Jan. 8, 2010

January 8, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Perspectives The solution, not the problem; America the ambiguous

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI january 8, 2010

| Pages 14-15 Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

vOLUME 19

no. 8

See CHURCH story on page 8

On this holy mountain New Sacred Heart Church dedicated in Salisbury

“The beauty which surrounds us, both inside and outside of this church, reminds us of the beauty of God.” — Bishop Peter J. Jugis photo by sueann howell

Bishop Peter J. Jugis (center) celebrates the Dedication Mass at the new Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury. Concelebrating the Mass with the bishop are priests from around the Diocese of Charlotte.

Pope welcomes new year

Migration week brings legislative push, prayers, a walk to Washington

Issues call for respect for creation, trust in God VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Having respect for every human being and for all of creation as God’s handiwork and having trust in God’s overwhelming love are the keys to peace and to a better future, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Marking the new year with the celebration Jan. 1 of the feast of Mary Mother of God

and of World Peace Day and with Angelus recitations Jan. 1 and 3, Pope Benedict reminded Christians that God’s promises require a response.

“The divine plan is not accomplished automatically, because it is a plan of love and love generates freedom and asks for freedom,” he said See POPE, page 7

cns photo by jim west

Demonstrators rally for reform of U.S. immigration policy last January in Washington.

U.S. bishops are taking steps to mobilize Catholics throughout the nation to support immigration reform as Congress prepares to take up the issue.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — As the Catholic Church observed National Migration Week Jan. 3-9, support for legislative efforts took the forefront amid various other steps to bring attention to the concerns of migrants and refugees.

In a teleconference Jan. 6, Bishop John C. Wester of See MIGRATION, page 5

Culture Watch

Around the diocese

In The News

Sainthood cause advances for Pope John Paul II; Blessed Mother Teresa on 2010 U.S. stamp

Year For Priest interview with Fr. John Putnam

Jesus-era house discovered

| Pages 10-11

| Page 4

| Page 6

January 8, 2010

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

Current and upcoming topics from around the world to your own backyard

cns photo courtesy of creighton university

Jeff Dorr, who earned a master’s degree in education at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., is pictured in an undated photo teaching at the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Pine Ridge, S.D. This year Creighton initiated new master’s and bachelor’s degree programs in theology to certify graduates to teach religion in Catholic schools.

Catholic university starts program to supply needed religion teachers WASHINGTON (CNS) — Creighton University has initiated a new program to help meet the need U.S. Catholic schools say they have for qualified religion teachers.

This year the Jesuit university in Omaha, Neb., initiated what is believed to be the first program whose sole purpose is to train students to teach religion in Catholic elementary and secondary schools. The university now offers a twoyear master’s degree in theology with a teaching certificate and a combined fiveyear bachelor’s and master’s degree in theology with a teaching certificate.

A recent national survey about religion teacher preparation conducted

by Creighton found that a majority of Catholic high school administrators said there are not enough qualified religion teacher candidates to meet the need their schools currently have for such teachers.

“The Next Generation: A Study of Catholic High School Religion Teachers,” which involved 1,089 teachers at 195 Catholic high schools selected at random from across the nation, found that Catholic high school religion teachers are less qualified than other public and private school teachers in terms of academic preparation, pedagogical training and teaching experience.

The study also found that today 40 percent of full-time religion teachers have master’s degrees in theology/religious studies/religious education, compared to 57 percent in 1985. The difference probably corresponds with the decline in vowed religious teaching theology, said Creighton’s Timothy Cook, the education professor who conducted the study.

“This shortage of religion teachers

often results in school principals asking teachers of other subjects to teach religion,” Cook said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service.

“Candidates are selected based upon evidence that they live their Catholic faith and will likely be good faith mentors,” he said. “However, without formal training in the content of Catholic religion and the methods of teaching religion, these teachers fall short of the ideal, and must try to pick up content and methods on the fly.”

Students who have entered into either of the two new programs offered at Creighton University — which began in the 2009 fall semester — will gain advanced knowledge in theology as well as practical knowledge in teaching Catholic religion, said Jesuit Father Richard Hauser, a theology professor at the university.

They also will be able to practice their teaching during the program through guided field placements in Omaha-area Catholic schools, Father Hauser said.

The education component of the program covers methods of teaching religion for those planning to teach in other parts of the country, he said.

The fundamental purpose for Catholic elementary and secondary schools is to teach the Catholic faith to young people, Cook said.

“Committed and well-prepared religion teachers are key players in carrying out this Gospel mandate to apprentice disciples of Jesus,” he said.

“It is time to address the growing need for new highly qualified religion teachers in our Catholic schools.”

Extension Society commits $3 million to seminarian education CHICAGO (CNS) — The Catholic Church Extension Society has awarded more than $3 million in grants to educate 509 seminarians from the most underfunded dioceses in the United States during the 2010 fiscal year.

The grants represent an increase in funding at a time when other foundations have reduced their giving during the recession.

On average, the 84 dioceses designated as U.S. “mission dioceses” spend $30,000 a year per seminarian for seminary tuition, room and board, books, health insurance and related expenses.

If distributed evenly, the Extension Society’s grants would pay for about 20 percent of a seminarian’s educationrelated costs for 2010.

The number of seminarians to be helped make up about 15 percent of the U.S. total.

The largest growth in Catholic population is taking place in mission

Diocesan planner For more events taking place in the Diocese of Charlotte, visit www.charlottediocese. org/calendarofevents-cn.

CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — March For Life Charlotte will be held Friday, Jan. 15.

Please join others to march and pray for an end to abortion. At 11 a.m. marchers will gather in the Charlotte Diocese parking lot at the corner of W. Palmer and S. Church St. Signs will be available to carry and the march will start at 12 p.m., go to the corner of Trade and Tryon streets to pray, then continue on to the court house where we will pray a rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. For more information, call Tina Witt at (704) 846-7361. The website is www.marchforlifecharlotte.org.

CHARLOTTE — St. Peter’s Catholic Church is hosting its 10th Annual Kennedy Lecture on Saturday, Jan. 16th. Registration and coffee are at 9 a.m. The lecture is from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This year’s speaker is Margaret O’Brien Steinfels, former editor of Commonwealth magazine and present co-director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and

dioceses. Growth since 1990 has ranged from 45 percent in Arkansas to 111 percent in Nevada, where Catholics now constitute the largest denomination in the state.

The grants will educate seminarians from 32 dioceses ranging from Juneau, Alaska, to Amarillo, Texas, and Fargo, N.D. Grants also will be given to dioceses in the Samoan Islands and Puerto Rico, as well as to fund the seminary program of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

An Extension Society spokesman said the seminarian grants were particularly appropriate for the Year for Priests, which started last June and continues through June 2010.

“Educating the next generation of Catholic leadership is critical, especially for those areas of the country where the Catholic population is growing yet parishes and residential pastoral ministers are few,” said Joseph Boland, grants director, in a statement.

Culture. Her topic is “reinventing Catholic,” a reflection on the issues that impact the Church today. There is no admission fee.

To register, or for more information, email KennedyLecture@gmail.com.

CHARLOTTE — Shining Stars Adult Day Respite Caregiver Support Group meets the last Monday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at St. Gabriel Church in Room E of the Ministry Center located at 3016 Providence Rd. Meetings are also held the third Tuesday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Sardis Presbyterian Church, in Room 105 located at 6100 Sardis Rd. The meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, call Suzanne Bach at (704) 335-0253.

CHARLOTTE — St. John Neumann Church is looking for new talent to volunteer for its Youth Mass Band on Sunday evenings (5:30 p.m.). This contemporary Christian band is in need of EXPERIENCED vocalists and musicians. To schedule an audition, contact Irene Kilzer at (704) 535-4197.

CHARLOTTE — Samaritan’s Feet is coming to St. Mark! Area 6-12th graders are invited to earn service hours while supporting a great cause. Over 300 million children in the world go without shoes. Samaritan’s Feet has a goal of donating 10 million shoes in 10 years and delivering them to those in need. A major retailer has donated 1 million shoes and help is needed to help tie and sort them to be shipped around the world. Sign up to help in the St. Mark Activity Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 23. A donation of $5 to help cover the cost of shipping would be most

January 8, 2010 Volume 19 • Number 8

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Interim Editor: Heather Bellemore Graphic DESIGNER: Tim Faragher Advertising MANAGER: Cindi Feerick 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-MAIL: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

January 8, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 3

FROM THE VATICAN

Japanese Cardinal Shirayanagi dies at 81 VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Japanese Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi, the retired archbishop of Tokyo, died Dec. 30 at the age of 81.

