April 27, 2001

The Catholic News & Herald 1

April 27, 2001

April 27, 2001 Volume 10 t Number 32

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 High Point parishioner honored by governor ... Page 4

Photos by Jimmy Rostar

Students participate in Operation Rice Bowl

A Day of Blessings The multicultural parish of Our Lady of the Highways Church in Thomasville celebrated the blessing of their newly renovated church April 21. Bishop William G. Curlin presided at the Mass, after which a group of Hispanic dancers, members pictured left, danced in honor of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe. See story, page 9.

... Page 5

Local News Gastonia teacher recognized by NCEA ... Page 7

Catholic poet shares gift in verse ... Page 14

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 12-13

He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full

Lobbyists appeal for moratorium

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor RALEIGH — Rod Autrey is an ardent supporter of the death penalty. Yet in a message to a group of North Carolinians who advocate a moratorium on the use of capital punishment in this state, the Charlotte city councilman spoke passionately of his wish for a suspension of executions.

“If the death penalty means something, then I think you also have to believe that it’s being administered fairly,” Autrey told a group of more than 200 who came to the N.C. General Assembly April 17 to lobby for a moratorium on capital punishment.

“You have to believe that there is equity in our system of justice.

“If you’re talking about the absolute and ultimate penalty of life, then by all means we have to ensure that justice is truly blind.”

Autrey said through careful study of data and information on the way the death penalty is executed, he realized the time had come for North Carolina to address questions about fairness while placing state executions on hold.

A moratorium does not end the use of capital punishment permanently; rather, it places a legal suspension for a certain amount of time while the system is carefully scrutinized to ensure equity.

Many death penalty opponents hope a moratorium will lead to the end of capital punishment altogether.

An alliance of grass-roots organiza-

tions with names such as People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now sponsored the lobby day. Lobbyists traveled from the mountains to the coast to speak with their legislators about supporting a period of study on how the death penalty is implemented in North Carolina.

Autrey’s stance marks a growing movement of support for a moratorium on the death penalty nationwide and in North Carolina. Research projects and media reports are pointing to increased evidence of racial and economic bias, poor representation and curtailed appeals in capital punishment cases. Growing concerns over putting mentally retarded offenders and wrongly convicted inmates to death have fueled the debate as well.

“No other system, no other program of government would be allowed to function that way,” said James Ferguson, a Charlotte attorney and president of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers. “We would have no other program operating in government which was inaccurate and known to be inaccurate, which was unreliable and known to be unreliable, which has no way of even determining whether the program has any effectiveness or not.”

Several North Carolina senators

and representatives have filed bills in the state Senate and House for consideration during the 2001-02 session of the N.C. Legislature. In addition to the moratorium bill, other bills focus on exempting the mentally retarded from the death penalty; eliminating the penalty of death on the basis of race; giving prosecutors the discretion to ask for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty; and imposing a life sentence rather than the death penalty in felony murder cases.

To date, 13 municipal governments in North Carolina have passed moratorium resolutions.

“Our representatives need to be hearing from their constituents, and constituents need to be expressing their views,” said Scott Barber of Asheville, a member of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. “Our legislators need to hear from enough people so that they can feel safe doing what their conscience tells them to do.”

Though the spring day resembled a wintry leftover, the cold temperatures, wind and chilly rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of those who came to express their views.

“This was just a mountain-top experience,” said Ted Frazer, a parish-

See LOBBYISTS, page 8

2 The Catholic News & Herald weapons and outmoded defense strategies.”

Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement based in Erie, Pa., joined with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Children’s Defense Fund and other religious and private organizations to issue the statement.

Two Iowa nuns indicted for School of the Americas action DUBUQUE, Iowa (CNS) — Two Dubuque Franciscan nuns are among 26 people from across the country who have been indicted for acts of civil disobedience last November at the U.S. Army’s school for training Latin American military officers in Fort Benning, Ga. Siblings, Franciscan Sisters Dorothy and Gwen Hennessey were shocked shortly before Easter to find they have been targeted for prosecution in the case. More than 10,000 people took part in the massive demonstration. The Hennesseys were among 3,000 who defied federal regulations and trespassed onto the U.S. Army base. The sisters could receive up to a six-month prison sentence and a $5,000 fine. They have been ordered to report to Columbus, Ga., May 22 for trial in U.S. District Court. The training school, founded in 1946 and formerly known as the School of the Americas, has trained about 57,000 Latin American military officers. Critics say its graduates have included many of the men implicated in some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America.

Cardinal, ‘West Wing’ honored for opposition to death penalty LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Cardinal Roger M. Mahony was honored as abolitionist of the year by a Los Angeles group for his continual statewide and national efforts to end the death penalty. The cardinal, who heads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, received the award from Death Penalty Focus at its 10th annual awards dinner April 4. In presenting the award, actor Martin Sheen praised the cardinal, saying, “There is no stronger, more compassionate, more consistent voice against the death penalty than this year’s recipient.”

