April 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 1

April 7, 2000

September 24, 2000 Volume 9 t Number 4

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

Inside Shelby seniors find fountain of youth ...Page 3

Kenyan archbishop warns against cult tragedy House chaplain expects to be ‘spiritual guide’ ...Page 11

Local News Sister Genevieve Noonan dies at age 81 ...Page 4

Living the Faith

Family honors devoted Catholic through endowment

...Page 12

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 7

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 8-9

Aging with

Grace

Special supplement to The Catholic News & Herald on Retirement, Healthy Living and Seniors’ Contributions to Our Church and Community

Mother & daughter tea party in Clemmons

Photo by Susan deGuzman

Rosemary Killion shares a smile with her three daughters, Kathleen Boss, Rosemary Killion and Suzanne Fudge, during a tea party at Holy Family Church in Clemmons on April 2. Moms and daughters of all ages from Holy Family and other nearby parishes and locales gathered for tea, conversation and camaraderie. Tuxedo-donned Knights of Columbus served the ladies at the annual event.

Catholic Social Services presents ninth-annual Beatty Award; annual gala ascends with Wings of Hope

By Joann S. Keane Editor CHARLOTTE — In acceptance comments of Catholic Social Services’ annual award, Mecklenburg County manager Gerald G. “Jerry” Fox drew parallel to a prayer of the late Dorothy Day with a community where he sees needs.

His timing was impeccable. Last month, the Vatican approved opening the cause for Day’s canonization, while a recent news report called her ability to see Jesus in the weakest of his brothers and sisters and her realization of the call to right injustice an inspiration to the world. In her lifetime, Day worked tirelessly for justice.

In her prayer Embracing the Outcasts, Day petitioned God to “help us to embrace the outcasts of society.”

“Where in Charlotte-Mecklenburg do we find those in need of em-

bracing?” was the rhetoric posed by Fox. For the outcasts of society, Fox suggests compassion.

In further alliance with Day’s prayer for the people, he pointed to a need to break down barriers that divide a growing disparity of wealth within the community [and nation]; crossing the thresholds of prejudice; and feeding each other in the likes of senior nutrition sites, soup kitchen, homeless shelters and in schools.

Not unlike the Catholic Social Worker who died in 1980.

Nearly 400 CSS staff, civic and community leaders, family, friends and associates of Fox attended the April 1 Wings of Hope reception and dinner at Founders Hall in the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte.

Fox, who will retire this fall after

See BEATTY AWARD, page 4

Photo by Joann S. Keane

Jerry Fox, this year’s recipient of Catholic Social Services’ Beatty Award, smiles as Bishop William G. Curlin congratulates him.

2 The Catholic News & Herald Dowling of Rustenburg, who heads the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s justice and peace commission. He said many of the land mines laid in Mozambique during a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992 might have been displaced by rushing floodwaters, increasing the danger to people returning to their homes.

Irish prelate urges disassociation from Magnificat Meal Movement DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) — Archbishop Desmond Connell of Dublin urged Catholics to disassociate themselves from the Magnificat Meal Movement and its Australian founder and leader. Archbishop Connell repeated the views expressed by Australian Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba, who launched an investigation into alleged visionary Debra Geileskey and into her movement, which claims to have thousands of members in 62 countries, including Ireland, where there are at least 300 members. Geileskey visited Ireland in late March. Based in Australia at Our Lady’s Mount in Helidon, a small town about 60 miles from Melbourne, some of the movement’s members dress in habits and describe themselves as “slaves of the Eucharist.”

East Timorese refugees must be allowed to return, says bishop DILI, East Timor (CNS) — The 100,000 East Timorese refugees residing in Indonesia-controlled western Timor must be allowed to return to their country and not be forced to resettle in other parts of Indonesia, said Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, apostolic administrator of Dili. “No forced resettlement must be permitted.

I know that many want to come home, and they have not yet been given the freedom to do so,” Bishop Belo said.

The bishop called on the international community to pressure the Indonesian government to not resettle the East Timorese should the refugees not leave the camps in western Timor by the end of March. Indonesia has said that it would cut off all humanitarian aid to refugees March 31.

Supreme Court tackles prayer before football games

Childrens’ rights demonstration in India A boy demonstrates for the rights of children near the India parliament building in New Delhi April 3. Hundreds of freed child laborers and children left out of school took part in a campaign organized by the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude. They were calling for basic education for all children.

CNS photo from Reuters

Vatican installs metal detectors around St. Peter’s Square VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Significantly raising its security profile ahead of the arrival of Easter Week pilgrims, the Vatican installed airportstyle metal detectors and X-ray machines around St. Peter’s Square. The new security measures were expected to be operational as soon as technicians finished testing the equipment, said Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman. No specific threat had prompted the changes, the spokesman told Catholic News Service April 3. Italian police officials, responsible for security in St. Peter’s Square, had asked for the devices because of larger-than-usual crowds of pilgrims in the jubilee year, he said.

South African bishop urges continued aid for Mozambique CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — A South African bishop said it was crucial “that there is the political will to keep aid flowing” to Mozambique so that people there can rebuild their lives after severe flooding. “There is concern that, when the cameras go, the help will stop,” said Bishop Kevin

Episcopal April 7, 2000 Volume 9 • Number 31

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Jimmy Rostar Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Production Associate: Julie Radcliffe Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Jane Glodowski 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $18 per year for all other subscribers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

April 7, 2000

The World in

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Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: April 11 — 7:30 pm • Meeting with leadership of Catholic Relief Services • Penance Service Belmont Abbey College April 12 — 1:30-3pm • Catholic Social Services Elderly Housing meeting, Pastoral Center • Friends of Seminarians Program and dinner, Greensboro April 13 • Bishop Curlin’s 6th anniversary of installation as Bishop of Charlotte • Attending Bradley Institute “Preaching the Easter Lectionary” Belmont Abbey College • Mass for Catholic Seniors Diocesan Spring Fling Catholic Conference Center

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court, having barred organized school prayer from public school classrooms and graduation ceremonies, must now decide if it will allow student-led prayers over the public address system before football games.

In oral arguments before the court March 29, most of the justices seemed hesitant to allow this now-suspended policy of a pre-game invocation in a Texas school district to resume. The court’s ruling on the case, which is expected by early July, could have a significant impact in the ongoing debate over religion in public schools.

Successor to Archbishop Tutu urges moral responsibility WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) — “Seek ‘ubuntu.”’ This was the message Anglican Archbishop Winston Hugh Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town, South Africa, brought to Worcester State College. Loosely translated, “ubuntu” means to have compassion and fairness and to have good morals — themes the archbishop explored March 21 as guest speaker at the college’s annual Academic Honors Convocation. “With ubuntu as your

Diocesan

plan -

night at 7 p.m. at St. Peter Church, 507 South Tryon St. For more information, call the church office at (704) 332-5342.

20 HIGH POINT — A healing Mass is taking place in the chapel of Maryfield Nursing Home, 1315 Greensboro Rd. tonight at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call Rev. Mr. Ron or Bette Steinkamp at (336) 427-9717.

Ongoing BRYSON CITY — St. Joseph Church, 316 Main St., opens its thrift shop every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. For more information, call the church office at (828) 4882266.

GUILFORD COUNTY — The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Guilford County Division, recently received its national charter. With fifty members at

guide in life you won’t make big bucks,” said the archbishop, successor to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “But all of us will become richer. You will satisfy your most essential self. And we will share together in the fulfillment of humanity.”

Denials of genocide are ‘madness,’ says editor of new encyclopedia WA S H I N G T O N ( C N S ) — Whether a denial of genocide is rooted in malevolent bigotry, opportunistic gain or popular skepticism, it “is madness to begin with,” said the editor in chief of a new two-volume “Encyclopedia of Genocide.” “It appeals to everything ugly or violent, just as genocide, Holocaust, is madness,” said Israel W. Charny in a March lecture at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He is executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and professor of psychology and family therapy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The encyclopedia was published in December by ABC-CLIO. Sri Lanka bishop, at rally, appeals for end to 17-year war JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (CNS) — Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna called for an end to the 17-year war in Sri Lanka at a peace rally in Jaffna attended by 6,000 people. “The conflict has been going on for many years with suffering increasing year by year,” said Bishop Savundaranayagam, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The bishop urged all concerned leaders to stop hostilities and war, to seek a negotiated settlement to the conflict and to ask for a third party to help in the peace process. “While we earnestly desire for peace, let us ask what we ourselves can do to bring about peace,” he told the mid-March rally organized by the Peoples’ Committee for Peace and Goodwill in collaboration with at least 60 organizations.

present, they are looking for more Irish Catholic men to join them. Meetings are evenings on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Contact Michael Slane at (336) 665-9264.

Upcoming CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School, 7702 Pineville-Matthews Rd., is presenting “Jazz Dance 2000,” featuring the music of the school’s jazz band, swing dance instructions and food provided by Pasta and Provisions.

The event is open to all adults and high school students and is being held May 6 from 8-11 p.m. For advanced tickets, available until April 14, call Helen Katz at (704) 370-0019.

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

April 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 3

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Shelby seniors find fountain of youth

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer SHELBY — As the years go by, many people dream of the day when they can step off of the beaten path to explore the woods around them.

Retirement — a period of rest, a time to travel and a reward for working.

However, many wonder what they can do after leaving work permanently.

This is not the case for seniors from St. Mary Church in Shelby and Christ the King Church in Kings Mountain, involved in an organization that keeps them feeling “young at heart.”

“Even though I am retired, I still stay so busy. I wonder how did I get everything done when I was working,” joked Sylvia Kaiser. “Now, I can do the things I like doing.”

After meeting with the diocesan Task Force on Aging in 1997, out of which diocesan Elder Ministry was created, Louise McMurry brought the idea of beginning an organization for seniors in their parish to a steering committee made up of Sylvia Kaiser, the current chairperson, Ann Quire, Yvonne Nuhrah, Bill and Kathy Campbell, Velma Skibo, Evelyn and Bill Hill, and Pat and Dave Hobart, explained McMurry.

