April 10, 1998

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News & Herald

Volume 7 Number 31

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

«

April 10, 1998

The Bishop's Easter Message

By BISHOP The sun

WILLIAM G. CURLIN my

heavens on morning arose to see a woman hurrying on her way to the tomb of Christ. Mary Magdalene had not forthat filled the

that first Easter

gotten that

when

others, although sin-

ners like herself, had looked at her with

eyes filled with contempt, Jesus, the sinless One, had looked at her with love and mercy. Only three days before she had seen His bleeding body taken from the cross and laid in a tomb. His enemies

were determined

that

He

should

lie

life

and the power

to take

again." His enemies took

Him

it

at

up His

word and destroyed the temple of His body. Yet, the very soldiers who guarded His tomb would be witnesses to His keepmg His word by breaking the

ning of His public ministry Christ had chosen twelve men to be His apostles

and friends. So

thrilling

were

words they had

his

had staked all on Him. Yet, on Good Friday they kept that the apostles

distance from Calvary. They watched as they saw

bonds of death At the begin-

Him nailed to the

apostles when, after the Resurrection,

they looked upon the pierced hands and feet and side of a living Christ. His appearance must have been like a sunburst in a midnight sky. Three days before Easter they had run from Christ in fear; now they were ready to bear witness to Him in a hostile world filled with scorn, prison and even death. Henceforth they would dare all things for Christ! Dare

there

When Mary Magdalene reached

forever.

the tomb, she found

it

empty. To use

own

words, she wept because "The Lord has been taken from the tomb. We don't know where they have laid Him." her

A moment later, however, love received

we do the same? The world still demands the supreme test of loyalty to Christ. The first Christians knew well that they must die

reward! She heard her name, Mary, and turned to look on the Risen Christ. Hate has lost and love had won! She its

hurried to carry the joyful

news

to those

whom Christ had called His friends. And thus began Mary's journey

to live

and

throughout the centuries telling the glad tidings of Christ's Resurrection. Today she stands in our midst proclaiming that Christ

is

risen

and death

is

I

It is

roots deep within our souls.

more cease

no

than

You woven

and be with Christ forever.

desire to live forever.

into the fibers of our being

more.

On

cross raised on high for all to see. They heard the curses and jeers hurled at the dying Saviour. What their feelings were only they themselves could tell. They had followed him for three wonderful years filled with hope and promise. All ended on Calvary! No one will ever know the joy that must have filled the hearts of the

to desire eternal

and finds We can no happiness

we can cease to hunger for food.

It

accord with our nature and the yearnings of our hearts. If this celebration is one of joy, it is because its message is a response to the longings of our souls and brings to us, as it brought to the apostles, the promise of eternal life: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in me shall live forever." It brings heaven to earth and gives us poor travelers on earth a glimpse of our eternal home less we grow weary before our journey ends. For Christians Easter solves the riddle of life and death. It points to the grave is in

of the Resurrection of Christ from the grave, we base our hopes for eternal life and eternal love. It was His Resurrection that Christ claimed would be the supreme proof of His divinity. When His enemies had asked Him for a sign to prove that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, His answer was: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will build it up again." Christ could have seized the sun from the sky and hurled it crashing against His enemies. But He would do more. this great truth

He would

die;

He would go down

into

the darkness of the grave and after three

Women visit the tomb of Christ and find

days He would rise again. Christ alone could say: "I have the power to lay down

The fresco was painted around 1440 by Fra Angelico on a San Marco in Florence, Italy.

it

empty

in this

depiction of the Resurrection. wall of the

Convent

of

as the gateway between two worlds. There we lay the heavy burdens of this world while our souls, homeward bound, pass to life and immortality.

IN THIS ISSUE... Rev. Mr. Andy Cilone places the oil of

catechumens

for

blessing by Bishop William G. Curlin.

The Pope's Palm Sunday Celebration Chrism Mass At

Cathedral

St. Patricia's

Page 16

Columns

Pages 4-5

Faith Alive!

Pages 8-9

Special Easter

See full story, page 16

Page 3

Diocesan News

Page 14


2 The Catholic

News

& Herald

April 10. 1998

Southern African Bishops Say Priest Erred Giving Clinton VATICAN CITY

(CNS)

— South-

Communion

said in a telephone interview that if he

em

had been consulted on the

made

Clinton receiving Communion, "my first reaction would have been to say no, unless there are very good reasons." If Clinton had presented himself for Communion without warning, the priest concerned "certainly wouldn't refuse him, as it is the norm not to presume bad

African bishops said a local priest a "mistake in judgment" when he allowed U.S. President Bill Clinton to receive Communion, an act which Vatican officials termed a breach of liturgical norms. The statement from a Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference spokesman came after a week of contro-

faith," Father

possibility of

Coleman said. But in this Makobane himself said,

Must be

spiritually

and morally

prepared. •

Must give evidence of holding

the

Catholic teaching in the Eucharist. In their statement on the Soweto Mass, the Southern African bishops cited essentially the same requirements, but noted that the recent Southern African bishops' ecumenical directory leaves

up

to the local bishop to determine

it

what

versy and discussion of church requirements that govern when a non-Catholic

case, as Father

constitutes a "pressing need" or grave

there had been prior discussion on the

necessity.

may

issue and

receive the Eucharist.

Clinton, a Southern Baptist, and his wife, Hillary odist, both

Rodham took

Clinton, a Meth-

Communion

at the

in Regina Mundi Church Soweto. White House officials said

March 29 Mass in

they had spoken with local church leaders beforehand about the eventuality of the president receiving the sacrament. Father ish priest,

Mohlomi Makobane, the pardefended his decision to give to the Clintons and other

Communion

non-Catholics in the congregation, saying he was simply applying the terms of a recent ecumenical directory published by the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference. He said he had not asked permission from his bishop. The Directory on Ecumenism in Southern Africa, which appears to give more leeway to local churches on shared

Communion, was under review by the Vatican' s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments,

was no surprise that Clinton came up for Communion. The program for the Mass, which baptized Christians to take part in Communion, was drawn up by the U.S. who said, howorganizers of the trip invited

Father Emil Blaser, media officer for the Southern African bishops, told Catholic News Service April 2 that Father Makobane "made a mistake in judgment" in applying the ecumenical directory.

The same day, the Southern African bishops' conference issued a similar statement, saying the priest should have asked prior approval of Bishop Reginald J. Orsmond of Johannesburg, South AfBishop Orsmond was in the hospital and did not comment on the case. Salesian Father John Coleman, the Johannesburg diocesan vicar for liturgy. rica.

it

of stating that shared Communion is the norm, "eucharistic sharing may be both meaningful and desirable" on occasions of special

also said legitimate eucharistic sharing

directory of 1993. "Pastorally, the church recognizes

and exceptional circumstances. Christians of other denominations may be permitted to receive the Eucharist" at a Catholic service. Cardinal Bevilacqua said.

that in very limited

The rules

are

somewhat different for

Orthodox and Protestants. But in general, as cited by Cardinal Bevilacqua, the rules say the person: •

Must be

in a situation of "grave

necessity." •

Must be unable

charist

to request the Eufrom a minister of his or her own

is

own

resume April

24.

an important sign of ecumenical

progress.

The Vatican

press office had no re-

action to Clinton's reception of

Com-

munion. But other Vatican officials said it appeared to go against church norms. "Since this is a person who is not a Catholic, he cannot be admitted to the eucharistic

Communion, this

is

Readings for the week of April 12-18, 1998 Easter Sunday Acts 10:34, 37-43 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-9

a canoni-

norm ... and therefore no bishops' conference can advance a different rule," cal

Monday Acts 2:14, 22-32

Matthew 28:8-15

Archbishop Geraldo M. Agnelo,

said

secretary of the Congregation for Divine of-

Tuesday Acts 2:36-41 John 20:11-18

He said exceptions to the rule apply narrow circumstances of pastoral need, which did not appear to apply to Clinton. No church official publicly questioned Clinton's motives in taking Com-

Luke 24:13-35

Worship and the Sacraments, whose fice was reviewing the episode.

Wednesday

to

munion, and he was not the first nonCatholic president to do so. In 1983, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and

Nancy Reagan received Communion at a Catholic funeral in Washfirst

lady

Acts 3:1-10

Thursday Acts 3:11-26

Luke 24:35-48 Friday Acts 4:1-12 John 21:1-14 Saturday Acts 4:13-21

ington.

Mark

church community. • Must ask for Conmiunion on his or her

will

Pope John Paul 11, who has defended the church requirements on the issue, has

Father Coleman said organizers of Clinton's visit appeared to have misjudged the effect of the action, which "surprised and hurt many Catholics, especially American Catholics whom Clinton wouldn't want to alienate."

Among those who questioned whether Clinton's reception of Communion was in line with church norms was Cardinal Anthony M. Bevilacqua of Philadelphia. He noted that these norms are outlined in the Code of Canon Law, in the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," and in a Vatican ecumenical

& Herald. publishing schedule

feasts or events.

reflected their understand-

16:9-15

Readings for the week of April 19-25, 1998

initiative.

The Empty Tomb

Sunday Acts 5:12-16 Revelation 1:9-13,17-19 John 20:19-31

Tl^mkmg God

of Priest(?oo5?

Calls each of us in a variety of ways. If

or someone you

Monday Acts 4:23-31 John 3:1-8

you

Tuesday Acts 4:32-37 John 3:7-15

know feels

draw^n to priesthood, please write or call to find out more about serving in the Diocese of Charlotte.

On

ihe first day of the week, Mary Magdala came to the tomb early m

mornmg, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon the

For

more information:

Peter and to the other disciple

who

Rev. Eric

Houseknecht Our Lady of Consolation Church

Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb

2301

him." They did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. (John 20:1-2,9)

Statesville Ave.

NC 28206 704-375-4339

Charlotte,

and

we don't know where

they put

no

The Catholic News

Our makes a point while abstinence from

to the Easter

April 17 issue of

directory, in fact,

ing with local church officials.

which asked for

clarification after the Clinton episode.

all

ever, that

The

it

Due

holiday, there will be

Wednesday Acts 5:17-26

John 3:16-21 Thursday Acts 5:27-33 John 3:31-36 Friday Acts 5:34-42 John 6:1-15 Saturday 1

Peter 5:5-14

Mark 16:15-20


The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

Christian Leaders Support

Common By

Date For Easter

LYNNE WEIL

ROME (CNS) — Leaders of Christian

churches from around the world have

shown support for a proposal to have a uniform date for celebrating Easter. The initiative, which is being coordinated by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, has resulted in numerous letters of approval by prominent church authorities, said Father

Thomas Fitzgerald,

an Orthodox priest and director of the WCC's Program for Unity and Renewal. In an April 7 telephone interview, Father Fitzgerald said "it could be that in a few years Eastern and Western churches will be celebrating Easter on the

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople said in a letter to the that the Council of Nicaea formulation offers "the only solution for a panChristian celebration of Easter on the same date." The patriarch of

WCC

Constantinople

Writing to the

WCC

in reaction to

is

equals" of

considered

all

"first

patriarchs in the

Orthodox Church. Father Fitzgerald said letters of support had also been sent by authorities for

much

In a practice dating back four centu-

The issue "carries more weight in some parts of the world than in others,"

reformation of the calendar

Father Fitzgerald said. "For example, in

desired goal."

ries to the

by Pope Gregory XIII, most Protestants and Catholics celebrate Easter on one day while most Orthodox observe the feast day separately. On some years, the celebrations coincide. Easter this year falls

on April 12 for Protestants and Catholics, and April 19 for the Orthodox. The developed a proposal last year at a meeting in Aleppo, Syria, that

WCC

a

common

date

would be

starting April 15,

fall

— —

2001

(CNS) With palm and oUnc

branches swaying in a breeze, Pope John Paul

stroiiu II cel-

ebrated Palm Sunday and World Youth Day with an estimated 100,000 people in St.

"The wind loves young ""

people and the not-so-young. the 77-year-old pope said at tlic April 5 Mass. "It rejuvenates us."

As French youths — of 1997 World Youth Da\ —prepared pass largo wooden — of year 2000 youth day — Pope John hosts

the

a

to

hosts

the

Paul

encouraged young people to treasure the cross as the symbol of their salvation.

The Palm Sunday

Christian churches.

Middle East, where there

for Christian witness,

peers

it

is

concern

creates a kind of

scandal as seen by others,

who might say,

'What are the Christians talking about if they can't celebrate their most important feast day at the same time?"' He noted that in countries "where mixed marriage is fairly common, such

liturgy

recalls Jesus' triumphal entry

and his being welcomed as a king, the pope told the young people. "Jesus knew, however, that into Jerusalem

the exultation of the

would

lead

him

Pope John Paul II holds an olive branch as he prepares to lead Palm Sunday procession in St. Peter's Square April 5. The pontiff presided over ^ass commemorating Christ's triumphant entrance Jerusalem,

crowd

into the heart

of the mystery of salvation.

He

was aware his death

that he would meet and not receive a royal

crown, but a crown of thorns," the pope

Paul told Italian youths to gather around

as in the United States,"

said.

the

set for Easter

been

the next time

served for Easter commemorations and in some homes, it is celebrated twice.

Pope John Paul told the youths to welcome Jesus and his cross today with the same exclamation of the youth of

country's dioceses.

two Easter celebrations would on the same day and would be

that the

Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Presbyterian Church of the United States and other the Russian

the

WOODEN

VATICAN CITY

cross to their Italian

Edward L Cassidy,

head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said "the Catholic Church is ready to endorse the conclusions of this consultation, and to work together with other Christians toward this

the plan. Cardinal

By CINDY

Peter's Square.

organization.

among

same day."

