” she said.

Many of these government-funded schools were Church-run boarding schools. The U.S. Interior Department’s initiative was prompted by the recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Just two days after the U.S. initiative was announced, 751 unmarked graves were discovered at a second site, a former Catholic residential school in Saskatchewan.

— Catholic News Service

Let’s keep talking.

Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope released from hospital, prays at Rome basilica JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital July 14, the Vatican confirmed.

After leaving the hospital midmorning, the pope visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major to say a prayer of gratitude before the icon of “Salus Populi Romani” (health of the Roman people), said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni in a statement after the pontiff’s release.

The pope thanked Mary “for the success of his surgery and offered a prayer for all the sick, especially those he had met during his stay in hospital,” the statement said.

After praying at the basilica, the pope returned to his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Bruni said.

The pope was admitted to Gemelli hospital in the early afternoon July 4 to undergo “a scheduled surgical intervention for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.”

He underwent a three-hour left hemicolectomy, which is the removal of the descending part of the colon, a surgery that can be recommended to treat diverticulitis, when bulging pouches in the lining of the intestine or colon become inflamed or

infected.

Initially expected to remain in the hospital for seven days, the Vatican said July 12 that the pope would “remain hospitalized for a few more days in order to optimize his medical and rehabilitation therapy.”

During his stay, the pope continued working and spent time visiting patients at the hospital.

In his Sunday Angelus address July 11 from the 10th floor balcony of his suite of rooms at the hospital, Pope Francis said his time in the hospital gave him the opportunity to experience “once again how important good health care is” and that free, universal health care, especially for the most vulnerable, is a “precious benefit (that) must not be lost.”

“It needs to be kept,” the pope said. “And for this, everyone needs to be committed because it helps everyone and requires everyone’s contribution.”

The evening before his release, Pope Francis visited Gemelli’s pediatric oncology ward, which also is on the 10th floor, and greeted the young patients, their families and the staff.

While Pope Francis usually takes July as his vacation month, he is scheduled to lead the recitation of the Angelus at noon July 18 and to celebrate Mass July 25, the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

(Editor’s note: See related story on page 5.)

Pope Francis prays in front of the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome July 14. The pope visited the basilica after his release from Rome’s Gemelli hospital following his recovery from colon surgery.

CNS | VATICAN MEDIA

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In Brief Bishops demand answers from Sri Lankan government on 2019 church bombings COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Catholic bishops have given Sri Lanka’s government a one-month deadline to answer their letter sent on behalf of victims of the Easter 2019 church bombings, warning that they will begin organizing the faithful to action if their demands for an official explanation are not met. Declining to say what any “alternative actions” they might take, the bishops and the National Catholic Committee for Justice to Easter Sunday Attack Victims called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to provide a credible answer to its letter, reported ucanews.com.

Experts fear Cuba is preparing a harsh response to recent widespread protests MIAMI — U.S. theologians and human rights experts on Cuba worried that any repeat of the widespread protests in Cuba on July 11 may be met with a swift, violent set of statesponsored reactions. There were already signals the Cuban government had disseminated a multifaceted action plan July 12 that was to last 72 hours. It included shutting down internet communications, as well as deploying plainclothes-wearing state police and military personnel to squash further protests following

July 11’s massive turnout, according to Elsie Miranda. “I am afraid for the people (there) because of their desperation and willingness to die for a chance to live,” said Miranda, a professor of theology and director of accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools. She has led missions to Cuba in conjunction with the Church there and attended Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba in 2015.

Syro-Malabar leaders seek answers regarding demolition of Indian church THRISSUR, India — Syro-Malabar Bishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad, India, urged India’s prime minister to facilitate rebuilding of a church demolished by local government officials in the Indian capital of New Delhi. “We ... request your immediate intervention in this serious matter ... to rebuild and restitute (sic) the damage done to the believers and their place of worship,” Bishop Bharanikulangara wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi July 13. The appeal follows the demolition of the Little Flower Church in south New Delhi early July 12 by officials of the Delhi Municipal Corporation. Witnesses said more than 100 police officers escorted the demolition crew and bulldozers to the church site. “We are shocked by this brazen church demolition.

There was no provocation or reason for this church demolition,” Bishop Bharanikulangara said July 13.

The prelate, a former Vatican diplomat, explained that the land where the church is located was donated in 2006 by a Catholic who had owned it since 1990.

“We built a temporary (church) structure on the land and we have been using it for regular worship for over 12 years. The parish have been paying property tax, water and electricity bills,” the bishop said.