One of the objectives of the task force meeting was to identify and work to service the needs of seniors in each parish, said Sandra Breakfield, diocesan director of Elder Ministry.

“We in Elder Ministry work as a support to parishes in forming, promoting and nurturing elder groups as we help them assess the needs of elders in their parishes and look with them for ways to address those needs,” continued Breakfield.

The nameless group from the Shelby parish and mission started having meetings in 1998, and a year later, Dot McNamara, one of the current committee members from Christ the King Church, came up with the title “Young at Heart.”

“We are a senior citizen group, the event for children ages one to six, who should try to bring baskets or containers for eggs. Call the parish youth ministry office at (336) 274-3766 to leave your name and the number of children participating in the hunt.

16 ASHEVILLE — The youth pilgrims from the Basilica of St. Lawrence, 97 Haywood St., are going to World Day XV in Rome, Italy, in August 2000 and are offering donation tickets for an Italian, hand-crafted Santini Pieta. The deadline for tickets is today, and the winner will be announced tomorrow. For details about tickets and other information, call the parish faith formation office at (828) 252-8816.

18 WINSTON-SALEM — There is a natural family planning session tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave. For further details, call Tom and Mary Beth Young at (336) 922-0479.

19 CHARLOTTE — Jesuit Father Gene McCreesh is having “Spiritual Direction for Gays and Lesbians” to-

“We are a senior citizen group, yet we are young in our hearts,” said Dot McNamara. “I certainly don’t feel

Courtesy photo

St. Mary Church and Christ the King Church parishioners participate in the Soup and Substance program on March 22. The Young at Heart group sponsored the Wednesday night Lenten event. yet we are young in our hearts,” said McNamara. “I certainly don’t feel old.”

“Young at Heart” is for men and women age 60 and older; it serves as a time for the area’s older Catholics to socialize and evangelize. The 14-member committee helps to plan the events and serve as advisors. The group is still in its early stages but has plans for more activities and events.

“Everyone really enjoys it, and we do things in the middle of the day because it is so much easier to travel,” said McMurry. “We would rather eat a big meal in the middle of the day, and nighttime driving is difficult.”

During the first year, there were spiritual and social gatherings, but as the numbers grew, Kaiser noticed a pattern. “I have heard from people in

my age group and older that they want to relax and have a good time now that they are retired. People want friendship and socializing; they want to have fun now, but they also want to enhance their spirituality” she said.

She and the committee members have started sending invitations to the parish seniors to inform them of diocesan and parish-level events. “Invitations make people think of a party,” added Kaiser.

The numbers have grown over the past few months through the efforts of the committee. They have sponsored the parish “Soup and Substance” program and have participated in the Day of Reflection in Hickory and will be attending the Spring Fling in Hickory.

They took part in the Stations of the

April 9 CHARLOTTE — The choir for the diocesan Chrism Mass on April 18 at 11 a.m. is rehearsing this afternoon and April 16 from 4-5:30 p.m. at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East.

Today’s rehearsal is being held in the church office on Buchanan St. due to today’s charismatic Mass also being held at 4 p.m. All choir members and singers from all areas of the diocese are invited to be involved in the Chrism Mass choir. For more information, call Dr. Larry Stratemeyer, music director, at (704) 334-2283, Ext. 22.

10 CHARLOTTE VICARIATE — Lenten reconciliation services are being held as follows: April 10 - St. Mark Church in Huntersville at 7 p.m., April 11 - St. Matthew Church in Charlotte at 7:30 p.m., April 12 - St. Peter Church in Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. and St. Vincent Church in Charlotte at 7:30 p.m., April 13 - St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte at 7:30 p.m., April 15 - St. Joseph Church in Charlotte at 1 p.m.,

April 16 - St. Ann Church in Charlotte at 4 p.m., April 17 - Our Lady of Assumption Church in Charlotte at 7 p.m., and April 18 - St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte at 7:30 p.m.

11 WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE — Lenten reconciliation services are being held as follows: April 11 - Christ the King Church in High Point at 7 p.m., April 14 - Holy Family Church in Clemmons at 7:30 p.m., April 17 - St. Benedict the Moor Church in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m., and April 19 - St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m.

13 CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School, 7702 PinevilleMatthews Rd., is presenting Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” being held in the school’s gymnasium tonight at 7:30 p.m. There will be dinner theater April 14 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 15 at 6 p.m. For tickets and other information, call Jennifer Johnson in the school’s alumni office at (704) 5439118.

14 CHARLOTTE — The Living Sta-

Cross on Ash Wednesday with lunch afterward and had a soup and sandwich luncheon with door prizes and bingo and a coffee and dessert social.

“I am really pleased that people are interested, and there is a great appeal in our parish to have the gettogethers,” said Quire, one of the committee members. “We did a survey to ask about people’s hobbies and interests, and we are working to organize groups according to similar interests.”

Some of the groups already in place are golf and bridge, and upcoming groups will include crafts and travel.

Committee member Evelyn Hill said, “This gives us an opportunity to keep in touch with people in our own age group in the community and in church. We can also enhance our spirituality, even at our age.”

McMurry is pleased with the growth of the senior group and the presence of couples. “This is one of the few organizations in which couples work so well together. There is a lot of husband and wife teamwork,” she said.

As for what keeps these seniors feeling young at heart, Kaiser and McMurry said their grandchildren keep them feeling youthful, while McNamara said the ordinary things make her happy. Pat Hobart sweetly admitted that her husband and her good marriage have a lot to do with her staying young at heart. t Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail amprice@charlottediocese.org.

tions, a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross with narrative, reflection and inspirational music, is being presented at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., at 8 p.m. tonight. The presentation is free and is offered as a prayerful way to begin Holy Week. For more information, call the church office at (704) 543-7677.

CLEMMONS — Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., is having a spring and summer children’s clothing sale today from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and April 15 from 9-11 a.m.

There are select half-price items on April 15 and many bargains on both days. Call the church office at (336) 778-0600 for more information.

15 GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace Church, 2205 West Market St., is having its first annual Easter egg hunt this morning at 11 a.m. in Lindley Park on the Market St. side.

The parish Moms’ Group, Family Life and Youth Ministry are sponsoring

4 The Catholic News & Herald

Sister Genevieve Noonan dies at age EMMITSBURG, Md. — Sister Genevieve Noonan, a Daughter of Charity who spent 12 years ministering to the poor in Greensboro, died on Feb. 14, 2000, at Villa St. Michael, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul province’s retirement residence in Emmitsburg for the elderly and infirm sisters. She was 81 years old, and she was a Daughter of Charity for 62 years.

A native of Richmond, Va., Sister Genevieve was born on Jan. 16, 1917.

She entered the Daughters of Charity in 1937. She received a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg in 1950, and a master’s degree in religion from LaSalle College in Philadelphia.

Sister Genevieve spent 60 years as a Daughter of Charity serving the poor and homeless in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. She was stationed at St. Mary Church in Greensboro during her 12 years in North Carolina, and she was quoted in a 1987 Portsmouth, Va., newspaper article to say that she considered the Greensboro residents she knew as her family.

While most of her career was in social ministry, she also served in pastoral ministry and as a teacher in numerous elementary schools in the province. From 1987-97, she served at Immaculate Conception Center in Baltimore in parish ministry and as director of outreach. In her desire to

Sister Genevieve Noonan serve and be of service to the poor and homeless, Sister Genevieve lived the charism of the Daughters of Charity.

A wake service was held at Villa St. Michael Feb. 17, and a Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Feb. 18 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg.

A daughter of the late John Joseph and Genevieve Bozzelli Noonan, Sister Genevieve was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister. Her nearest living relative is a niece, Patricia Kirkpatrick of Fairfax, Va. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters Support Fund for the Elderly and Infirm, 333 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, Md. 21727. t

Dr. Paul Wadell to present at ROCK HILL, S.C. — Dr. Paul Wadell is the speaker for the “Visions in Faith” program this June at the Rock Hill Oratory. The annual conference on faith and doctrine is scheduled for June 11-14 at the Pope John Center at the Oratory. “Friendship in the Christian Life” is the topic for Wadell’s examination of the moral life for contemporary Christians. “It will examine both what it means to think of the Christian life as a life of friendship with God, and why so much of our own moral and spiritual development

April 7, 2000

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takes place in the deepest and most lasting of our lives,” Wadell said of the program. “Attention will also be given to what this model of friendship means for the church today, and the virtues such friendships both require and encourage.”

Paul Wadell currently teaches theology at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis. He taught Christian Ethics at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago from 1983-97, and his articles in the moral field are widely published.

He is the author of four books, and he earned his doctorate from the Univer-

Beatty Award, from page 1

whose strong religious faith profour decades of civil service — inmotes effective church and public cluding 20 years as a county manservice in Mecklenburg County. ager — is a member of St. Peter The late Colonel Beatty served Catholic Church, where he serves as a U.S. Army Officer in three wars. as lector and eucharistic minister.

He was involved in textile, trucking He is a member of the Diocese of and warehouse industries. A Knight Charlotte’s Vision 2000 committee of Malta, Beatty delivered hot meals and the Catholic-Lutheran Diato shut-ins until his death at age 89. logue, and he works with Habitat for Fox was introduced by last Humanity. year’s recipient, Jan Valder Offerman, and joins a line-up of former recipients: Diane English, Mercy Sister Mary Thomas Burke, Peter Keber, John Engler, Ray Ferris, Chuck Grace and Jim Babb.

This year’s CSS gala was renamed Wings of Hope.

Along with a new name, a change in format and venue fell into place. The former dinner and presentation were revamped, adding a silent auction and live entertainPhoto by Joann S. Keane ment.

Fox thanked the Beatty Jerry Fox shows the Colonel Francis family for establishing the J. Beatty Award to CSS advisory board award, and Catholic Social member Gail Grim.

Services for their selection.

Moreover, he thanked those in attenFox and his wife, Dee, are pardance, “because in the final analysis, ents to three sons and one daughter. its [CSS] success depends on you.” t Under Fox’s administration, Mecklenburg County received naContact Editor Joann S. Keane at tional attention as an All-American (704) 370-3336, or e-mail jskeane@ City in 1990. Mecklenburg is one of charlottediocese.org.