Pope Celebrates Palm Sunday, World Youth Day

tem, Easter would always

fall on the Sunday after the first full moon in spring. The WCC sent a copy of the proposal to all churches which took part in the Aleppo meeting, and then to all of its more than 330 member-churches. The Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, but works in cooperation with the

split

households have over which day should be re-

Father Fitzgerald said the target date

observed every year thereafter.

of 2001 for starting the practice of com-

Participants in the Aleppo meeting agreed on a calculation of the date of Easter based on a formula developed by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in the year 325. According to this sys-

mon

Easter celebrations

"may be

a bit

optimistic" because "each church, with its

own culture and

making" "in

its

will

own

structure of decision-

have to decide on the plan

Jerusalem 2,000 years ago: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

"Dear young people, the message of is proposed to you today. This

the cross

cross

is

entrusted to you,

who

will

be the

"Your choice is clear: Discover in the meaning of your existence and the source of your missionary enthusiasm," the pope said. At the end of the Mass, Pope John

time."

World Youth Day cross over the next two years as it travels to each of the Meditating on the cross, he said, should help prepare them to host hundreds of thousands of young people from around the globe for the next international cel-

ebration of for

Remember His TOD In Yours.

World Youth Day, scheduled

August 2000. Addressing English-speaking youths,

adults of the third millennium," he said.

cross of Christ the

said, "The cross of Christ speaks to young people of today about the true meaning of life and death, of time and

he

the

eternity.

Be

witnesses before the world

to the grace of Jesus Christ."

"A valid Will stands as a continuing expression of our

concern for loved ones, as well as an ongoing commit-

ment to the Church and the community in which we live." Bishop WUliam G. Curlin

ou can express your conimitment to your Oiurch by making a bequest to the Diocese of Charlotte or to your parish. Simply have the following

statement included in your Will: "/ leave to the

Charlotte (or

our website at www.hows.net/2H203spc f

Charlotte, N{ 28203

Catholic Diocese of

parish, city) the

sum of $

(or

Parochial Vicar: Reverend Walter Ray Williams

1621 Dihvorth Road East

Roman

percent of the residue of my estate) for religious, educational and charitable works!'

Rector: The Vety Reverend Paul Gary

Visit

& Herald 3

("0 1)33

J

22S3

For more information on how lo make a Will that works, contact Jim Kelley. Diocese of Charlotte, Office of Development, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, (704) 370-3301

its


4 The Catholic News

& Herald

CPro^/oife

April 10, 1998

The Pope Speaks

Corner

Pope John Paul

VATICAN CITY (CNS)

of Pope John Paul IV s remarks general audience April

Dear brothers and

For

the gift of life,

In our catechesis

that through the redeeming death

and resurrection of Christ,

we might come

to cherish the

he has given us divine

life

We pray

share

baptized, he

will

Friday

of the Lord's Passion

Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

8 p.m.

Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

April 12

11 a.m.

Easter Sunday St.

community through baptism.

come

to a

deeper understanding of

St.

Mass

Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

April 15

it

new

19—11

of

life in Christ.

As adopted

sons and daughters of God, baptized Chrisunder the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May all Christians use this time of preparation for the jubilee to become more conscious of the great gift and mystery of baptism. I welcome all the EngUsh-speaking pilgrims and visitors, especially those from England, Denmark, Japan and the United States of America. Upon you and your families I cordially invoke the blessings of Almighty God. tians are enabled to lead a spiritual life

Pope Marks Dedication Of Georgian Hospital VATICAN CITY (CNS) Marking the dedication

hospital

is

in

named first

encyclical, a 1979 letter

Christ the

on

Redeemer of hu-

manity.

The almost $1.7

million

cost for constructing and

equipping the full-service hospital was covered by contributions from Caritas Italy, the U.S. -based Catholic Near East Welfare Association, the German Catholic aid agency Misereor and the Italian bishops' conference. The hospital will be staffed by members of the Camillian Fathers and Sisters. In his message for the dedication ceremony, the pope said he readily accepted Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's request that the Vatican give a concrete sign of its solidarity with the Georgian people. Pope John Paul said he hoped the hospital would be "a tangible sign of my closeness and my affection," as well as a "living expression of the love which believers in Christ are called to show toward those who suffer." Pope's Holy Thursday Letter Encourages

Prayer To Holy Spirit (CNS) Pope John Paul

VATICAN CITY

II

en-

world to invoke the and grow in their own spiritual lives. In a letter to priests. Pope John Paul said he joined all of them in "imploring from the 'Giver

couraged

Holy

of

priests throughout the

Spirit as they minister to others

gifts' the

graces necessary to discern the signs of

of a Vatican-built hospital in the former Soviet republic

salvation and to respond with full fidelity to the call of

of Georgia, Pope John Paul

God." The pope's annual letter to priests marking the Holy Thursday commemorations of the institution of the Eucharist and of the priesthood was released March

11

said he

wanted

it

to

be a

sign of his affection for the Georgian people.

Redemptor Hominis

— 7:30 p.m.

fruits

brings about the for-

Hospital, built under the su-

pervision of the Congregation for Eastern Churches,

Novena to the Divine Mercy Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro April

this sacra-

Paul presents baptism as a sharing in the

giveness of sins and communicates

— 7:30 p.m.

April 11

St.

that conversion involves not only an

Christ's redemptive work, since

Good St.

shows

opened April 5

Georgia's capital.

Pope John Paul's

after

sisters.

on the Great Jubilee of the Year

Peter calls on the people at Pentecost to repent and be

We

take part in the foflowimg events:

Tbilisi,

The

we reflect today on baptism. Jesus himself speaks of faith and baptism as the only way to salvation. When

Episcopal Galen Jar

April 10

English at his weekly

in

U

officially

1.

ment by meditating on the baptism of Jesus. When he receives the baptism of John, Jesus shows his soUdarity with sinners and his desire for their salvation. The manifestation of the Spirit prefigures the gift of the Holy Spirit which Christians will receive in baptism.

&

Commemoration

the Vatican text

2000,

Christian

Lord

Bighop WiBiami G, Curlin

is

interior attitude of repentance but also entry into the

in the

of heaven;

to the

//ere

was

31 at the Vatican.

The Bottom Line

a.m.

Antoinette Bosco

Diaconate Ordination of Ricardo Sanchez St.

Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

April 23

Young

Patrick

I

Group

Charlotte

Mass

11 a.m.

for Sisters of

Mercy

Presidents' Meeting

Belmont

The Catholic

News

_

& Herald

^

April 10, 1998

Volume 7

do a

lot

share with

Professionals

Center, St. Patrick Cathedral

April 26

Number

— When Love Conquers Despair

31

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Michael Krokos Associate Editor: Joann Keane Staff Writer:Jimmy Rostar Hispanic Editor: Luis Wolf Production Associate: Julie Radcliffe

Secretary: Jane Glodowski 1123 South Church St., Charlotte,

NC 28203 NC 28237

of work with hurting people.

them what

I

have learned from pain:

me; they shoot out

they shake the head,

"He trusted in the Lord, let him rescue him." Then follows an affirmation in sheer poetry. "But you are he

who

took

me

out of the womb; you made me trust while on my

mother's breasts. I was cast upon you from birth. From my mother's womb, you have been my God." The psalm swells in acknowledging the goodness of God and ends with a prophecy of how God's goodness will be

One

made known to all future generations. we know is that Jesus was a scholar and certainly knew chapter and verse of the

thing

,

He

wasn't the first time I had heard people struggle with those words. I myself sometimes had repeated them in the despairing moments of my life.

Old Testament. When he spoke the first words of Psalm 22, he knew what he was doing. He was not disclosing despair, but rather the opposite. It is too bad that we jump to conclusions, hearing only the "forsaken" words and not the rest of the psalm that he must have been

j

It

Because those words so burned in my soul and seemed to be a cry of despair, I desperately sought to understand what was going on in Jesus' mind when he uttered that wrenching lament. I

One day

took courses One of my teachers was Dr.

in religious studies at

years back.

found out. Oxford a few

Tom Wright, a

They

this cry,

of the Lord.

It

it

was

Jesus' life

to

come was

astounding. For

first

it

Easter morning

Psalm 22. Although

to us that despite everything to the contrary, his will

said these

words of

coming of the kingdom

was an eye-opener

for

We should read this psalm often,

me. certainly during

The beginning can move us to tears. "Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? ... I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men and despised by the people. All those who see me

'

— transformed and remaining

ever in this world beginning that

ends with an affirma-

are the first sentence of

psalm begins with

tion not only of hope but of the

Certainly what

would be by

that the Lord always would be known. I think the words of South African Bishop Desmond Tutu are another affirmation of the great Psalm 22. "Easter means hope prevails over despair. Easter says

He

\

whispering to himself.

I

New Testament scholar and now dean of the ca-

thedral in Litchfield, England.

the 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $1 5 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $18 per year for all other subscribers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, PO Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237,

we

lip,

saying,

respond.

Jesus are misinterpreted as a sign of despair.

NC

If

to

a teacher.

noted

Charlotte,

hope

and valuable blueprint for living, one we never could have imagined. Not long ago, a woman grieving the sudden death of a small child challenged me for what she called my "optimism." She said she had lost her faith. In justification she said she believed Jesus also had given up on God as he suffered on the cross. She referred to Jesus' lament: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" She asked, "Where was God's answer?" She insisted that Jesus died in despair because God did not

E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

St.,

I

don't stay stuck in the darkness, pain can give us a new

PO Box 37267, Charlotte, Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382

Mail:

ridicule

the

— 7 p.m.

Speaker St.

O'Donoghue

Easter

[and love] for us will prevail." That was the truth Jesus wanted us to grasp: Easter is

the victory over

all

darkness.

Lent.

Antoinette Bosco

is

a

CNS columnist.

a;


1

'

One Candle

Light

Father Thomas

Where

Is

Your Molokai?

Damien DeVeuster, gian priest

the

young Bel-

who gave his life to the care of

lepers in the colony at

Hawaiian islands

Molokai

in the

in the 1800s, has long

fascinated people of

all faiths

or no par-

J.

McSweeney

Damien went to his bishop and asked permission to move to the island and be with these people. To do what he could. The bishop loved this young priest, a man of great promise, and tried to argue him

gave them comfort. Damien built a cemetery as an ex-

tinued to pour himself out in

pression of respect for their

died, a leper

It didn't seem fitting that this man much potential should throw himaway in that forsaken place. It was

about Christ but never in an offensive or aggressive way.

dignity.

And

He would

out of it.

with so

ers

He often would wait until the person asked him the question, "Why are you here?" And he never

force himself to stay in spite of his strong

the island, the

"clean" society. The barely accessible

intention.

is-

self

But he went

to

He

fresh water

was a far cry from the treatments available for what we

houses to replace their flimsy hovels their first housing project. He build a clinic and, although he had little medical knowledge, he dressed their sores and

water or decent

shelter. It

now call Hansen's much of the stigma

Disease. But, sadly,

remains.

build a contrivance that brought

from a mountain

into the vil-

He

their first sanitation system.

showed

how

the lepers

it

was

God

the love of

spirit

to build little

that sent

infectious

of joy began to reach them and, for

memory of anyone on sound of laughter was heard.

the first time in the

It

were exiled to literally rot and die. These unfortunate people had to fend for themselves without medical care, clean

lage

that

him and sustained him. His

work.

land of Molokai became a prison where lepers

failed to take these opportunities to tell

them

has been said that the lepers became

accustomed over the years to hear him begin a sermon with these words: "You

know that God loves you." Then he would go on to preach from a heart full of hope, full of life, full of joy. But one Sunday he stood before them and said, ""We lepers know that God loves us." Damien had contracted leprosy. He conlepers

Question

he loved.

among the lepHe died on April

15, 1889, at the age of 49. Damien DeVeuster understood that when Jesus said, "You will be My

talk quietly

what someone later called "Holy Waste." But Damien finally persuaded his bishop and sailed to Molokai. He said that in the early weeks he was often dreadfully sick to his stomach as he saw the horrific conditions under which the lepers were Uving. It was all he could do to

it

he

his ministry of love until

a church.

What he did and why he still touches and puzzles us. Within decades of the arrival of Europeans and Americans, diseases they brought took a terrible toll on the native population. Leprosy became nearly epidemic. Partly as a carry-over from bibUcal times, a leper was considered unclean and cursed, a person to be kept away from ticular faith.

did

& Herald 5

The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

witnesses... to the ends of the

earth,"

it

included the isolated, desperate

And I think people are still moved by his story because we all have a Molokai waiting for us. Where is your Molokai? If you have yet to find it, keep looking. This week, go out of your way to minister to one person. No lofty pledges, no big numbers, just one person. There is somebody out there who has a special need that only you can handle in a loving way. Someone is island of Molokai.

waiting for you.

Father Thomas

J.

McSweeney

director of the Christophers columnist.

is

and a CNS

Comer

Father John Dietzen

Salvation for Those Who Don't Know Christ? Q. Eight of us gather each week to read and discuss the Bible. One member recently quoted John 14:6 (Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life ') and Acts 4:12 ("There is no salvation through anyone else" than Jesus) as proving no one gets to heaven except

and that all salvation is in and through him. That is, however, not at all the same as saying that one is saved only through a personal, conscious and explicit faith in Jesus as savior.

'

through Jesus. to

What would you say? We find it hard believe that so many of God's good

people will never enjoy eternity with him.

New

The

otherwise.

Testament

The

itself tells

Letter to

first

us

Timothy

echoes other statements of our Lord and the apostles

when

it

says

God "wills

ev-

eryone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth," and that this happens through the one mediator, "Christ Jesus, himself human" (1 Tm 1:4-5).

