March 16, 2001

The Catholic News & Herald 1

March 16, 2001

March 16, 2001 Volume 10 t Number 27

Inside Woman walks road from rage to reconciliation ...Page 5

Priest reflects on popular liturgical song ...Page 8

Local News Catechists gather for Lenten retreat ...Page 4

Faith journey leads to permanent diaconate ...Page 7

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 12-13

Rite of Election ...Page 9 Pictured right — Hundreds in the Diocese of Charlotte gathered to celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, a key step in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Photo by Joann S. Keane

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

2 The Catholic News & Herald was prevented from giving his graduation speech three years ago when he would not tone down its religious references. Without comment, the court rejected the former student’s argument that public school district officials had violated his rights when they did not allow him to give his prepared speech. The student, Chris Niemeyer, was co-valedictorian of the 1998 graduating class at Oroville High School in Oroville, Calif. His speech had numerous references to God and pleas to the audience to “pattern their lives after Jesus’ example” and to realize that “God seeks a personal relationship” with each of them.

Speakers assess bioethics from various faith perspectives MIAMI (CNS) — Anything involving science or technology must be seen from a moral or social point of view, Rabbi Donald Dixon told a bioethics conference in Miami.

Rabbi Dixon, a member of the Miami Heart Institute Bioethics Commission, said the Jewish faith takes its lead from the Book of Genesis, where mankind is made in the image of God. “So we feel strongly that we must behave in a Godlike manner, being merciful, just and forgiving,” he said. The rabbi was one of several representatives of faith groups who spoke at a bioethics conference in early February at St. Thomas University. Relating Genesis to bioethics, the Orthodox rabbi said cloning would be Godlike, “so the consensus is that you would be allowed to ‘play God’ and, yes, you could do that.”

Catholic high school shooting called shocking WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (CNS) — A Scranton diocesan spokeswoman called the March 7 student shooting at Bishop Neumann High School in Williamsport a “sad and shocking” reminder that violence can occur anywhere. An eighth-grade girl suffered a bullet wound in the upper arm. The alleged shooter, who was in police custody, was also an eighth-grade girl. Maria Orzel, diocesan communications director, told Catholic News Service that Bishop James C. Timlin of Scranton, who is a pilot, left Scranton immediately to fly out to Williamsport, about 75 miles west. Bishop Neumann, one of nine Catholic high schools in the Scranton Diocese, has about 230 students in

CNS photo from Catholic Press Photo

Spanish nun holds images of newly beatified A Spanish nun holds an image of a few of the newly beatified Spanish martyrs March 11 in St. Peter’s Square. Pope John Paul II beatified 233 martyrs, the most ever at one time, during the service.

Court refuses to hear case on graduation speech’s religious tone WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a California high school valedictorian who

Episcopal March 16, 2001 Volume 10 • Number 27

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Jimmy Rostar Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher 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 16, 2001

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Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: March 24 Attending Leadership Training Program St. Vincent de Paul, Charlotte March 25 — 11 a.m.

Mass St. Joseph of the Hills, Eden March 26 — 7 p.m.

Confirmation Our Lady of the Annunciation, Albemarle March 28-29 LARCUM Ecumenical Dialogue Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

grades 7-12.

Mercy nun to direct Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility NEW YORK (CNS) — The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a New

Diocesan

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Lenten reconciliation services on the following dates: Our Lady of Mercy, 1919 S. Main St. in Winston-Salem, tonight at 7 p.m.; Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Corner of Cherry and 3rd Sts. in Winston-Salem, April 5 at 7 p.m.; Our Lady of the Rosary, 619 S. Main St. in Lexington, and Holy Family, 4820 Kinnamon Rd. in Clemmons, April 6 at 7 p.m.; St. Benedict the Moor, 1625 E. 12th St. in Winston-Salem, April 10 at 7 p.m. and Good Shepherd, East End of Kirby Rd. in King, April 11 at 7 p.m.

Call the churches for details.

30 ASHEBORO — The diocesan Boy Scouts of America Catholic Camporee is taking place today through April 1 at the Woodfield Scout Reservation. All parish and other Cub Scout Packs and Scout Troops are invited to participate in this yearly event. For additional information, contact Henry Wallace at (704) 792-9329.

York-based agency that coordinates most of the activity of religious groups in its field, named Mercy Sister Patricia Wolf as its new executive director, effective March 6.

Following an interim directorship by Ursuline Sister Valerie Heinonen, she succeeded Timothy H. Smith, a United Methodist layman from Canada who left in September after heading the agency since 1976. Sister Wolf took an active role in the corporate responsibility movement while serving on the staff of the Intercommunity Center for Peace and Justice in New York, and from 1981 to 1983 chaired the board of the interfaith center.

Chilean cardinal says peace requires truth about disappeared SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) — Cardinal Francisco Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago said the truth about those who disappeared during the 1973-90 reign of Gen. Augusto Pinochet is required for building reconciliation among Chileans. On March 5, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos invited the new cardinal to a ceremony at the president’s official house. During the nationally broadcast ceremony, Cardinal Errazuriz proposed a formula to achieve final reconciliation among Chileans, sharply divided between critics and supporters of Pinochet. “The only possibility to bring Chileans together is the way of truth, justice, forgiveness, repentance and clemency,” said the cardinal, who is also president of the Chilean bishops’ conference.

Security stepped up after vandalism at historic mission TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) — Officials at historic Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson have decided to install motion-detecting floodlights and a 7-foot security gate following three separate acts of vandalism in one week in February. All the vandalism occurred in a mortuary chapel next to the world-renowned, 203-year-old mission, which is located on federal trust land owned by the Diocese of Tucson and surrounded by the Tohono O’odham Nation. The first act — discovered Feb. 13 — included the desecration of 35 of the 50 statues located in the chapel as well as extensive spray painting. Early on Feb. 18, three more statues were discovered broken. Later that evening a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was found covered in motor oil and smoldering.

31 BOONE — The diocesan Office of

Faith Formation is presenting the 5th Annual Boone Education Conference today beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at 3 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Church, 259 Pilgrims Way. Based on the theme “Our Baptismal Call and Response,” Anne Trufant will share her sense of God’s call in her life and will engage in fellowship and spirituality with participants. The deadline for registration is March 26, and for information and registration, call Peg Ruble, Central Regional Faith Formation Coordinator, at (704) 391-0445.

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

March 16, 2001

Youth ministers, chaplains offer comfort to shooting victims LOS ANGELES (CNS) — In an outpouring of faith in the midst of tragedy, Catholic youth ministers, priests, chaplains, parents and teens ministered to each other following the March 5 shooting of 15 people at Santana High School in Santee, northwest of San Diego. Five youth ministers from area churches were meeting together that morning at Guardian Angels Church in Santee, when one of them got a call on her cell phone from a terrified daughter fleeing the high school minutes after the shooting. Father Michael Cunnane, pastor at Guardian Angels, and several youth ministers immediately drove to the school and gathered with fleeing students and parents in the parking lot of the shopping mall across the street. In such chaotic and terrifying moments “presence is the big thing,” said Father Cunnane.

In L.A. vocations marathon, they all run the good race LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The annual Run for Vocations, part of the 16th Los Angeles Marathon March 4, aims to promote religious life. Participants raise awareness for vocations through a prayer drive. Whereas runners usually ask for pledges — to finance a charity, for example — those who signed up for the Run for Vocations asked for prayers instead. This year the run, which was started 14 years ago, drew 77 priests, nuns, brothers, seminarians and parishioners as participants. Frank Ebiner, a 41-year-old member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Baldwin Park, was the first of the 77 to cross the finish line. He made it in 3:13:39. Ebiner and the rest followed the 26.2-mile marathon trail that took them through the heart of downtown Los Angeles, up to Hollywood, and back.

Focus group participants share experiences of caring for dying ST. CLOUD, Minn. (CNS) — Support and care at the end of life is just as important as when life begins. That end-of-life care can be a huge burden but can also bear fruit — both spiritual and emotional, according to people involved in such care in the St. Cloud area. Caregivers, professional and nonprofessional, ers of all ages are invited to secure sponsors for each of the three miles, and churches, civic organizations and youth groups are also encouraged to form teams and walk together. A celebration featuring prizes, local entertainment and refreshments is taking place immediately following the event.

For more information or to register, call Paula Wilkerson at (704) 8254711, Ext. 4.

28 WINSTON-SALEM — Schools in the Winston-Salem area are having Lenten reconciliation services on the following dates: St. Leo School, 333 Springdale Ave., this morning at 10 a.m. and Our Lady of Mercy School, 1 East Banner Ave., at 10:30 a.m. on March 30. Call the schools for details.

29 GREENSBORO — The 57th Women’s Weekend Ultreya is taking place at St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St., today through April 1. For details, call Dan Hines at (704) 544-6665 or Aliceann Coon at (704) 540-8696.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE — Churches in the vicariate are having

The Catholic News & Herald 3

The World in

CNS photo by Karen Callaway

Bishops meet with female church leaders Dolores R. Leckey, senior fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, and Archbishop John G. Vlazny of Portland, Ore., sing a hymn at the opening of a national consultation in Chicago on women in the church and society March 11. Archbishop Vlazny chairs the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Women in Society and in the Church, which was sponsoring the three-day meeting with women from across the nation. shared their experiences of death and dying during a series of 90-minute focus group sessions held Feb. 19-March 2 at St. Cloud Hospital. The meetings were part of a project called “Supportive Care of the Dying,” which encourages society to give people with life-threatening illnesses supportive care, compassionate relief from suffering, and help in managing pain and symptoms.

