March 3, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 1

March 3, 2000

March 3, 2000 Volume 9 t Number 26

S e r v i n g C a t h o l i c s in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Inside Morganton community discusses possibility of new Catholic school ...Page 3

From the Cover

“At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days tempted by Satan.

He was among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.”

— Mark 1: 12-13

At Vatican and in Egypt, pope begins Holy Year pilgrimages

...Page 7

Living the Faith

Catholic couple picked as longest married in nation

...Page 16

Local News Caring Friends program extends many hands ...Page 4

Diocese to celebrate regional Rites of Election ...Page 9

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 14-15

Lent and the Great Jubilee 2000 Special in this issue

Desert in Jericho near the Mount of Temptation, photo by Joann S. Keane

Faith formation Coordinator shares ideas, talents with parishes

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer MATTHEWS — The sight of pink flamingoes sometimes brings Peg Ruble to tears.

Although many things cause her to weep, pink flamingoes are a significant stimulant.

“Pink flamingoes keep showing up in my life,” said Ruble. The birds’ influence come from Betty Cory, one of her sistersin-law who passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Cory began a social women’s group named after the pink waterfowl in Ruble’s home state of Illinois, in which a particular woman would host a party. To let everyone know about the party, the hostess would place a plastic flamingo in her front yard. In order to get rid of the bird, another woman would agree to host a party.

“Pink flamingoes were a very unique symbol to Betty, and I never got the chance to say good-bye to her,” explained Ruble, who now wears a flamingo pin as a symbolic reminder of her sister-in-law. “When I talk about the importance of symbols and how they carry a deeper meaning, as in sacramental preparation where the symbols are universally specific and deep, I mention

the pink flamingo and the importance of symbols.”

Sacramental preparation is only one area that Ruble, the Central Region faith formation coordinator, covers during her various workshops and presentations to the parishes in the Boone, Hickory and Gastonia vicariates. She meets with parish leaders and updates them on diocesan policies and guidelines, meets with the parish catechetical leaders during the vicariate meetings, and assesses faith formation programs already in place, she explained.

Ruble said that her current vocation is directly linked to her family and her faith, two strong influences from her early days.

Ruble is the third oldest of 10 children born and raised in a Catholic family in Springfield, Ill. She said that being in a large family rooted her in a sense of community and taught her that everyone has something to contribute because everyone has unique gifts to share. “And sharing is something that you learned early on in my family,” she said.

Teaching was a profession that she had always wanted to do from the

time she was six, when she taught her younger brother to read right after she learned. Her teaching skills did not stop with one sibling. She had a brother with dyslexia, and her mother thought that since she was so good with her other brother, that she could help this one. So, with the help of a book her mother purchased, she also taught her brother to read.

This propelled her in the direction of special education; she obtained her bachelor of arts degree in that area of study in 1972 and began teaching. “I wanted to help kids who were troubled, which was out of my understanding of who I was as a Christian. I was responding to a Christian-specific ministry, although I didn’t realize it at the time,” she said.

After her oldest daughter Cory was born, she decided to stay at home to raise a family. During those years, she first became involved with parish catechetical ministry. “I eased into the ministry by teaching kindergarten faith formation because I thought my knowledge of the faith wasn’t sound enough,” she admitted.

After the family, which had grown to five with the addition of her daughter Michelle and her son Tyson, moved to Wisconsin, where she had graduat-

See FAITH FORMATION, page 5

2 The Catholic News & Herald Church’s past cannot correctly interpret its teaching, Pope John Paul II said. Although he had just returned from his pilgrimage to Egypt, the pope interrupted his rest to give the closing address at a Feb. 25-27 Vatican meeting on the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul rejected the idea that the Catholic Church needs a new council to reorganize its structure and its mission to respond to modern needs and concerns.

Brief says partial-birth abortion not constitutionally protected WASHINGTON (CNS) — The procedure known as partial-birth abortion is so different that it does not warrant the constitutional protection the court has given abortion in general, argues the U.S. Catholic Conference in a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The killing of partly born children is new to both law and medicine,” says the USCC in an “amicus,” or friend of the court, brief for an upcoming case over Nebraska’s law prohibiting partial-birth abortion. The brief, in the case of Stenberg vs. Carhart, was written by USCC associate general counsel Michael F. Moses and general counsel Mark E. Chopko on behalf of the bishops’ conference and six other religious groups.

Congress asked to condemn moves to oust Vatican as U.N. observer WASHINGTON (CNS) — The House and Senate are considering resolutions that condemn moves to end the Vatican’s status as a permanent observer to the United Nations. The “sense of Congress” resolution was introduced by two Catholic Republicans — Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey in the House and Sen. Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire in the Senate. The resolution says Congress “strongly objects to any effort to expel the Holy See from the United Nations as a state participant by removing its status as a nonmember state permanent observer.”

For about a year, the group Catholics for a Free Choice has been leading a campaign to change the Vatican’s status at the United Nations to that of a nongovernmental organization. Nearly 400

Floods in Mozambique A rescue worker pulls a mother and two children from flood waters in the Mozambique city of Chokwe Feb. 28. South African defense forces were attempting to evacuate thousands of people from the flooded region of the Limpopo River.

CNS photo from Reuters

Gap between rich and poor widens despite boom WASHINGTON (CNS) — Despite the booming economy, there is steadily worsening economic inequality in the United States, an economist told church social ministers. “The degree of inequality has so steadily increased since the 1970s that the United States is now more economically unequal than any other country,” said Chris Tilly, a professor of regional and economic development at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

He made the comments in a Feb. 26 presentation to the Roundtable, the association of diocesan social action ministers.

Vatican II was a gift, not a break with past, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) — People who believe the Second Vatican Council marked a break with the Catholic

Episcopal March 3, 1999 Volume 9 • Number 26

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Jimmy Rostar Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Production Associate: Julie Radcliffe Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Jane Glodowski 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 $18 per year for all other subscribers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

March 3, 2000

The World in

c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: March 8 — Ash Wednesday 7:30 pm Mass St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte March 11 — 3:30 pm Mass Our Lady of the Americas, Biscoe March 12 — 3 pm Rite of Election St. Lawrence Basilica, Asheville March 14 — 11 am Presbyteral Council Meeting Pastoral Center, Charlotte March 15 — 12:15 pm Ecumenical Lenten Lecture and Service St. Pius X, Greensboro March 15 — 7:15 pm Rite of Election St. Pius X, Greensboro March 16 — 7:15 pm Rite of Election St. Matthews, Charlotte

organizations, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, have asked U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the status of the Holy See as a permanent observer.

Nuns’ beatifications will renew church in Belarus, officials say WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — A spokeswoman for the Holy Family of Nazareth order said the beatification of 11 nuns martyred in World War II will encourage “renewal and reconciliation” in the East European church.

Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz of Grodno, Belarus, welcomed the move as a “providential event,” adding that it would encourage support for churchrun charity and education projects. On March 5, Pope John Paul II will beatify Sister Maria Stella Mardosewicz and 10 other Polish nuns from the convent at Nowogrodek, now in Belarus. The nuns were killed by the German Ge-

Diocesan

plan -

from 7-9 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 507 S. Tryon St. The workshop is also being held tomorrow from 7-9 p.m. at St. Pius X Church, 2210 North Elm St. in Greensboro. Topics for discussion include Catholic teaching and principles of faithful citizenship, correct church political activity involvement and moral priorities for public life and questions for campaigns.

NEWTON — St. Joseph Church, 720 West 13th St., and Catholic Social Services Elder Ministry are sponsoring a support group for caretakers of elderly or ill family members and friends. All caregivers are encouraged to attend today’s meeting at 1 p.m. in the church hall. Care is being provided for those adult family members who are able to attend with their caregivers. For further information, call Meg Smith at (828) 464-8442 or e-mail meg@twave.net.

stapo after asking to take the place of 120 arrested civilians.

Theologian says Catholics need confidence in their faith WASHINGTON (CNS) — To have an impact, Catholics need to approach public life with confidence in their faith, Dominican theologian Father J. Augustine Di Noia said Feb. 23. “We have to come to our audiences with confidence that we have something valuable to share,” he said.

Father Di Noia, secretary for doctrine and pastoral practices of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke at a luncheon seminar in Washington hosted by the Faith and Reason Institute, a recently formed Washington think-tank on religion and culture.

Vatican official distinguishes between martyr, witness of faith VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Pope John Paul II prepared to beatify a group of martyrs, a Vatican official said it was important to understand the difference between a martyr and a “witness of the faith.” Strictly speaking, the term martyr should be used only for Catholics who died for their faith and were beatified or canonized, said Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes. The term “witnesses of the faith” may be used for Catholics whose beatification process has not been completed or for other Christians who were killed because of their faith or promotion of Christian values, the archbishop said.

Vatican rejects some claims of best way to celebrate Mass WASHINGTON (CNS) — In a letter to a U.S. bishop, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has rejected arguments that priests should give preference to Eucharistic Prayer 1 and should stand at the altar with their back to the people when they celebrate Mass. The letter, responding to inquiries by Bishop David E. Foley of Birmingham, Ala., was sent to all U.S. bishops and was made public Feb. 22.

WINSTON-SALEM — St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave., is sponsoring “A Properly Drawn Will,” an estate planning seminar, tonight at 7 p.m. in Conference Room A. For more information, call Cindy Rice, diocesan director of planned giving, at (704) 370-3320.

18 FLETCHER — The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Cross and Shamrock Division - #1 N.C., is holding its 7th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at the Broadmoor Golf Club on French Broad Lane, off of Airport Rd. The festivities start at 7 p.m. with door prizes, a corned beef and cabbage dinner and music by Joe Lavin and his band. For tickets and details, call George Dunham at (828) 2980085. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an international organization dedicated to friendship, unity and Catholic charity.

Please submit notices of events for the Diocesan Planner at least 10 days prior to publication date.

March 3, 2000

Around the Di-

The Catholic News & Herald 3

Morganton community discusses possibility of new Catholic

By ELLEN NEERINCX SIGMON Correspondent MORGANTON — After working for over a year with architects, contractors, city engineers and diocesan school officials, a committee of parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo Church held a meeting Feb. 23 with over 100 parishioners and other interested people in the community to discuss their plans for a new Catholic elementary school, and to hand out applications for this fall.

Whether or not the parish school opens in the fall depends on how many applications are returned to the church

by March 10. Lynn Henderson, chairperson of the Catholic school committee at St. Charles Borromeo, said that close to 70 students would need to apply to make it possible, but that plans would allow them to admit up to 90 students entering grades one through five this fall.

She also spoke of the possibilities of adding a sixth-grade class the following year, as well as seventh- and eighth-grade classes in years to come.

“I am very confident that this program will work,” said Mrs. Henderson.

“We can give our children something special. There will be people who will sit back to wait and see what will happen next year, but the opportunity is now.”

The committee surveyed the parish last fall, and 241 families out

of 258 that responded to the survey expressed support for the school, said Mrs. Henderson.

During the meeting, several education officials from the Diocese of Charlotte also gave presentations about the benefits of Catholic schools.

Dr. Michael Skube, superintendent of Catholic schools, gave an overview of Catholic schools in the country, in North Carolina and in the diocese. He also talked about some things that he said were important to parents when they send their children to school.

“Catholic schools exist to really help you do what you want done in your home, while your children are away from home,” he said. The spiritual and moral foundation also happens at a Catholic school, he added. “It may not happen anywhere else.”

Skube also said that Catholic schools provide a safe, secure environment for students, as well as a strong academic program. “No one wants to send their child to an environment that is second-rate in academics,” he said.

“Our children are well-prepared for the next level.”

Skube added that the children in Catholic schools are also taught respect for people of other religions.

“Although we are a Catholic school, we want it to be as diverse as possible,” he said. “People of all faiths are welcome, and we’re stronger for that.”

Mercy Sister Maureen Meehan,

Jubilee Days for March

March Women’s History Month March 8 Ash Wednesday March 12 Lent I

Request for Pardon/

Worldwide Penance March 25 Annunciation

Jubilee of Women

Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Michael S. Murray from the De Sales Spirituality Center. His presentation, “Summit of Compassion,” is taking place tonight from 7:30-8:30 p.m. and tomorrow morning from 10-11 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. For more information, call the church office at (336) 294-4696.