A. Catholic teaching, and

all

On

Chris-

the other hand, as Paul tells us

many ways,

tian tradition, agrees totally with those

often and in

words, of course. We believe that Jesus is the Lord of the world and of all history, that the Father has revealed to us

possible without faith.

all

he can reveal

in the

person of Jesus

salvation

is

im-

To

put

it

another way,

a pure, unmerited

of God and God's will that all people be saved through faith, then he must have other ways of bringing human beings to faith and

Father John

S.

"God the Creator wants to save

humankind in Jesus Christ." This salvation, however, is not worked out in neat patterns knowable and all

clear to us.

and cultures of the Far East, pope declares that Christ came into the world also for all these peoples, and

tian religions

Earth Day

Rausch

birds that voraciously eat bugs dot the

all attest to

Earth Day

garden and the surrounding bottom land. Fixing a bird house for owls that attack

tal crisis that

rodents and a bat house for the night-

feeding ises

exotic rows of malabar spinach,

claytonia and hyacinth beans. In David's

mammals that eat insects prom-

some balance

in the pest popula-

A

meditation

trail

winds through a

plants placed strategically tesfify that

small woodlot close to a stream and con-

diversity nurtures abundance.

tinues near the garden through a trellis

David gardens the bottom land on the campus of the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center (AMERC) in Berea, Ky., where seminarians train for rural ministry. He shows future pastors the effects of growing tobacco and com for years with chemical herbicides and pesticides. As an organic

that surrounds a statue of St. Francis.

gardener, he to aerate

it

is

now

restructuring the soil

and improve

its

water-hold-

ing capacity.

Six bird houses designed for blue-

Benches here and there invite students to pause and reflect on the beauty of creation. Pretty, productive and prayerful, the garden area rests harmoniously in the

the environmenfaces the world. The crisis arises from modem industrial civilization with

its

unsustain-

able consumption and unsustainable technologies of

tion.

one-third acre garden, 120 species of

web

of

On

April 22 the world celebrates

Earth Day, a day to recognize the inter-

dependence of all

life

on

this planet.

The

extinction of species both flora and fauna, the creation of radioactive waste

and the possibility of global warming

human race who, even to this day, know almost nothing of Jesus or the the

Gospels.

of these the Catechism of the

It is

Catholic Church speaks. "Those who,

through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and,

moved by grace, try

in

the

AMERC garden. 1.

Diversity. In nature, life creates

conditions for

soms trial

more

life.

A

forest blos-

as an interconnected ecosystem, as a stand of trees. Indus-

agriculture, in contrast, concentrates

on monoculture production

See Dietzen, page 13

m

production promoted by corporations and governments. That approach contrasts sharply with the view of creation epitomized by

and not merely

life.

people you mention, the vast majority of

the

A Garden Teaches About Raised beds of red cabbage, green

accept him,

81-83).

know. Pope John Paul II, in his remarkable book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope,' notes that

"Many

In saying this, the pope embraces the many good

ways we do not

salvation,

said.

and many more have an implicit faith in him" (Pages

is

A Garden Teaches About

more

he

gift

Speaking especially of the non-Chris-

both of those statements are tme, then there must be other ways to faith, through Christ, but without explicit, conIf

beans, garlic and onions thrive beside

redeemed them all. Yet, our Lord "has his own ways of reaching them"

scious faith in him.

if faith is

expense of the environment. The intensive growth of a single crop demands greater use of chemical fertilizers that frequently pollute nearby streams and increases the at the

crop's

vulnerability

blight, infestation or

to

bad

weather. Diversity insures healthier,

more

resilient

crops by promoting interde-

pendence in the garden and spreading the risks more broadly.

Stewardship. God put garden "to cultivate and 2.

humanity

in the

(Genesis 2:15) As co-gardeners the challenge focuses on preserving creation for God's glory and future generations. The industrial approach facare for

it."

vors an after-the-fact clean up of pollu-

organic gardening acts in harmony with nature by composting, covercropping and mulching, so industrial production could adopt a preventative strategy by banning obvious polluttion. But, just as

See Rausch, page

1


6

The Catholic News

& Herald

April 10, 1998

Diaconate Ordination •

Transitional Diaconate: The Stepping

By FATHER ERIC

Bishop William G. Curlin

Parish Barbecue/Flea Market/Bake Sale

MINT HILL — St. Luke Church presents its annual barbecue/flea market/

will or-

bake sale April 25. Flea market spaces are available for $20 each. For more information, call Kris Becker, (704) 545-5666, or Joy Grottle, (704) 545-4592.

dain Ricardo Sanchez to the transitional

diaconate on Sunday, April 19, at

1 1

a.m.

Patrick Cathedral in Chariotte.

at St.

A

IN BRIEF:

Stone To Priesthood

HOUSEKNECHT

St. Maximilian Kolbe Drama Actor and producer Leonard Defilippis presents one-man drama "Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz," the story of World War II martyr Father Maximilian Kolbe, at St. Leo the Great Church on April 25 at 7 p.m. for audience members ages 10 and up. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students. For more information, call (336) 724-0561.

native of San Jose, Costa Rica,

WINSTON-SALEM

Ricardo was professed as a member of the Congregacion de Misioneros de San

the

Jose until his decision to join the Dio-

cese of Charlotte. Ricardo has spent the past year in priesthood formation at St.

Meinrad Seminary

He will

in St.

Meinrad, Ind.

for a year prior to his ordination to the

priesthood in June 1999.

Priestly Ordinations In June On Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m.. Bishop Curlin will ordain Rev. Mr. Dean Cesa, Rev. Mr. Christopher Davis, Rev. Mr. Matthew Leonard, and Rev. Mr. Peter Pham to the priesthood at St. John

Neumann Church hood was parish

realized while participating in

life at

Church

tion

Our Lady of

in Charlotte,

the

Assump-

along with his

involvement in Catholic Singles of Charlotte and with various prayer groups and

He has a professional background computers and engineering. Rev. Mr. Cesa will receive a master's of Divinity from St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa., in May. Rev. Mr. Davis is a convert to Catholicism, having been baptized at St. Benedict Church in Greensboro during choirs.

in

Dead Sea Scrolls Presentation

CHARLOTTE — James H. Charlesworth, professor of New Testament at Ricardo Sanchez

philosophy

at the

in Steubenville, Ohio.

at

studied music.

He

is

the 14th annual

Loy H. Witherspoon

turer in religious studies at the University of Chapel Hill-Charlotte April

Franciscan University

Rev. Mr. Leonard

7:30 p.m. in the Lucas

Dead Sea

Scrolls

and

from Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Md., in

Room

lec-

20

at

of the Cone Center. His focus will be on the

their relationship to Jesus Christ

and early Christianity.

will receive a master' s of Divinity St.

Ministry Founder Visits Greenville

Rev. Mr. Pham' s response

to the call

of priestly service began as a teenager. In the midst of political turmoil in Viet-

nam, escape attempts from

his native

ministry, leads

mation and directions,

country, and refugee resettlement camps, his priestly calling

Rev. Mr.

Mary Ellen Lukas, founder Our Father's Work S.C. "An Inspirational Presentation on the Teachings of Jesus Christ" April 16 at Mary Magdalene Church. The gathering begins with the rosary at 6:30 p.m., Mass at 7:30 p.m. and the presentation afterward. For more infor-

GREENVILLE,

May.

Pham

remained a constant.

will receive a master's

of Divinity from

St.

Latrobe, Penn., in

Vincent Seminary,

May.

Greensboro where he has a broad range of

ST.

St,

^We

SIMONS

call

Grace Norus, (704) 543-1237.

Vocation Discernment Retreat The Daughters of Charity sponsor a vocaISLAND, Ga.

tion discernment retreat for

Simons

women May

Island, Ga., near 1-95.

The

cost

29-31

is

at

$60, and

Epworth-by-the-Sea,

some scholarship

St.

assis-

Durkin or Sister Nancy Murphy at 2737 Gwinette Dr., Macon, Ga. 31204, (912) 7417522 at home, (9 1 2) 746-9803 at work.

tance

his college years at the University of

North Carolina

Presents Oklahoma

Princeton Theological Seminary,

in Charlotte.

Rev. Mr. Cesa' s calling to the priest-

CCHS

CHARLOTTE The Fine Arts Department of Chariotte Catholic High School presents the musical "Oklahoma" May 1 and May 2 at 7:30 p.m., and May 3 at 4 p.m. in the school gymnasium. General admission tickets are $6. The Athletic Association hosts "dinner theater" May 1 and 2; admission is $14 which includes dinner at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria and a reserve seating ticket to the musical. Call Kathryn Claiborne for tickets, (704) 543-1127.

serve in our diocese as a deacon

is

available.

For

details or to register, contact Sister Carol

interests, including extensive studies in

Spanish. Rev. Mr. Davis will receive a

master's of Divinity from

St.

Spring Fling

Mary's

Seminary, Baltimore, Md., in May.

Rev. Mr. Leonard's calling came during a 10-year career in the culinary arts.

He was

a

cook

in the U.S.

Navy

nccewed.

for

four years, then for six years for the Fraternal

D.C.

Order of Police

He earned

in

degrees in

Washington, theology and

Join us for the annual Spring Fling for parishioners aged 50+ at the

Catholic Conference Center in Hickor>' on Wed., April 29, 1998 S.-W..

10

Come

am - 3:30 pm

early for Continental Breakfast 9

-

Warn

Activities include music, games, crafts, walking tours, bingo, door prizes, lunch,

tke ^I^iocede

C^kariotte to

tL

Mass and

so

much

Registration Fee: $ 1 0

For more information

call the

more...

Financial Aid

is

Available

Elder Ministry Program at 704-370-3250. Registration

Name: Street

Address :_

ZipCode:_

City:

April 19, 1998

11:00 a.m.

T

Parish:

Please enclose the $10 fee per person and mail

to:

Spring Fling

St.

Patricks Cathedral Charlotte,

NC

Elder Ministry Program 1123 South Church Street

Catholic Social Services Charlotte,

NC 28203-4003


The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

& Herald 7

Entertainment The following are home videocassette reviews from the U.S. Catholic Conference Officefor Film and Broad-

Videos

Eamonn Owens stars as the young Francie Brady with Stephen Rea as

"The Butcher Boy." The

Each videocassette is available on VHSformat. Theatrical movies on video have a U.S. Catholic Conference classification and Motion Picture Association ofAmerica rating. All reviews indicate the appropriate age group for the video audience. casting.

his father in

London museum guard

is

— adults,

The Motion Picture

Association of

R

rating

entrusted to de-

hver a priceless painting to a Los Angewith predictable results. les gallery Directed by Mel Smith, the slapstick antics of Atkinson's nearly wordless character occasionally amuse, but usually fall flat. Brief drunkenness, nude pin-up photo, some toilet humor and a streak of profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference

with reservations.

America

British

comic Rowan Atkinson plays a bumbling

classification

A-IV

"Bean" (1997) comedy in which

Puerile

U.S. Catholic

Conference

is

restricted.

A-HI adults. The MoAmerica ratPG-13 parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inapclassification is

tion Picture Association of

"Mercury Rising" Little Impression By GERRI PARE (CNS)

NEW YORK

them move

Bruce

WilUs plays his famihar action hero role as he tries to save a 9-year-old boy's life in the

unremarkable

thriller,

"Mercury

Rising" (Universal).

The set-up presents WilUs as undercover FBI agent Jeffries just off a case in which several misguided teen-age boys were killed

in a too-hasty governthat Jeffries was on the verge of preventing by arranging a

ment shoot-out

peaceful surrender.

Now

he's assigned to a case of an

apparent husband-wife murder-suicide,

(Miko Hughes) cowering

right in with her

even though

Jeffries is a fugitive.

At the same time, Kudrow is covering his tracks, making deadly sure the two code designers who took the initial call from Simon don't throw a wrench in his plans to terminate Simon and his paternalistic protector.

Jeffries survives several solo

encoun-

with the hit man who murdered Simon's parents, but the audience knows showdown won't occur until the boy, the trusting baby sitter and Kudrow himself are also gathered ters

better that the final

together to see

who has

the biggest guns.

Directed by Harold Becker, "Mercury

Rising" has a glossy veneer using Chiits backdrop, but at its core it's just another formula chase film.

unknown.

cago as

matters interesting, but the script's devel-

inadvertently breaking a top-secret Na-

creasingly far-fetched that this murder

Agency code deliberately book to test the code's

conspiracy could be kept under wraps as numerous government agents are called

The plotting is fairly elaborate to keep

the audience

we have

tional Security

placed in the "geek" factor.

rect response,

opments are barely

upon

Having phoned

NSA

in the

code's cor-

honcho Kudrow

credible.

gets in-

It

to join in the hunt.

Overall, the

pression in the

movie makes

little

wake of so many

(Alec Baldwin) orders the family's immediate wipeout but the hit man missed

action films over the last decade;

the child.

since audiences have seen

And

so the chase

is

on the run with the uncommunicative child and Kudrow uses all the vast high-tech means at his disposal to hunt them down. Jeffries, meanwhile, must determine what the child knows and find safe harbor, and, lucky for him, although entirely unbelievable in the script, he convinces a total stranger (Kim Dickens) to baby-sit the troubled boy and then let

similar

Due

it

all

it

cer-

before.

to recurring violence, intermit-

tent profanity

and some rough language,

the U.S. Catholic Conference classifica-

ous argumentation over the existence of fairies and fleeting mild language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America ratparental guidance suggested. ing is PG "The House of Yes" (1997) Darkly comic tale in which an unstable young woman (Parker Posey) becomes unhinged when her brother (Josh Hamilton) who was once her lover returns from college with a fiancee (Tori Spelling). Director Mark Waters' talky story shows its stage-play origins while depicting a thoroughly dysfunctional family, but instead of being madly amusing its hu-

mor

is

often tasteless. Fleeting violence,

implied sexual encounters, flippant treatment of incest, occasional profanity and rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conadults, ference classification is A-IV with reservations. The Motion Picture reAssociation of America rating is R

stricted.