Academy Award-winner Karl Malden also presented an award to television producer and writer Aaron Sorkin and the cast of NBC’s “The West Wing” for their engaging presentations of political and social issues, and highlighted one episode focusing on the

CNS photo by Barbara Stinson Lee, Intermountain Catholic

Arun Gandhi signs autograph Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, signs an autograph after an April 6 panel discussion on nonviolence with Bishop George H. Niederauer at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Pax Christi, others urge use of some of Pentagon budget for poor NEW YORK (CNS) — Pax Christi USA joined with several other groups April 16 to use the deadline day for tax filing as a vehicle for their campaign to redirect much of the Pentagon spending to social needs.

In New York, David Robinson, program director of Pax Christi, issued a statement declaring that “the Pentagon takes more money from the annual discretionary budget than nearly all other government programs combined.” He called for “investing in national security based on a well-nurtured, healthy and well-educated population rather than on extravagant new

Episcopal April 27, 2001 Volume 10 • Number 32

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

April 27, 2001

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c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: April 28 — 5:30 p.m.

Confirmation St. Mark, Huntersville

April 29 — 11:30 a.m.

Diocesan Youth Conference Mass Camp Thunderbird, S.C. May 2-9 Knights and Dames of Malta Pilgrimage — Lourdes, France May 10 — 6:30 p.m.

CSS Wings of Hope Gala and Beatty Award Presentation, Charlotte May 11 — 7:30 p.m.

Confirmation St. Therese, Mooresville

death penalty.

Pope praises Faith and Light Movement’s care of handicapped VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By placing people with mental handicaps at the heart of their communities, the Faith and Light Movement witnesses to the world that every human life is a gift from God, Pope John Paul II said. “While there is an ever-growing tendency to eliminate before birth a human being who may be handicapped, the activity of Faith and Light stands out as a prophetic sign in favor of life and in favor of the priority due to the weakest members of society,” the pope said.

Pope John Paul sent a letter, dated April 2, to members of the movement marking the

Diocesan

plan -

8 - 5 a.m.-midnight. Daily Mass will be offered at 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., and Mass and Benediction will be offered May 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call (704) 523-4641.

6 CHARLOTTE — The 50th SemiAnnual International Family Rosary Day will be held at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., today at 3 p.m. Father Chris Gober of St. Michael Church in Gastonia will be the speaker. Call Kathleen Potter at (704) 366-5127 for details.

6 GUILFORD COUNTY — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Guilford County Division 1, an IrishCatholic social and charitable interparish group, will be having a meeting today from 3-5 p.m. at the Showfety Activity Center at St. Benedict Church, 109 West Smith St. in Greensboro. For further information, call Alice Schmidt at (336) 288-0983.

30th anniversary of Faith and Light with a Holy Week pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. The movement, founded by Marie-Helene Mathieu and Jean Vanier, brings together the developmentally disabled, their family and friends for prayer, sharing and celebrations.

Military archbishop outlines basic duties of chaplains WASHINGTON (CNS) — Saying he is “seriously concerned” for the welfare of priests who serve as military chaplains, the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services sent a letter and outline April 5 to U.S. chaplains stationed all over the world, specifically stating their expected duties. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien began his letter by saying that Catholic chaplains often are overburdened because of the current priest shortage.

“Increasingly, one priest is now expected to do the amount of work done by two or even three priests not so many years ago,” Archbishop O’Brien wrote.

In addition, he noted that today’s chaplains face challenges from the military demands of their jobs, including obligations regarding staff meetings, unit coverage, ceremonial duties and professional military education.

U.S. has forgotten El Salvador’s lessons, says ex-ambassador CLEVELAND (CNS) — U.S. policymakers seem to have forgotten the lessons of El Salvador’s civil war as they handle the so-called drug war in Colombia, said former U.S. Ambassador Robert White. White, who was ambassador to El Salvador when the four U.S. churchwomen were murdered there more than 20 years ago, has long been critical of U.S. Latin America foreign policy.

White is concerned that the United States continues to use the lure of military spending to attract Latin American leaders’ loyalty.

That concern compels him to travel around the country to educate people about what he says are the realities of U.S. foreign policy.

Now president of a Washington-based think tank called the Center for International Policy, White made the comments while in Cleveland as a visiting Woodrow Wilson fellow at Jesuit-run John Carroll University.

7 CLEMMONS — Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., will be celebrating a charismatic Mass tonight at 7:30 p.m. with Father Fidel Melo. The sacrament of reconciliation is being given at 7 p.m., and the laying on of hands is taking place after Mass. The next Mass will take place on June 4. For more information, call (336) 778-0600 or Jim Passero at (336) 998-7503.

9 CHARLOTTE — The 50+ Club of St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., will be having a meeting this morning at 11 a.m. with a program and lunch in the parish center.