15 BELMONT — Wendy Shalit, author of the book “A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue,” is speaking tonight at 8 p.m. in the Haid Theatre at Belmont Abbey College, Belmont-Mt. Holly Rd. She is the college’s 2000 lecturer in the Father Cuthbert Allen Visiting Fellows Program, co-sponsored by the Charlotte Area Educational Consortium. The event is free to the public, but tickets are required, call (704) 825-6735.

CHARLOTTE — “Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium” is a workshop on this U.S. Bishops’ election year 2000 statement, being given by Joan Rosenhauer of the U.S. Catholic Conference, tonight

March 7 ASHEVILLE — The Basilica of St. Lawrence, 97 Haywood St., is offering a course on the doctors, scholars and fathers of the Church. The series of classes are being held in the St. Justin Building across the street from St. Lawrence.

Tonight’s class focusing on St. Theresa of Avila takes place from 7:30-9 p.m.

Upcoming classes include St. Eusebius of Caesarea on March 15, St. Augustine on March 22 and St. Benedict on March 29. Call the church faith formation office for further details at (828) 252-8816.

GREENSBORO — “Whatever happened to penance during Lent?” is the topic of the 12:10 p.m. presentation at The Franciscan Center, 233 North Greene St. Capuchin Father Charles Finnegan’s talk is focusing on understanding penance in the biblical and Franciscan traditions. Call the center at (336) 273-2554 for registration and more information.

10 MAGGIE VALLEY — Rev. Barbara Nelson is leading a retreat

15 percent discount for a third student director of religious formation for in one family. Students of other faiths the diocesan Catholic Schools Office, have a surcharge of $1,000 added to talked to those present about the traintheir tuition. ing each teacher receives to be able to Options for payment include integrate religious issues into daily monthly or quarterly plans, but a lessons. She said, “We have no binds on 5 percent discount will be given to us to say we can’t do it. God is so much those who pay the full present in the life of year’s tuition by July the child.”

1. The registration Franciscan Sister “I am very confident that fee is $75.

Mona Wingert, asthis program will work,” Some in attensistant superintendance asked quesdent of schools for said Mrs. Henderson. tions about the finanthe diocese, was also “We can give our children cial liability of the present at the meeting. She talked about something special. There parish for the school.

Henderson and the testing that was will be people who will sit Mrs. Dr. Skube said that required to make sure back to wait and see what the committee had that Catholic school students are ready to will happen next year, but worked closely with diocesan school ofgo to the next grade. the opportunity is now.” ficials to develop the In addition to the budget for the school, testing that is reand that the plan was quired by the state of for the school to be self-supporting.

North Carolina in the public schools, Mrs. Henderson added that she students in the diocesan Catholic felt like this school was meant to hapschools take several nationally recpen. “Doors have opened during this ognized tests as well. This is helpful, entire mission,” she said, “and that has she said, for students in families that strengthened my faith.” relocate to other states after spending Dr. Skube said that the parish had time in schools here. been able to make a workable plan for She also addressed the replacea school without a huge capital exment of textbooks, which is on a fivependiture to get started. “This will be year rotation, similar to public schools great if this (does happen), because it in North Carolina. will give hope to (many) other small Tom Henderson, member of the parishes,” he said, noting that this is Catholic school committee at the parone of the most exciting happenings ish, presented the proposed ranges in the schools in a long time. t of tuition and the payment plans that would be available. He gave two examples, each based on the number of Anyone interested in more informastudents enrolled and the number of tion about the school, or in getting an apteachers that would be hired. plication, can call Lynn or Tom Henderson In the first scenario, with 85 stuat (828) 584-6448. dents and five teachers, tuition was estimated at $2,275 to $2,400. In the second scenario, with 70 students and four teachers, the tuition was estimated at $2,400 to $2,575. Both options offered a 10 percent discount on the tuition of a second student in one family that was enrolled in the school, and a

focusing on the losses we experience in life and healthy ways of grieving through them. Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center is the location for the weekend retreat at 103 Living Waters Lane. For reservations and other information, call (828) 926-3833.

11 CHARLOTTE — The Fourth Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is taking place today in uptown Charlotte, beginning at 12 noon at Stonewall and Tryon Streets and finishing at Fifth and Tryon Streets. The parade is organized by Dyer-Hart Productions, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of Columbus. Local church groups, businesses and schools are welcome to participate, and volunteers are also needed for the parade and the Irish Festival afterward. Contact Jim Lawson at (704) 522-9728 for more information.

12 CHARLOTTE — The Newly Married Couples’ Group of St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., is sponsoring a group session on in-law relationships tonight at 7 p.m. in the Ministry Center in Room D. Call the

church office for details at (704) 3645431.

CHARLOTTE — St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, is celebrating a charismatic Mass today at 4 p.m. with prayer teams available at 3 p.m. and a potluck dinner after Mass. Call Josie at (704) 527-4676 for details.

13 CLEMMOMS — Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., is having Parish Retreat 2000 today through March 15, featuring Dominican Father Michael Burke. There are two sessions daily beginning with 9 a.m. Mass and ending with a 7 p.m. prayer service. The themes include “finding God in daily life,” “experiencing and sharing forgiveness” and “family spirituality.” For childcare and other information, call the church office at (336) 778-0600, Ext. 200.

14 GREENSBORO — For a Salesian perspective on the Eucharist, St. Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Rd., is hosting

4 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

March 3, 2000

Caring Friends program extends many

two or three times a week since I was on bed rest until the girls were several months old.

“It was very comforting to have so many people reach out to us. Everyone was really helpful and got us through some tough times, even when we were strangers.”

The Lohmans recently had another baby, and the Caring Friends brought meals once again, and also helped baby-sit when Diane had to go to the doctor.

Providing meals, while the initial work of the group, is only one of the areas in which Caring Friends extends itself. Attention to the homebound has become a large focus.

Marlene Olenick is responsible for developing this part of the program and has about 15 volunteers helping her who visit shut-ins once every two weeks. Organizers compiled a list of about 60 parishioners the help of Father James Solari, pastor, the church office and eucharistic ministers. Some of the eucharistic ministers are also Caring Friends.

With a need for this type of outreach, Olenick came up with a unique idea. Olenick asked third-grade teacher Maureen Patti if some of her students would be willing to write to the homebound once in a while. The response was overwhelming.

Now, every student in the St. Leo School writes once a month to their homebound ‘friend.’ The children also periodically make favors, which are various hand-made pieces of art, with the help of school art teacher Stephanie Iauco.

Matt Sechrest, an eighth-grader at St. Leo School who corresponds with an elderly gentleman, shares, “I write to him about basketball and other sports. He tells me a lot about what’s going on with himself and his wife and about their activities, in particular, singing.”

Hayden Jesserer, also in eighth

grade, corresponds with an elderly woman. “It was kind of strange writing to her at first because I didn’t know her,” he says. “By the second or third time I wrote, even though I didn’t get anything back, it was much easier. I felt like I knew her a bit. I tell her what’s going on in my life, about school and sports. I ask her how she is doing.”

The Caring Friends volunteers also bring letters to the school from those shut-ins that have been able to write back. Olenick has helped some of her shut-ins by taking dictation.

She remembers one shut-in who was anxious to write before the World Series started because both pen pals were rooting for the Yankees. Olenick also tells that many of the shut-ins have their letters and favors on display when she comes to visit.

But it is not only with correspondence that the school reaches out to the Caring Friends’ shut-ins. Patti organizes two trips a year, near Christmas and in the spring, for the older children to visit their pen pals.

Says eighth-grader George Wyatt about his visit to his pen pal, “I got to see what she was really like and what she did. She likes to know what’s going on with teen- agers these days. I look forward to talking to her about Wake Forest Basketball when we go back in the spring. She loves them (the team) and so do I.” Transportation is another service that the Caring Friends program provides. Pauline Rosenwald organizes this, matching volunteers to provide rides to Mass, and visits to doctor appointments, ongoing treatments and the grocery store. Even those who are not shut-in but just without transportation on a Sunday morning are welcome to utilize this service.

Marty Conrad, a younger parishioner who suffers from advanced lupus, has experienced the Caring Friends outreach first-hand. A devout Catholic who, because of her condition,

Photo by Jamie McAleer

Alison Eiffe and Alisha Finn, students at St. Leo School in Winston-Salem, spend some time with their friend Ms. Hessler during a recent visit organized through St. Leo Church and School’s Caring Hearts ministry. doesn’t get to Mass very often, Conrad converted 12 years ago and is often starved to talk about her faith with other Catholics.

“I will want so badly to talk Catholic-to-Catholic, face-to-face...,” she says. “I want to be informed about what other Catholics are thinking about now and what the current issues are.”

She was delighted when Marlene Olenick first called to tell her that someone would come visit her periodically. “When she (Olenick) told me about Caring Friends, I was so thrilled,” she said. “I had not wanted to be selfish in asking anyone to come to my home (prior to this).”

Conrad is also involved with the Homebound Ministry program, which is an offshoot of Caring Friends. Rev. Mr. Thomas O’Connell, one of the par-

ish’s permanent deacons, had recalled a prayer program from another parish that got shut-ins involved. Katherine O’Connell, his wife, took off with the idea and developed the program at St. Leo’s.

Shut-ins who wish to partake agree to pray for others. Once inducted by a eucharistic minister, the participants receive a cross, a book of special prayers and a list of intentions from the church office once a month.

“Every single day, no matter how ill I am, I take that program extremely seriously,” says Conrad says of her involvement. “As a practicing Catholic, it is the only thing I can do to help the church.” t

See CARING FRIENDS, next page

March 3, 2000

Around the Di-

Faith Formation, from page 1 ed to teaching fifth grade faith formation and had been a substitute special education teacher and tutor, she was undergoing professional catechetical training and finished the process in her new parish home after her husband Reid was offered a job in Charlotte.

She taught faith formation classes at St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte and was asked to become the youth minister in 1991.

The Office of Faith Formation invited Ruble to do a diocesan-sponsored

program on natural family planning because of her implementation of a human sexuality component in her parish at the time. She was then asked if she was interested in taking a parttime diocesan regional position, involving adult education training and catechist workshops. This job led to her being hired on a full-time basis as the central regional faith formation coordinator in October 1997.

“I am a liaison and consultant and give the parishes a direct link to the

Office of Faith Formation,” said Ruble.

“My role is to support them in their ministry to do excellent catechetical programs and to provide speakers, training and resources to help them provide the best catechetical program possible.”

Ongoing personal faith formation is important to Ruble, and she will be receiving her master’s degree in religious education this May from LIMEX, a program from Loyola University of New Orleans.

John Hess, the faith formation coordinator at St. Mary Church in Shelby, said, “she is very energetic, helpful and outgoing and is always open to coming to the parish to share with old and young alike. She helped set up the youth group and helped to choose the faith formation curriculum. She gives tools to faith formation teachers in the parishes and looks at different options as far as curriculum is concerned.”

One recent project involves the faith formation textbook evaluations that she is working on with Marylin Kravatz, the Southern Region coordinator, and Franciscan Sister Ber-

The Catholic News & Herald 5

nadette Svatos, the Northern Region coordinator. Both individually and as a team, the three strive to foster the faith journey and bring the jubilee message of evangelization to many areas of the diocese.

The three other faith formation regions in the diocese include the Southern Region, composed of the Albemarle, Charlotte and Salisbury vicariates, the Western region, composed of the Smoky Mountain and Asheville vicariates, and the Northern Region, composed of the Greensboro and Winston-Salem vicariates. t Faith formation is one of the 35 ministries and programs that receive funding from the annual Diocesan Support Appeal.

Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail amprice@charlottediocese.org.

Peg Ruble, Central Region coordinator, pictured center, talks with Marylin Kravatz, Southern Region coordinator, pictured left, and Franciscan Sister Bernadette Svatos, Northern Region coordinator, during the textbook evaluation workshop on Feb. 24 for the Southern Region faith formation parish leaders.

Photo by Alesha M. Price

Caring Friends,

from page 4

By Susan deGuzman Correspondent WINSTON-SALEM — When a crisis occurs, be it a death, a serious illness, surgery or isolation, it is the Caring Friends group that lends a hand.

For the past five years, the Caring Friends of St. Leo Church and School have helped many in need.

“Caring Friends grew out of an

awareness of families in need when there were medical crises,” says Beth Hoeing, who founded the program.

The particular circumstance that she remembers was a couple who had simultaneous emergencies. The wife was recovering from surgery when the husband was suddenly hospitalized.

Hoeing found out about the situation and started making meals for the fam-

ily.

