Jan. 21, 2011

January 21, 2011

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

Speaking up for

LIFE

Call him Blessed Beatification of John Paul II set for May 1, 17

Six more deacons Bishop Peter J. Jugis will ordain six men

photo provided by Jason Murphy

to the diaconate at St. Mark Church in Huntersville Jan. 29,

3 FUNDED by the parishioners of the diocese of charlotte THANK YOU!

Bishop celebrates Right to Life Mass in Greensboro, 10

‘Voices of experience’ reverberate through uptown Charlotte, 10

Faithful prepare to march on Washington, D.C., 11

Father Pavone: ‘Do not forget the works of the Lord,’ 18 Penn: I became Catholic because of its pro-life message, 19 McClusky: Find your voice to proclaim the Gospel of Life, 19

ONLINE: Video and more photos from the March for Life Charlotte Calendar 4 Diocese 3-7

FAITH 2

mix 15

nation & World 16-17

Viewpoints 18-19

Call us: 704-370-3333 E-mail us: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

Our faith

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CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

‘Truly charity has no limit; for the love of God has been poured into our hearts by His Spirit dwelling in each one of us, calling us to a life of devotion and inviting us to bloom in the garden where He has planted and directing us to radiate the beauty and spread the fragrance of His Providence.’

Pope Benedict XVI

T

Ecumenism already has borne fruit

he search for Christian unity has not been easy, but it already has drawn Christians closer to one another and made Christianity more attractive to those who do not believe, Pope Benedict XVI said.

A sense of brotherhood among Christians “is the most tangible sign of unity, especially for those outside” the Christian community, the pope said Jan. 19 during his weekly general audience.

As he does each year at his audience during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict dedicated his talk to explaining the theme chosen by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches for the week, themed “One in the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.”

Pope Benedict said the theme contains the four characteristics that made the early Church “a place of unity and love.”

The first, he said, is that Christians remain faithful to the Gospel. Second, there is fellowship and fraternity.

“The history of the ecumenical movement is marked by difficulties and uncertainties, but it also is a story of brotherhood and cooperation, of spiritual and human sharing.”

The third element is participating together in “the breaking of the bread,” in which Christ makes himself present. Sharing the Eucharist is the sign of fully sharing faith, which is why the Catholic Church insists that divided Christians cannot normally share Communion, the pope said. Christians should feel “regret for the impossibility” of sharing the Eucharist, he said, particularly during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The fourth characteristic is a constant tendency toward prayer, he said. In prayer, people see themselves as children of God and, therefore, brothers and sisters to one another.

St. Francis de Sales French Roman Catholic preacher, Doctor of the Church, and key figure in the Counter Reformation in France Feast day: Jan. 24 Francis de Sales was born of noble and pious parents near Annecy in what is now France 1567. He was born two months prematurely and nearly died, and his mother consecrated him to the Lord in the presence of the Holy Shroud (of Turin).

From an early age he was curious about the mysteries of the faith, thoughtful yet quick-tempered. He studied with brilliant success in Paris and in Padua, particularly enjoying theology, Scripture and debating.

After returning from Italy, he gave up the grand legal career and an arranged marriage that his father had marked out for him, and in 1593 he was ordained a priest. His father had objected, but his cousin and fellow priest Louis de Sales interceded with the local bishop.

When the Duke of Savoy had resolved to restore the Church in the Chablais region, which had fallen under the influence of Calvinist Protestants, the local bishop put out a call for missionaries. Francis was the only volunteer for the dangerous work.

Catholic worship had been outlawed for an entire generation and only recently permitted to be practiced again. Churches had been burned or destroyed when not appropriated for Protestant use. Religious orders were suppressed and priests were exiled. One local missionary priest who had ventured into the area before Francis was forced to flee for his life.

Nonetheless, Francis insisted on going, even over his father’s pleas to the bishop.

He was unanimously accepted for the mission – no one else wanted the job.

Francis set out on foot with his Bible, breviary and one companion, his loyal

cousin Louis.

Every door and every heart was closed against him. He was rejected with insult and threatened with death. But nothing could stop him, and before long the Church burst forth into a second spring with the Counter Reformation. It is estimated that Francis converted 72,000 Calvinists.

Francis was then compelled by the pope to become coadjutor bishop of Geneva in 1599, and he was named bishop in 1602.

His fame as a preacher spread abroad, and from 1600 until his death he delivered Lent and Advent sermons in many of the great cities of France. In his diocese he set up schools and paid special attention to the poorer parishes. He was instrumental in the important reform of the Cistercian abbey Port-Royal.

At times the exceeding gentleness with which he received heretics and sinners almost scandalized his friends. One of them said to him, “Francis of Sales will go to Paradise, of course; but I am not so sure of the Bishop of Geneva: I am almost afraid his gentleness will play him a shrewd turn.”

“Ah,” said Francis, “I would rather account to God for too great gentleness than for too great severity. Is not God all love? God the Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a Lamb; God the Holy Ghost is a Dove – that is, gentleness itself. And are you wiser than God?” Together with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded the Order of the Visitation at Annecy for women who could not undergo the austerities of the great established orders. It soon spread throughout Europe. Though poor, he

A saintly life

refused provisions and dignities, and he even turned down the great see of Paris.

His “Introduction to the Devout Life” is a widely read religious classic. His other major work is the “Treatise on the Love of God.” He is the patron saint of Catholic writers.

He died at Avignon on Dec. 28, 1622, after giving a nun his last word of advice: “Humility.”

— Catholic News Agency, The Catholic Encyclopedia, catholic-saints-resource-center.com, fransalians.com

Your daily Scripture readings SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 23 - JAN. 29

Sunday, Isaiah 8:23-9:3, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23; Monday (St. Francis de Sales), Hebrews 9:15, 24-28, Mark 3:22-30; Tuesday, Acts 22:3-16, Mark 16:15-18; Wednesday (Sts. Timothy and Titus), 2 Timothy 1:1-8, Mark 4:1-20; Thursday (St. Angela Merici), Hebrews 10:19-25, Mark 4:21-25; Friday (St. Thomas Aquinas), Hebrews 10:32-39, Mark 4:26-34; Saturday, Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19, Luke 1:69-75, Mark 4:35-41

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 30 - FEB. 5

Sunday, Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 5:1-12; Monday (St. John Bosco), Hebrews 11:32-40, Mark 5:1-20; Tuesday, Hebrews 12:1-4, Mark 5:21-43; Wednesday, Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:2240; Thursday (St. Blaise, St. Ansgar), Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24, Mark 6:7-13; Friday, Hebrews 13:1-8, Mark 6:14-29; Saturday (St. Agatha), Hebrews 13:1517, 20-21, Mark 6:30-34

Our parishes catholic news heraldI

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

In Brief

‘Being a True Catholic Man’

Two priest assignments announced CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte announces that Father Joseph V. Mulligan, pastor of St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Church in Boone and Epiphany Mission in Blowing Rock, will be taking a sabbatical. Replacing him will be Father David Brzoska, a priest in residence at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

Aquino

Bitter

Martini

New acting head of CSS Dr. Gerard A. Carter has been appointed acting executive director of Catholic Social Services for the Diocese of Charlotte, the diocese recently announced. Carter takes over from Elizabeth Thurbee, who retired in December.

Carter has worked for the diocese since 1986 in various ministries, and he Carter has worked with CSS since 1995.

For the past six years he has served as associate director of CSS. He and his wife Eileen have two children: Molly, 14, and Charlotte, 11. They live in Winston-Salem and are members of Holy Family Church in Clemmons.

L.A.M.B. donations made NEWTON — St. Joseph The Worker Knights of Columbus Council 9746 with St. Joseph Church of Newton recently distributed $4,570 in L.A.M.B. (Least Among My Brethren) funds among several local schools and to the Special Olympics. Among the recipients were Conover School, Catawba Elementary School, Claremont Elementary School, Newton/Conover Middle School, and Catawba Special Olympics.

— Kay Dziubczynski

First diocesan men’s conference set for Feb. 19 SueAnn Howell Staff writer

Four deacons assigned CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte announces the following four deacons have been assigned to parishes: Deacon James H. Toner and Deacon Anthony P. Pynes to Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro; Deacon Lawrence P. O’Toole to St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte; and Deacon James P. Gorman Sr. to St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte.

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Ricart

Reiser

Wilson

Six deacons to be ordained St. Mark Church to host permanent diaconate ordination Jan. 29 SueAnn Howell Staff writer

HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church in Huntersville will host the permanent diaconate ordination at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, for six men of the Diocese of Charlotte. Bishop Peter J. Jugis will be the main celebrant for the Mass.

The following men are scheduled to be ordained to the permanent diaconate: n Enedino Aquino, 52, a parishioner at St. Joseph Church in Asheboro. He and his wife Maria Luisa have been married 35 years and have three daughters, Ana, Ruth and Gisela, and one son, Luis. They have nine grandchildren.