Vatican Radio said the cardinal had been suffering from cardiac problems and recently moved to the Jesuit-run Loyola House, a home for aged priests in Tokyo, where he died.

Known particularly for his support for the Catholic communities in China, his efforts to promote interreligious dialogue and his commitment to assisting refugees, Cardinal Shirayanagi retired in June 2000 after 30 years at the helm of the Archdiocese of Tokyo.

His death leaves Japan without a cardinal and leaves the College of Cardinals with 184 members, 112 of whom are under age 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave.

Pope Benedict XVI offered his

condolences to Tokyo’s Catholics in a telegram sent to the city’s current Catholic leader, Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada.

The pope praised the cardinal’s “unfailing commitment to the spread of the Gospel in Japan in his many years as priest and bishop, his work for the promotion of justice and peace, and his tireless efforts on behalf of refugees.”

He served as president of the Japanese bishops’ conference in 19831992, during which time the conference established a special study section on China. The future cardinal began making annual trips to China to better understand the complex situation of Catholics there, to promote reconciliation between the Chinese and Japanese people and to provide concrete aid for building or rebuilding Catholic churches, seminaries and convents.

appreciated. Lunch will be provided at no charge. For more information and to sign up, email the youth ministry team at St. Mark Church at stmarklifeteen@gmail.com by Jan 20.

CHARLOTTE — The members of St. Peter’s Church Ignatian Spirituality Team invite you to set aside some time from the pace and concerns of the new year and reflect on your spiritual life and relationship with God. The retreat, Second Journey – an Ignatian retreat for people 40 and over, will be held on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The theme for this retreat is “New Life.”

Parking is free in the Green Parking Garage next to the church on 507 S. Tryon Street. To register, call (704) 332-2901.

evenings from 7 p.m. to 8p.m. at the church located at 4145 Johnson Street. For more information or to register, call Nancy at (336) 884-0522.

GREENSBORO VICARIATE HIGH POINT — Free Spanish Language Classes (Beginner & Advanced) will be offered at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, starting on January 14 and will continue for eight weeks. The classes meet on Thursday

Papal secretary visits pope’s Christmas attacker VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary visited the woman responsible for knocking the pope down during a Christmas Eve Mass.

Msgr. Georg Ganswein, papal secretary, visited Susanna Maiolo at the psychiatric hospital in Subiaco, outside of Rome, where she was transferred Dec. 25.

The papal secretary made the private visit to Maiolo “to show her the Holy Father’s interest in her situation,” the papal spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said in a written statement Jan. 3.

While the Vatican did not specify when the visit occurred, the Italian daily Il Giornale said Msgr. Ganswein met with Maiolo Dec. 31.

The newspaper said the monsignor brought her a rosary and told her that the pope had forgiven her and believed she hadn’t meant any harm. It added Maiolo, a dual Italian-Swiss citizen, had previously received extensive psychiatric care in Switzerland.

The Vatican statement said the legal proceedings against Maiolo, which were being carried out by the Vatican’s judicial system, would continue until they came to a conclusion.

A Vatican prosecutor was gathering

information from doctors evaluating Maiolo’s mental state and from Vatican security reports. The prosecutor was to make a recommendation to the Vatican tribunal, which will then make the final ruling.

She may be pardoned and acquitted of any crime, handed over to Italian or Swiss authorities, or handed down a sentence, Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office, told Catholic News Service Dec. 28.

Maiolo, 25, jumped a security barrier at the start of the Dec. 24 liturgy as Pope Benedict processed into St. Peter’s Basilica. As Vatican guards tackled her to the ground, she was able to grab the pope’s vestments, causing him to lose his balance and tumble to the floor.

The woman, who was not armed, was taken away by papal guards. She showed signs of mental instability and was taken to a psychiatric hospital about 45 miles outside of Rome for what the Vatican called “mandatory clinical treatment.”

The pope appeared unharmed after the Dec. 24 incident, but French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, suffered a broken hip and underwent hip replacement surgery Dec. 27.

HICKORY VICARIATE HICKORY — St. Aloysius Church offers a monthly Charismatic Mass on the first Thursday of every month. The Mass is in Spanish every other month. February’s Mass will be in Spanish and will take place on February 4 in the Sebastian Chapel at 7 p.m. at 921 Second Street NE. For more information call Joan Moran at (828) 9940880.

Is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public?

Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Planner is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese. org or fax to (704) 370-3382. cns photo by bazuki muhammad, reuters

Episcopal

calendar

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

January 12 at 11:00 a.m.

Presbyteral Council Meeting Pastoral Center

January 13 at 10:00 a.m.

Mass for Vocations Awareness Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, Greensboro January 15 March for Life, Charlotte Pastoral Center and Uptown January 16 March for Life, Raleigh

Diocesan requirements for reporting ministry-related sexual abuse of a minor 1. Any individual having actual knowledge of or reasonable cause to suspect an incident of ministry-related sexual abuse is to immediately report the incident to the Chancery.

2. The Chancery will then report the incident to the proper civil authorities. The individual reporting the incident to the Chancery will be notified of the particulars regarding the Chancery’s filing of the incident with civil authorities.

3. This reporting requirement is not intended to supersede the right of an individual to make a report to civil authority, but is to ensure proper, complete and timely reporting. Should an individual choose to make a report to civil authority, a report is still to be made to the Chancery.

Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, a Malaysian Catholic weekly, shows a Bible written in Arabic to members of the media as he leaves the courtroom in Kuala Lumpur Dec. 31. The High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that the paper can use the word “Allah” to refer to God and that the Home Ministry’s order banning its use was illegal.

Malaysian Catholic weekly uses word ‘Allah’ KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNS) — The High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that a national Catholic weekly can use the word “Allah” to refer to God and that the Home Ministry’s order banning certain uses of the word was illegal.

The court also declared Dec. 31 that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to Islam, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.

Malaysia’s Muslims were divided over the decision, and on Jan. 4 the Home Ministry lodged an appeal.

In 2007 the Home Ministry issued a blanket ban on the use of the word “Allah” in all non-Muslim publications.

Archbishop Murphy Pakiam of Kuala Lumpur, publisher of the Herald, challenged it in a case that began last February.

Bishop Antony Selvanyagam of Penang congratulated the Herald’s lawyers and its editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, “for their efforts to defend the rights of the church.”

The government had argued that the use of the word “Allah” in Christian publications was likely to confuse Muslims and draw them to Christianity.

Father Andrew said the word “Allah” has been used for 400 years by Christians in the region to refer to God.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

January 8, 2010

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Dodging the drops

Year for Priests Interviews with priests around the diocese

FATHER JOHN PUTNAM

FATHER JOHN PUTNAM Pastor, Sacred Heart Church Salisbury Courtesy photo

Two House of Mercy residents dash beneath a fountain at Stowe Botanical Gardens in Gaston County.

House of Mercy is a nonprofit residence in nearby Belmont providing compassionate, specialized care for low-income persons living with AIDS. Since its founding in 1991 by the Sisters of Mercy, over 260 men and women have made their home at House of Mercy. The need for housing and specialized care for low-income persons living with AIDS continues as an estimated 33,000 people are now living with HIV or AIDS in North Carolina (including those who are unaware of their infection). Visit www.thehouseofmercy. org for a photo tour.

Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Charlotte Place of Birth & Home Parish — Newton, NC; St. Aloysius Church, Hickory High School — Hickory High School College/University — Lenoir-Rhyne College Seminary — St. Mary’s Seminary & University; Catholic University Date of Ordination — May 30, 1992

What assignments have you had since ordination?

I have been parochial vicar at Holy Family Church in Clemmons; administrator at Holy Infant Church in Reidsville; interim director of vocations for the Diocese of Charlotte; tribunal judge for the diocese. I have also been the volunteer chaplain at Bishop McGuinness High School, diocesan spiritual director for Cursillo, been on the college of consultors, and a member of the vocation board.

File photo

Right to Life marchers begin their walk at the diocesan Patoral Center in Charlotte in this January, 2009 photo. March organizers hope hundreds will take part in this year’s walk scheduled for Friday, January 15.

March for Life in Charlotte CHARLOTTE — The fourth annual March for Life will take place in Charlotte on Friday, Jan. 15. marchers will begin gathering at 11 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the Pastoral Center of the Diocese of Charlotte, located at 1123 South Church Street.

Bishop Peter Jugis is scheduled to take part in the march which is held to mark the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Participation in the march which begins at noon has been growing. In 2009 more than 150 people took part in the event which coincides with lunchtime in the central business district.

Marchers are confined to city

sidewalks and must obey traffic signals.

