March 19, 2010

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Around the Diocese St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Charlotte draws thousands | PAGEs 8-9

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI march 19, 2010

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Bishops increase opposition to health care bill WA S H I N G T O N , D.C. (CNS) ― In the final days of the national health reform debate, U.S. bishops called for political courage and for prayers that Congress would come up with legislation that would respect human life and dignity.

“In moments of concern and crisis, Catholic tradition through the centuries has unfailingly urged the faithful to turn to the inside spiritual aids of prayer The Senate health care and fasting in order to reform is draw closer a bad bill, to our Lord Denver and his Archbishop will,” said writes.

B i s h o p SEE PAGE 14.

Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Va., in a letter calling Catholics to pray and fast “for protecting the life, dignity, health and conscience rights of every human person in any legislation that Congress considers.”

In an opinion piece published online by The Washington Post March 16, the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rebuked the House Democratic leadership for “ignoring the pleas of proSee BILL, page 5

vOLUME 19

no. 18

STANDING ROOM ONLY

St. Matthew is bursting at the seams BALLANTYNE ― Parishioners at St. Matthew Church need to get to Mass extra early each Sunday if they hope to get seats. It’s standing room only at the fastest-growing parish in the diocese, and there’s no sign of it abating anytime soon.

photo by

Mark Martindale

St. Matthew parish has multiplied nearly tenfold over the past 20 years, to 8,000 registered families.

Overcrowding at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday Mass became so severe at the start of Lent that Monsignor John McSweeney added an overflow Mass in the Parish Center, and a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer stands at the front door to keep the church from exceeding its 2,000-person capacity.

The overcrowding is so severe that the fire marshal was alerted on Ash Wednesday, and since then a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer has been posted outside the 10:45 a.m.

Mass each Sunday to turn people away once the church reaches its 2,000 capacity.

St. Matthew’s skyrocketing growth is an obvious consequence of growth in southeast Charlotte, and the influx of people has fostered a dynamic ministry and welcoming parish family. But the church is straining.

Only two priests – down from four last year – are there to minister to 28,000 parishioners, and parish members and pastor Monsignor John McSweeney alike are praying for relief.

See ST. MATTHEW, page 6

DSA nets $2.3M midway through annual campaign SUEANN HOWELL & herald

special to the catholic news

CHARLOTTE ― The 2010 Diocesan Support Appeal “Cast Your Nets into the Deep” is more than halfway to making this year’s goal of $4,300,000.

Last month Bishop Peter J. Jugis asked the people of the Diocese of Charlotte to reflect on Luke 5:1-11, the Gospel passage selected for this year’s appeal, in which Jesus asked his disciples to cast their nets into the deep.

Similarly, in this campaign, we can cast our nets and discover an abundance of God’s gifts that we can use to build up the Kingdom of God.

Many Catholics have already responded, sending in or pledging donations to help fund the more than 30 ministries supported by the DSA. More than $2.3 million has been paid or pledged at the campaign’s halfway point.

“We are very grateful for the response we have had so far,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “For those who have not taken the opportunity to contribute yet, we are encouraging them to do so now.”

The annual Diocesan Support Appeal directly funds more than 50 programs for ministries in education, Catholic Social Services, housing, multicultural ministries and vocations.

Around the Diocese Villanova law project helps Smoky Mountain residents in need | PAGE 6

How you can share your gifts

• Online Giving Give online with any major credit card at www.charlottediocese.org/giving.

• Pledge Make a pledge payable in up to 10 equal installments.

• Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Fill out the withdrawal authorization on your pledge card and include a voided check.

• Credit Card Fill out the credit card authorization on your pledge card. Include the card type and expiration date.

Culture Watch

Perspectives

There’s an ‘app’ for that? iPhone applications being devised for Catholics

Denise Bossert: God’s megaphone can whisper to us

| PAGES 10-11

| PAGE 15

March 19, 2010

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

Vatican to study alleged apparitions at Medjugorje VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― At the request of the bishops of BosniaHerzegovina, the Vatican has established an international commission to study the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje in Bosnia. The commission will be led by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, retired archbishop of Rome, and will operate under the direction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the 1980s the Diocese of MostarDuvno, where Medjugorje is located, set up a commission to investigate the claims of six young people who said Mary appeared to them daily beginning in 1981.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the commission would have about 20 members. The commission is unlikely to make any statements, Father Lombardi said, since their work and recommendations, if any, will be turned over to the doctrinal congregation.

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

Cardinal Newman was an Anglican cleric who became Catholic after a succession of clashes with Anglican bishops and was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. He died in 1890.

Priest suspended in Munich MUNICH, Germany (CNS) ― An official of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising responsible for a priest who has become the focus of the German sexual abuse scandal has resigned and the priest has been suspended from active ministry by the archdiocese.

Father Joseph Obermeier, head of pastoral care for the archdiocese, resigned March 15 at the request of Archbishop Reinhard Marx, according to an archdiocesan statement. The archdiocese suspended the priest, who was named only as “H.” in a statement but was identified as Father Peter Hullermann in published reports. He was accused of sexual abuse of a child in 1980 and was convicted in 1986 of sexually abusing children.

The steps taken by the archdiocese were the latest developments in the evolving German sexual abuse crisis.

Pope will beatify Cardinal Newman

Irish cardinal apologizes for inaction

LONDON (CNS) ― Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the beatification ceremony of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Coventry, England, during a four-day visit to the United Kingdom Sept. 16-19, British Catholic leaders said. The step is an unusual one because under Pope Benedict’s own rules, a beatification is to be performed by a cardinal in the diocese where the candidate for sainthood died.

“Cardinal John Henry Newman is a figure of great literary culture, a poet and a pastor,” said Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “He is a towering figure in English history over the last 200 years. Pope Benedict has a particular attentiveness to the writings of Cardinal Newman. He is making an exception to his own rules to do this. ...

This will be the first beatification he has carried out as pope.”

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) ― Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, chairman of the Irish bishops’ conference, apologized March 17 for his failures after it was revealed that he never told police about statements from victims he collected about a pedophile priest in 1975.

“Looking back, I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in,” Cardinal Brady said.

Just three days earlier, Cardinal Brady had insisted it was not his responsibility at the time to report the allegations involving Norbertine Father Brendan Smyth to the police. The allegations surrounding Father Smyth involved a group of teenagers who told then-Father Brady that the priest had abused them. At the time, Cardinal Brady insisted that the complainants not discuss what happened with anybody other than an approved priest.

march 19, 2010 Volume 19 • Number 18

1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203 E-MAIL: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org PHONE: 704-370-3333 FAX: 704-370-3382 MAIL: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, N.C. 28237

PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle, 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Denise Onativia, 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Cindi Feerick, 704-370-3332, ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher, 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org

Charlotte site for U.S. meeting of black Catholic women WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNS) ― The National Black Sisters’ Conference will hold its third national gathering for black Catholic women Aug. 13-15 in Charlotte.

The aim of the meeting, with the theme “Commemorate, Celebrate, Commit,” will be to “develop a collective sense of heritage, identity, purpose and vision, and to promote opportunities for ongoing dialogue, reflection and networking with black Catholic women,” said Sister Patricia Chappell, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur who is helping to coordinate the event.

The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, will celebrate the conference’s closing Mass, and Reverend Monsignor Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, will give the homily.

Sister Roberta Fulton, a Sister of St.

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

ARDEN ST. BARNABAS CHURCH, 109 Crescent Hill Dr. — Women’s Lenten Program: “St. Mary Magdalene: God’s love and mercy,” 9 a.m. March 20, open to females aged 14 and older. RSVP to Marcia Torres at 828-697-1235 or johnandmarciatorres@yahoo.com.

CHARLOTTE ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 Park Road — Presentation by Clay Presley, parishioner and survivor of the “Flight on the Hudson,” activity center cafeteria, 7 p.m. March 24.

— Missa Cantata, 7 p.m. March 25.

— Pro-Life Mass, 9 a.m. March 27, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament immediately after Mass. For more information, contact Danielle Mathis at tmathis3@ carolina.rr.com.

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 Providence Road — Adult Day Respite Caregivers Support Group, Ministry Center room E, 10 to 11:30 a.m. the last Monday of each month. For more information, call Suzanne Bach at 704-335-0253.

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 Idlewild Road — The Faith We Profess, adult education class exploring the meaning of the Apostles’ Creed, Parish Hall, 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, March 9-23.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.

— StrengthsQuest – a program designed to help teens discover the gifts God gave them and how to use them most effectively, 4 to 5:15 p.m. Sundays, March 7-28 or 7 to 8:15 p.m. Tuesdays, March 9-30. Registration forms available in the narthex. For more information,

The Catholic News & Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 44 times a year, weekly except Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $15 per year for parishioners of the Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all others. For all circulation inquiries and orders, contact Denise Onativia at 704-370-3333.

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

Registration details

The National Black Sisters’ Conference will hold its third national gathering for black Catholic women Aug. 13-15 in Charlotte.

For details, contact Sister Barbara Moore at bmoore@csjsl.org or 314-966-4467.

Mary of Namur who is National Black Sisters’ Conference president, said she hoped the gathering would “stir anew within each one of us the Spirit that will enable us to weave a tapestry of endless possibilities for our people.”