Donations will be accepted during the meeting. For more information, call Louise Brewer at (704) 366-8357 or Gloria Silipigni at (704) 821-1343.

10 REIDSVILLE — Holy Infant Church will be sponsoring an art show and auction this evening at the Penn Civic Center, 324 Maple Ave., with an art preview hour at 6:30 p.m. and the auction at 7 p.m. Door prizes, hors d-oeuvres and other refreshments will

April 27, 2001

German church leaders criticize Dutch euthanasia decision COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) — German church leaders criticized a recent decision by the Netherlands to legalize euthanasia. Almost all Catholic and Lutheran bishops used their Easter sermons to say that the new Dutch law contradicts the Christian understanding that suffering is a part of life. Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, head of the German bishops’ conference, said the new law represents a break with European cultural tradition. He said it opened the door to subtle misuse and reversed the doctor’s task of saving lives. “If we fail to offer those who need the most help any human and medical care and burden them with the decision as to whether they should let themselves be killed, then we are already in the midst of a ‘culture of death,”’ the cardinal said. The Netherlands legalized euthanasia April 10, allowing doctors to put an end to the lives of those who felt their suffering was unbearable, providing certain safeguards were met.

Court declines to review law against clinic blockades WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court let stand a federal law that bans use of force, threats or blockades that interfere with access to reproductive health care, including abortion clinics. The court on April 16 declined to take a case from New Jersey in which anti-abortion protesters said the law overstepped congressional authority. The case arose from three blockades at Metropolitan Medical Associates, a clinic that offers abortions in Englewood, N.J. Protesters were removed by police and later sued by the federal government. The government lawsuits were based on the argument that the blockades violated the clinic access law. A federal judge ruled for the government, ordering the protesters to pay $15,000 in damages and barring them from blocking access to the clinic or trying to intimidate people going into it. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.

Arkansas couples can choose covenant marriage under new state law LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CNS) — Under a new law the state of Arkansas will begin offering covenant marriages, but the Catholic Church has long considered every port group for the bereaved, will be meeting tonight and May 17 in Conference Room A at 7:30 p.m. at St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave. Call the church office at (336) 7240561 for details.

4 ASHEVILLE — The St. Joan of Arc Church Caring Hearts AIDS Ministry will be holding its Spring New and Used Book Sale starting today and May 5 and 6 at the church located at 919 Haywood Rd. Other items for sale include small gifts, herbs and garden products and other articles. The church men’s club will also have its flea market on May 5 only. Foods available for sale include hot dogs, barbecue sandwiches and desserts. For details, call (828) 252-3151.

6 CHARLOTTE — All are invited to St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Rd., to observe 40 hours of Eucharistic devotion beginning with a procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament following the 12:15 p.m. Mass today.

Times of adoration will be as follows: Today - 1:30 p.m.-midnight and May 7 and

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CNS photo from Reuters

Brazilian workers hold crosses in protest Members of Brazil’s Landless Movement hold crosses during a demonstration in Recife April 17 marking the fifth anniversary of a police massacre of 19 rural workers. Landless workers, trade unions and Catholic groups have called for a day of protests to remember those killed in the 1996 massacre in the remote Amazon state of Para.

marriage a covenant. “We already believe that marriages are covenants,” said Elizabeth Reha, director of the Family Life Office in the Diocese of Little Rock. “This is not a contract, this is a covenant. A covenant never ends; it goes on forever.” Reha coordinates marriage preparation in the diocese and tries to make every couple aware of the sanctity of marriage, regardless of the type of marriage license they choose. On April 11, Gov. Mike Huckabee signed into law the covenant marriage bill, which will make it more difficult for some couples to get a divorce. Similar laws are in place in Arizona and Louisiana.

Irish cardinal urges continued prayers for end to foot-and-

mouth DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) — Cardinal Desmond Connell of Dublin has urged Catholics to continue to pray for an end to the foot-and-mouth disease threat. “All our thoughts are with the many individuals and groups who have suffered because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak,” Cardinal Connell said April 17. “The mass destruction of livestock is a disaster for members of the farming community, who not only have invested so much money and hard work in building up their herds, but have nurtured and cared for their stock over many years. The destruction of all these animals, in such abnormal circumstances,

April 28 SALISBURY — The Sacred Heart School Parent-Teacher Organization will be sponsoring a Captain’s Choice Golf Tournament today at 1 p.m. with a shotgun start and an included lunch with drinks and goodie bags at Corbin Hills. There are only 32 slots to be filled, and hole sponsor/door prize donations are being accepted now. For registration and other information, call David Harrison at (704) 637-7018.

29 CHARLOTTE — The New Vibrations, a traveling ecumenical youth choir, will be in concert today at 2:30 p.m. at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy. and tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Luke Church, 13700 Lawyers Rd. The New Vibrations Choir is made up of 43 teens from churches of various denominations including St. Matthew, St. Luke and St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Churches. Live musical performances and choreography will be accompanying a mixture of contemporary and traditional Christian music. A

love offering will be taken during the free event, and for further details, call Jan Cosentino at (704) 846-1302.