12 counties nationwide to maintain a AAA bond rating from two rating agencies: Standard & Poors, and Moody’s.

The Colonel Francis J. Beatty Award — established in 1991 — is presented annually to an individual sity of Notre Dame in Indiana.

“Visions in Faith” is a yearly gathering for continuing education in doctrinal and moral faith. The course especially enriches the ministries of teachers, preachers and those involved in faith formation, parish, campus and social ministries. The seven sessions are offered in late afternoons, from 4-5:30 p.m., and evenings, from 7-9 p.m.

For information on registration, tuition, and room and board options, contact The Oratory, Center for Spirituality, Box 11586, Rock Hill, S.C., or call Sarah Morgan weekday mornings at (803) 327-2097. t

April 7, 2000

In the

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Pilot praises priest’s airborne medical ministry in

ST. LOUIS (CNS) — Wayne Collins has seen the world — twice when flying his single-engine plane around the world, and several other times when taking trips across the ocean.

One of the most impressive places Collins has visited is the jungle of Tanzania, where physician-priest Father Pat Patten runs the Flying Medical Service.

“The work they’re doing there is fantastic,” Collins told the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper. “You should see how much good they are doing.”

Collins, a 75-year-old Texan, delivered an airplane to Father Patten in January. Collins is a volunteer pilot with Wings of Hope, a St. Louis-based nonsectarian organization that refurbishes planes for bush-type flying.

Archbishop Justin F. Rigali of St. Louis had blessed and dedicated Father Patten’s Cessna 206 after the plane was rebuilt and modified at the Wings’ hangar at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.

The next step was for Collins and Bill Bancroft of Madison, Wis., 67, to fly the plane halfway around the world on an 11,000-mile trek.

The pilots took a northern route to avoid areas over Africa where permission to enter the air space is routinely denied because of civil wars or security concerns. The two men flew to Maine, then on to Newfoundland.

From there they went southeast to the Azores for an overnight stay on the island of Mallorca. The next day they continued east to the Greek island of Crete, then turned south to Luxor, Egypt, then to Djiboubti, and across Ethiopia to Nairobi, Kenya.

Father Patten met the pilots when they arrived in Nairobi. Collins returned with the priest to his medical service headquarters outside of Arusha, Tanzania.

“I wanted to spend time in Tanzania to see the areas he’s serving, to see where the Matzi tribe is,” Collins said.

Father Patten and his two volunteer pilots fly doctors to health clinics and hospitals, covering some 35,000

CNS photo from St. Louis Review

Bill Bancroft of Madison, Wis., and Wayne Collins of Mineola, Texas, pose in front of a single-engine plane before taking off from St. Louis in January. They made a 11,000-mile trip to Tanzania to deliver the plane to a priest working with Flying Medical Service. square miles in northeast Tanzania.

The clinics are next to airstrips built by the priest’s organization.

Collins said he was impressed with the work at the clinics, especially the prenatal care for pregnant women and inoculation programs. Measles kills about half of those who contract it.

“If they inoculate 500 children, they save 250 lives,” Collins said.

“That’s how dramatic this kind of work can be.”

Collins described a day flying with the medical crew. They went to two clinics and treated about 60 patients.

Four people were transported to the hospital and a woman and her two babies released from the hospital were flown back to their village.

Father Patten and his pilots “fly an unusual amount — way above most planes doing this kind of work,” Collins explained. “They’re short hops,

often 20 or 30 minutes, but it would take days by foot.”

Some trips are for medical emergencies, such as the time Father Patten’s quick response saved the life of a girl. Her head had been crushed when she was attacked by a hyena. She is expected to make a full recovery, Collins noted.

The priest’s work is linked closely with the Arusha Diocese. The medical service compound is on 12 acres and includes a school, where tailoring, masonry, carpentry and mechanics are taught. Collins, who is not Catholic, attended Mass celebrated by Father Patten.

Collins has retired “two or three times” from retail and banking businesses in Mineral, Texas. Even now in retirement, he is as busy as ever as a volunteer with Wings of Hope and is proud to serve the organization.

“If I wasn’t impressed with the way they maintain their planes I wouldn’t fly them,” he said.

Wings of Hope has about 175 volunteers, many of them McDonnell-Douglas retirees who have been around aviation nearly all their lives.

Collins’ next trip is expected to be across the Pacific. “They said stand by,” he said. t

6 The Catholic News & Herald

Word to Life April 9, Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle B Readings: 1) Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 51:3-4, 12-15 2) Hebrews 5:7-9 3) Gospel: John 12:20-33

By Dan Luby Catholic News Service Crystal goblets sparkle expectantly on the counter. The host stands unsteadily on a stool and reaches into the depths of a high cabinet.

The wine had been a gift from a knowledgeable and generous friend, its label bearing dignified testimony to its excellence. After suitable expressions of gratitude, it had been put away for a special occasion.

Many had come and gone, but none had seemed fully worthy of such fine wine. Now the moment is here, and the host smiles to think how pleased the guests will be.

The bottle is carefully lifted from its dark haven and brought forth. The host wipes off accumulated dust, then draws the cork.

Open at last, the wine is allowed to “breathe” for a bit, then ceremoniously poured into waiting glasses.

“If anyone would serve me, let him follow me; where I am, there will my servant be” — John 12:26

April 7, 2000

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The diners lift them to the light, swirling the red wine, and a noble toast is offered. They drink.

Their faces tell the tale. Involuntarily cheeks twist, and eyes shut, and lips purse at the sour taste in their mouths. The glorious wine, so carefully saved for just the right moment, has gone bad. The guests swallow it courteously and try to return their faces to neutral. No one wants more.

Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel that a grain of wheat — or a gift for service or a life of faith — finds its purpose only in the death-defying act of being buried, immersed in the tomb-like confines of ordinary earth, ordinary life. Only in being spent does the gift bear fruit.

The supernova of Easter light is visible only after the Good Friday darkness of disappointment, rejection and loss endured for the sake of love. May our impulse to hoard our gifts, to prize security over discipleship, not blind us to Christ’s invitation to follow him through the sorrow of the cross to the glory of resurrected life. t Questions: What gifts have you been saving for just the right moment? Where might they fruitfully be opened and shared with others?

Devotional Bible for Catholic women to be

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CNS) — A new devotional Bible especially for Catholic women will be published in September by Zondervan Publishing House in Grand Rapids.

The more than 1,700-page “Catholic Women’s Devotional Bible,” which will sell for $24.99, features 260 daily meditations drawn from classic and contemporary sources.

It also includes 52 meditative weekend devotions that summarize a week of devotions and encouraged an activity designed to help the reader apply a biblical principle to her life.

Its editors hope the Bible will aid in answering women’s questions about a number of everyday life issues including their relationship with their spouses, raising their families, career pressures, and finding personal fulfillment.

Ann Spangler, general editor of the Bible, said women today want to understand the roots of their faith and

their own spirituality.

“In Catholic circles over the last 20 years there has been a huge increase and interest in spirituality, as evident in the expansion and variety of books and other resources now available,” “Catholic Women’s Devotional Bible” Edited by Ann Spangler $24.99, Zondervan Publishing House (Due in September) she said. “But no such Bible has been readily available to Catholic women to encourage and strengthen readers in their pursuit of holy and godly living.”

“Catholic Women’s Devotional Bible” is written in the New Revised Standard Version translation, is tied to the Catholic Lectionary, and will include a Catholic imprimatur. t

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of April 9 - 15, 2000 Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent), Ezekiel 37:12-14, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45; Monday, Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, John 8:1-11; Tuesday (St. Stanislaus), Numbers 21:4-9, John 8:21-30; Wednesday, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, John 8:31-42; Thursday (Pope Martin I), Genesis 17:3-9, John 8:51-59; Friday (Abstinence), Jeremiah 20:10-13, John 10:31-42; Saturday, Ezekiel 37:21-28, John 11:45-57 Readings for the week of April 16 - 22, 2000 Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday), John 12:12-16, Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47; Monday of Holy Week, Isaiah 42:1-7, John 12:1-11; Tuesday of Holy Week, Isaiah 49:1-6, John 13:21-33, 36-38; Wednesday of Holy Week, Isaiah 50:4-9, Matthew 26:14-25; Holy Thursday, Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-15; Good Friday, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9, John 18:1-19:42; Holy Saturday, Exodus 14:15-15:1, Romans 6:3-11, Mark 16:1-8

The Catholic News & Herald 7

April 7, 2000

April 7, 2000

Aging with Special supplement to The Catholic News & Herald on Retirement, Healthy Living and Seniors’ Contributions to Our Church and Community

CNS photo by Mimi Forsyth

The Catholic & Herald 28 Special to TheNews Catholic News & Herald

April 7, 2000

Ways to be useful in goodness and guidance. The evening can become a sacramental time when one can whisper “thank you” messages for the blessings of the preceding 12 hours and can ask for forgiveness for mistakes and/or missed opportunities.

• Become a “prayer warrior,” championing the cause of the sick, the anxious, the grieving, the troubled by bringing them and their issues before God in prayer.

• Let your retired life be a blessing upon others. Be creative and intentional about letting your life become a source of blessings upon other lives.

Consider ways in which you have had a real impact on people’s lives in the past and how you can draw upon those experiences to do so in retirement.

• Clean up the environment. Caring for the environment is one way in which one person can have a significant effect to help reverse decades of pollution, neglect and abuse. One retired couple walk four miles every morning beginning at 5:30. As they walk, one of them carries a large trash bag while the other picks up trash and litter they find on their route. Caring for your property and lending a hand when neighborhood beautification projects come up are other ways to make a positive impact on the area living space.

• Provide practical help to your children and grandchildren. Take an

Retirees often have the time and talent to pursue community activities like neighborhood beautification projects.

CNS photo by Karen Callaway

interest in and discuss ways in which you can provide material and emotional support to the next generations.