Workshop topics include health issues pertaining to black women, parental involvement in their children’s education, the power of prayer, economics and social justice, political and social empowerment, theology of the body, vocations to religious life and dealing with issues of abuse. contact Heather King at hking@stmatthewcatholic.org.

— Reflection for deaf, or hard-of-hearing, friends and families: What are you doing for the Triduum this year? New Life Center, 9 a.m. to noon March 20. Light breakfast served. For more information, contact office@ stmatthewcatholic.org or Jo Ann VanCamp at jvcxtwo@ aol.com.

— Discovery, a four-hour “Strengths Journey,” 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 20. For more information, contact Frank Colunga at 704-877-8241 or frank@frankcolunga. com.

— Memorial Mass for enrolled members of Purgatorial Society and for those who have died throughout the month, 7:30 p.m. March 24, celebrated on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Call the church office at 704-543-7677 if you have lost a loved one during the past month and would like their name remembered at the Mass.

— St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service, church, 7:30 p.m. March 25.

— Spiritual renewal and celebration of the gift of Friendship, NLC banquet room, 7 to 9 p.m. March 25.

MOMS Alumni and new MOMS encourage you to invite a woman who may be interested in this ministry or who has been instrumental in your spiritual journey. RSVP to stmatthewmoms@yahoo.com, include full name and number of guests.

— Mass in Polish, 3 p.m. March 28. For more information, call Elizabeth Spytkowski at 704-948-1678.

— Welcome Home for Returning Catholics, support and friendship to guide the returning individual to full communion with the Body of Christ, ministry tailored to meet individual needs and schedules. For more information, contact Deacon Jim Hamrlik at 704-5437677 or jhmrlik@stmatthewcatholic.org, or Julie Jahn at 704-560-9202 or urblessed@carolina.rr.com.

ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, 1621 Dilworth Road East — Chrism Mass, 10 a.m. March 30.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 Suther Road — Circle of Friends grief support group, office conference room, 7 p.m. Thursdays until March 25. For more information, contact Robyn Magyar at 704-7075070 or rmagyar42@aol.com.

GREENSBORO ST. MARY CHURCH, 812 Duke St. — Mass for the Unborn, 6:15 p.m. March 26, a bilingual Mass to celebrate the lives of stillborn and unborn children.

editions. Please e-mail information, attaching photos in JPG format with a recommended resolution of 150 dpi or higher, to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. Deadline is 10 days before requested publication date. We do not publish poetry, form letters or petitions. All submitted items become the property of The Catholic News & Herald and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives. For inquiries, contact Editor Patricia Guilfoyle at 704-370-3334 or plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.

ADVERTISING: For advertising rates and information, contact Advertising Manager Cindi Feerick at 704-370-3332 or ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 3

Pope Benedict urges young people to grow in love, faith VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― Pope Benedict XVI urged young people to follow their dreams, dedicate their talents to the common good, and grow in love and faith.

The pope told the world’s young Catholics to not let life’s difficulties lead to discouragement.

“Instead nurture in your heart great hopes for fraternity, justice and peace.

The future is in the hands of those who know how to seek and find strong convictions in life and hope,” he said in his message for World Youth Day 2010.

The Vatican and most dioceses around the world will mark World Youth Day on Palm Sunday, March 28.

In his message, released by the Vatican March 15, the pope asked young people to build a more just and fair world.

Changing the world for the better ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Road — A New Earth/Eckhart Tolle Study Group, Monday evenings beginning March 15. For more information, contact Kevin Haggerty at 336-616-0668 or khaggerty@ triad.rr.com.

— Men’s Early Morning Bible Study Group, parish library, 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Tuesdays beginning March 23.

For more information, contact gmagrinat@pol.net or jmalmsie@aol.com.

— Calling All Seniors! Earl Lewis Center, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursdays. Parish nurses will offer blood pressure screenings, chair exercises, educational discussions and a walking program. Dress in comfortable clothing.

HAYESVILLE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, Highway 64 West — Movie showing: Black Gold, 6 p.m. March 22.

HENDERSONVILLE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH, 208 Seventh Ave. West — Widows Support Group, room 2, 10 a.m. third Tuesday of each month. For more information, call Jane Lombardo at 828-693-9014. For widowers interested in an informal gathering of men who have lost a loved one, call Greg Savold at 828-7020129 or Bob Grady at 828-697-2900.

HICKORY ST. ALOYSIUS, 921 Second St. N.E. — Ancient Order of Hibernians Informational Meeting, Holy Family Hall, 6:30 p.m. March 27. Open to males aged 16 and older of Irish birth or descent. For more information, contact Joe Dougherty at 704-942-6345 or uniteire@ yahoo.com.

HIGH POINT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, 4145 Johnson St. — Hope of Seeing Everyone Again (HOSEA), 7:15 p.m. beginning March 3, meeting weekly. Opportunity for bonding and discussion. For more information or to register, call Jan Hitch at 336884-5097 or the parish office at 336-869-7739.

MINT HILL ST. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 Lawyers Road — Lenten Retreat & Children’s Musical: Table for Five Thousand, presented by Bishop William Curlin,

Episcopal

does not have to mean “performing heroic or extraordinary acts, but allowing your talents and potential to bear fruit and committing yourself to constantly growing in faith and love,” he said.

The theme the pope chose for the 2010 celebration was from Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man in St. Mark’s Gospel: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In his message he told young people to not be afraid of confronting difficult questions about life such as: What makes life a success, and what gives meaning to life?

Such questions need real answers that will fulfill “your authentic expectations for life and happiness,” he said. The answers will come from listening to God, who has a loving plan for each and every person on earth, he added.

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 20. Open to children and adults.

— Parish Orientation, Family Life Center following 5 p.m. Mass March 20. Meet Father Paul Gary, receive a facility tour and information about St. Luke and its ministries. For more information, call Kathy Hoehn at 704-531-1856.

SALISBURY SACRED HEART CHURCH, 375 Lumen Christi Lane — Open House, 2 to 3:30 p.m. March 21. For more information, contact Gretchen McKivergan at 704645-8974, Maria Perkins at 704-633-9551, or Mary Goodman at 704-637-2820.

— Estate Planning Seminar, Technology Room, 7 p.m.

March 22. Please RSVP to Sharon Burges at 704-6330591.

— Day of Reflection, following 8 a.m. Mass March 27, Father Matthew Buettner will speak about “Liturgy and Life.” (This event is rescheduled from March 20.)

SYLVA ST. MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, 22 Bartlett St. — Bereavement Support Group, living room area of church conference center, Wednesdays during Lent, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

WINSTON SALEM HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, 4820 Kinnamon Road — Eucharistic Adoration, Curlin Center, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday.

— English as a Second Language, Family Center, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, for ages 18 and older, basic and advanced classes available.

OUR LADY OF MERCY SCHOOL, 1730 Link Road — Open House, 5 to 7 p.m. March 24, SACS accredited, enrollment available for grades pre-K to eight. For a student-led tour, call 336-722-7204.

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

calendar

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

March 20 Lenten Youth Pilgrimage Belmont Abbey, Belmont March 22 – 10:30 a.m.

St. Benedict Celebration Belmont Abbey, Belmont

March 23 Diocesan Building Commission Meeting Pastoral Center March 30 Chrism Mass, 10 a.m.

St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

Jesuit Father Joseph J. McGovern, teacher and retreat director, dies PHILADELPHIA ― A Mass of Christian burial was offered at 10 a.m.

Saturday, March 20, 2010, for Jesuit Father Joseph James McGovern at Old St. Joseph’s Church in Philadelphia, where he was serving at the time of his death.

Father McGovern died of pneumonia March 15. A Jesuit for 74 years and a priest for 61, Father McGovern was 92.

Joseph McGovern, the son of Joseph J. McGovern and Anna Murphy, was born in Philadelphia on Aug. 1, 1917.

Following graduation from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, he entered the Society of Jesus Sept. 17, 1935, and pronounced his first vows there on Sept. 18, 1937. After juniorate (college) studies at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues at Wernersville, Pa., Father McGovern was sent to study philosophy at St. Ignatius House of Studies, Inisfada, Manhasset, N.Y., from 1939 to 1940 and Woodstock College in Maryland from 1940 to 1942.

From 1942 to 1945, as a Jesuit scholastic he returned to his alma mater, St. Joseph’s Prep, to teach English to sophomores. He then studied theology at Woodstock College from 1945 to 1949 and was ordained to the priesthood in the Woodstock College Chapel on June 28, 1948 by Archbishop Francis P. Keough of Baltimore.

Father McGovern began his priestly ministry at St. Joseph’s Prep, where he taught English to freshmen from 1950 to 1953. This was followed by assignments as minister of the Jesuit Community

at Georgetown University from 1953 to 1963 and at Wheeling Jesuit University from 1963 to 1974. He remained in Wheeling from 1974 to 1981 to serve as a retreat director on the Province Father Joseph J. Mission Band and McGovern then was parochial vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Pittsburgh from 1981 to 1985.

After a sabbatical year at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, Calif., Father McGovern again took up the apostolate of the Spiritual Exercises as a retreat director at St. Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood, N.J., from 1986 to 1991 and at the former Jesuit House of Prayer in Hot Springs, N.C., from 1991 to 2004.