Aquino is a native of Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. They have lived for more than 20 years in the U.S., and he has worked full-time for the Diocese of Charlotte for 12 years. n Daren S. Bitter, 44, a parishioner at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. He and his wife Michelle have two daughters, Reagan, 10, and Cameron, 2. They have lived in Charlotte for more than 20 years, and also have been parishioners at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. Bitter is a native of Evansville, Ind., and received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Indiana University and a master’s degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He works as the director of sales and operations with VisionCor, a Charlotte-based workforce learning/training solutions firm. n Michael James Martini, 48, a parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro. He and his wife Christina have a son, Austin, 17. He is a native of Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois and a MSIR from Loyola University of Chicago. He has worked in human resources

for Reynolds Aluminum and Ball Corp. his entire career in offices in Chicago, Houston and Greensboro. n David S. Reiser, 61, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte. He and his wife Maria have been married 25 years and have six children and 10 grandchildren. A native of Israel, he was raised in a non-practicing Jewish family. He met Maria in Puerto Rico, where he attended his first Mass and began his journey into the Church. He entered the Church on the Feast of the Assumption in 1993. He is retired from the FBI and is now employed as the faith formation coordinator at Our Lady of the Assumption. n Martin Ricart III, 47, a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte since 1997. He and his wife Milly have been married 13 years and have a son, Martin, and a daughter, Malin. He is a native of Long Island, N.Y. He works as a physician’s assistant in a Charlotte emergency department. n William (Chip) Wilson, 49, a parishioner of Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont. He and his wife Terri have one son, Christopher. He is a native of Gastonia,. He is a 1983 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He is a desk editor with the Charlotte Observer and is a part-time real estate broker and property manager.

Deacon Louie Pais, director of the permanent diaconate program for the Diocese of Charlotte, shares his excitement about the impending ordinations.

“We are delighted to ordain these men for service to God’s people in the Diocese of DEACONS, SEE page 14

CHARLOTTE — For the first time in the history of the Diocese of Charlotte, Catholic men from western North Carolina will gather to explore and deepen their faith at a men’s conference, entitled “Being a True Catholic Man.” The Knights of Columbus, through their “Fathers For Good” initiative, are co-sponsoring the event to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at Charlotte Catholic High School on Pineville-Matthews Road in south Charlotte. All Catholic men – not just Knights or those interested in becoming a Knight – are encouraged to attend: young or old, married or single.

“The mission of the conference is to provide an experience for men aspiring to be better husbands, fathers and Catholics, no matter where they are on their spiritual paths,” said Bishop Peter J. Jugis of the Diocese of Charlotte.

“The conference offers a unique opportunity to address the spiritual needs of men, to motivate them toward more intimate relationships with God and deeper engagements in their parishes,” he added.

Bishop Jugis will speak during the conference and celebrate Mass along with other priests of the diocese during the one-day event.

Additional speakers include Father Larry Richards, author of the bestselling book “Be a Man!,” and Fred Beretta, survivor of the Hudson River plane crash and author of “My Miracle on the Hudson.”

Adoration, personal testimonies and reconciliation will be offered as well.

Dan Trapini, a member of the Knights of Columbus and member of the core team organizing the conference, said he hopes 1,000 men or more will attend.

“As a Catholic service organization, the Knights of Columbus can and should offer resources to promote men’s fellowship, and to spiritually CATHOLIC MAN, SEE page 14

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OUR PARISHES

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

Diocesan calendar ASHEVILLE st. eugene church, 72 Culvern st.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following event over the next week: Jan. 24 – 11:30 a.m.

N.C. Respect Life Mass Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington, D.C.

— Healing Prayer, All Saints Chapel, 9:45-10:45 a.m. Jan. 23

BELMONT QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES CHURCH, 503 N. MAIN ST. — Centering Prayer Sessions, Room B, 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays.

Contact Peggy Geiger at 704-865-0898.

CHARLOTTE CAMPUS MINISTRY, 9408 SANDBURG ROAD — Wednesday Dinners, 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday, open to all college students. Visit sco.uncc.edu/catholic.

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 PROVIDENCE ROAD

This week’s spotlight: St. Peter Church Annual Ignatian Women Retreat St. Peter’s Ignatian women invite you to a quiet morning of reflection and prayer to contemplate Jesus’ healing of the bent-over woman (Luke 13:10-17), St. Peter Church, 507 S. Tryon St., Biss Hall, 8:30 a.m. Jan. 29. Register at ignatianretreat@gmail.com or 704-332-2901. Free parking in the Green Parking Garage next door.

— “A Survivor’s Daughter, A Writer and the Holocaust: A Conversation on Forgiveness,” Ministry Center, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 26. Contact Susan Krasniewski at skrasniewski@ stgabrielchurch.org or 704-362-5047 ext. 210.

— Social Justice Ministry Film Screening: “Dying to Live,” 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Film will follow Wednesday night dinner. If attending dinner, RSVP to 704-362-5047, ext.

282.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMMONS PKWY. — Christian Coffeehouse, NLC Banquet Room, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 22. To reserve a table for six or more, contact Kathy Bartlett at kschwabent@aol.com or 704-400-2213

by Jan. 21.

— Cenacles of the Divine Mercy group meetings begin the week of Jan. 23. New members attend once per week for 13 weeks. Phase II members attend every other week.

Contact Ralph Sullivan at rscsm@aol.com or 704-8499748.

— Roman Missal Revision Workshop, 1:45-4:45 p.m. Jan. 30.

Contact Michael Burck at mburck@stmatthewcatholic. org or 704-541-8362, ext. 4.

— “Back to Basics Catholicism 101: The Church,” presented

by Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin, NLC Room 203, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9 and 16, and March 2 — “Back to Basics: Survey of the New Testament, presented

by Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin, NLC Room 203, 7-8:15 p.m. Mondays, 9:30-10:45 a.m. Wednesdays — Cancer Support Group, New Life Center, 10 a.m.-noon first Thursday of each month

January 21, 2011 Volume 20 • Number 8

1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org 704-370-3333 PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Denise Onativia 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Cindi Feerick 704-370-3332, ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org STAFF WRITER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org

FRANKLIN ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH, 299 MAPLE ST. — Life Prayer Vigil, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Jan. 24

GREENSBORO ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, 2715 HORSE PEN CREEK ROAD — Greensboro Council of Catholic Women covered dish luncheon, noon Jan. 26. Local author Carol Kenny will be the speaker. Bring your favorite dish to share. Contact Anne Crooks at 336-855-1402.

— Eucharistic Adoration, 5:30-7 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. every first Friday of the month ST. PIUS X CHURCH, 2210 n. elm ST. — “Catholics Listening to God: Video Series with the Most Rev. Mark Coleridge,” Parish Office 220 State St., 10:30 a.m. Jan. 25

ST. PETER CHURCH, 507 S. TRYON ST. — Islam Education Series Book Discussion, Ignatius Center, 10:15 a.m. Jan. 23. Free parking in the Green Parking Garage next door.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 SUTHER ROAD — Understanding the Mass, with Father Remo DiSalvatore, 7 p.m. Jan. 25 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHURCH, 6828 OLD REID ROAD — Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group Reflection, with Father Christopher Roux, 9 a.m. Feb. 7. Membership is not required to attend. Contact Linda Granzow at jlgranzow@ windstream.net or 704-847-7872.

— Catholics Returning Home Program, Faith Formation Center, 7:30-9 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14 and 21, and March 1 and 7. Register at 704-554-7088.

DENVER HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH, 537 N. HIGHWAY 16 — Moving On After Moving In, class open to women which deals with the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of making a move or life transition, 10-11:30 a.m. Feb. 3.

Contact Candy at 704-489-1696 or Maureen at 704-4890544.

— Cancer Support Group, PAC Room 8, 2-3 p.m. Feb. 8

The Catholic News Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 35 times a year.

NEWS: The Catholic News Herald welcomes your news and photographs for publication in our print and online PDF editions.

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

ADVERTISING: For advertising rates and information, contact Advertising Manager Cindi Feerick at 704-370-3332 or ckfeerick@

— Learning to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 27

HUNTERSVILLE ST. MARK CHURCH, 14740 STUMPTOWN ROAD — “The ABCs of Mercy,” by Father Dan Cambra, 7-8:30 p.m.

Jan. 26. Contact Donna Smith at dsmith18@bellsouth.net.

— Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novenas, 6:30 p.m. Mondays — Eucharistic Adoration, Chapel, 7:30 a.m. Fridays-8:45 a.m.

Saturdays

MOUNT AIRY Holy angels church, 1208 n. main st.

— Missa Cantata, noon Jan. 30

WINSTON-SALEM HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, 4820 KINNAMON ROAD — Charismatic Prayer Group, Chapel, 7:15 p.m. Mondays — Eucharistic Adoration, Curlin Center, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Thursdays Is your PARISH OR SCHOOL hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Calendar is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org or fax to 704-370-3382.

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

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January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

In Brief SPX home to new Knights Fourth Degree GREENSBORO — A new Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Assembly has been approved to be based at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. The Father Francis Connolly Assembly 3253 will encompass Immaculate Mary Council (Eden), St. Mary’s Council (Greensboro) and St. Pius X Council.

The primary purpose of this degree is to foster the spirit of patriotism in members and the community at large and encourage Catholic citizenship. Today, there are some 300,000 Fourth Degree Knights out of the total 1.7 million member Knights of Columbus.

Charter members are: Walter Kulla, Faithful Navigator; Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, Faithful Friar; Leo Gottschalk, Faithful Comptroller; Woody Regan, Faithful Captain; Greg Rachal, Faithful Pilot; Ed Caluori, Faithful Admiral; Joe Plesh, Faithful Purser; Ed Campbell, Faithful Scribe; George Bean, Inner Sentinel; Brian Rachal, Outer Sentinel; Glenn Marino, One-Year Trustee; Deacon James Cooper, Two-Year Trustee; and James Duffy, Three-Year Trustee.