We Dance?" (1997) Charming Japanese film in which

"Shall

a restless married businessman (Koji

Yakusho) secretly takes ballroom dancing lessons because he's attracted to one of the instructors (Tamiyo Kusakari), but instead of having an affair he benefits from the supportive friendships that develop among the students and teachers. Writer-director

Masayuki Suo

deftly uses the social

nature of ballroom dancing to explore

with gentle humor the contradictions of a culture which frowns upon emotional displays by males. Subtitles. Some sexual references. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II adults and adolescents. The

Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG

parental guid-

ance suggested.

"Slappy and the Stinkers" (1998) Feeble family comedy about five

known at school as the who sneak Slappy the sea lion

7-year-olds Stinkers

out of an aquarium to free into the ocean, but instead Slappy is stolen by a villain aiming to sell it to a circus.

Directed by

Bamet Kellman, the recomedy of

sult is a mirthless slapstick

"cute" kids outsmarting dopey adults but the property damage and bodily

harm caused by rarely

the Stinkers' antics

amusing and anything but

Slapstick violence, bathroom

is

cute.

humor

and crude language. The U.S. Cathohc Conference classification is A-II adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating parental guidance suggested. is PG "Twilight of the Golds" (1997) Earnest drama about a Jewish family whose grown son (Brendan Fraser) is gay and whose married daughter (Jennifer Beats) ponders abortion after learning that her fetus carries a gene supposedly linked to homosexuality. Director Ross Marks insightfully explores fractured relationships as fam-

R

restricted.

"McHale's Navy" (1964) Popular TV comedy series (1962-66) comes to the big screen with a story in which the conniving Cmdr. McHale

Pare is on the staff of the U.S. CathoConference Office for Film and Broad-

tioned on a South Seas island leads his

ily

lic

wacky crew

titudes, struggle to accept or forgive

tion

is

A-III

The Motion America rating

adults.

ture Association of

casting.

MOVIES ONLINE Can't remennber how a recent film was classified by the USCC? Want to know to let the kids go see it? Now you film reviews up on America Online. Once you're connected to AOL, just use the keyword CNS to go to Catholic News Service's online site, then look for movie reviews.

whether can look

im-

tainly shouldn't get temperatures rising

on; Jeffries goes

"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1997) Romanticized account of the contro1 9 1 7 England by two Uttle girls whose photographs of what they said were tiny fairies frolicking in their garden aroused the skepticism of Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel), though were proclaimed genuine by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole). Director Charles Sturridge spins an enchanting tale of childhood innocence in a sweet family film marred by a few rude words. Seriversy stirred in

knows he's right seen the boy harmlessly playing with a puzzle book, and

because

is

propriate for children under 13.

Simon

may have been

targeted too, and by persons

And

l\/lakes

in the closet,

but in finding their autistic son, Jeffries suspects the child

knows

she

ing

(Tim Conway) masquerades as an Air Force pilot to become a national hero when he spots the hidden Japanese fleet. Broad comedy with silly characters and slapstick situations. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of

Picis

(Ernest Borgnine) of the

PT 73

scheme

while

sta-

win a horse race by generating a smokescreen to hide the track. Directed by Edward J. Montagne, it's a simple mix of bungling characters awash in slapstick situations and resulting confusions. For the undemanding. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification

Not

in a

is

A-I

to

— general patronage.

by the Motion Picture Association of America. "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force" (1965) Dippy sequel directed by Edward J. Montagne in which PT 73 's Ensign Parker rated

members confront homophobic

at-

one another and embrace unconditional love. Serious treatment of an

abortion decision, brief male kissing, occasional profanity and an instance of rough language. The U.S. Catholic

Conference classification is A-III adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG- 1 3 are strongly cautioned that terial

parents

some ma-

may be inappropriate for children

under

13.


8

The Catholic News

& Herald

April 10, 1998

The inside edge

of Easter: Healing

Holy Spirit." And the Christian testament begins, a testament of forgiveness that is extended and reesus breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20: 22,23). Today people are preoccupied with healing. We are always looking for healthy foods, healing massages and healers of our bro-

ceived; of reconciliation. In Paul's second letter to the

Corinthians, he proclaims that "whoever is in Christ is a new creation: The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and

from the edge of divorce; being reunited as we are about to launch atomic weapons. People in 12-step programs know the significance of both the illness of broken relationships and the healing of reconciliation. Well into recovery, one comes to the eighth step and makes a list of all those one has harmed. Next one climbs to the ninth step, which in-

making

volves

ken spirits. Yet in the mind

amends

to all un-

less that

would do

more harm than

of Jesus, our deepest illnesses are our

broken

relation-

wrongs

ships, the

we refuse

to

"In the

ac-

knowledge and the

resentments So the

carry.

Testament chored

is

in

mind

initiated an affair to try to hold onto a semblance of youth. Suddenly, it was easy to forgive him. She knew she had risen when she went to the local university one day to begin application for a master's degree in psychiatric nursing, a pursuit she had dropped 20 years earlier when she married.

You see, forgiveness and reconciliation restore hope. The symbol of hope in the Christian tradition is the anchor. This originated in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews: "We are strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm"

of Jesus,

our

broken

anthe

relationships....

Forgiveness and

words, "Whose sins

reconciliation restore

you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you re-

hope. The symbol of hope

the spiritual

...

tain are retained."

knows

Jesus

is

little

healing is our sin and the consequences of our sin,

We throw

boat to the bottom of

hope function in the

in-

spiritual life."

fear that

God

abandon us in response to our

will

of

her and ourselves. We have not been faithful as

we

said

we would

be.

We

elo-

quently writes, "Hope is an orientation of the spirit,

ployment. Yet, instead of withholding the ultimate gift of breath, God breathes again on us in Jesus: "Receive the

The human

ous four years after her husband divorced her. He

journal "Markings" on Easter Sunday: "Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by

remarried;

which what

she

Finally, she accepted the invitation of friends who pointed out to her that she

We

parent's a Alzheimer's, a spouse's loss of em-

sense, regardless of how it turns out." Even more explicitly Christian is Dag Hammerskjold, who wrote in his

ment.

we have denied them and crosses,

have not believed that God could work good through a friend's cancer,

Barbara, for example, knew she was still furi-

was mired in a swamp of resent-

have run from under our friends'

ourselves.

president,

something makes

level.

We

life.

Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic

an orientation of the heart. It is not the conviction that will something turn out well, but the certainly that

the body of water. So does

volve betrayal and abandonment at

some

the anchor....

out an anchor to hold our

that the deepest illness in need of

which always

(Hebrews 6:18,19). We throw out an anchor to hold our little boat to the bottom of the body of water. So does hope function in

deepest illnesses are our

we New

JS

Illustration

by Joan

Hyme

risking Spiritual, if not physi-

cal,

tion" (2 Cor. 5:17,18). For Paul, reconciliation is not the settlement of a slight squabble, the apology for stepping on another's

Lord

toes. Reconciliation is

being rescued

She began

pray for the to take her bitterness, which she could not let go of by herself.

given us the ministry of reconcilia-

cancer.

Within days

it

that the divorce

to

dawned on her was really more He had

about him than about her.

capacity to weaken the bonds of support, respect or love that people need seems always to be in full view. is needed everywhere: in homes, within communities and between nations. healing - reconciliation - at Easter? Because the resurrection offers hope for whatever is broken in the worlds" we inhabit. But if wounded relationships are to heal, we need to keep clear about certain realities: -Healing may take time. Healing might not be instant; it won't be magic. -Healing requires commitment. We need to keep our priorities clear and not give in to discouragement. -Healing may demand working with another person - or many others - in new ways. That means listening and trusting that a new style of communication is possible. -Healing requires hope - the hope that we can proceed toward new life not because we are so wonderfully capable, but because the "energy" of the resurrection is powerful for us. In fact, the catechism says that the resurrection brings a "powerful energy" into our "old time" - an energy that "permeates" things (No. 1169). This means, as I see it, that the resurrection is more than a simple fact of life; it is a powerful force at work on our behalf David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive! 14

is

broken

is

made whole

what is soiled is again made The dream explains why we need to be forgiven, and why we must again, clean.

forgive. In the presence of God, noth-

ing stands between him and us - we are forgiven. But we cannot feel his presence if anything is allowed to stand between ourselves and others." The resurrection makes reconciliation possible, and this restores hope for us. In showing us how to live and how to die, in going to his death with the words - "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) - and in being brought through death, Jesus Christ forgives us all and empowers us to extend that forgiveness to each other. Each time we do that, it is Easter once again.

So healing

Why focus on

"real

(Jesuit Father Rice is a spiritual director with Loyola, a spiritual renewal resource in St. Paul, Minn.)


The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

FAITH

IN

What

Reconciliation:

The restorer

ter "went out and began to terly" (Luke 22:62).

(J

esus' disciples

had become

es-

reconciliation. It is significant that the risen Christ greeted his fearful disciples with the simple but eloquent words, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19,21). It was he who took the initiative in

weep

bit-

the opportunity to proclaim his love. Three times he had denied Jesus. Three times the risen Lord now asked him, "Do you love me?" (John

"'I'm sorry" - those are the words that heal a relationship. People do or say things that later they regret and then they need to come to you and say, 'I'm sorry. Please forgive me.'" - Arthur Dugan, Tucson, Ariz. "I think the very first time I noticed the process of healing was through a conversation with my pastor, and the words that helped me were: 'You can forgive, but you don't have to forget.' Not forgetting allows you a defense against a similar hurt another time - you can learn from the situation for the future." - Vera Simmons, Patterson, Calif

21:15,16,17). This was a clear offer of reconciliation, an opportunity to wipe out his triple rejection with a triple assurance of love.

An upcoming edition asks: Describe a program in your parish or diocese that promotes Jewish-Christian understanding. If you like to respond for possible publication, please write: Faith Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100.

would

Alive! 3211

There could be no doubt about the Lord's love; without it he would never have elicited Peter's protesta-

How actions pave the way

tions of love.

This note of reconciliation sounds

home

to healing at

apology. He'd bring

By Andrew and

"Three times the risen Lord now

asked

(Peter), 'Do

you love

Catholic

News

Terri

Lyke

Service

me?'...

yometimes the most

This was a clear offer of reconciliation,

wipe out his triple

an opportunity

difficult

people to make up with are the ones we're closest to: family members. Somehow the stakes seem higher, the affront more appalling when the trespasser is among our irmer circle of loved ones. Yet we know that healing and reconciliation with these people are vital to our well-being, emotionally and spiritually. And often the first step toward reconciliation comes in the form of an action, not words. Though saying "I'm sorry" helps, sometimes the words don't come. Some families develop other ways to say "I'm

to

triple rejection with a

assurance of love."

sorry."

And while saying "I'm sorry" is good for the relationship, demanding these words as the only valid ways of apologizing closes off family members from many different

reconciling them to himself and to God. Alienation had brought tension; reconciliation brought peace, relief, deep happiness. Not only did Jesus restore the disciples to the warm circle of God's love, he commissioned them to bring this precious gift to everyone by the power of the Spirit. "Receive the holy

part mary profession of faith in the risen Christ, "who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification" (Romans 4:25). And remember as you hear those words that to be "justified" is to be

Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23). People were free to accept this

words: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have

generous

gift or to reject

The theme

it.

of reconciliation

dramatized in the moving dialogue that takes place with Peter. The favored disciple was in turmoil as a result of his cowardly denial of Jesus. Three times he had openly, shamefully, denied any connection with Jesus. Pe-

lyrighfCiggS by

CNS

is

through

all

the resurrection ac-

counts.

Notice first

how Paul concludes the of Romans with the sum-

reconciled.

Paul

continues

with

these

peace through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). To be "justified" is to be restored to a loving relationship with God and thus, reconciled, to have peace, the peace that only God can give.

ways of entering into a healing process. Sometimes verbally apologizing is too easy and doesn't communicate the sincerity needed to begin the healing process - one best initiated by concrete actions. Arlene Casey of suburban Chicago, a wife of 36 years and mother of two adult sons, says: "One way to do that is to perform some service Bill can easily do for himself, such as refilling his coffee cup before he gets out of his chair to do it. Or maybe picking up his favorite ice cream, not mine, at the store. Or doing a chore he usually does. Anything that reminds Bill that he is far more important to me than any disagreement. "I think most of these disagreements come from pride. A little humble service helps to put things back on track." In Andrew's family such actions tend to center around food. Andrew's father wasn't very good at saying "I'm sorry." So Dad initiated a ritual in lieu of an

it is through the risen Christ that this is given. Paul says bluntly, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17). But Christ has been raised and has reconciled us. And we are at peace.

(Father Castelot is a Scripture scholar, author, teacher and lec-

home

ice

cream.

Dad would buy

several pints of assorted flavors and they'd sit and eat ice cream together, Dad and Mom, and all seven children, who could not com-

understand what was going on between Mom and Dad, but thoroughly pletely

enjoyed the treat. As teens, Andrew's sister Lila and he one day got into one of their usual sibling spats. However, this one took a very different turn. In her anger, Lila threw a shoe at him and caused a minor injury to his head. Standing before the bathroom mirror looking at the blood trickling from his head, Andrew and Lila made a silent vow never to do this again. It was the last of such fights.