Persecution worsens for Christians in post-coup Myanmar, experts say BANGKOK — Christians and ethnic minorities in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar are facing increased oppression under the junta that overthrew the civilian government on Feb. 1, experts said during an online forum. The observers warned of the increased danger of persecution of ethnic and religious minorities including Christians in a July 8 panel discussion hosted by U.S.-based International Christian Concern.

The panelists also discussed the ICC’s report released June 16, “Caught in the Crossfire: Myanmar’s Christian Minorities Under Tatmadaw Rule,” ucanews.com reported.

The report revealed details of Christians in ethnic minority areas such as Kachin, Kayah and Chin states and in Wa state where they have historically faced oppression and persecution under more than five decades of iron-fisted military rule.

Pope, bishops call for calm, dialogue after Haitian president assassinated in his home VATICAN CITY — Condemning the “heinous assassination” of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, Pope Francis urged the people of Haiti to shun violence and make a commitment to dialogue and solidarity as the path to a better future.

In a telegram sent to the Vatican nunciature in Haiti after the July 7 killing of Moïse and the wounding of his wife, Martine Moïse, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the pope offered his condolences to all Haitians and was praying for the former first lady’s recovery.

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“Praying to the Father of mercy for the repose of the soul of the deceased, the Holy Father expresses his sadness and condemns all forms of violence as a means of resolving crises and conflicts,” the telegram said. “He wishes for the dear Haitian people a future of fraternal harmony, solidarity and prosperity.”

The bishops of Haiti also released a statement condemning the assassination.

“Violence can only generate violence and leads to hatred,” said the statement, which was shared July 8 by Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Haiti has been plagued by gang violence that some have said affected the poorest citizens.

Pope names relator general for 2023 Synod of Bishops VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has chosen Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg to serve as relator general of the 2023 Synod of Bishops on synodality. Cardinal Hollerich also serves as president of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union.

The relator is responsible for providing a comprehensive outline of the synod’s theme at the beginning of the meeting and for summarizing the speeches of synod members before work begins on concrete proposals for the pope.

The theme chosen by the pope for the next synod is: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.”

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, told Vatican News in May that, although originally scheduled for 2022, the synod will take place in October 2023 to allow for broader consultation at the diocesan, national and regional level.

— Catholic News Service

ViewPoints 22

catholicnewsherald.com | July 16, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Jesuit Father John Michalowski

Deacon Matthew Newsome

Holy orders: A sacrament of service

Unity in love

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esus prays at the Last Supper not just for those gathered there, but for us, for His Church, for the community of believers throughout history in every land and nation.

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world might believe that you sent me.” (Jn 17:20-21). Unity in love – that is what Jesus prays for. We are called to be a community – “cum unio” – united with one another. This is the work of God’s love, the work of the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, we as Catholics and all groups of Christians can act as the various Jewish religious groups did in Jesus’ day: Each considering the others as opponents who are perverting their religion. The Sadducees held only to the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. They considered the law and temple worship to be what Judaism was about, and talk of prophets, angels and resurrection were innovations that corrupted what Moses gave to the chosen people.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, accepted the prophets and what we call the wisdom literature and the historical books. There they found reason to believe in angels, in resurrection and in enhancements of the law. Then there were the Essenes, who practiced purity rituals and awaited two Messiahs – a priestly one and a ruling one.

How sad it is when Catholics focus on just one part of the Church’s social teaching – or just one way of piety, or one way of liturgical celebration, or one stream of spirituality, or one way of understanding the Scriptures – and condemn or look down on others as being bad Catholics or lax Catholics or even heretics. How can the world believe, if it sees such divisions among those called to love one another? Should we not see one another as the Body of Christ, with different parts having different functions? Some are devoted to certain kinds of prayer, while others care for the homeless or those in prisons.

Others work against abortion and to give pregnant women options. Others visit the sick and bring them Communion.

Others teach children or work with immigrants and refugees. Others work against climate change or against racism and sexism. Others create safe, good-paying jobs, while others help the poor to get justice. Others work for reconciliation in families and in society, care for the elderly or work for the common good. The list could go on and on.

We should see the Church not as a place of competing interests, but as the Body of Christ at work in the world.

As St. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12, each part of the body needs the other parts if God’s love is to be brought into the world. All of the parts are needed. All are equally loved by God, and all are called to grow up in maturity into Christ. Building on the image given by St. Augustine, we can look on the Christian community as a flower garden where there is room for violets and daisies, as well as roses and lilies.

As a gardener, I like to imagine the Church as a vegetable garden filled with many kinds of nourishment.