For many it is customary to make meals for friends, neighbors and family that face a difficult time. Yet, what if someone has no relatives living nearby, the neighbors aren’t close, or friends are unable or unavailable to help?

These are some of the circumstances when the Caring Friends Program comes to the call.

Beth Hoeing felt that a pool of volunteers could help many in need.

Those who volunteer are asked to prepare and freeze a meal. They are given several recipes or may make their own

dish following dietary guidelines. If the meal is not needed within two months, then the volunteer may use it for her own family.

Diane and Doug Lohman are the recipients of such assistance. Expecting triplets, Diane was put on bed rest at 19 weeks into her pregnancy.

The Lohmans had no family in town and had only been living in WinstonSalem for two years.

“If it wasn’t for the Caring Friends, I don’t think we would have gotten through these last couple of years,” Diane said. “They brought us meals

6 The Catholic News & Herald

Lay missionary makes return visit to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Al Barbarino, who travels throughout North America and beyond to sing and share a message on the essence of being Catholic, will visit Charlotte for several engagements March 11-14. His mission? To benefit the needy in places he ministers as well as in his home state of New York.

Since 1991, Barbarino has recorded five albums of traditional, contemporary and original songs. A lay apostolate of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Barbarino speaks with and sings to audiences about appreciating the loving message of Jesus.

All proceeds from album sales — both through mail orders and at his appearances — are given to charities that help the poor.

Locally, he gives a percentage to host parishes and organizations. Others receiving funds are the Padre Pio Center for homeless men in the Bronx, a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and Croatian Relief Services, a New Jersey-based agency aiding victims of the war in Bosnia.

Barbarino will perform a free concert of inspirational and spiritual songs March 14 at 7 p.m. in St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., in Charlotte.

He will visit St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Rd. in Charlotte, to sing at all weekend Masses March 11-12 as well, and will sing at the 6 p.m. Mass at St. John Neumann Church March 12. He will also briefly address the congregations about his ministry. On March 13, he will sing at the Little Flower Assisted Living Community.

Through his ministry, Barbarino hopes to provide for those hurting both materially and spiritually. “The message is two-fold: to remind people that God is with us every minute of the day, and to help people realize the peace of Christ,” he said during a 1998 visit to Charlotte.

Barbarino’s recordings will be available at all of his Charlotte appearances. For more information on the concert at St. John Neumann Church, call (704) 536-6520. t

People in the Catholic scholar says don’t beatify Pius XII yet CHICAGO (CNS) — In the name of scholarship, a leading expert in Catholic-Jewish relations has said the church should take no official action for now on Pope Pius XII’s sainthood cause. “Many of us who have researched Pius’ record are strongly opposed to his canonization, beatification or even elevation to ‘venerable’ status,” said Servite Father John Pawlikowski, professor of social ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. “Such action would make it extremely difficult, particularly for Catholic scholars, to continue their investigation of his record.” The priest made his remarks in the Feb. 23 issue of The Christian Century in a review of recently published books that took opposite sides in the debate over the response of Pope Pius XII and his Vatican offices to Hitler’s World War II effort to exterminate the Jews.

Suffragette film brings Burns his fourth Christopher Award NEW YORK (CNS) — A PBS feature on two women who were instrumental in getting American women the right to vote has won documentarian Ken Burns his fourth Christopher Award. Burns’ documentary, “Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony,” was one of 21 television programs, movies and books to be given Christopher Awards at a Feb. 24 ceremony in New York. Burns’ previous wins came with “The Civil War” in 1991, “The Statue of Liberty” in 1987, and “The Brooklyn Bridge” in 1983. He has produced and directed each winner and he also wrote “The Civil War.” U.S. church official urges release of Congolese archbishop WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Bernard F. Law of Boston, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ International Policy Committee, denounced the arrest of a Congolese archbishop and urged the U.S. government to press for his immediate release. “I vehemently deplore the recent arrest of Archbishop Emmanual Kataliko of Bukavu,” Cardinal Law said in a Feb. 17 statement. “I pray that our government will use whatever influence it may have” for the archbishop’s

March 3, 2000

All School Mass Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro was fortunate to celebrate Catholic Schools Week with Bishop William G. Curlin by participating in an All School Mass.

Bishop Curlin spoke about his experiences in Catholic school and urged students to work hard and appreciate the sacrifices parents make for their children. The bishop also blessed the throats of all the students after Mass.

immediate release by the Congolese Rally for Democracy, the rebel group that arrested the archbishop, said Cardinal Law. Family comes first, Marquette University coach emphasizes WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. (CNS) — Put your family first, Marquette University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean told a group of parents and would-be athletes at a Whitefish Bay parish. “Start with family first, and put everything else behind it,” urged Crean, speaking as a coach and a young father. “Anytime you put family ahead of whatever you’re doing, you’re on the right track.” The 33-year-old Crean, who is in his first season with the Golden Eagles, spoke to about 75 people at a fund-raising breakfast for St. Monica Elementary School.

‘Romero’ to be nationally televised in El Salvador SAN SALVADOR (CNS) — A film about the late Archbishop Oscar A. Romero, previously banned by Salvadoran authorities, will be shown on national television as part of the commemorations of the 20th anniversary of his death. “We have never before been given permission to show the film ‘Romero.’ ... I don’t know why,” Msgr.

Ricardo Urioste Bustamante, an official of the San Salvador Archdiocese, told reporters Feb. 16. The film, starring the late Raul Julia, will be shown in the runup to a series of activities being planned by the Oscar Romero Foundation for March, said Msgr. Urioste, who heads the organization.

March 3, 2000

From the

The Catholic News & Herald 7

At Vatican and in Egypt, pope begins Holy Year

CNS photo from Reuters

Pope John Paul II, seated left, joins Orthodox representatives at the foothill of Mount Sinai in Egypt Feb. 28. The pope, making his long-awaited pilgrimage to the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments, called for a return to “universal moral law.”

By John Thavis Catholic News Service CAIRO, Egypt (CNS) — With a three-day visit to Egypt and a “virtual” journey to Iraq, Pope John Paul II began a long-anticipated series of Holy Year pilgrimages to the roots of the faith.

In Egypt Feb. 26, the pope prayed at the foot of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, and said God’s law was still the only hope for modern society.

“The Ten Commandments are not an arbitrary imposition of a tyrannical Lord. They were written in stone; but before that, they were written on the human heart as the universal moral law, valid in every time and place,” he said.

Gazing over a desert mountain landscape that evoked the severity of the Bible, the pope said the world needs to rediscover the “liberating obedience” that prompted Moses to answer God’s call.

The Mount Sinai pilgrimage capped a historic visit to Egypt, where the pope celebrated Mass for his tiny flock of Catholics and reached out to Muslims and Orthodox Christians.

“As-salamu alaikum — Peace be with you!” he said in Arabic after arriving at Cairo’s airport, then delivered a pointed message against religious intolerance.

“To do harm, to promote violence and conflict in the name of religion is a terrible contradiction and a great offense against God. But past and present history give us many examples of such a misuse of religion,” he said.

Egypt welcomed the pope with state honors and interreligious warmth. After kissing a bowl of Egyptian earth at the airport, the pontiff was greeted by the leaders of Egypt’s Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic communities: Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayyid Tantawi, Coptic Orthodox bishops and Catholic Coptic Patriarch Stephanos II Ghattas.

President Hosni Mubarak, who has led a strong effort against Islamic extremist groups in Egypt, praised the pope as “a man of courage, wisdom and tolerance,” and an ally in the struggle against fanaticism and hatred.

At a series of meetings, Egyptian religious leaders dwelt on the pope’s efforts for peace and in particular his defense of Palestinian rights. But the pope’s focus throughout the visit was spiritual, and his jubilee pilgrimage actually began at the Vatican the day before his arrival in Egypt.

Prevented by security concerns from traveling to ancient Ur, the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham located in Iraq, the pope took a mental journey there instead, leading a Vatican service filled with prayers, songs and images.

The pope said Abraham, called by God to move his family across the desert to a new land, was a model of “unconditional submission” to God’s will, and in a sense a spiritual father figure for Christians, Muslims and Jews.

In Egypt, the pope’s Mass, celebrated in front of 15,000 people at a Cairo sports arena, was broadcast on national television on a Friday, the Muslim holy day. The pope pointed out in his sermon that church-run social and charitable agencies were open to all, including Muslims.

“Christians and Muslims, while respecting different religious views, should place their skills at the service of the nation, at every level of society,” he said.

Sheik Tantawi, considered the leading spiritual authority for the world’s 1 billion Sunni Muslims, hosted the pope at his sprawling al-Azhar University complex, a major center of Islamic teaching. Sheiks and imams crowded around the stoop-shouldered pontiff to whisper a few words of greeting.

In extemporaneous remarks, the

See PILGRIMAGES, page 8

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Cultural survival depends on preserving marriage, archbishop

DENVER (CNS) — Preserving the status of traditional marriage as a union between a man and a woman is “a matter of cultural survival,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a column published Feb. 27 in the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

“The ‘tradition’ in traditional marriage, after all, is not some dead habit of the past,” the Denver archbishop wrote. “It’s the voice of learned and re-learned experience. Alternative arrangements don’t work.”

Archbishop Chaput opened the column by expressing the church’s support for “appropriate legislation which would class violence against homosexuals as a ‘hate crime’ involving special penalties.”

“Whatever the content of a person’s behavior, he or she never loses the right to be free from violence motivated by hate,” he said. “The law can legitimately seek to ensure that.”

But the Catholic Church also must support “legal efforts to define marriage as a unique relationship between one man and one woman; to protect and advance marriage’s privileged status in society; and to exclude other types of relationships from sharing in that status,” the archbishop said.

That support derives from the fact that marriage’s unique legal status “exists largely to protect the children who depend on marriage to thrive.”

“Tinkering with the identity of marriage tinkers with the welfare of children,” Archbishop Chaput wrote.

“If the last few decades have shown us anything, it’s this: When ‘traditional’ marriages dissolve, the children of those marriages suffer,” he said.

March 3, 2000

In the

“That doesn’t mean blended or single-parent families will fail their children,” he added. “It does mean that in those contexts, the task of parenting becomes harder, and the children involved will have more numerous and serious obstacles to overcome.”

Society’s response to the “extraordinary pressures” facing married couples today should be to “focus on easing those pressures and reinforcing our support for marriage, not redefining it or establishing parallel structures which erode marriage by sapping its special status,” Archbishop Chaput said.

The Colorado Legislature is considering a bill that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and exclude the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriages in the state.

In Vermont, Bishop Kenneth A. Angell of Burlington has been at the forefront of an effort to defend traditional marriage and to keep the state Legislature from approving same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships.

The state Supreme Court in December ruled that Vermont laws discriminated against gay and lesbian couples and ordered that state laws be changed to give same-sex couples the same legal protections and benefits as married couples.

At a Feb. 17 clergy rally at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, Bishop Angell said people sometimes ask, “What would Jesus do?” about same-sex marriages.

“I believe that he would rule on the side of ‘love,”’ the bishop said. “He always does, but he would also rule on the side of law, the law of God who loves us beyond our comprehension.” t

Pilgrimages, from page 7 sheik and the pope — quoting, respectively, the Koran and St. Thomas Aquinas — agreed that Islam and Christianity shared several basic beliefs about the place of religion in human development. The sheik later announced he would make an unprecedented visit to the Vatican next fall to participate in dialogue sessions.

Pope Shenouda III, the 76-year-old patriarch of about 4 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt, welcomed the pontiff to his residence the same day with a speech extolling ecumenical cooperation. The bearded patriarch escorted the pope from room to room as small children scattered flower petals in their path.

The pope repeatedly praised the Coptic church, Orthodox and Catholic, and its ancient history of keeping the faith, even to the point of martyrdom — an allusion to the harsh persecution of Egyptian Christians in earlier centuries.

Speaking at an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo’s Catholic cathedral Feb. 25, the pope traced the “painful” split among the Christian community back to the fifth century and urged new momentum toward reconciliation — specifically on the issue of papal primacy.

“Dear brothers, there is no time to lose in this regard!” he said.

At the ecumenical service, the Coptic patriarch broke through the formality when he embraced the pope and told him: “We love our country, and we love you!”

The pope replied moments later, “I would like to reciprocate by saying: We love you, too.”

One priest in Egypt said the prob-

lem in local ecumenical dialogue was authority, not theology.

“I think the main problem is that the Coptic Orthodox Church is afraid to lose her independence. It has its own traditions that go back centuries.