Many retirees spend time caring for grandchildren on a full-time or occasional basis, providing needed care where no other exists or a needed and appreciated break to the parents. Yet, the most important element is the sharing of life that seniors have the opportunity to with young people, to the enhancement of both generations.

• Utilize your life experience by volunteering your time. There are many civic and religious organizations which seek to serve others, but must do

The Little Flower Assisted Living Residence 8700 Lawyers Rd., Charlotte, NC 28227

Named in honor of Saint Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower is a Catholic-oriented assisted living residence in the Diocese of Charlotte. Senior Adults of all faiths are welcome.

Residents benefit from regular health checks, health education and stimulating activities geared to wide-ranging interests.

The Little Flower provides a comfortable, secure, residential lifestyle that enables residents to thrive and provides unparalleled peace of mind to the family and friends of each resident.

Mass or Communion Service is a part of daily living. New friends are easily made. Church and youth groups, school and community groups have graciously become part of The Little Flower family.

The Little Flower chapel

For more information, call Sharon Mayfield, Administrator (704) 545-7005 Bishop Curlin visits with resident, Mary Sharpe.

Senior Olympics Gold Medal Winner, Elton Stewart and Activity Director, Kelly Gibson.

Loving Eldercare in the Catholic Tradition

so with limited funds. There is an overwhelming need for help and always a desperate shortage of volunteers for the many organizations devoted to helping others. Usually no experience is necessary and many organizations offer training when necessary.

Here are just a few ways retired people are making a positive impact by volunteering their time: reading for the blind; coaching athletic teams; feeding the hungry at soup kitchens; mentoring young people; tutoring struggling students; being a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister”; teaching quilting, cooking, sewing or other skills; staffing an animal shelter; shelving books at the public library; and, being a docent at a museum or zoo.

Other volunteer options an be explored through your church, senior center, hospital, family service agencies, Catholic Charities, or nursing

homes. Keep in mind that you have much to offer and that volunteering provides you with an opportunity to make new friends, stay connected and make a positive impact on other lives.

Finally, when considering ways to have a successful, creative and meaningful retirement, be guided by this wisdom from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.” t

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What’s your impact?

Make a positive one in your community!

• Read for the blind

• Coach athletic teams

• Volunteer at a soup kitchen

• Mentor young people

• Tutor struggling students • Teach the skills you have • Volunteer at an animal shelter • Shelve books at the library • Join community programs like “Big Brother” or “Big Sister”

By Victor Parachin Catholic News Service hen a young mother died giving birth to her third daughter, there was no one in the family able or willing to take care of the three girls.

While other family members hesitated, one woman — the 83-year-old greatgrandmother — came forward to open her home to them. She lived another 16 years, dying at age 99, but living long enough to parent each of those girls into their teen years.

That remarkable “senior” citizen is an inspiring example of the reality that there is more to retirement than golf games, rocking chairs, television viewing and boredom. Today, more and more people are living longer, healthier lives than ever before in our history.

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With many experiencing good health and financial stability, retirees today are ready for interesting, challenging and meaningful pursuits.

Here are some ways to live a retirement that is both useful and busy with a purpose: • Become a person of regular, disciplined prayer. While Christians are called and urged to be persons of prayer and while prayer is an indispensable part of Christian living, many people experience difficulty finding time for prayer. Retirement, bringing an end to rigid schedules determined by outside forces, provides more time for prayer.

Offer yourself and your day to God’s holy use. Mornings, for example, speak of praise, wonder and gratitude, while the mid-day is an ideal time to pause, pray, reflect on God’s love,

Plan ahead to ensure milestones are

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service oo often the lament is uttered, “Oh, we only get together at weddings and funerals.”

It doesn’t have to be that way, as there are plenty of milestones that are occasions for getting together and sharing memories and good times. If you want others to share in your joy, you can plan ahead to ensure that your joy will spread to others. Sometimes, others will do it for you.

When my mother celebrated her 65th birthday, my brother and I took charge. When an aunt and uncle of mine celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, they were the guests of honor at a surprise party.

What are some things that should go on the to-do list to make sure your celebration goes off without a hitch?

Decide what kind of celebration you’re going to plan: formal or informal; sit-down dinner, buffet, pot-luck or dessert-only; several hundred in attendance or immediate family. As part of these decisions, determine the budget with which you will work. Budgetary considerations as well as the amount of help you will have to make arrangements will be major factors in determining the way you will be able of celebrate.

Identify who should be on the invitation list, those who truly will be able to celebrate the guest or guests of honor. Make sure invitations — formal or informal — are sent out with plenty of notice in order that guests may plan to attend and make appropriate travel arrangements, if needed.

Reserve the space where the celebration will take place, whether that’s a hall, a hotel ballroom or the home of a family member or friend. Make sure that there is enough space for the number of people you want to attend.

Remember the larger and more complex the event, the more important it is to plan in advance with enough time to secure necessary reservations.

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In choosing when to hold the celebration, you have to balance the desire to schedule it on the milestone date itself and to schedule it on a day and time most convenient for the most people and/or the most important people to be present. You might want to consider holding the observance on a Sunday afternoon so attendees can go the church first or even to connect the family event to the larger Catholic community celebration of the Mass.

Gifts can range from the modest to

CNS photo from Cleo

the extravagant. For my mother’s 65th birthday, my brother and I purchased her a new color television. A cousin suggested a “money tree,” to which guest can attach bills of any denomination.

It helped my widowed mother pay for a new roof on her house.

My uncle and aunt had their surprise anniversary recorded with a video camera and were given a gift of the tape. When they protested that they didn’t have anything to play it on, they were presented with the next surprise: a television-videocassette recorder combination, for which all of the nieces and nephews contributed.

One last tip to make sure the milestone celebration will be remembered in as much detail as possible: Have available a number of videocameras and cameras and plenty of film. t

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April 7, 2000

Caution needed to play the sweepstakes game without losing your shirt

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service The oversized envelope promises riches beyond your dreams.

“Guaranteed prize winner.”

“Reply immediately to improve your chances.”

“Official winner notification.”

What the envelope’s contents won’t say quite so clearly, however, is that you probably stand a better chance of being struck by lightning than of being the “guaranteed winner.”

There are indeed some huge prizes being awarded through legitimate sweepstakes promotions. But, there are far more phony or, at best, misleading contests, sweepstakes and “give-aways” enticing people into buying unwanted products and sending money to scam artists.

Congress, the U.S. Postal Service, attorneys general from at least a dozen states, consumer organizations and lobbyists for direct mail businesses are among those trying to crack down on unscrupulous or outright deceptive sweepstakes programs.

In August 1999, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would require sweepstakes sponsors to include “clear and conspicuous” messages in mailings telling participants that no purchase is necessary to enter or win a sweepstakes. Violators could face a fine of up to $2 million.

In hearings about the legislation, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the four largest legitimate sweepstakes companies send more than a billion mail solicitations a year. Dozens of smaller companies send out an estimated 100 million more offers and

take in $40 million in sales, according to Collins.

That means each year, thousands of people buy something or send in a fee they think they need to pay in order to claim a prize they believe they have won.

Ongoing lawsuits against some sweepstakes companies have highlighted stories of people who were so convinced they have won a valuable prize that they travel across the country to claim their winnings, only to learn they misread the material.

In testimony to the House Government Reform Committee, Chief Postal Inspector Kenneth J. Hunter described recent investigations into direct mail and sweepstakes companies.

the wrong envelope, for instance.

Besides the actions Congress is taking to help protect consumers, the U.S. Postal Service is teaming up with the American Association of Retired Persons, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Attorneys General to try to make consumers more aware of how to avoid being taken in by unscrupulous sweepstakes and contest pitches, according to Hunter.

In the fall of 1999, the Postal Service was sending every home in the country a card with fraud prevention tips, including an 800 number to call and an address to write for additional information. The agencies also planned to create a fraud Web site with links to the participating organizations, and a video that would be available at 16,000 public libraries and on the Web site.

I n fo r m at i o n ab o u t sweepstakes offers from the Postal Service and the Direct Marketing Association, which represents direct mailers, include: • Under federal law, no purchase or entry fee is ever necessary to enter a sweepstakes. The odds of winning are supposed to be the same, whether or not you purchase anything from the company.

Separate “yes” and “no” envelopes or stickers are supposed to be used by the companies to sort which entries contain an order to fill, not determine whether entries are included in the contest.

• Lotteries by mail are illegal.

• A legitimate sweepstakes mailing should include the following information: entry procedures; date the contest ends and date by which entries must be received; the number, retail value and complete description of all prizes

Each year, thousands of people buy something or send in a fee they think they need to pay in order to claim a prize they believe they have won.

Typically, according to Hunter, the mailings came in official-looking envelopes, bearing seals resembling government emblems. Some told recipients they had only to send in a “transferal fee,” “acquisition fee,” “release fee,” “redemption fee,” or “mandatory processing fee” in order to claim their prize.

After money was sent to the “claim centers,” some companies disappeared, only to reappear under other names in other states, Hunter said. Other companies create intricate rules disqualifying entrants who submit their claim in

CNS photo by Bob Roller

Information contained in mailin sweepstakes packages can be confusing and misleading. offered; approximate odds of winning a prize; method by which winners will be selected; eligibility requirements; dates when winners will be selected and notified; information about tax responsibilities of winners; and, a mailing address for participants to request a list of winners.

If you suspect someone you know may have fallen prey to unscrupulous sweepstakes companies, short of initiating legal action to take over a loved one’s finances, the Direct Marketing Association suggests: • Volunteer to help the person sort through sweepstakes offers. Point out that no purchase is necessary in legitimate offers.

• Offer to help the person with his or her finances to determine whether excessive amounts of money is being spent to “qualify” for contests or sweepstakes.

• Contact a consumer protection organization or group such as the AARP, which may provide volunteers

The Catholic News & HeraldNews & Herald 61 2Special to The Catholic

April 7, 2000

Myths about cost of health care for seniors shrouds issue’s moral Policy Committee, in a July 1999 letter to members of Congress.

The cardinal’s letter said improvements in Medicare are needed to foster the common good and respect for the human dignity of the more vulnerable members of society.