Focus group participants share experiences of caring for dying ST. CLOUD, Minn. (CNS) — Support and care at the end of life is just as important as when life begins. That end-of-life care can be a huge burden but can also bear fruit — both spiritual and emotional, according to people involved in such care in the St. Cloud area. Caregivers, professional and nonprofessional, shared their experiences of death and

dying during a series of 90-minute focus group sessions held Feb. 19-March 2 at St. Cloud Hospital. The meetings were part of a project called “Supportive Care of the Dying,” which encourages society to give people with life-threatening illnesses supportive care, compassionate relief from suffering, and help in managing pain and symptoms.

Southern African bishops decry attempts to block cheap AIDS drugs CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference criticized a bid by pharmaceutical companies to stop the South African government from making cheaper generic drugs available to people with the AIDS virus. It is “indefensible to prevent the provision of cheap or free anti-retroviral treatment and treatment for

March 19 CHARLOTTE — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic social and charitable interparish group, meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd. Anyone interested in her Irish-Catholic roots, call Jeanmarie Schuler at (704) 554-0720 for further information.

NEWTON — The Little Flowers Catholic Girls’ Group is for all Catholic girls ages five and up. The group meets at St. Joseph Church, 720 West 13th St., at 4 p.m. in the Holy Family Hall. For details, call Debbie Vickers at (828) 495-2039.

21 GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Council of Catholic Women is having its annual mini-Lenten retreat at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Rd., at the Wednesday 10 a.m. Masses continuing this morning, March 28 and April 4. The ladies ask that attendants bring hors d’oeuvres to share after the last gather-

ing. Call Janet Law at (336) 288-6022 for information.

22 HICKORY — The Volunteer InHome Respite Program is providing training for volunteers at St. Aloysius Church, 921 2nd St. NE, tonight and March 29 from 6-9 p.m. For more information, call Kathryn Tinkelenberg, parish nurse, at (828) 464-9880.

23 HOT SPRINGS — The Jesuit House of Prayer, 289 NW Hwy. 25/70, is hosting a renewal of body and spirit for those who parent children with special needs. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. tonight and ending with Mass and lunch on March 25, this retreat’s focus is on spiritual and physical needs and the deepening of one’s awareness through communication with God through prayer. The facilitator, Ann Mercer, has worked with parents of children with special needs for over 16 years. For details and registration, call (828) 622-7366.

MAGGIE VALLEY — A weekend Lenten retreat is being held at Liv-

opportunistic diseases related to AIDS by insisting on patent rights,” Cardinal Wilfrid F. Napier of Durban, president of the conference, said in a statement. South Africa’s medicines legislation came under the spotlight in the Pretoria High Court March 6 as about 40 pharmaceutical companies challenged the court to uphold drug patents and ban the use of cheaper alternatives by the government.

Vatican Radio’s main FM station keeps many Holy Year innovations VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Although many things at the Vatican have returned to normal after the Holy Year, Vatican Radio’s primary FM station has not. Once an Italian-language station hosting programs in other languages, 105 on the FM dial was the Holy Year home to “Jubilaeum,” broadcasting programs in which Italian, English and French presenters spoke to each other and their listeners in their own language.

When the jubilee ended Jan. 6, the station became “One-O-Five Live,” keeping large chunks of the multilingual format, although primarily in Italian and English. For budgetary and staffing reasons, Jubilaeum’s twin in Spanish and Portuguese ended with the jubilee.

Italian officials, church leaders criticize plans to clone humans ROME (CNS) — Plans by a team of U.S. and Italian doctors to clone human babies drew a chorus of negative reaction from Italian officials and church leaders. Vatican experts, however, virtually ignored the team’s announcement, which came at a press conference in Rome March 9. Some scientists said the project would inevitably produce premature deaths and physical aberrations, while others called it a publicity stunt with little chance of succeeding. The cloning team is led by Panayiotis Zavos, a U.S. fertility researcher, and includes Severino Antinori, an Italian fertility doctor. Cardinal Carlo Martini of Milan said March 10 that scientists must remember that “human dignity is the first consideration” in using scientific knowledge. “The human being can never be a reality fabricated solely with technology,” he said.

ing Waters Reflection Center, 103 Living Waters Lane, this weekend through March 25. Mercy Sister Maureen Meehan and Mercy Sister Dorothy McLaughlin are presenting the theme of people’s life journeys in the context of faith. For more information, call (828) 926-3833 or e-mail lwcrc@main.nc.us.

24 CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy., is hosting a day of prayer, renewal, faith sharing and the celebration of women as sisters in the Lord today from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. With the theme “Empowered by Love” as a backdrop, the 2nd Annual Women’s Day includes an afternoon session entitled “Bless This Mess: Living with the Reality of Our Lives” with Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast.

The Carolina Catholic Bookshop will be displaying items, and lunch is also being served. Call Kathy Murray at (704) 849-0398 for registration and information.

DENVER — The Knights of Columbus Council 10389 Denver is hosting its annual Irish night dinner at Holy Spirit Church, 537 Hwy. 16

4 The Catholic News & Herald

By ALESHA M. PRICE Staff Writer HICKORY — Eighteen holes of golf can sometimes prepare Joan Mahony for the daily routine of her ministry as a parish catechetical leader.

The faith formation coordinator at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte said the golf course is a home away from home. Her job is a steady stream of parental conferences; gathering of materials for the parish catechists, or faith formation teachers; student consultations and other duties in her oftentimes seven-day-a-week profession. Golf simply serves as a getaway for her from her busy schedule.

“I think that God invented the game because it is such a spiritual experience that can’t be understood unless you play. It is how I get away from it all but never get away from God,” she explained.

Mahony and approximately 75 others across the diocese had an opportunity for spiritual and mental renewal at the parish catechetical leaders’ retreat held at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory on March 10. The day consisted of presentations from Bishop William G. Curlin; Father George Kloster, pastor of St. William Church in Murphy and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville, and Marylin Kravatz, Southern Regional Faith Formation Coordinator; a prayer service and time for small group discussions for parish faith formation directors and coordinators, RCIA and adult faith formation coordinators and catechists across the diocese.

Bishop Curlin talked about how those present have to make Jesus’ message relevant and livable in today’s ever-changing world: “Our gifts will not have any lasting value if we don’t recommit ourselves and surrender to Jesus Christ every day. Your work is not easy, but if you constantly reconnect with Christ through a consistent prayer life and Scripture reading, then you will be able to spread the message of Jesus’ love to all you serve.”

Father Kloster presented church history in reference to recent discussions about restoration theology, a possible return to pre-Vatican II ideas and doctrine derived from the Council of Trent, which convened after the Protestant Reformation. He talked about the importance of how Vatican II reforms carried the church into

March 16, 2001

Around the Di-

Catechetical leaders gain insight, spiritual

Photo by Alesha M. Price

From left to right, Marylin Kravatz, diocesan Southern Regional Faith Formation Coordinator; Joan Mahony, St. Vincent de Paul Church faith formation coordinator; Peg Ruble, diocesan Central Regional Faith Formation Coordinator; Doctor Cris Villapando, diocesan director of faith formation programs; and Franciscan Sister Bernadette Svatos, diocesan Northern Regional Faith Formation Coordinator discuss the morning presentations at the parish catechetical leaders’ retreat in Hickory at the Catholic Conference Center on March 10. catechetical programs are not apart from the parish; they are a part of the parish. In spite of the busy, hectic pace and responsibility of being a PCL, what balances it is the joy you experience when you minister to other people. That is the bonus of doing this kind of work.”

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

modern times. “One of the battles that the PCL’s face is what do they teach our children,” he said after his presentation. “So, my purpose was to help them understand Vatican II sources and to show how these sources are rooted in the deep tradition and authentic theology of the church — the Scriptures, history and the Church fathers.”

“It is important to have the PCL’s and catechists come together at least once a year to retreat from the everyday business of their ministry,” explained Kravatz. “It is also nice for them to be in the presence of the bishop, their chief catechist, and be inspired by his message. The PCL’s are challenged to grow in faith together.”

Sundays are usually busy days for Mahony, who has been the PCL at St. Vincent de Paul for nine years. During that time, she has worked at setting up the faith formation program for the young parishioners, obtaining and retaining volunteers and keeping abreast of new faith formation materials. She also schedules meetings with parents, times and dates for the administering of sacraments and parent-child activities and performs other behind-the scenes details to make sure the program runs as efficiently as possible.

She said that gatherings such as this help her in her parish work.

“While this ministry does energize the soul, sometimes we need to get that energy from someplace else to fill in any gaps. It is important to come together with like-minded people and is extremely uplifting to get in touch with what we do and why we do it.”

Terri Martino, faith formation coordinator and catechist at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton for six years, says one of the reasons she is involved in this ministry is the importance of passing the faith along not only to her children but to other children as well, and the job also helps her personal faith development. She tries to involve the entire parish in her work and stresses that communication with the students and the parents is the key. She said that the retreat served as a time for her to fellowship with other PCL’s.

“If we don’t take the time to rejuvenate by attending some kind of retreat or day of reflection to help us focus on priorities and spiritual refreshment, then we cannot continue on our own journeys of faith,” explained Martino.

Kravatz, who led the afternoon session to help the group bring the morning presentations into per spective, said that faith formation is an important part of the development of the individual and the parish as a whole. “This is not a job; it is a very busy ministry in which you are helping to hand on the faith and to journey with others so we can all know Christ better. What that entails is not just professional requirements, which is the knowledge part of knowing your theology and developing your learning of the faith and the administration of that knowledge.

“As an administrator, you are a key part of the parish family because

March 16, 2001

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor CLEMMONS — On a Sunday during a liturgical season that focuses on reconciliation, Marietta Jaeger Lane spoke about the struggle between fury and forgiveness.

It is a struggle she grew to know firsthand when, in the summer of 1973 on a family camping vacation, her youngest daughter was kidnapped from the tent in which she and her four siblings slept. What began as the family’s dream vacation of a lifetime turned into a nightmare.