At the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets participants occupy all four corners of the busiest intersection in the city while speeches are delivered and prayers are offered for the safe delivery of the unborn into this world.

The march concludes three blocks away at the United States Federal Courthouse with the praying of the rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

The total length of the walk is a little over two miles.

Tina Witt, organizer of the event, says that marchers can make and carry homemade signs or can carry signs provided in the staging area.

What have been some of the greatest joys for you as a priest?

Celebrating the sacraments, celebrating the joys and sorrows of the parish family, and witnessing the transforming power of Christ in someone’s life.

Who influenced you most to consider the vocation to priesthood?

Monsignor Eugene Livelsberger and Father Wil Thomas.

What was your background before you entered seminary?

My undergraduate work was in biology (pre-med).

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I’m a big fan of country music.

What are some of your hobbies?

Bowling and calligraphy.

What are some of your favorite books/ spiritual reading/magazines?

Anything by Michael O’Brien, Lay Witness, This Rock, and First Things.

Who is a hero to you?

Father Conrad Kimbrough, Father Richard Ho Lung.

What are some ways that we can help all people/families understand their role in promoting and supporting vocations?

By reminding them that vocations start at home. The home is the domestic church. A strong faith in the family leads to a great source for vocations.

What advice would you give a young man who is contemplating a vocation to the priesthood?

Pray regularly, live the sacraments, find a good priest-mentor.

January 8, 2010

from the cover

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Bishops urge immigration reform “The American public, including the Catholic and other faith communities, want a humane and comprehensive solution to the problems which beset our immigration system, and they want Congress to address this issue,� Bishop Wester said.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on International Policy, said the bishops also want the legislation to address the root causes of migration and help enable people to make a decent living in their own countries. “The first principle of the U.S. bishops with regard to immigration

MIGRATION, from page 1

Salt Lake City, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, described several steps being undertaken by the U.S. bishops, including a new Web site, a nationwide action alert and a previously announced postcard campaign to encourage members of Congress to support comprehensive reform. The Web site is a revamped version of www. justiceforimmigrants.org.

cns photo by jim west

A man participates in a rally calling for reform of U.S. immigration policy last January in Washington. U.S. bishops are taking steps to mobilize Catholics throughout the nation to support immigration reform as Congress prepares to take up the issue.

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is that migrants have the right not to migrate â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in other words, to be able to find work in their own home countries so they can support their families in dignity,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Migration should be driven by choice, not necessity.â&#x20AC;?

Also in the teleconference, Sister Rita Mary Harwood, a Sister of Notre Dame who heads the Office of Parish Life and Development in the Diocese of Cleveland, said the church in Ohio will distribute nearly 300,000 postcards that will be sent to Congress.

She said she sees in Ohio many parallels between the migrants of past generations and those of today and hopes that reminding the public of those similarities will open hearts so that people will back immigration reform.

Sister Mary Beth Hamm, justice coordinator of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Philadelphia, said making sure the public hears the stories of individual immigrants is the key to what her order is doing to support immigration reform. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hate the person whose story you know,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Elsewhere around the country, Catholic, interfaith and nonreligious groups small and large held immigrationrelated events. They ranged from press conferences, simple prayer services and

educational events to a walk from Miami to Washington by four students hoping to bring attention to the situations they and others face.

The four current or former students at Miami-Dade Community College planned to walk to Washington to draw attention to the problem of students who are in the United States illegally through no fault of their own, brought into the country by their parents when they were young.

Without legal status they are barred in many states from obtaining lower instate tuition rates, making it impossible for many to attend college. Legislation that would open a path to legalization and U.S. citizenship for tens of thousands of such students has long had broad public and congressional support but efforts to pass the bill repeatedly have been shelved.

In Chicago, priests, sisters and brothers representing more than 37 religious orders planned a prayer service and press conference at Holy Name Cathedral Jan. 8 to call for passage of comprehensive immigration reform. The priests and religious planned to commit to a calendar of days to pray and fast over the next three months in support of the legislative effort.

6 The Catholic News & Herald

In THe News

January 8, 2010

Terror, war, politics dominate headlines over decade

cns photo by gil cohen magen, reuters

Workers with the Israel Antiquities Authority are seen at an excavation site of an ancient house in Nazareth, Israel, Dec. 21. The remains of a house from the time of Jesus have been found at the site located near the Church of the Annunciation.

Jesus-era house discovered Bishop says Nazareth Christians joyful JERUSALEM (CNS) — Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Jerusalem said the Christian community in Nazareth was joyful at the recent discovery of the remains of a firstcentury dwelling.

“This belongs to the time of Jesus and we can now see how (people lived),” said Bishop Marcuzzo, noting that the dwelling had remained largely intact throughout the ages. “The ruins ... were not destroyed during history. There were lots of (wars and battles) which destroyed buildings but that house was kept safe. Why? We don’t know why, but certainly there is a reason why that house was kept safe.”

As the first dwelling from the period to be discovered in Nazareth, the remains are of “utmost importance” and reveal new information about how people lived during Jesus’ lifetime, said Yardena Alexandre, excavation director at the Israel Antiquities Authority. She said several tombs from that time period had been found in earlier digs but, until this house, no evidence of a human settlement had been uncovered.

The structure was found next to the Basilica of the Annunciation, where the floor of a former convent was being removed in a salvage excavation conducted by the antiquities authority to prepare for the construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth. The Association Mary of Nazareth said it would incorporate the archaeological remains inside its planned center.

Nazareth is where Mary received the revelation from the angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child.

Jesus spent the majority of his life in Nazareth, preaching throughout the Galilee region.

According to written sources archaeologists know that in the first century Nazareth was a small village, located in a valley, said Alexandre.

“The discovery...reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus. The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period,” said Alexandre.

She told the Associated Press it could be concluded that, as a child, Jesus may have played near and around the structure and that, as an adult, he may have been familiar with the building.

The uncovered building consists of two rooms and a courtyard with a rockhewn cistern used to gather rainwater.

A few artifacts — mainly fragments of pottery vessels from the first and second centuries — were recovered from inside the building.

The modern Basilica of the Annunciation, consecrated in 1969, was constructed above Crusader- and Byzantine-era churches. A cave in the middle of these churches was already ascribed as the house of Jesus’ family, although no archaeological evidence exists to prove the claim.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Terrorist actions that left physical scars on many world cities and psychological scars on those affected dominated much of the headlines over the first decade of the third millennium, as did the wars fought in the name of quashing terrorism.

Fractious U.S. politics also had a hand to play in shaping headlines over much of the decade.

In the Catholic Church, the clergy sexual abuse scandals that had simmered in decades past exploded into public consciousness in 2002, with its repercussions still felt as the decade neared its end.

The death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 resonated in the world’s consciousness throughout that April as a dying pope breathed his last and a conclave, the first in more than 26 years, fascinated Catholics and others across the globe.

Popes have reliably been top newsmakers year in and year out, and regularly make most lists of most admired men in the world. The 2000s were no different, as a world watched in fascination as Pope John Paul gave a lesson in how to die a happy death and Pope Benedict ascended to the chair of Peter, seeking during his pontificate to mend fences with those who have not been in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Both popes preached peace to world leaders, but all too often in vain. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the United States first led a multinational effort in Afghanistan, then a pre-emptive war against Iraq. As the decade drew to an end, a U.S. troop surge in Iraq had met with some success, and a similar augmenting of U.S. forces was planned

for Afghanistan.

The campaign leading to Bush’s 2004 re-election win over Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., prompted some U.S. bishops to declare that they would not give Communion to Kerry, the first Catholic major-party presidential candidate since John Kennedy in 1960, because of Kerry’s stand on abortion.

The issue spilled over to other lawmakers and candidates in ensuing years and rose to the surface again in 2009 when the University of Notre Dame invited President Barack Obama, another supporter of legal abortion, to speak and gave him an honorary doctorate.

Abortion, at times, though, took a back seat to other life issues, among them embryonic stem-cell research and euthanasia, most notably the long controversy over Terri Schiavo, a braindamaged Florida woman, that ended with Schiavo’s husband gaining court permission to withdraw nutrition and hydration in 2005.

All three Supreme Court justices appointed this decade were Catholic, bringing to six the number of Catholics on the high court. Despite the presence of a Catholic majority on the Supreme Court, no test of its 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion virtually on demand had made its way to the justices.

Environmental degradation and disasters had their share of headlines in the decade, including but not limited to the post-Christmas tsunami that killed thousands across Asia in December 2004; the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent levee failure that devastated the city of New Orleans the following August; and the December 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

January 8, 2010

From the Cover

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Synod, saints, shroud all on papal calendar for 2010

January brings traditional papal liturgies and meetings

cns photo by paul haring

Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for recitation of the Angelus prayer at the Vatican Jan. 1.