He asked legislators to “protect seniors and disabled recipients who have limited financial resources by subsidizing their premium contributions and copays for both current and new benefits” and to ensure that future Medicare benefits “reflect the advances in medical care, including the increased and cost-efficient use of pharmaceutical therapy, often as an alternative to expensive hospitalizations.”

Patricia King, policy adviser to the bishops on health and welfare issues, elaborated on the cardinal’s letter. She cited studies on the stability of health care costs for the elderly over the past 20 years.

One study, published in 1993 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found no evidence that seniors in the last year of life accounted for a larger share of Medicare expenditures than in the years prior to the rapid advances in technology.

A report published in 1998 by the Alliance for Aging Research, an independent citizen advocacy organization promoting health research on the elderly, criticizes what it calls “myths” about the high cost of Medicare programs.

Dr. Gene Cohen, chairman of the panel conducting the report, said the

“myths” are being propagated as a “politics of blame” against the elderly.

“It appears that age alone is not a reliable predictor of medical-care outcomes or expenditures, nor is health care at advanced ages usually characterized by recourse to futile expensive technologies,” said Cohen, director of George Washington University’s Center on Aging, Health and Humanities in Washington and former director of the National Institute on Aging.

Even putting limits on health care for the elderly near the end of life would not significantly save Medicare money, said the alliance report. “If care had been cut off to the 3.5 percent of Medicare patients who were high-cost users in 1993 and who died in that year, national health care costs would have fallen only slightly, from $900 billion to $895 billion. The savings would have amounted to one-half of 1 percent of total U.S. health care expenditures for that year,” it added.

The alliance report also criticized the belief that “as the population ages, health care costs for the elderly will necessarily overwhelm and bankrupt the nation.”

The alliance report notes, however, that between 1986 and 2040, the United States is projected to have an increase of one-quarter of 1 percent in the relationship of inactive to active citizens. The report says that this is a manageable rise for a highly industrialized country experiencing economic growth and the rise is less than many other industrialized countries.

On the positive side, there are signs that medical advances and improved health practices are causing serious illnesses to drop in the elderly, which could bring long-term economic relief.

“Data from the National LongTerm Care Survey show that the prevalence of seven chronic conditions — dementia, stroke, arthritis, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, circulatory disease and emphysema — declined almost 15 percent among people age 65 and older between 1982 and 1994,” the report said.

King noted that medical advances make possible the use of drug therapy and outpatient services for cures that before required the more costly hospitalization.

King said that any balancing act

between the health needs of the elderly and the financial concerns of the younger generations must keep in mind the common good and respect for human dignity.

The struggle now is how to balance these needs and concerns, said King.

“People need affectionate caring at the end of life,” she said. The common good is also served because “all of us will be vulnerable one day and have to look to the community to provide for us,” she said. t

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Parish ministry to seniors urged to move beyond bingo, buses and

By Maureen E. Daly Catholic News Service t the beginning of the 20th century, one in every 25 Americans was 65 years or older. Today, one in eight — a total of 34.1 million Americans — has reached that milestone. A person who reaches 65 can expect on average to live another 17 years; many live well beyond that.

How are parishes responding to this change? Is senior adult ministry just “Bingo, buses and brownies?”

While older adults do need the opportunity to socialize together, experts agree they need much more than that from the parish, and the parish should ask much more of them.

The U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Laity suggests that parish ministry to older persons be guided by these five principles: • Older people are providers, not just recipients, of pastoral care. The parish must look beyond serving seniors to embracing them.

• Older people themselves should help identify their pastoral needs and decide how they are met.

• As seniors may differ in age from each other by more than 20 years, older people are as diverse, if not more so, than other generational groups.

• Older people need a mix of activities that connect them with each other as well as the larger faith com-

By Agostino Bono Catholic News Service “Nothing is sure but death and taxes,” goes a traditional American adage.

But a variation of this may be on the horizon as the United States moves into the third millennium: “Do we want to spend tax money to postpone death?”

The question arises as the ongoing revolutionary advances in medicine and medical technology prolong life but at spiraling costs, producing fears that Medicare bills will soar, burdening younger taxpayers. The issue also has its political dimensions as lawmakers debate using significant chunks of projected budget surpluses to revitalize and reform economically crunched Medicare programs.

Advocates for the elderly say that the economic and political considerations often are twisted around popular misconceptions about the Medicare costs for a graying America and their true weight in the financing of overall health care.

Often shrouded by the economics and politics of Medicare are the moral and social dimensions of health care for the elderly.

The U.S. Catholic bishops are among the supporters of fortifying Medicare.

“In this time of projected budget surpluses, I urge you to dedicate a portion of those surpluses to strengthening the financial stability of the Medicare program,” said Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, chairman of the U.S. bishops Domestic

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munity, and need those activities to be physically accessible to all.

• Spiritual health is affected by and affects the individual’s physical, emotional, mental and social health.

Parishes cannot be expected to answer these needs but they should be prepared to direct older people to assistance and to advocate for older people with the wider community.

“Senior adult ministry is going to be as big or bigger than youth ministry and we have to be prepared for that,” said Richard Johnson, a gerontologist specializing in the spiritual life of older adults.

Johnson founded the Association for Senior Adult Ministry, based in Wildwood, Mo., “to raise the spiritual fare that is offered to senior adults at the parish level by providing good tools for parish ministers to work with.”

The association trains parish workers “to understand senior adults’ real needs on a spiritual level, to develop relationships with senior adults and to see retirement living as a spiritual journey,” he said.

The organization publishes Well, Wise and Whole Monthly, which provides parish ministers with curriculum for formal classes, content for a monthly day of prayer and reflection, and literature for the church vestibule and for home visits.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has created several programs to respond to the changing population. The Elderly Outreach Program trains parish workers to provide service to older and “home-centered” persons.

The diocese’s Senior Connection Collaborative was born out of an identified need for coordinated care for persons age 60 and over. The program

CNS photo by Karen Callaway

The U.S. bishops committee on the laity suggests that senior adults can be providers, not just recipients, or pastoral care. helps older adults and their families connect with the many services for the elderly: energy assistance, meal delivery, budget counseling, legal services, transportation, home health care and other practical matters.

With the average retirement age today being 57.5 years, Johnson asked, “What are they doing with their time?”

“The culture says to them ‘Go play.’ But the church,” he said, “should have a more challenging answer than that.”

“Any church that is serious about development and evangelization needs to be serious about ministry to older adults,” he said — “development because seniors hold the checkbook, and evangelization because the church has to have expectations for the armies of retiring adults who are now available to spread the Gospel.” t

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April 7, 2000

Retirement planning requires preparation for future

By Julie Asher Catholic News Service inancial planning for your retirement means the dif ference between enjoying one’s golden years and having to scrape by.

When it comes to planning, prospective retirees must prepare for an extended life span, the effects of inflation, future taxes and health costs and changes in life circumstances.

But many Americans really don’t want to think about their retirement, said Louise Piazza, a senior program specialist on economic security with the American Association of Retired Persons in Washington.

“We say that people spend more time planning for a two-week vacation than they spend planning for their retirement,” she said. “People tend to think they are about 10-15 years younger than they are.

Baby boomers, in particular, do not want to think of themselves as retiring. To confront those issues of retirement is to say I’m getting older.”

The idea of “getting a handle on your money” can be so overwhelming that many people “just don’t do anything,” she said, but “it’s never too late to start planning.”

First, to figure out how much you need to put away through savings, investments and pension funds or to determine if the money you’ve already socked away is going to be adequate, you need to think about the lifestyle you want for retirement and calculate what that will cost.

For example, deciding whether you want to be near a golf course in North Carolina or you would be con-

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tent to have a condo in the town where you live now will “drive how much money you’ll need,” Piazza said.

Remember, your future will cost more. Inflation will make what you save today buy less tomorrow as prices for goods and services continue to increase.

Inflation through most of the century has averaged 3 to 4 percent a year, but it has been as high as 12 percent, said Piazza. In 1990, a pound of regular coffee cost $2.97, the average car was $15,900, and a basic home was $122,900. In 2010, the same pound of coffee will cost $6.50, the car will be $34,840 and the typical home will go for $269,300.

Piazza also stressed that longevity also must figure into your planning.

People are already living far longer than their predecessors, so you may need to stretch your money out over 25, 30, 35 years.

A tool called “Ballpark Estimate” will help you calculate what you are going to need to live the way you want in retirement. It’s available from the American Savings Education Council (www.asec.org).

It’s a step-by-step work sheet that asks you what annual income you will want in retirement, what income you expect to receive from Social Security, employer pension, part-time income and other income sources, and what your savings totals to date. The council also offers a “retirement readiness” quiz.

Piazza said there are four main sources of money in retirement: Social Security, pensions (either a 401K or a defined benefit plan), personal savings and investments, and work.

“Within five to 10 years of retiring you should have a pretty good idea of what your monthly income is going to be from Social Security and pension (funds),” she added.

Currently Social Security pays

market, people also need to have savings, she added. While much of the news these days about this nation’s low rate of savings may make the situation seem more dire than it is, Americans clearly are spending more than they should, she added.

Another factor to consider in planning is that your needs during retirement will change. “Plan not only for that period after you retire when you’re going to be in pretty good shape,” Piazza said, but also for the possibility “you’re going to be in a nursing home or assisted living.”

Vashishta Bhaskar, a professor of finance at the Catholic-run Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, offered these tips for getting started on a financial plan: • Make a good estimate of your net worth and do this annually as you move toward retirement.

• Get more conservative in your investments.

• Concentrate on estate planning and tax planning.

• Look at your overall insurance situation, including life, health, disability and long-term care, which “becomes more vital as you get older.”

• Start to slowly move about 10 percent of your funds each year from your stock market portfolio to more

When it comes to planning, prospective retirees must prepare for an extended life span, the effects of inflation, future taxes and health costs and changes in life the average retiree 40 percent of his or her pre-retirement earnings, but over time that may fall to 20 percent, Piazza noted. To find out about your Social Security benefits will be, call the federal agency at (800) 772-1213 for a free statement.