In 2004 Father McGovern returned to Philadelphia, where he served as a pastoral minister at Old St. Joseph’s Church until his death.

Interment will be held March 22 at the Jesuit Cemetery at Wernersville.

Father McGovern is survived by three sisters: Dorothy Gemmell of Philadelphia and Mary Kokoszka of Middletown, Conn, and Anne Lang of Philadelphia.

Funeral arrangements were made

by Ronald R. Piselli Funeral Home of Philadelphia.

DIOCESAN NEWS IN BRIEF

St. Pius X Church building nears finish GREENSBORO ― St. Pius X is nearing the end of construction on its new church, and an open house is planned for Sunday, April 25. Tour the church and see its beautiful architectural features, as well as learn about the parish’s traditions. View photos and reports of the construction progress at the church’s blog, spxgreensboro. blogspot.com.

Furniture, other donations needed CHARLOTTE ― The Refugee Resettlement Office of Catholic Social Services is in critical need of couches, loveseats, chairs, dining tables, bedding, towels and lamps to furnish apartments for arriving refugees. The Refugee Office resettled 39 people in February and anticipates resettling 76 people in March.

Contact Mary Jane Bruton at 704370-3283 or mjbruton@charlottediocese. org to volunteer or to donate.

Scroll Mass celebrated for order CHARLOTTE ― A Scroll Mass honoring members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, whose mission is to support the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Catholics who live in the Holy Land, was celebrated by Bishop Peter J. Jugis at St. Patrick Cathedral March 14.

Invested in the order were Father Roger Keith Arnsparger, Frank Kirkland, Nancy McGahey, Michele McNulty and Margaret Dorothy Sposato. Promoted in the order were Guillermo Calles, to rank of Knight Commander with STAR; Michael Balbirnie and Philip Witt, to rank of Knight Commander; and Jane Balbirnie, to rank of Lady Commander.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

March 19, 2010

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Year for Priests Interviews with priests around the diocese

Former music minister pleads guilty DAVID HAINS director of communication

FATHER ROBERT R. CONWAY

FATHER ROBERT R. CONWAY Chaplain Holy Trinity Middle School and Charlotte Catholic High School Place of Birth & Home Parish – Born in Moorestown, N.J.; Our Lady of Good Counsel High School – Moorestown High School College – LaSalle University, Pennsylvania Seminary – Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, Md., and Blessed John XXIII Seminary, Weston, Mass.

Date of Ordination – June 5, 2004

What assignments have you had since ordination?

Parochial vicar, St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte; parochial vicar, St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte; chaplain at Holy Trinity Middle School and Charlotte Catholic High School What have been some of the greatest joys for you as a priest?

Being the chaplain at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School and Charlotte Catholic Middle School for their spiritual well-being and offering Mass each day; counseling students and parents on various issues; and teaching classes for students and faculty. I counseled teenagers for two summers when I was home from the seminary.

Who influenced you most to consider the vocation to priesthood?

Father Jack Quinn, who was a delayed vocation priest at my home parish in Moorestown, N.J.

What did you do before you entered seminary?

I was a user relations manager and systems administrator at Coopers & Lybrand in Philadelphia and at Grant Thornton in Philadelphia.

Paul Berrell, the former music minister of St. Eugene Church in Asheville, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of child pornography Thursday, March 11.

Berrell was arrested in May of 2009 and was charged in both state and federal courts with counts related to the sexual abuse of a minor in his residence. He was fired from his position at the church shortly after his arrest.

According to court documents, Berrell faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. He will also be fined $250,000

and could face lifetime supervision after his eventual release.

A sentencing date has not been set. While he is awaiting sentencing, Berrell remains in federal custody.

Based on published reports, it is unclear what impact the guilty plea might have on the state charges against Berrell.

In response to the guilty plea, the diocese released the following statement: “The Diocese of Charlotte deeply regrets the incident that occurred in the home of Mr. Berrell. Bishop Peter Jugis continues to pray for God’s healing grace to be with all victims of sexual abuse and also with Mr. Berrell as he serves his sentence.”

Poor Clares welcomed to area

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I was raised Methodist and became Catholic when I got married, but most of my relatives are Quaker. I lost my parents, grandparents and wife Joan at a young age.

What are some of your hobbies?

Horseback riding; I have shown Confirmation Hunters for 15 years. I also like to run, play tennis, golf and swim.

I was a stroke and turn official at swim meets.

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

“Seven Story Mountain” by Thomas Merton and spiritual books Who is a hero to you?

My hero was my pastor at home, Monsignor James McGovern.

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

In seeing how happy the priests are at your parish and their commitment to serve the people and to preach the Good News

photo by SueAnn

Howell

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration of St. Joseph Monastery, who have just relocated to the Diocese of Charlotte, are pictured after Mass at St. Ann Church March 13. Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann (center) and Father Joseph Mary of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word (center right) concelebrated the Mass. The MFVA brothers also attended the Mass and helped move the sisters into the monastery located behind St. Ann School.

Thanks to RCIA Commission

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

Talk to your pastor or another priest and don’t be afraid to ask questions about their discernment process. photo by SueAnn

Readers, have a story to share? Let’s hear it!

Do you have a news story to share with The Catholic News & Herald? Do you know of local people who are living the tenets of their faith? Do you have photos of a parish-, ministry- or school-based event? If so, please share them with us for possible publication. Contact us at (704) 370-3333 or catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

Howell

Bishop Peter J. Jugis (center) thanks the members of the Diocesan Commission on RCIA for their work over the past 14 years at the Pastoral Center March 10. Pictured (from left) are Dick Bennett, Dr. Cris Villapando, Pat Millar, Bishop Jugis, Father Martin Schratz, O.F.M. Cap., Linda Licata (chair of the RCIA Commission), Donna Bennett and Pat Onaindia. Susanna Weatherholt and Father Al Riquelme were unable to attend. The commission facilitates the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program throughout the diocese.

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 5

around the diocese

Grant enables Sylva woman to enter convent SUEANN HOWELL special to the catholic news & herald

SYLVA ― When Kara Hansen was growing up, she had no aspirations of becoming a nun. She wasn’t even Catholic. But during her college years at Western Carolina University, she felt a spiritual tug on her heart.

“When I began to look into Catholicism, I found a treasure trove of sacraments, prayers, history, theology and saints, which all offered ways to express more tangibly and more profoundly my faith in Christ,” Hansen says.

She took a scripture study course at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, near her home, and then during college traveled to Europe and studied in Ireland. Surrounded by the tangible sights and signs of the Church – the Mass and Eucharistic processions in cathedrals, the art, architecture and history – Catholicism resonated with her.

There was no Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program offered in Ireland, so Hansen enrolled in a distance learning program through Our Lady of Grace. Father James Ebright gave her the sacraments on the

feast of Corpus Christi in 2006.

“Once I began living the Catholic faith, I quickly recognized the beauty of the vocation to religious life. Even as a Protestant, I had learned the importance of singleness as an opportunity to grow in purity and strengthen one’s faith in God,” Hansen recounts.

She began considering a vocation to religious life, and spoke with Father Ray Williams, her pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Sylva. Father Williams referred her to Father Matthew Kauth, who was at St. Francis of Assisi in Franklin at the time. Father Kauth became her spiritual director and assisted her in visiting Carmelite communities.

Last summer she made what she jokingly calls a “nun-run,” visiting seven Carmelite communities in seven states in less than three weeks, seeking just the right community.

“Two of the communities I saw were very appealing, but I didn’t have the certainty to make the commitment. After a couple of months of prayerful waiting, I had the opportunity to visit the Carmel in Brooklyn (N.Y.), and it was in there that I suddenly received a strong confidence and reassurance that I had found “home,” Hansen says.

Hibernians celebrate heritage

The Monastery of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Joseph in Brooklyn is a small community of five sisters. They wear traditional brown wool habits and make their own hemp shoes, and they support themselves by baking and distributing altar breads.

Before Hansen could take a vow of poverty and enter religious life, though, she needed to be debt free. Her student loans were the only obstacle, so she applied for a grant from the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations, a charitable foundation that helps pay off student loans for people seeking to enter religious life. Out of 27 applicants, Hansen is one of six who will get help to pay off her student loans throughout her years of formation, with her debt being fully paid by the fifth anniversary of her final vows.

Hansen attributes divine providence and the help of St. Joseph in making her dream of religious life a reality.

“I made a promise to St. Joseph: I said, ‘If you can make the finances and everything happen, I will enter on your feast day.’”

She will enter the Monastery of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Joseph on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19.

Howell

On March 17, Father Brandon Jones, parochial vicar at St. Mark Church in Huntersville (right), blessed a wreath as he placed it at the grave of Father T.J. Cronin at St. Joseph Church Cemetery in Mt. Holly.

Father Cronin helped found St. Joseph Church there in the early 1800s. The Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians gathered with Father Jones and Deacon Robert Murphy, also of St. Mark, to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day with a special Mass and remembrance of the Irish Catholic families who founded St. Joseph Church in 1843.

