Jan. 15, 2010

January 15, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Perspectives Growing in the knowledge of faith; Politics of health care ‘reform’ can make you sick

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI january 15, 2010

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

vOLUME 19

no. 9

Pope prays for victims of Haiti quake Archbishop Joseph Miot’s body found in rubble

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI prayed for victims of a massive earthquake in Haiti and urged the international community to provide generous assistance to the stricken population of the Caribbean nation.

The victims included Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince.

“The lifeless body of Archbishop Joseph Miot of

Port-au-Prince was found this morning under the rubble of the archbishop’s residence,” L’Osservatore Romano said in a Page 1 story Jan. 13.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio in Haiti, told the Vatican missionary news agency Fides: “Port-au-Prince is completely See HAITI, page 6

A lifelong promise of service

Seminarian ordained as transitional deacon, steps closer to priesthood HEATHER BELLEMORE interim editor

photo courtesy of vanessa hollifield

A panoramic view of the new stained glass windows in Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem showcases their vibrant colors shortly after they were dedicated Jan. 3. Deacon Joe Schumacher, a parishioner of nearly 50 years, commissioned the windows in memory of his wife Mary Virginia. Another parishioner, artist Vanessa Hollifield, designed the work based on St. Francis of Assisi’s religious song titled “The Canticle of the Creatures.”

CHARLOTTE — A man from Illinois, who six years ago had intended to become a physician and marry his Catholic girlfriend, promised a lifetime of celibacy, obedience and service during a latemorning Mass at St. Patrick

Cathedral in Charlotte Dec. 22.

Lucas Rossi, the new transitional deacon and seminarian in the Diocese of Charlotte, was ecstatic.

“I want to express my immense joy and gratitude on this very special day to Bishop Jugis See DEACON, page 8

Expressions of light and color New stained glass windows dedicated at Winston-Salem Church SUSAN deGUZMAN correspondent

WINSTON-SALEM — A life that brought the light of friendship to many was celebrated with the installation of 15 stained glass windows at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem Jan. 3. The windows were made in memory of Mary Virginia Schumacher,

a member of the parish for nearly 50 years. Schumacher was deeply devoted to the Catholic faith and to her parish.

The windows were commissioned by her husband, Deacon Joe Schumacher, along with her family and friends.

They were crafted by Vanessa Hollifield, a local glass artist and parishioner of Our Lady of

Mercy Church.

The dedication ceremony was part of a Mass celebrated

by Father Bill Robinson, pastor, with Deacon Schumacher and Father Bill Smith, a family friend and priest from the diocese of Brooklyn, New York. Some members of the photo by heather bellemore

See GLASS, page 4

Bishop Peter J. Jugis places his hands on the head of Lucas Rossi as part of Rossi’s ordination as a transitional deacon at the St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte Dec. 22.

Culture Watch

Around the diocese

In The News

New York doctor delivers Catholic care; Vancouver archdiocese embraces Olympics

Year For Priest interview with Monsignor Anthony Kovacic

Declaration on Christian conscience; Health care action by U.S. Bishops

| Pages 10-11

| Page 4

| Page 7

January 15, 2010

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

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

cns photo/bruno domingos, reuters

Sean Goldman arrives at the U.S. consulate with his Brazilian stepfather, Joao Paulo Linse Silva, in Rio de Janeiro Dec. 24 to be reunited with his father, David Goldman.

Pro-life Catholic congressman advocates for ‘left-behind parents’ TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) — In David Goldman’s legal quest to bring his young son home to New Jersey from Brazil, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., was a frequent presence.

Sometimes he appeared solemnfaced and off to the side at press conferences while an obviously distraught Goldman pleaded for the return of his 9-year-old son, Sean. Other times he was in front of the microphone, making the case for Goldman’s parental rights.

The boy was taken to Brazil five years ago by his mother and kept there even after her death by her wealthy second husband and powerful family through a convoluted series of legal maneuvers. It was a human drama that captivated the world and led to the American father’s reunion with his son on Christmas Eve. But for Smith, who is Catholic, it was a process that was “enveloped in prayer.”

Smith, who co-chairs the House Pro-Life Caucus, said getting involved with Goldman’s quest was just part of the mission entrusted to him over the years as a legislator. It’s a mission he regards as seamlessly interconnected to the human rights issues he has embraced over nearly four decades.

“My parents inculcated me in the importance of helping the underdog,” he said.

Twelve years of Catholic education at St. Cecelia School in Iselin and St. Mary High School in Perth Amboy grounded him, he said, in the need to “stand up against injustice.”

An opponent of capital punishment,

abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, Smith has been equally devoted to combating human trafficking, torture and religious persecution. The rights of immigrants, environmental concerns, veterans’ needs and fair labor practices all have been part of his agenda.

In 28 years in Congress, his legislative legacy so far ranks him third out of 435 members in the House of Representatives whose bills have become law.

When asked about his body of legislative work, Smith responds with Scripture. “All this is Matthew 25,” he said.

Helping to reunite David and Sean Goldman is but the latest application of Matthew 25, Smith said.

“What you do for the least of our brethren includes the family, the leftbehind parent,” he explained.

On July 16, Smith introduced for himself and several co-sponsors a bill called the International Child Abduction Prevention Act, aimed at ensuring compliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction.

Smith’s role in the Goldman case sparked involvement with a “whole group of left-behind parents” from around the country for whom he has become a legislative point person. “ We ’ r e w o r k i n g n o w o n a (legislative) package which, I believe, would get countries complicit in child abductions to work with the left-behind parents,” he said.

The cases “just tug at your heart,” Smith added. “We’re going to pass the legislation. We’re serious about it.”

White House flashlight rally is a first for the March for Life WASHINGTON (CNS) — When organizers of the 37th annual March for Life began planning this year’s event, they wanted to ensure President Barack Obama heard their pro-life message.

So, they are gathering about 3,000 activists to sing, pray and reiterate their plea to end legal abortion in the U.S. right across the street from his home — the White House — in Lafayette Park the evening before the Jan. 22 march marking the anniversary of the 1973 decision legalizing abortion in the United States.

Participants also will be carrying flashlights in lieu of lit candles, which are not allowed in the park.

It’s the first time in the history of the march that organizers have scheduled a White House vigil the evening before the main event, even though Obama is not the only U.S. president in the past 37 years who supports keeping abortion legal.

Nellie Gray, president of the March for Life Education & Defense Fund — the group that organizes the march — said the motive behind adding the White House venue this

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

CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — St. Peter 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. at 507 S. Tryon Street. 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 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 — St. Gabriel in Transition (SGIT) welcomes David Pinkley, CEO

year was to make their presence known to the president. She noted that her group didn’t do this when President Bill Clinton was in office because the main event was closer to his Pennsylvania Avenue residence during those years.

The March for Life used to begin on the Ellipse, located between the White House and the Washington Monument, but starting in 2006 because of construction the starting point for the event was changed to a spot on the National Mall not visible from the president’s home.

During the years President George W. Bush was in office, no special White House rally was organized because he already supported the pro-life position.

“President Bush was also very nice to us and would invite us in for breakfast before the march,” Gray said.

“President Obama hasn’t extended us any such invitation.”

Tens of thousands from all over the U.S. travel each year to the nation’s capital for the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

and Founder of The Resume Sage, on Jan. 21 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. for a presentation on effective resume creation for job seekers. Open networking and one-on-one coaching sessions will immediately follow the presentation at St. Gabriel Church Ministry Center at 3016 Providence Road. Please RSVP to SGIT@ bellsouth.net.

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 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 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

January 15, 2010 Volume 19 • Number 9

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 15, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 3

FROM THE VATICAN

‘Reform of the reform’ of the liturgy VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The pope’s chief liturgist, Msgr. Guido Marini, endorsed calls in the church for a “reform of the reform” of Catholic liturgy.

“For some years now, several voices have been heard within church circles talking about the necessity of a new liturgical renewal,” Msgr. Marini said.

A fresh renewal movement would be “capable of operating a reform of the reform, or rather, move one more step ahead in understanding the authentic spirit of the liturgy and its celebration,” he said.

Msgr. Marini, who has served as master of papal liturgical ceremonies since late 2007, spoke Jan. 6 to a conference of priests from Englishspeaking countries gathered in Rome to mark the Year for Priests. The conference was sponsored by the Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy and the U.S.- based Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.

Msgr. Marini stressed that the liturgy celebrated by the church should be marked by historical continuity.

“I purposefully use the word continuity, a word very dear to our present Holy Father,” Msgr. Marini said.

He offered suggestions for showing continuity in the liturgy and gave examples from current papal liturgical celebrations.

The tradition of praying while facing East, and so symbolically facing the Lord, is now seen in the placement of a crucifix on the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, he said.

A renewed emphasis on “adoration,” explained by Msgr. Marini as “union with God,” also will foster continuity with the past and should be a criterion for future liturgical practices, he said.