Your employer should be able to provide you with figures on what you can expect to get from your pension.

If you have a 401K, Piazza noted, “you decide what to invest in, stocks, bonds, whatever, so you really have responsibility for how that is allocated.”

Beyond investments in the stock

April 7, 2000

Entertain-

TheCatholic CatholicNews News&&Herald Herald157 The

What’s in a name? To Catholic musician Kenny D, not

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — So what’s in a name? Easy listening music has its Kenny G. Now, contemporary Christian music has its Kenny D. The D stands for Discorfano — a mouthful, to be sure. “My friends used to call me Kenny Disco,” he said, and he uses that moniker for his personal e-mail address.

In the early 1970s, when he cut a handful of singles for Mercury Re-

CNS photo

Catholic musician Kenny Discorfano, who goes by the name Kenny D, is breaking in the contemporary Christian music scene at age 54.

His debut album is titled “Do You Believe?”

cords under the guidance of two of the Four Seasons, he was Kenny Russell.

But for Kenny D, it’s not so much the name as it is the message in his music.

He made that abundantly clear in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service from his home in Tucson, Ariz.

“Look at the lyrics,” he said, talking about his debut album, “Do You Believe?” The CD includes the lyrics to each of the dozen shimmering pop songs on it.

Discorfano’s especially fond of the title track that leads off the self-produced album, which he says asks the question, “What kind of a Christian are you actually?”

He says the next song — “You Can Look It Up!” — promotes Bible study.

“It’s the first song I’ve ever heard that addresses reading the Bible,” he added.

“Momma, I Love You!” is sung from the point of view of the child inside a mother’s womb. Discorfano said it was “getting played a lot down South” after this year’s March for Life in Washington.

He added he’s getting resistance from some Christian radio programmers about “No Man Shall Ever Undo What God Has Joined Together,” which deals with the indissolubility of marriage. “Some of the Protestant groups say, ‘It’s too Catholic for us,”’ Discorfano said.

Discorfano is one of the relatively few Catholics trying to hit the big time in the contemporary Christian music

CNS photo from DreamWorks Pictures

“The Road to El Dorado” Tulio, voice by Kevin Kline, offers a gift to El Dorado native Chel, voice

by Rosie Perez, in the animated feature film “The Road to El Dorado.” Disappointing animated adventure about two Spanish con men (voices of Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline) who find El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, but run into trouble when the natives mistake them for gods. As directed by Eric Bergeron and Don Paul, the film has a strong cast of voices and vibrant coloring, but the story sometimes limps and the flat, formulaic music is forgettable. Mild animated violence that may scare younger children and fleeting crass language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. industry — an even tougher nut to crack at age 54.

Having just retired as a police captain in his native Lodi, N.J., Discorfano said age isn’t that much of a barrier.

“Yes, to start a rock group. But not, not when you have Tony Bennett in his 70s singing pop,” he said.

He also related a story about how crooner Frank Sinatra once said he wanted to retire after 15 years as a singer, “then he came back at 50 and

said, ‘I’m not so old after all.”’

Discorfano said he’s aiming for the 30-and-up age group with his music, which is being sold by a Nashville label via the Internet.

As for concerts, he said he’d rather wait until “Do You Believe?” had sold a lot of copies, allowing him to be a headliner.

“Local performing doesn’t do that much for the record,” Discorfano said.

“Once you get on the charts you can get on a tour. I want to wait until I can lead the chorus.”

One place he said he’d like to play is Israel. He’s visited three times and met Christian musicians while he was there. t Kenny D’s CD release is available at www.amazingcds.com.

TheCatholic Catholic News & Herald 81 6The News & Herald

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope says God wants sinners to convert and be faithful witnesses

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God does not want to destroy sinners, but to convert them, Pope John Paul II said.

Addressing members of Holy Year pilgrimages from dozens of parishes, dioceses and organizations April 1-2, the pope said, “Only those who really convert can be faithful and credible witnesses to the world.

“This is the true significance of the Holy Year,” he told 6,000 people participating in the national pilgrimage of the Czech Republic.

The pope said the Czech Catholic Church, having survived the years of communist persecution, “intends to offer its spiritual treasures to all the people.”

The church wants nothing more than to help people realize their dignity as children of God and to offer them guidance and spiritual support as they discern their God-given vocations, he said April 1.

“Unfortunately, a progressive secularization and a widespread moral relativism” are starting to affect not only Czech society in general, but Czech Catholics as well, he said.

Religious education programs must be strengthened, but the first line of defense is strong families that educate their children in perennial moral values, the pope said.

Addressing thousands of visitors in St. Peter’s Square April 2, the pope said the midpoint of Lent is a time for Catholics to reflect on the power of God’s love, rather than on their own sinfulness and need for conversion. Catholics, he said, should experience a sense of happiness and joy, which “comes from awareness of the mystery of love which is before us.”

“God does not want the death of the sinner, but that he converts and lives,” the pope said.

“In order to live,” Pope John Paul said, “man must turn to him, must abandon the ways which degrade his dignity and return to the house of the father.”

The pope prayed the rosary the evening of April 1 with thousands of Rome university students in St. Peter’s Square and, via satellite link, with students at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and at Marian shrines in the Philippines, Brazil, Portugal and Poland.

He told the U.S. students: “Continue to bear witness in your college life and in your daily activities to your faith in Christ.

“Defend and promote respect for the dignity of every human being,” he said. “The church and society need such apostles at this time of extraordinary developments in the fields of information technology and bio-medicine.”

The pope told the Portuguese students that they and their peers face many challenges, but also many opportunities at this point in their lives.

“Be courageous and faithful to the Gospel,” he said.

April 7, 2000

Editorials & ColHoly Week in Chiapas, Mexico Twenty-four years ago, on a hot day in mid-April, I walked down dusty streets behind a man carrying a heavy wooden cross. The town was Socoltenango in southern Mexico, and the man was a farmer from one of the parishes in which Sister Annette and I were serving as members of the pastoral team.

The farmer was wearing a crown of thorns, and along the way, he was beaten by “soldiers” carrying whips made of rope. Along the sides of the roads, many people with compassion written on their faces followed, and several men took turns helping carry the heavy cross.

The procession stopped at a doorway decorated with flowers and branches of palms and banana leaves, and the pastor announced the station and led the prayers. The choir intoned the sorrowful melody of a Lenten hymn, and the procession continued on to the next decorated doorway.

This was my first Lent in Chiapas, Mexico. It has been a memory that I have held dear ever since, because for me, it was the grace of going back to the Holy Land and accompanying Jesus as He suffered and died for us on the first Good Friday almost 2,000 years ago. What had become real to me on those dusty streets was what I had tried to imagine during the Stations of the Cross in my home parish and other parishes where I had been stationed earlier.

Twenty-four years later, I still love the ceremonies of Holy Week. They don’t move me in the same way as that first Lent in Chiapas, but I believe that I have grown in the realization that the Jesus who suffered and died almost 2,000 years ago continues to suffer and die in our brothers and sisters alive in the world today.

He is humiliated in the persons who are humiliated by others because of their race or their beliefs or their status in society. He suffers in the poor and the hungry. And He dies in the persons who die because of the violence rampant in our society today.

I wonder, will this Lent touch people, especially

The Season of Lent Father Jude Duffy, OFM Cap. Guest Columnist vestments, is lifted up by his people. He towers high above the adoring crowd, carrying in his hands a glass chalice. Suddenly the pyramid collapses, and the priest comes tumbling down. His vestments are ripped off, and his glass chalice falls to the ground and shatters. As he walks slowly away from the debris of his former glory, we hear singing: “laude, laude, laude — praise, praise, praise.” The priest notices the broken chalice. He looks at it for a long time and says: “I never realized that broken glass could shine so brightly.”

It speaks of brokenness — the brokenness of our lives, the life of Jesus, the life of all those who suffer. It reminds us that we are the hands and feet and bodies of the Lord here on earth. It reminds us that as we, too, are broken and hopefully healed, we are called upon to do that for our brothers and sisters as well. Let us make ourselves a gift for others.

Capuchin Father Jude Duffy is pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte.

The Season of Lent Sister Andrea Inkrott, OSF Guest Columnist us Catholics who have the opportunity of participating in the Lenten ceremonies so rich in tangible symbols? Will we realize that it really is the Jesus whom we know and love who suffered then and who suffers now in our brothers and sisters? As I help with the preparations for this year’s Holy Week in the different parishes where I coordinate Hispanic Ministry, I like to pray that the services will be beneficial to all of us and lead us to a deeper awareness of the reality of Jesus’ great and unconditional love for us.

Franciscan Sister Andrea Inkrott is coordinator for Hispanic Ministry in the Hickory Vicariate of the Diocese of Charlotte. She ministered in Chiapas for about seven years and has served in this diocese since 1990.

Carrying the cross for others “Is that your final answer?” is a statement that is as popular today in our country as the Golden Arches. It is a statement that could have been asked

by Pontius Pilate to Jesus, but Scripture tells us that Jesus did not even open His mouth to reply. Instead, we are told He was scourged and spit upon, and a crown of thorns was placed on His head.

The longing to be a millionaire is probably in the heart of most people today. No one wants to be poor, and with the booming economy it is easy to forget that there are homeless and forgotten people. We fail so often to notice that people go to bed hungry every night, can’t pay their rent, have inadequate medical attention and are forgotten. But Jesus did not forget.

When He placed the cross on His shoulders, He felt the pain of all future generations and loved them with immense compassion.

We feel so powerless, so helpless. We want to do something but are often unable. We are called upon to carry our own cross — the cross of loneliness, the cross of rejection, the cross of our own powerlessness. As Jesus carried the cross for all of us who suffer, during Lent we are reminded that we, too, can join Him in carrying the cross for others. We can suffer in solidarity with them without murmuring or complaining, but in offering it all in union with Him who told us: “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.”