‘Three Kings Day’

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A conversation on forgiveness: A survivor’s daughter, a writer and the Holocaust Shannon Habenicht Special to the Catholic News Herald

— Leo Gottschalk

Knights help 36 families KERNERSVILLE — The Knights of Columbus Council 8509 with Holy Cross Church in Kernersville recently announced successful Toys for Tots and angel tree campaigns in their parish. More than 70 children in 36 families were assisted through the effort headed up by Herb Pennington, Craig Schwarz and Lori McCann.

The Knights, Columbiettes and other parishioners donated toys, clothing, gift cards, canned food and bags of fruit, and baby supplies. Children of the parish helped to make the deliveries to local social service agencies and to Room at the Inn of the Triad.

— Fred Hogan

Four named Eagle Scouts GREENSBORO — St. Pius X Church in Greensboro recently congratulated four parishioners who earned their Eagle Scout rank.

The four are: Slater Knox (junior at Bishop McGuinness High School), Jonathan Ingram (eighth-grader at St. Piux X School), Sam Nemeths (sophomore at Bishop McGuinness High School), and Stephen Long (Page High School).

OUR PARISHESI

photos provided by Mariella Buscaglia

Hispanic parishioners at St. Mark Church in Huntersville celebrated “Three Kings Day,” also called the Epiphany, with a special dramatic presentation Jan. 2.

CHARLOTTE — “A Conversation on Forgiveness” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road in Charlotte.

The program will feature Ken Garfield, director of communications at Myers Park United Methodist Church, and Jackie Fishman, Charlotte Latin School teacher and a Holocaust survivor’s daughter.

They will share the ways in which the Holocaust has shaped their personal and professional lives, and their reflections on forgiveness. A questionand-answer period will follow the talk.

Jackie Fishman taught literature and humanities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for 17 years. She now teaches 11th grade American literature and a senior elective, “World Literature of Oppression and Hope,” at Charlotte Latin Fishman School. Fishman traveled with her mother, Auschwitz survivor Susan Cernyak-Spatz, and two siblings to Europe, retracing the journey her mother had been forced to take as a Nazi prisoner during World War II. In 2003 she took the trip again, this time with her mother and her daughter Lia, ensuring that the family history would be passed on to another generation.

Ken Garfield, director of communications at Myers Park United Methodist Church, worked for 12 years as religion editor of the Charlotte Observer. He wrote hundreds of stories about the Holocaust and accompanied Jackie Fishman to Berlin for a conference bringing together children of survivors and perpetrators. He also traveled to Dachau for a story about the camp, and profiled the Charlotte survivors of the Holocaust for Charlotte magazine. He is Jewish, the son of parents whose roots trace to Romania and Russia.

Garfield said his presentation will focus on his personal and professional journey to journalism and activism, and his calling to keep the Holocaust alive in his writing. He will discuss Garfield his three trips to Germany, about how his worldtraveling parents refused to go to Germany, and what that means in terms of forgiveness. To this day, Garfield admits that hearing a German accent – the word “nein” spoken on the streets of the small town of Dachau – unsettles him. Why, then, keep telling the stories?

Garfield believes you can’t forgive if you first don’t understand.

Fishman will share her upbringing by a Holocaust survivor, her passion to teach about the Holocaust, her experiences with students, and her belief that learning about the Holocaust can inform us in terms of moral decision-making in our own lives. She will connect the Holocaust and other issues of justice, such as the civil rights movement. She will also reflect on forgiveness: Is there such a thing as societal forgiveness? Why has her mother never had a problem traveling to Germany to speak and teach? How is it that survivors bring their own attitudes to their testimonies?

Both speakers will bring samples of their work. Garfield will have copies of newspaper and magazine stories, including the profile of nine Holocaust survivors in the November 2009 issue of Charlotte magazine. Fishman, whose mother was one those featured in Charlotte magazine, will bring samples of her students’ writings.

Details of the program are available at stgabrielchurch.org.

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OUR PARISHES

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

photos provided by Lubo Mijak

Lubo Mijak, a former Sudanese “Lost Boy” who found a new home in the U.S. through Catholic Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Office, is now looking for help to build a school for his hometown in Sudan. Above, he is pictured teaching students in Nyarweng under a tree because their schoolhouse is too small to accommodate everyone.

Above is the current Nyarweng School in Sudan. Capacity is fewer than 50 children at one time, and the community has 340 school-aged children. This straw structure will last fewer than four years.

Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ now seeks to help his hometown Refugee resettled by CSS raising money to build a school Gloria Lawing Special to the Catholic News Herald

Lubo Mijak has known a hard life.

In 1987, he was 8 years old when he saw enemy tribesmen kill his parents and older brother. He was forced to flee from Southern Sudan for his safety, and over the following three months, he walked along the Nile River, hiding from the enemy tribe during the day and hungry lions at night.

He has known starvation and watched friends be killed.

Mijak is a “Lost Boy,” one of a large group of Sudanese boys orphaned when their parents were murdered in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which lasted for 21 years and killed 2 million.

Mijak and the survivors of his village found safety in a United Nations refugee camp in neighboring Ethiopia, surviving on leaves along the way. He lived in camps in Ethiopia and then in Kenya for 11 years, where rations of corn, wheat and beans often “dropped from the sky” from U.N. airplanes.

But Mijak persevered, and his life changed forever when Catholic Social Services brought him to Charlotte. In recent weeks, he experienced another miracle, when he and other Lost Boys traveled to Atlanta and Nashville to cast their votes for independence for his native land, Southern Sudan.

Now Mijak is determined to use his good fortune to help family, friends and others in Southern Sudan. He has a vision to create a school in his hometown of

Nyarweng, so that little boys and little girls will be educated, so that no child will endure what he has suffered.

He believes that the fighting in Sudan is caused by lack of education, by not understanding that diversity is richness. He believes education can break the cycle of violence between Muslims and Christians.

Catholic Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Office was one of the first to help Mijak when he learned that the U.N. had granted him refugee status in 2001. He was told he would be leaving the refugee camp and coming to the U.S. – to Charlotte.

He remembers fingering a map of the U.S., knowing nothing about his new city.

Someone told him the weather was nice.

With the help of Catholic Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Office and St. John Baptist Church in Charlotte, Mijak became quickly integrated into the community. And here began the new, yet challenging, life for this refugee.

He got a job at TJ Maxx, where he helped to load trucks and stamp on prices, and he learned how to drive. Through St. John Baptist Church, Mijak met his mentor Phillips Bragg, who helped to build his dreams of education and giving back.

Mijak started taking classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, despite not having much money, and two years ago he graduated triumphantly with a degree in international studies.

In 2007, after being granted American citizenship and getting a passport, Mijak was able to return to Southern Sudan to visit – a mission that he had been dreaming

about for six long years.

He was greeted by friends, aunts, uncles and cousins, and he was overjoyed at the welcome he received.

He said he was able to hold his emotions together until witnessing the earnest hopping of his cousin’s daughter, a beautiful physically-disabled child who was told to rise and walk to greet her uncle from America, which she did proudly on one leg.

“If only medical attention were available,” he recalls sadly, “she would not suffer like that.”

Upon seeing the distinguished returnee from America, mothers brought to him their malaria-infected children in droves, begging him to cure their children. They thought he was a doctor.

Mijak told them that he wanted to help their children in another way: He could teach. This was the birth of his dream of building a school in his village, the day in which the mothers of Nyarweng made him promise to be an ambassador for his country, to bring education and a school to them.

With the help of Bragg, Mijak connected with a nonprofit, Mothering Across Continents, with the goal of raising $150,000 to build a four-room schoolhouse.

“America gave so much to me,” he said.

“I don’t want to just sit back and say, well someone helped me. I’m happy now.

“No. I want to continue to help others, because it is my duty as others have helped me.”

Nowadays, Mijak travels with Bragg to meet with organizations and

philanthropists about Mijak’s vision. They often meet with potential donors over a meal, but it’s no power lunch. The simple meal they serve is pinto beans and Dinka bread – a reminder of the refugees’ reality.

Mijak tells his story of suffering and of giving back, and people are invited to help contribute towards the effort.

So far, Mijak has raised more than $100,000 of his $150,000 goal to build a school with four classrooms. He manages to continue moving forward with his efforts for the new school in addition to working two jobs.

Where does he want to live someday?

“I want to live where I can give back,” he said, “where I can make the most difference to people. I would like to go to law school and study international law, so that I can teach the people in my country of their own human rights.

“It feels so good to take care of people. It is our duty to take care of our elderly. You nurture them, and you feel proud. Just like they nurtured you when you were small.

So now you nurture them. It is only your duty.”

Through everything he continues to smile, and above all, to share his story.

His past is one of profound pain, yet Mijak remains hopeful for the future that he will help to build.

He believes that through education, wisdom is gained, and from wisdom comes peace. Peace is what is needed so that Sudan can repair itself, and education is the tool through which the younger generation can lead us there, he believes.

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Sister Helen Latour, recognized for teaching and literacy efforts, dies in North Wilkesboro Sister Helen Elizabeth Latour died Jan. 4, 2011, in North Wilkesboro with loving friends at her bedside. She was born in Lowell, Mass., on Feb. 26, 1925, to Alfred D. and Florence Griffis Latour. She was preceded in death by her brother Alfred D. Latour Jr. of Danvers, Mass.

After graduating from high school, she joined the Religious of Christian Education order of Catholic nuns and thereafter received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Emmanuel College in Boston. She received a master’s degree in English from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Later she received grants to study mathematics and physics at Boston College, at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a Ph.D. in comparative languages in 1972 from UNC-Chapel Hill.