He said it was this same desire to renew a sense of adoration that prompted Pope Benedict to make it the norm in papal liturgies for the pope to distribute Communion on the tongue to people kneeling.

Throughout his talk Msgr. Marini quoted extensively from the writings of Pope Benedict concerning the liturgy.

“I have learned to deepen my knowledge these past two years in service to our Holy Father, Benedict XVI. He is an authentic master of the spirit of the liturgy, whether by his teaching or by the example he gives in the celebration of the sacred rites,” Msgr. Marini said.

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.

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) 994-0880.

CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel Church will host four educational seminars for senior citizens that address legal and end of life issues, plus the latest on Medicare, Medicaid and community services. Each seminar will take place on four consecutive Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. The seminars will be held on Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10 and 17 at St. Gabriel Church Ministry Center. For more information, call Suzanne Bach at (704) 335-0253.

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.

HICKORY VICARIATE

calendar

January 15 March for Life, Charlotte Pastoral Center January 16 March for Life, Raleigh

Stop smoking, fasten seatbelts, advises astronomer VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Forget worrying over end-of-the-world predictions; lives are more at risk of being lost from smoking and driving without a seatbelt, said a Vatican astronomer.

U.S. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno said, there is no reason to believe the claims behind the new apocalyptic science fiction film, “2012,” or other doomsday scenarios.

“People have been predicting the end of the world since the dawn of humanity. Up until now, not one of these theories has turned out to be true and there is no reason to believe (that they will come true) in 2012,” he said in an interview published Jan. 6 in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. The article’s headline read: “2012? It’s not the end of the world, at all.”

Brother Consolmagno said there is a more serious problem behind the many forecasts of doom on the horizon.

“These beliefs spread because we are all tempted by the desire to possess secret knowledge of the future, thinking that it will make us more powerful than others. In reality, this is only a sign of bad science or bad religion,” he said.

However, the Vatican astronomer, who is a planetary scientist and an expert on meteorites, said scientists do study the possibility of asteroids plummeting to Earth.

He said it’s worthwhile for scientists to keep their eyes on the 100,000 known asteroids to see if they might head into Earth’s orbit as well as to study what they are made of in order to better understand how to knock them out of range if need be.

In the meantime, he said, “Not to panic. Just two precautionary measures are enough to increase the possibility of a long and healthy life: stop smoking and fasten your seatbelt.”

WINSTON SALEM VICARIATE WINSTON-SALEM — Our Lady of Mercy School will be hosting an Open House on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.

Our Lady of Mercy is SACS accredited and enrollment is available for grades Pre-K to 8 for the 2010/2011 school year. for a student-led tour, or for more information, call (336) 722-7204 or visit our website at www. ourladyofmercyschool.org.

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 asmaa waguih, reuters

Pope Shenouda III, the Coptic Orthodox patriarch, leads an Orthodox Christmas Mass at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 6.

Cardinal Kasper expresses solidarity with Copts after attack in Egypt

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

Episcopal

Forget doomsayers

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

January 20 — 7:00 p.m.

Respect Life Mass for Greensboro Vicariate Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Greensboro January 22 —11:30 a.m.

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

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican’s chief ecumenist sent a letter of support to the Coptic Orthodox patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, expressing his solidarity after a Christmas attack on Egyptian Coptic Christians.

Seven people died in a drive-by shooting in the southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi as they were leaving the Virgin Mary Church after Christmas Eve services. Coptic Christians, who use the Alexandrian calendar, celebrated Christmas Jan. 7.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting

Christian Unity, wrote to express his concern and closeness to Pope Shenouda and the Coptic Christian community.

Cardinal Kasper also said Christians must stand up for one another and work together for peace, justice and reconciliation.

“Whenever our Christians suffer unjustly it is a wound to the body of Christ in which all believers share,” he wrote. “Together we pray for healing, peace and justice. All Christians must stand united in the face of oppression and seek together the peace that only Christ can give.”

4 The Catholic News & Herald

January 15, 2010

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Year for Priests Interviews with priests around the diocese

New stained glass windows dedicated in memory of parishioner GLASS, from page 1

Schumacher family traveled from as far as Texas, Illinois and even Hawaii to attend the dedication.

Father Robinson’s homily, “The Epiphany of the Lord,” focused on light. He said, “Light is the fullest expression of God’s work in the world. …In darkness we become more aware of ourselves and face fear. Epiphany celebrates that darkness and its fears have been overcome.” Father Robinson also explained that the word epiphany is “defined as the revelation of something special.”

Each stained glass window depicts

MONSIGNOR ANTHONY KOVACIC

MONSIGNOR ANTHONY KOVACIC

the outbreak of World War II.

Parish/Assignment: Retired Place of Birth & Home Parish: Born, Jan. 11, 1920, Bizeljsko, Slovenia; St. Lovrenc (Lawrence), Bizeljsko High School: Gimnazia, Maribor, Slovenia Higher Education: Seminary Major in Ljubljana, Slovinia and International Seminary Collegio Urbaniano, Rome, Italy Date of Ordination: Easter Sunday 1947, April 7

What are some of your hobbies?

Golf.

What assignments have you had since ordination?

Chaplain in camps of displaced persons in Salerno, Italy, 1949- 1951.

Emigrated to the United States in 1951 and began serving parishes of the Diocese of Raleigh including: St. Patrick, Charlotte; Holy Trinity, Kinston; St. Catherine, Tarboro; St. Joseph, New Bern; St. Gabriel, Greenville; Immaculate Heart of Mary, High Point; Our Lady of the Annunciation, Albemarle; St. Ann, Charlotte; Sacred Heart, Salisbury; St. Leo the Great, Winston-Salem; Queen of Apostles, Belmont.

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

Personal contact with the people.

I like to hear confessions. I know that every service that I have somehow touched people.

Who influenced you most to consider the vocation to priesthood?

I was impressed by a visit of a priest to my home when I was six years old.

That was the beginning and it never ended. Around my home I was called “Zupnik” which means “pastor” and I didn’t mind.

What was your background before you entered seminary?

I was a student in a country that was occupied by German and Italian forces at

a different part of creation found in the religious song of Saint Francis of Assisi titled, “The Canticle of the Creatures.”

Amidst sections of yellow and gold glass, an image of a white dove signifies the Holy Spirit. It is the centerpiece of the 13 windows that run across the top of the rear wall of the church, behind the altar and the apse. Situated more than 30 feet above the floor, they illuminate the area above a large crucifix.

A number of the windows incorporate hues of blue to represent the moon, wind and water. One such window, designed with wave-shaped sections, refers to the stanza, “Praise be You my Lord through Sister Water, So useful, humble, precious and pure.”

Other windows that display hues of green for ‘Mother Earth’ or red and orange for ‘Sir Brother Sun’ and ‘Brother Fire’ complete the colorful and expansive display. Two larger windows are set on

Who is a hero to you?

Jaroslav Titel, a schoolmate who was shot to death in Ljubljana with the priest who was in charge of the Catholic youth group, Catholic Action. Many young men lost their lives during the war. I hope that Jaroslav will be canonized.

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

We have to pray and encourage and show respect for all priests and show that we are happy at vocations in the family and among friends. Prayer is most important. I also hope that more women will think about becoming sisters.

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

There is very much a need for them in the religious life. I would tell them that they will have a good life and never be without employment.

photos by susan deguzman

(Above left) Father Bill Robinson, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem, dedicates the new stained glass windows during Mass Jan. 3. (Above right) Workers install the new windows last December.

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January 15, 2010

from the cover

either side of the crucifix. One depicts Saint Francis and the other portrays his close friend Saint Clare, founder of the Poor Clares.

Those familiar with Saint Francis know of his deep respect for animals and the natural world. “The Canticle of the Creatures” was a favorite of Virginia Schumacher, who shared St. Francis’ love for the outdoors and all of God’s creations. She felt the presence of the Franciscan order at Our Lady of Mercy Church to be a special blessing.

“Virginia was very active in the church,” said Deacon Schumacher. She was an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a lector and a leader in the RCIA program for many years, even when she was sick. The deacon relates the great pride his wife had for the new church that was built on Link Road, the construction of which was completed a year prior to her death. He said, “When guests would come, she was in her glory showing them around.”

Married for 56 years, the Schumachers had nine children, 24 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Their first great granddaughter was baptized at the new church. Deacon Schumacher said that though his wife was very sick, she refused to miss the ceremony at which six of the eight great grandparents were present.

Many parishioners knew Schumacher because of her outgoing personality.

At Saturday evening Masses she would intentionally sit next to someone she did not know. After Mass she would introduce herself and take a few minutes to get to know the person. Father Robinson remembers, “Virginia was very concerned about welcoming people into the parish.

That is who she was.”