Respect creation, trust in God, says pope POPE, from page 1

during his Angelus address Jan. 3.

While God’s kingdom of peace and justice already is being realized on earth, he said, “every man and woman is responsible for welcoming it into his or her own life day by day. So 2010 will be better or worse to the extent that people, accepting their own responsibility, learn to collaborate with the grace of God.” “There are problems in the church and in the world, as well as in the daily lives of families, but thanks to God our hope does not depend on improbable prognostications and even less on economic forecasts. Our hope is in God,” he said.

The pope also spoke about personal responsibility Jan. 1 when he was commenting on the theme he chose for World Peace Day 2010: “If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation.”

The resources of the earth must be used with justice and wisdom, he said during his Angelus address Jan. 1.

“I want to underline the importance that the choices of individuals, families and local administrations have in protecting the environment,” he said.

In educating people to respect creation, the pope said, they must be helped to recognize that the human beings God created in his own image and likeness require special respect and protection.

“If we must take care of the creatures around us, how much more care must we have for people — our brothers and sisters,” he said. “On the first day of the year, I want to appeal to the consciences of those who are part of any kind of armed group. To each and every one I

say: Stop, reflect and abandon the path of violence.”

In his homily during the morning Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 1, Pope Benedict said people will respect the environment only to the extent that they respect themselves and others, because true respect for creation means seeing all creation as a reflection of God, the creator.

Teaching people to respect others must begin early in childhood, he said.

“From the time they are small, it is important to educate children to respect others, even when they are different from us,” he said.

Children who are part of multiethnic classes have an advantage, he said, because the faces of the children “are a prophecy of the humanity we are called to form: a family of families and peoples.”

“The smaller these children are, the more they elicit from us tenderness and joy for an innocence and brotherhood that is evident: despite their differences they cry and laugh in the same way, they have the same needs, they communicate spontaneously and play together,” he said.

However, the pope said, the smiles of too many children are extinguished by suffering and their hearts are poisoned by violence.

In them, one can see “faces lined by hunger and disease, faces disfigured by pain and desperation. The faces of these innocent little ones are a silent appeal to our responsibility,” the pope said.

Recognizing their helplessness, “all the false justifications for war and violence fall away. We simply must convert to projects of peace, lay down weapons of every kind and, all of us together, make a commitment to building a world more worthy of humanity.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Pope Benedict XVI says goodbye to 2009, his 2010 calendar is already being filled.

On the horizon for the next 12 months are four papal trips; a Middle East Synod of Bishops; the expected publication of a document on the Bible and the second volume of “Jesus of Nazareth;” a major gathering of the world’s priests; a pilgrimage to the Shroud of Turin; a probable consistory and several likely canonizations and beatifications — including that of Pope John Paul II. In April Pope Benedict marks five years in office, and the event will no doubt be marked by modest festivities and lots of analysis on the accomplishments and priorities of the German pontiff, who turns 83 the same month.

Several of his endeavors are works in progress, like the ongoing negotiations with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X and the effort to bring its leaders back into full communion. No breakthrough is guaranteed in 2010, but Vatican officials say that, at the very least, the picture should be much clearer as twice-a-month meetings proceed.

January brings traditional papal liturgies and meetings, including an encounter Jan. 11 with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican. Six days later, Pope Benedict will visit Rome’s synagogue for the first time, an event that has added drama since the pope’s recent decision to advance Pope Pius XII’s sainthood cause.

The new year also means a new slate of “ad limina” visits by groups of bishops around the world. Although the visits traditionally are made every five years, the interval has grown longer recently, and it now appears that U.S. bishops, who last came in 2004, will not be making their “ad limina” visits until 2011 — or even later.

The pope’s second volume on the life of Jesus is expected to be released in the spring, although translations may take a little longer. It’s expected to cover Christ’s childhood, passion, death and resurrection.

Pope Benedict will make at least four foreign trips in 2010: to Malta in April, to the Marian shrine at Fatima in Portugal in May, to Cyprus in early June and to England in mid-September. The fact that all four will take place in Europe or the Mediterranean gave rise to a rumor that the pope has decided not to make any more long-distance trips — a rumor that informed Vatican sources said was completely untrue.

During his visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the pope will present the working document for the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East, which will take place Oct. 10-24 at the Vatican.

Joining him on Cyprus will be church

leaders from places like northern Africa, the Holy Land and Iraq.

The pope is still putting the finishing touches on a document from a previous synod, the 2008 assembly on the Bible.

That text is expected in the first half of the year.

Pope Benedict is scheduled to make four trips in Italy in 2010, including a visit in early May to see the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the burial cloth of Christ. In early October, he makes a one-day visit to Palermo, Sicily, to address a meeting of families and youths.

Beatifications and canonizations will loom large on the papal calendar in 2010. Romans are already planning for the possible beatification of Pope John Paul II in October — presuming that a miracle will be attributed to his intercession sometime during the next several months. On his September trip to England, the pope is expected to preside over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the influential 19th-century theologian and former Anglican.

Among those due to be canonized by the pope sometime in 2010 is Blessed Mary MacKillop, the Australian founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

Pope Benedict will close the Year for Priests in June, presiding over a worldwide congress of priests in Rome June 9-11 on the theme “Fidelity of Christ, Fidelity of the Priest.” The program includes an evening gathering with the pope and the priests in St. Peter’s Square.

Consistories to create new cardinals are always tough to predict, but most insiders expect Pope Benedict to hand out red hats sometime in 2010. Given the limit of 120 cardinals under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave, the pope would have at least 12 vacancies to fill by the middle of the year, and 19 if he waits until mid-November.

There’s already a lot of speculation about which U.S. prelates, if any, would be named a cardinal. While most point to the archbishops of New York and Washington as likely candidates, it should be remembered that both archdioceses still have cardinals under the age of 80. Both Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick and New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan are retired from their posts as archbishops.

In addition, the number of U.S. voting-age cardinals is at a record high 13, which will dip to 11 by the end of 2010.

Among those most certain to be on the next list of new cardinals is U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest tribunal, whose job title foresees that he be named a cardinal.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

January 8, 2010

FrOM THE COVEr

‘Beauty ever ancient, ever new’

photo by sueann howell

The new Sacred Heart Church interior features a 40-foot ceiling, newly crafted stained glass windows, carved mahoghany-stained pews and Italian marble altars.

Fresh snowfall graces Sacred Heart Church dedication sueAnn HoWell Special to The Catholic News & Herald SALISBURY — Normally, six inches of snow in this part of North Carolina would bring everything to a grinding halt. But on Saturday, Dec. 19, the parishioners and clergy of Sacred Heart Church, along with many faithful from around the diocese, turned out in droves to participate in a joyful celebration of the dedication of their new church.

“The Lord has provided a beautiful setting for us this morning — blanketing the church and the grounds with a fresh snowfall, sparkling in the sun under a beautiful blue sky,”observed The Most Reverand Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, at the beginning of his homily during the Dedication Mass.

“This is a sign of blessing from heaven above,” he continued. “The beauty which surrounds us, both inside

and outside of this church, reminds us of the beauty of God....He blankets this church with snow, symbolic of his covering the church with his perpetual blessing.”

The original Sacred Heart Church was built in 1882 and was located in the city of Salisbury. As the number of Catholics in the area continued to grow, a larger church building was constructed in 1940.

The new 14,500-square-foot church on Lumen Christi Lane sits atop a hill on a 40-acre tract of land purchased in 2003. It is adjacent to the new Sacred Heart School, which opened in August, and was designed by parishioner and architect, Gray Stout, with assistance from Washington, D.C. architect James McCrery.

Father John Putnam, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, received the keys from Bishop Jugis and unlocked the doors of the 800-seat church to allow the procession of clergy, religious and lay faithful to enter for the dedication.

Although most of the church is newly constructed, many elements within the new church are decades old, acquired from beautifully appointed Catholic churches in the northeast which have closed in recent years.

The antique marble high altar

and side altars were purchased from the Archdiocese of Chicago from Our Lady Help of Christians Church.

The marble high altar is 29 feet high, weighs 36,000 pounds, and is Bottocino Classico marble designed in an Italian Renaissance style. The

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January 8, 2010

FrOM THE COVEr

matching side altars of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph and the Child Jesus weigh 7,500 pounds each and are 14 feet high.

The altars were preserved by the Society of St. John Cantius in Chicago, which is dedicated to the preservation of the sacred liturgy and sacred architecture.