However, their silent vow demanded something more than just not fighting. actually began to treat each other with extraordinary kindness. One evening Lila was preparing des-

They

Andrew and herself while the other siblings were present. It was clear that she was being extra nice to Andrew. It was a beginning of a new bond between them, one of taking care of each other that took their relationship to a deeper, more mature level. In all the examples cited, reconciliation and healing began not from words but from action. Such action is transforming and allows the participants to enter into a new relationship. Healing - reconciliation - in the famsert for

ily is

more than fixing old, broken relaIt means allowing old, broken

tionships.

relationships to die and recreating new, better relationships. Family members become irrevocably changed, trans-

formed and resurrected in this process, able to begin life together anew. (The Lykes are coordinators of marriage ministry in the African-American

community

for the Archdiocese of Chi-

cago.)

1 "0 Nutshell

And

turer.)

damaged

"Forgiveness - which is an action, a word and a feeling. I try to accept the other person the way they are and forgive them the actions that hurt me." - Barbara Day, Pittsburgh, Pa.

His tears now turned to inexpressible joy when Christ gave him tranged from him. Peter had denied that he even knew Jesus, and the others simply had run away when he was arrested. But with their alienation came guilt and tension, enemies of peace. Peace could be restored only through

THE MARKETPLACE

action or words played a key role in healing a

relationship for you?

peace

of

& Herald 9

In the Bible, the theme of "reconciliation" the accounts of the resurrection.

I

is

heard throughout

People today are preoccupied with healing. But in Jesus' mind, the deepest illnesses are our broken relationships, the wrongs we don't acknowledge and the resentments we carry.

The resurrection makes reconciliation - healing this restores hope for us.

and

possible,


10 The Catholic

News

& Herald

April 10, 1998

People In The News

Chicago Chancellor Goes The Distance For Appeal SCHLUMPF

By HEIDI

course, he

CHICAGO (CNS) Father Thomas Paprocki, chancellor of the Archdio-

Holy

cese of Chicago,

fairly

is

putting his best foot

forward to help out the archdiocese's Annual Catholic Appeal. The 45-year-old priest said he planned to go the distance in fact, over 26 miles in the Boston Marathon April 20 to raise money for the appeal. He has asked Catholics and others to pledge donations for each mile he runs. The Annual Catholic Appeal, formerly called the Cardinal's Appeal, benefits Catholic schools, religious educa-

tion, lay ministries, ministries for the

handicapped and the needy CNS

photo from Reuters

NEW YORK

(CNS)

— Cardinal

first

York

and India, among the seriously

March

age 89. Her funeral was at the MediMission Sisters' chapel in Philadelphia, followed by burial in the order's cemetery. For 40 years. Sister LaUnsky at

cal

worked

as a doctor, primarily in Pakistan ill

and the

poor.

did

Republican Legislators Propose 'Opportunity Agenda' For Poor WASHINGTON (CNS) A group of 29 Republican members of Congress,

not understand "our" pain over what hap-

including a handful of Catholics, have

Schneier as the board's president. Building

much

of his address from stories of

Hasidic Jews and the Holocaust, the cardinal said "too

pened

many

Christians"

in that event, called in

still

Hebrew

the

announced

new

a

legislative initiative

Shoah.

they say will be "an opportunity agenda

South Korea's New President Still Has Time For Catholic College

for the poor."

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Between

freeing political prisoners and helping his

country face

its

worst economic

crisis in

decades. South Korea's newly elected president,

Kim

schedule. Yet he

Dae-Jung, has a fullstill makes time to at-

tend board meetings at a small Catholic college on the other side of the globe.

Since 1993,

Kim

has been a

the board of trustees at

member

of

La Roche College

in Pittsburgh.

Dallas Priest Gets Life For

— Suspended

priest

Rudolph "Rudy" Kos was sentenced

It

1

at

a charity

100 poorest communities, and publicly funded education vouchers for poor children. Speaking for the group, which is calling itself the Renewal Alhance, Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said the initiative is not a hand-out but an opportu-

it could impose. However, Kos, who has no prior criminal record, could be eligible for parole in 15 years.

against a pluraUstic

Mass was

celebrated

Reform Act of

subject of a new book, said the new Vatican statement on the Holocaust

vania.

Under

the Welfare

they choose, fund the program on

may,

if

their

own.

On Mount And

should help spur Catholic-Jewish diais the beginning of a dialogue Kluger said in an interview April 1 in Washington during a U.S. tour to promote the book, "The Hidden Pope." The book portrays Kluger playing a vital but unofficial role for the pope in the late 1980s and early '90s as a behind-the-scenes mediator in the delicate Vatican-Israeli negotiations over mutual logue. "This

that will last, let's hope,"

Of Olives, Patriarch

Mark Palm Sunday

Faithful

JERUSALEM parishes from

all

(CNS)

— Catholic

over Israel and the Pal-

estinian Territories responded to the urg-

Palm Sunday Mount of OUves. Un-

ticipate in the traditional

procession on the

like previous years,

made up

on April 5 local

a large part of the pil-

diplomatic recognition.

Witness Testifies For Pro-Life Activist At Racketeering Trial

CHICAGO (CNS)

— The

racketeer-

who joined in the procession, which traces the steps of Jesus when he entered

ing charges against pro-life activist Joe

Jerusalem from Bethphage. The increase

harassment," one witness said shortly be-

grims

of participation by Palestinians was due

Scheidler are "ridiculous" and "complete fore testifying

on behalf of Scheidler in by the

federal court. Tlie suit, brought

James Barta Distinguished Lecture series in March at Loras College in the Dubuque Archdiocese.

also because IsraeU security promised to

National Organization for Women and two abortion cUnics, accuses the Chicago-

livered the Msgr.

Cardinal,

Mayor Urge Food

allow

all

from the Jerusalem to pray

Palestinian Christians

West Bank

to enter

during Holy

Week and Easter.

—A

fu-

forces in urging the state to restore food

March 30

for

stamps to legal immigrants

friendship with

PHILADELPHIA (CNS)

a

partly to the patriarch's personal call, but

Anthony J. Bevilacqua and Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell have joined

new

Woman

woman who owned

internal coordinator for the appeal. "She put a really personal slant on it and brought in some $2,000," she said.

Pope's Lifelong Jewish Friend Sees Hope In Holocaust Statement Jerzy WASHINGTON (CNS) Kluger, a Polish-bom Jew whose lifelong

a registered sex

Last year, a

donated a day's receipts from her business, said Joan Patterson-Turk,

de-

reactions," said Father Dulles,

state laws.

become

offender under tough

neral

who

spiritually or physically.

nail salon

As he did for those causes. Father Paprocki has asked people to donate $1 per mile, which would come to $26.20 if he completed the 26.2 mile race. Of

Catholics

it

Believed To Be First Sister-Doctor Dies

then

school.

willing to defend

Stamps For Immigrants PHILADELPHIA (CNS) Cardinal

He would

their contributions, either financially,

three times for

fall,

of Jerusalem and sent delegations to par-

according to needs, said Jesuit Father Avery Dulles. "Terms such as dogma, hierarchy and orthodoxy, evoke negative

punishment

ticipate in the appeal or to personalize

$46,000 for the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls and for the Chicago Legal Clinic, which he co-founded after graduating from DePaul University's law

Father Dulles Urges Defense Of Catholic Orthodoxy DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) CathoUcs loyal to church orthodoxy must be

imprisonment April 1 for sexual abuse of four former altar boys before he was removed from ministry in the Dallas Diocese in 1992. The sentence rendered by a

maximum

good

causes. In three years, he raised over

held in the

ing of Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah

nity for the poor.

eligibility

World, Chicago archdiocesan newspaper. "On Saturdays, I usually run about 15 miles."

has run the Chicago Marathon,

1996, legal immigrants were cut off from

society that views religion as changeable

Dallas County jury was the

making the cut for Boston race.

Father Paprocki has been training hard for the race, running an average of 20 to 40 miles a week. "I just ran six miles this morning," he told The New

In addition to garnering pledges. Father Paprocki said he hoped to inspire others to seek out creative ways to par-

He

federally funded food stamps, but states

in the nation's

first

33 minutes off his time in 1996 and shaved another 21 minutes

ity.

community renewal through tax credit, economic incentives

to

life

won't be the first time the Chicago have hit the pavement for char-

a try.

He chopped

priest will

a Capitol Hill press conference.

focuses on

Sex

Crimes Against Boys

DALLAS (CNS)

April

The proposal was unveiled

It

it

time," he said.

help the cause."

according to her order was the

is

priest finished the race in four

who

26

was the principal speaker at the installation March 30 of Rabbi Marc

The

hours, 22 minutes. "Not bad for the

Medical Mission Sister Helen Lalinsky,

John J. O'Cormor called on the new president of the New York Board of Rabbis help Jews and Christians understand their "blood relationship" as "brothers and sisters under one God, our Father." The New cardinal

his priest-brother to give

for the

cal doctor. Sister Lahnsky, 89, died

at

he has been a casual jogger for 25 years. "At Christmas in 1994, 1 was sitting around one evening with my six brothers talking about resolutions for the new year," Father Paprocki recalled. His youngest brother, Allan, who had already run the Chicago Marathon, encouraged

last year,

Catholic sister to be educated as a medi-

who has lived Cathedral since 1994,

new to marathon running, although

"There are so many ways in which each of us can contribute to the appeal," said Father Paprocki, who has been chancellor for six years. "For me, a marathon pledge drive seemed like the best way to

in

Cardinal O'Connor Urges Rabbi To Help Christian-Jewish Relations

in the arch-

Name

diocese.

a performance in Imotski, Croatia, April 4, six days ahead of Good Friday. About 150 actors took part in the large-scale production which drew an audience of 5,000 people.

Actors portray the passion of Christ

welcomed any donation.

Father Paprocki,

in

Pennsyl-

Pope John Paul

11 is

the

based Pro-Life Action League, which Scheidler heads as executive director, of racketeering, extortion and an ongoing

campaign of violence against abortion clinics. The witness was Dr. John C. Willke, former president of the National Right to Life Committee and current president of Life Issues Institute.


1

The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

& Herald

1

Diocesan Delegation Of Order Continues Rausch, from page 5 To Grow, Has New l\/lembers Installed

ants in the first place. Phasing out incin-

CHARLOTTE — Members

and toxic waste dumps would encourage the discovery of alternative means of production and ratchet recyerators

of the

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre,

Middle Atlantic Lieutenancy, were among the congregation that celebrated Palm Sunday Mass with Bishop William G. Curlin April 5

at St. Patrick

cling to a 3.

Ca-

garden, students contemplate the won-

Sepulchre of Jerusalem dates back to the Crusades and the Knights estab-

der of God's creation, the intricate inter-

first

dependence of creatures and their environment and humanity's humble role in God's plan. Pope John Paul II insists: "The ecological crisis is a moral issue." On the World Day of Peace in 1990, he said: "Respect for life and for the dignity of

by Godfrey de Bouillon to guard the Sepulchre of our Lord immediately after their conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. They were approved as an Order in a Bull of Approbation by Pope Paslished

chal

II in

February 1113. as its mission the pro-

The Order has

of creation, which

Holy Land by direct support of schools, hospitals and holy shrines. The Order's

Deus Lo

"God

Vult,

wills

it,'

in-

spires the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre to crusade for equality of persons, justice for all, and peace in the Holy Land so that Christians, Jews and Muslims may live side by side in love of God and each other. The Equestrian Order of the Holy

Sepulchre of Jerusalem

is

II,

and

Members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre from the Charlotte Diocese are shown with Bishop William G. Curlin after a recent investiture ceremony at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C.

Holy Father,

is

tinction.

The Middle

in

(Va.), Memphis (Tenn.), Nashville (Tenn.), Wheeling-Charleston (W.Va.), Raleigh and Chariotte.

Beckert, Rose O. Bell,

The group's presence

the only Or-

der in the world to be accorded this dis-

lotte

to

in the

Char-

grow

as 14

recently invested

Order at a ceremony in the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land

ancy includes the Archdioceses for U.S. Military Services and of Washington,

in '§our

Diocese continues

new members were

Atlantic Lieuten-

Washington, D.C. Natalie A. Anna Loraine Cox, Theresa Marie H. Esposito, and Harriet S. Manley were invested as Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre, and James T. Beckert, James H. Bell, Clarence Richard Cox, Alfred L. Esposito, Francis J. Manley, Cleatus J. Tate, and Joseph A. Tronco, Jr. were invested as Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Father Paul Q.

and the Dioceses of Arlington (Va.),

Richmond

under the per-

sonal protection of the

Pope John Paul

into the

Gary, Rector of St. Patrick Cathedral, and Father Peter J. Jugis, Judicial Vicar, were invested as Clergy Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Mr. and Mrs. Beckert, Mr. and Mrs. Cox, and Mr. Tronco are members of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. Mr. and Mrs. Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Manley, and Mr. Tate are members of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville. Mr. and Mrs. Esposito are members of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem.

^oul

Sunday, April 19, 1998 St.

John Neumann Church

8451 Idlewild Road Charlotte,

NC

human person extends also to the rest is called to join humanity in praising God." (cf Psalms 148) Perhaps St. Francis, the plants and bluebirds in AMERC's garden are teaching some lessons for Earth Day.

the

tection of the Christian presence in the

motto,

28227

Dignity

Glenmary Father John

Video Produced On Papal Trip

To Cuba MILWAUKEE

Simplicity

5505 Monroe

Carl Kaltrieder, Celebrant

Cliarlolte,

Communion

and receive Holy

My Mercy} shall obtain complete

{on the Feast of

forgiveness ofsins

to Confession

Divi/ie

Mercy

in

and punishment."