When his wife was nearing her death, Deacon Schumacher told her he intended to make a memorial for her, though at the time he did not know what that would be.

When someone later suggested stained glass windows, he and Father Robinson liked the idea.

The Catholic News & Herald 5

They approached Vanessa Hollifield, known for her artistry and the spiritual theme in much of her work. Hollifield said, “God definitely blessed me through this commission.”

She met with Father Robinson and the architects of the new church to develop a plan. After batting around

“Light is the fullest expression of God’s work in the world” —Father Bill Robinson

many ideas, “The Canticle of the Creatures” seemed the perfect match.

Hollifield did some preliminary drawings for the windows and shared her sketches with Deacon Schumacher and some of his family. “They were sold immediately,” said Father Robinson.

“It took about a year of careful thought, design, and drawing with revisions and meetings before I began the actual glass work,” explains Hollified.

“Creating stained glass is a slow, gentle process, and one which has pretty much stayed the same for the last couple of hundred years,” she said. Making the windows took her about six months.

Stating, “Glass is a pure medium that uses light and color,” Hollifield explained that the artist works in the negative when painting glass. A combination of ground glass, pigment and metal oxides, the paint is mixed with water to a paste, applied in a thin coat and then fired in a kiln. The process is repeated numerous times to achieve the desired colors and shadows. The window of Saint Clare,

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photos by susan deguzman

(Above) Vanessa Hollifield, artist and parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem, holds the window she designed for the church with Deacon Joe Schumacher, who comissioned the work in memory of his wife Virginia. (Below) Portions of the new windows in the process of creation.

with greens and blues and purples, was fired six times.

“I have always loved glass, ever since I was little,” admits Hollifield, who grew up in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Her family appreciated and encouraged art and travel. She studied Venetian art history in Italy and graduated with a degree in studio art from Salem College in 2002.

Hollifield found work at a local high production stained glass studio where she learned the basics of the craft. Barely over a year after graduating from college she established her own studio.

Hollifield’s work can now be found in galleries and churches in Virginia, North Carolina, Philadelphia and New York City. She is also on the faculty of the Sawtooth Center for Visual Art and the Lexington Arts Academy.

She describes her work as “an expression of faith through art. Nothing says it better than the color, clarity, and texture of glass.”

“Faith is a big part of my life,” continued Hollifield. “I love to be able to do liturgical work. I have done the windows of the stations of the cross at my home church, Saint Frances of Rome, in Sparta, North Carolina.”

Hollifield aspires to “decorate churches and chapels in stained glass and to serve God and His people in doing that.”

The 15 new windows in Our Lady of Mercy Church were installed in mid-December and dedicated just a few weeks later. Father Robinson remarked, “It is so wonderful to have the beauty of the light added to the church. We are very gifted in this parish with the many people who let their light shine through in their good works.”

At the end of the dedication ceremony Father Robinson proclaimed to the congregation, “May we continue to grow and be a radiance for Christ and the people of Winston-Salem.”

6 The Catholic News & Herald

January 15, 2010

From the Cover

Pope calls charities to act quickly in Haiti HAITI, from page 1

devastated. The cathedral and the archbishop’s residence, all the big churches, all the seminaries are reduced to rubble.”

Pope Benedict made his appeal at the end of his general audience Jan. 13, some 12 hours after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti, toppling buildings and causing widespread destruction. The number of casualties was not immediately known, but local officials called it a major catastrophe.

Pope Benedict said he wanted to highlight the dramatic situation in Haiti following the “devastating earthquake, which resulted in serious loss of human life, a great number of homeless and missing, and enormous material damage.”

“I appeal to the generosity of everyone, so that our brothers and sisters receive our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international community in this moment of need and suffering,” he said.

He said the Catholic Church’s charity organizations would immediately move into action to assist those most in need.

“I invite everyone to join in my prayer to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who are mourning their loss. I assure my spiritual closeness to people who have lost their homes and to all those affected in various ways by this calamity, imploring from God consolation and relief of their suffering,” he said.

Archbishop Auza said he had toured the capital on the morning after the earthquake and found the country’s ministry buildings, schools and supermarkets destroyed. He said the headquarters of the U.N. stabilization force in Port-au-Prince had completely collapsed, reportedly trapping hundreds in the debris.

“I found priests and nuns on the street, who no longer have homes. The rector of the seminary survived, and so did the dean, but the seminarians are under the rubble. Everywhere there are

cries coming from under the rubble,” he said.

He said a study institute for men and women religious had collapsed, with many students inside as they attended a conference. The nunciature withstood the quake, and there were no injuries there, he said.

“We cannot enter or stay inside for very long because the earth continues to tremble. So we’re camped out in the garden,” he said.

Caritas Internationalis, the Vaticanbased umbrella organization for Catholic charities, said it was mobilizing to provide immediate assistance to Haiti.

On Jan. 13 it had already assembled an emergency relief team to fly to Haiti to assist Caritas members already working in the country. It said there had not yet been contact with the Haitian Caritas office.

Caritas Internationalis humanitarian director Alistair Dutton was leading the emergency relief team, Caritas said in a statement.

“There is a strong Caritas presence in Haiti. We already know that Caritas staff will be providing support to survivors of the earthquake, such as food, shelter and comfort through churches and parish networks,” Dutton said.

“A priority for Caritas will be to assess the damage and our local capacity to provide aid to survivors of the quake.

Caritas runs more than 200 hospitals and medical centers in Haiti. It is experienced and prepared to respond to humanitarian disasters there as a result of the frequent hurricanes,” he said.

“Communication with our staff on the ground is difficult, but we are piecing together a picture of desperate need. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Conflict, recent natural disasters, and poverty have left Haitians with weak infrastructure. Working in that environment will be difficult,” he said.

In its statement, Caritas said the cathedral in the Haitian capital of Portau-Prince was badly damaged.

Caritas also said the U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services had been in communication with its staff in Haiti.

The local CRS office was still standing and CRS staff present at the time of the quake were safe, it said.

cns photo by eduardo munoz, reuters

Residents sleep in the street Jan. 13 in Port-au-Prince after a major earthquake struck Haiti. The magnitude 7 quake rocked the poor Caribbean nation in the late afternoon Jan. 12 killing possibly thousands of people.

Catholic Relief Services rushing aid to Haiti’s quake survivors Commits $5 million to relief efforts BALTIMORE — Catholic Relief Services is readying food and other aid to help families affected by a powerful earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12. CRS has committed an initial $5 million (US) to help survivors of the devastating quake.

“This is a massive disaster,” says CRS’ Country Representative in Haiti, Karel Zelenka. “We should be prepared for thousands and thousands of dead and injured.” In a brief call on Tuesday night before phones went down, Zelenka described clouds of smoke surrounding Port-au-Prince and said, “I’ve experienced earthquakes before, but I never felt anything like this. This is a major hit. And it was direct.”

While the CRS office in Portau-Prince is undamaged, a building directly across from it collapsed. CRS has approximately 340 staffers in Haiti, of which 120 are in Port-au-Prince.

Many staffers slept outside on Tuesday night to avoid building collapses from aftershocks.

CRS has pre-positioned food, water storage containers, bedding and other supplies in warehouses in Haiti and nearby countries. “We have to find

out if the warehouses in Haiti are damaged,” says Ken Polsky, Regional Representative for CRS Latin America.

“We will also move supplies there from the Dominican Republic and Miami.”

“This is going to be devastating,” says Bill Canny, Director of Emergency Operations for CRS. “We know it’s chaos in Port-au-Prince and help is needed immediately.”

“We’re moving additional emergency staff in as quickly as possible,” continues Canny, who left for Haiti January 13.

CRS has worked in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, for over 50 years. The country is still rebuilding from the 2008 hurricanes that left the city of Gonaives buried in 3.2 million cubic yards of mud.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency provides assistance to people in more than 100 countries and territories based on need, regardless of race, nationality or creed. For more information, please visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org.

You can help The Diocese of Charlotte is responding to the earthquake in Haiti by collecting funds on behalf of Catholic Relief Services (CRS.org) to be used for short-term and long-term recovery efforts. CRS was founded in 1943 by the bishops of the United States to provide humanitarian aid to people in need all over the world.

You can respond to parish initiatives by remitting a contribution directly to your parish. Make checks payable to your parish, marked clearly for the Haiti Disaster Relief. Alternatively, donations may be sent to the Diocese of Charlotte, Attn: Haiti Disaster Relief, 1123 South Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203-4003. All contributions will be forwarded to Catholic Relief Services. Thank you for your generosity.

January 15, 2010

in the news

Historic declaration on Christian conscience WA S H I N G TO N , D . C . — A group of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars released the Manhattan Declaration, which addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. The 4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not — under any circumstance — abandon their Christian consciences. Drafted by Dr. Robert George, Dr. Timothy George and Chuck Colson, the Manhattan Declaration was made public at a noon ET press conference held in the Lisagor Room at the National Press Club last November.