Kara Hansen, aspiring Carmelite and one of the 2010 Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations grant recipients, is pictured in front of the St. Joseph Monastery in Avila, Spain, during her pilgrimage there in 2008.

Bishops oppose health care bill BILL, from page 1

photo by SueAnn

photo provided

life and Hispanic members of their caucus” on abortion and immigration and criticized the Republicans for pledging “to do all they can to defeat the legislation by threatening to object to any improvements in the Senate bill, further complicating the process.”

The three were Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., who chairs the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the Committee on ProLife Activities; and Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, who chairs the Committee on Migration.

Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla., one of two bishopmembers of the Catholic Health Association’s board of trustees, said recent statements by the leadership of the USCCB and CHA on health care reform put “two organizations within the church seemingly at loggerheads.”

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, has said changes must be made in the Senatepassed health bill’s abortion language before the House considers it, while Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO, said changes can be made later if needed.

Both Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver pointed out in columns about the debate posted on their Web sites this week that if the health reform

legislation fails in Congress, it will not be because of the bishops but because of President Barack Obama’s unfulfilled promises not to expand federal funding of abortion.

Archbishop Chaput said the bishops “have tried earnestly for more than seven months to work with elected officials to craft reform that would serve all Americans in a manner respecting minimum moral standards.”

“The failure of their effort has one source,” he added. “It comes entirely from the stubbornness and evasions of certain key congressional leaders, and the unwillingness of the White House to honor promises made by the president last September.”

The opinion piece by the three USCCB chairmen had a similar message about the need to preserve the Hyde amendment, which has banned federal funding of abortion since 1975.

Cardinal George said in a USCCB statement March 15 that the bishops’ concerns about abortion in the health reform bill were “not quibbling over technicalities.”

He acknowledged that the USCCB position “is not completely shared” by CHA leaders.

“They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill,” he said. “The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote.

“Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke.”

6 The Catholic News & Herald

March 19, 2010

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Police, ushers monitor crowds ST. MATTHEW, from page 1

photos by Joanita

M. Nellenbach

Beth Lyon (left), head of the Villanova University Law School Project, chats with volunteer interpreters: Paulina Mendez (at rear) and C.J. Wilson, from Asheville; Carmen Ortiz, Hendersonville; and Martin Saavedra, Virginia Tech. Ortiz is a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville.

Villanova law project helps Smoky Mountain residents in need JOANITA M. NELLENBACH special to the catholic news & herald

MAGGIE VALLEY — “Meeting and working with the people has really been a blessing,” Gerardo Villegas said.

“I’m struck by how much need there is and how appreciative they are for the little that we do.”

Villegas, 30, a second-year student at Villanova University School of Law in Pennsylvania, was among 50 volunteers working in the Smoky Mountain vicariate March 1-7 to provide legal assistance to the poor.

“We believe that, in providing free legal services to the community, this project is one small response to the powerful call and challenge of Catholic teaching: the preferential option of the poor,” said VLS Professor Beth Lyon via e-mail.

Lyon is the founding director of VLS’ Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic.

“To the extent that our work will benefit migrants in western North Carolina,” she wrote, “we also are attempting to follow the call of Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Laborem Exercens, to ensure that ‘[e] migration in search of work must in no way become an opportunity for financial or social exploitation.’”

Also involved with Lyon were Meredith Rapkin, an attorney who also teaches at VLS; Sean Lew, professor at the Charlotte School of Law; Ana Corson, an attorney with Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville; and three other North Carolina attorneys, including Richard E. Steinbronn, a parishioner at Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews.

This project was born after Augustinian Father John T. Denny became pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Maggie Valley in 2007, following six years as VLS

chaplain. He noted how readily people in the Smoky Mountain vicariate reach out to help each other. Free legal advice to the poor, however, was an unfilled need.

He asked Claudie Burchfield, director of the Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Economic Opportunity in Murphy, what she thought about free legal advice for indigent residents, and she agreed enthusiastically.

Father Denny then approached Lyon, who thought it was the right time for such a program here. A year’s worth of planning, including a visit from Lyon last November with help from St. Margaret of Scotland, culminated in the legal assistance work earlier this month.

Law student volunteers came from VLS, the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, and Charlotte School of Law. Spanish-language interpreters came from the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

In Franklin, Waynesville, Murphy, Cullowhee and Sylva, volunteers gave know-your-rights presentations, answered questions about legal rights during group meetings and in individual consultations, and provided referral services where possible. Volunteers also spent time at the Office of Economic Opportunity office in Murphy, where the focus was on family law issues, which coincided with the N.C. Bar Association’s annual “Justice for All Phonathon.”

Most people seeking legal advice were Latinos, but volunteers also conducted a session at the United Hmong Community Center in Hickory where about 50 Hmong attended.

Volunteers provided about 100 individual consultations of up to an hour each about immigration issues, tax preparation, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, eviction, and workers’ compensation.

“It’s like a catch-22,” says Jean Mazzucca, head of the Welcome Matt newcomers ministry. “It’s fabulous that the church is growing, but you also have to manage it administratively.

Apparently it’s a place that people want to come. I’m proud of that.”

Dan Hines, who has led St. Matthew’s ushers for 10 years, adds, “It’s a good problem to have. There are a lot of Catholics coming, and some of them are coming back (to the faith).”

Monsignor McSweeney credits the church’s emphasis on adult spiritual growth, and while he’d love another priest, he’s confident his parish can handle the people boom.

“We’re trying to measure adult spiritual growth, and that’s my long-term goal. Programs, building buildings, fixing them up – a lot of fluff, I call it – it’s easy to do, really. The toughest nut to crack is how do you take an adult as part of a community called a faith community, and help them in their journey and relationship with Almighty God. That’s what my goal is, not this other stuff. I’m not saying that other stuff isn’t important, but that’s not our first purpose.”

THE GROWTH

St. Matthew parish has multiplied nearly tenfold over the past 20 years.

Chartered in 1987 when there wasn’t much between Monroe and Charlotte, the congregation started meeting in a Pineville theater and eventually

built a sprawling 18-acre campus on Ballantyne Commons Parkway. The diocesan chancellor, the Reverend Monsignor Joseph Kerin, left his post to lead the new parish and by 1990 St. Matthew had 846 registered families.

Over the next 10 years the church family ballooned 375 percent to 4,024 families. And since 2000, registered households swelled another 71 percent to 6,894 families in 2008, and now it has 8,000 families, according to Monsignor McSweeney. That’s 14 percent of the entire diocese – in one parish.

Not only is St. Matthew the largest and fastest-growing church by far in the diocese, Monsignor McSweeney believes it is the largest in the Carolinas and probably in the Southeast.

Monsignor McSweeney and Father Patrick Toole, along with help from other priests when possible, celebrate six Masses on Sunday, three Masses on Saturday (including a vigil Mass at St. Margaret Episcopal Church nearby on Rea Road) and two daily Masses.

Weekend Masses, including the one at the Episcopal church, tend to meet or exceed capacity. There are baptisms nearly every Sunday, and confessions are heard two days a week.

They formerly had help from Father Patrick Cahill and retired Father Eugene Schellberg, but Father Cahill was transferred last year to St. Gabriel Church and Father Schellberg suffered a stroke last fall.

But ministering to 28,000 parishioners goes beyond the sacraments.

Monsignor McSweeney says the shortage of priests isn’t a critical problem for celebrating the sacraments,

Nine out of ten pregnancies in which an unborn baby is diagnosed with Down syndrome end in abortion.

Because the existence of a disability often changes the perspective of an unborn baby, there are some things that should be remembered when there is a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome: No baby should be defined solely by this diagnosis. Although Down syndrome becomes a part of a child’s life, it isn’t who he or she is.

A baby with Down syndrome is more like other babies than different from them. Babies with Down syndrome grow and develop just like other children … perhaps more slowly, but just as surely.

No one can predict how intelligent, successful or independent any baby will be in the future. Early intervention, educational opportunities and various therapies allow babies born with Down syndrome today to achieve goals far beyond what was considered possible in the past.

There is support. We are parents with children who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome and we are here to help.

For information, contact Sandy Buck at 704.948.4587 or by email at benotafraidnc@live.com.

World Down Syndrome Day is March 21st.

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 7

from the cover

at St. Matthew, whose 28,000 parishioners fill up Sunday Masses How priest assignments are made With 78 diocesan priests in ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte, the process of making annual priest assignments has the goal of matching a pastor’s skills with the needs of his congregation.

The assignment process begins in January when each diocesan priest gets a form asking him if he would like to stay where he is, transfer to another parish, take a sabbatical leave or pursue additional education. Once the forms come in, Bishop Jugis convenes a committee of four priests – three priests representing different decades of priest ordinations and the vicar general – to recommend staffing changes. Assignments are announced in June and changes take place during the first week of July.

According to one priest on this committee, assignments are based on the skill-set of a potential pastor and the parish’s make-up.

The committee also considers Canon law, especially when adding a second priest to a parish. Canon law limits a priest usually to celebrating three Masses on a Sunday.

it’s the overall quality of pastoral care he’s concerned about. “Our biggest piece is not so much the aspect of the Masses. It really isn’t,� he says. “It’s taking care of the 14 nursing homes, and all the support services. We had 30 funerals in January and February.