My Soul,

(699)

Diary of Blessed Faustina,

Marian Helpers, Stockbridge,

Cremation

NC

28212 704-568-0023

Center Cliurcli,

RJ.

Graveside Services and

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Jesus

(31

^rust

3h ^ou

(CNS)

—A

video documentary on the papal visit to Cuba has been released. Titled "A Blessing for Cuba: Pope John Paul II's Historic 1998 Journey to Cuba," the video culls live footage from the Odyssey cable channel's coverage of the Jan. 21-25 visit.

Highlights from the pope's presented with English translation. Short, informative background on the cities visited by Pope John Paul Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba are included on the 60-minute reports

"The soul that will go

Rausch

four Masses on the island nation are

2:45 p.m. and Chaplet ofDivine Mercy

3:15 p.m. Holy Sacrifice ofthe Mass with Rev.

S.

teaches at the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center in Berea, Ky. He has a master's degree in economics and has worked in community ministries for more than 20 years.

Affc 'dahility Benediction

industry believes

pleted natural resources. Sitting by the

Holy

the

high.

that technology can substitute for de-

thedral.

The Equestrian Order of

new

Creation Centered Spirituality.

The hubris of modem

( )w ler/ 1 )irector Memk^r Si. Maltlww Cln.rcli auJ Knigks of CoLmbiis

video.

The video's distributor. Heart of the Nation, has distributed two commemorative videos of the 1987 papal visit to Los Angeles, and provides a Sunday television Mass to the homebound in Los Angeles and Milwaukee.

1

The video costs $19.95. To order, call (800)

430-0930.


The Catholic News

12

& Herald

April 10. 1998

Catholic, Episcopal

Palm Sunday Service By

GENE STOWE

SOUTH BEND,

divided branches of Christianity to open

Holy Week. About 150 people from St. Patrick's and St. Hedwig's Catholic parishes and the Episcopal Cathedral of St. James prayed, sang and waved palm fronds in the observance of

a sun-splashed parking lot central to their

downtown

buildings.

"Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration in union with the whole church throughout the world," said Father Charles Lavely, pastor of St. Patrick's, reading an ancient exhortation.

Focusing on the events of Jesus' life, such as his kinglike entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before he was crucified

on Friday, reveals what Christians have in

common,

said Father Lavely,

who or-

ganized a similar celebration with

James

St.

last year.

He

CHARLOTTE

Jim Fisko, director of the United Religious Community, has promoted such ecumenical gatherings for said

nonprofit organizations in Mecklenburg,

Cleveland, Gaston, Madison, Guilford

and Catawba counties in North Carolina and York County in South Carolina. Supported programs include educa-

emergency shelter, housing, primary health care services, social services tion,

and technology support to organizations. The Sisters of Mercy Foundation was established in 1995 and operates from a mission to support health care, educational and social service organizations in the Charlotte metropolitan area

and the Carolinas. The foundation is parpromoting sys-

ticularly interested in

temic change and the quality of life for unserved and underserved populations.

The organizations who have been designated for funding are as follows.

"He just keeps organizing things and doing things to get people to come together," Father Lavely said.

such as Lenten ob-

servances, in recent years.

Hedwig's, said he shared palms Sunday morning with a Baptist minister who knocked on his door asking for branches

puter equipment and to provide Braille

Community CUnic of High

Point

reference materials. This organization

$5,122 for primary health care services provided to economically disadvantaged women in the High Point

provides employment, rehabilitation and competitive job training opportunities to

community.

impaired.

will receive

Community Food Rescue

in

Char-

lotte will receive $20,000 to expand its Produce Recovery Program by adding staff and purchasing a refrigerated box for a truck to aid in gathering and trans-

individuals

who

are blind or visually

Madison County Habitat for Humanity in Mars Hill will receive $39,950 •

1 ,400 square-foot home for a family of four.

to construct a

MedAssist of Mecklenburg

in

community cen-

Charlotte will receive $25,000 as start-

and low-income neighborhoods. • Community Link in Charlotte, formerly Traveler's Aid Society, will receive $21,000 over a three-year period. The monies will be used to expand the Healthy Families Support Groups, which are part of the organization's Domestic Violence Program. • Gaston Community Action in Gastonia will receive $16,000 for its mentoring program for children who have dropped out, been suspended from or who are absent without excuse from

up funds for its pharmacy assistance pro-

porting food to shelters, ters

gram. The organization provides free or low co-pay prescription medications for low-income individuals age 65 and older.

The

Relatives, Inc., in Charlotte

will receive

$67,000 over three years to

help offset the costs of two residential

case managers in

Runaway/Crisis

its

Shelter.

The Salvation Army

in Charlotte

Home in Rock

Christian Ministry in Hickory will re-

$35,000 to prepare a new building for use as a housing

ceive $10,000 to purchase medications

children living at the Salvation

$20,000

to

implement the second year of Technology Outreach Time, a program using technology to increase literary acquisition among Title I and Exceptional students who attend the Plaza Road PreKindergarten. Children' s Attention

Hill, S.C., will receive

ter

The organization provides

and care for children

shel-

who have been

removed from undesirable home

situa-

The organization provides

school.

grams

pro-

that assist families in acquiring

skills to

enable them to

become

self-suf-

ficient. •

Greater Hickory Cooperative

and to help pay for related expenses for its pharmacy program. This organization provides crisis assistance by helping with basic needs such as food, clothing and

Cleveland County Health Department in Shelby will receive $25,000 to help fund a full-time physician extender and a billing clerk for the new schoolbased health center at North Shelby School, a special purpose facility for physically and mentally challenged stu-

will receive

Holy Angels,

Inc., in

Belmont will

and

referrals into the

health care system. •

Uptown Day Shelter, Inc., in Char-

DeLuca,

$60,000 over three

years to maintain a full-time counseling

The organization provides

position.

fund the Technology Enhancement Project, which will replace and upgrade the current management information sys-

ter

tem.

mental health services, education, employment and housing. • With Friends, Inc., in Belmont will receive $25,000 to support its counsel-

Lions Services, Inc., in Charlotte will receive $25,000 for assistive com•

A Little Time Makes A Big Difference.

such as assistance with substance abuse,

emergency

The organization provides residential

services to youth

away •

MSW, presents his

shel-

and opportunities for homeless men by offering services

to rebuild their lives

ing service.

Family therapist and author, Phil

mainstream

receive $290,000 over three years to help

What do you do when your partner won V help to repair your troubled relationship?

Army

shelter with nursing care, health educa-

tion

lotte will receive

shelter.

tions. •

Father Leonard Chrobot, pastor of

to use at his church.

Carolina Computer Access Center

facility.

Fisko, who is Catholic, said he's seen many other churches adopting meaning-

dents in Cleveland County.

$50,000 to expand its emergency shelter for women and children. • The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will receive $93,107 for its Family & Community Nursing Department. The funds will be used to expand the services of the Nursing Center for Health Promotions, which was developed to provide homeless women and

in Charlotte will receive

St.

Sisters of

Mercy Foundation last month announced

years.

ful ancient practices,

— The

grant awards exceeding $846,000 to 18

(CNS) An ecumenical Palm Sunday ceremony in South Bend brought together two longInd.

Mercy Announce 18 Grants

Sisters of

Parishes Hold Joint

and counseling

who are homeless, run-

or in crisis.

Youth Homes,

Inc., in Charlotte

to assist

with the

innovative approach to repairing

cost of a family-centered social

relationships with unresponsive

sition

work poYouth

and uncooperative partners

will receive

which

Home

at a

$19,200 will

work

to reunify

at-risk foster children

and

their

biological families.

workshop on at the

Sat.,

April 25, 1998

Pastoral Center in Charlotte

(1123 South Church Street).

The workshop will last from 9:30am - 12:00noon and $25 per person will be charged. The fee includes a copy his book, The Solo

5how

a

little

heart.

lalenl to those in

I

end your time and

need

in

your community

Since announcing in October 1996 that it was ready to begin receiving grant applications, the Sisters of Mercy Foundation has awarded 67 grants exceeding $3.1 million.

For more information concerning

Catholic *

Communication

Partner.

the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina

Foundations, please call (704) 3660087.

For more information contact the Family Life Office

at

704-370-3250.

Registration

TheFmnciscan Cente/^

Name:

Catholic Gift & Book Store Street

Address :_

City:

BOOKS & GIFTS for ALL OCCASIONS! Zip Code:_

1st COMMUNION, CONFIRMATION, Bibles, Rosaries, Statues, Medals & More...!

Phone: Please enclose the $25 fee per person and mail to: Family Life Program Catholic Sociai Services 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203-4003

HOURS; 9AM

-

5PM.

Mon. thru Fri.

233 N. Greene St. Greensboro, NC 27401


'

& Herald

The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

Pro-Life

13

Spokeswoman, Roe Attorney Debate Abortion

By MARY CLAIRE GART CfflCAGO (CNS) The question

of reproductive rights was debated March 30 by two feminists with decidedly different views about who should make decisions regarding abortion, the consequences of abortion and, indeed, what is involved in an abortion. One was only 12 years old when the Supreme Court decision legahzing abortion came down; the other was the winning attorney in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruUng. The debate, sponsored by student groups at Loyola University in Chicago, brought togetiier Helen M. Alvare, director of planning and information for the U.S. CathoUc bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, and Sarah Weddington, who continues to practice law in Austin, Texas. The debate marked the first time the two women shared the same stage. Asserting that "any important case has its roots in a much broader issue," Weddington opened with a look back at state laws against contraception that were overturned when the court ruled contraception was part the right to privacy But she focused much of her opening remarks on "the constellation of issues"

of

.

surrounding women's rights, including the problems of job discrimination, work-

law has never considered the fetus a child. "It has always recognized birth as the be-

ing while pregnant, and getting credit ap-

ginning

proval without a husband's consent.

During a question-and-answer session, Weddington said women often thank

"I'm talking about times when pregnant

women

couldn't teach in schools,

when I was discouraged from entering law Alvare, on the other hand, focused on

unborn child. "The conunborn child is a human this from science. We know there is an internal intelHgence that compels (the fetus) forward." the rights of the

sensus

life,"

is

that the

she said.

To

those

"We know

who

say they are not acting

against the child, but for the mother, Alvare said abortion is affecting women psychologically. "We get calls every day from women after abortion. There is an Internet site set up for post-abortive women who need to talk to each other." Alvare also contended that legalized abortion hinders the

women's movement

and "authentic feminism," stating that only 23 percent of U.S. women call themselves feminists because of its connection

with abortion.

'

"Killing

is

against everything

human

nature embraces," she said. In her rebuttal,

birth

is

the critical

moment."

make abortion legal. said she'd be a slave weren't for the Supreme Court decision," she recalled. "Nothing turns your life inside out like having a child," Alvare agreed, but she added that to say it "enslaves you" is an exaggeration. On the contrary, she said, "Nothing puts you so much in touch with beauty and wisdom." When a questioner asked about unwanted children being brought up "in degradation and poverty," Alvare said it is middle-class women, not the poor, who seek the most abortions. As for poverty, the better solution is not to get rid of the children, but to care for them. "The poor cry out for justice and mercy," she said, "and we keep giving them more abortions." Asked about the difference between aborting a fetus at eight months or at one month, Weddington said the issue is not about when but about "who gets to make her for her efforts to

"One black woman

again

school," she recalled.

if it

said the

"My

but for the individual

woman," she

said.

Alvare responded that it's "not just who's deciding but what's being decided who's on the other end of the instrument, whether it's a rifle or a suction cup." Discussing the future of abortion in the United States, Weddington said that

those opposed to abortion are well orga-

nized and that it is up to those who support legal abortion to make sure Roe vs.

Wade

endures.

She called the 1992 election a perilous moment for the movement in support of abortion because the election of George Bush could have changed the makeup of the court. She labeled the current court "3-3-3," three justices in favor of Roe vs.

Wade,

three against and three in favor of

weakening the

When

ruling.

"Why

Alvare asked,

can't

we

vote on this state by state and let the people

speak for themselves," her opponent said, "We have never allowed popular votes to determine constitutional rights." In her closing statement, said,

Weddington

though the reasons for an abortion

may be a gray area, in terms of who makes

the decision."

Weddington

sion for the government or strangers to

make

key point

is

that

it is

not a deci-

it has to be black and white. wish we could agree to disagree about and let everyone make their own de-

the decision, "I

this,

Employment Opportunities Chief Financial Officer/Director of Business Services

cision."