In addition, she also received a Masters in Religious Education from St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minn. She was constantly learning. During weekends and summers she took courses in adult education, English as a Second Language, fund raising and family literacy.

As a religious sister she taught English, Latin, French, math and biology at schools in Massachusetts and North Carolina.

She was also a civil defense instructor in Asheville. After receiving her doctorate, she taught foreign languages at Appalachian State University, retiring in 1990. During her tenure at Appalachian State, she was the co-founder of the General Honors Program and its first director. She was granted professor emerita status by the University

of North Carolina Board of Governors for her service to the University of North Carolina and the state.

After retirement, she taught English in 1992 at North Ossetia State University in Vladikavaz, Russia.

She founded the Watauga County Literacy Association Latour in 1987. After she moved to Wilkes County in 1989, she founded the Volunteers for Wilkes Literacy, was a charter member of the Wilkes Literacy Consortium, and was chair of the Northwest Literacy United. She was also a member of the Governor’s Council on Volunteerism as well as several professional literacy, honors and comparative language associations.

While a resident at Rose Glen Village in Wilkesboro, she established a rose garden, that has been named in her memory. In 2009 she was one of 20 in North Carolina awarded the Medallion for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

Helen Latour’s friends would like to thank all the medical and nursing personnel who labored to give her excellent care during her last days.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 11, 2011, at St. John Baptiste de la Salle Church in North Wilkesboro. Jesuit Father Vince Alagia and Father John Hanic were the celebrants.

Memorials may be made to Volunteers for Wilkes Literacy, c/o Wilkes County Career Center, 374 Lincoln Heights Road, Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697.

OUR PARISHESI

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CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

Louie Verrecchio

Sacred liturgy, sacred signs

“

Fully conscious and active participation.”

This is a phrase that has been invoked so often over the past four decades that it can almost be considered a mantra, and not without good reason. After all, it is according to the Second Vatican Council the “aim to be considered before all else” in the matter of liturgical reform (Sacrosanctum Concilium 14).

This begs two important questions, however: One, in what are we called to participate, and secondly, how are we called to do it?

We are called to participate in the sacred liturgy, of course, but what exactly is liturgy? Common sense alone should tell us that unless we have a good sense for what liturgy is and what takes place within it, we cannot possibly participate in it in a truly fruitful way.

In the Latin rite, the word “liturgy” typically refers to the official public service of the Church – Holy Mass, of course, but also the Liturgy of the Hours; Eucharistic Exposition, Adoration and Benediction; Stations of the Cross, etc. In other words, all of those rites that are not considered private devotions.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers additional insight: “The word ‘liturgy’ originally meant a ‘public work’ or a ‘service in the name of/on behalf of the people.’ In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in ‘the work of God.’” (CCC 1069) Did you catch the distinction? “Liturgy” originally (prior to Christ and the Church) was considered a public work of the people.

For Christians, however, we understand that it means the people’s participation in the work of God. The difference is tremendous! Is the liturgy our work? No, it is God’s work, and we have the great privilege and duty to take part in it.

The Catechism continues: “Through the liturgy, Christ, our Redeemer and High Priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.” (CCC 1069) Again, don’t miss the essential point.

Who is working in the liturgy? It is Christ our Redeemer who is working. And what is

He doing? He is continuing the work of our redemption.

The Council tells us that the liturgy reflects the very nature of the Church because in the liturgy just as in the Church, “the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation...” (SC 2) But do we human beings like to be subordinated to anything? Of course not!

It takes sincere humility and a deliberate act of the will to subordinate oneself (yes, even to the divine) and to truly embrace and accept in faith that the liturgy is not of our own making; rather, it is a gift from the Lord to His people.

So often we insist on doing things our way, but in the sacred liturgy this cannot be – not if we want to participate in an authentic and fruitful way. This requires us to approach the Mass cognizant that Christ’s saving work is primary, His grace is operative; our role is simply co-operative with His. We must realize that in the liturgy we are neither masters nor choreographers; rather, we are caretakers of a precious and magnificent gift.

I dare say that adopting such a mindset will require a major “attitude adjustment” for many of us, clergy included.

Now don’t misunderstand me, we do indeed have a crucial role to play in the sacred liturgy (after all, it is for us) but our attention must ever be drawn to, and remain focused upon, the fact that when we participate in the Mass we are entering into nothing less than the saving work of Christ mystically made present as He accomplishes the work of our redemption.

So how does the liturgy, properly celebrated, provide for our attention to be so directed? “By signs perceptible to the senses” (SC 7).

The human person encounters many signs at Mass – words, music, incense, postures, vestments, etc. – and each of these points to the deeper underlying truth that we are participants in a divine action, an action so profound that we call it sacred mystery.

The Council Fathers tell us that the sacred signs at Mass have been chosen by Christ or by the Church that teaches in His name (SC 33).

The sacred signs at Mass do not come from the liturgy committee, or the music director, the pastor or even the bishop as an individual, and they most certainly are not products of our creativity. They come from Christ and the Magisterium, and they play crucial roles in fostering within the faithful an abiding sense of the sacred.

It is one thing to know that the Mass is a divine action properly called sacred mystery; it is quite another to experience it as such, and sacred signs that delight the senses make the transition from concept to reality possible within us.

These sacred signs at Holy Mass – that is, all that is perceptible to the human person – these are not ends unto themselves. They are intended to draw the hearts and minds of the faithful into the redemptive work of Christ mystically accomplished in our midst, and to foster an awareness of Mass as nothing less than a foretaste of heaven itself !

(SC 8) But when we assert our own wills and allow the perceptible things at Mass to deviate from the signs chosen by Christ and His Church, they can often distract us from the sacred more so than to attract us toward it, drawing our focus more to ourselves than to our Savior, and it is at this point that these things cease to be sacred signs at all.

They become instead ballast that holds our feet to the here-and-now, obscuring in some measure the divine presence in our very midst.

Let’s be honest, this often happens in many places today, and as a result we frequently fail to receive as fully as possible the gift being offered by Christ to His people at Mass.

Make no mistake, we too make an offering of ourselves at Mass, but truly sacred signs remind us that it is Christ who must act first, that we may respond in humility so as to enter into communion with Him and with one another. We simply cannot initiate this divine encounter on our own; an encounter in which “God meets man in an embrace of salvation,” as Pope Benedict XVI describes it.

If we humbly meet the Lord at Mass in this way, we can contribute to our own sanctification as well as to that of both the

‘We must realize that in the liturgy we are neither masters nor choreographers; rather, we are caretakers of a precious and magnificent gift.’

Pilgrim Church and the entire world. But even the gift of ourselves is made possible only by God. It is through Baptism alone, in Christ, with the ongoing aid of divine grace that we can so participate in the sacred liturgy.

It is for this reason that the Council describes the sacred liturgy as that wonderful exchange in which “the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation,” and it is sacred signs that point the way, urging the faithful toward the kind of “fully conscious and active participation” that the Council had in mind.

Louie Verrecchio is a Catholic speaker and Catholic News Agency columnist. For more information go to harvestingthefruit.com. This series is excerpted from the book “And with Your Spirit – Recovering a sense of the sacred in the English translation of the Roman Missal – 3rd Edition.”

Learn more This is part 3 of a year-long series featuring the revised translation of the Third Missal. Our series will be compiled online at catholicnewsherald.com.

For even more resources, check out the U.S. bishops’ extensive material online at usccb.org/ romanmissal.

catholic news heraldI

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Liturgy will be more formal, theologically deeper Jerry Filteau U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

When a revised English translation of the Mass is introduced in the U.S. – at the start of Advent in late 2011 – the style of worship will be more formal. But it will also be deeper theologically and more evocative emotionally and intellectually.

The Vatican’s intention was not so much to make the liturgy more formal as to make the English version conform more closely to the original Latin, said Father Paul Turner, a Missouri priest who is former head of the North American Academy of Liturgy and frequently writes and lectures on liturgical questions.

“I think what’s intentional is getting to a closer interpretation of the Latin” from which all modern liturgy translations in the Roman Catholic Church emanate, Father Turner said. He said the result may sound more formal than in the past 40 years because the revised translation rules inevitably lead in that direction.

The original translation of the Roman Missal into English was carried out under 1969 Vatican rules that stressed simplicity, modernity and other factors that would make the language of the liturgy more comprehensible and participatory.

Newer rules, set out by the Vatican in 2002, emphasize greater fidelity to the original Latin.

Monsignor John H. Burton, vicar general of the Diocese of Camden, N.J., and board chairman of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Coordinators, says there was concern “that the language has been too laid back” and failed to convey the rich liturgical heritage of the Roman rite.

The revised translation shows an effort “to heighten the language a bit” and capture “the transcendence as well as the imminence of God,” he said.

Father Andrew R. Wadsworth, executive director of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, said a more formal language in the revised translation “is clearly identifiable as one of its characteristics.” The commission translates Latin liturgy texts into English for the world’s English-speaking bishops’ conferences.

He said the vocabulary of the Mass prayers “is necessarily rich as it reflects the various mysteries of salvation, conveying concepts which do not always occur in everyday conversation. To radically simplify the language is often to dilute the concept.”

An excerpt from Eucharistic Prayer I illustrates the difference in style.

The version currently in use reads: “Look with favor on these offerings. Accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedek.