29 HENDERSONVILLE — Immaculata School, 711 Buncombe St., will be celebrating its 75th anniversary today with a 4 p.m. Mass of thanksgiving at Immaculate Conception Church, 208 7th Ave. West, followed by an open house and reception at the school until 6:30 p.m. For details, call the school at (828) 6933277.

May 1 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area will be having regularly scheduled cancer support group meetings for survivors, family and friends on the following days: St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., on May 7 and every first Monday at 7 p.m. in the ministry center library and St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., tonight and every first Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the office building conference room. For more information,

is heart-breaking,” he said. In contrast to Great Britain, the Irish Republic’s economy depends heavily on beef and livestock exports, and, as a result, the Irish government has imposed far more stringent protection measures than those applied in England and Northern Ireland.

Priests for Life links with Project Rachel ad campaign WASHINGTON (CNS) — Less than a month after announcing its own $12 million ad campaign for post-abortion healing and alternatives to abortion, Priests for Life said it will instead coordinate efforts with an already existing Project Rachel campaign.

Project Rachel, the Catholic Church’s outreach to people affected by an abortion loss, was started in the Milwaukee Archdiocese in 1984 and now operates in more than 130 dioceses. Both campaigns will use billboard, print and electronic media. Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, announced the change in approach after meeting April 16 with Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

South African officials condemn execution of woman in Botswana CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — South African church and human rights officials condemned the execution of a South African woman in Botswana, where a bishop said the death penalty has overwhelming support. While noting that South Africans “cannot interfere” in the political and legal life of an independent country, “from a humanitarian perspective, we do object to the horrifyingly rushed manner in which the execution was handled,” said Auxiliary Bishop Reginald Cawcutt of Cape Town, spokesman for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. South African Mariette Bosch, convicted of murdering her best friend and then marrying the friend’s husband, was executed in secrecy just days after Botswana’s president refused her clemency. The announcement of her execution was made two days later.

call: St. Matthew - Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283 and St. Gabriel - Eileen Cordell at (704) 352-5047, Ext. 217. For further information, call Bob Poffenbarger, Sr., coordinator, at (704) 553-7000.

2 CHARLOTTE — St. Luke Church, 13700 Lawyers Rd., will be presenting a second performance of Marty Haugen’s newest musical “Feast of Life” today and May 3 at 8 p.m. All are invited to watch the Gospel of Luke performed by 45 musicians, dancers, actors and the children’s choir. A love offering to aid the parish music ministry will be taken during the event, and for further information, call Marti Dushak at (704) 545-1224.

2 CHARLOTTE — The parish series, “Abundant Life in the Spirit,” will continue tonight and every Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. until May 23 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd. The focus will be on building a stronger and more personal relationship with God. For more information, call Paul Fitzgerald at (704) 593-0973 or Joyce Brown at (704) 547-1836.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

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High Point parishioner receives state’s highest

HIGH POINT — One of Gov. Jim Hunt’s last official acts before leaving office recently was to present the state’s highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, to Christine J. Greene of High Point for years of extraordinary service as a professional educator and tireless community volunteer.

In addition to the governor’s award, the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival named Greene “Volunteer of the Year 2000” and the High Point City Council passed a resolution honoring Greene “for her contributions to the community and for bringing honor and recognition to the city and its residents.”

“I am both gratified and humbled by this attention,” Greene said. “I have been blessed for many years with wonderful opportunities to serve students and community. That has been my life work, and I continue to love every minute of it. I have tried to do it well, but I don’t think my efforts deserve special recognition. The truth is that I am simply grateful to these people and organizations for letting me be part of their lives and their work. They deserve the recognition, not me.”

A veteran educator and tireless community servant, Greene has been married to Charlie, a furniture manufacturer, for 40 years. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Greene and her husband are active parishioners at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in High Point. They volunteer and contribute to the parish, as well as Christ the King Catholic Church in High Point, in whatever way they can.

They serve as lectors and have taught CCD. Christine has served on the board of Catholic Social Services’ Piedmont-Triad Office as well.

“When you’re happy being a Catholic, you enjoy sharing that love and enthusiasm with others,” said Greene, whose efforts include bridging the local Catholic parishes with the greater community. “We try to get High Pointers and people from Guilford County to see that priests and nuns are people who are trying to make the world a

better place.”

In a letter, Hunt wrote to Greene about the Order of the Long Leaf Pine: “This award, which is the highest honor bestowed to a citizen, is in recognition of your outstanding contributions to your community and the State of North Carolina.

I am grateful for everything you have done to improve the lives of our state’s citizens, from your work within our public schools to your leadership within the many charitable organizations in Guilford County.

“Congratulations on receiving this award. I am grateful for citizens like you who have dedicated their lives to helping make North Carolina all that it can and must be. I wish you all the best in the days ahead and encourage you to keep up the great work.”