Catholic Diocese of Raleigh: Diocese including financial reporting and planning, Also responDevelopment, information systems, and property and construction. Serves in a consultative role on finance and administration for 80 parishes and schools. Successful candidate must be a practicing Catholic, have a strong service orientation, have several years of financial management experience, must be able to work well in a collegial environment, and should be computer literate. and/ or CPA or equivalent strongly preferred. Send resume including salary requirements to: Director of Human Resources, Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606. EOE. Director of Faith Formation: Parish seeks enthusiastic and knowledgeable person for the Catholic Faith as full-time Director of Faith Formation. Responsible for the total parish Faith Formation program for growing faith community of over 800 families. Minimum of a BA in relevant field of study and parish/faith formation experience. Position requires strong leadership, organizational, interpersonal and basic computer skills. Salary and benefits commensurate with experience. Starts July 1998. Send cover letter, resume, salary expectations and 3 references by April 17 to DFF Search, Attn: Rob Griffin, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, 605 Barbee Ave., High Point, NC 27262. Visit our home page at www.massintransit.com. Director of Faith Formation: The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi seeks an energetic team player with imagination and creativity to promote and implement the lectionary-based family faith formation vision of our Franciscan parish. Our rapidly growing 2900+ household community has a strong mission of social outreach and family perspective. Our future growth includes a possible parochial school opening in 2000. Responsibilities include collaboration with a 17-member parish staff to direct a classroom-based faith formation program for 800-h PK-8 students, including sacramental fonnation, volunteer recruitment & training, and parent formation. or equivalent required. Salary commensurate with experience & education. Send resume by April 17 to Search Committee, 1 1401 l^esville Rd., Raleigh, NC 27613. Coordinator of Children's Religious Education: Full-time position in 1,600 family parish. Responsibilities: recruiting/training volunteer catechists for PreK5 lectionary-based program, sacramental preparation for first penance/eucharist; religious education consultant to K-8 parochial school. Member of Religious Education team. Master's degree or equivalent in Religious Education or closely related field preferred. Excellent benefits, salary commensurate with experience/ education. Position available July 1, 1998. Contact is Don Bray (910) 323-2410, xl06. Send resume/references no later than May 1 to CRE Search Committee, St. Patrick's Church, 2840 Village Dr., Fayetteville, NC 28304. Advertising Representative: The Catholic News & Herald has an opening for a full-time advertising represen e. Previous sales experience preferred. Candidate will be responsible for sales, billing and collei s. Good benefits package. Please send resume by April 20 to: The Catholic News A Herald. P.O. 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237, or e-mail catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. Music Director/Music Teacher: 675-family Catholic parish on coast of North Carolina seeks professional musi( n to provide n .services for all aspects of parish life, as well as serving as music teacher for 150-student K-5 school. Individual must have organ and choral directing skills. Bachelor's degree and practicing Catholic preferred, but will consider person with demonstrated level of experience. Salary based on degree and experience. Send resumes to: Search Committee, St. Egbert Catholic Church, 1706 Evans Street, Morehead City, NC 28557. Application deadline is June I, 1998. Youth Minister: Would you like to serve starting in June, 1998 as a full-time Youth Minister in a young, growing, Catholic Community in central North Carolina? Candidate must be a faith-filled, enthusiastic, organized, creative and team oriented person. Qualifications: BA in Theology, 3 years experience in Youth Ministry, knowledge of Life Teen desirable. Salary and beneifts commensurate with degree and experience. Send resume and a statement of your vision of Youth Ministry to: Rev. James W. O'Neill, O.S.F.S., St. Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Road, Greensboro, NC 27410. Youth Director: St. Michael Catholic Church of Cary, NC seeks a high energy, positive Roman Catholic person for FT employment beginning 7-1-98 at a culturally diverse parish of over 3,000 families. (700+ high school youth.) Responsible lor building an innovative youth program. Developing an environment that will allow youth to be fully human and fully alive is key. Must have the ability to create programs that inspire, empower, and involve youth. Looking for fresh ideas, proven ability to organize, motivate, and iaspire volunteer staff ot tarry out activities. Experience in the following area might prove helpful: Parks and Recreation, Camp Director, Youth Ministry etc. For information write: St. Michael Catholic Church-Youth Director, Attn: Norma Powers, 804 High Hou.se Rd., Cary NC, 27513. Responsible for oversight of

all

financial affairs of the

accounting, internal controls, budgeting, investments, and banking and insurance relationships. sible for the

management of the

offices of

MBA

:

FOUR GREAT NAMES

KNOW

to

Dietzen, from page 5 their actions to it

do

his will as they

know

through the dictates of their conscience

— those

too

may

achieve eternal salva-

tion" (No. 847). In other words,

God's grace

ing and saving those

who

is

guid-

sincerely and

conscientiously live good lives but

who

have, for whatever reason, honestly never seen faith in Jesus Christ as a personal religious obligation.

MA

I

MITSUBISHI

A free brochure on ecumenism, including questions on intercommunion

Independence (704) 531-3131

and other ways of sharing worship with

6951

7001

E.

E.

Independence

(704) 535-4444

people of other faiths, is available by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 325, Peoria, III. 61651. Questions may be sent to Father Dietzen at the same address.

Father John Dietzen

is

a

CNS

col-

HYunoni 4100

E.

Independence

(704) 535-4455

n

THE 4410-F Mcnroe Road,

^

Charlotte,

NC 28205

{704) U1-1S7S

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Serving The Carolinas For 1 7 Years

— 9:30am 5:30pm — 9:30am 3:00pm Books & Gift Items Mon.-Fri. Sat.

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Welcome


j

14 The Catholic

News

& Herald

April 10, 1998

Diocesan News Briefs attic sale is at St.

Local Businessman Honored at BELMONT

Abbey

— Charlotte businessman Felix

S.

Abbey College recently as the 1998 recipient of the Grace Award. The award, named for Cummins Atlantic CEO Chuck Sabates was honored by Belmont

Grace, honors a businessperson

who

Knights Host Open House GASTONIA The Knights of Co-

to the greater

a scholarship in the named of Sabates and his wife, Carolyn. Additional gifts toward the Sabates scholarship will benefit students of Latin heritage. For more information on contributing, call (704) 825-6661.

money

for other general scholarships to the Catholic liberal arts college.

lumbus St. Gregory's Council 6700 hosts an open house April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Church parish center, 807

Lenten Day of Reflection Eugene St.

The focus was on two "dares"

— daring

be happy and daring to be people of and Father Cancro discussed elGod ements necessary to achieve those goals. To be happy, said, people must be open to change, people of trust and people who forgive and forget. People of faith, he added, are people who believe the church is centered on Christ, sacramental, ongoing and comprehensive. to

Catholic

Home

ASHEVILLE

School Support

— The Catholic As-

sociation of Family Educators, western

North Carolina's Cathohc home school support group, meets each third Friday for a family potluck dinner in the Laurentine Hall of St. Lawrence Basilica. For more information, call Sheryl Oligny, (704) 298-0336, or Denise Vish, (704) 645-6990. St. Francis of Assisi Book Reading

ASHEVILLE

T-shirts, will

the parish's athletic ministry will be

hand

to register families for the parish's

athletic association

and

to

answer ques-

tions about the ministry.

Family Rosary Day CHARLOTTE The 44th Semi-

Annual Family Rosary Day is May 3 at St. Vincent de Paul Church at 3 p.m. and includes rosary recitation, hymns, a homily and a procession. Father John T. Putnam, pastor of Holy Infant Church in Reidsville, will be the homilist. Relationship Seminar CHARLOTTE Family therapist and author Phil DeLuca presents an in-

novative approach to repairing relationships with unresponsive and uncooperative partners at a

workshop April 25 from

9:30 a.m. -noon

at the

Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center, 1 123 S. Church St. The cost is $25 per person. Call Gerry Carter to register, (704) 370-3250.

Lady Hibernians Meet

CHARLOTTE cient

— The Ladies An-

Order of Hibernians at 7 p.m.

meet April 30

Neumann Church.

in

America John

at St.

All Catholic

of Irish ancestry are invited to attend this

meeting. For more information, call Tim Lawson, (704) 522-9728.

Susan

scholar residing in Fletcher, will read

from her new book, "Journey Out of the Garden: St. Francis of Assisi and the Process of Individuation," April 19 at 3 p.m. in Malaprops book store. The book draws on St. Francis' own writing, lives of the saints, legends, art and modem historical scholarship to examine aspects of

Francis' psycho-spiritual journey in the

context of Jungian psychological individuation. For more information, Robert Benitez, (704) 251-6811.

call

Rosary Society Chicken Dinner

CHARLOTTE — The Rosary Soci-

ety of

Our Lady of Consolation Church

its annual chicken dinner April 26 from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at the church, 2301 Statesville Ave. Baked or fried dinner plates are $6 each. For more informa-

hosts

tion, call (704)

375-4339.

WNBA Star to Visit CHARLOTTE

Parish

— WNBA's Char-

first

Divine Mercy Celebration

CHARLOTTE The third annual Divine Mercy Mass and Devotion are celebrated at St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., April 19 at 2:45 p.m. Father Karl Kaltreider, pastor of St.

Church

in Shelby,

is

the

main

Mary

celebrant.

Bring your Divine Mercy images to be blessed on the altar. For more information, call Terri DeLuca, (704) 888-6050. "Gift of Life"

Program

CHARLOTTE The African American Affairs Ministry at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 4207 Shamrock Dr., co-sponsors a "Gift of Life" Program with LifeShare of the Carolinas April 15 at 7 p.m. at the church. Debbie Gibbs, a parishioner of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte and a LifeShare associate, will be the

program

is

main speaker. The

ness of the need for organ and tissue do-

center for a presentation and

Church's position on the matter. For more information, call Cheryl Sledge,

family video.

life

She

will also lead basketball drills

The event begins at 6 p.m. with hot dogs and refreshments on sale. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. Raffle for children.

Prom

High Point area senior Immaculate Heart of Mary School gymnasiuni April 17 from citizens

is

for

in the

men in

5-9 p.m., featuring food, fellowship, big

new members. Call

Estate Planning Seminar Our Lady„of

GREENSBORO

on euchatoday's world April 21

in Raleigh leads a discussion

at

images

in

7:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall of

St.

Paul the Apostle Church. Baby-sitting

is

available; to R.S.V.P., call Joe Casacchia, (336) 632-0729. Liturgical Workshop GREENSBORO The Franciscan Center hosts the 1998 Liturgical Workshop April 25 at St. Pius X Church from 9 a.m. -3 p.m. for lectors, eucharistic min-

music ministers, liturgy planners and other involved in liturgical celebrations. Cost is $20, which includes lunch. isters,

To

register, call the

50+ Spring Fling The 12th Annual

Spring Fling for parishioners aged 50 and

up

is

House of Prayer. Mercy SisMargaret Verstege facilitates. Lim-

ter

ited space remains. Direct inquiries

and

House of Prayer, Hot Springs, NC 28743,

reservations to Jesuit

P.O.

Box

7,

(704) 622-7366.

Living Waters Retreat "Living

MAGGIE VALLEY Trinitarian Faith"

is

a

May

1-3 retreat

focusing on the meaning of the Trinity doctrine and

its

practical consequences.

Glenmary Father John McNeamey faciliCost is $95. "Everyday Mystics" is a May 11-17 retreat discerning and

tates.

celebrating mystical

moments of peace

that are achieved through child-Uke faith.

Franciscan Father cihtates.

Cost

is

To register,

Thomas

Vigliotta fa-

$260. get

more information,

or

receive a retreat schedule, write to the

Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center, 103 Living Waters Lane, Maggie Valley, NC 28751, call (704) 926-3833, or send a fax to (704) 926-1997. j

Franciscan Center,

(336) 273-2554.

HICKORY

or Sue, (336)

at the Jesuit

rector of planned giving, (704) 370-3320.

Adult Education Series GREENSBORO Dominican Father Jude Siciliano of the Deporres House

Ed

House of Prayer Retreat HOT SPRINGS "St. Paul & Women" is a May 1-3 retreat for women Jesuit

Grace Church hosts an estate planning seminar April 23 in the Our Lady of Grace Church multi-purpose room. The focus is on the will as one of the most important documents you will ever sign. For details call Cindy Rice, diocesan di-

ristic

call

869-8483.

April 29 at the Catholic Conference

Center from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and

in-

The Catholic News & Herald welcomes parish news for the Diocesan News Briefs page. Good photographs are also welcome. Submit news releases and photos at least 10 days before the publication date.

Around The Diocese Pastoral Letter Training Training for Gastonia Vicariate parish implementation of BELMONT N.C. Catholic Bishops William G. Curlin and F. Joseph Gossman's economic justice pastoral letter, "Of One Heart and One Mind," is May 2 from 9:30 a.m.2:45 p.m. at Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 N. Main St., Belmont. All interested parishioners, parish leaders, businesspersons and educators are invited. There is no cost, but registration is encouraged by calling (704) 370-3231. Training for Greensboro Vicariate parish implementaGREENSBORO tion of N.C. Catholic Bishops WiUiam G. Curlin and F. Joseph Gossman's economic justice pastoral letter, "Of One Heart and One Mind," is April 1 8 from 9:30 a.m.-2:45 p.m. in the Franciscan Center, 233 N. Greene St. All interested parishioners, parish leaders, businesspersons and educators are invited. There is no cost, but registration is required by calling Bridget Johnson, (336) 274-5577. Joanne K. Frazer, director of the diocesan office of Justice and Peace, will

facilitate

both workshops.

intended to heighten aware-

Andrea Stinson visits St. Thomas Aquinas Church April 17 in the lotte Sting star

Big Band Senior Prom HIGH POINT The second annual Senior

more information

p.m. to introduce

women

W.

McMichaels, a teacher and independent

your par-

Gaston County are invited to attend. The

WNBA

basketballs and be awarded. Members of on

prizes, including

register call

council will hold a First Degree April 19

Michael's Lane. All Catholic

St.

(704) 864-9409.

ASHEVILLE

$10 per person. To

ish seniors' club or the elder ministry

program, (704) 370-3250.

band music, dancing and door prizes. A prom king and queen will be crowned. Admission is free. For reservations or

the St. Michael

at 1

Church's Ascending Life seniors group sponsored a Lenten day of reflection March 25 at the convention center in King's Ranch. Father Frank Cancro, pastor, conducted the retreat, and other Asheville parishes were invited to attend.

cludes breakfast, bingo, music, games, lunch. Mass and fellowship. The cost is

details.

has contributed

good of society. Mattel Motorsports president Jim Mattel announced a $ 1 0,000 gift toward

Thomas Aquinas

Church, 1400 Suther Rd., April 25 from 8 a.m.-noon. Call now to reserve your table for $15 if you need a table or $10 if you have your own. Call Kathy, (704) 455-5507, or Denise, (704) 599-1649, for

nations, and will explore the Catholic

(704) 847-7854.