The antique, mahogany-stained pews and the carved confessionals complete with red velvet privacy drapes were made by local artisans of the Buffalo, NY area in the early 1900s.

They came from St. John Gualbert’s Church in Buffalo which closed in recent years.

The Stations of the Cross were made at the Daprato Studios in Chicago and came to Sacred Heart Church from Buffalo’s Queen of Peace Church, a Polish church started after World War I when a number of Polish families began migrating to that area.

“The use of items from closed (Catholic) churches, items today which would cost more than we can afford, gave us the finishing touch,” said Mike Vaeth, Sacred Heart Church building committee chairman.

Newly created items grace the church as well.

The altar of sacrifice was custom designed by Mazzolinartcraft Company to complement the high altar. Made of Bottocino Classico marble, with columns made from Calacatta Rosato marble, this 5,000-pound altar features a hand-carved symbol of a pelican in Statuary White Carrara marble. The pelican is the traditional symbol of the Eucharist because she nourishes her young.

The baptismal font and ambo were also designed by Mazzolinartcraft of predominantly Bottocino Classico marble. The inlaid mosaics for the baptismal font are Venetian mosaic glass tiles from the island of Murano, near Venice.

The new stained glass windows throughout the church depict saints such as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque,

St. Joseph the Worker, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Juan Diego, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Patrick and St. Anthony of Padua, as well as the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“When I reflect on these past nine and one half years (here), it is very easy to see God’s hand in everything,” said Father Putnam. “From purchasing land to actually beginning the building project, we as a parish have undertaken a monumental task. The decision to move completely and start a new physical plant was daunting, but our parish was up to the challenge.”

Someone who has embraced both the old and the new Sacred Heart Church is Mary Frances Nassif Roueche who, at age 86, is a lifetime, active member of the parish. She married Peter David Roueche whose family anchored the beginning of the Catholic Church in Salisbury in the late 1800s. They were wed in the second Sacred Heart Church building which was constructed in 1940. Mrs. Roueche, along with her three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all received their sacraments at the church.

Her granddaughter, Wendy Roueche McCullough said, “The change (to the new church building) was bittersweet for me, but I am so excited every time I drive up that hill. We couldn’t be at a more beautiful location.”

“When the sky is clear and blue, I just look around in wonder at all of the land. It’s so peaceful and quiet. I told my (daughters) that we built on top of the hill to be closer to God and that’s what it feels like to me,” she added.

In the closing remarks of his homily, Bishop Jugis shared similar sentiments.

“As we proceed now with the dedication of the altar and this church to the worship of God, let us be struck by how the beauty of this day reflects the beauty of God.” Drawing from St. Augustine’s Confessions, Bishop Jugis concluded, “‘O Beauty ever ancient, ever new.’

Here is presented new to us the eternal and everlasting beauty of Jesus.”

The Catholic News & Herald 9

photos by sueann howell

Sacred Heart Church surrounded by fresh snowfall on Saturday, Dec. 19.

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Seminarian Brian Kaup is pictured at the side altar of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus at Sacred Heart Church following the dedication on Dec. 19.

The antique confessionals were made in the early 1900s and were formerly located in St. Gualbert’s Church in Buffalo, ny.

January 8, 2010

10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

cns photo

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, greets Pope John Paul II during a ceremony at the Vatican in this Feb. 6, 2004, file photo. Pope Benedict moved the sainthood cause of his predecessor a step forward Dec. 19 by declaring that John Paul II had lived a life of “heroic virtues.”

Sainthood causes advance for Popes John Paul II, Pius XII VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII, declaring that both had lived lives of “heroic virtues.”

In signing the decrees Dec. 19, the pope confirmed the recommendations of Vatican officials who have studied the causes for several years. Both popes can be beatified once a miracle is attributed to their intercession.

The decree on Pope John Paul was expected, and it fueled hopes for a beatification ceremony sometime next year. Church experts are already studying a possible miracle, the cure of a French nun from Parkinson’s disease, the same disease from which Pope John Paul suffered.

The decree on Pope Pius came as a surprise. His sainthood cause has been a point of contention with some Jewish groups and others who say he failed to do enough to protect Jews during World War II — an accusation strongly rejected

by Vatican historians.

After the Congregation for Saints’ Causes unanimously recommended the heroic virtues decree for Pope Pius in 2007, Pope Benedict put the cause on hold and put out the word that both critics and supporters should stop pressing the issue.

In the end, Pope Benedict paired the announcement of Pope Pius’ “heroic virtues” with that of Pope John Paul, who is remembered for his acts of friendship

and bridge-building with the Jewish community.

That does not mean, however, that both popes would be beatified together. There is no Vatican timetable for verification of a miracle, and in some cases sainthood causes have waited many years for that step.

In 2005, Pope Benedict set Pope John Paul on the fast track to beatification by waiving the normal five-year waiting period for the introduction of his sainthood cause. That seemed to respond to the “Santo subito!” (“Sainthood now!”) banners that were held aloft at Pope John Paul’s funeral.

In April, the church will mark the fifth anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death.

The initial diocesan phase of his sainthood cause was completed in April 2007.

In November 2008, a team of theological consultors to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes began studying the 2,000-page “positio,” the document that made the case for Pope John Paul’s beatification. After their favorable judgment, the cardinal and bishop members of the sainthood congregation met last month and gave their go-ahead for the decree of heroic virtues.

The presumed miracle for the Polishborn pontiff, meanwhile, is being studied in a five-step process that involves medical experts, a medical board, theological consultors, the members of the congregation and, finally, Pope Benedict.

Catholic corporal steps up to tend to spiritual well-being of company COMBAT OUTPOST SPIDER MONKEY, Afghanistan (CNS) — Like all Marines, Cpl. Matthew Munoz is there for his buddies, but the 23-year-old also has stepped forward to help tend to the spiritual well-being of his comrades in arms.

Munoz is second in command for his squad of about 14 men; he is assistant patrol leader with the Marines’ 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, Alpha Company, Weapons Platoon at this combat outpost deep in Afghanistan’s Helmand province — Taliban territory.

He also serves as the company’s Catholic lay leader, combining his Catholic faith and special training provided by a military chaplain to serve as a faith presence for Catholics and nonCatholics at the camp where the men sleep in unheated tents, have no showers, and use plywood with holes over barrels as toilets.

There’s no shortage of razor wire, sandbags and dust, and the cocoa-colored earth is deep in mud where pools of water formed from the last downpour.

Temperatures surpass 130 degrees in summer and fall below freezing in winter.

Munoz told Catholic News Service that when his “very religious” mother and devout Catholic father separated, he went with his father to San Diego. At age 15 he entered the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil at San Diego’s St. Mary Magdalene Church. He prayed more, joined the parish youth group and became an altar server.

When his father died, he moved in with his aunt, Teresita Munoz, in Coos Bay, Ore., where he continued as an altar server and graduated a semester early from high school.

“I enlisted a week after graduating,” the 6-foot, 200-pound Marine recalled.

“My mom’s side of the family was big into the military, but had no Marines. I

wanted to be the first. My grades were more than par” for college, he said, “but I guess everybody wants to be a hero.”

Munoz’s first deployment was to Iraq, where “there was only one chaplain for about 1,000 of us, and he always looked tired,” he recalled. His gunnery sergeant asked if he would volunteer to become a lay leader to help fill the need.

“I said yes. I consider it a privilege,” Munoz said. A battalion chaplain then trained him, providing tips on how to spot Marines needing special support and how to help and encourage them.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as praying with them,” he said.

Munoz also received training in providing Catholic liturgies, such as those he leads for up to 10 men each Sunday near Spider Monkey’s canopycovered chow tables.

“We’ll begin with a Hail Mary or Our Father, give thanks in prayer, pray for the ... military and world,” followed by an inspirational reading. “We always use the Bible” and sometimes use readings from Shakespeare or sayings of the saints, “anything eloquent, holy and wise.”

Then the participants share stories to uplift and encourage one another.

The liturgies end with more prayers, including one for a quick, safe trip home.

Pre-consecrated Communion wafers are not distributed, he said, because the Military Archdiocese banned the practice after desecration that allegedly occurred in Iraq.

“I miss the Mass,” Munoz said, noting that he has not had access to the Eucharist since his deployment in November.

“Mass means a lot to me and makes me feel good,” he added. “But as long as I’ve got my guys, I’m good.”

He should return home in June and plans to pursue a career in personal fitness training.

cns photo by steven sims

Cpl. Matthew Munoz, 23, serves as a Catholic lay leader, providing spiritual support to his fellow Marines on duty in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

January 8, 2010

US Postal Service to honor Blessed Mother Teresa with stamp in 2010 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be among the subjects depicted on U.S. stamps debuting in 2010, the U.S. Postal Service announced Dec. 30.