“Almighty God, we pray that your Angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. As we receive from this altar the sacred Body and Blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing.”

The revised translation says: “Be pleased to look upon these offerings with serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

“In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.”

In working to reflect features of the original Latin texts more clearly, the translators sought to develop “a translation which is clearly sacral in character and yet not archaic in style,” Father Wadsworth said.

Father Turner acknowledged criticisms of some of the complex sentences in the revised translation, especially in the collects, the prayers at the beginning of Mass. “It’s a logical fear that people will raise, but I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to understand,” he said. The collects follow a pattern, with many of the same components repeated from one day to the next, he noted. If you look at just one collect in the revised translation, “it sounds complicated,” he said. “But when you hear that style Sunday after Sunday, I think your ears open up to the style,” and it becomes familiar.

Workshops planned St. Matthew Catholic Church will offer a series of workshops on adult faith formation using the U.S. bishops’ materials on the revised Missal.

The workshops will be held: 7-9:30 p.m. Jan. 18, 1:454:45 p.m. Jan. 30, 9:30 a.m.-noon Feb. 12, and 7-9:30 p.m. Mar. 15. Contact Michael Burck at mburck@ stmatthewcatholic.org or 704-541-8362, ext. 4.

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Changes coming Some changes in wording at Mass that will come with the revised Roman Missal in English at Advent 2011 Part of Mass

Present Wording

Revised Wording

People’s response at the Greeting, Preface Dialogue, Sign of Peace and Concluding Rites

And also with you.

And with your spirit.

...I have sinned through my own fault...

...I have greatly sinned... through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault...

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory...

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. ...

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen...

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. ...

Penitential Act (form A)

Gloria

Nicene Creed

...one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. ...

Sanctus

Mystery of Faith (Memorial Acclamation, form A)

...consubstantial with the Father; through Him all things were made. ...

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. ...

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. ...

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

10 January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

FROM THE

Speaking up Georgianna Penn | Catholic News Herald

Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrates a Respect for Life Mass for the Greensboro vicariate Jan. 17 at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.

‘It is love that motivates us,” Bishop Jugis preaches during Mass for life Georgianna Penn Correspondent

GREENSBORO — Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated a Respect for Life Mass for the Greensboro vicariate Jan. 17 at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.

The celebration began with a prelude by the parish’s hand bell choir and the processional hymn of ‘Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,’ which seemed to be a theme of Christ’s love throughout the Mass.

Bishop Jugis gave a homily filled with hope, love and peace.

“It is in sharing the good things that God has given us that we will make a change,” he said.

He shared an inspiring story of how the prolife movement has grown since his early days of involvement in the 1980s. The movement is driven by love – love for Christ and love for each other, he said. “Love is the motivation for all our pro-life efforts. Love never fails.”

“Peace is the root of love,” he continued, stating that abortion, while it may appear to be helpful for someone in a desperate situation, is only the beginning to a dark road ahead.

“Abortion is the promise of a wounded soul and broken heart.”

He urged Catholics to continue this ministry in love, “from all that we do with local crisis pregnancy centers to the peaceful witness of — Bishop prayer outside an abortion clinic,” for it is in the Peter J. Jugis peaceful witness of love that lives will be saved.

He ended his homily by sharing that peaceful witnessing outside abortion clinics can make a difference.

“Some women feel they have no choice because of their situation, but are ‘just looking for a ‘sign.’ And when they arrive at the abortion clinic and see our peaceful witness, for some, that’s their sign.” Even in the waiting room, women have changed their minds and chosen life for their unborn children, he said.

The Mass ended with a song by the St. Pius X School choir, “Child of Peace.” A reception followed the Mass, hosted by the St. Pius X Respect Life Ministry with help from other Respect Life ministries throughout the area.

Several St. Pius X parishioners and Boy Scouts distributed information about how others can get involved in the pro-life movement, as well as information about Rachel’s Vineyard, the Washington, D.C. March for Life, Room at the Inn, and the Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center.

‘Love is the motivation for all our pro-life efforts. Love never fails.’

‘Voices of experience’ reverberate through uptown Charlotte during March for Life SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Participants and passersby may forget the cold and the ice they braved to get to Independence Square in uptown Charlotte during the March for Life Charlotte Jan. 15, but chances are they won’t forget the booming voices of Father Frank Pavone and the Silent No More awareness campaign witnesses who poured out their hearts with the truth of the horror of abortion in our nation.

Father Pavone, who travels extensively for Priests for Life to spread the message of the sanctity of all human life, took the stage at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets during the midday lunch rush and captured people’s attention with his powerful words.

“We’ve got a disaster on our hands in this country that too many people feel free to ignore,” Father Pavone began addressing the crowd.

“Too many people feel that this is something that we ought to just agree to disagree about. We’re here today to give a message.

This is not an issue that we can agree to disagree on, because when somebody is perpetrating violence against someone else, you don’t sit back and agree to disagree with the perpetrator. You stop the perpetrator! That’s what you do!” he boomed.

“This is not just a matter of viewpoints; it’s about violence. This is not just a matter of beliefs; it’s about bloodshed. Would that this was just a theoretical issue that people could discuss, and debate and disagree about. But the fact of the matter is that while it is being discussed, and while it’s being debated and disagreed about, people are being killed – and that is what we are here to say must stop. Not at some future time when our nation comes to a consensus about it, because the sad reality is that the babies who are scheduled to be aborted today, tomorrow and the next day cannot wait for that consensus. That consensus at some future time is too late for the lives threatened today,” Father Pavone said.

More than 500 marchers – men, women, children, clergy and the elderly who had joined the March for Life at the diocesan Pastoral Center on South Church Street or met up with the march when it approached Trade and Tryon streets – gathered at Independence Square during the presentations, holding signs indicating their support for the right to life.

“We come here today with a sense of urgency. We come here today with a plea to our fellow citizens to look beyond the rhetoric and pause just long enough to consider the reality of what abortion is,” Father Pavone said.

Life, page 12

LIFE

THE COVER

p for

(Above) During a powerful address at Independence Square in uptown Charlotte, Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life exhorts the people of Charlotte and the participants in the March for Life to defend the dignity of all human life and speak out against abortion.

(Left) More than 500 men, women and children participated in the March for Life Charlotte Jan. 14. The sometimes icy route took marchers from the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center on South Church Street, past St. Peter Church on South Tryon Street, to the corner of Trade and Tryon streets and then up West Trade Street to the federal courthouse. photos by patricia guilfoyle | catholic news herald

More online View more coverage of the Charlotte March for Life, including a photo slideshow as well as video highlights of Father Frank Pavone’s stirring speech from the corner of Trade and Tryon streets, online at catholicnewsherald.com/ interactive.

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

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Events around U.S. to mark 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thousands of pro-lifers from all over the U.S. are expected to travel to the nation’s capital for events marking the Jan. 22 anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. The same day the high court ruled on the Roe case, it also handed down the companion decision Doe v.

Bolton. Together, Roe and Doe defined abortion as a constitutional right and overturned most state laws banning it. This year’s March for Life in Washington will be Jan. 24. The theme is: “Thou shalt protect the equal right to life of each innocent born and pre-born human in existence at fertilization – no exception, no compromise.”

The event falls on the Monday after the official Roe anniversary to allow participants to visit their representatives on Capitol Hill after a noon rally on the National Mall and a march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court.

Prior to the march, a Mass for North Carolina residents will be said at 11:30 a.m. at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception adjacent to the Catholic University of America.

Raleigh Bishop Michael F. Burbidge will be the main celebrant, and Charlotte Bishop Peter J. Jugis will be the homilist.

On the eve of the main event, March for Life organizers plan to hold a mini-rally in Lafayette Park across from the White House.

Among the Roe anniversary events planned in Washington, D.C., will be an afternoon Pro-Life Leadership Mass Jan. 23 in the St. Vincent de Paul Chapel at Catholic University. The main celebrant and homilist will be Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Across the country, for the seventh year in a row, the West Coast Walk for Life will draw pro-life supporters to San Francisco Jan. 22.

For a complete list of events, go to marchforlife. org.

Buses being readied across diocese for march on Washington, D.C. Cindia G. Leonard Correspondent

GREENSBORO — Along with many other parishes across the diocese, Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro is organizing a bus ride to Washington, D.C., for the national March for Life Jan. 24.

Their bus will depart at 2 a.m. Monday from the Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro, then it will stop to pick up more march participants in Burlington and Durham.

It is being organized by Our Lady of Grace’s Respect Life Committee. David Foppe has been helping to prepare for this annual bus ride for four years, and Foppe, Georgette Koty and others have been planning this trip since October.

The bus is only half full but many parishioners don’t decide to attend the march until the last minute, Foppe said.

“In years past the bus was filled all the way up, 54 people,” he said. “So far we only have 26 people.

We are expecting to have 46 people at the end.”

“This is a work that’s pleasing to God,” he said. “It truly is God’s work.”

There is still time to participate in the national March for Life. Call your parish office for details on bus rides being organized by local Respect Life ministries.

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FROM THE COVER

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

LIFE FROM PAGE 10

He appealed to women who may be facing unplanned pregnancies, encouraging them to allow the pro-life community to help them.

He also appealed to men, entreating them to live up to God’s call for them to be protectors and providers.

Standing behind Father Pavone at the foot of the stage were women and men from the Silent No More awareness campaign who helped lead the march with him. They held signs that read “I regret my abortion” and “Men regret lost fatherhood.”