Since its release, it has been signed by more than 150 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders. As of Dec. 7, it has more than 321,000 signatures.

Among the signers of the Manhattan Declaration at the press conference: Joel Belz, Founder, World Magazine Chuck Colson, Founder, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview Jim Daly, President and CEO, Focus on the Family Marjorie Dannenfelser, President, Susan B. Anthony List Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor, CEO and Archpriest, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University Timothy George, Professor, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University Harry Jackson Jr., Bishop, Hope Christian Church Fr. Francis Martin, Professor of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Heart Major Seminary Fr. Martyn Minns, Missionary Bishop, Convocation of Anglicans of North America R e v. N e f t a l i “ C h a r l e s ” O l m e d a , National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council Fred Potter, Executive Director and CEO, Christian Legal Society Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, Diocese of Philadelphia Alan Sears, President, CEO, and General Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund Ron Sider, Professor, Palmer Theological Seminary and Director of the seminary’s Sider Center on Ministry & Public Policy Fr. Robert Sirico, Founder, Acton Institute George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center and Founding President of the James Madison Foundation Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, Diocese of Washington, D.C.

Excerpts from the declaration include: “We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right — and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation — to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”

“We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely

unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral.”

“We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryodestructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.”

U.S. Bishops call on parishes

Request help to stop abortion funding in health care reform WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a nationwide call to Catholics to prevent health care reform from being derailed by the abortion lobby, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent bulletin inserts and pulpit announcements to almost 19,000 parishes across the country.

“As long-time advocates of health care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops continue to make the moral case that genuine health care reform must protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable,” the insert says. “Health care reform should not advance a pro-abortion

agenda in our country.”

As Congress negotiates a final health care bill, the insert encourages Catholics to contact their Senators and Representatives, urging them to keep longstanding restrictions against federal funding of abortion and full conscience protection in the legislation. If these criteria are not met, Catholics are asked to urge Congress to oppose the final bill.

The bulletin insert and pulpit announcement can be found in English and in Spanish at www.usccb.org/ healthcare. Catholics can contact their legislators online by going to www. usccb.org/action.

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January 15, 2010

from the cover

Seminarian ordained as transitional deacon, steps closer to priesthood DEACON, from page 1

and Father Gober, and all the priests and faithful, for being so welcoming and for making Charlotte my new home,” said Deacon Rossi.

During the Mass, Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, drew a laugh from the faithful when he made reference to Deacon Rossi’s geographical move. “We hear in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the angel of the Lord speaks to the deacon Philip (saying) ‘Get up and head south’ (Acts 8:26).

Lucas, angels give good advice.”

A new home “It’s a joyful occasion,” said Lawrence Rossi, father of the new deacon. “We’re sad he’s moving away but we trust this church family will take

good care of him.”

“I was happy for him to find his way,” said Aaron Rossi, Deacon Rossi’s brother. “I’m very excited for him.”

Deacon Rossi was a member of the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., when he began his studies at Pontifical College Josephinum seminary in Columbus, Ohio. This past summer, Rossi accompanied fellow seminarian John Eckert, who was in Charlotte visiting his parents, parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Intrigued by the Diocese of Charlotte, Rossi stayed a little longer and learned of the great need for priests in the area.

He began to feel drawn to the diocese through prayer and reflection.

After consultation with Father Christopher Gober, director of vocations for the Diocese of Charlotte, and approval from Bishop Jugis, Rossi decided to make this diocese his new home. He was placed with Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church in Charlotte.

“It was truly a joy to have him here,” said Father Reid. “What is most impressive about Lucas is his dedication to his prayer life and his desire to serve

photo by david hains

(From left) Father James Wehner, rector of Pontifical College Josephinum, Bishop Peter J. Jugis, and Deacon Lucas Rossi smile outside the doors of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte after Rossi’s ordination as a new transitional deacon during Mass Dec. 22. the church.”

In addition to helping around the parish of St. Ann Church, Rossi said he spent the summer “getting to know my new home.”

He made quite a few visits to St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro, especially for the installation of the new pastor, Father John Allen, who was the former Dean of Men at Rossi’s seminary.

Visits also included St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton, St. Bernadette Church in Linville, St. Lucien Church in Spruce Pine, St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, Holy Spirit Church in Denver, St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton, St. Michael Church in Gastonia and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.

Belmont Abbey was on his itinerary

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as were several visits to St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte with the rector, Father Christopher Roux.

On the way to priesthood During the Mass of ordination, “A man, who is no longer a layman, becomes a member of the clergy, a cleric, a true witness to how Christ loved the church,” said the new Deacon Rossi.

The Mass was composed of several different elements, each with a unique function to ordain the new deacon in his life of ministry.

As Bishop Jugis noted in his homily, “You are called to serve the ministry of the Word, the ministry of the Altar, and the ministry of Charity.”

For the ministry of the Word, Rossi knelt before the bishop and ceremoniously received the Book of the Gospels.

“This is the ministry of the Word, which you will exercise at Mass by delivering the homily at the invitation of the pastor, and outside of Mass by instructing people in the teachings of Christ and the teachings of his church,” said Bishop Jugis.

For the ministry of the Altar, the Bishop reminded the new deacon that he “will prepare the altar during Mass for the priest to offer the Sacrifice, and you will help distribute our Lord’s Body and Blood to the faithful during Communion.” The Bishop added that he would also “administer baptisms, assist at and bless marriages, bring Viaticum to the dying, conduct funeral rites, and preside over public prayers.”

For the ministry of Charity, Rossi lay prostrate before the altar, his flat silhouette symbolic of the sacrifice of

The Catholic News & Herald 9

from the cover self in a life of service according to the example of Christ.

To assist Rossi in his commitment, he received a new presence of the Holy Spirit through the Bishop’s hands.

Rossi said, “Like baptism, it changes souls indelibly — you can’t remove the character imposed by God.” Rossi also compared the repetition of “I do” during his ordination as deacon to the vows taken during a wedding.

It is a promise of “inclusive love, meant for the entire church. (I became) wedded to the church herself,” said Rossi. He added that “Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is the bride.”

Referencing the vows of celibacy he made during his ordination as deacon, Rossi said that he was “conforming (his) life to Christ,” following the example of “how Christ loved the church and lived his life in love.”

The road ahead “I give great thanks to God almighty and the Blessed Mother for this tremendous gift,” said Rossi.

He gave his first homily at the 9 a.m.

Mass at St. Ann Church on Christmas day, before returning with his family to Illinois to celebrate the new year. He then returned to seminary to finish his theology studies and obtain a Master’s of Divinity degree. He expects to graduate this May and will return to the Diocese of Charlotte for his anticipated ordination as priest June 5 along with three other transitional deacons in the diocese.

“I have every confidence that he will be a great asset to the Diocese of Charlotte, and I look forward to having Lucas as a brother priest this coming June,” said Father Reid.

In his own words Following is a letter Deacon Rossi published to the parish of St. Ann Church in Charlotte, edited for relevance. It gives a glimpse into his early life and personal call to the priesthood.

Called to be a doctor ... a doctor of souls Eucharist that had always strengthened grandpa. Even in the final days of his life, though he struggled, he went to daily Mass.

I returned to college and began going to the local Newman Center, a Catholic campus ministry center with its own chapel and priest. There I met many other fervent Catholic college students, all seeking holiness.

I began going to Mass every Sunday, serving in daily Mass and going to Adoration. In February 2002, I was praying during evening Adoration and God spoke to my heart saying, “Be a priest!” This shocked me for several reasons: I wanted to be a doctor, I was dating a lovely young Catholic woman and we had planned on marrying in the near future.

After several months of prayer and discernment, I soon realized in spring 2004 that God was seriously calling me to be a priest. I ended up telling my family, who were very supportive, and also Laura, my girlfriend. It was hard for her at first, but I had told her that I could not get married until I was sure whether or not God was calling me to be a priest.

She was recently married in September 2007.

I am in my final year of study.

However, I am a new seminarian to the Diocese of Charlotte. I have recently transferred here from my home diocese in Peoria, a move inspired solely by God. My time as a seminarian has had its challenges, but I have never been happier! I have not had a single serious regret since I entered seminary.

It is my relationship with Our Lord Jesus, grounded in prayer, that has continued to sustain me in my vocation.

I look forward with great joy to the day of my ordination and to offering my first Mass. I am eager to live the rest of my life as priest of Jesus Christ, serving His people, and bringing His love and mercy to heal a world wounded by sin.

The Lord has always been calling me to be a doctor, but I know now that it is to be a priest, who is a doctor — a doctor of souls.

In Christ, Lucas C. Rossi

I was born in and am a native of Peoria, Ill. I am the older of two boys.

My brother Aaron is a year and half younger. He is currently studying to be a physician and attends the Medical School of St. Eustatius.