The Catholic Church is a very strong, monolithic church, and the Orthodox are afraid of that,” said Dominican Father Emilio Platti, a Belgian who has spent 28 years in Egypt.

Even the pope’s trip to Mount Sinai hit an ecumenical snag. The Greek Orthodox community that runs the Monastery of St. Catherine on the mountain welcomed the pope warmly, but deserted his Liturgy of the Word service. Greek Orthodox Archbishop Damianos said praying together would not be proper until the churches shared full communion.

The pope was animated during a tour of the monastery’s holy places.

When he reached the spot where God is said to have revealed himself to Moses in the “burning bush,” he fell to his knees and prayed intensely for 10 minutes.

The pope planned to continue his biblical pilgrimage in a March visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The idea, said papal aides, was to follow the progress of salvation history and in the process honor its chief figures: Abraham, Moses and Christ.

Vatican officials said they were still looking at the possibility of an additional visit to Damascus, Syria, where St. Paul preached the Gospel, sometime later this year or in 2001. t

The Catholic News & Herald 9

March 3, 2000

Lent is the season the Church gives us to take stock and review our lives, to root out all that is not good and true and replace it with the faithful and the holy.

Lent in the

In these forty days, the Church turns to the ancient penitential practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. These practices remain as rich and life-giving in the year 2000 as they were when practiced by the early Christians and by our Jewish forebears.

Fasting reminds us of our hunger for God which no worldly things can satisfy. Almsgiving reminds us that love of God and love of neighbor are inextricably intertwined and that we bear responsibility for each other. Prayer reminds us to center our lives on God who alone gives meaning to all we do.

Lent 2000 is a most special time — the Lent of a Jubilee Year, a time of favor from the Lord.

March 3, 2000

Jubilee is a special time of forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and liberation from all that binds us. The liturgies and devotions of Lent call us to a kind of spiritual spring cleaning, identifying relationships that are disordered and sins that imprison, and then seeking forPhoto by Joann S. Keane

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

21 0Lent in the Great The Catholic News &Jubilee Herald 2000

March 3, 2000

Guidelines for Lent Pastoral of the American Bishops, stating that prayer is incomplete without penance, urges Friday abstinences as something all American Catholics should offer up for the sake of world peace.

7) Parents and teachers should see to it that even those who are not bound by the laws of fasting and abstinence because of age are brought up in an atmosphere that is conducive to a sense of penance.

8) The faithful should be clearly and positively encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Penance during Lent. There should be adequate time scheduled for Confessions before Easter. Group penance services should not be scheduled for the last days of the Holy Week. At no time is it permitted to schedule a group penance service for the purpose of giving general absolution without individual Confessions.

9) The liturgical directions of the Sacramentary and the Lectionary must be faithfully observed regarding all the special Holy Week Rites.

10) Funeral Masses are not allowed on Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday. The funeral Rite outside of Mass can be held either in church or at the chapel on those days, with a Funeral Mass later.

11) The RCIA is incorporated into the liturgy during Lent. The Rite of Election is celebrated on the First Sunday of Lent. On the third, fourth and fifth Sunday of Lent, the Scrutinies take place during Mass.

1) The time of Lent is to be observed by Catholics as a special season of prayer, penance and works of charity.

2) Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, in particular, are the most important penitential days of the liturgical year. They are days of both fast and abstinence. All Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence.

3) The rule of fasting states the only one full meal a day can be taken. Two small meals, “Sufficient to maintain strength,” are allowed, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals breaks the fast, but drinking liquids does not.

The rule of fasting binds all Catholics from age 18 to 59.

4) Abstinence refers to the eating of meat. Under the present law, it does not include egg or milk products, meat stock soups or gravies. The rule of abstinence binds all Catholics 14 years old and older.

5) The Substantial observance of the laws of fast and abstinence is a serious obligation. Those whose work or health would be impaired are excused from fasting and abstaining. The individual conscience can decide if there is a proper cause to excuse. A more serious reason should be present to excuse from Ash Wednesday and Good Friday penance.

6) Self-imposed fasting on the other weekdays of Lent is recommended. Abstinence on all Fridays of the years is also highly recommended. The Peace

Notice of the Apostolic Penitentiary

The Gift of the Indulgence The gift of the indulgence discloses the fullness of God’s mercy, which is expressed primarily in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The ancient practice, about which there have been many historical misunderstandings, should be properly understood and accepted.

Although reconciliation with God is the gift of God’s mercy, it implies a process involving man with his personal efforts, and the Church with her sacramental function. At the center of the reconciliation process is the Sacrament of Penance, but even after the human being has received forgiveness for his sin through this sacrament, he continues to be marked by those “remnants” which prevent him from being fully open to grace, and he needs purification and that renewal of the whole person through Christ’s grace.

To obtain this, the gift of the indulgence is a great help to him.

An indulgence is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints” (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, Normae de indulgentiis, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1999, p. 21; cf.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1471).

The following notice of the Apostolic Penitentiary recalls the necessary dispositions for fruitfully gaining the Jubilee indulgence.

The celebration of the Jubilee Year is not only an extraordinary occasion for benefiting from the great gift of indulgences which the Lord gives us through the Church, but it is also a fitting opportunity to recall the catechesis on indulgences to the attention of the faithful. The Apostolic Penitentiary is therefore publishing this sacred notice for the benefit of all who will be making Jubilee visits.

General remarks on indulgences 1. This is how an indulgence is defined in the Code of Canon Law (can. 992) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1471): “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”

2. In general, the gaining of indulgences requires certain prescribed conditions (below, nn. 3,4), and the performance of certain prescribed works (nn. 8, 9, 10 indicate those specific to the Holy Year).

3. To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgences work is completed.

4. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace: • have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin; • have sacramentally confessed their sins; • receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required); • pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.

5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.

6. For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).

7. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.

Specific Aspects of the Jubilee Year Having fulfilled the necessary conditions in nn.

3-4, the faithful may gain the Jubilee indulgence by performing one of the following works, listed here below in three categories: 8. Works of piety or religion • Either make a pious pilgrimage to a Jubilee shrine or place (for Rome: one of the four Patriarchal Basilicas — St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul, or to the Basilica of the Holy Cross

The Sacrament of Penance and the Jubilee Year What do sin and penance have to do with the celebration of the Millennium?

The jubilee year 2000 is for the Church “a year of the Lord’s favor, the year of the remission of sins and of the punishment due to them, a year of reconciliation between disputing parties, a year of manifold conversions and of sacramental and extra-sacramental penance.”1With these words the Holy Father reminds us of the importance of reconciliation and specifically the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance in the life of the church.

Why do we need the Sacrament of Penance?

“Because of human weakness..Christians ‘leave their first love’ (See Rev. 2:4) and even break off their friendship with God by sinning. The Lord, therefore, instituted a special Sacrament of Penance for the pardon of sins committed after baptism (See John 20:21-23) and the Church has faithfully celebrated the sacrament throughout the centuries in varying ways, but retaining its essential elements.” [Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship] What happens in the Sacrament of Penance?

In the Sacrament of Penance “the sinner who by the grace of a merciful God, embraces the way of penance, comes back to the Father who ‘first loved us’ (1 Jn 4:19), to Christ who gave himself up for us, and to the Holy Spirit who has been poured out on us abundantly.” [Rite of Penance]3 Likewise, “those who by grave sin have withdrawn from the communion of love with God are called back in the Sacrament of Penance to the life they have lost. And those who through daily weakness fall into venial sins draw strength from a repeated celebration of penance to gain the full freedom of the children of God.” Reprinted from www.nccbuscc.org, official web site for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Conference.

in Jerusalem, the Basilica of St. Laurence in Campo Verano, the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love or one of the Christian Catacombs, and participate there in Holy Mass or another liturgical celebration (Lauds or Vespers) or some pious exercise (the Stations of the Cross, the rosary, the recitation of the Akathistos Hymn, etc); • Or make a pious visit, as a group or individually, to one of these same Jubilee places, and there spend some time in Eucharistic adoration and pious meditations, ending with the “Our Father”, the profession of faith in any approved form and prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

9. Works of mercy or charity • Either visit for a suitable time their brothers or sisters in need or in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly living alone, the handicapped, etc.), as if making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them; • Or support by a significant contribution works of a religious or social nature (for the benefit of abandoned children, young people in trouble, the elderly in need, foreigners in various countries seeking better living conditions); • Or devote a suitable part of personal free time to activities benefiting the community or other similar forms of personal sacrifice.

10. Acts of penance For at least one whole day • Either abstain from unnecessary consumption (smoking, alcohol, etc.); • Or fast, • Or abstain from meat (or other food according to the specific norms of the Bishops’ Conferences), and donate a proportionate sum of money to the poor.

LentThe andCatholic the Great Jubilee 2000 113 News & Herald

March 3, 2000

I am with you always, to the close of the age.

— Mt 28:20 Dear brothers and sisters, 1. This year, the celebration of Lent, a time of conversion and reconciliation, takes on a particular character, occurring as it does during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The time of Lent is in fact the culminating point of the journey of conversion and reconciliation which the jubilee, the year of the Lord’s favor, offers to all the faithful, so that they can renew their fidelity to Christ and proclaim his mystery of salvation with renewed ardor in the new millennium. Lent helps Christians to enter more deeply into this “mystery hidden for ages” (Eph 3:9): It leads them to come face to face with the word of the living God and urges them to give up their own selfishness in order to receive the saving activity of the Holy Spirit.

2. We were dead through sin (cf. Eph 2:5): This is how St. Paul describes the situation of man without Christ. This is why the Son of God wished to unite himself to human nature, ransoming it from the slavery of sin and death.

This is a slavery which man experiences every day, as he perceives its deep roots in his own heart (cf. Mt 7:11).

Sometimes it shows itself in dramatic and unusual ways, as happened in the course of the great tragedies of the 20th century, which deeply marked the lives of countless communities and individuals, the victims of cruel violence. Forced deportations, the systematic elimination of peoples, contempt for the fundamental rights of the person: These are the tragedies which even today humiliate humanity. In daily life, too, we see all sorts of forms of fraud, hatred, the destruction of others, and lies of which man is both the victim and source. Humanity is marked by sin. Its tragic condition reminds us of the cry of alarm uttered by the Apostle to the nations: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10; cf. Ps 14:3).

3. In the face of the darkness of sin and man’s incapacity to free himself on his own, there appears in all its splendor the saving work of Christ: “God appointed him as a sacrifice for reconciliation, through faith, by the shedding of his blood, and so showed his justness” (Rom 3:25). Christ is the Lamb who has taken upon himself the sin of the world (cf. Jn 1:29). He shared in human life “unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8), to ransom mankind from the slavery of evil and restore humanity to its original dignity as children of God. This is the paschal mystery in which we are reborn. Here, as the Easter Sequence says, “Death with life contended, combat strangely ended.” The fathers of the church affirm that in Christ Jesus, the devil attacks the whole of humanity and ensnares it in death, from which, however, it is freed through the victorious power of the resurrection. In the risen Lord, death’s power is broken and mankind is enabled, through faith, to enter into communion with God. To those who believe, God’s very life is given, through the action of the Holy Spirit, the “first gift to those who believe” (Eucharistic Prayer IV). Thus the redemption accomplished on the cross renews the universe and brings about the reconciliation of God and man, and of people with one another.

4. The jubilee is the time of grace in which we are invited to open ourselves in a particular way to the mercy of the Father, who in the Son has stooped down to man, and

Pilgrimage Churches in the Diocese of Charlotte St. Patrick Cathedral 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte (704) 334-2283 Basilica of St. Lawrence 97 Haywood Street, Asheville (828) 252-6042 Our Lady of Grace 2205 West Market Street, Greensboro (336) 274-6520

Lent

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Here is the Vatican text of Pope John Paul II’s Lenten message for 2000, released at the Vatican Jan. 27. to reconciliation, the great gift of Christ. This year therefore should become, not only for Christians but also for all people of good will, a precious moment for experiencing the renewing power of God’s forgiving and reconciling love. God offers his mercy to whoever is willing to accept it, even to the distant and doubtful. The people of our time, tired of mediocrity and false hopes, are thus given an opportunity to set out on the path that leads to fullness of life. In this context, Lent of the Holy Year 2000 is par excellence “the acceptable time ... the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2), the particularly favorable opportunity “to be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20).