“Now we hear more than ever the voice of experience,” Father Pavone said. He gave credit to the courageous women and men who give witness to their sufferings and who seek healing of the scars that abortion has left behind.

Debbie Capen, a Silent No More advocate, is a wife, mother and devout Catholic who in her college years suffered the physical, emotional and spiritual pain associated with abortion. She took the stage after Father Pavone to share her story.

“I realized that I had sacrificed the life of another human being just to maintain my status quo,” Capen said. “Fortunately, God gave me the grace to return to the Catholic Church.”

After seeking the sacrament of reconciliation, she attended a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat. Rachel’s Vineyard is a national ministry that helps women and men who have been affected by abortion find healing.

At the end of the presentations, Patrick Pope of Charlotte came out of the crowd

clutching a pro-life sign and shared his emotional testimony about his involvement in abortions in the past and how as a Catholic he too sought the sacrament of reconciliation. He was greeted with hugs and applause by other marchers.

The march then continued up West Trade Street to the Charles R. Jonas Federal Courthouse.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis, members of the Knights of Columbus, men and women religious, 140 Catholic school students from Holy Trinity Middle School and the lay faithful then took positions along the sidewalk in front of the federal courthouse where Father Pavone led marchers in praying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary.

Participants then sang the Divine Mercy Chaplet, led by Bob Loughlin and Heather Martin, before concluding the march.

A dinner Friday evening at St. Patrick Cathedral, organized by the March for Life Charlotte steering committee, brought together priests, pro-life physicians and area pro-life advocates. Father Frank Pavone was the keynote speaker, telling those gathered, “I am proud to be back in Charlotte. This is a great part of the world to be in, a great place for pro-lifers to encourage one another, as we have certainly done today. I know that I come away with at least as much if not more encouragement, motivation and invigoration from the people with whom I speak, with whom I pray and with whom I march as they come away with from my having been among them.”

Afterwards Tina Witt, organizer of the fifth annual march, said, “We can’t thank God enough for all His blessings with this march. We are grateful for Father Pavone’s powerful preaching and all the ‘Mama Mary Marines’ for showing up to pray and march!”

Listen.

Answer.

Learn.

Serve.

Online Master’s Program in Youth and Young Adult Ministry Visit www.fordham.edu/gre

Call E-mail (718) 817-4800 gre@fordham.edu

FROM THE COVERI

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

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“My husband and I are the chairpersons of the Respect Life committee at our parish.

This is my first March for Life Charlotte. We have five people from our church with us.”

— Janice Neyer

St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Charlotte

photos by sueann howell and patricia guilfoyle | catholic news herald

A woman holds a pro-life sign as motorists pass by the corner of Trade and Tryon streets in uptown Charlotte during the March for Life Charlotte.

A large banner from the 40 Days for Life Campaign is carried down West Trade Street in Charlotte during the March for Life.

Bundled up on a cold winter’s day, a woman prays the rosary in front of the federal courthouse Jan. 14.

“It is a privilege for me to walk with people who are so dedicated to the cause of life. We believe in the power of prayer to make a positive witness to our community. It can be an inspiration of conversion for those who have never made a decision on this issue or those who are opposed to it.”

— Father Mark Lawlor

Marchers pray the rosary and hold signs in front of the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse Jan. 14.

pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, who carried the crucifix to lead the March for Life Charlotte

“I am in a very small parish outside of Asheville and we don’t have a march or anything of this sort there. I think we really need to do something like this there, too.”

— Claudia Graham Swannanoa Father Frank Pavone from Priests for Life addresses the crowd at Independence Square in Charlotte during the March for Life.

Tina Witt (left) looks on as Patrick Pope (right) shares his experience as a man affected by abortion during the March for Life.

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charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

CATHOLIC MAN FROM PAGE 3

address men’s needs as husbands and fathers,” Trapini said.

“The Knights of Columbus “Fathers for Good” campaign’s mission is to provide such resources, and our conference is a manifestation of the campaign’s mission.

We are hoping that this conference brings the men of our diocese together (both Knights and non-Knights), and provides a day that specifically addresses the spiritual needs of men.”

For registration, go to the Charlotte Men’s Conference Web site at cltcmc.org.

For inquiries, call Dan Trapini at 678-6894891 or e-mail daniel_trapini@bellsouth. net.

DEACONS FROM PAGE 3

Charlotte,” Deacon Pais said.

“Over the last four years, these men and their wives have spent a great amount of time and prayer preparing for this special moment. I know that they will be a true blessing to the people of God in our diocese. Please pray along with me for these men that they will continue to be used by the Lord to build up His kingdom. We are especially grateful to the candidates’ wives for their support, encouragement and prayers during the time of formation.”

A reception immediately following the ordination will be held in the Monsignor Kerin Center at St. Mark Church.

ank you!

The overwhelming generosity of Catholics in the United States has helped Catholic Relief Services move earthquake survivors from destruction and despair to transitional shelter and new hope for a better life.

Follow the progress of our work in Haiti at crs.org/emergency/haiti/index.cfm

Marie Claude Calixte and the transitional shelter that CRS built for her.

Photo by Benjamin Depp for CRS

Mix

catholic news heraldI

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

In theaters

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On TV n Sunday, Jan. 23, 6:30-9 p.m. (EWTN) “Solemn Vigil Mass for Life (Live).”

From Washington, D.C.’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Mass on the eve of the March for Life. Cardinal DiNardo Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston will preside as celebrant and homilist.

‘The Green Hornet’ Rancid comedic remake of the masked crimefighter franchise that began as a Golden Age radio drama in the 1930s. Director Michel Gondry combines unlikable, potty-mouthed characters, occasional racist outbursts and a numbing procession of car crashes as he updates the familiar story of a respectable newspaper publisher by day (Seth Rogen) who becomes, by night, a disguised vigilante working outside the law. Much gun and martial-arts violence, vigilantism theme, one scene of implied premarital sex, occasional profanity, pervasive crude language.

CNS: L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling), MPAA: PG-13

‘The Dilemma’ Unappealing mix of comedy and drama as a Chicago businessman (Vince Vaughn) and reformed gambler discovers that his best friend and partner’s (Kevin James) wife (Winona Ryder) is cheating with a younger man (Channing Tatum). Unable to bring himself to share the news, he undertakes a series of credulity-straining antics designed either to gain proof of the affair or end it. But his strange behavior convinces his live-in girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly) that he’s returned to betting.

Brief graphic adulterous sexual activity with fleeting rear nudity, cohabitation, prostitution theme, much sexual humor, profanity, considerable crude and crass language.

CNS: L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling), MPAA: PG-13

CNS | courtesy CBS

Actress Betty White is pictured in a scene from the “Hallmark Hall of Fame” made-for-TV movie “The Lost Valentine.”

Paulist Father Eric Andrews is one of the movie’s co-producers. The film airs 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, on CBS.

Paulist Productions gets co-producer credit on new Hallmark TV movie John Mulderig Catholic News Service

NEW YORK — The next “Hallmark Hall of Fame” made-for-television movie will feature a couple of firsts – a rarity for the venerable TV franchise, which has logged more than 200 such movies over the decades. For one thing, Paulist Productions is getting a co-producing credit on “The Lost Valentine,” slated to air 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, on CBS. For another, it will be the first Valentine’s Day-themed Hallmark movie.

“This is pretty astounding, considering how many valentine cards they sell,” mused Paulist Father Eric Andrews, the head of Paulist Productions for the past year and a half. The Paulist connection came courtesy of Barbara Gangi, the film’s producer and a board member of Catholics in Media Associates.

Based on James Michael Pratt’s novel, and directed by Darnell Martin, the sweetly romantic, family-oriented drama stars Betty White as the wife of a World War II soldier who left the home front for the Pacific theater on Valentine’s Day – their first wedding anniversary – and some months later was reported missing in action.

Every Valentine’s Day since, White’s character Caroline has returned to the train station in a stoic vigil to wait for the man who promised to return to her. She gets some help

in solving the mystery of his disappearance from a TV news reporter played by Jennifer Love Hewitt of “Ghost Whisperer” fame; Hewitt is listed as one of the movie’s executive producers.

Assigned to cover the story as a human interest piece, the initially doubtful reporter rapidly finds herself drawn to the plucky octogenarian and – more significantly – to Caroline’s biggest fan, her protective grandson, Lucas (Sean Faris). Her feelings for Lucas are complicated, however, by her relationship with longtime boyfriend, Andrew (Will Chase), a globetrotting photographer who, in an early scene, proposes to her shortly before departing for his latest journey to distant climes.

The unabashedly old-fashioned teleplay, by Maryann Ridini Spencer and Barton Taney, showcases Caroline’s enduring marital love and – as the circumstances of his last days are gradually uncovered – her husband’s selfless heroism.

As for Hewitt’s character’s dilemma, it pits the modern taste for a lifestyle abundant in space and freedom, typified by the possibilities of marriage to the often-absent Andrew, against the hometown closeness and simplicity offered by Lucas.