Greene is a native of the Beautancus community in Duplin County and a graduate of Calypso High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree at East Carolina University and a master’s degree of education in counseling at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

She said lessons she learned growing up in a farming community in Duplin County set a positive course for her serviceoriented life.

“I grew up in a community where people cared about their neighbors,” she recalled. “We swapped work with our neighbors and friends so we could all house our crops. We shared each other’s sorrows and joys, and we got along together. We did not recognize these examples of caring for others as anything out of the ordinary.

“I still think this is the American way, and I am so grateful I was given this type of upbringing, though I doubt if you could have convinced me as I grew up that we were privileged in any shape, form or fashion. Oh, well, we live and learn, and I certainly treasure those unrecognized advantages now.”

Greene worked in public schools for 31 years, nine as a classroom teacher and 22 as a guidance counselor at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, retiring in 1988. She

returned for the past four years as counselor at High Point Central High School.

“High school students are the most exciting and energizing group to work with,” she said. “I can walk into a high school and feel the energy and enthusiasm of young people. Something good happened every day I spent in our schools, and I looked forward to each day.”

Greene’s history of service to her community and her church is extensive. She currently serves on 10 boards, including chairmanships at United Way of Greater High Point and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. In 1998, she directed the most successful United Way campaign in North Carolina.

She has earned numerous honors and awards, including Women and Youth Award, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, 1999; Mayor’s Award, High Point Arts Council, 1997; Community Hero, United Way of Greater High Point, 1997; “Chris Greene Day,” High Point City Council, 1996; Adult of the Year, High Point Youth Council, 1984; Service Award, Presidential Classroom for Young Americans, 1982; and Service Award, American Legion’s Tar Heel Boys’ and Girls’ State, 1982.

April 27, 2001

Underground Catholics arrested in China near Easter

HONG KONG (CNS) — At least 22 Catholics, including two elderly bishops, were arrested around Easter time in areas of China where underground Catholics are active.

A bishop, seven priests and 13 lay people were arrested in mid-April in Fujian, Hebei and Jiangxi provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said a statement from the U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation.

And, according to an April 23 report of Fides, a Rome-based Catholic news agency, Bishop Matthias Pei Xiangde of Beijing, 82, was arrested in early April.

None of those reported arrested is affiliated with the government-approved church, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

An April 22 statement from the Kung Foundation, a private institution that advocates for underground Catholics in China, said Bishop Shi Enxiang of Yixian was arrested in Beijing April 13. No further details were available concerning the bishop from Hebei, which surrounds Beijing on three sides.

Bishop Shi, 79, was ordained a bishop in 1982. He has spent about 30 years in jail, his last imprisonment being from December 1990 to November 1993.

The Kung Foundation said the bishop had been in hiding after narrowly escaping arrest in 1996.

Four priests from Hebei were arrested shortly before Easter, the foundation reported. It said Father Lu Genjun, also known as Lu Genyou, second vicar general of Baoding Diocese, was arrested in Baoding with three other underground priests whose names were not known.

April 27, 2001

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Students learn dire situations call for

By JOANN S. KEANE Editor GREENSBORO — “I was in the Third World ... I did not like it,” said Glen Long. “All we got was some dirty water and stale bread.”

Glen wasn’t exactly in the Third World. He was in his third-grade classroom, though his lunch was Third World in design. Glen and his St. Pius X schoolmates were participants of an Operation Rice Bowl “hunger banquet,” a Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services.

As part of their journey into worlds beyond Greensboro, the students split into three groups to represent the distribution and availability of food worldwide.

To mirror the global population, 10 percent of the students were in a developed country, 30 percent became members of a developing country, and the remaining 60 percent — the majority of the class — became temporary Third World dwellers.

It was pizza for lunch — at least

for the smallest slice of the worldwide population — those residing in developed nations. Thirty percent of the students - the developing countries received the meager ration of one slice of pizza. Third World third-graders were given bread and water.

Conor Jordan was one of the seemingly fortunate residents of a developed nation. “I received all the pizza I wanted, unlike the 26 other people who were not as lucky,” said Conor. “I felt very guilty so I only had two pieces.”

Though a member of a developing nation, Kevin Mitchell found it “hard for some people to only eat one thing.”

“Operation Rice Bowl showed me something I didn’t know,” said Dorian Thompson of the experience of a ration of bread and water. “Being in the Third World wasn’t any fun.”

Alexia Hudak found compassion in her developing nation. “I felt funny in this group because I would not have

breakfast or dinner. Now I feel sad, because look how much you and I have and look at them.”

It was a learning moment for the students of Dot Lyndon, and the objective of Operation Rice Bowl. For a quarter-century, the Catholic Relief Services program offered a challenge for students, parishioners as well as families to connect with a global community.

Through prayer, fasting, education and almsgiving, the Lenten program extends an opportunity to put faith in action and walk in solidarity with those in need.