My father, Lawrence, is an anesthesiologist and my mother, Marie, is a post-anesthesia care nurse. Sadly, they divorced when I was only five years old. I have two half-brothers and a half-sister from my dad’s first marriage, a half-brother from my mom’s first marriage, and two half-brothers and a half-sister from my dad’s current marriage. Despite wounds from divorce, God has not ceased to bless my family.

I come from a large family, and many of them are physicians. My grandfather, Lawrence Sr., was a doctor, and he and my Grandma Lorayne had 11 children.

Seven of the 11 became physicians and nine of the 11 children work together at the Hopedale Medical Complex, a hospital opened by my grandpa in 1955. My mother’s family is smaller, but also gifted. Grandpa Pete Fletcher was a jeweler and watch technician and Grandma Nell Fletcher used to run the Wyoming, Ill. town library.

As a young child, I was always particularly drawn to the Rossi doctors.

When I was a teenager, I began to work at Hopedale Hospital, which also allowed me to spend more time with my father.

I had always wanted to be a physician, and working in the hospital was a great privilege and blessing. However, God had set me on a most interesting path that would take some drastic turns.

I grew up in the Catholic school system and really enjoyed it. Once I was ready for high school, I decided to attend public school. I became disinterested in the Catholic Church, stopped going to Mass and instead went to a local Presbyterian service with my dad, stepmom and their kids.

In February 2001, Grandpa Rossi passed away. The loss to our family was great. Many looked up to him, including me. He was a faithful and devout Catholic and lived his faith as a doctor. I realized during the funeral Mass that I needed to recommit myself to the Catholic faith. It was truly Jesus Christ and the gift of the

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Bishop Peter J. Jugis sits in front of the altar while new transitional deacon Lucas Rossi assists during his ordination Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte Dec. 22. A prayerful Deacon John Eckert stands to the side.

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10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

cns photo by gregory a. shemitz

Dr. Anne Mielnik, founding director of Gianna — The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women, poses in front of a promotional display in the center’s newly opened office in New York Dec. 30. Located in midtown Manhattan, the center is dedicated to providing primary care, obstetrics, natural family planning and infertility treatment with a Catholic pro-life approach.

New York doctor delivers care consistent with Catholic values NEW YORK (CNS) — “Catholic women in many communities feel they have no access to health care that is consistent with their values,” said the founding director of a new women’s medical center in midtown Manhattan that will provide “authentically Catholic” primary care, obstetrics, natural family planning and infertility treatment.

Dr. Anne Mielnik said Gianna — The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women is the first dedicated practice in New York and one of only a handful in the country to offer a combination of effective infertility treatment alternatives to morally objectionable assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.

The facility, sponsored by St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, opened Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

“There’s no suffering comparable to what you see in an infertile couple,” Mielnik said. “They’re desperate to have a child and when they look for guidance, they end up in an IVF clinic. They’re balancing their desperation for a child with doing what they know is wrong.”

The Gianna center uses the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, a natural method of family planning and gynecological health monitoring, in conjunction with a comprehensive system of reproductive health management called natural procreative technology, or NaPro technology.

Mielnik said NaPro technology addresses infertility by diagnosing and correcting its causes instead of using synthetic hormones to suppress or bypass a woman’s reproductive system. She said problems including anatomical and hormonal abnormalities, infections and

ovulation disorders are addressed with surgical procedures and compounded hormones.

Surgeries can open blocked fallopian tubes, remove endometriosis and treat polycystic ovarian disease, she said. By identifying a possibly subtle hormone deficiency and replacing the hormone with an identical compound, delivered at the appropriate time in a woman’s menstrual cycle, Mielnik said NaPro technology can correct conditions that compromise fertility.

Mielnik said NaPro technology is as successful as in vitro fertilization, as measured by the number of live births among women using it to help achieve pregnancy. It is also significantly less expensive, rarely results in multiple pregnancies and does not result in frozen embryos. NaPro technology is also used to treat recurrent miscarriages, premenstrual syndrome, menstrual cramps, ovarian cysts, postpartum depression and premature births.

The center is named for St. Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian physician and married mother of four who refused to abort her youngest child when a uterine tumor threatened her own life during the pregnancy. She died in 1962 shortly after the 10-pound baby was born.

Mielnik said she started the center “in response to the pleas of Catholic women for access to reproductive health care and family planning options which affirm their dignity as women and conform to the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding human sexuality and medical ethics.”

She said the mission is to open Gianna centers for women throughout the United States.

Vietnam veteran works to heal spiritual wounds of warfare PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) — Gary Ascher has a good life. Amiable and bright, he’s in a long-lasting marriage.

His children are high-achieving. He holds down a steady job making patterns for cast metal machinery.

But for more than 40 years, Ascher has yearned to pacify his conscience. A U.S. infantryman in Vietnam between November 1967 and November 1968, this gray-haired man with intense brown eyes wonders how he can be forgiven for taking lives.

Ascher, who plays guitar for his church choir, was one of 15 people with links to the military who came to Our Lady of Peace Retreat House in Beaverton in December for a weekend on war and healing. Leaders of the session know that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan mean more retreats will be needed in the future.

“Is some kind of killing OK? I’m not sure,” said Ascher. “If some enemy were marching down the street or if I were threatened, I would sign up today. But I wouldn’t go to another Vietnam. I have struggled with this my whole life.”

Others on the retreat sought to comfort Ascher, saying he was a “cog in a machine” who bears no personal guilt or that his service in Vietnam was one part of the eventually successful fight against communism.

But Ascher finds little relief in sweeping views. He’s focused on the human and the particular, like the shapes of those slim, small soldiers at whom he fired his M-16, or the face of his pal Bob, a fellow Oregon boy who didn’t make it home.

Ascher grew up in Portland and was pursuing a career in pattern building when his draft number came up. He was 20.

Originally slated for the 1st Infantry Division, he was rerouted to the 25th, 2nd battalion, 12th Infantry, which had suffered heavy losses and needed replacements. The 25th fought some of the toughest battles of the Vietnam War, trying to cut off the flow of supplies and troops from the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The fighting took 25 of his company,

including Bob, to whom Ascher had spoken shortly before his gruesome death.

As he stepped off the plane on his return from Vietnam, protesters blocked Ascher’s way and called him a war monger and a baby killer.

He took up work in a sheet metal shop, picked up his old pattern-building career and started a family with Laverna, a Catholic girl with roots in Washington County.

“If you ever knew me, you wouldn’t know I was suffering,” Ascher said.

Laverna, of course, knew. She was beside him for the nightmares.

She could not wander up behind him without a high-octane reaction. She saw her husband scanning the ground as he walked, watching for mines and booby traps.

On Veteran’s Day 2006, Ascher finally brought himself to visit Bob’s family in the small town of Eddyville.

He and Laverna found Bob’s grave and a town war memorial that included Bob’s name. Then they found the family home.

At the door, he grew faint when Bob’s 84-year-old father answered and bore a striking resemblance to his dead friend.

Everyone wept.

“As we shared stories, I could feel Bob’s spirit,” Ascher said. “The small amount of pain that it cost me was offset by the joy it gave his dad. ...My trip to Eddyville got me thinking there is some good in life.”

Ascher returned home and went to Mass with his wife, as he had on occasion for years. That day at Holy Trinity, Father Dave Gutmann gave a homily contrasting false guilt and true guilt. The notion hit Ascher between the eyes.

He went to visit the priest and that began a series of conversations that led to Ascher’s baptism in April 2009.

During Mass at the Beaverton retreat, Father Drury said, “When we are healed, it is to bring the light of Christ to others.”

After the homily, Ascher left his own needs behind for a moment and prayed instead for people suffering during hard economic times.

cns photo by ed langlois, catholic sentinel

Gary Ascher, seated with his wife Laverna, speaks to another Vietnam veteran during a December retreat for members of the military at Our Lady of Peace Retreat House in Beaverton, Ore.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

January 15, 2010

Vancouver Archdiocese embraces ‘radical hospitality’ for Olympics Archbishop invites athletes to Ash Wednesday Mass VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Vancouver is warming up for its own type of Olympic event. However, it won’t take place on ice or snow; it will be on the streets of the city. “(We) have embraced the theme of radical hospitality for our initiatives; that is, to see Jesus as both guest and host at these games,” Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller wrote in a letter to athletes and participants of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In the letter, Archbishop Miller said the city of Vancouver had prepared for the Olympics for years by improving infrastructure and building state-of-theart sporting facilities. He also recognized the throngs of volunteers donating their time to make the XXI Winter Olympics a success.

Vancouver and Whistler will host the Olympics Feb. 12-28 and the Paralympics March 12-21.

“While you are here, we hope

you will consider visiting one of the archdiocese’s downtown hospitality centers for athletes,” Archbishop Miller wrote, referring to Holy Rosary Cathedral and the archdiocesan offices.