If the proceedings occasionally seem overidealized, this is, nonetheless, that current rarity: quality programming appropriate for all ages.

n Sunday, Jan. 23, 10 p.m. (EWTN) “A People of Life.” A look at the prolife movement in North America, and the Knights of Columbus’ support and involvement. Re-aired 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, and 5 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27. n Monday, Jan. 24, 7:30-9 a.m. (EWTN) “Solemn Mass for Life.” Eucharistic liturgy preparing for the March for Life celebrated

by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. n Monday, Jan. 24, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (EWTN) “March for Life.” Live and complete coverage of the 2011 March for Life in Washington, D.C. This prayerful event starts with the rally for life and leads to the march up Constitution Avenue. Features will include interviews, panel discussions and speeches from pro-life activists around the country. n Monday, Jan. 24, 1-4 p.m. (TCM) “The Cardinal” (1963). Sprawling melodrama, directed by Otto Preminger, from Henry Morton Robinson’s novel about the ecclesiastical rise of an Irish-American priest (Tom Tryon) from 1917 Boston to a 1924 post in the Vatican, who then becomes a bishop after tangling with the Ku Klux Klan in 1934 Georgia and is made a cardinal after tangling with the Nazis in 1938 Austria. CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: not rated. n Tuesday, Jan. 25, 5-6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul: Celebration of Vespers (Live).”

Pope Benedict XVI presides over this vespers service celebrating the feast of the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, broadcast from Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. n Friday, Jan. 28, 10 p.m. “Cutting Through the Spin on Stem Cells and Cloning.” Leading Catholic bioethicist Father Tad Pacholcyzk debunks the numerous modern myths surrounding stem cell research and cloning. Re-aired 2 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 29.

Our nation

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CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

Two Catholic funerals among six for shooting victims in Tucson Catholic News Service

CNS | Rick Wilking, pool via Reuter

John Green hugs son Dallas during the funeral Mass for his daughter, Christina Taylor Green, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 13. Christina was killed in the Jan. 8 shootings that left six dead and 14 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Christina Taylor Green was memorialized for her love of sports, her excitement about her many interests, from politics to dance, and for affecting the whole country, as her father put it at her Jan. 13 funeral.

U.S. District Judge John Roll was recalled a day later for his judicial evenhandedness, for his faithful involvement as a lector and daily Massgoer, a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus and as a strong supporter of a wide range of Church and civic activities.

The two were among six people murdered in a shooting rampage in Tucson Jan. 8, both remembered at funeral Masses at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Their own parish churches, St. Odilia and St. Thomas the Apostle, respectively, were too small to host the congregations, which still filled to overflowing the much larger church.

St. Odilia hosted a Mass of commemoration and healing celebrated by Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas Jan. 11.

Funerals were held in the following days for the other four people killed at a shopping mall during a meet-your-congresswoman event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was among 14 people wounded. Bystanders, some of whom were injured themselves, tackled the gunman. Jared Lee Loughner, 22, was being held in federal custody in Phoenix, charged with federal crimes related to the deaths of Roll, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Giffords staff member Gabe Zimmerman and the shooting of Giffords and two other congressional employees.

State charges were expected to follow related to the deaths of Dorwan Stoddard, Phyllis Schneck and Dorothy Morris, and the

In Brief Two new U.S. bishops appointed WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Benedict XVI named Monsignor Mark L. Bartchak, a priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pa., to head the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pa., and accepted the resignation of Bishop Joseph V. Adamec, who had headed the diocese since 1987.

The pope also appointed Father Christopher J. Coyne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

shootings of 10 others.

Before the funerals at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, thousands of people lined the streets. Most just stood silently.

Some carried single flowers. Others wore angel outfits, with large wings outspread, originally designed to block the view of protesters who planned to be there. Two hundred motorcyclists and hundreds more who walked, took shuttle buses and parked blocks away joined them. The protesters backed down after radio stations in other cities agreed to give them air time.

In his homily at Christina’s funeral, Bishop Kicanas compared the girl’s lasting impact on the world to that of another child who was doing things unexpected at his age: Jesus at 12 going to teach at the temple.

While she was “just 9, she has found her dwelling place in God’s mansion,” he said.

He said even at her young age, Christina “had a time to laugh and a time to dance ..., a time to embrace and a time to sow, a time to love and a time to build. She had a time to outshine the boys in baseball.”

Even with her death, the bishop said, Christina was able to save lives, as her parents donated her organs to others.

Local news reports said about a quarter of the congregation was made up of children, from the children’s choir at St. Odilia’s where Christina was a member, from her school, neighborhood and various activities she had.

Her simple, small casket was made by request by Trappist Caskets of New Melleray Abbey in Iowa. Each family member was given a cross made from the same red oak used for the casket.

Bishop Kicanas also participated in the funeral for Roll, whom the bishop considered a friend.

The changes were announced in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the U.S. Bishop Adamec turned 75 last August. Under canon law, bishops must submit their retirement resignation at 75.

Bishop-designate Bartchak, 56, has been parochial vicar for two Pennsylvania parishes, St. Francis in Clearfield and St. Leo Magnus in Ridgway, since his 1981 ordination. He also has been judicial vicar for the diocese since 1992.

— Catholic News Service

Our world

January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

In Brief Pope names Protestant to head science academy VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has named the Nobel laureate Werner Arber, a microbiologist, to serve as president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – the first nonCatholic to lead the 400-year-old academy. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences brings together top scientists from a variety of disciplines to study and discuss the latest developments in scientific research and to advise the Vatican on matters involving science.

Australian bishops seek prayers for flood victims PERTH, Australia — Australia’s Catholic bishops have issued an urgent call for prayers for those who have died and for material assistance for survivors of flooding in Queensland. “We offer prayers for the deceased and their families and the relief workers and all who are suffering as a result of the floods,” Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby said. “The priests, religious and faithful in the affected areas would certainly appreciate prayerful support and whatever assistance can be offered.”

Pope names new archbishop for Port-au-Prince VATICAN CITY — Exactly one year after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than 200,000 people, including the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Pope Benedict XVI named a new archbishop: Bishop Guire Poulard of Les Cayes, 69. He succeeds the late Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot.

Pope sets up structure for former Anglicans LONDON — Almost immediately after he was ordained a Catholic priest along with two other former Anglican bishops, Father Keith Newton was named head of the new ordinariate for former Anglicans in England and Wales.

The Vatican announced Jan. 15 the creation of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham “for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church.”

Pope: Jesus was a refugee VATICAN CITY — Jesus was a refugee – a fact that should be remembered as societies deal with modern issues of emigration and immigration, Pope Benedict XVI said Jan. 16, the World Day for Migrants and Refugees.

From its very beginnings, the Church has taken an interest in these issues, he said.

— Catholic News Service

catholic news heraldI

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May 1 beatification set for Pope John Paul II John Thavis Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late pope’s beatification on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday.

The future Blessed Pope John Paul II will also be the official spiritual patron of the 2011 World Youth Day Aug. 16-21.

Pope Benedict’s action Jan. 14 followed more than five years of investigation into the life and writings of the Polish pontiff, who died in 2005 after more than 26 years as pope.

The Vatican said it took special care with verification of the miracle, the spontaneous cure of a French nun from Parkinson’s disease – the same illness that afflicted Pope John Paul in his final years. Three separate Vatican panels approved the miracle, including medical and theological experts, before Pope Benedict signed the decree.

“There were no concessions given here in procedural severity and thoroughness,” said Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. On the contrary, he said, the late pope’s cause was subject to “particularly careful scrutiny.”

The Vatican said it would look at logistical arrangements for the crowds expected for the beatification liturgy, which will be celebrated by Pope Benedict at the Vatican. Divine Mercy Sunday had special significance for Pope John Paul, who made it a Church-wide feast day to be celebrated a week after Easter. The pope died on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005.

With beatification, Pope John Paul will be declared “blessed” and thus worthy of restricted liturgical honor. Another miracle is needed for canonization, by which the Church declares a person to be a saint and worthy of universal veneration.

The Vatican will move Pope John Paul’s body from the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica to the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the basilica’s upper level at the time of beatification.

Michelangelo’s Pièta is located nearby.

A member of the Little Sisters of the Catholic Motherhood, Sister Marie-SimonPierre was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2001 at 40. When the pope died, and as her condition worsened, members of her community in France and Senegal prayed to Pope John Paul to intervene with God to heal her. By June 2, two months after the pope died, she was struggling to function normally. But, she said, she went to bed that night and woke up very early the next morning feeling completely different.

“I was sure I was healed,” she said.

Pope John Paul II embraces a girl during his visit to New York in 1995.

Pope Benedict XVI approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II’s intercession, clearing the way for the late pope’s beatification on May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday.

CNS | Nancy Wiechec

ViewPoints

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charlottediocese.org/catholicnews | January 21, 2011

By the numbers

2010 PAPAL VISITORS Father Frank Pavone Editor’s note: Father Frank Pavone, national director for Priests for Life, was the main celebrant and homilist at a Mass for the Unborn preceding the March for Life Charlotte Jan. 14. Here are excerpts from his homily:

Do not forget the works of the Lord

W

e witness today because of our identity as the people of life. What we are doing today and what the pro-life movement is doing around the world today is a response to Jesus Christ, the one who alone is the Lord of life.

What we declared in today’s Responsorial Psalm, ’Do not forget the works of the Lord,’ is an Old Testament reference.

My friends, ‘Do not forget the works of the Lord’ is a rallying cry for the people not to forget their identity. We are the ones the Lord has rescued! What we are urged and what the people of old were urged to do is to enter God’s rest, the Promised Land. We have to strive. We have to labor. We have to march.

We’re not responding only to the problem of abortion. We are responding to Jesus Christ. We are responding to who we are as His people speaking His love for the poor, for the vulnerable, for the oppressed, for the weakest of the weak.

People can say whatever they want about political ideologies and platforms; this is deeper than all that.