“U.S. Catholics have continued to exhibit a recognition that we have a moral commitment to assist those with less not only in this country, but throughout the world,” said Ken Hackett, executive director of Catholic Relief Services. “Each year the support for Operation Rice Bowl continues to grow, and with a special emphasis on

providing assistance for communitybased development programs, Operation Rice Bowl plays a significant role in providing people with a hand up, not a hand out.”

“Seventy-five percent of revenues from Operation Rice Bowl support Catholic Relief Services’ development programs overseas,” said Hackett. “In addition to funding overseas programs, Operation Rice Bowl also provides funding for local programs in dioceses around the country. Each diocese that participates in the program retains 25 percent of the donations that it receives for local programs that assist the disadvantaged in the community, often through a diocesan nutrition program.”

“Operation Rice Bowl is a good system,” said Jonathan Spain.

Contact Editor Joann Keane by calling (704) 370-3336 or e-mail jskeane@

Courtesy Photos

From Left; Conor Jordan — representing a developed country — was privy to all the pizza he could consume.

Kevin Mitchell of a developing nation had his minimal needs met with food, but no more.

‘Third World residents’ Patrick Davidson, Michael Lecompte, Doran Thompson and Glen Long find bread and water to be their only available food for lunch.

6 The Catholic News & Herald Social teaching said to shape church view on climate change WASHINGTON (CNS) — Basic common morality, as well as Catholic social teaching, would dictate that the United States make sacrifices for the sake of battling global climate change, a Jesuit social ethicist told a Washington conference.

“Morality itself demands the United States make some conscious sacrifice for the sake of the planetary common good,” said Father Drew Christiansen, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center, at an April 17 conference on Global Climate Change.

The conference was sponsored by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “Moral integrity requires that the United States accept responsibility for its enormous role in contributing to global warming,” Father Christiansen said. ‘It is as simple as this: Adults take out their own garbage.”

Project for papal cultural center led Atlanta man to Catholicism ATLANTA (CNS) — Don Massey can’t remember the exact moment or location that he decided to become Catholic. It may have been in the Philippines or Australia, in Vietnam or Alaska. It may even have been in the presence of Pope John Paul II, who smiled at him as they compared travel notes. Massey, an associate professor at the University of Georgia in Athens, who teaches design in the drama department, was sent around the world to interview, photograph and make molds of the hands of practicing Catholics, including the Holy Father, on behalf of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, which opened March 22 in Washington. “I am anything but a holy man, and yet, they were telling me things, special things,” he said. “I really had my eyes opened and I wanted it (to become Catholic).” Massey was among 445 catechumens in the Atlanta Archdiocese who received all the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil April 14.

Retired Boston Auxiliary Bishop McNamara dies BOSTON (CNS) — Auxiliary Bishop John R. McNamara of Boston died April 16 of congestive heart failure at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston. He was 73 and had retired for health reasons in October 1999. Bishop McNamara was a native of Worcester. He studied for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary in Boston and was ordained by the late Cardinal Richard Cushing in 1952 at the Boston cathedral.

His first 10 years of priestly ministry were spent in parish assignments. In 1962, he was commissioned as a chaplain in the Navy and immediately reported for active duty.

He advanced through the ranks and was appointed chief of chaplains for the Navy in 1985. In an interview with The Pilot,

People in the

CNS photo by Andrea Baran, Lake Shore Visitor

100-year-old woman holds chasuble Susan Skeabeck, who recently turned 100, displays a chasuble she made for her son. Skeaback, a parishioner at St. Ann’s Parish in Erie, Pa., continues to make vestments that are sent to other countries.

Boston’s archdiocesan newspaper, at the time of his episcopal ordination in 1992, Bishop McNamara said, “As a Navy chaplain, especially while moving with troops, I always had a real sense of being needed and appreciated.”

Vietnamese layman perseveres in ministry among poor tribals HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (CNS) — Imprisonment and ridicule have only strengthened a Catholic layman to persevere with his work for poor ethnic Raglai people in central Vietnam. “I love the Raglai people and I want to dedicate my life to serving them,” Paul Nguyen Thach Minh told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. However, the 41-year-old layman’s dedication to the Raglai people has put him in many precarious situations since he began his one-man

ministry 20 years ago. He said the 320 families he serves are mostly poor. They grow maize or cassava and hunt for a living, but most of the time they have nothing to eat, he added. His ministry includes literacy classes, recreational activities, caring for the sick, digging wells, building shelters and even burying the dead.

Pope to meet Orthodox in Greece, visit mosque in Syria VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II will meet with Orthodox leaders in Greece and pay a historic visit to a mosque in Syria during a six-day pilgrimage that traces the evangelizing route of St. Paul. The pope also will travel to Malta, where St. Paul was shipwrecked, to preside over a beatification ceremony. The Vatican released the detailed schedule of the May 4-9 trip April 19. The pope has wanted to

April 27, 2001

make a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul, a continuation of his jubilee-year trips to biblical sites in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He will become the first modern pope to visit Greece and Syria.