During the Holy Year the church offers various opportunities for personal and community reconciliation. Each diocese has designated special places where the faithful can go in order to experience a particular presence of God, by recognizing in his light their own sinfulness, and through the sacrament of reconciliation to set out on a new path of life. Particular significance attaches to pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to Rome, which are special places of encounter with God, because of their unique role in the history of salvation. How could we fail to set out, at least spiritually, to the land which 2,000 years ago witnessed the passage of the Lord? There “the Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14) and “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man” (Lk 2:52); there he “went about all the cities and villages ... preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity” (Mt 9:35); there he accomplished the mission entrusted to him by the Father (cf. Jn 19:30) and poured out the Holy Spirit upon the infant church (cf. Jn 20:22).

I, too, hope, precisely during Lent of the year 2000, to be a pilgrim in the Holy Land, to the places where our faith began, in order to celebrate the 2,000th jubilee of the incarnation. I invite all Christians to accompany me with their prayers, while I myself, on the various stages of the pilgrimage, shall ask for forgiveness and reconciliation for the sons and daughters of the church and for all humanity.

5. The path of conversion leads to reconciliation with God and to fullness of new life in Christ. A life of faith, hope and love. These three virtues, known as the “theological” virtues because they refer directly to God in his mystery, have been the subject of special study during the three years of preparation for the great jubilee. The celebration of the Holy Year now calls every Christian to live and bear witness to these virtues in a fuller and more conscious way.

The grace of the jubilee above all impels us to renew our personal faith. This consists in holding fast to the proclamation of the Paschal Mystery, through which believers recognize that in Christ crucified and risen from the dead they have been given salvation. Day by day they offer him their lives; they accept everything that the Lord wills for them, in the certainty that God loves them. Faith is the “yes” of individuals to God, it is their “Amen.”

For Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, Abraham is the exemplar of the believer: Trusting in the promise, he follows the voice of God calling him to set out on unknown paths. Faith helps us to discover the signs of God’s loving presence in creation, in people, in the events of history and above all in the work and message of Christ, as he inspires people to look beyond themselves, beyond appearances, toward that transcendence where the mystery of God’s love for every creature is revealed.

Through the grace of the jubilee, the Lord likewise invites us to renew our hope. In fact, time itself is redeemed in Christ and opens up to a prospect of unending joy and full communion with God. For Christians, time is marked by an expectation of the eternal wedding feast, anticipated daily at the eucharistic table. Looking forward to the eternal banquet “the Spirit and Bride say ‘Come”’ (Rev 22:17), nurturing the hope that frees time from mere repetition and gives it its real meaning. Through the virtue of hope, Christians bear witness to the fact that, beyond all evil and beyond every limit, history bears within itself

a seed of good which the Lord will cause to germinate in its fullness. They therefore look to the new millennium without fear, and face the challenges and expectations of the future in the confident certainty which is born of faith in the Lord’s promise.

Through the jubilee, finally, the Lord asks us to rekindle our charity. The kingdom which Christ will reveal in its full splendor at the end of time is already present where people live in accordance with God’s will. The church is called to bear witness to the communion, peace and charity which are the kingdom’s distinguishing marks.

In this mission, the Christian community knows that faith without works is dead (cf. Jas 2:17). Thus, through charity, Christians make visible God’s love for man revealed in Christ, and make manifest Christ’s presence in the world “to the close of the age.” For Christians, charity is not just a gesture or an ideal but is, so to speak, the prolongation of the presence of Christ who gives himself.

During Lent, everyone — rich and poor — is invited to make Christ’s love present through generous works of charity. During this jubilee year our charity is called in a particular way to manifest Christ’s love to our brothers and sisters who lack the necessities of life, who suffer hunger, violence or injustice. This is the way to make the ideals of liberation and fraternity found in the sacred Scripture a reality, ideals which the Holy Year puts before us once more. The ancient Jewish jubilee, in fact, called for the freeing of slaves, the cancellation of debts, the giving of assistance to the poor. Today, new forms of slavery and more tragic forms of poverty afflict vast numbers of people, especially in the so-called Third World countries.

This is a cry of suffering and despair which must be heard and responded to by all those walking the path of the jubilee. How can we ask for the grace of the jubilee if we are insensitive to the needs of the poor, if we do not work to ensure that all have what is necessary to lead a decent life?

May the millennium which is beginning be a time when, finally, the cry of countless men and women — our brothers and sisters who do not have even the minimum necessary to live — is heard and finds a benevolent response. It is my hope that Christians at every level will become promoters of practical initiatives to ensure an equitable distribution of resources and the promotion of the complete human development of every individual.

6. “I am with you always, to the close of the age.” These words of Jesus assure us that in proclaiming and living the Gospel of charity we are not alone. Once again, during this Lent of the year 2000, he invites us to return to the Father, who is waiting for us with open arms to transform us into living and effective signs of his merciful love.

To Mary, mother of all who suffer and mother of divine mercy, we entrust our intentions and our resolutions. May she be the bright star on our journey in the new millennium.

With these sentiments I invoke upon everyone the blessings of God, one and triune, the beginning and the end of all things, to whom we raise “to the close of the age” the hymn of blessing and praise in Christ: “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.”

The Catholic & Herald 41 2Lent and theNews Great Jubilee 2000

First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.” He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” — Matthew 25: 36-41 Second Station: Jesus, Betrayed by Judas, is Arrested Then, while [Jesus] was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, “the man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely.” He came and immediately went over to him and said, “Rabbi.”

And he kissed him. At this they laid hands on him and arrested him. — Mark 14: 43-46 Third Station: Jesus is Condemned by the Sanhedrin When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us,” but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question, you will not respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.” — Luke 22: 66-71 Fourth Station: Jesus is Denied by Peter Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!” As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!” A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.”

At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.”

And immediately a cock crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly. — Matthew 26: 69-75 Fifth Station: Jesus is Judged by Pilate The chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of

March 3, 2000

Stations of the Cross

The following stations of the cross are based on those celebrated by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday 1991. They are presented here as an alternative to the traditional stations and as a way of reflecting more deeply on the Scriptural accounts of Christ’s passion. The stations shown here are located within Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, N.C.

the Jews?” He said to him in reply, “You say so.” The chief priests accused him of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed....

Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barrabas... [and] handed [Jesus] over to be crucified. — Mark 15: 1-5, 15 Sixth Station: Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.

And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. — John 19: 1-3 Seventh Station: Jesus Bears the Cross When the chief priests and the guards saw [Jesus] they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” ... They cried out, “Take him away, take him away!

Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. — John 19: 6, 15-17 Eighth Station: Jesus is Helped by Simon the Cyrenian to Carry the Cross They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. — Mark 15: 21 Ninth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ At that time, people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is

dry?” — Luke 23: 27-31 Tenth Station: Jesus is Crucified When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. [Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”] — Luke 23: 33-34 Eleventh Station: Jesus Promises His Kingdom to the Good Thief Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” — Luke 23: 39-43 Twelfth Station: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. — John 19: 25-27 Thirteenth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. — Luke 23: 44-46 Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. — Matthew 27: 57-60

Photo illustrations by Julie Radcliffe

March 3, 2000

In the

The The Catholic Catholic News News && Herald Herald 139

Diocese to celebrate regional Rites of Election

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor Bishop William G. Curlin will join Catholics throughout the Diocese of Charlotte later this month in bringing hundreds of men and women a step closer to the Catholic Church.

Bishop Curlin will celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at three sites between March 12-16. The rite is a key step in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the process by which men and women fully enter the Catholic Church

through study, prayer and liturgical celebrations.

The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion will be celebrated at the following sites: • Basilica of St. Lawrence, 97 Haywood St. in Asheville, on March 12 at 3 p.m.; • St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St. in Greensboro, on March 15 at 7:15 p.m.; • St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Parkway in Charlotte, March 16 at 7:15 p.m.

The regional celebrations of the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion have become comprehensive diocesan events in the past few years. Diocesan and parish officials involved in the RCIA have said that gatherings such as this do much to raise the awareness of the community regarding the Christian Initiation process.

The RCIA process can take several months to several years, and it involves periods of inquiry, formal instruction, sacramental preparation

and formation in church life. The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion is the second of three major rites in the RCIA. It marks the end of the period of discernment called the catechumenate. During its celebration, participants affirm their desire to continue their preparation for full reception into the church.

The Rite of Election is celebrated for catechumens, participants who have not been baptized and who prepare to receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Communion during the Easter vigil Mass. The Call to Continuing Conversion is for candidates, those who have been baptized and who will receive the sacraments of confirmation and Communion.

Traditionally celebrated during early Lent, the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion invites RCIA participants to sincere personal reflection and preparation while also calling the community of faith to support catechumens and candidates in their faith journey. t

Contact Associate Editor Jimmy Rostar by calling (704) 370-3334 or e-mail jtrostar@charlottediocese.org.

1 40 The The Catholic Catholic News News && Herald Herald Book Review

Author chronicles faith stories of famous, obscure

By Michael Cox Catholic News Service WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) — Much like the subjects he chronicles in his new book, Wally Carew is an avid sportsman, a gifted professional and a man of great faith.

Carew’s first book, “Men of Spirit, Men of Sports,” released late last year

by Ambassador Books Inc. of Worcester, was on the Boston Globe paperback best-seller list for six of 10 weeks beginning in mid-December. A second printing was planned for March.

In the book, Carew, the son of a former St. Bernard’s High School football coach, chronicles the warm and inspiring stories of both world-famous and little-known athletes of the 20th century.

The book provides rare glimpses into men of great faith, including Mike Ditka, Bob Cousy, Jimmy O’Brien, Jackie Robinson, Roger Staubach and others.

Carew skillfully combines those

“Men of Spirit, Men of Sports”

By Wally Carew Ambassador Books, $14.95

stories with his own childhood joys and sorrows growing up in Concord in the 1950s as the son of the town’s legendary football coach.

“It combines two of my greatest loves — competitive athletics and my faith,” said Carew, a newspaper man who spent 25 years as a sportswriter and columnist for New England newspapers.

Publisher Gerard E. Goggins said the work is about much more than sports stories. It’s about human relationships and the often difficult relationship between parents and their children.

“With this book it was like Wally was coming to terms with himself,” Goggins told The Catholic Free Press, newspaper of the Worcester Diocese.

“Wally’s relationship with his father stuck in his throat for 50 years, and I think he had to write this book to finally come to terms with it.”

Walter R. Carew Sr. was a Battle

March 3, 2000

Read-

Word to Life March 5, Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B Readings: 1) Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Psalm 81:3-8, 10-11 2) 2 Corinthians 4:6-11 3) Gospel: Mark 2:23-3:6

CNS photo

of the Bulge survivor and coach of Concord High School football through much of a stretch from 1946-55 when the team had a 58-0-1 record. He was also a gifted athlete, his son says, who would have played baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers were it not for the war.

When it came to football, his son says, Wally Carew Sr. was one of the rare coaches who brought the Gospel to the gridiron. His faith was something both his son and players admired most about him.

Wally, 55, still lives in Medford with his wife, Mary Rose. He is a former writer with the Lowell Sun and Medford Mercury and is still a regular contributor with the Archdiocese of Boston’s newspaper, The Pilot.

In his book, some of the greatest athletes this century are among those who reflect on the spiritual strength that sustained them through their careers.

Carew said he did all the interviews by phone, except one, a candid interview in which former Boston College basketball coach Jim O’Brien spoke at length about his wife’s death.

At the time of her death, O’Brien had

See MEN OF SPIRIT, page 15

By Jeff Hensley Catholic News Service My daughter Amy’s eighthgrade class has been reading the 1961 Pulitzer Prize winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It is a great book. I’ve been reading it to her chapter by chapter each evening, growing in appreciation of this moving depiction of life in the deep South of the mid-1930s.

To modern readers, it is history so distant from our experience as to seem out of the Stone Age instead of the recent past. The racism depicted is so unfair, so ingrained, it seems impossible that it could be defeated — both in law, and in fact, for the most part — in so short a time.

My 14-year-old has asked vehemently how people could have lived in such a manner, never giving people a chance just because of the color of their skin. “It’s just like abortion,” she said. And she was right.

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Tom Robinson, a black man with a withered right arm, is convicted of a rape he could not have committed. Today, millions of unborn children are not

given the chance to live, also as a result of a prejudicial judgment.

In today’s Mark reading, Jesus knows the hearts of his accusers who are looking for a chance to trip him up.