“We think you will find these places to be sanctuaries while you take a break from the rigors of competition,” he wrote. “We hope you will find a common language in the love of Jesus Christ.”

He also noted the Olympics coincide with one of the most important times of the Christian year, the journey toward Easter. He invited all athletes to attend Ash Wednesday Mass Feb. 17 and to celebrate Sunday Mass while they are in the area. The archdiocesan Web site, www.rcav.org/2010, includes church locations and Mass times as well as other Olympic outreach activities.

“We wish all of you who have come to our beautiful city a satisfying and rewarding competition, but, most of all, we hope you will experience the ‘radical hospitality’ of Vancouverites,” he said.

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cns photo courtesy of sister marilyn lacey

Mercy Sister Marilyn Lacey captured these school girls in a jubilant mood at St. Bakhita School in Narus, Sudan, in 2009. The school — the first in the country for girls — was started by the local bishop under a tree in 1997. Sister Lacey’s organizatio n, Mercy Beyond Borders, supports the school.

Secret to joy is welcoming other people Longtime refugee worker finds happiness in stepping outside comfort zone, helping strangers in need WASHINGTON (CNS) — The part about working with refugees that is often overlooked by people who haven’t done it, according to Mercy Sister Marilyn Lacey, is that every day brings great joy.

“People ask me, ‘How come you’re so happy?’” she said, when they learn that her work constantly brings her in touch with strangers in desperate straits, who have little prospect of improving their lives.

“I tell them, ‘You should try it,’” she said. “Who wouldn’t be happy if you were encountering God every day?”

In Washington to speak to employees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during National Migration Week, Sister Marilyn said in an interview with Catholic News Service Jan. 6 that stepping far outside her comfort zone to work with refugees has changed everything about her life.

She attributes the happiness it has brought her to the simple act of welcoming “the stranger.”

“The secret to joy is to welcome other people” is how she summed up the philosophy that came to her gradually over 30 years of working with refugees.

Her 2009 book, “This Flowing Toward Me,” tells story after story of her encounters with refugees in the United States, Asia and Africa, viewing the experiences through a lens of spirituality, specifically the scriptural call to “welcome the stranger.”

After starting her life as a Mercy sister as a schoolteacher in her home state

of California, Sister Marilyn has gone on to travel the world, eventually running the refugee resettlement program of Catholic Charities in San Jose for 21 years.

Most recently she started M e r c y B e y o n d B o r d e r s ( w w w. mercybeyondborders.com), a charitable organization to aid Sudanese women through education assistance and grants to finance small businesses.

Much of her spiritual understanding of her encounters with refugees is summed up by her belief that offering hospitality to strangers is “a profound invitation from God.” The public attitude in the United States toward refugees “ebbs and flows with the U.S. economy,” said Sister Marilyn. “When times are booming here, people are happy to welcome others.

When they’re not, immigrants become scapegoats, and people don’t distinguish among refugees, legal or undocumented immigrants.”

Going into an expected tough battle in Congress this year to try to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, Sister Marilyn said a key point to convey especially to Catholics is the understanding that just as all immigrants and refugees are “the other” or strangers, so too is God “the other.”

“God is the ultimate ‘other,’” she said. “If we say we want to live in harmony with God and we don’t open ourselves to others we will never meet God.”

12 The Catholic News & Herald

January 15, 2010

around the diocese

Archival Anecdota

Nurse in training

For the month of January, here is a look back at the the journey of Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal.

MONSIGNOR ANTHONY KOVACIC

Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal was the first native North Carolinian to be elevated to the American hierarchy.

He served as a priest and bishop during the pontificates of six different popes and attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

As a priest of the Diocese of Raleigh he served at parishes in Greenville and Swannanoa as well as the Cathedral in Raleigh.

During his time as Bishop of Salt Lake City he authorized the restoration of the exterior of the diocesan cathedral, built and dedicated new chapels, churches and schools and improved relations with the Mormons.

13 January 1910 Joseph Lennox Federal, the third of eight children, is born in Greensboro to Margaret and Howard Federal.

23 January 1910 Joseph is baptized at St. Benedict Church in Greensboro by Benedictine Father Vincent Taylor, who would eventually become the AbbotOrdinary of Belmont Abbey.

1927 Joseph Federal graduates from Belmont Abbey Prep School in Belmont.

8 December 1934 After completing seminary at the North American College in Rome, Joseph Federal is ordained a priest for the Diocese of Raleigh.

1935 Father Federal begins his first assignment as assistant pastor at St. Peter Church in Greenville.

1936 Father Federal is appointed first pastor of the newly established St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa.

1938 Father Federal is appointed rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh.

1942 Father Federal is named a monsignor

by Pope Pius XII. 5 February 1951 Pope Pius XII appoints Monsignor Federal as Auxiliary Bishop of Salt Lake City and Titular Bishop of Appiaria.

11 April 1951 Monsignor Federal is ordained a bishop.

1 May 1958 Bishop Federal is appointed coadjutor Bishop of Salt Lake City.

A coadjutor Bishop has the right to become the next Bishop of the diocese/ archdiocese in which he serves.

31 March 1960 With the death of Bishop Duane Hunt, Bishop Federal becomes the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

1976 Bishop Federal presides over a Solemn Eucharistic celebration in the Salt Palace Indoor Arena in honor of the bicentennials of Franciscan Friar Expeditions into Utah. 14,000 people attend the gathering.

26 December 1976 Permanent Deacons are ordained for the first time in the Salt Lake City Diocese. Bishop Federal ordains 14 married men to the diaconate.

22 April 1980 Bishop Federal retires as Bishop of Salt Lake City.

12 October 1986 Bishop Federal joins Charlotte Bishops Michael Begley and John Donoghue in Swannanoa for the 50th anniversary celebration of St. Margaret Mary Church.

31 August 2000 Bishop Federal dies in Salt Lake City.

courtesy photo

Philomena, a nursing student sponsored by Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, gains hands-on experience while working in an outpatient clinic of the Consolata School of Nursing in Nyeri, Kenya, Africa.

Since 2006, Sacred Heart Church, through its Community Life Commission, has been sponsoring the complete education of a nursing student in East Kenya, Africa.

Philomena has one more year of training to complete her four-year nursing degree.

She wrote recently that in many parts of her country insufficient rain was a cause of serious crop failure and water shortages. This resulted in outbreaks of cholera and typhoid.

In the letter she also said, “I am very grateful to you all for enabling me to study so as to help others and earn my living.”

When Philomena completes her nursing degree and is practicing in Kenya’s hospitals she will be serving a large number of Kenya’s sick and poor people.

The investment Sacred Heart Church made to her education seemed large at the time of its consideration. However, the impact of this decision will be worth much more than the initial investment itself.

To paraphrase Gandhi, we must be the change we want the world to be. Finding viable and concrete solutions to poverty is a world-wide concern. One approach to ending poverty is to assist the poor in becoming self sustaining.

Sacred Heart Church is changing the world in a very small part of Kenya today by its generous support of this one nursing student. When faith, generosity, and discipleship combine, a priceless good is attained.

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January 15, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 13

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Inspired by reflections of holiness

Homily highlights the Holy Family Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, said, “This homily, offered by Deacon Mark Diener on the Feast of the Holy Family, gave me and the parishioners of St. Gabriel much to ponder as we strive to walk by faith.

His inspiring words had me thinking how blessed I have been over the years to hear the Word preached by deacons with whom I have been privileged to serve.”

The text of the homily follows: May you be holy!

We celebrate today the Holy family, not the perfect family.

Where does the call to be holy come from? Originally, Leviticus 11:45: “For I the Lord am your God and you shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am Holy. You shall be Holy because I

am Holy!” Peter also quotes Leviticus, saying “You shall be holy, for I am Holy” (1Peter 1:15).

They are known as the Holy Family of Nazareth, not the perfect family! Ah that ‘perfect’ birth. Every mother would want a birth out of town in a manger, right? Well, maybe that’s not so perfect after all.

After the birth, the family had to flee to Egypt as refugees. This was because Jesus’ life was in danger, much like refugees from war-torn countries of today.

On top of that, Mary and Joseph suffered the awful experience of losing Jesus for three days.

To celebrate his coming of age, Jesus attended the temple Bible class without informing his parents. When his parents

caught up with him after three days of searching for him, Mary asked Jesus “why have you done this to us?” Jesus’ reply does not seem to take into account the pain, suffering and anxiety of Mary and Joseph. He just said, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Wait, do we see a moment of tension in the Holy Family? Those of us who are teenagers, were teenagers, perhaps are raising teenagers or will be raising teenagers — consider the teen years of Jesus. Most teens believe they know everything. Can you imagine how difficult it had to be for Mary and Joseph to raise a teenager who actually did?