Central American University leader explains liberation task ST. LOUIS (CNS) — The “ultimate and integral goal” of Central American University in El Salvador is “the liberation of the impoverished and dispossessed majority,” said Jesuit Father Mauricio Gaborit, the university’s academic vice president, in a symposium at St. Louis University. When poverty, violence and injustice prevail in a society as they do in El Salvador, he said in an April 5 address, the university’s search for truth and reason must confront the irrationality of the existing social structures with the truth of the rights, needs and legitimate aspirations of the populace. Father Gaborit was one of three main speakers at a symposium on Jesuit higher education in different cultures. The one-day symposium was a signature event of St. Louis University’s inaugural Atlas Week — a week of study and celebration of the world’s many cultures.

Nun gave self to others in life and in death DALLAS (CNS) — Sister Georgianne Segner, a School Sister of Notre Dame who dedicated her whole life to helping others, did so after death as well. In what has been called an ultimate act of love, the former high school and college teacher and first head of her order’s Dallas province donated her brain to science when she died last October at the age of 86. The Dallas nun’s gift is intended to help unlock the mysteries of aging and Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, degenerative neurological disorder that is the most common form of dementia in adults. Since 1990 she and 29 other members of the Dallas province have been part of one of the largest brain donor studies in the world, known as the Nun Study, involving 678 elderly School Sisters of Notre Dame nationwide.

April 27, 2001

From the

St. Michael teacher wins national award, second time for With her classroom, now decorated for spring and with plants, flowers and rocks coinciding with their lessons on nature, McGuire says that she loves working with this age group because they love to be taught everything and are excited about the school’s curriculum.

Not only does McGuire work tirelessly in her school, she is also heavily involved in her parish and surrounding communities. She has been involved with Crop Walk, a recycling program in her hometown, Habitat for Humanity, and numerous other organizations.

Currently, she volunteers with the St. Michael Church Community Thrift Store, Eucharistic ministry, the parish Community Outreach Commission, the Project 2000 Building Committee and others.

“Her award gives our parish a little boost and the school a little publicity.

She has a very caring nature for her children, yet she’s firm with them. The students know what to expect for her,” said Joe Puceta, principal. “She gives them a good grounding in math and reading and provides a good foundation for the higher-level grades.”

McGuire feels that each day is like a mini-lesson for her because the students are always full of joy, spirit and a knowledge from which adults can benefit.

“I receive more from the children than I give, and it reaffirms me so much. The school and my classroom are like part of my family. I love it because it is different every day. No matter how you plan things, you never know when that tooth will fall out or a child will say ‘I have a tummy ache, or I have a paper cut,’” said McGuire.

“The little ones have so much faith to share, and they also offer their unfailing honesty and trust. That is why you have to take such good care of them.”

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

people in our schools. These three represent the hundreds of diocesan educators who are doing a fantastic job with our students in our classrooms,” said Dr. Michael Skube, superintendent of diocesan schools. “McGuire is a teacher who is very devoted to the needs of each child in her care and involved in many programs at St. Michael’s. We are very fortunate to have someone like her in our schools.”

Criteria for one to be nominated for the distinguished teacher award include

By ALESHA M. PRICE having taught in a Catholic school for a Staff Writer minimum of 10 years and possessing an inGASTONIA — Carla McGuire is a tegrated philosophy of Catholic education. self-professed shy woman, but many people McGuire’s work with her school and parish probably aren’t aware of that fact. She says stood out among the nominees, and she was that the thought of speaking in front of astounded at her being given the award. large crowds terrifies her, and she never “The school principal had to tell me says more than she has to with groups of at least three times before it sunk in,” said people. So, how does she overcome her McGuire. “It was so bashfulness and stand surprising because the in front of a classroom distinguished teacher of first-graders every came from the Charday to teach? lotte Diocese last year.

A dedication to It is an honor to repsharing knowledge, a resent the school and love of teaching and the diocese because I a deep spirituality are graduated from St. Mithe basis for her educachael’s.” tional work with some McGuire, born in of the youngest stuGastonia and a convert dents at St. Michael to Catholicism, attendSchool in Gastonia. ed the school for two Those qualities are also years as a pre-teen, and part of the reason why when her daughters she was chosen as one were born, she wantof 12 teachers from ed them to follow in around the country to her footsteps. She had receive the National already received her Catholic Education AsCarla McGuire bachelor’s degree in sosociation (NCEA) 2001 ciology and psychology Distinguished Teacher and had begun working in her field, when Award. she decided that she wanted to do someAt a ceremony in Milwaukee during thing else with her professional life. Earning the 98th Annual NCEA Convention and certification in kindergarten through fourth Exposition, held the week of April 17-20, grade classroom teaching and part-time McGuire was presented with a plaque for work in a preschool, daycare facility and outstanding and praiseworthy work in at Central Piedmont Community College Catholic education. She is the representative in a child development program led her to of the South Atlantic States region and is decide to teach. the second diocesan teacher to be awarded “It was a gradual decision for me. It the national honor. Last year, Lorraine was something I had wanted to do, but Malphurs, a teacher at St. Pius X School in I was dragging my feet,” said McGuire.