Marietta shared her family’s story with an audience at Holy Family Church in Clemmons March 11 as part of that parish’s Lenten series on the themes of mercy and forgiveness. For nearly two hours, Marietta weaved a narrative of the rage and reconciliation — and faith — that she experienced after her daughter’s disappearance.

“We need to learn how to forgive,” Marietta said. “And there is a point we all have to come to when things happen in our life, or we hurt, or life doesn’t go the way we want it to go that we must make an act of faith and know that no matter what it looks like, God loves us. God is with us.”

God’s mountain The path from their Michigan home to a month of camping in Montana passed through eight states, and by the time their van pulled into Three Forks for their first stop, Marietta, her husband and their five children were on top of the world. They met up with Marietta’s parents, in whose trailer she and her husband planned to stay.

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Around the Di-

Woman walks road from rage to reconciliation

Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Holy Family Church youth ministry members Lauren Pashke and Mary Kate Foley, both 15, share stories of faith with Marietta Jaeger Lane after her March 11 presentation at the church on rage and reconciliation.

“I felt we had come to God’s mountain,” she said. “We were having the best time that we ever had as a family.”

During the first night of that Montana journey, Marietta tucked her five children into their sleeping bags and kissed them goodnight.

“My youngest daughter, Susie, who was only 7 years old, was the hardest for me to reach,” she said. “She was tucked away in a corner with a bunch of camping gear at the foot of her sleeping bag, and I had to hang over her sister next to her and try to reach Susie to kiss her good night.”

Marietta’s lips barely brushed across Susie’s cheek.

“She said, ‘No, Momma, not like that,’” Marietta recalled. “She got up from her sleeping bag, she crawled across her sister, and she got right up in front of me. She threw her arms around me, and she gave me a great big kiss right smack on the lips.

She said, ‘There, Momma, that’s the way it should be.’”

The moment touched Marietta and

capped what, to that point, had been a perfect day for a family.

“I praise God for that lovely memory,” Marietta said, “because it was the last time I ever saw my little girl.”

Though a year would pass before her family knew for sure, 7-year-old Susie was tortured, raped and, a week after she was abducted, was murdered.

Rage ...

During that first night of their Montana vacation, Susie was taken by someone who cut a hole in the tent near her head where she slept. A trail of stuffed animals lay sprinkled across the grass. The campground that served as host of the family’s dream vacation suddenly transformed into headquarters for the FBI and local law enforcement.

Over the next weeks, search planes buzzed overhead. Teams on the ground looked on horseback, on foot, on motorcycle. A boat dragged the river for Susie’s body.

And the family huddled in various states of shock, panic and anger. “All we could do was watch at the picnic table day after day — and wait ... and wait ... and wait.”

After two weeks, Marietta’s numbness finally transformed into sheer rage.

“I was seething,” she said. “I was filled with hatred and a desire for revenge. As I got into bed that night, I said to my husband that even if the kidnapper were to bring back Susie alive and well that moment, I could kill him for what he had done to my family. I knew that if he were put right in front of me, I could take his life with my bare hands and with a big smile on my face.”

Raised a devout Catholic who was taught to forgive her enemies, Marietta entered the most harrowing faith struggle of her life. She knew the damage long-term anger can do to a person’s health as well.

She felt justified in her anger, yet her strong faith directed her to turn to God and place her anguish in his hands. “God laid a good foundation in me,” she said. “I knew the principles that I was going to be held accountable to if I was to live out my Catholic faith with integrity.”

And so, amidst the harrowing search for her little girl, Marietta began the struggle to turn her anger into something positive. “I surrendered to God,” she recalled.

“I could not with any authenticity say I forgive this person at that point. It would have been just empty words.

“But I believe in a God who never, never violates our free will. So I did the only thing I could do, and that was to give God permission to change my heart.”

She devoted herself fully to asking God to help her in her struggle. “With that I felt a great peace, and I was able to get the first good night’s sleep since Susie had been taken.” ... to reconciliation The kidnapper called the family several more times in the ensuing months, each time saying he wanted to exchange Susie for ransom and would call again when his plan was complete.

Marietta relied on God’s grace, though the struggle continued with each passing moment.

“I had to go back to square one: ‘Did I even believe in God? Maybe God is just

See RECONCILIATION , page 15

6 The Catholic News & Herald Nun says cancer, treatment challenged her to find God in ordeal TRENTON, N.J. (CNS) — When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation to treat it, Franciscan Sister Kathy Ganiel said her challenge — besides getting well — was to find where God was in the midst of it. “The whole cancer experience was a conversion experience and the task for me as a Christian disciple was to find out where God was in all of this and who God was for me,” she told The Monitor, newspaper of the Trenton Diocese. It took most of 1998 to treat her cancer. Following a mastectomy, she twice underwent four regimens of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Today, Sister Ganiel is considered a threeyear survivor, and she is in training for the “Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day,” a 60-mile walk in the fall.

Prominent Polish Jesuit denied Russian visa for third time MOSCOW (CNS) — The general secretary of the Russian bishops’ conference, who has been refused a Russian visa three consecutive times, says he is abandoning his attempts to return to Moscow. “I don’t think I’ll try again. It’s just not worth it,” said Polish Jesuit Father Stanislaw Opiela, 62, in a March 7 telephone interview from Warsaw. “Maybe there will be some kind of protest.” Besides serving with the bishops in Russia, Father Opiela headed a Catholic college and edited a new religious magazine. At one time he was the Jesuit order’s Moscow-based provincial. Father Opiela said he has yet to receive an explanation from Russia’s Foreign Ministry for the Feb. 27 rejection and does not expect one. The government is not required to give one under Russian law.

Iditarod musher harnesses help for the homeless ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNS) — The world’s fastest dogsled racers may be more familiar with Martin Buser’s backside than his front, but the three-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race doesn’t leave everyone behind. Six years ago the staff of Brother Francis Shelter in Anchorage asked Buser if he would lend a hand with a fund-raiser for the homeless. “My racing gets me through some of the most remote places in Alaska, and unfortunately ... some of the people from the villages are ending up

People in the

CNS photo by Michael Dinneen, Catholic Anchor

Snowboarder represents U.S. in Special Olympics Snowboarder Chris Vance represented the United States in the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games held March 4-11 in Anchorage. He is a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the Alaskan capital. in the shelters and on the streets of Anchorage,” Buser said. In the race, top teams cover the 1,151 miles from Anchorage to Nome in nine or 10 days. In six years, Buser’s Iditapledge fund-raiser has brought in nearly $20,000 for Brother Francis Shelter, operated by the Anchorage Archdiocese.

Child advocate decries world’s neglect of poor, abused DAYTON, Ohio — “Why are we not shouting at the top of our voices to stop the murder of the world’s children?” a longtime advocate for children in Latin America asked March 2. Bruce Harris spoke to an overflow crowd of about 300 at the University of Dayton after accepting the 2001 Monsignor Oscar Romero Award for Leadership in Service to Human Rights. He is executive director of Casa Alianza, the Latin American branch of the New Yorkbased Covenant House. The struggle to protect and defend the street kids of Latin America has not been “an easy battle,” said Harris. The award and talk were part of an international conference, “A Question of Conscience: Making a Better Life for All

Children.”

Human rights activist credits churches for keeping issue visible WASHINGTON (CNS) — Human rights activist Nina Shea credits U.S. churches with reviving the human rights issue. After the breakup of the Soviet Union and the dismantling of South African apartheid, “those of us working in human rights had seen the bottom drop out of the human rights movement in the United States,” said Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Washington-based

March 16, 2001

Freedom House. It was then that human rights activists saw the church as “a natural gathering of the human rights movement,” Shea said. She made her comments March 6 in a talk at the School of Advanced International Studies on the Washington campus of Johns Hopkins University.

Pope thanks Cardinal George for leading Lenten retreat VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II thanked Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago for helping him and top Vatican officials strengthen their faith in Christ so they can proclaim him with new vigor to the world. The pope chose Cardinal George to lead his March 4-10 Lenten retreat in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. Cardinal George, who gave 22 talks to the pope and the heads of Vatican offices, chose as his theme, “A Faith for All Peoples: Conversion, Freedom and Communion in Christ.” He told Catholic News Service March 10 that his job was to reflect upon Scripture “to help them deepen their prayer.”

Georgetown official named president of Loyola Chicago CHICAGO (CNS) — Jesuit Father Michael J. Garanzini, special assistant to the president at Georgetown University in Washington, has been elected president of Loyola University Chicago. Father Garanzini, who will assume his new duties this summer, succeeds Jesuit Father John J. Piderit, who resigned last May. A native of St. Louis, Father Garanzini has experience in teaching, research, service and administrative leadership at some of the nation’s leading Jesuit colleges and universities including Georgetown, Fordham, St. Louis, Rockhurst and Gregorian University in Rome. He also serves as a full professor of psychology at Georgetown.

March 16, 2001

From the

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Family’s faith journey leads to permanent

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent MAGGIE VALLEY — “For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth and friends above ... .”

The capacity congregation, 200 strong, joyfully sang the old hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth” as the procession made its way up St. Margaret’s center aisle on the evening of March 9.

They were parishioners and former parishioners, family and friends, who had come together to honor a couple, special to them all, at a very special event. Gerard (Jerry) La Pointe was about to be ordained a permanent deacon.

Jerry, who had completed the diocesan lay ministry program and had been studying for the diaconate for four years, was planning to be ordained in June with the seven other members of his class. But when Bishop William G. Curlin learned that Jerry’s wife, Lorraine, is terminally ill, he offered to confer the sacrament of holy orders three months early.

“We need the diaconate,” Bishop Curlin said. “Vatican II stressed that it’s a gift to the church. The diaconate is not new, and it’s important that people know that. It’s a restoration.”