The saddest moment of all had to have been when Mary watched her son die on the cross. Then she had to bury her son. I know way too many families who have had to bury a child.

The Holy Family was blessed with special grace yet was nevertheless a family faced with trials, challenges and tribulations that were far from perfect.

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God gifts every family with particular graces and blessings to help endure their difficulties and bear their crosses.

The word holy comes from a Greek word meaning “to be separated from.”

God is separated from sin and from all that is evil.

Where God is, that is where holiness exists, whether it is in the Eucharist within the tabernacle or upon Mt. Zion.

Wherever God is present, holiness is present! Is God in your heart? Is he in your home? Do you allow him into your family? As we receive him in the Eucharist, we may become holy.

As couples begin their married lives on their wedding day, they stand before the altar and God. They exchange their consent and invite God into their marriage covenant.

I share with every couple how there will be good days and there will be challenging days. They will have days of health but there will be surgeries, hospitalizations, and the flu. They will have times of monetary wealth, but as we have seen this last year, there may times of being poorer.

I believe love helped to keep the Holy Family together throughout their trials. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ love for each other and their love for God the Father helped to keep them together.

We can see Jesus’ love for his mother when he was dying on the cross and was worried about leaving her behind. He asked his close friend and disciple John to look after her.

He also asked our Father to forgive others, “for they know not what they do.”

Love and forgiveness also help hold our families together in difficult times.

Many couples choose readings from Corinthians for their wedding, such as, “Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, not pompous, not rude, love never fails.”

Just as I ask couples on their wedding day, I ask you to end each day asking yourself: “Was I patient? Was I kind? Was I rude to anyone, especially someone I love? Did I forgive those who hurt me this day? Did I ask someone whom I hurt to forgive me?”

Let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were called in one body to be holy. In the days of this Christmas time and in the days to come, may you be holy!

January 15, 2010

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Growing in the knowledge of the faith in the new year In the days of preparation for this past Christmas, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published the results of a survey that suggested that theological confusion may pose a larger threat to the Christian character of Christmas and influence in society than anything that comes from the opposition of the American Civil Liberties Union or other militant secularists.

Notably, the survey showed that among American Catholics, there was not much difference in the responses between those who practice the faith each Sunday and those who seldom come.

This was yet another confirmation that many American Catholics are unaware about the contents of the faith, are theologically confused, or are not receiving the “salt” of the Christian faith sufficiently as to foresake superstitions or the beliefs and practices of the New Age or Eastern religions.

It’s true that the teaching of the Church has in recent years been made amply available to Catholics through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, through various apologetic websites, and so many other accessible resources.

Sadly few Catholics take advantage of them.

While Catholics now rank among the most educated of Americans — with almost everyone graduating from high school and large numbers going on to college and even to graduate degrees — many know their trades or academic disciplines far better than they know their faith. It’s not uncommon that even Catholic doctors, lawyers and university professors have remained at the level of the knowledge of faith they had at the time of their confirmation; their knowledge of the faith has not kept pace with their knowledge of other disciplines, even though many would readily admit that God and their response to him in faith are more important than these other disciplines.

Perhaps nowhere is this lack of growth in the knowledge of the faith more evident than in the relationship Catholic adults have to the Word of God. During the 2008 Vatican Synod on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, an international survey was conducted that showed that even though 93 percent of Catholic adults own a Bible at home — the average household has three copies — only one in 30 read the Bible each day and only one in 14 read it at all during a given week. Forty-four percent of Catholics say they rarely or never read the Bible. Eighty percent confess that the only time they come into contact with the Word of God is when they hear it proclaimed at Mass. So while the average American spends six to eight hours a day watching television, 29 in 30

Guest Column FATHER ROGER LANDRY guest columnist

do not take even one minute to read the Word of God. It goes almost without saying that religious vitality will suffer when so few Catholics ever take advantage of the incredible treasure God has placed in their hands. It is also obvious that if Catholic adults do not know their faith very well, it will be difficult for them to pass on the faith effectively to newer generations. Ignorance of Scripture, St. Jerome taught in the fourth century, is ignorance of Christ. And that ignorance of Scripture, which is getting worse by the generation, has been amply demonstrated in several other recent surveys of Biblical illiteracy among Americans.

Recent studies have shown that 60 percent of American Christians believe that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. Only 40 percent of Christian Americans can name any five of the ten commandments. Half of high school seniors think that Sodom and Gomorrah were married. Fewer than half can identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible. Only a third of Americans know who gave the Sermon on the Mount, and more people believe that the Reverend Billy Graham delivered it than Jesus.

Twelve percent think that Noah’s wife is Joan of Arc. The examples abound.

The church in America needs a culture shift as it comes to the study of the Bible and the faith. Catholic pastors and educators need to encourage, inspire, guide and assist Catholics to become zealous life-long learners.

Catholic adults must also take up their own responsibility to use the gift of the mind God has given them to come to know him, his word, and the faith he has revealed, as it has been lived and transmitted faithfully from generation to generation from the time of the apostles.

It would be an excellent New Year’s Resolution for every reader to make a commitment to spend at least 10 minutes a day prayerfully reading the Word of God and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua 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. 24, 2010

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Cycle C Readings: 1) Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8-10, 15 2) 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 3) Gospel: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

The truth shall set you free Jean Denton cns columnist

For the third time in a year, a small group of medical students from Vanderbilt University held a public meeting in a remote, impoverished Appalachian coal mining town to explain the services they could provide, free of charge, if invited to run a weeklong health fair in the community.

For the third time, the university program director asked if the local residents were interested. Everyone had listened intently, but, for the third time, they responded with silence.

In two previous meetings they had also remained silent when asked about their health care situation, but the persistent director asked one more time: Could the medical students provide some needed services here in Lee County, Virginia?

Silence again. Then one woman, a mother and wife who had lived there her whole life, stood and said in a soft, steady voice, “I think if we’d had just one doctor here in town it would’ve saved a lot of lives in the accident at the mine (that happened a few years earlier).”

One could’ve heard a pin drop as she sat down.

“Then it was like a flood as one by one people began telling their personal stories about the lack of health care,” explained the religious sister who was at those meetings nearly 40 years ago and later told me the story.

So they held a health fair. Soon the community formed a health council, eventually establishing a network of clinics that today serves low-income people of the entire region.

This week’s Scriptures show how powerfully God’s word enlivens his spirit in the hearts of his people. As Israel began returning from captivity, Ezra was sent to teach the new generation. He rose to proclaim God’s covenant and laws, and the power of his words brought all present to their knees.

The Gospel reveals the covenant fulfilled in Jesus: good news for the poor, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Jesus stood, proclaimed the truth and his spirit transformed those to whom he came.

Centuries later in Appalachia, when one woman finally spoke, everyone in the room knew the truth was out. A spirit of courage was unleashed as they gave it voice and were emboldened to act on it for the sake of their entire community.

The truth again set the captives free.

Questions: When was a time recently when the Word of God inspired the Spirit in you?

How can you act this week to help free someone who is oppressed?

Scripture to be illustrated: “He stood up to read ... and found the passage where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’” (Luke 4:16b, 18a).

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 17-23 Sunday (Second Sunday in Ordinary Time), Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 2:1-11; 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.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 24-30 Sunday (Third Sunday in Ordinary Time), Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21; Monday (The Conversion of St. Paul), Acts 9:1-22, Mark 16:15-18; Tuesday (Sts. Timothy and Titus), 2 Timothy 1:1-8, Mark 3:31-35; Wednesday (St. Angela Merici), 2 Samuel 7:4-17, Mark 4:1-20; Thursday (St. Thomas Aquinas), 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29, Mark 4:21-25; Friday, 2 Samuel 11:1-10, 13-17, Mark 4:26-34; Saturday, 2 Samuel 12:1-7, 10-17, Mark 4:35-41.

January 15, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 15

New year brings opportunities for planning If you’re like most of us, you have begun 2010 with a feeling of renewal that accompanies the start of another new year. As we look to a new decade, you may be motivated to finish those tasks that have been put off for so long before you look toward accomplishing new goals.

If 2010 inspires you to review or begin your estate plan, here’s a quick outline experts suggest to help you prepare your will. Reflecting on these questions will allow you to have your ideas recorded in logical order and save you time and money when you meet with your attorney or financial advisor.

Who is important to you?

Start with those who are dependent on you for financial support, including your spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren or others. Record each person’s name, age and relationship to you. Then consider your parish, Catholic school, Catholic agency, the Foundation, or the Diocese of Charlotte, along with anyone else you may want to include in your estate plan.

What do you own?

Everyone has an estate, not just the

wealthy.

Include in this list everything of value, as this is what makes up your estate: your house(s), automobile(s), cash, savings accounts, securities, real estate, life insurance, stocks, bonds and retirement plan assets, art, jewelry and any other property of value.