Will he heal on the Sabbath?

“He looked around at them with anger, for he was deeply grieved that they had closed their minds against him. Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ The man did so, and his hand was perfectly restored. When the Pharisees went outside, they immediately began to plot with the Herodians how they might destroy him.”

God’s image was in Tom Robinson. God’s image is in every unborn child. Jesus still grieves when men and women seek to destroy that image.

But we must never forget that destroying Jesus’ body built his church, that novels such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” helped deal a death blow to racism enshrined in law and that nearly 30 years after “Roe vs.

Wade,” a new birth of freedom for the unborn may yet dawn, quickly, unexpectedly, like a resurrection or as the fruit of an organized movement for freedom.

Question: Do you seek to work against your natural prejudices to help you respond to all people as individuals with inherent worth and dignity?

“Then he said to them: ‘Is it permitted to do a good deed on the Sabbath — or an evil one? To preserve life — or destroy it?”’ — Mark 3:4 ab.

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of Mar. 5 - 11, 2000 Sunday (Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time), Deuteronomy 5:12-15, 2 Corinthians 4:6-11, Mark 2:23-3:6; Monday, 2 Peter 1:2-7, Mark 12:1-12; Tuesday (Sts. Felicity and Perpetua), 2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18, Mark 12:13-17; Ash Wednesday (Fast and Abstinence), Joel 2:12-18, 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18; Thursday (St. Frances of Rome), Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Luke 9:22-25; Friday (Abstinence), Isaiah 58:1-9, Matthew 9:14-15; Saturday, Isaiah 58:9-14, Luke 5:27-32

March 3, 2000

The Catholic Catholic News News && Herald Herald 15 The 11

Entertain-

Archbishop: TV programs can aid spiritual life if wellMONTE CARLO, Monaco (CNS) — Television can be a tool for evangelization and spiritual growth if viewers are very picky about what they watch, U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley said.

“Through television, we can be intellectually enriched, creatively entertained and spiritually uplifted; but we can also be tempted and, indeed, debased,” said the U.S. archbishop.

Archbishop Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, made his comments Feb. 19 during the Monte Carlo Television Festival.

Television has enabled Christians to bring the Gospel of Christ into the homes of millions of people who may not have heard it otherwise, he said.

The medium also has brought

many people “a liberation from ignorance, from isolation and from loneliness,” Archbishop Foley said.

At the same time, he said, by watching some television programs “we can be derailed or at least sidetracked from our journey through earthly life to eternal life with God.” Archbishop Foley said Christians have an obligation to avoid watching programs that lead them away from God and to choose programs that can bring them closer to God. “Television can be a source of temptation, and it can also introduce a type of slavery, not only the traditional slavery of sin, but the slavery of the person who merely observes and does not participate in life,” he said. t

Fox Family to air special on life of St. Bergin) convinces Bishop Germanus he has been selected by God to become the bishop of Ireland.

The chief bishop of Britain (Malcolm McDowell), however, is suspicious of Patrick and dismisses the Irish as “an uneducated, barbaric race.”

Nonetheless, Patrick perseveres, facing down heathen King Laoghaire, walk-

“St. Patrick, The Irish Legend” March 12, 7-9 p.m., EST on the Fox Family channel

ing unharmed through an inferno to prove God’s might and conveniently shape-shifting into a deer when in danger.

Preaching to throngs and using a shamrock to explain the Trinity, Patrick gains many converts but scorns the British bishops’ demands for tithes.

Nearly recalled from his beloved Ire-

By Gerri Pare Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) — The life of the patron saint of the Emerald Isle is dramatized in “St. Patrick: The Irish Legend,” to be shown on Sunday, March 12, 7-9 p.m. EST on the Fox Family cable channel.

As a rebellious 16-year-old in a Christian fifth-century British village, Patrick (Luke Griffith) impulsively partakes in a midnight pagan ceremony only to be snatched by Irish raiders, put on a ship and sold as a slave in Ireland.

Forced to tend sheep on the cold hillsides, Patrick has time to reflect on his unhappy state and turns to God. In a golden vision of light, Patrick is told he has been chosen to do God’s work. Escaping slavery, he returns to his parents (Alan Bates and Susannah York) who are thrilled to see him alive six years after he vanished.

But another vision reveals he is destined to convert the Irish, so he studies for the priesthood in Gaul where Patrick (played now by Patrick

CNS photo from Paramount Pictures

New at the Box Office

“Wonder Boys” Michael Douglas and Frances McDormand star in a scene from the feature film “Wonder Boys.” Fitfully amusing comedy about a grouchy, potsmoking English professor (Michael Douglas) who, daunted by the success of his first novel, is laboring to finish his second and in the process unwittingly takes an odd but gifted writing student (Tobey Maguire) under his shaky wing.

Skillful performances and the picturesque campus setting enhance director Curtis Hanson’s character-driven movie but they aren’t enough to sustain interest in the sluggish and insubstantial narrative. Recurring recreational drug abuse, implied homosexual encounter, an extramarital affair and some rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

land when his one instance of teenage idolatry is revealed, Patrick takes heart in another vision in which God confirms his place in the history of Ireland, in the church and in preserving civilization.

Filmed in Ireland, the visuals are lush and the background music a lyrical delight.

However, director Robert Hughes’ extremely reverential treatment of his subject does make him seem more a magical legend than a human man who struggled with his mission and eventually became a saint.

Patrick is able to deflect the blows of sword, change men into stone with a flick of his hand and drive the snakes into the sea the moment he sets foot back in Ireland. His miracles seem more like glitzy special-effects dra-

matics than instances of God working through his servant.

Bergin plays the saint with the conviction of one who knows he is invincible since God is on his side. While the religious ideas expressed are inspirational, it is the overly pious treatment that reduces a saint of the early church to more of a mythical figure whose reality is shrouded in centuries of Irish mist.

Some may be pleased to see two hours of prime time devoted to the life of a saint and want to share the story with other family members. t Pare is director of the U.S. Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting.

1 62 The Catholic News & Herald

March 3, 2000

Editorials & Col-

Justice & Peace JOANNE KENNEDY FRAZER Guest Columnist U.S. Bishops to Catholics: Get Politically Involved in 2000 Election The Church in politics? Is that legal?!

In fact, Catholic teaching declares that citizenship is a virtue, and participation in the political process is a moral obligation. And during this election year, the U.S. bishops are pressing the nation’s Catholics to get politically active in order to reshape political priorities.

Catholics must enter into a “new kind of politics, focused more on moral principles than on the latest polls, more on the needs of the poor and vulnerable than the contributions of the rich and powerful, more on the pursuit of the common good than the demands of special interests,” the bishops write in “Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium,” their guide for this election year.

They list 10 areas for inquiry, framed around principles of Catholic teaching, against which voters and candidates can measure their positions and decisions.

“We hope parishes, dioceses, schools and other Catholic institutions will encourage active participation through non-partisan voter registration and education efforts,” the bishops write.

To provide some how-to’s for civic responsibility, Joan Rosenhauer, special projects director of the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Department of Social Development and World Peace, will be in our diocese during the week of March 12th.

Rosenhauer, who worked closely with the bishops and several other departments of the USCC in preparing this statement, will give two regional workshops in Charlotte and in Greensboro.

She will also present two special sessions, one for priests and permanent deacons and one for Catholic Social Services staffs and boards.

Rosenhauer’s sessions will cover Catholic teaching and principles of faithful citizenship, do’s and don’ts for churches for political activities in an election year, and moral priorities for public life and questions for campaigns.

The first regional session is at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte on Wednesday, March 15 from 7-9 pm.

The same session will be given for the northern region at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro on Thursday, March 16 from 7-9pm.

The Office of Justice and Peace is sponsoring the sessions, and all are welcome to attend these free sessions. Call (704) 370-3225 to register.

Joanne Kennedy Frazer is director of the Office of Justice and Peace, Catholic Social Services.

“The Pope Speaks” will return in the March 10 issue of The Catholic News & Herald.

Read the pope’s Lent 2000 message on page 3 of “Lent and the Great Jubilee 2000.”

Committing to the Paschal Mystery Each Ash Wednesday I have reverently received ashes and remained loyal to fasting on Fridays during Lent. This year, however, greater knowledge of the world around me has moved me into a deeper spirit, more consciously aware of the Passion of Christ. Prayer, Scripture and the reality of life in today’s society have moved me toward experiencing Lent from a different perspective.

The cycles of life have become so violent and frightening that most people avoid listening to media commentaries. News reports, once a stage for grand celebrations and historical events, have become a wave of nightmarish activities.

As the year 2000 was birthed, technology made it possible for us to watch the year unfold worldwide.

There were colorful costumes and festive dances enjoyed from Australia, the Pacific Islands, Switzerland, the United States and other countries. January 1st was a day to be bottled and magically opened for unity and peace, again and again and again.

How much of the 21st century will our children inherit? The present is too unpredictable to even assure a hopeful future. I am fearful that many young people will never have a desire to achieve higher goals. Anger and loneliness will grip the hearts of many before troubled minds find acceptance and peace. Some dreams will be deterred because they could not outrun the catalyst of contagious apathy.

Violence will trample upon the footsteps of aspiring leaders and academic scholars. Too many others will roam unnoticed and never hear the encouraging words that build character.

Presently, I minister in Forsyth County, the county with the highest infant mortality rate than any other county in the state. North Carolina has the highest infant mortality rate in the United States.

The redistricting of schools in the city has led to segregated classrooms, a lack of quality education in predominantly black and Hispanic schools, and a reevaluation of civil rights. Throughout the world,

Letters to the Editor Send your Letters to the Editor to Joann S. Keane, 1123 South Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203 or e-mail to jskeane@ charlottediocese.org. We reserve the right edit all letters. Opinions expressed in letters or guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper or its publisher.

however, that Pope John’s Council, with or without his approval, gave rise to a New Church, one with new liturgy, new sacraments and a new theology.

This New Church has its cheerleaders, certainly — Vatican and press officials engaged in a perpetual PR battle to portray the Council’s reform as beneficial and inspiring — but their rah-rah-rahs are ringing hollow. It is no longer deniable that the reforms of Vatican II, far from renewing and energizing our priests and laity, have instead spawned devastating declines in Mass attendance, religious vocations and Church discipline.

Most troubling of all, perhaps, is the post-Vatican II preoccupation with ecumenism, a belief that all religions are equally pleasing in God’s sight and are valid pathways to salvation. This belief, endorsed though it may be by our current pope, is unquestionably a violation of the First Commandment and Church dogma. When choosing between God and Vatican II, it seems we are now expected to choose Vatican II. I am a convicted felon, a prison inmate. Aside from the prohibition against killing, there’s not a single commandment in the Decalogue I’ve not broken. I’m a wee bit uncomfortable, then, calling into question someone else’s judgement when my own has been faulty on more than one occasion. But to promote Pope John XXIII as the most outstanding pope of the last 2000 years, when the Council he called has wreaked so much havoc upon the Church and wounded so acutely the mystical Body of Christ — this is a serious and regrettable lapse in judgement and should not be repeated.

The Season of Lent SISTER LARETTA RIVERAWILLIAMS, RSM Guest Columnist teen-agers are killing and being killed. What has fueled this rising pulse of inhumanity to humanity?

How can I be aware of the infant mortality rate and the content of my prayers not change? How can I know that people are still threatened by racial injustices and not advocate change? Since I have seen children lost because death came too soon for a parent, how could I never open my heart to more love?

The Paschal Mystery has to become more than a prayerful memory during this holy season. It has to be held at the forefront of human actions. People have to become the eyes, hands, heart and feet of Jesus Christ. Perhaps, then, peace would spill on the earth, not blood. Maybe then, children of the world would inherit tomorrow’s dreams as aspiring leaders and scholars.

Sister Laretta Rivera-Williams, a Sister of Mercy of North Carolina, is director of faith formation at St. Benedict the Moor Church in Winston-Salem. She is a former teacher of religious education at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Thanks from Raleigh Dear Bishop Curlin, I received your letter and enclosed check for $170,000 on behalf of the Diocese of Charlotte. You and the people of your great diocese are most kind in your generosity and thoughtfulness in our time of need. I know you have heard the stories and seen the destruction.

As Bishop, I have been most humbled by the generosity of the people of this state and throughout the United States. Frank Schulte in his correspondence said they know well what it means to be in need in such circumstances and like you were most generous.

It puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

Be assured of my own prayers of thanksgiving for the kindness and generosity of the people of your great diocese. Please communicate to them my thanks on behalf of the countless thousands they have helped. May God continue to bless you and your diocese with a generous heart.

F. Joseph Gossman, Bishop of Raleigh Pope John XXIII That Pope John XXIII is considered by many scholars to be the greatest pontiff of the last 2000 years is yet another indication of the crisis which grips the Church.

While good Pope John’s personal piety cannot be questioned, his judgement certainly can. Convoking the Second Vatican Council, though perhaps well-intentioned, was a disastrous mistake, as each passing year seems to demonstrate ever more clearly.

By opening the Roman Catholic Church to the world — Pope John’s stated goal — he inadvertently allowed the spirit of the world to invade and infect the Church. The much-balleyhooed spirit Vatican II is, I’m afraid, the spirit of the world, the spirit of ecumenism, the spirit of freedom.

And before you accuse me of being an old fogey, a misty-eyed nostalgia freak longing for the 1950s, let me assure you I’m not: I’m a 29-year-old convert to Catholicism who has no personal experience with pre-Vatican II worship. It’s grown increasingly clear to me over time,

March 3, 2000

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle FATHER THOMAS J. McSWEENEY Guest Columnist vention. Recognizing the pure gift of faith in God’s power to bring fulfillment is the final step. Your will and the Father’s will become one.

At Gethsemane, on the night before He died, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not what I want but what You want....Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39,42) Your challenge is to make this your prayer for Lent and for life. Ask for the grace and courage to act upon the will of the Father as your own — however humanly impossible it may seem.

Then, you will say, “I forgive you” to someone you have never had the strength to face squarely. You will take the risk of performing an extraordinary act of generosity and selflessness. You will find greater reasons than your own satisfaction to make a difference. You will trust and hope in the Lord rather than despair.

This year, welcome the fresh, beautiful growth, not just in the natural world around you, but within yourself. Join Jesus in praying those words He spoke in the Garden of Gethsemane in that long-ago springtime: Choose God’s Will and you choose life.

Father Thomas J. McSweeney is director of The Christophers.

honestly, is a perfectly justifiable procedure, both legally and morally. A lot of successful and very good people have had to declare bankruptcy sometime in their lives. Some have later quietly paid part of their past debts, even though there was no legal, or probably even moral, obligation to do so.

Morally speaking, insolvent persons claiming bankruptcy are not required to dwindle their possessions down to nothing. They have a right to retain what is necessary to support themselves and their loved ones in decency, according to their social status, and to try to re-establish their financial security.

Moral obligations begin, of course, long before any bankruptcy proceedings are initiated. Building debts one is fairly certain one will never be able to pay off is obviously wrong, both legally and morally.

As I said, this is equivalent to stealing.

When declaring bankruptcy begins to loom on anyone’s horizon, another obligation is to explore what settlements one might make with creditors. Sometimes that is more attractive to creditors than attempting later to extract payment from a debtor who is bankrupt.

Fat Tuesday Q. Please explain the significance of Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Some say it means to feast or pig out before Lent. Can this be correct?

A. The celebration of Mardi Gras in anticipation of the rigors of the Lenten fast goes back many centuries.

Foods forbidden during the Lenten time included meats and fats, common condiments for cooking, which would spoil by the time Easter arrived. (Our word carnival comes, in fact, from a Latin phrase which means taking away the meat.)

Thus, the day before Lent began was a time to consume all the fat in the house. It also provided Christians a chance to enjoy their last pre-Lenten party, often in company with the non-Christians around them who were in the midst of their own spring masquerades and feasts. Not much, it seems,

Signs of “Springtime” The word “Lent” comes from an early Saxon word for “springtime.” It’s a good image to keep in mind during these next forty days leading up to Easter.

Lent has a way of bringing you down to earth: “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.”

At the same time, Lent challenges you to spend six weeks in an attempt to achieve utter honesty about the state of your soul. In the process, you open yourself to a spiritual springtime — a time for new life and the potential for personal growth.

Spiritual growth is measured differently for each individual, but ultimately, it depends on your personal desire to link your own will with the Will of God, the Father of all life. To get yourself started, try these three steps in your reflection.

First, study your daily actions, especially those activities that demonstrate your sense of commitment to those things that matter to you. They may include your family life, the way you go about your job, spend your leisure time or get involved with neighborhood concerns. Behind the priorities you give these activities is your will. Honest reflection will reveal that you cannot achieve all your goals on your own, even with the greatest effort of will.

At this second stage, you begin to see more clearly how your conscience actually negotiates what you want to do with what you actually do. Conscience motivates will into action. For example, you recognize within yourself a yearning for spiritual truth.

You cannot reach it yourself. At that moment, you know you need God if you are to attain everything for which you heart aches.

For the third level of reflection, consider carefully the things religion has to say to your conscience.

What does religious truth say about your deepest yearning for truth? What about the possibility that God can enable you to move beyond yourself — to share in a Will that perfects your own?

When you know you cannot become what you most want to become by yourself alone, you can open your heart, mind and soul to God’s grace-filled inter-

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

The moral implications of filing bankruptcy Q. I have a question I hope you will answer very simply. Is it against our Catholic religion to file bankruptcy?

My husband and I wish to buy a home, and we have a large sum of bills that are due. Filing bankruptcy might solve our problem, but would that be wrong?

A. I can’t tell you. First, however, I congratulate you for thinking of this as a serious moral decision.

Too often, it seems, people consider it a purely financial issue.

We begin with the fact that we’re dealing here with restitution, the responsibility we have in strict justice to repay others for what we have taken from them. If I buy a pair of shoes, for example, my debt to the seller is not simply one of charity or philanthropy, something I can pay if it is convenient and agreeable. He has a moral right, in what is called commutative justice, to what is due him, and I have a moral duty to compensate him.

Bankruptcy is one of the circumstances that excuses a person from this kind of obligation. It provides a way to satisfy one’s creditors equitably when full satisfaction of all debts is simply not possible. As you know, when an individual or business declares bankruptcy, state laws control the legal process in detail. For guidance through that maze you need a good attorney.

It needs to be said that bankruptcy, when pursued

The Catholic Catholic News News && Herald Herald 13 17 The

Elder Ministry MEG SMITH Guest Columnist Serving an aging population As health care becomes more sophisticated and medications are discovered to maintain health, people in the United States are living longer. This allows older people to enjoy living in the community longer, in their own homes or with loved ones.

It also creates the opportunity for family, friends and neighbors to share their love and learn from their wisdom and experience.

Sometimes, it creates challenges, as well. As people age, they must often learn to live with conditions of aging and health that have not yet been mastered by modern medicine. Some of these conditions result in pain and a decline of some functions that people have tended to take for granted.

It is often difficult to accept help, even from loved ones. In the American culture, independence is valued highly. It can, also, be a challenge to offer assistance and advice to those who have usually been the people who gave it.

As couples age together and one spouse needs more assistance, the other may need to learn complicated and physically taxing caregiving skills. When parents and family members need more help with daily chores, families are often stretched thin, balancing their time and energy among children, spouse, work and caregiving. Experiencing the illnesses of loved ones is painful. It can be even more difficult when the illnesses involve memory and changes in personality traits.

There are 25 million family caregivers in the United States. They are spouses, children, sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews, parents, friends and neighbors.

There are many services available to assist senior citizens and their families. Home health agencies provide nursing care, therapies and personal assistance. Many counties provide assistance with meals, housekeeping, errands, transportation and daily phone calls. Telephone emergency services can summon assistance at the press of a button. These services can be accessed by calling local social service agencies and physicians. Most parishes have groups who visit the sick and offer the Eucharist in the home.

Pastors should be made aware of those who are unable to attend church functions regularly.

Education is important in the care of anyone who is ill. Physicians, hospitals, home health agencies, the Internet and support groups offer this kind of education. Individuals and parishes can contact Catholic Social Services Elder Ministry, which can connect them with services in the area, assist in setting up education and training sessions, or provide education as needed.

St. Joseph Church in Newton and Catholic Social Services Elder Ministry will cosponsor a Caregiver Support Group at St. Joseph’s Holy Family Hall. The first meeting will be Wednesday, Mar. 15 at 1pm. Care will be offered for adult family members who accompany caregivers to the group. For more information, call Meg Smith at (828) 464-8442.

Meg Smith is regional coordinator for Elder Ministry in the Hickory/Morganton area.

1 84 The Catholic News & Herald

March 3, 2000

In the

Accusations of anti-Catholicism color GOP Some Michigan voters also reBy Patricia Zapor ceived recorded calls from Christian Catholic News Service Coalition founder Rev. Pat Robertson, WASHINGTON (CNS) — Texas calling Rudman “a vicious bigot who Gov. George Bush told New York Carwrote that conservative Christians in dinal John J. O’Connor in a Feb. 25 letpolitics are anti-abortion zealots, hoter that he wanted to assure Catholics mophobes and would-be censors. John his Bob Jones University appearance McCain refused to repudiate these does not mean he “approves of the anwords.” ti-Catholic and racially divisive views” The Bush campaign said Rev. Robassociated with the school. ertson’s calls were made Charges of antiindependently of their Catholicism have folorganization. lowed the GOP candidate See Joann Detroit Cardinal around the country since Kennedy Frazer’s Adam J. Maida decried he spoke at the evangeliguest column, the injection of religious cal Christian university “U.S. Bishops bigotry into the campaign in South Carolina in early to Catholics: in his state.

February.

Get Politically In the Feb. 25 ediThe school bans inInvolved in tion of The Michigan terracial dating as im2000 Election” Catholic, newspaper of moral, and its leaders ...Page 12 the Detroit Archdiocese, have called Catholicism Cardinal Maida said the a cult and likened it to bishops of the United satanism.

States are clear in their insistence that The Bob Jones University issue the church keep out of partisan polireached a peak during the Michigan tics. The challenge, he said, is “to be primary campaign, when some voters principled without being ideological, there received recorded phone calls to be political without being partisan, accusing Bush of religious bigotry to be civil without being soft.” because of his appearance and urging The Detroit Archdiocese goes to support for Arizona Sen. John McCain. great lengths to encourage political The McCain campaign initially involvement and responsibility, he denied any involvement with the calls, said. But “it’s not our approach to label but later acknowledged the calls origicandidates as ‘pro’ this or ‘anti’ that,” nated with his staff. he added.

In the days leading up to the The Texas governor, in his letter Michigan primary, Bush’s campaign, to Cardinal O’Connor, released Feb. in turn, criticized McCain for not dis27, said he “should have been more associating himself from former Sen. clear in disassociating myself from Warren Rudman, McCain’s campaign anti-Catholic sentiments and racial co-chair.

ClassiEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Assistant Principal: Our Lady of Grace School, a K-8 Catholic school in Greensboro, NC, is accepting applications for an Assistant Principal for this school year. Applicants must possess the following qualifications: practicing Catholic; current teaching/administration license for the state of NC; master’s degree in education; and at least five years teaching experience. Please send resume and salary expectations to: Ms. Roberta Hutchcraft, Principal, Our Lady of Grace School, 2205 W. Market St., Greensboro, NC 27403. Deadline for applications: March 31, 2000.

Choir Director, Part-time: St. Barnabas Catholic Parish in beautiful western North Carolina (680+ families) is seeking a practicing Catholic to direct our music program. Applicant to have: experience in liturgical music and a working knowledge of Church documents on liturgy and music; keyboard skills - organ and piano; skills in choir directing.

A college degree in liturgy, music or related field preferred. Responsibilities include: working with pastor, staff and liturgy commission; fostering parishioner participation; coordinating music and volunteer musicians for all liturgical services, primarily for our three Masses each Sunday and Holy Day; directing the adult and youth choirs; working with cantors and musicians; collaborating with an independent folk group. Salary: $10,000 - $12,000 range plus some benefits. Call Mary Ann Demelfy (828)684-6098 or write to the address below for a job description. Send resume and references to: Search Committee, c/o Fr. Roger Arnsparger, St. Barnabas Catholic Parish, P. O. Box 38, Arden, NC 28740.

Director of Faith Formation: St. Philip Neri Church, Fort Mill, South Carolina, a growing Catholic parish of 700 families in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, is seeking someone to direct its parish formation programs. This person would be responsible for directing K-High School, RCIA, and developing an adult education program.

Person should have a master’s in theology, at least three years’ experience, and three written recommendations. Person needs to recruit and train catechists and have good managerial skills. Send resume plus references to Search Committee, St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, 292 Munn Road, Fort Mill, SC 29715.