In fact, the first reading during that evening’s Mass recounted the ordination of the first seven deacons, called by the first apostles.

William Murphy, who built St. Margaret, was ordained a priest there in 1972. Jerry is the second person to be ordained there. March 9 was a night of firsts. Bishop Cur-

lin, who was director of the first diaconate class in the United States, conferred the sacrament on Jerry, the first deacon to be ordained at St. Margaret.

In a ceremony held before the ordination, Lorraine became the first wife to witness her husband’s commitment to the bishop and the pope, commitments that are made by every deacon candidate prior to his ordination.

In his homily during the ordination, Bishop Curlin directed many of his comments to the La Pointes, telling them that through the love they have for each other in their marriage, they are able to reach out to the wider community through Jerry’s new role as deacon.

They have been reaching out for a long time. Jerry and Lorraine have been married for 49 years and raised six children. After Jerry retired from his auto body and repair business in Florida, they moved to Maggie Valley. He had been an usher at their church in Florida, and the couple soon became involved in parish activities at St. Margaret.

Together they have been involved in the parish’s ministry to the sick and dying for eight years. Lorraine sang in the choir and served as a sacristan. Jerry was a Eucharistic minister, sacristan and was on the RCIA team. For a while, he and Jasay Ketchum were the only altar servers, and they worked together to make procedures more efficient.

Jerry looks forward to working even harder: “I can do more as a deacon. When you wear a clerical collar, people are more apt to come to you to ask for help. That’s what I want to do is to help people. If I can help even one person, it will be worth all the time I’ve

Photos by JOANITA M. NELLENBACH

Jerry and Lorraine La Pointe have made the diaconate journey together through praying and discerning together and supporting each other. spent studying.”

Father Bill Evans was pastor at St. Margaret when he wrote Jerry and six other parishioners suggesting that they look into the diaconate. Jerry was the only one to explore the possibility. He completed the lay ministry program.

“After that,” Lorraine said, “there was a lot of prayer and discernment to see if this really was a call. That’s the big thing, that we prayed over whether this was a calling or just a desire.”

“It’s not something that smacks you in the eyes,” Jerry said. “It’s not something that takes you by storm. It evolves over time. I think one of the things that pushed me in my discernment was when we didn’t have a [full-time] priest and I was doing the daily

Communion service. I would give a reflection. I gave one on a man who was only able to forgive his brother after the brother became ill. A woman came up to me afterward and said she had asked her mother [who was dead] for forgiveness, and she believed that the mother gave it.”

Jerry began the formal diaconate process, but found it even more challenging than he had expected. He often put in a 40-hour week studying for the twice-monthly class sessions at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, which Lorraine also attended.

At one point during the second year, a

See JOURNEY, page 14

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the

March 16, 2001

Priest never anticipated popularity of song ‘On Eagle’s Wings’ Ordained in 1980, Father Joncas has since written dozens of pieces of liturgical music.

But he is best known for “On Eagle’s Wings.

By JOHN STRANGE NC Catholic CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (CNS) — It began as a song for a friend’s dead father, but in the 20-plus years since “On Eagle’s Wings” was written, the hymn has taken on a liturgical life of its own.

It is played at funeral liturgies, but also at baptisms, weddings, and during weekend Masses. Native Americans and Catholic members of the U.S. Air Force have claimed it for their own because of its references to eagles and flying.

All of this surprises the song’s composer to no end.

“I am surprised first of all that it took off at all,” Father Michael Joncas told the NC Catholic, newspaper of the Raleigh Diocese, in an interview after a liturgical workshop in Chapel Hill.

“In hindsight, 20 years later, I think I understand some of the reasons why. It’s a very expansive, wide-ranging kind of melody. In that, it probably gives an aural, auditory image of eagles,” he said.

“Now, I never would have guessed

this, but because eagles have such a strong American connotation, the Native American community also picked up the song,” said Father Joncas, a priest of the St. PaulMinneapolis Archdiocese. “They found this as something that could connect Christianity and their own native traditions.”

Even members of the Air Force have found connections to “their own armed service vocation” in the song.

But the song began much more humbly. Father Joncas explained that he was visiting a fellow seminarian at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

When the two returned from dinner, they received a message that the friend’s father had just suffered a fatal heart attack.

In between getting the friend onto an airplane home and the father’s wake service, Father Joncas had written the song, basing the lyrics on Psalm 91. He sang the song publicly for the first time during the wake.

Ordained in 1980, Father Joncas has since written dozens of pieces of liturgical music. But he is best known for “On Eagle’s Wings.”

He said that while he is surprised by

CNS photo by John Strange, NC Catholic

Father Michael Joncas, who composed the hymn “On Eagle’s Wings,” speaks at a diocesan conference on music in Chapel Hill, N.C. He wrote the popular liturgical song 20 years ago. its success, he is not surprised that so many people related to the song.

“It’s Scripture. It’s not really a poem of mine. It’s Psalm 91, and the refrain is a series of phrases from the Old Testament,” he said. “I believe that Scripture as the word of God is able to bear multiple meanings. So many different contexts from the same text, taking on different resonances.”

Ironically, the priest said, if he could do it again, the song would be drastically different.

“My standards were different than they are today,” he explained. “I know more about music, I hope I know more about life, I hope I know more about the Lord. The stakes of writing become much higher.

“Back then it was very clear,” he said. “I prayed the text of Psalm 91 every night. But the triggering mechanism was I wanted to find a way to help my friend at this tough time. As an artist, that was a way to make a gift.”

In fact, Father Joncas has returned to Psalm 91 four times for new musical compositions. He also has written eight “settings” based on the canticle of Mary.

“These are texts that are really inexhaustible,” he added. “You can always find new nuances and new ways of expressing it in song.”

March 16, 2001

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor Lest anyone wonder how the Diocese of Charlotte is growing so rapidly these days, they had to look no further than three parishes here recently to understand one reason for such exciting expansion.

B ishop William G. Curlin presided at three celebrations of the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, one of the essential steps by which people of faith prepare to enter as full members of the Catholic Church.

Hundreds of people, their sponsors, family members, friends and parish team members gathered at Holy Family Church in Clemmons on March 4, at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville on March 10 and at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte on March 11 for the celebrations.

The rite is part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), the process by which adults become initiated into the Catholic Church through study, prayer and liturgical celebrations.

In his message to those hundreds in the RCIA preparing to enter the church at this year’s Easter Vigil, Bishop Curlin spoke of living gracefilled lives dedicated to Christ.

“When you come into the Catholic Church, you must commit yourself to the belief that Jesus loves you and is the center of your life,” the bishop said at one of the celebrations. “He gives meaning to what we celebrate.”

Individuals engaged in the RCIA who have not been baptized are called catechumens. They prepare for the initiation sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. Baptized Chris-

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Around The Dio-

Bishop Curlin presides at Rite of Election and Call to Continuing

Photo by Joann S. Keane

Sponsors play an essential role in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process. Not only do they walk along the path of faith with those they sponsor; in many instances, they experience a renewed sense of faith themselves. tians of other faith traditions preparing for either or both confirmation and Eucharist are called candidates.

During the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, catechumens are officially called by the bishop to the sacraments of initiation, to be conferred by pastors at the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. The experience represents the belief that

God is calling these men and women to the fullness of the church.

Books of the Elect containing the signatures of the catechumens are presented, and following a series of questions affirming their readiness, the catechumens become known as the “elect.”

The rite is also significant for the

candidates, as their sponsors and catechists testify to their deeper understanding and appreciation for Catholic life. The candidates offer the bishop their names as well, signed on scrolls.

For those involved in the RCIA process, a great deal of discernment takes place. Bishop Curlin likened the experience to searching for something not yet fully realized in people’s lives.

“You’re hungry for something in your life that you have not found to fulfillment yet,” he told one group.

“You’re looking for something wonderful. You come into our faith to receive a deeper awareness and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Bishop Curlin said there are key ingredients — points of light — that compose the faith lives of Catholics.

“Treasure that light,” he urged.

“Feed it with the sacraments, prayer, love, charity and God’s holy Word.”

Bishop Curlin asked all present to recommit their own lives to Jesus on a daily basis, and he reminded the assembly that the Mass — particularly the Eucharist — is the center of the Catholic faith and tradition.

“What we celebrate in the Mass is the presence of the living Christ,” he said. “When we celebrate the Mass, heaven comes down to earth, to this very altar.”

Editor Joann S. Keane contributed to this story.