Across the street from our rectory and church, there is a small shopping center. It houses a Laundromat, as well as a small store where people can purchase some of the small food items they need. It also has a men’s club and a topless bar. On many of the nights of the week, we hear gunshots coming from that area. They tell us it is because of the drugs and prostitution in the area. I think then of the poor people who live in this area and are trapped in their homes at night, fearful to venture out.

Some years ago Leonard Bernstein wrote a musical work called “The Mass.” Toward the end of the work, the priest, richly dressed in splendid liturgical

April 7, 2000

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle FATHER THOMAS J. McSWEENEY Guest Columnist Richard Carlson told another story about someone making a decision to change things for the better — starting with herself. Sarah, a young woman Richard met at the Department of Motor Vehicles, was the most helpful clerk he’d ever seen. People in her line moved quickly and were smiling and leaving satisfied. He asked her what her secret was.

Sarah explained, “I spent several years putting customers off with the excuse, ‘That’s not my department.’ The truth was, at least half the time, I knew the answer to their questions and could have helped. Practically everyone in line was either mad at me or disgusted by my bureaucratic attitude.

“I became fed up with my sourpuss behavior and decided to change. I help people when I can instead of putting them off. Everything has changed — I feel better about myself, and my job is a lot more fun!”

For most of us, “lighting a candle” begins within ourselves. As Gandhi put it, “You have to be the change you want to see in the world.” The good news is, when you do, your work life — in fact, your entire life — becomes more purposeful, less stressful and more fun.

And you have that much less to sweat about.

Father Thomas J. McSweeney is director of The Christophers.

however, the Catholic Church is vigorous and urgent in its declarations that people everywhere must be free to exercise their religion as they understand themselves obliged and called by God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for example, has this significant sentence, among others, in connection with salvation inside and outside the church: “Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it” (No. 846, quoting the Vatican II “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”).

If you read that carefully, it states that individuals who do not believe membership in the Catholic Church is a religious obligation for them personally can be saved even if they were members of the Catholic Church but now do not wish “to remain in it.”

Perhaps they were never sufficiently educated or committed in their Catholic faith in the first place.

Or perhaps something happened to make them lose it. Whatever the reason, the church explicitly recognizes that in this matter the essential requirement is candor, sincerity and truthfulness by the individual before God. And that, of course, is something we cannot judge.

Pope John Paul II repeated this teaching even more plainly as recently as last year. The theme of his message for the World Day of Peace (Jan. 1, 1999) was respect for human rights. In the section on religious freedom, which he called the “heart of human rights,” he writes that “no one can be compelled to accept a particular religion, whatever the circumstances or motives.”

The inviolability of religious freedom “is such that individuals must be recognized as having the right even to change their religion if their conscience so demands.

People are obliged to follow their conscience in all circumstances and cannot be forced to act against it.”

Our Holy Father then refers to the Vatican II “Declaration on Religious Freedom,” (n. 3) which expands broadly on the same point.

People who have left their practice of the Catholic faith are always welcome to return. It happens a lot.

Lighting a candle at work Best-selling author Richard Carlson and I are kindred spirits. His “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff ” series of books captures the heart of the Christopher credo — “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” Put simply it means that no amount of worry or complaining ever baked a cake, built a bridge or did anything positive.

At a recent taping of the “Christopher Closeup” television program, Richard and his wife Kris shared with me some of the ways “lighting a candle” can brighten all our relationships. And when our conversation turned to the workplace, where most of us spend an enormous amount of time and energy, their insights were particularly illuminating.

We talked about the simple ways in which stress and conflict can be minimized at work while bringing out the best in ourselves and others. The question wasn’t whether or not stress exists in the workplace, but how we deal with it.

Richard asked me to imagine how much energy is expended in being frustrated and angry over relatively minor things. It’s exhausting just thinking about it! “Now imagine,” he suggested, “what might happen if you use that same energy by taking a positive approach.”

Then he recounted a couple of examples from “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff at Work.” “Suppose gossip or talking behind others’ backs is a problem where you work. Rather than remaining resentful or frustrated that this bad habit exists, see if you can make a tiny dent in the problem.

“Gather together a few of your friends and gently bring the issue to the table. But rather than accusing anyone, focus on your own contribution. Confess that you have been as guilty as anyone else in indulging in occasional gossip, and state that you are going to make a genuine effort not to do so.

“Make your invitation lighthearted and unthreatening. There is solid evidence that people will jump at the opportunity to join you — simply because you have taken the first step.”

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

Those who leave Catholicism for another faith Q. What is the Roman Catholic Church’s policy on the salvation of those who were baptized and raised Catholic, but have left the church to practice another religion? I recall reading once that this is the only sin the Catholic Church does not forgive, or finds it difficult to forgive. Can they ever return to the Catholic Church?

A. Any sincere and knowledgeable Catholic believes that in the Catholic Church there are certain channels of truth and grace and intimacy with Jesus Christ that normally are not present in the traditions, liturgy and life of other churches.

If he did not believe this, one would assume he would belong to another church or to none at all.

The same, we presume, would be true of Baptists or Presbyterians or any others who deliberately and prayerfully join another particular denomination.

Our doctrines in this matter are stated often and clearly. We believe that “the one true religion subsists in the catholic and apostolic church,” and that truth imposes its demands on the human conscience “by the power of its own truth” and not by coercion. (See Vatican II, “Declaration on Religious Freedom,” Art. 1, which is quoted here; and the decrees on ecumenism, Art. 2, and the constitution on the church, “Lumen Gentium,” Art. 15.)

In the face of widespread and frequently vicious repression of religious freedom in the world today,

TheCatholic CatholicNews News&&Herald Herald179 The

Family Reflections ANDREW & TERRI LYKE Guest Columnists The Passion of Jesus Andréa, our firstborn, came home after a teen session with Father Terry Tuesday evening deeply touched by what she had experienced.

The teen group had re-enacted the passion of Jesus in such a way that they really “got it” this time. She said it was like hearing it for the first time. Somehow life’s experiences had given her and her fellow adolescents a context in which the bogus trial, the scourge, the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus made new sense. The story reached her in a new place and touched her in a new way.

This profound revelation is just one of many she’ll experience as the Paschal Mystery opens for her through the stages of life. As parents we too were touched by her newfound understanding of a story that has been told to her all her life.

We reflected on how we have come to know Jesus in small doses through our lives by way of the stories from which we come and in which we live. Some things we just can’t “get” because we’re not ready for them. Life gives us experiences that help us make meaning of God’s story.

For example: though we may grasp the meaning of John 3:16, (“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”), this verse took on new meaning for us when we became parents. Having a child ourselves gave us a new context in which we better grasped the meaning of God’s love for us.

Andréa was moved to tears as she shared with us how she connected with the horror that Jesus experienced through the insults and mockery at the hands of the Romans. But, she really identified with the feeling of betrayal when Jesus’ friends disowned him and hid as he suffered a most horrible death.

Friendship is very important to her. The adolescence stage is when we differentiate ourselves from our family. Our peers begin to take on more important roles in our lives. At this stage we experience friendships in new and exciting ways. The betrayal of friends brings a new level of pain. Jesus’ friends turned their backs on him. What a horror, particularly in the context of adolescence.

Thank God the story doesn’t end here.

What does Jesus do after rising from the dead?

He goes back to the same friends who had “dissed” him to comfort them, encourage them and give them peace. This reveals, perhaps also in new ways, how radical the gospel of Jesus is, and how God’s ways aren’t our ways. Most people would find new friends.

As parents we are encouraged by our children’s growth in their faith. The context of family life offers us opportunities to find evernew meaning in the Paschal Mystery through all the stages of life. Though it may never be fully revealed in this life, the Paschal Mystery’s unfolding in stages make our faith journey a real adventure.

Andrew and Terri Lyke are coordinators of marriage ministry in African-American community for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

1 8 The The Catholic News & Herald 10 Catholic News & Herald

April 7, 2000

In the

Kenyan archbishop warns against repeating Ugandan cult

signs of what is developing in our soBy Joseph Ngala ciety,” he said.

Catholic News Service Ndingi said Christians should NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) — Archknow God does not advocate death and bishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana’a Nzeki nobody knows when the world will of Nairobi urged the government to come to an end. be on the alert for cultists who could He said all sorts of religious orplunge the country into a tragedy like ganizations were springing up and the recent cult killings in Uganda. some of them could be Archbishop Ndingi dangerous. Some, he said in early April that pointed out, even influKenyans should learn Ndingi said ence followers not to from what happened in Christians should work as the world will Uganda, where some come to an end soon 900 cult members were know God does not and that there is no systematically killed. advocate death and need for earthly things.

“It happened to our He cautioned close neighbor Uganda, nobody knows when Christians against runit can happen here. It has the world will come ning from their mainhappened elsewhere,” the to an end. stream churches and archbishop said. rushing to suspicious The prelate said religious organizations. there were so many sus“Whereas there is picious people with misfreedom of worship, the government leading interpretations of the Bible must watch out for fundamentalists who could lead others to a situation who could mislead the people into similar to the Ugandan one. committing mass suicides and murArchbishop Ndingi said that in ders. l998 a woman in Mwala, Kenya, was “Nobody has the right to take the led to believe that the world was to life of the other or influence its taking, end that May. She sold all her belongand the government has the cardinal ings and even withdrew children from responsibility of ensuring that people school to stay home as they waited live their full lives,” he said. for the imminent coming of the Lord, Meanwhile, the apostolic nuncio which never occurred. to Uganda, Archbishop Christophe “It is easy for those working with Pierre, confirmed Pope John Paul II’s the devil’s power to hypnotize even the concern over the tragedy. educated, let alone the illiterates like The pope “is very, very concerned the Mwala woman. These are strong

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CNS photo from Reuters

Prisoners dig for bodies behind the house of a leader of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments in Rugazi, Uganda, March 27. Police investigating the death of hundreds involved with the cult have discovered more graves.

Hundreds died in a blaze at the cult’s compound in Kanungu March 17. about the unfortunate event. I have informed him,” said the nuncio in Kampala, Uganda.

Archbishop Pierre dismissed claims by cult leader Joseph Kibwetere that he had met the pope during the pontiff ’s visit to Uganda in 1993.