But our piece works. I want to say it this way: There are certain things, very clearly, the priest has to do. Most of the things the priest doesn’t have to do, and that’s where we have trained lay ministers.�

BIGGER CAN BE BETTER

The church’s growth has spurred powerful stewardship.

According to the financial report printed regularly in the church bulletin, offertory collections are up 4 percent from last year and 10 percent higher than its budget, which totals about $5 million. As of Dec. 31, halfway through the diocese’s fiscal year, St. Matthew had total revenues of $216,000 over budget and a bottom-

THE FIXES

SKYROCKETING NUMBER OF FAMILIES

2010 8,003 2005 2000 1995 1990

5,721

4,024

1,869

846

St. Matthew’s parish family has boomed over the past 20 years. Š CNH 2010, Illustration by Tim Faragher

line surplus of $202,000 – all this despite challenging economic times.

And St. Matthew is a big parish with a big heart, people say. “When we are asked to help, we help,� says Pat White, St. Matthew volunteer coordinator.

A recent example: In less than two weeks last month, parishioners collected, sorted, packed and shipped two freight containers of relief supplies to Haiti, and a third is being prepared now. (See story, page 16.)

But it isn’t just about money or donations. Monsignor McSweeney wholeheartedly believes in the Church’s mission to help each person in his or her journey with Christ – and that means more than 90 ministries and a dynamic “Living Your Strengths� process (“don’t call it a program,� he says) for his 28,000 parishioners to engage with their faith. Adult faith formation – the church calls it “St. Matthew yoUniversity� –

Spiritual Exercises

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is critical, he says.

The sheer size of the parish means St. Matthew can do so much more, he emphasizes, and that’s a blessing.

Parishioners note the abundance of ways to get involved at the church, even if its size can seem overwhelming.

Parishioner Michele Mazelin lives just across the state line and joined St. Matthew Church in 2007. Mazelin says, “In the 21 years since I entered the Catholic Church, I have belonged to 13 parishes and have attended dozens of others. ... We belonged to parishes with fewer than 1,000 to about 3,000 families. So, I think it was natural that we were initially a bit concerned and even put off by the size, which at about 7,000 families is huge by any measure.

Yet I have found the people to be among the friendliest and most welcoming, and the parish to be the easiest to become a part of.�

The “mega-church� atmosphere isn’t for everyone, though. “I had a neighbor who had been a member of St. Matthew, but for them it was too big so they went someplace else,� says Welcome Matt ministry leader Jean Mazzucca.

St. Matthew has spent the past two years trying to beef up its welcoming program after surveying how spiritually engaged its parishioners were. That survey recommended improvements in communications, welcoming, leader development and spiritual growth opportunities for adults.

The Welcome Matt ministry is one part of the outreach effort, and it’s growing, too. “In the last half-year, we’ve looked at redoing (the ministry) because the parish is getting so big,� Mazzucca says.

The primary event, a welcoming lunch that includes an orientation and tour, is now held every other month instead of quarterly.

Getting involved on a personal level, parishioners say, is the key to feeling comfortable in a parish that’s larger than many North Carolina towns.

Following the Ash Wednesday complaint, Monsignor McSweeney added a sixth Mass on Sunday in the Parish Center, to alleviate the peak crowds at 10:45 a.m. The Parish Center can hold 1,200 people, he says, so that move has partially fixed the Sunday overcrowding problem.

Monsignor McSweeney also asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Peter Grant, a parishioner, to monitor capacity at the 10:45 a.m. Mass and redirect people to the 1,200-seat Parish Center for the overflow Mass.

Police have been watching the crowds throughout Lent, and will continue at least through Easter, Grant said.

The overflow Mass actually revives a St. Matthew tradition, Monsignor McSweeney says. Before the present church was built in 1996, the Parish Center’s gym doubled as the church. After each Mass, parishioners would stack the 750 chairs that served as pews.

Ushers are also being more active, head usher Dan Hines says, to “continually ask people to scoot in, so we don’t have those ‘end-of-pew sitters.’�

Monsignor McSweeney also hopes for a third priest when the diocese announces priest assignments this summer. The diocese has 16 seminarians, four of whom are scheduled to be ordained in June.

What long-term solutions are there?

There are no plans to expand the St. Matthew campus, or to split the parish and build another church on land the diocese already owns nearby in Weddington, Monsignor McSweeney says, but he is looking at “different options.� Even if another church were an option, the chronic priest shortage makes it impractical.

So parishioners continue to emphasize lay ministries as well as pray for increased vocations.

The church’s Vocations Awareness Apostolate regularly encourages parishioners to pray the Rosary, pray before the Blessed Sacrament and offer up a Mass monthly, all to encourage vocation awareness – a program Monsignor McSweeney is proud to say is a model for other churches.

Ralph Sullivan, leader of the apostolate, says, “We want to make St. Matthew Church a beacon of hope for fostering vocations.�

WHAT’S NEXT

What’s next for this growing parish?

For one thing, Monsignor McSweeney says, 10 Masses will be celebrated on Easter Sunday to accommodate the crowds on this busiest holiday of the year.

Plus, many more prayers are being offered for an increase in priestly vocations to minister to St. Matthew’s 28,000 members, as well as the 425,000 Catholics across the diocese.

Monsignor McSweeney notes, “We have a responsibility as Christians to be outreaching, and that’s called good stewardship. Attitude of gratitude for what we have – even if it’s 10 cents.�

Editor Patricia Guilfoyle, Communications Director David Hains, and writers SueAnn Howell and Heather Bellemore collaborated on this story.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

AROUND THE DIOCESE

March 19, 2010

2010 St. Patrick’s Day The sun shone brightly, and so did the faces of parade goers and marchers alike, during the 2010 St. Patrick’s Day parade in Charlotte Saturday. Thousands of people converged on downtown to watch the parade featuring pipes and drums and marching bands, Irish dancers, local

businesses and youth groups, the schools and parishes of St. Patrick, St. Matthew, St. Gabriel and St. Ann, along with Belmont Abbey College, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Knights of Columbus.

March 19, 2010

around the diocese

Parade, Charlotte

See more pictures!

There are lots more photos from this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in Charlotte on our Web site, www. charlottediocese.org/catholicnews.

The Catholic News & Herald 9

March 19, 2010

10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

There’s an ‘app’ for that: fires burning while the other stayed with the desperately ill girl in Portland, Ore. How? With iPhones that Dave Brown bought so they could talk and send photos and video.

As an information technology manager at a window and door company, Dave Brown used his know-how to design an iPhone app that allows the user to pray the rosary. The small screen has animated beads that can be moved with a touch. Corresponding prayers pop up on the screen, along with devotional images. The application knows which mystery to pray on which day. It even knows where the user left off if the rosary is interrupted. The app also has Spanish and French capabilities.

Brown told the Catholic Sentinel, Portland’s archdiocesan newspaper, that

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNS) ― In a world that boasts continual technological change, the iPhone by Apple has gained near-iconic status. Even Apple boasts there are more than 140 million applications – or “apps,” in Apple-speak – that users can obtain for their phones.

It only follows that there would be some clever Catholics who have devised apps to bolster people’s faith.

Dave Brown of Bend, Ore., invented a virtual rosary-beads app as a sign of thanksgiving after doctors found a successful bone-marrow match for his kindergarten-age daughter in 2008, curing her of leukemia.

Brown and his wife Jackie prayed the rosary frequently through their daughter’s treatment, even though one parent was in Bend keeping the home file/cns photo by Giampiero Sposito, Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 5, 2009. This year EWTN will air the Holy Father’s procession through St. Peter’s Square in Rome before celebrating the Palm Sunday Liturgy at 3:30 a.m. EDT Sunday, March 28.

EWTN’s Lenten programming includes inspirational reflections Irondale, Ala. (EWTN) ― Take a trip across the pond this Lent with EWTN as it airs Lenten reflections from a host of well-known Irish and English priests. Filmed on location at their home parishes, these priests deliver a series of powerful meditations intended to help make your Lenten journey more meaningful.

Topics include learning how to listen to God, coming to the Lord for healing and forgiveness, and much more. The next show will air at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 25. ― “Solemn Mass of Palm Sunday with Pope Benedict XVI”: The Holy Father leads a procession through

St. Peter’s Square in Rome before celebrating the Palm Sunday Liturgy. It will air at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, March 28. ― “Meditations with Father Groeschel”: One of EWTN’s most popular priests offers a Lenten meditation on Palm Sunday, showing how it should prepare us for the holiest week of the year. The show will air at 10 a.m.

Sunday, March 28.

For more information about Holy Week programming, visit www.ewtn. com.

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 29th year, is available in more than 150 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories.

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Respect Life Program Family Life Office Catholic Social Services Diocese of Charlotte

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 11

iPhone applications being devised for Catholics within a year of its introduction, more than 20,000 sales of the app had been recorded. The Browns decided to keep the price low – 99 cents – to get as many people as possible praying.

A similar rosary app, known as the Prayer Beads App, was designed by Premier Christian media in England in advance of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Great Britain later this year and made available in March through Apple’s online store.