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

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

March 16, 2001

Read-

New books explore Jewish-Christian

Reviewed by Eugene Fisher its way of interpreting Christianity Catholic News Service — not an easy task, as those Catholics “Christianity in Jewish Terms” such as myself engaged in a similar is the product of the Jewish Scholars process for our own community can Study Group on Christianity, sponattest! sored by Baltimore’s Institute for JewMeanwhile, Jeremy Cohen of Tel ish-Christian Studies. The group has Aviv University is one of the leadbeen meeting regularly for years in an ing medievalists in the world today. effort to reassess Judaism’s understandHe is a specialist in Jewish-Christian ing of its relationship with Christianity. relations over the centuries. His two In September 2000 the group isprize-winning books, “The Friars and sued “Dabru Emet” (“Speaking Truth”), the Jews” and “Be Fertile and Increase, a groundbreaking statement of historic Fill the Earth and Master It,” have proportions that acknowledged, among brilliantly evoked not only the dispuother things, that “Jews and Christians tations between Jews and Christians worship the same God.” This has been but also the profound and positive the Christian claim, of course, but the influence each has had, theologically, doctrine of the Trinity has appeared on the other. to many Jews to reject the Oneness of In “Living Letters of the Law” the Creator, while the doctrine of the he narrates engagingly how Christian Incarnation is still seen today by many writings from Augustine to Aquinas among Orthodox Jews “fashioned (an image as, technically (if not necof) a Jew on the basis essarily intentionally) of (their) reading of “idolatr y,” since it the Bible,” from age appears to them to raise to age, and how “this a human being to the CHRISTIANITY IN JEWISH hermeneutically craftlevel of divinity. ed Jew assumed disTERMS, edited by Tivka Perhaps even more Frumer-Kensky, et al. tinctive character and controversial in “Dabru power in Christian Westview Press (Boulder, Emet” is the affirmathought and culture.” tion that “Nazism is not Colo., 2000). 438 pp., For those seriously a Christian phenom- $30.00. interested in Jewishenon,” while asserting Christian relations, it equally strongly that LIVING LETTERS OF THE is an utterly fascinat“without the long his- LAW: IDEAS OF THE JEW IN ing read. tory of Christian anti- MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANITY, by James CarJudaism and Christian Jeremy Cohen. University of roll’s “Constantine’s violence against Jews, Sword” attempts, and Nazi ideolog y could California Press (Berkeley, fails to achieve, the not have taken hold nor 1999). 451 pp., $24.95. grand synthesis of been carried out.” Still, Catholic theology on virtually all of the 200 Jews and Judaism that or so rabbis and scholthis book easily proars approached by the vides the reader. But group signed the statement. This is a then, Carroll spent a grand total of sign of a growing consensus among one year researching his book while Jews that it is time (after decades of “Living Letters of the Law” is the successful dialogue with Protestants result of a lifetime of study and diasince the end of World War II and logue. with Catholics since the Second VatiIn the late 1960s and early ’70s I can Council) for Jews, as one put it, “to attended New York University’s Institake yes for an answer.” tute of Hebrew Studies and was for the The book is organized around first time in my life (or virtually that 11 themes from the “Dabru Emet” of any other Catholic, for that matstatement. Each theme is discussed ter) exposed to how Western history first by a Jewish scholar, who is then looks from the perspective of the Jews, responded to by a Christian and a the one “outsider” group allowed to Jewish scholar. The 27 contributors survive under Christian domination. are among the leading scholars in the Cohen’s book e xplains the world in both communities. The result theological underpinnings of decisions is a sprightly and immensely illumiby generations of church leaders about nating dialogue on such themes as the Jews in Christian society. It is a must Shoah and anti-Semitism, God, Scripfor anyone who wants to understand ture, commandment, Israel, worship, where church teaching was before the suffering, Incarnation, redemption, sin Second Vatican Council overturned all and repentance. previous Christian reflection since St. In each the point is what Judaism Paul and set the church on the course has to say about what Christians say of the “dialogue of mutual esteem” about these topics. Quite often, the authat has resulted in the revolutionary thors conclude, what Judaism used to progress in Catholic-Jewish relations say about Christianity has been found and, therefore, in the response to that wanting through the closer lens of direvolution by the authors and editors alogical understanding. In many ways, of “Christianity in Jewish Terms.” then, this courageous book is a call on Jewish tradition not to change its self-definition as such, but to change

Word to Life

March 18, Third Sunday of Lent Cycle C Readings: 1) Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15 Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11 2) 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 3) Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

By Dan Luby Catholic News Service I’m a terrible shopper at estate sales and country trade days. I’m overwhelmed by the mind-numbing array of items, mystified to know many people see them as “collectibles.” On those rare occasions when I go, I wander the aisles aimlessly, idly considering here a back issue of Life magazine, there an incomplete socket set. My purchases are mostly confined to smoked turkey legs and funnel cake and nut-covered frozen ice cream treats.

That’s why I am always amazed to read about someone who finds a Gutenberg Bible in a trunk purchased at an estate sale for $10 or a missing Rembrandt masterpiece hidden beneath an ugly amateur oil painting of fruit on a table. I can never imagine myself paying close enough attention

to notice the little signs that indicate to the careful buyer the possibility of such a spectacular find. I am too distracted by the variety of it all, too put off by the conviction that in such a mass of tacky junk there could never be anything truly beautiful or valuable.

In this Sunday’s first reading, we are told that God speaks to Moses upon noticing that he has “turned aside” from the routine of tending his flocks to pay attention to a bush which seems to be on fire without burning up.

Lent is a call by the church for all of us to “turn aside” from the million and one things which distract us, from our preconceptions about where true beauty and value can be found, and to pay attention to the signs of God’s presence.

Life holds treasures for those who pay attention to the signs that indicate the presence of something extraordinary beneath the surface. Let us turn aside in the days ahead and attend to those signs.

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of Mar. 18 - 24, 2001 Third Sunday of Lent, Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15, 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12, Luke 13:1-9; Monday (St. Joseph), 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16, Romans 4:13, 1618, 22, Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24; Tuesday, Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Matthew 18:2135; Wednesday, Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday, Jeremiah 7:23-28, Luke 11:14-23; Friday (Abstinence), Hosea 14:2-10, Mark 12:28-34; Saturday, Hosea 6:1-6, Luke 18:9-14 Readings for the week of Mar. 25 - 31, 2001 Fourth Sunday of Lent, Joshua 5:9-12, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Luke 15:13, 11-32; Monday (Annunciation of the Lord), Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10, Hebrews 10:4-10, Luke 1:26-38; Tuesday, Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, John 5:1-3, 5-16; Wednesday, Isaiah 49:8-15, John 5:17-30; Thursday, Exodus 32:7-14, John 5:31-47; Friday (Abstinence), Wisdom 2:1, 12-22, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30; Saturday, Jeremiah

March 16, 2001

Entertain-

The Catholic News & Herald 11

Video reviews

By Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are home videocassette reviews from the U.S. Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting. Each videocassette is available on VHS format. Theatrical movies on video have a U.S. Catholic Conference classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating.

All reviews indicate the appropriate age group for the video audience.

“Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980) Young volunteer Richard Thomas goes on a hunt to hire mercenaries to defend a planet threatened with conquest by an intergalactic tyrant. Scripted by John Sayles and directed by Jimmy T. Murakami with some style and humor, it’s a moderately entertaining sci-fi action fantasy. Many sexually oriented jokes.

The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. (New Concorde) “The Broken Hearts Club” (2000) Sluggish comedy about a gay photographer (Timothy Olyphant) whose co-dependent friendships with three gay buddies (Andrew Keegan, John Mahoney and Dean Cain) are stifling his personal growth and romantic life. Predictable and stereotypical, writer-director Greg Berlanti’s boring film showcases an allgay cast moaning about their lives while actually reveling in the superficiality they purport to criticize. Blatant homosexual theme with some implied sexual encounters, brief drug use and recurring rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is O — morally offensive.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. (Columbia TriStar) “Highlander: Endgame” (2000) Convoluted conclusion to the fantasy series in which immortal humans (Adrian

Paul, Christopher Lambert) engage in a final battle with the worst and most powerful immortal (Bruce Payne) as the fate of humanity is said to hang in the balance. The nonsensical plot of director Doug Aarniokoski’s lame film is clumsily pasted together with melodramatic performances and kitschy special effects.

Intermittent stylized violence, a sexual encounter with fleeting nudity and a few instances of crass language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

(Dimension) “Meet the Parents” (2000) Amusing romantic comedy in which a male nurse (Ben Stiller) meets his teacher girlfriend’s (Teri Polo) tony parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) for the first time and everything that can go wrong does. With a scenario ripe for comical misunderstandings, director Jay Roach’s sprightly paced film scores with laughs despite some predictability.

Comically intended minor violence, reference to a live-in relationship, brief drug references and some crass language with much profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

(Universal)

“Get Over It” “Get Over It” (Miramax) is a teen romance in which a high school senior (Ben Foster), crushed when his girlfriend dumps him, gradually springs back thanks to the encouragement of his best friend’s younger sister (Kirsten Dunst), who gets him involved in a school production of ``A Midsummer Night’s Rockin’ Eve.’’ Director Tommy O’Haver spins a comic romance of little distinction save for a few sprightly song-and-dance numbers. Some sexual innuendo, brief comic violence, crude references, fleeting substance abuse and an instance of rough language and profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Regis Philbin donates $2.75 million to Notre

By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — Television personality Regis Philbin, a 1953 University of Notre Dame graduate, has given his alma mater $2.75 million for the creation of a studio theater in the Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.

Construction of the center will begin later this year on the south side of campus and will be completed in 2003.

The Regis Philbin Studio Theater will be home for lab and performance art productions in Notre Dame’s department of film, television and theater. The 100-seat facility will feature sophisticated lighting and sound systems and has been designed for maximum technical and seating flexibility.

The 123,000-square-foot DeBartolo center will also include a 900-seat concert hall, 350-seat main stage theater, 200seat cinema theater and 100-seat organ and chorale hall.

Holy Cross Father Edward A. Mal-

loy, Notre Dame president, said that over the years Philbin has been “among our most generous” alumni.

“With his time, talent and resources, Regis has made numerous contributions to the university and our surrounding community,” he said. “We are most appreciative of this latest gift, which will do much to enhance our growing commitment to and reputation in the dramatic arts.”

Philbin, host of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and his own morning talk show, received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Notre Dame in 1999 in recognition of his previous gifts to the university and his service as host of an annual fund-raising broadcast on behalf of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend.

He and his wife, Joy, have two daughters — Jennifer, a 1996 graduate of the university, and Joanna, a second-year student in the Notre Dame Law School.

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope beatifies Spanish martyrs, urges end to Basque terrorism B JOHN NORTON y

March 16, 2001

Editorials & Col-

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II beatified 233 martyrs of religious persecution in 1930s Spain, entrusting to their intercession an end to the country’s modern-day scourge of Basque terrorism.

As 30,000 mostly Spanish pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square interrupted him with sustained applause March 11, the pope said terrorism is “the enemy of humanity” and an inherently losing tactic.