People can say whatever they want about you, and me, and our movement, about just being focused on one issue. Well, of course we’re not focused on one issue. There is not a person in this church here today, not a person in our movement, who doesn’t understand there are many issues affecting us and our nation and our Church, that are our concerns as decent human beings and disciples of Jesus Christ.

But, unfortunately, there are plenty of people who fail to understand that we will make progress on none of those other issues if we continue to get this one wrong.

What you and I are doing here in standing up, in speaking up, in praying and in marching, and in doing the wide variety of other activities of the prolife movement, is in fact preserving the heart and core of every issue.

‘Do not forget the works of the Lord.’ He has done it. He has risen. He will come again. And today, not only does He feed us at this altar, He marches with us. He struggles with us as we call for and build a culture of life. He will bring us to His rest, to that day when every evil will be overcome, every injustice conquered, every life lifted up, welcomed, protected, celebrated. Let us hasten to that day.

Father Frank Pavone is the national director for Priests for Life.

More than 2.27 million pilgrims and visitors came to see Pope Benedict XVI in person at the Vatican or the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo in 2010.

2010 Papal Visitors

Vatican figures show number of people at papal events rising slightly Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

2.27 million visitors and pilgrims came to see Pope Benedict XVI in person

1.22 million people attended the pope’s Sunday and holy day recitation of the Angelus

381,500 people attended the pope’s Masses and prayer services

493,000 people attended one of the pope’s 45 weekly general audiences

178,150 people were part of groups that had a special audience with the pope

CNS | Emily Thompson

VATICAN CITY — More than 2.27 million pilgrims and visitors came to see Pope Benedict XVI in person at the Vatican or the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo in 2010.

The crowds included people who attended a weekly general audience, a special audience with the pope, a liturgy he celebrated or his Sunday Angelus gathering at the Vatican or papal villa, said the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, which released the annual statistics Dec. 30.

The total figure for 2010 was higher than in 2009 when more than 2.24 million people came; in 2008, there were more than 2.21 million pilgrims and visitors. While those numbers show a steady rise, they are down from 2007 and 2006, when more than 2.8 million and 3.2 million visitors, respectively, came to see the pope.

According to the 2010 statistics, 493,000 people attended one of the pope’s 45 weekly general audiences. Another 178,150 people were part of groups that had special audiences with the pope. Pope Benedict’s Masses and prayer services drew 381,500 people, and his Sunday and holy day recitations of the Angelus brought 1.22 million people to St. Peter’s Square or to the courtyard of the papal summer villa at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

The Vatican said its figures did not include the number of people who attended papal events that did not take place on Vatican property, such as papal visits to Rome parishes and pastoral visits to other parts of Italy. The statistics also did not tally the people who attended events with the pope during his pastoral journeys abroad, which drew “a sea of people,” the Vatican said.

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January 21, 2011 | charlottediocese.org/catholicnews

Georgianna Penn

Denise Bossert

What will you pray for?

S

t. Thérèse once said, “I will spend my Heaven doing good on Earth.”

That’s an intriguing thought. I wonder how I will spend my eternity. If I remain faithful until that last breath, what will I be doing with my Heaven?

I think we can look into our deepest hearts and get a glimpse into what will be the focus of our prayers when we pass through the veil and, purified, stand before the Throne of God. There are many possibilities.

In the month of January, we turn our attention to a number of things as Catholics. We remember the lives of the unborn, and we promise to intercede for them. We are also reminded of the Holy Father’s Missionary Intention for January 2011: That Christians may achieve full unity, bearing witness of the universal fatherhood of God to the entire human race.

But what about me? What will I be praying for if I should be found faithful and one day stand before God? For each of us, the answer is found deep within us. And we know that there is an ache deep within that causes the Holy Spirit to groan and speak to us when we are on our knees, and then again through us when we get up from our knees and go into the world.

If Our Lord, in His goodness and mercy, gives me access to the Throne of God, I will have this prayer on my lips: that East and West will again hold hands at the Altar of Our Lord.

No division. Not even sister Churches.

Completely one.

If, by God’s goodness and mercy, this great event should occur before my death, then I will borrow a line from Simeon, saying, Master, you may let your servant go in peace. Until that day, I’ll keep on praying. Lord, hear my prayer.

Denise Bossert is a freelance writer and member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in New Melle, Mo. She blogs at Catholicbygrace.blogspot.com.

Mary J. McClusky

Find your voice to proclaim the Gospel of Life

My Church, my home A call to prayer, compassion and service

I

often reflect on the day I first stumbled upon the Catholic Church.

It was Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, in Greensboro. It was snowing outside and I was in the worst panic attack of my life. On my knees praying to God, I felt trapped with nowhere to go. I was in the worst relationship of my life and could not find the strength to leave. So I begged God to show me what to do that day. So I got up, left my apartment and began driving. I planned on heading to a coffee shop, but God had bigger plans for me that day. Instead, my car seemed to be pulled down Elm Street towards this odd-shaped Catholic church. It was cold and snowing so hard, I was afraid to stray too far from home. And I remembered Catholics have Mass on Saturdays – surely that would snap me out of myself, I thought.

I sat in the back of the church so no one would notice my lack of correct hand gestures. When the priest began speaking, I was offended. He compared the recent tsunami in Indonesia to abortion, which made me angry. I thought, “How dare they compare one life with another?” I got up to leave but something in my heart told me to stay, so I remained until Mass ended.

Later that day, I learned that Jan. 22 is the Day of Penance for abortion in the Catholic Church, and parishioners were honoring that particular issue.

From that day forward, I have counted the signs that have led me to this amazing Catholic faith. They’re not always clear, they don’t always feel good and one doesnt always want to agree with God. But sometimes God’s messages to us are amazingly crystal clear. I ended up going back to that church a few weeks later for a friend’s baptism, and the message that day was one of hope, love and compassion. That was a message I so desperately needed to hear. I returned daily for Mass to hear that message of hope again.

I began taking RCIA classes, and God began healing places deep in my soul. I began learning lessons of hope,

faith and courage. I began therapy and eventually found the strength to leave my bad relationship. I drew closer to my family and began making healthy friendships. I even wrote a book about my faith journey and have sold more than 900 copies to my Protestant friends.

I became Catholic on Nov. 4, 2007, after two years of RCIA classes. I am now home from a long, lost journey in which I strayed ever so slightly from the basic morals of life, love, service and responsibility that I had learned growing up.

As I reflect on the significance of Jan. 22 in my own life, I also reflect on the significance of this date in the Catholic Church. I remember thinking some six years ago, “Why don’t those pro-lifers help someone instead of standing in the streets with those signs?” Well, I came to learn that the Catholic Church does both, and with the utmost grace and compassion. Not only are we called to defend life, but we also are called to serve as Christ did – through loving, compassionate service to others.

The reasons for abortion are complex and multi-faceted, and so our work to influence life and end abortion should be, too. While we wait for laws to change, it is a change of heart that will ultimately end abortion.

We have the opportunity to change lives daily one soul, one life at a time.

And we are called to do this by teaching what life is: by speaking words that heal, not condemn by compassionately serving others; and by praying that our culture will embrace and revere God’s laws.

I now know that the Catholic Church is one of the largest service agencies in the world. I have experienced this firsthand at St. Pius X. Through the church we have a multitude of healing ministries that support life, whether one is in need of healing or one is called to serve others in need.

The Catholic Church is a mosaic for life, my mosaic for life. And while we are called to stand for life, we are also called to serve for life, with hope and compassion in our hearts. Gifts like these will influence a culture for life.

Georgianna Penn helps coordinate the Respect Life Ministry at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. She is the author of “The Many Languages” and “Peaces of God,” a memoir of her journey to the Catholic faith, published by Alabaster Book Publishing. She can be reached at peacesofgod@yahoo.com.

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fter experiencing two miscarriages, Pete and Alisha Arnold said they created the Web site “Birthornot.com” and claimed they would decide whether to keep their unborn child or have an abortion based on the final vote count of visitors to their Web site by Dec. 9. Before the couple finally revealed the site was a hoax, comments on the site indicate that many took it very seriously. Its casual approach to such a life and death decision was shocking but believable to many. Over one million visitors “voted” and the controversial Web site became an international story.

Stories like these detailing our culture’s twisted views of unborn human life continue to disturb.

A welcome contrast is the celebration of the Nativity. Through her humble acceptance of a challenging pregnancy and God’s will for her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary provides an inspiring model for our own behavior.

There was no bed rest for Mary! Despite her own preparations for birth, Mary made the long journey to visit Elizabeth out of concern and loving support for her pregnant cousin. As John leapt within Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice, he announced the presence of the Savior. The unborn child became a voice heralding the Good News of Christ’s humanity and presence in the world, as well as the humanity of all unborn children who are Jesus’ brothers and sisters.

Like John, Catholics are called to courageously affirm and promote human life even in disturbing and difficult circumstances, and to seek and find a lesson of hope even when we hear the most depraved stories of attacks on human life.

In the Christ Child we see the hope and promise that each new human life called into existence by God can bring to this world – only if each is given the chance to live out God’s plan. All are called, like John, to proclaim the Gospel of Life with joy and enthusiasm. Like Mary and Elizabeth, as well as the unborn John, may each of us find our voice, leading our culture into a greater awareness of the unborn child and the peace offered by Christ Jesus, our hope.

Mary McClusky is special projects coordinator at the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. To learn more about the bishops’ pro-life activities, go to usccb.org/prolife.

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