Richard Smart, the firm’s marketing director, told the Telegraph, a daily newspaper in England, he got papal encouragement to develop the app. “He has been encouraging young Catholics to use social media to share the message of Christ,” Smart said. “We want to support that. In a way, you could say that we made this app for the pope.”

The rosary beads for this app appear to sit on a lush bed of velvet. “The Prayer Beads App is intended for anyone who meditates or prays. Using the app is a tactile experience,” Smart told the Telegraph.

In California, the Riverside PressEnterprise daily newspaper reported that a San Bernardino priest will use an iPhone app to deliver daily inspirational video messages.

Divine Word Father Michael Manning, who hosts a show on cable television’s Trinity Broadcasting Network, will make his iPhone debut in April.

According to the Press-Enterprise, Father Manning will record his daily messages at the San Bernardino studios of Wordnet Productions, a Catholic television ministry the priest founded.

The app is sponsored by the Vatican Observatory Foundation. The organization supports the work of the Vatican Observatory, which has telescopes near Rome and in the Arizona desert. Proceeds from the app’s sales will help fund the observatory’s research and education efforts.

The foundation chose Father Manning for his ability to effectively convey the church’s message, according to Robert Thorne, CEO of a Beverly Hills firm that co-manages global licensing and media for the foundation.

And, just in time for Lent, Ave Maria Press has developed its own app: a Stations of the Cross app. While already available free at Apple’s online iTunes app store, it was to be unveiled during the Los Angeles Religious Education Conference, to be held March 19-21.

An announcement by Ave Maria said the app works on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, another Apple product.

The app features artwork by Michael O’Brien. It is based on a biblical-based Way of the Cross conceived by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

“We are delighted to explore creative digital ways of keeping our readers connected to God through prayer. It’s our hope that many will take advantage

image courtesy of

CNS

This image shows screenshots from the iTunes page that describes an application for the iPhone titled “Stations of the Cross,” developed by Ave Maria Press and launching this week.

of this free prayer resource,” said Ave Maria Press publisher Tom Grady. The

Ave Maria Press announcement called its app a “perfect pocket devotional.”

2010 North Carolina Healing and Marian Conference April 23-24

Fri. 5:30 pm and Sat. 7:30 am Tambien en Espanol: April 22, Thurs. 5:30 pm

St. Joseph Catholic Church

108 St. Joseph Street, Kannapolis 28083 Father Bill Halbing, dynamic international Spirit-filled speaker Sat. highlight - 1 pm Marian Images Procession followed by Healing Mass Reduced rate with pre-registration by March 31 Scholarships Available Registration: 704/658-1179 or 704/662-8123.

“Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves.”

St. Francis de Sales

Susan G. King, MA, MFTA

Individual, Couples & Family Counseling Across from St. Matthew Church 7810 Ballantyne Commons Parkway • Suite 300 Charlotte, NC 28277 (704) 319-2255

12 The Catholic News & Herald

SCHOOL NEWS IN BRIEF

March 19, 2010

IN OUR SCHOOLS

Oh, what a week at St. Ann School

Catholic Schools Office unveils logo CHARLOTTE ― The diocesan Catholic Schools Office has created a new logo symbolizing the mission of Catholic schools, Superintendent Linda Cherry recently announced.

The cross in the center is a reminder that Christ is at the center of our schools, and the circular shape brings together all the schools in the diocese. The logo contains the phrase “Faith – Tradition – Academic Excellence,” a reminder of the diocesan schools’ goals and values.

photo provided by Lisa

B. Horton

To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, St. Ann School Librarian Siobhan Loendorf dressed as The Cat in The Hat and decorated the library with balloons and streamers. Mrs. Loendorf read Dr. Seuss books to the transitional kindergarten students and later treated them with cupcakes. Dr. Seuss’ birthday was a week-long celebration for all students at St. Ann School in Charlotte.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY | Greenville | South Carolina

St. Pat’s kids serve

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY SCHOOL is seeking a principal for its school in Greenville, S.C., with grades K5 to 8 for 2010-2011 school year. Qualified candidate must be a practicing Roman Catholic in good standing with the Church and have at least five years successful teaching experience. Master’s degree in educational leadership/ administration required.

Submit resume by March 26, 2010, to: Search Committee/Our Lady of the Rosary P.O. Box 8396, Greenville, SC 29604

Classifieds photo provided

In recognition of Catholic Schools Week, St. Patrick’s students have been volunteering at Dilworth Soup Kitchen and Brookstone School.

Fourth-graders conducted a book drive for their new friends at the Brookstone School, which focuses on providing inner-city children with a faith-based education. When St. Patrick families learned Brookstone students needed more books for their library, they collected 1,000 new and gently-used books and $1,000 in donations.

The fourth-graders visited Brookstone School during Catholic Schools Week and they completed a school project together. The Brookstone students also visited St. Patrick School for a Harvey Gantt Center cultural event last month.

On March 3, first-graders (some pictured above) made more than 200 cheese sandwiches in the cafeteria and delivered them with handmade placemats to Dilworth Soup Kitchen. Soup kitchen volunteers grilled the sandwiches. Guests commented, “This is the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever hand!” Several wanted to keep the placemats.

Kindergarten classes also visited Dilworth Soup Kitchen March 8, bringing bags of candy with “recipes for life” in them for all the soup kitchen guests and placing the bags on dinner mats made by their first-grade classmates. Their parents and teachers then brought in loads of canned goods, salad items, pasta and rice.

To assist Dilworth Soup Kitchen, contact Director Allen Saxe at absaxe@earthlink.net or 704-333-9106.

FOR RENT

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CONDO: St. Augustine Beach, Florida – 2.5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. 7/2/10 – 7/9/10. $1200. (704) 523-0660. alderman4@earthlink.net

PROPERTY on Lake Wylie (Belmont), reduced below tax value. 3 acres – includes 2 lots. www. wylie.webuda.com

Classified ads bring results! Over 160,000 readers! More than 55,000 homes!

Rates: $.80/word per issue ($16 minimum per issue) Deadline: 12 noon Wednesday, 9 days before publication How to order: Ads may be E-mailed to ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org, faxed to (704) 370-3382 or mailed to: Cindi Feerick, The Catholic News & Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.

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

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 13

IN OUR SCHOOLS

Learning about hunger and inequality

SCHOOL NEWS IN BRIEF

Nunez wins contest

Students in Alicia Ring’s fifth-grade class hosted a “hunger banquet” March 1 to raise awareness among the Asheville Catholic School community about global poverty and wealth inequality. The “hunger banquet” was designed to serve as both a fundraising event and an opportunity for members of the community to think critically about the systems of inequality that permeate our world.

More than $500 was raised to support the Haitian earthquake relief effort. photo provided by

SALISBURY ― Natalie Nunez, a fifth-grade student at Sacred Heart School, won a bookmark design contest sponsored by the Rowan Public Library, out of 134 students in this age group who entered.

N u n e z ’s w i n n i n g design features a faceless teacher and student sharing a Natalie Nunez book with the tagline “Get Smart Read a Book.” Along with prizes including Chick-fil-A and Literary Post certificates, her bookmark will be printed and distributed at the library.

Registration now under way

Donna Gilson

CHARLOTTE ― Parents of current students in Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools are receiving registration materials for the 2010-’11 school year in the mail. General admissions are also under way for new students as seats are available. For MACS registration inquiries, contact Director of Admissions Virginia Bond at 704-3703273 or go to www.charlottediocese.org/ admissionsinfo.

Admissions inquiries for the 10 other schools in the Diocese of Charlotte should be directed to each school. Go to www.charlottediocese.org/ourschools for contact information.

“Cottage living makes. soar.” our

spirits

~ Sally and Ken Hughes, Pennybyrn cottage residents since March, 2009. ~

CCHS Band students excel in state tourney CHARLOTTE ― Five Charlotte Catholic High School Band students have been selected to the N.C. All-State Band, after competing against other high school students from the entire state: Patrick Bryan, number one in the state in oboe; Kyle Burns, number one in the state in trombone; Angela Small, fourth chair in clarinet; Christian Bailey, ninth chair in flute; and Daniel Martinec, ninth chair in clarinet.

Also, CCHS senior Joe Pickhardt was selected as a McNair Scholar at the University of South Carolina, earning a full four-year scholarship.

“ Too young” to enjoy the Pennybyrn retirement lifestyle? Ken Hughes, 69, and wife Sally, 68, say their cottage frees them to enjoy life more. “Instead of doing everyday chores, we can be as active as we choose, enjoy the amenities, and do things we never could, like walking every morning and evening.

We love the beautiful, mature trees and gardens in our cottage neighborhood. And we love the spirit here… the Sisters make everyone feel welcome.”

You too can enjoy an ideal retirement.

Call (336) 821-4050 or toll-free (866) 627-9343. www.PennybyrnAtMaryfield.com 109 Penny Road, High Point, NC 27260 Located less than a mile from downtown Jamestown and only 10 minutes from Greensboro.

PB 331 ad_Hughes_kitchen 7.625x9 CNH.indd 1

3/1/10 10:03:47 AM

Excellent speller CHARLOTTE ― Angeline-Marie Morales, 11, placed second in the N.C. school system’s annual spelling bee sponsored by The Charlotte Observer and held March 15 at ImaginOn in Charlotte. She competed against 27 other school-wide winners from across the region representing 14 counties in the Carolinas. The seventh-grader from Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte was the 2010 Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools spelling bee champion. She will compete in the National Spelling Bee contest in Washington, D.C., if the firstplace winner is unable to attend.