The 44-cent stamp, bearing a portrait of Blessed Mother Teresa painted by artist Thomas Blackshear II of Colorado Springs, Colo., will go on sale on what would have been her 100th birthday, Aug. 26.

“Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations,” said the Postal Service news release on its 2010 commemorative stamp program.

The release also noted that Blessed Mother Teresa received honorary U.S. citizenship in 1996 from the U.S. Congress and President Bill Clinton.

Only five other people have been made honorary U.S. citizens — Winston Churchill, Raoul Wallenberg, William Penn and Hannah Callowhill Penn and the Marquis de Lafayette — and all but Hannah Callowhill Penn also have appeared on U.S. postage stamps.

Blessed Mother Teresa also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997 for her “outstanding and enduring contributions through humanitarian and charitable activities,” the release said.

Born Aug. 26, 1910, in what is now the Republic of Macedonia, Blessed

cns photo courtesy of the u.s. postal service

This stamp with an image of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be among the subjects depicted on U.S. stamps debuting in 2010, the U.S. Postal Service announced Dec. 30. The portrait of Blessed Mother Teresa was painted by artist Thomas Blackshear II of Colorado Springs, Colo., and will go on sale on what would have been her 100th birthday, Aug. 26.

Mother Teresa went to India at the age of 18 and founded the Missionaries of Charity there. She died in Calcutta Sept.

5, 1997, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

Join us in the March For Life Washington, D.C. Friday, January 22, 2010

Theme: Stand Up Now! Unite for the Life Principles No Exception! No Compromise!

Mass: 11:30 am

Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Upper Church Bishop Jugis, Celebrant; Bishop Burbidge, Homilist Rally site: The Mall at 7th Street If your parish or school has a group attending the March for Life, please call the Diocesan Respect Life Office at 704-370-3229 or e-mail mnadol@charlottediocese.org.

cns photo by william rieter

Robert Carlisle, 42, visits the West Side Catholic Center in Cleveland Dec. 30. Formerly homeless, Carlisle now has his own apartment, but his income prevents him from being able to afford food. The meals he gets at the center allow him to stay off the streets.

Households face budget crunch in an attempt to put food on the table WASHINGTON (CNS) — What little money Robert Carlisle earns from odd jobs is used for necessities, mainly rent and utilities, leaving little for food.

So he visits the West Side Catholic Center for meals and even to shower. The money he saves on heating water and on a light breakfast or lunch can mean the difference between having a roof over his head or living in the streets.

People like Carlisle — those with limited or reduced incomes — turned to places such as the West Side Catholic Center in increasing numbers in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are experiencing what the department calls food insecurity.

In a recent report the USDA said 16.7 million households — 14.6 percent of all households — were food-insecure in 2008 as the recession escalated. That means at some point during the year those households lacked the resources to provide enough food for their members.

To cope, they turned to emergency kitchens and food pantries.

About one-third of the households were considered to have very low food security, meaning some people ate less or changed their eating patterns.

The overall number of households facing food shortages jumped 11 percent in 2008 to the highest level recorded since such statistics were first compiled

in 1995. In 2007, 13 million households were short of food.

Pantries and food programs across the country have seen significant increases in people showing up for help. According to the most recent Catholic Charities USA quarterly survey, 76 percent of its agencies report an increased demand for food.

Efforts are under way to reduce hunger in the U.S. Among the most ambitious is the No Childhood Hunger in America by 2015 campaign by the National Anti-Hunger Organizations.

Among its supporters is the Alliance to End Hunger, to which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops belongs.

Citing President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to reduce childhood hunger by the middle of the next decade, the effort has outlined what it describes as a roadmap to end childhood hunger, a major step to reducing hunger overall in the U.S. The plan offers nine steps that cover a wide array of economic and tax policies, health care, education, family supports, nutrition programs and leadership from the White House to achieve the goal in five years.

The hope among major anti-hunger organizations is that by ending childhood hunger the momentum will build to eliminate all hunger in the U.S. soon thereafter.

12 The Catholic News & Herald

January 8, 2010

around the diocese

Ho-ho hats

Roses for Our Lady

Photo by Doreen Sugierski

More than 50 teens gather to celebrate the Christmas season at Holy Spirit Church in Denver on Dec. 13. The teens meet weekly after Sunday afternoon Courtesy photo

Mass to share a meal and friendship while enriching their faith and the lives of

Children at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte pose after a procession

others through service projects.

celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Parishioners observed a

Taking a bow

nine- day novena that ended with a special liturgy on Dec. 12. Roses and votive candles were placed on the altar as an offering. The Liturgy and Worship Commission of St. Thomas Aquinas Church is planning to make the procession and liturgy an annual event.

Tea time

Courtesy photo

Participants in the Christmas pageant at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lexington prepare to take a bow on Christmas Eve. Mary, Joseph, shepherds, Wise Men and angels presented the story of the Nativity under the direction of parishioner Paul Lundrigan.

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Members of the Greensboro Council of Catholic Women enjoy fellowship during their annual Christmas Tea on December 9. The social gathering to celebrate the holiday season was catered by the Knights of Columbus. Members of the council come from St. Mary, St. Benedict, St. Pius X, Our Lady of Grace and St. Paul parishes.

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Payment: For information, call (704) 370-3332.

January 8, 2010

in our schools

Small people, big voices

The Catholic News & Herald 13

The Polar Express arrives

Courtesy photo

The St. Gabriel School Choir sings Christmas carols to entertain many

Courtesy Photo

homeless men and women of Charlotte in the school’s cafeteria Dec. 17th.

St. Mark Catholic School librarian Lisa Roy wears her father’s old railroad

St. Gabriel Church volunteers provide food and bedding on Thursdays for The

hat during a special presentation of The Polar Express at St. Mark School in

Room in the Inn shelter during the cold winter months.

Huntersville on Thursday, Dec. 17. Students in grades K-2 dressed in their robes and slippers and met in the school library, which was transformed to look like the inside of a train.

Operation Santa’s helpers

Providing help. Creating hope. Changing lives.

Catholic Social Services — The Diocese of Charlotte Executive Director: Elizabeth Thurbee (704) 370-3227 Associate Director: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3250 Refugee Office: Cira Ponce (704) 370-3262 Family Life: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3228 Justice and Peace: Joe Purello (704) 370-3225 OEO/CSS Murphy Satellite Office (828) 835-3535 Charlotte Region: 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Area Director: Geri King (704) 370-3262 Western Region: 50 Orange Street, Asheville, NC 28801 Area Director: Jacqueline Crombie (828) 255-0146 Piedmont-Triad: 621 W. Second St., Winston-Salem, NC 27108 Area Director: Diane Bullard (336) 727-0705 Greensboro Satellite Office (336) 274-5577 Latino Family Center (336) 884-5858

For information on specific programs, please call your local office.

1123 South Church Street, Charlotte NC 28203 www.cssnc.org

Courtesy photo

Charlotte Catholic High School student Moira Gill hugs two new friends at the Double Oaks Community Center in Charlotte on Dec. 19. High school students, a boy scout troop and a youth group from St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte worked together on Operation Santa’s Helpers to distribute food, clothing and gifts to 250 families.

January 8, 2010

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

The Solution, Not the Problem Each year the joy of Christmas is contextualized by the remembrance of the Holy Innocents, the male infants two years old and younger slaughtered

by Herod’s henchmen in his pursuit to execute the “new born king of the Jews.”

Herod sought to eliminate what he thought was his competition but who in reality was his savior.

These same Herodian tendencies have been on display recently with regard to two issues: health care reform in Washington and climate change in Copenhagen.

In Washington, we continue to see the sad spectacle of a majority of legislators insisting that health care reform requires that our tax dollars be used to pay for others to kill their children in the womb.

On December 8, the Senate voted 54-45 to reject the Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment, which would have banned government-appropriated funds from paying for abortion. Sixteen Catholic senators voted against the amendment. It appears that, like Herod, they account the slaughter of holy innocents a small price to pay in their pursuit of other ends.

We have also seen Herodian paradigms during the Copenhagen summit on climate change.

There are many neo-Malthusian environmentalists who are asserting that the principal menace to the environment is the human being. By this, they do not mean human beings who dump toxic waste into rivers, streams and groundwater supplies. They mean human beings who breathe. If you want to see a big polluter, they say, look in the mirror; or to see the worst environmental threats of all, visit a maternity ward.