“Terrorism is born of hate and in turn feeds it; it is radically unjust and increases the situations of injustice; and it seriously offends against God and the dignity and rights of persons,” he said.

“No motive, no cause or ideology can justify it,” he said.

Basque terrorists in northern Spain have killed some 800 people in their three-decade campaign for a separate homeland. The latest victim, a 25-year-old Spanish policeman, died March 9 in a car bomb attack near San Sebastian.

The martyrs recognized at the March 11 ceremony — the largest beatification ever — included priests, nuns and lay men and women who were killed between 1936 and 1939 in Spain’s civil war.

Though they died at the hands of militants in a period of civil conflict, the pope said the martyrs were targeted solely for their religious beliefs.

“The newly beatified that are raised today to the altars were not involved in the political or ideological struggles, nor did they want to get involved in them,” he said. “They died exclusively for religious motives.”

Most of the new martyrs were killed in the Diocese of Valencia, where religious persecution was particularly intense, but hailed from a total of 37 dioceses.

Two of those killed were originally from Uruguay and are their country’s first beatified laywomen.

The church investigation of potential martyrs requires proof only that they died for their faith; no miracle or certification of a life of heroic virtue is needed, as is the case for normal beatifications.

Nonetheless, all of those beatified March 11 had also led lives of extraordinary holiness, the pope said, and without exception explicitly forgave their executioners.

Their martyrdoms “sealed lives interwoven with work, prayer and religious commitment in their families, parishes and religious congregations,” he said.

“One can say that their exemplary conduct was like a preparation for the supreme confession of faith that is martyrdom.”

The pope said it was important for the church to keep alive the memory of the martyrs because they gave convincing testimony to Christian hope and serenity in the face of difficulty.

“May their blessed memory remove any form of violence, hatred and resentment forever from Spanish soil!” he said.

Confronting the problem of suffering for the first time My son called me from college the other day, a bit shaken, although he did a good job hiding his feelings.

He had been to visit his grandmother — my mother — in the hospital, where she was trying to recover from a serious, rather sudden burst of problems.

My son attends college in the same city where his grandparents live, while I’m now some distance away. I’d been down the previous weekend, had seen my mother and visited with my son, but because of his work schedule he’d not had a chance to see her himself at that point.

But Thursday morning, my father called and told me to get in touch with my son and see if he could get to the hospital. It seemed, at that point, rather grave.

So he went, as his grandfather reported to me later, nicely dressed, relaxed, although obviously a little scared. He stayed for an hour, until the time came to draw some blood.

I couldn’t get in touch with him until late that night. “I was shocked,” he told me from his dorm room. “She looked so much worse.”

It was, I knew, a frightening experience on a number of different levels. It’s scary to see someone who’d been fairly strong three weeks ago now confined to bed, in a severely weakened state and completely dependent on others. It’s scary, as a young and vigorous person, to confront the reality of life in its totality.

Many of you have encountered mortality in personal ways. Perhaps you have struggled with serious illness yourself or had a friend in that situation.

Maybe you’ve seen poor health or accidents take their toll on close relations or friends.

There are certain things that remain nothing more than words and ideas until you look at someone whose blood runs through your veins and witness, in

Family Reflections ANDREW & TERRI LYKE Guest Columnists

with the music and engage our youths in meaningful discussion about the messages without being condescending.

Of course, this kind of openness goes both ways.

As a family we share the airwaves. Negotiating what radio station to listen to in the car is part of that sharing. So, our kids bear with the “Golden Oldies” as much as we bear with their music. We find ourselves not at war over music. We also find ourselves actually enjoying some of the music of today.

Picking up our son after school, he hopped in the car, immediately changed the radio station. A song that we had discussed was playing. Knowing that we had serious issues with it, he quickly changed the station back to the “Golden Oldies” station. No need to do battle — no words necessary. We’re simply learning to coexist — the curmudgeon and the rapper.

Coming of Age AMY WELBORN CNS Columnist

their struggles, something in your own future, something you’d really rather not think about.

That’s what my son saw when he visited his grandmother. Her condition affected him, certainly, but beyond that, what shook him was facing the shape of the road on which all of us travel.

But of course, Lent shows us the deeper dimension to this. Lent began, if you remember, with ashes on your forehead and words ringing in your ears: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

It’s enough to stop you in your tracks. But for the Christian, those words and that brush of ashes aren’t the end — they’re just the beginning. The road we travel during Lent is one that takes us through some pretty heavy darkness, following right beside Jesus.

Ash Wednesday, you see, was only the beginning. Easter, coming so soon now, is about light, not darkness, about the healing of everything that was broken and the gift of a life that, this time, will never end.

We just need to open our eyes and see.

The generation gap The generation gap, particularly in the area of popular music, is as wide as it’s ever been. Watching the Grammy Awards recently, it was clear that we were not in the know on most popular artists. Even with teens under foot we felt really “out of it” regarding today’s pop stars of music.

When our teen children are in the car with us, they immediately change the radio station to something more “in” that what we have it set to. And it doesn’t take very long before the curmudgeon comes out in one or both of us. We try to avoid phrases like “Turn that trash off !” But sometimes it just comes out. This didn’t happen purposefully. Despite our promise of old to stay current so we could always relate to our kids, we have become old fuddy-duds about music. How did this happen?

As magical as the radio airwaves were when we were teens, with personalities like Dick Biondi and Herb Kent who were pied pipers of our generation, there seems more power in the fairy dust of music today. It’s not just the radio; it’s also MTV and other music video programming that mesmerize our youth with images, sound and in-your-face messages about sex, violence and personal gratification. Popular music seems to us curmudgeons more menacing than the music of our youth. And we have some fears about what the messages may normalize in the minds of our children.

Our parents’ generation had similar fears. But we don’t see ourselves as having the same stiff backs as that generation had when we were young, wild and free. The music of our youth that road the edge of decency (and even went over it) is rather tame compared to today’s listening fare.

It pains our ears when we hear it. And it’s easy to just turn on the “Golden Oldies” station.

Because we have to parent our youths, we must be careful about how we draw lines in the sand. We have no desire and see no need to be completely up-to-date with the music of youth today. But, to avoid becoming completely irrelevant we must bear

March 16, 2001

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle MSGR. JAMES P. LISANTE Guest Columnist children. At least ten inches of hair is needed, and it takes the hair of twelve donors to make just one hairpiece for each patient.

Julia read the story and got very quiet. Minutes later she sought out her Mom and asked for permission to offer her own hair for a child in need. Julia loves her hair a lot. But she knows that someone needs it more, and she said a little wistfully, “It will grow back in time.”

Listening to my sister describe Julia’s decision to offer her hair made me think of the wonderful classic 0. Henry story “The Gift of the Magi.” It’s a tale about the true spirit of giving. And it suggests that giving what we can easily do without is fine, but giving something that really matters to us means much more. I like the way Julia is giving. She’s giving something she loves and treasures to someone she’ll never know, someone who can never say thank you. She’s giving because already, at 8 years of age, Julia knows something about empathy. She may not know the word yet, but she certainly has the ability to imagine what it’s like to go through something painful and difficult, to feel someone else’s pain, and most importantly, to do something to help relieve the burden.

I love Julia’s beautiful golden hair. But I love her golden and giving heart so much more. the church. Thus, the Eucharist is intended to be reserved after the Good Friday liturgy only for Communion to those who are dying, not for “solemn” or public adoration.

Q. My daughter’s morality teacher told her class that if a woman cannot have children, she cannot marry in the Catholic Church or have her marriage blessed in the church.

This upset many students. I can understand not blessing a marriage in which one of the partners does not want children. But why punish someone who may have already gone through a grueling disease or surgery, or has been born with a problem that makes her sterile? (Indiana) A. For some reason, many Catholics and nonCatholics are confused about this area of Catholic teaching.

Your daughter’s teacher is mistaken. Sterility, the inability on either the man’s or woman’s part to have children, is no obstacle to marriage.

One would think a little looking around would prove that. Thousands of couples, for example, marry in the Catholic Church when they are long past child-bearing age.

Part of the problem may result from confusing sterility and impotence. Sterility is an obstacle in the natural internal processes of generation which prevents conception of a child.

A woman who has had a hysterectomy, for example, or a man who produces no sperm, is sterile in the legal sense of the word.

Impotence on the other hand is the permanent inability to have sexual intercourse because of a physical or emotional defect in the man or woman.

Permanent and irremediable impotence is an impediment to marriage. Sterility is not.

As you note, an explicit intention not to have children is a different matter. In the teaching of our church and (until recent times) in many civil law traditions, openness to at least the possibility of children is an essential element of any valid marriage.

Julia’s Gift Julia Elizabeth is my youngest niece, now fully 8 years old. She is smart and beautiful. More importantly, Julia has a gentle kindness. Oh, she can be tough. Two older brothers have taught her how to be assertive. But at the heart of this young girl is a sweetness and helpfulness I treasure.

A typical image comes to mind. After shopping with my niece and nephews, we return to their home and the boys hurry in with barely a thought about helping to bring in the bags of food they will later enjoy. It is Julia who makes sure that the door is held wide open for her Uncle Jim, who is laden with all the groceries.

When the day is done, and prayers are all that stand between tiredness and sleep, Julia is attentive to pray for all those whom others might forget. She might be exhausted, but there always seems to be time for one more prayer for that very special person or intention. Julia’s sweetness is also experienced through generosity. And that spirit of giving became clear just last week, once again, in her commitment to someone she will never know.

Julia has been blessed with long, blond hair.

Never cut, it runs straight down her back to her waist. People often stop her in stores to comment on her striking mane. Julia blushes a little, but not-toosecretly loves the attention. Her eyes and face shine at the mention of her beautiful tresses.

Last week Julia, who loves to read, spotted a story in the newspaper about children with cancer.