List the present value, what it cost, and any income it provides. List any mortgages or other debts also.

How do you wish to distribute your property?

Jot down your ideas as you answer this question and think about who will receive the property you own.

You may want to designate specific items to some, while others would receive a dollar amount or percentage of your estate. These decisions are based on your desires and the needs of each heir.

Who can help you put your plans in action?

In order for your planning to result in the distribution you intend, it’s important to have the best possible professional advice. Your attorney can draft your will and offer suggestions for

Politics of health care ‘reform’ can make you sick Catholic bishops have urged the government to reform our ailing health care system for decades. But the present state of affairs is enough to make you sick.

The gamesmanship in Congress relates more to politics than health and has created serious problems. Despite the bishops’ desire for health care reform, the proposed bills could turn the bishops from allies into opponents. So far, health care reform it is not.

Paying for abortion The bishops have argued for an “abortion neutral” bill, so that no one can use health care reform to put money into elective abortions.

The bishops appreciate the Hyde Amendment on abortion funding, which precludes using federal dollars for elective abortions or health plans that cover such abortions; they want similar language in health care reform legislation.

The Stupak Amendment in the House bill said it well when it declared in reference to elective abortions, that no funds authorized or appropriated by the House health care reform legislation “may be used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion.”

Conscience rights Under both the House and Senate bills, employers such as the Church, may be forced to provide for services that directly violate their teachings.

Among other things, the final bill needs language like that found in the Weldon Amendment, passed in 2004, that prevents federal and state governments from discriminating against hospitals, physicians and nurses that do not perform, refer for, or pay for abortions.

Basic fairness Both House and Senate bills leave in place a policy that prevents legal immigrants, that is, people who are on the path to citizenship and pay taxes, from access to health services available to other taxpayers.

These are men and women who, though they can fight in the Army, are still ineligible for Medicaid for the first five years of their U.S. residency.

Legislators should ensure that any final bill provides equitable access to health care for legal immigrants and their families.

Risk to overall health The Senate bill does not allow undocumented persons to buy insurance with their own money.

This position not only smacks of unfairness — if people want to buy insurance, why not let them? — it is bad economics. The more people in the insurance pool the better. The position also threatens the overall public health.

Right now, many undocumented persons have to rely on the emergency room for basic medical care — the most expensive ordinary care there is — to deal with matters as simple and contagious as strep throat and tuberculosis.

If as many as possible had access to

Legacy Notes JUDY SMITH guest columnist

the very best ways to accomplish your wishes. Additional financial advisors may be needed as well, depending on the complexity of your estate.

Make time now to do some estate planning and draft or revise your will as you look to those things you have been putting off and begin to focus on goals for this year and the new decade.

The old saying, “You can’t take it with you,” is only partially true. You can take something with you, and that is the satisfaction of knowing that you have left your possessions where they can do the greatest good.

Judy Smith is director of planned giving for the Diocese of Charlotte. For more information and a free copy of the booklet Better Estate Planning, call 704370-3320 or send an email to jmsmith@ charlottediocese.org.

Guest Column SISTER MARY ANN WALSH guest columnist

decent health care, including care that prevents serious disease or treats it early, keeping the spread of disease in check would have a chance of becoming the rule.

Affordability As written now, a family of four earning $29,500 would have to pay four percent of its income for health insurance premiums and would have inadequate protection on high deductibles and copayments.

That’s almost $2,000 dollars a year.

Out-of-pocket expenses on health care could be near 20 percent of their income.

Look at the cost of food, housing, transportation, and clothing and do the math. It is heartless to force people to have to choose rent over health care or medical treatment over minimum financial solvency.

We need health care reform in America and we’re close to attaining it, but if decent health care becomes a matter of politics over the public good, we’ll all lose. That’s enough to make you sick.

Originally published by On Faith at washingtonpost.com. Sister Mary Ann Walsh is a Sister of Mercy of the Americas and director of Media Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Saints renew the church, pope says The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At every moment of Christian history, God raises up saints to renew and reform the church, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“To renew the church in every age, God raises up saints, who themselves have been renewed by God and are in constant contact with God,” the pope said Jan. 13 at his weekly general audience.

The pope said that in continuing his audience talks about the history of the church, specifically about theologians of the Middle Ages, he wanted to highlight the essential role of saints, who are able to make lasting, revolutionary contributions to the church precisely because they lived the Gospel in their own lives.

“Through all the sadness, the negative aspects of history, we see the birth of forces for reform and renewal because the newness of God is inexhaustible and always gives new strength,” he said.

Focusing specifically on the 13thcentury founding of the Franciscans by St. Francis of Assisi and the Dominicans

by St. Dominic Guzman, the pope said personal holiness led the two saints to preach — and to help actualize — a return to Gospel poverty, a deeper unity with the church and a new movement of evangelization, including within the European universities that were blossoming at the time.

At a time when some monasteries and dioceses, which had been oases for prayer and learning, started accumulating vast amounts of money and property, groups of Catholics became scandalized and started groups that, while aiming to live the Gospel authentically, did so by increasingly separating themselves from the church and from its doctrine, the pope said.

“The Franciscans and Dominicans, on the other hand, followed in the footsteps of their founders and demonstrated that it was possible to live evangelical poverty, to live the Gospel itself, without separating themselves from the church,” he said.

Pope Benedict said that in today’s world, often marked by a culture that “focuses more on having than on being,” there continue to be holy Christians.

“As the Second Vatican Council recalled, the call to holiness is not reserved to a few, but is universal. In every state of life one has the possibility of living the Gospel,” he said. “Even today every Christian, no matter what his or her state, can and must strive to reach the heights of Christian life.”

January 15, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 16

in the news

Rome rabbi says pope’s visit shows commitment to dialogue ROME (CNS) — Rome’s chief rabbi said the planned visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the city’s main synagogue and community center is a sign that Catholics and Jews are committed to respectful dialogue, even when their relationship hits stumbling blocks.

Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi, told Catholic News Service there is “a solid basis” for positive relations, but “with a storm every now and then.”

The rabbi spoke in his office Jan. 12, just five days before Pope Benedict’s first visit to the synagogue.

Rabbi Di Segni said Pope Benedict’s visit is important first of all as “a symbolic continuation of the gesture made by (Pope) John Paul II, who was the first pope to set foot in a synagogue in 19 centuries. There is precedence, though,” because St. Peter obviously had been in synagogues, he added.

Visiting the synagogue 23 years after Pope John Paul did “is important because it is saying that the journey undertaken has not been interrupted, but will move forward,” he said.

“Times have changed,” the rabbi said. “Many things have been achieved; other things still need to be done. The path, the Jewish-Catholic encounter, is terribly complicated. It is not a smooth road leading onward, but it is one continually filled with stumbling blocks.

The visit of a pope to the synagogue should demonstrate that beyond the stumbling blocks there is a substantial desire to communicate with each other and resolve problems.”

While the Jewish community has expressed concern over several of Pope Benedict’s decisions, including his decision a year ago to lift the excommunication of a traditionalist bishop who denied the extent of the Holocaust, the rabbi said the key problem

is what Jews see as mixed signals from the pope about the Catholic Church’s position on the religious significance of Judaism itself.

While affirming that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, some Catholic theologians and some of the writings of Pope Benedict have recognized the ongoing value of the Jewish people’s covenant with God. In a book-length interview in 2000, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said the Jews have a mission to fulfill in the world until the Messiah comes again.

But, Rabbi Di Segni said, the pope is also the person who, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in 2000 published the document “Dominus Iesus,” which insisted faith in Christ was necessary for salvation.

Another point of tension, the rabbi said, is Pope Benedict’s decision in December to move forward the sainthood cause of Pope Pius XII, whom many Jews believe did not do enough to denounce the Holocaust.

“It is a historical question, a problem that is still very much open,” the rabbi said.

F o r t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y, especially in Rome, the question of Pope Pius is “a dramatic one, it’s a raw nerve that involves the behavior not only of that one personality, but also regards the anti-Judaism of the church and the interpretation of the Shoah,” the Holocaust, he said.

The rabbi said that such a sensitive issue should be handled “much more slowly and with much deeper study.”

Still, Rabbi Di Segni said, Pope Benedict’s visit and other “grand gestures” made by the popes and leaders of the Jewish community have a great impact on helping faithful Catholics and Jews see one another as neighbors to be respected.

cns photo by paul haring

Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, is seen during an interview with Catholic News Service in his office next to Rome’s main synagogue Jan. 12. Rabbi Di Segni said the Jan. 17 visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Rome’s main synagogue is a sign Catholics and Jews are committed to respectful dialogue.

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Tourthecampus

Lean about thecurriculum

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!

All Are Welcome!

No Districts. No Politics. No Distractions.

Just 128 Years of Great Education.

385 Lumen Christi Lane, Salisbury 704-633-2841 www.salisburycatholic.org

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!