“Certainly he (Kibwetere) did not

meet the Holy Father. People don’t meet the pope just like that,” he said.

The cult leader “should produce evidence to prove that he met the pope.

We don’t have any proof that he met the pope,” Archbishop Pierre said.

A Uganda minister of parliament said by telephone that Kenyans, Tanzanians and Rwandans were among those burned to death or found dead in and around various properties of the movement.

Stanley Kinyata, in whose constituency the cult’s Kanungu headquarters is located, said that the movement had recently opened branches in the three nations.

He said that the cult’s leaders, including two suspended Catholic priests, could have hired experts in the mass murders or trained their own killers.

“They must have hired the killers.

For a priest to kill these numbers of people he must be wild and crazy,” Kinyata said. He suspected that the murders were deliberate and planned long beforehand by the leaders, because some of the pits containing dead bodies have been discovered inside and under houses of the cult leaders.

Police have arrested one of the suspected leaders of the cult, Joseph Settumba Ssemande, in the southwestern Uganda town of Rakai. t

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In the

The Catholic News & Herald 19 11

New chaplain expects to be ‘spiritual guide’ to House CHICAGO (CNS) — When Fabe to serve as a “spiritual guide” for ther Daniel Coughlin’s spiritual advisHouse members. er heard that he had been interviewed “The unique challenge in the posito become the first Catholic chaplain tion is that they’re very public persons, of the U.S. House of Representatives, they’re leadership types,” he said. “he just laughed and laughed,” Father “Sometimes people can tend to think Coughlin reported. they’ve got it all together or they’re “I told him, ‘It’s all your fault. You removed from the ordinary class of helped create in me an openness to people. Ministry has taught me there’s God where I can say, “Do with me what a common ground in us all.” you will.”’ Nobody, least of all me, exFather Coughlin said he wasn’t pected this,” the new sure how many memHouse chaplain said bers of the House in an interview with were Catholics.

The priest said he The Catholic New “In truth, I aphas received a warm World, Chicago archproach this quite igwelcome from House diocesan newspaper. norant of their reThe inter view ligious or political members and others at took place March 28, affiliations,” he said. the U.S. Capitol. “So five days after the “I want to meet them 65-year-old priest many of them are saying, simply as people.” was sworn in to his ‘I’m glad you’re here and I’m The priest said he new post by House has received a warm so glad we’re putting this welcome from House S p e a ke r D e n n i s Hastert. Vicar for controversy behind us,”’ he members and others priests in the Chicago at the U.S. Capitol.

Archdiocese for the said. “Even the staff people. “So many of them The guards. past five years, Faare saying, ‘I’m glad ther Coughlin served you’re here and I’m ... It’s been wonderful.” before that as direcso glad we’re puttor of the Cardinal ting this controversy Stritch Retreat House in Mundelein, behind us,”’ he said. “Even the staff Ill. people. The guards. ... It’s been wonAlthough Father Coughlin said he derful.” found it “kind of daunting” to be the The controversy to which Father first Catholic House chaplain in hisCoughlin referred involved the nomitory, he said his primary role would nation of the Rev. Charles Wright, a Presbyterian minister, by House lead-

Father Daniel Coughlin, newly appointed chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives, speaks to Catholic New World about his duties.

Speaker Dennis Hastert named the Chicago priest to the position March 23, ending a four-month political quagmire over who would get the job.

CNS photo by David V. Kamba, Catholic New World

ers despite a bipartisan selection committee’s recommendation of Father Timothy O’Brien, a Marquette University professor of political science.

Critics had accused the House leadership of anti-Catholic bias when Father O’Brien was not selected for the chaplain’s post.

Before Father Coughlin’s appointment, no Catholic had served as chaplain of the House in its 211-year history.

Father Coughlin said his primary focus as chaplain will be to serve the

members of the House.

“You look for inroads, the moments when you can be with people, the glimpses into their lives, the prayer with them and for them,” he said.

In his first days on the job, the Chicago priest also had discovered a prayer room in the Capitol. “It’s not a chapel — no services take place there — it’s just a little room for silent meditation and prayer,” he said.

“While I was waiting for someone today, I spent some time there,” Father Coughlin added. “In the prayer room is a stained-glass window of George Washington and all the names of the states on banners. It was wonderful for me to pray and immediately look for Illinois, and then expand my prayer to all the states.” t

2 0 The The Catholic News & Herald 12 Catholic News & Herald

April 7, 2000

Living the

Family honors devoted Catholic through

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer CHARLOTTE — Robert H. Moeller Sr. spent his life in women’s hosiery.

Inheriting his business savvy from his father’s work in the same field, Moeller Sr. and his partner Elwood Sachsenmaiere started Larkwood Hosiery Mill in 1929 at a time when mills peppered the landscape in and around Charlotte. In those days, hosiery mills were a popular resource up and down the East Coast, and Moeller Sr. had moved to Charlotte to start what grew into a successful endeavor. His beginnings, however, were not as easy to overcome, as his son Robert Moeller Jr. remembered.

After immigrating to Philadelphia, Pa., from Germany, the elder Moeller’s father Hans Hinrich Moeller and several partners began a business in ladies’ full fashion hosiery, but after his untimely death, the business folded.

A prepubescent Moeller Sr. dropped out of school to support his mother and sisters by selling vegetables from a pushcart, and then, began attending night school to finish his education.

His start in the hosiery business as a knitter came from an opportunity given to him by his father’s former partners.

“Those times were rough, but my father was able to build up a reputation as a knowledgeable worker,” said Moeller Jr. Moeller Sr., his wife and family moved to Charlotte to begin a hosiery mill at the advice of one of his father’s partners. Larkwood became one of three hosiery mills in the area and was the source of many jobs. Moeller Jr. recalled how the family would go with his father to the mill after Mass at St. Peter Church in Charlotte: “I would run around and play in the large bins of bagged hosiery while my father prepared the machines for the work week.”

“People would come to him for business and personal advice, and the mill workers were like an extended family,” said Moeller Jr. “He was known to be helpful to his employees

and others in financial trouble and was a personal aide and comfort to his workers as well.”

John Everett Roberts, a friend of Moeller Sr., is well acquainted with the daily operations of the mill; he worked for Larkwood for nine years and later became a mill sales representative until World War II. “My sister, who was working in the office at the time, told me how well the boys in the mill were being paid. So, I became a machine operator and was earning $50 a week, which for the early 1930s, was a good wage. Those were great years, and it was good move to work out there (at Larkwood).”

Moeller Sr. sold the mill in 1945 and remained for a year before retiring.

However, to Moeller Sr., retirement — the first of three — meant finding other endeavors as the years passed.

He was on the board of Holy Angels Inc. and Mercy Hospital and was active with the Knights of Columbus as a Fourth degree Knight.

“He was a generous benefactor and a wonderful, loving and generous man who was a wonderful friend to the Sisters of Mercy,” said Mercy Sister Mary Michel Boulus, former president of Sacred Heart College in Belmont.

“He helped to build up the nursery at Holy Angels.”

Moeller Sr. was ready to lend a helping hand whenever necessary. His daughter Madeline Tyser recalled a incident when a neighbor asked her father to help to tend her yard after she observed a man she did not recognize in dirty clothes and cap in the Moellers’ yard.

When she asked him “how much” for the service, much to her surprise, he replied, “no charge for a neighbor.”

In his later years, Moeller Sr. lived in Wesley Nursing Center, a Methodist-run facility, and even though he was treated well and was invited to the religious services at the nursing home, he missed attending Mass on a regular basis. “He thought there should be a home for Catholics and felt there was a great need for it,” said his daughter Patricia Gaylord. “He was worried about other people even when he was sick.”

Bob Moeller Sr. lost his third

Lent 2000 “The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.”

—Psalms 145: 17

Photo by Joann S. Keane

bout with cancer in 1994 at the age of 95. Gaylord remembered one of their last conversations: “Tutti (he had nicknamed her after her love of Tutti fruitti ice cream), I can’t fight it anymore,” he told her.

His children decided to establish the Robert H. Moeller Memorial Endowment Fund in honor of their father with the intention that the money be used in the form of grants to aid Catholic elderly and their families with assisted living program expenses. “He wanted it to be Catholic-oriented but not limited to Catholic people,” explained Moeller Jr. “My brother William Moeller, my sisters, brothers-in-law John Gaylord and Bud Tyser and I gave the money to initiate the fund. We sent letters out at the end of 1999 and received a favorable response from people he had known,” continued Moeller Jr. “We four kids weren’t able to support it alone, so we asked a number of people to make donations.”

“I contributed to the fund because of my appreciation of Bob Sr.,” said Roberts. “I saw him often in later years.

At first, he was the mill owner, and I was a worker, but as time went by, we got to be such good friends.”

An endowment is a permanent fund placed in the diocesan foundation, which earns interest over time.

The original amount is not spent but the income can be used in the manner stipulated in the endowment agreement, said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. The foundation is a non-profit organization established to provide endowments for the Diocese of Charlotte and its parishes, schools,

agencies and organizations, he continued.

The four Moeller children are serving as advisors to a committee from Catholic Social Services, who will decide who will receive the grants.

“This is a wonderful resource for needy elderly,” said Cindy Rice, diocesan director of planned giving. “This is a way to support a critical need for the church.”

“The Moeller family has set up this endowment to honor the legacy of their father, and by doing so, they are able to ensure that the values that Robert Moeller Sr. lived by are handed down to the next generation,” said Kelley. “More and more people around the diocese are setting up endowments in memory of loved ones.”

Moeller Jr. said, “It was in his nature to help people. My father came from a poor background and never forgot it, even though he became financially successful. He felt an obligation to be generous and helpful to people without calling too much attention to himself.”

“It is our hope that this endowment can grow and meet the needs of Catholic seniors for help with assisted living,” he added. t If you would like to know more about the Robert H. Moeller Memorial Endowment or setting up an endowment, contact Jim Kelley at (704) 370-3301 or Cindy Rice at (704) 370-3320.

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