The article talked about a group called “Locks of Love.” This non-profit organization creates customfitted hairpieces for children who experience various kinds of medical hair loss. Often the chemotherapy used to treat cancer, for example, results in serious loss of hair. It’s tough enough carrying the burden of illness, without also dealing with another blow to self-confidence. Approximately three hundred children have been helped so far. “Locks of Love” (1-888896-1588) has arrangements with a number of hair salons to cut and style volunteers, most of whom are

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

Q. In our parish we have what appears to be a local custom concerning adoration of the Blessed Sacrament before Easter.

Most of us recall that after Mass on Holy Thursday evening, adoration took place at what we called the altar of repose until around midnight. After this there was no adoration at this altar or any place else until the Easter Vigil. It was a beautiful way to be reminded of that period between our Lord’s death and resurrection.

Here the repository is so arranged that adoration continues all day Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Have the rules changed?

Why must we always be so quick to compromise our traditions?

(North Carolina) A. No, there has been no change from the sacred Triduum ceremonies that you remember.

The Sacramentary (Missal) notes that after the transfer of the Eucharist to the place of reposition Holy Thursday evening, people should be encouraged to continue adoration before the Blessed Sacrament for a suitable period during the night, “but there should be no solemn adoration after midnight.”

After Communion on Good Friday, says the Sacramentary, the Eucharist is returned to its place outside the church (in the sacristy or separate oratory) or, if circumstances require, in the tabernacle.

Before the Easter Vigil, “Communion may be given only as viaticum.”

Obviously, prayer is encouraged during these days, even in church. But by the church’s ancient traditions and current rubrics, something special is happening in the church’s life during these hours symbolized by the separation of the Eucharist from

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Lenten Reflection SISTER BERNADETTE SVATOS, OSF Guest Columnist The golden blossoms of the kingdom Two weeks ago on the first Sunday of Lent, I was driving on I-40 on my way to Clemmons for the celebration of the Rite of Election for the catechumens from the parishes of the Northern Region of the diocese. The golden blossoms of the forsythia along the roadway were a sight of beauty. They heralded for me a touch of divinity. What had been barren these past months were now full of glory.

Earlier that morning, I had participated in the liturgy with the pastor and the people of God at St. Pius X in Greensboro. The liturgical environment in the sanctuary was a contrast to the view before me. Barren branches had been artistically arranged in pots as a striking Lenten reminder of this penitential season. They seemed to be a call to make fruitful the barrenness of our spiritual lives by our works of penance during this time.

In the liturgy for the third Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the first of three scrutinies for those in a final stage of preparation for entrance into the church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. These scrutinies are rites for selfsearching and repentance in the lives of the elect. (These scrutinies are also conducted the next two Sundays.) We, too, as the people of God scrutinize the hold sin has over us in our lives.

In the Liturgy of the Word for this third Sunday of Lent, there exists the option of two sets of readings for the day. In one, we hear the parable of the barren fig tree. In the other option from John’s Gospel, we hear of the thirst for living waters from the Samaritan woman at the well.

In either reading, we are confronted with our great need to be refreshed by the waters of God’s graces. We are in need of deepening our relationship with Divinity in the interior holy ground of our being. Both readings contain powerful imagery of who we are and of who we are called to be as the chosen of God. I am reminded by these Scripture passages of two scenes from my life. I salivate as I remember the fruit of the ripened figs stolen from the bushes surrounding the chaplain’s house on the Incarnate Word University grounds when I was a student years ago in San Antonio.

My classmates and I walked daily to and from class past those figs, anticipating their ripened deliciousness. The enjoyment of tasting was heightened by the time of waiting.

The other event of remembrance is standing in the desert in the Holy Land where the Great Rift begins, with its massive sand dunes and the sensory feeling of being thirsty. (The Great Rift is a geological phenomenon that begins in the desert of the Holy Land and continues into East Africa.) As I ponder the barrenness of the fig tree and the eternal desire for the fountain of living water, I ask myself the questions of how to tend the barren branches of my life and how to best use the flowing fountain of living waters to become who I am called to become and to help bring about the kingdom.

As a Third Order Franciscan, I think of the early 13th-century church, a time of various penitential movements. Among the number of penitents of this day was St. Francis of Assisi. Francis in 1209 had been given oral approval by Pope Innocent III for the Gospel form of life for his friars of the First Order. At this time he had also been given papal permission to preach penance and conversion. We are told by his early biographers that enthusiastic men, women, clergy, married, single and children surrounded Francis and asked that he give to them too, a way of life. This, Francis did. In an existing

See REFLECTION, page 15

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

Carmelite hopes anniversary renews scapular popularity

JOURNEY, from page 7 compilation of problems caused him to nearly drop out.

“When I left Hickory that weekend, I didn’t even take the books for the next session,” he said.

But he and Lorraine talked and prayed about it, and he went to see his mentor, the late Rev. Mr. Jos Vandermeer, a deacon at St. Eugene Church in Asheville.

“He said, ‘You can’t quit now.

You’ve come this far,’ “ Jerry recalled.

“I got the idea in my head that I’m going to do the best I can. If it’s all right, it’s all right. If it’s not, I know I did my best. Then Lorraine got cancer, and my marks really suffered. When she got better, my marks got better.”

But Lorraine’s condition deteriorated, though she has continued ministering to others who are ill.

“I think this ministry has helped us to understand that we’re all vulnerable to dying,” she said. “God didn’t give me this illness. It’s a part of life.

For me, having a terminal illness has totally changed my spirituality. It has given me a great sense of peace, knowing that I’m not alone, that Jesus is taking this journey with me. I’m ministering to two ladies right now who have cancer. I’ve never met them in person.

I talk to them on the phone.”

She looks at Jerry. “I have the best care-giver in the world. I feel so blessed, not only in my family, but in my friends. Those are the things that sustain me.”

“We have two families, our family and the family at St. Margaret,” Jerry said.

That family was at St. Margaret for Jerry’s ordination. Friends, family, priests who used to pastor St. Margaret, and former parishioners came from out of town and from other

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March 16, 2001

In the

Photo by JOANITA M. NELLENBACH

Bishop William Curlin lays hands on Jerry La Pointe during Jerry’s ordination at St. Margaret Catholic Church on March 9. states. Former St. Margaret deacon, Rev. Mr. Robert Dotson, who is now in Charleston, S.C., helped Jerry vest in his alb and stole. Betsy Vandermeer, Jos Vandermeer’s widow, gave Jerry Rev. Mr. Jos’s four-volume set of the “Liturgy of the Hours” as an ordination gift. Others gave the gift of themselves.

Katie Yurko helped serve refreshments at the reception following the ordination. She was deeply moved by the ordination, she said, by “the way they made it special for him and his wife.”

George Pastore was one of the altar servers. “Just knowing Jerry and working with him and having him as a mentor, I felt so proud that he asked me to serve at that Mass,” George said.

“He’s just a good person, and I’m glad I know him.”

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By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Karol Wojtyla received the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel when he was about 10 years old. As Pope John Paul II, he is still wearing it, 70 years later.

The pope is expected to write about the scapular and Marian devotion in the coming months as Carmelites around the world mark what may be the 750th anniversary of the scapular.

The anniversary is connected to a pious tradition that Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite, in 1251 and gave him the scapular, an apron-like brown piece of fabric that fits over the head.

Over time, lay people joining confraternities connected with the Carmelites also received the scapular. As its popularity grew, its size shrank.

Today the small scapular has two stamp-sized cards — one with a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the other of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of St. Simon — sewn onto brown fabric and connected with brown ribbons.

In homilies and books, in speeches and on Web sites, the Carmelites are

careful to explain that doubts surround the historical authenticity of St. Simon’s vision; no written account of it appeared before the late 1300s.

At the same time, “we have no proof that the vision did not happen,” said Carmelite Father Redemptus Valabek, a professor in Rome and an expert on Carmelite spirituality and Marian devotion.

The Carmelite priest, a native of Connecticut, promotes the scapular, but with a clear view of reaching modern men and women and ensuring the devotion does not stray into superstition.

Although not nearly as popular as it was 40 years ago, the scapular is still second only to the rosary as a frequently used Marian devotion, Father Valabek said.

The scapular’s origin was as part of the Carmelite habit, a symbol of belonging to the order and living its rule.

The tradition that Mary told St. Simon anyone wearing it would not go to hell makes sense if one realizes that wearing the scapular meant striving with one’s whole being to live the Gospel, Father Valabek said.

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March 16, 2001

Around the Di-

REFLECTION, from page 13

RECONCILIATION, from page 5

writing known as “The First Letter to the Faithful,” he states that herein lie the words of spirit and life, and he calls blessed those who do the works of penance.

What are these works he describes?

They are love of God, love of neighbor, hatred of our vices and sins, reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, and bringing forth the fruit of good works. He then emphasizes that those who do penance are “the children of the heavenly Father, the spouses of the Holy Spirit, and the brothers and mothers of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Cf. Matt 12:50) The Gospel message has remained the same throughout the centuries. This Lent, may we deepen our relationship with the passionate gardener who waters and prunes the holy ground of our being. As we consider the justice and mercy of our heavenly Father, may we, the barren branches, by our works of penance bring forth Christ into our world. May the golden blossoms of the kingdom flourish.

a psychological crutch some wise person dreamed up a long time ago. Maybe terrible things happen because there is no God at all,’” she recalled of her thoughts.

Six months had passed, and Marietta painfully and gradually reached a realization that her faith does exist and that it does matter — that she does indeed believe in a God who loves his people and gives them all they need to get through tough times.

“I knew that Christians are called to pray for their enemies, and he certainly fit that category,” Marietta said of the kidnapper. And so, as she continued to pray for Susie and her safe return, she also began to pray for her abductor. That, Marietta believes, had a dramatic and divine effect on her.