Spring Cleaning Attic Sale

CHARLOTTE — A spring cleaning

Charismatic Masses

CHARLOTTE — A charismatic Mass is celebrated April

19

at

4 p.m.

in St.

Patrick Cathedral. Prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner

follows Mass. For more information, call Josie at (704) 527-4676. WINSTON-SALEM A charismatic Mass is celebrated every third Thurs-

day in the Mary field Nursing

Home chapel.


The Catholic News

April 10, 1998

World And National News Cuban-Americans

Call For

victims

pain caused by isolation."

the newspaper, the

former guardsmen

ary visit to Cuba, hundreds of CubanAmericans descended on Washington

Vatican Urged To Condemn Eastern-Rite 'Violence' In Ukraine WARSAW, Poland (CNS) A Russian Orthodox Church official has said the Vatican must condemn violence by East-

March

3 1 to lobby Congress to legalize sales of food and medical equipment to Cuba. Representatives of more than 60 Cuban interest groups gathered from across the country to ask Congress to lift the ban on sales of food to Cuba and to

em-rite Catholics in theUkraine before

by the U.S. and Salvadoran governments that they acted

relax the difficult licensing process for

the Soviet Union's "historically unjust"

Drexel's

sales of medical supplies. In a Capitol

prohibition of the Ukrainian Catholic

Sainthood Cause Proceeding

To Cuba WASHINGTON (CNS)

In a

ripple effect credited to the pope's Janu-

Hill press conference, Sylvia

executive director of the

Wilhelm,

Cuban Commit-

any meeting can take place between Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II and Pope John Paul n. However, he defended

Church

women,

way of

a

the

kill

contradict-

ing previous claims

alone.

Blessed Katharine

condemned

Vatican finds

in 1946. "Until the

influencing the situation in

In

Rome

WASHING-

Democracy, said she and the more

Ukraine, no meeting can take place," said

who came

Father Ilarion Alfiev, the secretary of the

TON (CNS) — Are-

from Rorida to lobby Congress likely would not have made such a trip if not for Pope John Paul IFs visit to Cuba. Missionaries Of Charity Brother

Moscow Patriarchate's extemal relations

ported

department.

miracle attributed to

Women

the intercession of

tee for

than 200 Cuban-Americans

Missionaries of Charity brother and two

Religious Meet In Effort To Save TV Show 'Nothing Sacred' NEW YORK (CNS) Women religious gathered with media leaders to

others were found murdered in the east-

discuss

em

versial

Among Three Murdered In India CALCUTTA, India (CNS) — A Indian state of Bihar, apparent vic-

how

they could save the contro-

and recently canceled

ABC

tele-

second

Blessed Katharine Drexel is under re-

view

in

Rome,

ac-

cording to the Philadelphia priest who is vice postulator of her

tims of a highway robbery. Brother Luke

vision series "Nothing Sacred." For what

sainthood cause. Fa-

Puttaniyil, 46, along with a truck driver

was sometimes

ther Alexander

and the

driver' s assistant,

ing since

March 22

had been miss-

after leaving Calcutta

for the Bihar state capital of Patna with

a truckload of medicine and clothing for the sick and the poor. Bihar police found three bodies March 24 along a railroad 75 miles southeast of Patna. Teen Killed On Church Steps

During Evening Mass (CNS) Father

MILWAUKEE

Larry Dulek hopes the tragic murder of a 15-year-old boy on the steps of St. Anthony Parish during the 7 p.m. Mass March 29 can be a source of resurrection.

"We need to always look to the paswe will celebrate and human suffering, there is

chal mystery that

ing and strategy session, the

women

in-

media professionals to a breakfast gathering in midtown Manhattan. According to Sister Irene Fugazy, a Sister of Charity and former director vited about a dozen

of television for the cese,

New York Archdio-

"Nothing Sacred"

is

a

program

which "really tells the story of contemporary Catholics, of contemporary priests and nuns." Federal Judge Backs Schools On Expelled Students

BALTIMORE

(CNS)

— Two

stu-

dents accused of heavy petting, fondling

and kissing

in a

hallway

at

a Catholic high

vicstu-

school

Israel

Rodriguez, a student at South Division High School, died March 30 from a gunto the head.

was shot in the left knee during the incident. He was treated and released from St. Luke Hospital. Dying People Want Pain Relief, Not Suicide, Says Bishop

dent,

DUBUQUE,

Iowa (CNS)

fight against assisted suicide,

work

prayer meet-

The other

newspaper.

archdiocesan

wound

rally,

and a South Division

always some sign of victory, glory," he said in a March 30 phone interview with the Catholic Herald, Milwaukee

shot

pep

school in the Baltimore Archdiocese have once again been barred from attending the school. In a March 23 mling, U.S. District Judge Frederic N. Smalkin of Baltimore dissolved a lower court order issued by Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ann Stepler to keep the students enrolled pending the outcome of a suit filed by the students' parents against the

see that out of

tim, also 15

a

— To

at

St.

John's Literary Institution

Prospect Hall in Frederick. Smalkin

also denied the students' request to re-

mand

the case

back

to Frederick

County,

WASHINGTON

to stop needless suffering for the

(CNS) Sevenchurchwomen

sick and dying, said Bishop John R.

teen years after four U.S.

were murdered in El Salvador, the national guardsmen convicted of the crime have said they acted on orders from their military superiors. Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and lay missionary Jean Donovan were kidnapped, raped and shot dead Dec. 2, 1980. Their bodies were found alongside a road the next day. The

symposium on health care ethics. McGann was the keynote speaker March 25-27 symposium celebrat-

for a

ing the 10th anniversary of the Bioethics

Research Center

Dubuque Catholic

at

Loras College, a

college. "In the face

of .serious illness, it is natural to struggle with grief, anger and .self-doubt," said the bishop, "but

people

who

we must

recognize that

ask for help to

commit

sui-

cide are almost always really longing for

something

else; not

death but relief from

is

New York Times

reported April 3 that

in recent interviews with the New YorkLawyers Committee for Human Rights which represents the families of the

in GualdoTadino, Italy. The quake shook Italy's Umbria and Marche regions in what experts said to a series of quakes last year.

church

central

was a major aftershock

a cure of

by the postulator

sicians appointed

Rome

in

affirms the case as a miracle, he

it moves to the five-person mediboard of the Congregation for Saint-

said,

cal

hood Causes. People Did Not Die

Vain

In

Jonesboro, Priest Says Ark. (CNS) who ministered to

— Fa-

JONESBORO,

stu-

dents following a shooting rampage at

Westside Middle School that left five dead and 10 wounded, said he believes Jonesboro will be motivated to continue to be a "community of hope" to the nation. "There is always some danger the magnitude of our resolve might weaken as time passes, but we have the motivation that can help us remain a community of hope," Father Harris said. "The is

Northem

Ireland will hinder a genuine

peace agreement.

Chiapas Needs Canadian Government Response, Say Church Officials

OTTAWA In

ther Jack Harris,

have not died

we must

Bishop

miracle,

Father Francesco Coccia (right) watches workers move debris April 3 after an earthquake caused further damage to his

deafness. If one of two independent phy-

motivation

McGann of Rockville Centre, N.Y., during a

and vicar for religious of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, said this case, like the one already confirmed as a cellor

in federal court.

Say Salvador Military Ordered 1980 Nuns' Deaths

J.

Palmieri, also chan-

a mling which keeps the case exclusively

Killers

Briefs

admitted being or-

dered to

the right of Ukrainian-rite Catholics to

reclaim places of worship and

15

— and with

physical pain, depression and the social

Legalizing Sales Of Necessities

& Herald

our decision that these five in vain."

Church Officials Express Doubts, Hope Over Agreement

N. Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNS) settlement scheduled to be signed in mid-April to end Northern Ireland's conflict has sparked mixed re-

— A peace

Mexican

(CNS)

— The southem

Chiapas is a land mine ready to explode, and the Canadian government must take action to defuse the situation, say church officials. "While in Chiapas we saw the dramatic consequences of the free trade agreements in the misery and the violent repression "of an entire people," said Father JeanClaude Trottier, provincial superior of the Marists and president of the Canadian Religious Conference, at a news conference on Parliament Hill April 2. Father Trottier, who had just returned to Canada following a weeklong visit to Chiapas as part of a fact-finding delegation, said he witnessed "the drama of the indigenous peoples of that region of Mexico and of the church that has walked with them through their struggles and their agony over the last 30 years." Former Bethlehem Mayor Dies, state of

Known For Peace Effort BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS)

action

— Greek Orthodox

capable of hammering out a meaningful

Nativity for Elia Freij, 79, former

agreement

that will satisfy the entire

of Bethlehem. Freij,

population.

An

Bethlehem mayor from 1972

among church officials in the province. Some doubt that politicians are

April 9 deadline to

was

com-

by the chairman of the peace talks, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell. Msgr. Denis Faul of St. Malachy's College, Dungannon, said historic and irrational fears felt by the Protestant and Catholic communities in plete negotiations

set

services

March

resignation last

Jordan,

3

1

leaders held funeral at the

Church of the mayor

who

March 23

served as until his

in

Amman,

after a long

bout with

May, died

heart disease. Latin-rite Patriarch Michel

Sabbah of Jerusalem declined comment on Freij's death, saying only, "May God's mercy be upon him."


16 The Catholic

News

& Herald

April 10, 1998

Bishop Blesses Oils, Commends Brother Priests At Cathedral Chrism Mass By JIMMY

Baby Abandoned At Missionaries Of Charity Center

ROSTAR

By LYNNE WEIL

Stajf Writer

bom baby,

Holy Week tradition, Bishop WilHam G. Curhn and 90 brother priests focused on the power of Christ's ministry as they concelebrated the annual Chrism Mass ries-old

at St. Patrick

Cathedral April

VATICAN CITY

CHARLOTTE — Observing a centu-

(CNS) A newabandoned on the doorstep of

the Missionaries of Charity center at the

Vatican, attracted national concern in Italy

during Holy Week.

The boy, whose age doctors estimated

7.

one to seven days, was left April 7 by the front door of the center for the care of at

During the Mass, the bishop blessed oils used by each parish throughout the year. The liturgy is one of the most solemn in the Catholic Church. The celebration also included a recommitment to priestly service and called to mind the union between priests and the

indigents run by the order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The building which houses the center

and the order's convent

is

adjacent to

the Congregation for the Doctrine of the

faithful.

Faith, just outside St. Peter's Square.

Bishop Curlin said the privilege of working with so many devoted priests brings

general told

him much

the infant just after dawn.

homily

The Missionaries of Charity superior news media that she found

happiness, and he dedicated his

to extoUing priestly service.

in an old, oversize

"What a precious gift it is to be a priest," Bishop Curlin said

left in

to those in attendance.

"How awesome it is that we are honored to consecrate bread and wine as we celebrate the presence of Christ each day."

"Today, as

we

Bishop William G. Curlin

stirs

balsam

into

a vessel containing

plead with you to pray for

kindness and compassion and love."

things consecrated with chrism are uniquely

service during the

Bishop CurUn spoke of Christ's presence in the sacraments and other external

dedicated to the Lord.

He

signs of grace.

blessed three

of us

oils:

the

mens and

The

oils

of catechu-

the sick are signs of grace that

provide strength and encouragement.

The renewal of commitment to priestly Chrism Mass has de-

veloped as part of the hturgy in recent decades. The bishop calls the priests to re-

new their dedication, model their ministry

oil of the sick and The first is used for bapand infants, the second for anointing in sacrament for the sick. Chrism is an oil of consecration used while con-

transported in smaller containers to each

ebrating the mysteries of the faith.

tizing adults

parish in the diocese for use in the sacra-

For many, the most reverential moment of the Mass was having such a large

ferring the sacraments of initiation, ordain-

isterial

ing priests and bishops, and blessing

ing back

churches and

mid-1950s the practice took place in dioc-

After the oils are blessed, they are

of catechumens, the

altars.

mental

of the community.

life

The

bishops' blessing of oils for minis a Holy Week tradition datmore than 1,000 years. Until the

use

around Christ and remain resolved in

cel-

number of priests representing the entire church of westem North Carolina gather

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with great fondness of the encouragement he and his brother priests extend to one another. "We also have to make a journey of faith," he said. "We are human. We do not just impart God's mercy; we also hunger to receive that mercy from the hands of our brother priests." "We must root ourselves in an intimacy with Christ so profound that even though we experience the weaknesses and sometimes even the failures of human life, we rise again and begin anew in God's love."

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Hospital,

word

where he was placed

in a

of the incident, television crews and news-

try

came

to the hospital.

Hospital spokesman Carlo Napoli said the boy appeared to be in good health and was adequately fed. He evidently had been bom with the assistance of "someone who is well informed," NapoU noted,

because his umbilical cord had been cleanly cut and wrapped in sterile gauze. Since the Missionaries of Charity chose to

call

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the hospital does, as well.

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had baptized the boy because "we do not know if he is a Christian." His skin and hair color, as well as the

pital

shape of his eyes, led doctors to speculate that the child

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When an Italian news service learned

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Help.

brought him to the Vatican-run Bambino

chrism.

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all

was a note with a

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