Director of Faith Formation: Full-time position is open at Our Lady of Mercy, a mid-size parish in Winston-Salem. Responsibilities include weekly classes for pre-school through grade 8; parent and student preparation for Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation; coordination of RCIA and adult education. Some background and/or experience in Religious Education preferred. Send resume to Rev. Joseph Angelini, 1919 S. Main St., Winston-Salem, NC 27127. For more information and/or a detailed job description, call Fr. Angelini at (336)722-7001.

Faith Formation Office - Diocesan Regional Coordinator: Charlotte Diocese seeks person with Master’s degree in Rel Ed/allied field, five years of demonstrable successful experience in parish/ diocesan work. Well-rounded in catechist formation skills. Collaborative. Sensitive to cultural minorities.

Good written/oral communication skills. Position is located in the Smoky Mountain and Asheville Region.

Please send resume and three letters of recommendation to: Dr. Chris Villapando, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte NC 28203. (704)370-3246. Application deadline March 24, 2000.

Infant Care Provider: South Charlotte. Excellent pay and flexible hours for warm and loving person who can help out busy mom with infant. Non-smoker and references required. Please call Judy at (704) 553-8136.

Infant Care Provider: Henderson/south Buncombe County. Seeking non-smoking, experienced adult to care for infant part-time; flexible hours beginning late April. References required; pay negotiable. Call Katy at (828)698-2956.

Liturgy/Catechumenate Director/Adult Formation Coordinator: Dynamic college town parish.

Successful candidate will build on a well-established process that seeks further implementation of the Re-Membering Church. Parish in initial stages of learning Stewardship and all of its ramifications.

prejudice. It was a missed opportunity, causing needless offense, which I deeply regret.”

New York’s Republican primary is March 7. Some news sources said the letter also was sent to Catholic leaders in other states with imminent primaries.

Bush told the New York cardinal that because of the cardinal’s “long friendship” with members of the Bush family and the cardinal’s meeting with Bush last year, he should know that the accusations of anti-Catholic views leveled against Bush are “unfair and unfounded” and such views “are personally offensive to me.”

Bush, whose brother and sisterin-law are Catholic, noted he has “profound respect for the Catholic Church — a sympathy beyond mere tolerance.”

Cardinal Maida’s post-primary critique of campaign tactics also was directed at calls made in Michigan by Michigan Right to Life. The organization made recorded calls urging voters to support Bush, whom the National Right to Life Committee has endorsed.

The calls reportedly challenged McCain’s commitment to the pro-life cause.

Detroit archdiocesan communications director Ned McGrath issued a statement saying he told callers that Catholic Voters Alert — the name of the group which made the anti-Bush calls — is not affiliated with the archdiocese.

“The reality is, the word ‘Catholic’ isn’t copyrighted,” McGrath said. “It can be used and misused.”

At Bob Jones University, in response to the political furor, its Web site explained the school’s positions, including that “if there are those who wish to charge us with being antiCatholic, we plead guilty. But we are not Catholic-haters.”

It added, “All religion, including Catholicism, which teaches that salvation is by religious works or church dogma is false. Religion that makes the words of its leader, be he pope or other, equal with the Word of God is false. ... We love the practicing Catholic and earnestly desire to see him accept the Christ of the Cross.”

Bob Jones III’s late father, former university president Bob Jones Jr., was known for calling the Catholic Mass “blasphemy” and referring to the papacy as “the religion of the anti-Christ” and “a satanic system.”

A third Republican candidate, former Ambassador Alan Keyes, spoke at the university Feb. 14 and challenged his audience to reject racial and religious bigotry. Keyes, who is black and a Catholic, noted that “there are folks who don’t think I should be talking at Bob Jones University.”

But just as his speech “put the lie to that,” Keyes said, “we are, all of us, enjoined to put the lie to it by what we do, and what we pray for, and how we act, and how we love.” t

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Principal: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic School, Rocky Mount, NC (Grades PK-5) seeks a principal for the 2000-2001 school year.

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Youth/Young Adult Ministry Director: A tri-parish (including one Hispanic) Catholic community of 1800 families in a university setting is seeking a full-time Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry to implement comprehensive youth ministry as described in “Renewing the Vision.”

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March 3, 2000

In the

Clergy respond to Kansas cross The cross burning sent shock waves throughout Leavenworth and Lansing, which adjoin each other.

Timmons and Jones were awakened at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 13 by the lights of police and fire vehicles, and firefighters putting out a small fire in front of their trailer.

Someone made a crude cross out of two pieces of broken furniture, 18 by 20 inches, held together by a wire hanger. The cross had been splashed with gasoline, set upright on the trailer hitch and set on fire. The fire didn’t consume the cross, but it spread to a plastic gasoline container on the ground.

Fortunately, a neighbor noticed the fire and called the Lansing fire department. The fire could have killed the couple and their three small sons, said Timmons, a native of the area.

The family had only lived in the trailer park for four months and didn’t know anyone there. No unusual incidents happened before the fire, and Timmons and Jones don’t know why they were singled out.

“It was intimidating,” said an angry and exasperated Timmons. “This is a problem that must be addressed.”

Timmons and Jones stood quietly together in the crowd as Father Stubbs began the vigil, standing on grass burned black by the flames. The damage had been repaired, but pieces of melted, plastic trailer skirting lay nearby.

After a short introduction, he led the semicircle of people in singing “Amazing Grace,” and then read from the Book of Ezekiel. Timmons and

By Joe Bollig Catholic News Service LANSING, Kan. (CNS) — A cross burning outside the trailer of an interracial couple in Lansing prompted an outcry of protest and an outpouring of prayer.

More than 70 people gathered in the street and narrow yard of a trailer in east Lansing for a noontime prayer vigil Feb. 16. The vigil had been organized by Clergy And Church Against Race Violence, an organization based at the Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Kan. Father Michael Stubbs, pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Lansing, and president of the Leavenworth and Lansing Ministerial Alliance, was the local liaison between Reginald Timmons and Angela Jones, the residents of the trailer where the cross was burned, and Clergy And Church Against Race Violence.

“We are here to show support for the family, as well as to state to the community that this kind of thing can’t be tolerated, that it must be stopped,” said Father Stubbs. “The firefighters put out the fire, but it’s important for us to put out the fires of hatred, and stop it from spreading throughout the community. The way for that to happen is through the power of God’s love.”

The vigil was attended by ordinary citizens, representatives of various faiths (including three Catholic priests), city officials and the acting police chief. Several Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth also attended.

Jones were visibly moved when the Rev. Don Baker, pastor of the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Leavenworth, spoke to the crowd.

“Some people may call this hate. Some may call it anger. May I remind you that anger destroys the vessel that holds it, and destroys what it is poured out upon,” he said. “But I look at it another way. I look at it as a sickness in the mind, that somehow Satan has risen up again to destroy what God has created.

“So I pray that somehow or another, as we bind ourselves together, that this will be the last time in Leavenworth County that people will have to come together to combat racism, that somehow we will understand that we are all God’s children.”

A number of other people spoke, including Timmons, clergy, and political advocates. Henry Gueary III, chief legislative advocate in Kansas for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, decried the rise of hate crimes in the United States.

He urged citizen support for passage of House Bill 2309, held up for two years in the Kansas Legislature, which would enhance hate crime penalties.

Lansing’s acting police chief, Allan Collins, said this is the first hate crime that has occurred in town, so far as he knows, since he became part of the force in 1981. Some hate crimes may have been committed since then, but were not reported to the police, he said. t

The Catholic Catholic News News && Herald Herald 15 19 The

Men of Spirit, from page 10

two teen-age daughters.

“We just sat down and started talking,” Carew remembers. “In my mind I wanted to ask him about it but I didn’t know how to do it comfortably.”

O’Brien, he said, just took over.

“It was a watershed moment that he would share that tender and delicate experience with me,” Carew says.

Mike Ditka, the former New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears coach who is best known for his sideline tirades, was the first interview Carew did for the book.

“He was the only one who called me back two times,” recalls Carew. “He wanted to reiterate a few things.”

The book describes how Ditka prays to calm himself down, finds comfort in the words of St. Paul, attends Bible classes and makes no apologies for living his faith.

Writes Carew: “Ditka becomes incensed when he is criticized for his beliefs, particularly his opposition to abortion. ‘Everything is washed over today — not exactly right and not exactly wrong,’ Ditka says. ‘Abortion is murder. If I believe something is morally wrong and against the laws of God, I am going to say so. This is my right and my duty.”’

Carew says Jackie Robinson is his all-time favorite athlete.

“What he endured to bring new life to a whole race of people makes him one of the greatest men, not only this century, but any century,” he says.

The book also profiles some lesser-known athletes including Boston Auxiliary Bishop Jerry Minihan, who played football in the ’30s for Georgetown University, and two of his father’s former Concord High football players who became priests, Franciscan Father John Joseph Pierce, awarded the Bronze Star for valor while serving in Vietnam, and Father Charles B. Hancock, who spent much of his life as a missionary working with the poor in Japan. t

21 06 The Catholic News & Herald

March 3, 2000

Living the

Catholic couple picked as longest married in ing home in Drums, were born in the Freeland area; Andrew was born in 1903 and Susan in 1907. Andrew, a member of St. Mary’s Byzantine Church, married Susan at her church, St. John Nepomucene in Freeland, in 1924.

After enduring the hardships of the Great Depression, they moved to Baltimore with their only child, Helene, during World War II. While there, they were active in the establishment of a new parish, Most Precious Blood. In addition, Mr. “The Diocese of Scranton is thrilled that Mr. became a and Mrs. Lechman are being cited by Worldwide Lechman member of the Santa Marriage Encounter,” said Mary Ann Paulukonis, Maria Council of the Knights of Columbus diocesan director of family life in the Office of and Mrs. Lechman beParish Ministries. “We have been blessed by came a member of the their efforts of nearly 76 years to model love that Catholic Daughters of the Americas. mirrors God’s unfailing love.”

Upon Mr. Lechman’s retirement, the couple retur ned to Pennsylvania, and are still active. Last Lechmans had the longest union of all summer he finished a term as resident couples nominated. council president at their nursing “The Diocese of Scranton is home, while his wife continues to serve thrilled that Mr. and Mrs. Lechman are as vice president of the council. being cited by Worldwide Marriage Helene and her daughter, Barbara Encounter,” said Mary Ann PaulukoKasecamp, and several grandchildren nis, diocesan director of family life in have actively led worship at the home the Office of Parish Ministries. “We and shared music with the other resihave been blessed by their efforts of dents. nearly 76 years to model love that mirNursing home administrator Marrors God’s unfailing love.” jorie Bell said the Lechmans are “faithThe Lechmans, who live in a nursDRUMS, Pa. (CNS) — Susan and Andrew Lechman, who will celebrate their 76th wedding anniversary in May, have been honored for having one of the longest marriages in the nation.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter recognized the couple on World Marriage Day in February, as did the Diocese of Scranton, where they live.

Each year Marriage Encounter groups conduct an annual search for the longest married couple and the

CNS photo from Catholic Light

Susan and Andrew Lechman have been recognized by Worldwide Marriage Encounter as the longest married couple in the United States.

The Lechman’s of Drum, Pa., are to mark their 76th wedding anniversary May 20. ful and faith-filled” and they “exemplify the joy and love of the Lord.”

The Lechmans are also members of Good Shepherd parish in Drums, where Father Gerard Safko, pastor, helped the couple mark their 75th wed-

ding anniversary with family members last year by celebrating a special Mass.

The Lechmans have four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

In addition to the Lechmans, two other couples who have been married 70 years or more were nominated for the longest marriage by the Scranton Diocese.

Rose and Joseph Sileo of Peckville, married six months after the Lechmans in 1924, have three children and several grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. The couple, who are in their 90s, are parishioners at St. Anthony’s Church and reside in a nursing home in Peckville.

According to Colleen Murphy, the activity director at the nursing home who nominated the couple, the Sileos say “you need a lot of patience and faith in God” to sustain a marriage for as long as they have.

Anna and John Ruspi of Clarks Green, married in 1930, are parishioners at St. Gregory in Clarks Green.

They have one child and two grandchildren.

World Marriage Day is observed on the second Sunday in February.

Originating with the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement, it honors married couples for their love for each other and their example to the church. t

See the special “Lent and the Great Jubilee 2000” in this issue of The Catholic News & Herald