“I discovered something that maybe you already know,” she told her audience.

“The more you pray for someone, it’s our hearts that get changed. And the more I prayed for him, the more I realized how important it was for him to experience the love of God in his life.”

Plus, she said, her prayers included a petition that the kidnapper would take good care of her daughter. If he still had her, she said, she prayed he would return her to her family. And if he no longer had her, she prayed he would have the courage to come forth.

“I won’t kid you,” she said. “Forgiveness is hard work. It takes daily, diligent

Sister Bernadette Svatos, a Franciscan Sister of Rochester, Minn., is Northern Region coordinator of faith formation in the Diocese of Charlotte.

discipline. Anybody who thinks forgiveness is for wimps has never tried it, because it is hard work. But I am here to tell you, it is worth it.”

Marietta learned how valuable forgiveness had become in her life when, a year to the minute that he snatched Susie from her sleeping bag, the kidnapper called Marietta.

He was smug and challenging on the phone, boasting of the control he had over the situation. But he became completely undone when, in a calm voice and spirit, Marietta told him that she was praying for him. She asked him what she could do to help him through this ordeal. She listened with compassion as he broke down and wept.

And in doing so, she and her daughter’s kidnapper talked for more than an hour — long enough for Marietta to realize more fully than ever before that her heart had been transformed.

Transformation With law enforcement hot on the kidnapper’s trail after that call, clues led them to a 26-year-old named David Meirhoffer.

Officials working the case hoped that if Marietta agreed to a face-to-face meeting with him, he might give himself up by confessing to what happened to Susie.

“It was a great blessing to have the chance to go out and say to David that I forgave him, that God forgave him and that God was giving him this opportunity to receive the grace he needed to become the man God had created him to be,” she said.

Meirhoffer was seemingly unfazed by that meeting, Marietta said. But because he had incriminated himself in recorded telephone conversations to the family, police had enough evidence to proceed with him in custody. A search of his home yielded more evidence. And a phone call from an FBI agent confirmed what Marietta and her family had feared for a year: a search team had found the remains of a little girl in the same area that another of Meirhoffer’s victims was found.

“It was the concrete proof of what I had already come to know in my own heart: that in spite of all this time David had been talking about exchanging Susie for a ransom ... and all this time we had been searching for her, she was already safe at home in the arms of the Lord.”

Soon after his meeting with Marietta and knowing she had gone to the authorities begging for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty for her child’s

The Catholic News & Herald 15

kidnapper, Meirhoffer confessed to killing Susie and three other children. Three days later, he hanged himself in his cell.

For Marietta, it was sad ending to a heartbreaking saga that took her youngest daughter away, shook her faith and threatened to destroy her family.

The family buried Susie’s remains in Montana, and Marietta met David’s mother to grieve with her, “as two mothers who had lost their children.” She returned home with a profound loss, yet with a newfound sense of God in her life.

Living the faith Today, Marietta calls Three Forks, Mont., her home. She travels throughout the country sharing Susie’s story at churches, schools and other venues. For her, God’s mandates of reconciliation and forgiveness far outweigh society’s need for revenge and justice.

As a founding board member of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, she continues to help people in their own grief and rage — and hopefully, their road to healing. Along the way, she has grown to appreciate all of life as sacred gifts from God and has become a staunch opponent of the death penalty.

“What I had finally come to understand was that to kill somebody in Susie’s name would be to violate and profane the goodness and sweetness and innocence of her life,” she said of her family’s own experience. “I’m not advocating forgiving violent people and then putting them back on the street. But we don’t have to kill people in order to keep society safe.”

And while she knows that her Susie is in heaven, she hopes David was able to sense God’s compassion as well.

“I had to remind myself over and over and over again that however I felt about this person, in God’s eyes, he was just as precious as my little girl,” she said. “That’s the kind of God that I believe in: a God who is crazy about each and every one of us, no matter who we are and what we have done.”

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

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

Pope says God’s power will prevail over

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The forces of evil try to attack the church as well as individuals, but Christians can be sure that in the end God’s power will triumph, Pope John Paul II said.

“For the church, which frequently feels the weight of history and is besieged by evil, the mother of Christ is the shining emblem of humanity redeemed and wrapped in the grace which saves,” the pope said.

At his March 14 general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, the pope spoke about the passage from the Book of Revelation in which a woman is about to give birth and a dragon waits to devour her child.

While Christian tradition often presents the woman as Mary, he said, the passage primarily is about the church.

“The Marian interpretation does not contradict the ecclesial meaning of the text,” he said, because Mary is the symbol of the church.

In the story, as in history, good and evil confront each other, the pope said.

“Mary, her son and the church represent the apparent weakness and smallness of love, truth and justice,” he said. “Against them there has been unleashed the monstrously devastating energy of violence, lies and injustice.”

However, Pope John Paul said, the end of the biblical passage proclaims that the final winner of the struggle will be given to “the salvation and power, the kingdom of our God and the authority of his anointed one.”

Living the

March 16, 2001

Parents’ influence leads son to permanent as the first assistant director of the program and has been vicar of the Charlotte region for over a year.

The couple introduced the diaconate to their hometown in a bittersweet fashion — at Rev. Mr. Vallandingham’s mother’s funeral, over which he presided. “I walked up in my alb and stole, and everyone did a double take.” No longer was he the young boy the hometown people knew as “little Pat” who used to work at his father’s Pepsi-Cola bottling plant. “I was much older than I was then, and I was also taking a double-take because I hadn’t seen any of them in a while. My mother’s death was a source of blessings for a lot of us to come together again to say good-bye.”

With a 36-year career in banking behind him, Rev. Mr. Vallandingham retired in 1994 and began to work fulltime for the church. Three years ago, he began taking care of the financial end of a friend’s business.

“There is a delicate balance because he has a regular job and is also a deacon.

There are times when he has to leave work to go to the church. I help by trying to make things as easy for him as possible,” said Mrs. Vallandingham.

“Aspects of my faith are paramount in my life; it really means something to me internally,” said Rev. Mr. Vallandingham, father of three and grandfather of four. “I look forward to going to church and doing things for people, which wasn’t my experience

“ E ve r y on e wh o drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

— John 4: 13-14

Photo by Joann S. Keane

living in North Carolina. They had been livBy Alesha M. Price ing in West Virginia, their home state, where Staff Writer Rev. Mr. Vallandingham worked his way up SALISBURY — The first time Rev. from the operations department to the viceMr. Patrick Vallandingham heard his presidential position in a local bank, when they father speak publicly was at a father-son decided to move to North Carolina. “We had banquet at his father’s church in West traveled through this area and had thought Virginia. But, through positive reports it would be a nice place to live,” remembered and feedback from the people in and Ann Vallandingham. around his hometown who heard the They settled in Charlotte, and he Baptist preacher speak, it was as if Rev. went to work for First Union as an opMr. Vallandingham had heard every erations manager in the building where one of his father’s sermons. Because the old diocesan pastoral center was of his parents’ ecumenical marriage, located. In fact, Rev. Mr. Vallandingthe Vallandingham children, raised ham’s old office Catholic, did not was where Bishattend their faop Emeritus Mither’s church. But chael J. Begley’s it was then, Rev. office was. “After Mr. VallandingI was ordained, it ham believes, a would bring back seed was planted. memories when “Back in the I would come to early ’50s, we the old pastoral were restricted center.” from going to Unfortunatea non-Catholic ly, they were not church, and it able to stay in was never made Charlotte long. an issue. Even They moved back though I grew to West Virginia up in a home of to be close to Rev. mixed religions, Mr. Vallandingthere was a diham’s father, who vine respect behad cancer. “With tween Mother my father’s death, and Dad as far as even though religion was conI was g reatly cerned. He supCourtesy Photo ported my moth- Rev. Mr. Patrick and Ann Vallandingham touched, I walked away with a new er in everything understanding she did with us. about death, and I took those feelings He was a very good speaker and was with me to my ministry.” sought after from all over the area. He After his death, they moved back to would travel the circuit and would fill Charlotte, and he was able to go back to in for other ministers in denominations work at a similar position at his old job. other than the Baptist religion.”

He then moved to another bank in CharAfter his father passed away, the falotte, and after nearly five years with that ther and son remained linked through bank, he and his family moved to Salismemories and the sermon notes he left bury. Even though they were reluctant to behind. Rev. Mr. Vallandingham often leave a city they had grown to love, they reads those notes, yellowing with age, also fell in love with their home. and he still derives comfort from them.

The diaconate entered into his life Early in his ministry as a permanent several years after that, and he weldeacon, he made reference to them and comed it openly. “I had reached a point honored his father’s memory through in my life where so much had happened them. “Looking at some of his sermon to me, and I began to be appreciative notes, you can see ‘Catholic’ all over in my faith of all I had — family, chilthem. Just prior to his death, he had dren. God had done so much for me, communicated to my mother about the and it became more important for me possibility of becoming Catholic. He to walk in my faith. I wanted to tell the didn’t make it but came awfully close.

Lord that I was appreciative for all he If there is such a thing as conversion had done for me and my family and a by desire, my father was there. What way to say that was to respond to the a blessing it would have been for my call of service in the church.” father to see me ordained a deacon.”

The couple entered the program The seed planted by his father and not knowing what to expect. “Since he nourished by his own Catholic faith and had been involved with a charismatic experiences grew and blossomed, and prayer group in Charlotte, serving in Rev. Mr. Vallandingham was ordained the church was a natural progression in the Diocese of Charlotte’s first for him to take,” said Mrs. Vallanddiaconate class in 1983 and began his ingham. “It was a positive experience ministry at his home parish, S ac r e d for us, and now, it is just a part of our H e ar t C h u r ch i n S al i s b u r y . lives.” Rev. Mr. Vallandingham served It was actually the family’s second time