That is what is behind a push at the Environmental Protection Agency to redefine carbon dioxide as a pollutant and then regulate it by the powers Congress has given the agency through the Clean Air Act. Once carbon dioxide, which human beings exhale, is classified as a pollutant, human beings become categorized as polluters just as much as coal-burning factories; then, just like such factories, human life can be regulated and even criminalized.

This thought probably seems outlandish to most readers, but they need to know that it does not seem outlandish to many environmentalists.

Prior to the Copenhagen Summit, a British think tank, Optimum Population Trust, launched a carbon dioxide offset scheme that encouraged summit participants to counterbalance the amount of carbon dioxide of their flight by giving $7 to a “family planning” initiative to prevent the birth of one child in an African country.

During the summit, Diane Francis, a columnist for Canada’s largest newspaper, “The National Post,” argued that in order to protect the environment, all nations must impose China’s draconian

Guest Column FATHER ROGER LANDRY guest columnist

one-child policy.

A November United Nations Agency report emphasized the connection between the environment and birth control so much that the Associated Press entitled its review of the report, “UN: Fight Climate Change with Free Condoms.”

Note that none of these environmentalists are claiming that the remedy to global warming would be to slaughter the wild horses in the Midwest, cull elephants in Africa, or butcher kangaroos in Australia.

Pope Benedict has stressed that any true environmentalism cannot be built on premises that do not respect the human person. He wrote in his Message for the World Day of Peace 2010, released during the Copenhagen Summit, that there is a connection between “human ecology” and “environmental ecology.”

“Our duties towards the environment,” he states, “flow from our duties towards the person, considered both individually and in relation to others.”

This is a development of the theme he articulated in his July encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” which has become even more relevant as some try to define human beings as polluters by nature: “If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology. It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment and damages society” (51).

This is a strong response to those environmentalists who are charging, falsely, that the cause of environmental destruction is overpopulation. Human beings, through the creative capacities God has given us, will be what saves the environment, not destroys it. Humans are not the problem, but the solution.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.

WORD TO LIFE Sunday Scripture Readings: jan. 17, 2010

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C Readings: 1) Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 96:1-3, 7-10 2) 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Gospel: John 2:1-11

Finding God in the unexpected Jeff Hensley cns columnist God is a God of surprises. Many times when we think we have things all figured out, he will turn around and reverse our expectations — in a good way — giving us the opportunity to be happy to be wrong.

The passage from John describing the wedding feast at Cana offers us one of those surprises and a bit of humor. Mary tells Jesus the hosts are running out of wine. He seems to reject her entreaty but, full of faith, she tells the servants to fill some gigantic stone water jars — holding between them 120 gallons to 180 gallons — with water, which Jesus then proceeds to turn into wine.

One imagines that when the headwaiter addresses the bridegroom after tasting this water made into wine, his tone is one of indignation. He has discovered this wine, the source of which

he is unaware, to be superior to the wine served previously. “Everyone serves good wine first,” he says, “and when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

The miracle at Cana, of course, is one of the signs pointing to Jesus’ divinity, but it also is a parallel to Jesus’ coming as Messiah to Israel, having been saved until this moment, late in the Jewish people’s long journey toward God’s salvation.

But how similar is this to surprises God sometimes offers us?

When my father was well advanced in age, my mother developed congestive heart failure. In response, my father developed nurturing skills that he had never had, expressing a tenderness toward my mother that was both touching and inspiring — and totally unsuspected.

He was not a bad man, but he could be difficult as a perfectionist with high expectations for his children and his wife. These new skills seemed far beyond anything he had been capable of before. In the six years after my mother’s death, he continued to mellow and become a kinder and gentler version of himself, never becoming someone totally different — or perfect — just better.

How wonderful it is when God surprises us by the action of his Holy Spirit and brings good from bad circumstances, makes wine out of ordinary water.

Questions: Have you experienced pleasant surprises from God? Have you learned anything valuable from those experiences?

Scripture to be illustrated: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5b).

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 10-16 Sunday (The Baptism of The Lord), Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38, Luke 3:15-16, 21-22; Monday, 1 Samuel 1:1-8, Mark 1:14-20; Tuesday, 1 Samuel 1:9-20, Mark 1:21-28; Wednesday (St. Hilary), 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20; Mark 1:29-39; Thursday, 1 Samuel 4:1-11, Mark 1:40-45; Friday, 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22, Mark 2:1-12; Saturday, 1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19, Mark 2:13-17.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 17-23 Sunday (Second Sunday in Ordinary Time), Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:111; Monday, 1 Samuel 15:16-23, Mark 2:18-22; Tuesday, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Mark 2:23-28, Wednesday (St. Fabian, St. Sebastian), 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51, Mark 3:1-6; Thursday (St. Agnes), 1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7, Mark 3:7-12; Friday (St. Vincent), 1 Samuel 24:3-21, Mark 3:13-19; Saturday, 2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19,23-27, Mark 3:20-21.

January 8, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 15

America the ambiguous

Evangelizing the culture about the family

“First, the family must be remade as an expression of communion,” wrote Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago.

He has written a wonderful book containing (among many other good things) some highly useful ideas for speaking about the family in America.

I should note here that Cardinal George’s work is theologically rich, and important for anyone who wishes to join him in pursuing John Paul II’s project to “evangelize culture.” I can only hope in this essay to draw out a few of its implications for the culture of the family.

Cardinal George reminds us that the Catholic Church is not without hope for our culture. Human nature is wounded, but “not hopelessly corrupt,” he writes (27).

On the positive side, Americans cherish the equality of all human beings, freedom, justice, an openness to diversity alongside a will to unity, participatory decision making, and effective communication.

On the negative side, we are attached to our subjective points of view; we value transient emotional states; and we champion freedom to the point of license, without reference to the truth.

There is also a growing attachment in America to what might be called “scientism,” the notion that nothing can be true or even of interest unless it can be verified by the senses or the hard sciences.

Cardinal George is correct that in order to evangelize such a culture, work to rebuild the family should come first.

Family is the first community, the place where we learn what we use later to build culture; this includes at the very least

our hierarchy of values and the means to express them. It would seem that the first task here is to recover America’s ideological strengths, as Cardinal George names them, to serve the family instead of undermining it.

Currently, in other words, lawmakers and other opinion leaders are twisting our love affairs with freedom, equality and diversity to serve short-term goals which ultimately weaken the family.

First and foremost, our love of freedom has been transmuted into a demand for legalizing any sort of sexual intimacy one might choose.

It has also been used to support a “right” to choose whether to value or to destroy nascent human life.

Our respect for diversity has been misconceived as the necessity of tolerating choices about family life which are harmful both for the adults and the children involved. Our insistence upon equality has been misused to deny the obvious differences between samesex and opposite-sex pairs.

How can these interpretations be turned around, and our weaknesses overcome? Cardinal George suggests several ways. First, we must reestablish the link between truth and freedom.

This is a huge task on its face. In the family context, we are aided today by the enormous amount of empirical research which measures outcomes of various family choices. It is opening eyes for the first time in half a century to the fact that neither men nor women are experiencing authentic freedom when they choose to ignore the truth about intimate human relationships, e.g. these relationships’ orientation to permanence, to exclusivity and to procreation. Children suffer

Guest Column HELEN M. ALVARÉ guest columnist

terribly when adults deny foundational truths about love, marriage and parenting.

Second, we must also reestablish the connection between freedom and communion. Beginning with God’s utterance in the garden that “It is not good for the man to be alone,” and proceeding through the rest of the Scriptures, our texts state that the human person, like God, is meant for communion. Man, after all, as Aristotle and others through the centuries have held, is by nature a “social” animal.

Americans know this; it’s what they tell pollsters and friends and radio DJs. In short, the message of human communion may not always be easily sold, but America is naturally receptive to it nonetheless.

Cardinal George further advises that we reflect on the “pattern of holiness evident in those who, formed within [our] culture, became saints of God” (54).

Our families are the first people with the right to call upon us for this type of behavior.

In “The Difference God Makes” Cardinal George makes the case for hope, even while he faces realistically the challenges to converting Americans toward real freedom and toward understanding life as loving communion.

Helen M. Alvaré, J.D., is a Senior Fellow in Law. This article was reprinted with permission from the Culture of Life Foundation.

There is hope for infertile couples In response to Christian Brugger’s, Ph.D., excellent article “Life-giving love in an age of technology: The U.S. bishops on assisted reproduction” in the Dec. 18 issue, I simply want to emphasize that infertile couples can have hope of restoring their natural ability to have children.

At least 15% of couples have problems achieving pregnancy. About half of these will get pregnant within 2 years without treatment. For couples with persistent infertility, the cause will be found in 85-90% with about half eventually achieving pregnancy with conservative treatment – without in vitro fertilization (IVF) (http://nfp.marquette. edu/infertil_nfp.php).