Some like kale and others romaine; some like tomatoes and others broccoli; some enjoy zucchini and others sweet potatoes. Together they nourish us, and we praise God for the bounty of the earth. As a Church may we grow in love so that a hungry world might be nourished and the Word might go out to all the world. Together, when each responds in love to the myriad actions of grace, we will bring both nourishment and beauty to the world. In this way, united with Jesus and the Father in love, we will invite the world to believe.

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

T

ogether with matrimony, the sacrament of holy orders is included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church under the heading “The Sacraments at the Service of Communion.” This tells us something important about what these two vocational sacraments have in common: The grace conveyed by them is not primarily for the good of the recipients but for the good of others. The grace of matrimony is for the good of one’s spouse and children and, by extension, the larger community.

Likewise, the grace of holy orders is for the good of the Church, and by extension, the world.

Holy orders is unique in that it is a single sacrament consisting of three distinct orders or offices. In this way it reflects the life of the Trinity. Bishops, priests and deacons each have a distinct role to play in serving the members of the Body of Christ. That role can best be understood in light of the three sacred duties entrusted

by Christ to the Church: to teach, to govern and to sanctify. This three-fold mission of the Church reflects Christ’s triple role as priest, prophet and king.

Christ gives the apostles teaching authority when He says, “He who hears you, hears me” (Lk 10:16). He gives them the authority to sanctify others when He says, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven” (Jn 20:23). And He gives them governing authority when He says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven” (Mt 16:19).

The institution of holy orders is linked most especially to the institution of the Eucharist when Christ gave the apostles the mandate to “do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19).

The mission and requisite authority to teach, govern and sanctify in Christ’s name was not meant only for the apostles. Early on, as the Church experienced rapid growth, the apostles found themselves in need of helpers. The first bishops were men such as Timothy and Titus, chosen by the apostles from among the faithful to share in their authority by the laying on of hands. In St. Paul’s letter to Titus, he advises him that “a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents” (Tit 1:7-9).

The name “bishop” comes from the Greek “episkopos,” meaning “overseer,” and it is the office of bishop that we see the Church’s governing authority most clearly expressed. But bishops are not mere administrators. As successors of the apostles, they possess the fullness of holy orders, meaning every bishop is also a priest and a deacon.

A priest, from the Greek “presbuteros,” meaning “elder,” is one set apart to offer sacrifices on behalf of the community, thus acting as mediator between God and man. The hereditary Jewish priests did this by “making sin offerings for himself as well as for the people” (Heb 5:3). Christ establishes a new priesthood, as the Letter to the Hebrews attests. “He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for His own sins and then for those of the people; He did that once for all when He offered Himself” (Heb 7:27). In Christ we have an eternal High Priest and universal Mediator with the Father.

All of the faithful share in Christ’s priesthood by virtue of our baptism, which makes us members of His Body. Thus all members of the Church are able to approach God in prayer and offer sacrifices for the good of others through our penance. The ministerial

priesthood conferred in holy orders serves the baptismal priesthood by making present in every place and time the universal sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist. While priests – especially as pastors – share to some degree the governing authority of the bishop, their primary role in the life of the Church is to sanctify and nourish the faithful through the diligent celebration of the sacraments.

Just as every bishop is also a priest, every priest is also a deacon. Diaconal ministry reflects the prophetic teaching role of the Church. The word “deacon” comes from the Greek “diakonos,” meaning “servant.” Some today equate diaconal service to corporal works of mercy (which all Christians are called to perform). Historically it referred to the service given by an emissary or ambassador, one who had authority to speak on behalf of his master. Jewish writers used this word to denote the ministry of angels who spoke on behalf of God. In many English translations of the Bible, the word “diakonos” is simply translated as “minister.”

The Second Vatican Council said deacons are ordained “not unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry” (“Lumen Gentium,” 29). The first deacons were “men filled with the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3) ordained by the apostles to minister to the needs of the growing Christian community. Two of these deacons, St. Stephen and St. Philip, are described in the Acts of the Apostles as preaching the gospel and explaining the Scriptures.

Deacons exercise their ministry today not only by proclaiming the Gospel and preaching at Mass, but by instructing others in the faith by their teaching and the example of their lives.

It is often said that the Second Vatican Council restored the diaconate in the Latin Church by establishing the permanent diaconate, but in truth the diaconate never went away. The Church has always had deacons, but for many centuries every deacon in the West was also ordained a priest, so diaconal ministry became hidden to a large extent. The Second Vatican Council desired to shine new light on this ancient ministry.