We welcome your school’s news.

E-mail items to Editor Patricia Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.

March 19, 2010

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Catholics, health care and the Senate’s bad bill The Senate version of health care reform currently being forced ahead by congressional leaders and the White House is a bad bill that will result in bad law. It does not deserve, nor does it have, the support of the Catholic bishops of our country. Nor does the American public want it. As I write this column, the Senate bill remains gravely flawed. It does not meet minimum moral standards in at least three important areas: the exclusion of abortion funding and services; adequate conscience protections for health care professionals and institutions; and the inclusion of immigrants.

Groups, trade associations and publications describing themselves as “Catholic” or “prolife” that endorse the Senate version – whatever their intentions – are doing a serious disservice to the nation and to the Church, undermining the witness of the Catholic community; and ensuring the failure of genuine, ethical health care reform. By their public actions, they create confusion at exactly the moment Catholics need to think clearly about the remaining issues in the health care debate. They also provide the illusion of moral cover for an unethical piece of legislation.

As we enter a critical week in the national health care debate, Catholics need to remember a few simple facts.

First, the Catholic bishops of the United States have pressed for real national health care reform in this country for more than half a century. They began long before either political party or the public media found it convenient. That commitment hasn’t changed. Nor will it.

Second, the bishops have tried earnestly for more than seven months to work with elected officials to craft reform that would serve all Americans in a manner respecting minimum moral standards. The failure of their effort has one source. It comes entirely from the stubbornness and evasions of certain key congressional leaders, and the unwillingness of the White House to honor promises made by the president last September.

Third, the health care reform debate has never been merely a matter of party politics. Nor is it now. Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak and a number of his Democratic colleagues have shown extraordinary character in pushing for good health care reform while resisting attempts to poison it with abortionrelated entitlements and other bad ideas that have nothing to do with real “health care.” Many Republicans share the goal of decent health care reform, even if their solutions would differ dramatically. To put it another way, few persons seriously oppose making adequate health services available for all Americans. But God, or the devil, is in the details – and by that measure, the current Senate version

Guest Column Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Guest columnist of health care reform is not merely defective, but also a dangerous mistake.

The long, unpleasant and too often dishonest national health care debate is now in its last days. Its most painful feature has been those “Catholic” groups that by their eagerness for some kind of deal undercut the witness of the Catholic community and help advance a bad bill into a bad law. Their flawed judgment could now have damaging consequences for all of us.

Do not be misled. The Senate version of health care reform currently being pushed ahead by congressional leaders and the White House – despite public resistance and numerous moral concerns – is bad law; and not simply bad, but dangerous. It does not deserve, nor does it have, the support of the Catholic bishops in our country, who speak for the believing Catholic community. In its current content, the Senate version of health care legislation is not “reform.”

Catholics and other persons of good will concerned about the foundations of human dignity should oppose it.

The Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput is archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver. This column is reprinted with permission from the Denver Catholic Register.

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: MArch 28, 2010

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Cycle C Readings: 1) Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 2) Philippians 2:6-11 Gospel: Luke 22:14 to 23:56

Palm Sunday is rollercoaster ride of emotions JEFF HEDGLEN catholic news service

Over the years I have experienced times of depression. Nothing serious, but there have been days when I was down in the dumps for one reason or another. I also have known people who have battled clinical depression for years. In either instance, or when trouble hits us hard, we often do not know where to turn in our sorrow and loneliness.

As usual, Jesus gives us solid guidance. In his greatest moment of sorrow, when he hung dying on the cross, he turned to the Scriptures and prayed: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

These words from Psalm 22 are part of a rich tradition of written lament in the Bible. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, feelings of great sorrow, longing, confusion and pain are articulated as prayers by the authors of Scripture.

The fact that these emotions are found in the Bible is a great comfort to me. The realization that Jesus too felt the need to cry out in these words gives me a reason to hope.

Palm Sunday is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and experiences. We begin the holy day shouting “Hosanna to the King” and just a few moments later we cry, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Along the way, Jesus is whipped, misunderstood, abandoned and killed.

He experiences the worst the world can throw at him, and he seemingly is beaten.

But as we know, death is not the end.

Sorrow is not the final emotion. Pain is not the last thing Jesus experiences.

These truths are our truths, too.

Yes, Jesus felt abandoned on the cross, but he now reigns on high with the Father and the Spirit in ultimate unity.

Holy Week reveals to us that though our lives may be filled with Palm Sundays and Good Fridays, Easter experiences of healing and resurrection await us as well.

Hosanna to the King, Come Lord Jesus!

QUESTIONS: Have you ever felt abandoned by God or by other people? How does knowing that Jesus experienced the same thing affect your thoughts about this? How can we help people journey from their Good Fridays to the healing of Easter?

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 21 – 27 Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent), Isaiah 43:16-21, Philippians 3:8-14, John 8:1-11; Monday, Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, John 8:12-20; Tuesday (St. Toribio de Mogrovejo), Number 21:4-9, John 8:21-30; Wednesday, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, John 8:31-42; Thursday (The Annunciation of the Lord), Isaiah 7:10-14, Hebrews 10:4-10, Luke 1:26-38; Friday, Jeremiah 20:10-13, John 10:31-42; Saturday, Ezekiel 37:21-28, John 11:45-56 SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 28 – APRIL 3 Sunday (Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion), Luke 19:28-40, Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:611, Luke 22:14—23:56; Monday, Isaiah 42:1-7, John 12:1-11; Tuesday, Isaiah 49:1-6, John 13:21-33, 36-38; Wednesday, Isaiah 50:4-9, Matthew 26:14-25; Thursday (Holy Thursday), Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-15; Friday (Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion), Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9, John 18:1-19:42, Saturday (Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil), Exodus 14:15-15:1, Exodus 15:1-6, 17-18, Romans 6:3-11, Luke 24:1-12

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 15

God’s megaphone can whisper to us The theology of suffering is mysterious. In reading St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, one gets the sense that suffering is a dance between the Soul and her Lord. It’s a beautiful image.

But like many deep mysteries, the actual experience of suffering can seem more devastating and confusing than beautiful and spiritually efficacious.

Have you ever prayed for a conversion? During a previous Lent, I committed to praying for one particular conversion. God did not answer my prayers in the way I expected. In the past 12 months, the one I prayed for has battled two kinds of cancer, which attacked two different parts of his body – very much like a country that is invaded along two borders simultaneously.

It is hard to imagine that this man could suffer any more. But if the Carmelite saints are correct, then it is likely that God has a purpose even in the midst of this dark night.

Nothing draws us closer to the side of Christ than suffering. C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures … but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

I don’t like that answer very much.

I would have preferred a storybook conversion. I would have given this

suffering soul a vision or whispered some great revelation into his ear.

But God does whisper to us. In fact, He never stops whispering the words “Come back to me.” The voices of this world are so loud that we cannot hear over the din.

Sometimes, God has to shout.

Sometimes, He uses His megaphone to rouse us. Sometimes, that megaphone is suffering.

Imagine for a moment that the world is one big dance floor. The DJ plays the music of a fallen world. And sometimes, the music he plays is the music of suffering.

That’s not what God had in mind.

Divine Will did not want that. But His Permissive Will permits the music to play for a little while.

Why? Maybe it is because Our Lord knows that there is one song that will cause us to put down our champagne glasses and walk away from the crowded tables of this world. There is one song that calls us to turn toward God, walk across the dance floor, and give our soul to its Beloved.

That song is the Song of Suffering.

Why was this man born blind?

Was it because of some sin his parents committed? Our Lord tells the crowd,

Guest Column DENISE BOSSERT Guest columnist

no, he did nothing wrong. The Heavenly Father has permitted this. And now, God will be glorified.

St. John of the Cross says, “Let God take your hand and guide you through the darkness as though you were blind.” Why? Because your own story of redemption may begin at a cross of personal suffering. Jesus tells us that this is no reason for despair – the song that plays next is glorious.

The Lord of all Creation has chosen the last song of the night. The glorious notes of this song will begin playing at Easter Vigil Mass. Go now, and enter the divine dance.

Denise Bossert, who converted to Catholicism in 2005, is a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in New Melle, Mo.

What a will can do for you: Prepare one now There are at least six things a wellcrafted will can do for you.

A will can let you close the books on your earthly stewardship responsibilities.

You’ve made careful decisions to conserve your estate during life and you naturally want to do the same at death.

Through your will, you can wrap up your affairs and “put your house in order.”

A will can help you express your love and thoughtfulness to others.

When a person dies without a will, those who are left behind must sort out the estate and make difficult decisions without the necessary preparation.

Uncertainties arise. Disagreements develop. The grieving process is compounded by frustration. What a difference when the bereaved are left with funeral instructions, an inventory list and a well-crafted will.

A will can remind your loved ones of your basic beliefs and commitments, and can affirm your guiding principles.

Your words can provide comfort and encouragement.

The way you distribute your estate can also express your commitments.

Bequests to family members show your love and concern for their welfare.