Observing and charting natural biological signs of fertility can be of great benefit for couples who have infertility problems. The Natural Family Planning (NFP) chart may indicate why the couple is having infertility problems, so the underlying problem can be treated.

And, the NFP chart identifies the fertile

Letter to the Editor

time, helping couples to optimize their chances of conceiving.

Several doctors in the Charlotte diocese have training in Naprotechnology, a science which uses the NFP chart to monitor and maintain a woman’s reproductive and gynecological health.

It provides medical and surgical treatments that cooperate completely with the reproductive system, giving couples real hope of conceiving naturally. While this science is based on the Creighton Model of NFP, all modern NFP methods offer women and couples similar options.

Batrice Adcock Charlotte, NC

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Teachings reflect harmony of God’s plan The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Taken all together, the teachings of the Catholic faith are “a marvelous symphony that sings of God and his love,” Pope Benedict XVI said.

In a world where people tend to pick and choose what to believe, what to study and what to specialize in, the church must help people see how all of its teachings about the Trinity, creation, redemption, the sacraments and morality reflect “the harmony of God’s plan of salvation,” the pope said Dec. 30 at his weekly general audience.

Before expressing his hope that friendship with Jesus would accompany each of his visitors throughout 2010, Pope Benedict delivered another installment in his series of audience talks about Christian theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages.

Focusing on the work of Peter Lombard, who was born in Italy and died in 1160 as bishop of Paris, the pope emphasized the importance of systematic presentations of the Christian faith. Lombard’s famous work, “The Sentences,” like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, demonstrates how individual church teachings are linked to one another and must be taken together if one is to have a full understanding of the faith, he said.

Pope Benedict said Peter Lombard is still remembered for providing “the definitive definition” of a sacrament as “an outward sign and cause of grace.”

The sacraments are not simply rituals or symbols of God’s action in people’s lives, but “they really have the power to communicate divine grace,” the pope said.

“The sacraments are the great treasure of the church,” he said. The celebration of the sacraments “is always a surprising event; they touch our lives.

Christ, through visible signs, comes to meet us. He purifies us, transforms us and makes us participants in his divine friendship.”

Pope Benedict said Peter Lombard raised questions that could interest modern readers, including why God created Eve from the rib of Adam instead of from his head or his feet.

He said the 12th-century theologian explained that God formed woman not as “one who would dominate man, nor one who would be his slave, but one who would be a companion.”

January 8, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 16

In THE nEWS

Do real men pray the rosary?

Texas man says yes and finds many agree M c A L L E N , Te x a s ( C N S ) -- Throughout his childhood, David Calvillo’s mother urged him to pray the rosary but he admits the recommendation went in one ear and out the other.

“I thought the rosary was for old ladies and funerals,” Calvillo said.

His mindset began to change when he attended a retreat at the Benedictine Sisters of the Good Shepherd Monastery outside of Rio Grande City -- reluctantly, Calvillo’s wife Valerie pointed out.

“He was a bit hesitant,” Valerie Calvillo said. “He didn’t know what to expect.”

Going to the retreat proved to be a life-changing experience.

“As we were praying the rosary at the retreat, I saw something that I had never seen before,” David Calvillo said.

“I felt this incredible connection.”

Before he left the retreat, Calvillo stopped by the gift shop and bought a copy of the book, “The Secret of the Rosary” by St. Louis de Monfort, for each man who attended the retreat.

Over time, through his research, prayer, retreats and fellowship with other men of faith, he developed a deep appreciation for the rosary. He was finally sold on the notion that the rosary was indeed a prayer for men, a prayer for all Christians.

After exploring ways to promote the rosary, Calvillo formed an apostolate called Real Men Pray the Rosary. The apostolate encourages praying the rosary in several ways: through education via a variety of channels, by physically making rosaries during rosary-tying events and finally, by distributing the rosaries.

Calvillo created a logo with a toughlooking hand clutching a rosary, which is now the face of the apostolate.

He said the inspiration for the logo was a man named Alex Gamboa Jr., a parishioner at St. Joseph the Worker Church in McAllen.

“I used to see him walking around with the rosary around his hand and I thought it was powerful to see a strong man doing that,” Calvillo said.

Gamboa said he wraps the rosary around his hand during trying times and during times of intense prayer. “Pray for me” is a phrase Gamboa hears often because friends and family members

know he takes the request seriously.

Calvillo also created a presence online through the Web site, www.

RealMenPraytheRosary.org, and with a page on Facebook, a social networking site.

“I thought if we could get 200 members from the (Rio Grande) Valley, we could consider the Facebook page a success, but it just exploded,” he said.

“Before we knew it, we had more than 4,100 members from all over the world.”

Calvillo recalled one particular day when he started a virtual rosary. By the time it was completed, it was pieced together in 13 languages.

Rosary-tying events draw the faithful of all ages from different parishes who gather together for the common goal of making rosaries. They are fashioned from colorful twine and metal crucifixes.

Each rosary is as unique as the person who ties it. No two are alike.

“I think these rosaries have more significance than store-bought rosaries,” said Tito Salinas, a parishioner at St. Joseph the Worker. He and his wife, Norma, are regulars at rosary-tying events.

“They may not be made perfectly, but they are made by someone who cares,” he added. “I think knowing that the rosary came from somebody who took the time and effort to put it together motivates the recipient to pray it more often and to appreciate it.”

During a recent rosary-tying event at Calvillo’s law office, dozens of people made rosaries for the troops serving overseas. The event also promoted fellowship among local Catholics, some who already knew each other and some who didn’t.

The rosaries are given out at retreats, confirmation classes and wherever else they are needed. More than 100 rosaries were completed for the troops and they will be distributed through servicemen and servicewomen with ties to the Valley.

Gamboa said he hopes the popularity of the apostolate “is only the beginning and that it will expand parish life.”

“I hope we will have more lectors, catechists and eucharistic ministers through this and of course, better mothers and fathers,” he said.

PILGRIMAGE TO FRANCE

with Fr. Adrian Porras, Pastor, St. Barnabas in Arden, NC

May 27 - June 6, 2010 Your 11- day pilgrimage includes Lisieux, Mont St. Michel, Omaha Beach (Normandy), Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, Sacre Coeur, Versailles, Lourdes and more!

Includes 9 nights accommodations at 3- and 4- star hotels: 3 nights in Lisieux, 3 nights in Paris and 3 nights in Lourdes; daily continental breakfasts and 5 dinners, including a Welcome Dinner and special Farewell Dinner.

Save $100 with your $350 deposit before January 15! $3,549 (per person, double occupancy) includes airfare from Charlotte person, plus fuel charges of $400 per person – before January 15. ($3,649 after 1/15/10)

Space is limited to 40 pilgrims maximum.

Contact Corporate Travel Service, Inc. 313-565-8888 x121 www.ctscentral.net (This is a privately-sponsored trip, not sponsored by the Diocese of Charlotte.)

cns photo/the valley catholic

David Calvillo, right, founder of real Men Pray the rosary, helps a volunteer make a hand-tied rosary.

Calvillo, a Catholic from Mcallen, Texas, began the apostolate to encourage men to pray the rosary.

Deadline now!

Early booking ends Wed., January 20!

Bring friends and family for the Diocese of Charlotte’s cruise to

The Spectacular Capitals of Scandinavia

plus St. Petersburg - Russia, Berlin and London!

July 9 - 22, 2010

London – Copenhagen – Berlin – Tallinn – St. Petersburg – Helsinki – Stockholm

Your 13-day excursion includes: - Round-trip airfare from Charlotte to London - All meals while onboard the Norwegian Sun luxury ship - Port taxes paid for visits to all of the following: Dover, England – Copenhagen, Denmark – Berlin, Germany – Tallinn, Estonia – St. Petersburg (2 full days!) – Helsinki, Finland – Stockholm, Sweden - Airport and pier transfers in London - Daily Mass onboard ship with our own priest

PLUS - SPECIAL OPTIONAL LONDON STAY: July 8 & 9 — hotel/breakfast/city tour -- just $350!

Early Booking Price – INCLUDING AIRFARE FROM CHARLOTTE AND PORT TAXES — starts at just $3,299 for ocean view cabin before January 20th!

Price is per person (based on double occupancy) and $350 deposit before JANUARY 20! Government fees and fuel charges are an additional $251 (subject to change before departure).

For a brochure or info: Cindi Feerick at the diocese -- 704/370-3332 or ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org.

Travel with the diocese— we take care of the worries – you take care of the fun!