The term “permanent deacon” denotes one who does not intend to advance to priestly ordination. Church law exempts permanent deacons from certain restrictions otherwise binding upon clergy. For example, they may be married, engage in work outside the Church, and hold public office. While this designation has a certain usefulness in Church law, it has had the unfortunate consequence of creating the misnomer of a “transitional deacon.” There is no such thing. The sacrament of holy orders, like baptism and confirmation, confers an indelible mark on the soul. Once someone is ordained a deacon, one is a deacon forever. All deacons are permanent deacons. A priest doesn’t cease to be a deacon any more than a bishop ceases to be a priest. (No one ever talks about the “transitional priesthood.”)

Just as there is one order of bishops and one order of priests, there is only one order of deacons, united in the one sacrament of holy orders. These three orders serve the Church by exercising, each in their proper way, the teaching, governing and sanctifying ministry of Jesus Christ. By restoring a permanent order of deacons, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the foundational ministry of all those in holy orders is the ministry of service. The one we serve above all is Jesus Christ, both in the Blessed Trinity and in the members of His Body, the Church.

DEACON MATTHEW NEWSOME is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.

July 16, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Fred Gallagher

The elephant in the Catholic room

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ith the alarmingly high amount of partisan political censorship on social media of late, it has dawned on me that if I said on Facebook or any other social media site, “As a Roman Catholic, these are a few of the foundational tenets of my faith…” and then named a handful of basic Catholic teachings, at some point I would be censored or outright kicked off the site. It would be the result of an embedded secularism that is utterly antagonistic toward a religious worldview.

Walker Percy, the wonderful southern Catholic novelist/philosopher, has his own take on modern, post-Christian society: He says contemporary culture is not really all that secular. It is, rather, a kind of quasireligious bent of mind grounded in what he calls “scientism,” as opposed to science.

Rather than celebrating near miraculous advances, medical and otherwise, in the service of all, especially the sick and the poor, scientism extrapolates the scientific method out to the point where the mind and heart, both created to seek transcendence, give over their sovereignty and become willing to believe almost anything. Scientific method becomes what Percy calls an “all-construing worldview.”

Percy should know, as he was educated as a scientist, becoming an M.D. before falling prey to a debilitating disease and becoming a novelist – and converting to Catholicism as he recuperated.

So the more stridently secular, or attached to scientism, we become, the more a traditional Catholic cast of mind seems outlandish and, at times, the more we Catholics pretend nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Percy’s essays remind us that euthanasia did not become a part of German culture with the Nazis. It was instituted by the friendly democracies of the Weimar Republic, then followed by the Nazis. He calls to mind in his book of essays, “Signposts in a Strange Land,” the incident when Russians and Americans joined forces to save three stranded whales, an act of cooperation hailed and applauded by the world looking on. All the while, during that same time period, a million

Sudanese were dying of starvation. He adds, “Americans are the nicest, most generous, and sentimental people on earth.

Yet Americans have killed more unborn children than any nation in history.”

The proverbial elephant in the Catholic room today is not embodied in the issues themselves that bump up against Catholic teachings, such as the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, the disordered nature of homosexual acts and the definition of marriage as an indissoluble bond between one man and one woman, both unitive and procreative.

No, the elephant in the Catholic room is our becoming desensitized to these and other issues, some involving mighty and devastating transgressions, to the point where adherence to the teachings themselves is not even necessary for one to call himself or herself “Catholic.”

I try to be as apolitical as I can in these articles, but we have a president of the United States who is a self-described devout Catholic, yet who is the most ardent prochoice president in our history. We have a president who presided over a same-sex wedding. I certainly don’t expect an outcry from the general public to go against the prevailing cultural grain, but where are our Catholic voices? When many Catholics voted for a platform anchored firmly to pro-choice ideals, same-sex marriage and gender fluidity – one that scoffs at Catholic morality – where are the bullhorns from the Catholic clergy? When nearly half of Catholics in the U.S. say they don’t believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, where has our strident formation in the faith gone?

Here’s the elephant in the Catholic room: our apathy, our acceptance of a degraded culture, and a hierarchy mostly silent and in some cases even supportive of a cultural milieu antithetical to everything we believe. And hiding under the ample girth of this complacent elephant are the frightful beginnings of schismatic ideals.

FRED GALLAGHER is an author and editor-in-chief with Gastonia-based Good Will Publishers Inc.

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As I have loved you.

Como yo los he amado.

— John 13:34

— Juan 13:34

Mark your calendar for the 17th Eucharistic Congress September 17-18, 2021 — Charlotte Convention Center

Marque su calendario para el XVII Congreso Eucarístico J UA N 1 3 : 3 4

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Para información y voluntariado: www.GoEucharist.com

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L O S HE A YO M

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For information and to volunteer: www.GoEucharist.com

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Septiembre 17 y 18, 2021— Centro de Convenciones de Charlotte CO

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