And bequests to your parish, Catholic school, Catholic agency, the diocesan foundation or the Diocese of Charlotte speak volumes about your values.

A will can ensure that your desires are fulfilled. If you have dependent

children, you can designate who will care for them. You can specify the person who will handle the closing of your estate. You can select the trustee to oversee one or more trusts.

You can time the distribution of gifts to children and grandchildren. You can designate the giving of specific items to family members and friends.

You can make provisions to support the Church and other charitable organizations.

A will puts you in the driver’s seat and allows you to make decisions according to your values, concerns and commitments.

A will can conserve your assets, ensuring that more is available to meet your objectives.

A will may also reduce the administrative costs of probate and reduce estate taxes. Wise stewardship means making sure your assets go as far as possible.

A will can provide peace of mind.

You can relax in the knowledge that your temporal affairs are in order. You have cared for those persons and those concerns close to your heart.

Your will can also bring a sense of peace and security to others.

With all these benefits, one might expect that every person would have a will.

But the opposite is true. About half of all Americans die without a will. And of those who have wills, many have wills

Legacy Notes Judy Smith Guest Columnist which are out of date or invalid.

For most people, making a will is like preparing a tax return – they put it off as long as they can.

You may recognize some of these excuses: “It’s too expensive … I can’t handle the decisions … My estate is too small … I don’t have time … I don’t know who to name as my executor or as a trustee or as the guardian for my children … I don’t know where all my records are … I’ll do it later.”

Have you been putting off preparing a will? Do you have an outdated will?

Now is a good time to take care of this.

Give your attorney a call today and make an appointment.

Sound professional advice will contribute to your peace of mind and that of your family.

Judy Smith is director of planned giving for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Contact her at 704-370-3320 or jmsmith@charlottediocese.org.

The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI

Pope asks Irish to read letter with open heart VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― Pope Benedict XVI asked Irish Catholics to read his pastoral letter on the sexual abuse crisis “with an open heart and in a spirit of faith.”

Addressing Irish visitors at his weekly general audience March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, the pope said he had written the letter as “a sign of my deep concern” over “this painful situation.”

He used his audience to announce he would sign the letter March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, and send it “soon after.”

“My hope is that it will help in the process of repentance, healing and renewal,” he said.

In December, the pope had said he would write the letter in the wake of the scandal that followed publication of an independent report that faulted the church for its handling of 325 sex abuse claims in the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1975 to 2004. The report said bishops sometimes protected abusive priests, and were apparently more intent on protecting the Church’s reputation and assets than on helping the victims.

Pope Benedict called all the bishops of Ireland to the Vatican in February, discussing both the scandal as well as the potential content of his letter.

At his audience, he said that “the Church in Ireland has been severely shaken as a result of the child abuse crisis.”

In his main audience address, the pope continued his series of talks about medieval Catholic theologians by looking at the similarities and differences in the teachings of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas, who were contemporaries.

In the year’s first outdoor audience, the pope pointed out that the statues of the two saints stand directly opposite each other on the top of the colonnade embracing St. Peter’s Square.

The 13th-century theologians, who both recognized the importance of faith and reason working together in religious life, still had different opinions about the ultimate purpose of theology, the pope said.

St. Thomas saw theology “as primarily a theoretical science,” whose aim was to help people know God. St. Bonaventure, he said, “saw it as practical, concerned with that ‘wisdom,’ which enables us to love God and conform our wills to his.”

“Before the Word of God, we must contemplate, not analyze,” the pope said.

The Franciscan saint knew that while reason was important and could help explain many things about God, at a certain point only love could help people draw closer to God and to understanding why he would sacrifice his son to save humanity, he said.

March 19, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 16

AROUND THE DIOCESE

St. Matthew ships containers with love, prayers to Haiti DIANE KIRADJIEFF special to the catholic news & herald

CHARLOTTE ― The fable of the “Three Little Pigs” teaches us not to rush, use our smarts and choose the right material for the task – unless you happen to be the granddaughter of a certain Irish lady who always looked deeper.

My grandmother loved to spin a tale. Through her telling, the moral of the “Three Little Pigs” was about what was inside the home. She’d say, ‘twas not until those three little pigs were back together as a family that the home stood firm. It does not matter a bit what your house is made of, nor how grand or simple it is.

What is needed to make a home strong and secure is the love shared within the walls. ‘Tis why the Lord makes His home in our heart, ‘tis what makes us strong and secure. And that, she’d say with a firm nod, is the true moral.

This memory stirred in my heart as I witnessed a home being built here at St. Matthew Church.

In January, the tremors that shook the earth under Haiti reverberated in the hearts of many around the world. We at St. Matthew wondered what could be done to help. Wondering turned into ideas, ideas into action.

If you drove past our campus last month, you surely spotted three full-size shipping containers gobbling up the prime real estate of Sunday morning parking.

Yet, there wasn’t a complaint, because displayed on one of the containers was a large sign: Haiti Relief Location.

This project began with a second collection that raised $85,000 the Sunday after the earthquake. A group of parishioners were inspired to brainstorm other ways our St. Matthew family could help. The idea of a clothing drive became the spark that lit a flame burning with faith, hope and love.

The first Sunday of February, Monsignor John McSweeney stood before the congregation and issued an unusual request: “If any of you happens to know someone who has access to a shipping container which they can donate, let me know. But let them know they won’t be getting it back. It’s to be filled with clothing, diapers, tents, netting … anything we can think of that will help the folks in Haiti. Then, we are shipping it from here to there. Once it has been emptied, and the goods are

2010

Diocese of Charlotte

Eucharistic Congress

St. Matthew volunteers, including Jack Staub, sort, pack and prepare to load two shipping containers bound for Haitian disaster relief recently.

photo provided by

distributed, instead of returning, it will be staying there. And it will become someone’s home.”

Monsignor McSweeney’s plea was answered – not with one container, but three. Throughout February, donations poured in. Even the teens and children participated, gathering hundreds of flipflops and stuffed animals. At the end of February, more than 150 volunteers showed up to help sort, pack and load two of the containers, which then shipped out earlier this month. The containers were stuffed with more than 135,000 items weighing a total of 48,990 pounds. Donations are still flowing in for the third container.

St. Matthew has long had a relationship with the Missionaries of the Poor in Cap-Haitian, Haiti. One more need our parishioners are hoping to meet for the brothers there: baking equipment, so they can supply bread to residents.

The moral of this story, as my grandmother would happily say, is that what will arrive in Haiti are not merely two shipping containers brimming with stuff. They are homes filled with the prayers, hope and love of our St. Matthew family. And for a family in Haiti, it will not matter the material with which the house is made. What will matter are the love and prayers shared within its walls.

Diane Kiradjieff is a St. Matthew parishioner and faith formation staff member.

Mark your calendar now for the sixth Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress

Charlotte Convention Center

SEPTEMBER 10 & 11, 2010

Good Shepherd, Come Feed Us

Visit the Web site www.GoEucharist.com for the latest information about programs and speakers.

Diane Kiradjieff

SPECTACULAR - UNSPOILED – HISTORICAL

CROATIA

with a visit to Medjugorje

October 18-28, 2010

Bring family and friends to join with the Diocese of Charlotte as we experience Croatia – lying just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy! We’ll see breathtaking natural beauty, significant places of European history and 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites! Plus, a visit to Medjugorje -- making this trip a definite favorite for all!

Highlights of these 11 days include: • Zagreb, the capital city with rich cultural and governmental history, and Roman settlements from the 1st century • beautiful, old-world Bled, Slovenia – a “pletna boat” will glide us across glacial Lake Bled with the majestic, snow-tipped Julian Alps as the backdrop • a tour of the world-famous Lipizzaner horse farm where we’ll witness an actual training session of these magnificent Slovenian treasures!

• charming seaside Opatija, nestled in beautiful woods with elegant villas and a seaside promenade to bring the Adriatic right up to your feet!

• the spectacular, breathtaking phenomenon of Plitvice Lakes national park – 16 terraced lakes connected by magnificent waterfalls and free-flowing cascades. A lake cruise reveals the underwater life thriving in this natural wonderland!

• the ancient seaside city of Split (once the most important Mediterranean port in then-Yugoslavia) where we’ll explore the Old City, the markets, Diocletian’s Roman Palace and much more of its charm and fascinating history • Medjugorje, the small village where we’ll have personal time for prayer, reflection and Mass at beautiful St. James Church • exciting Dubrovnik offers us its fascinating Old City, world-famous Franciscan Monastery, exceptional architecture, seaside promenade and more!

• unforgettable home visit and culinary feast with a Croatian countryside family sharing their culture and customs to enrich our total experience!

Unparalleled beauty, fascinating history and more await you on this trip!

Check out these highlights on the Internet and you’ll see why Croatia is becoming a must-see destination, still unspoiled by “too many tourists.”

Price per person (double occupancy) is only $3,379 and includes: roundtrip airfare from Charlotte; all hotels and transfers; most meals; fulltime professional Tour Manager; local guides. Not included are cancellation waiver/insurance ($200 per person) and air taxes/surcharges ($150).

For a brochure or questions, call Cindi Feerick at the diocese (704) 370-3332 or e-mail ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org.