Greensboro, also received the same award.

“After my oldest daughter started at St. Also, Pat Murphy, principal of Our Lady of Michael’s, I started working part-time Assumption School in Charlotte, received and was eventually offered a position the NCEA 1999 Distinguished Principal of as a part-time reading specialist and the Year Award. In an interesting turn of then as a first-grade teacher after I had events, Murphy, while principal of St. Mitaught fourth grade for three years. chael School, actually hired McGuire.

“The school provided the atmo“Having teachers and a principal in sphere in which I wanted to teach, and the diocese be recognized in the three years I liked the opportunity to be able to that we have been involved in the applicathink about my faith and to share it tion process shows that we have excellent with my students.”

The Catholic News & Herald 7

NCEA announces new president WASHINGTON (CNS) — Michael

Guerra has been named president of the National Catholic Educational Association, effective July 1.

Guerra, who has served as the executive director of NCEA’s secondary schools department for 19 years, will succeed Leonard DeFiore, NCEA’s president for the past five years, who is leaving for a post at The Catholic University of America.

The announcement was made by Bishop Robert J. Banks of Green Bay, Wis., chairman of NCEA’s board of directors.

“Michael Guerra will bring great leadership and integrity to this association,” said Bishop Banks. “He understands the mission of Catholic education at all levels and has the vision and vitality to move us forward in this new century.”

Prior to joining NCEA, Guerra was headmaster of Loyola School in Manhattan and director of education at Nativity Center, also in Manhattan. He received his master’s degree in educational administration from Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York in 1972.

Guerra has been a leader in the educational choice movement and also was a driving force in organizing the National Congress on Catholic Schools for the 21st Century in 1991, according to the bishop’s announcement.

“In three short years NCEA will mark its first century,” Guerra said. “As president-elect, I am keenly aware that I have a legacy to honor as well as a future to shape.”

He added that the association represents a broad scope of Catholic education including teachers, catechists, administrators, directors of religious education, diocesan leaders and higher education and seminary leaders.

“Although there is great diversity in our membership, we are bound and buoyed by our shared mission to advance Catholic education at all levels,” he said.

Bishop Banks also applauded the accomplishments of DeFiore, who announced last year that he would not seek another term.

When he finishes his presidency, DeFiore will become scholar in residence and the first holder of the Brother Patrick Ellis Chair in Education at Catholic University.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

LOBBY, from page 1 ioner of St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte and a member of Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now. “When people come together in the name of God, miracles happen, and that’s what we saw.”

Dr. Barney Offerman, also of St. Peter Church and the Diocese of Charlotte’s director for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, lobbied out of a sense of Christian responsibility.

“Just the fact that we are here because we believe in something has value,” he said. “When a life is threatened anywhere, even if it’s an unpopular person or a person on the margins, it becomes a real test of our Christianity — how we treat people who are powerless or easy to mistreat or easy to discriminate against.”

“We’re asking the legislators to be more decent people,” said Dr. James Megivern, a professor of philosophy and religion at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

“That’s really the ultimate motivation that can be proposed here. We’re asking to do something better than we’ve done in the past.”

Megivern, author of “The Death Penalty: An Historical and Theological Survey,” noted moral similarities in this movement and the civil rights struggles of a generation ago.

“Those of us who were involved in the ’60s on it can look back on those days, and they really are highlights because there was no question as to what side of history we were on,” he said. “We knew we were on the right side. You had to make a choice, and the choice that should be made in conscience with any ethical concern was more or less obvious.

“There are parallels here. Being in an atmosphere where the higher ethic was being advocated and illustrated was really the greatest value of the day.”

At the rally where Autrey spoke in the North Carolina Museum of History, lobbyists applauded and chanted “Moratorium Now!” as they heard stories and statistics from those who

Around the Dio-

April 27, 2001

say the state can do better in how it effects justice.

Whether the state legislature will move toward passing a moratorium bill in this or future sessions is still uncertain. But celebrating the spirit of grass-roots, in-the-trenches, proactive work to achieve change was a good start for many of those who gathered in the state’s capital that day.

“Until our message is heard and heeded, we are going to keep at this struggle to build a new era of justice — one of restorative justice, one that recognizes the needs of victims ... one that recognizes the needs of the community in these terrible crimes and the needs of offenders,” said Stephen Dear, executive director of the Chapel Hill-based People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. “We’re here to tell our lawmakers that we need to cease fire in order to rise to that challenge.”

Ferguson urged fellow lobbyists to demand from their legislators that the bills — particularly the moratorium bill — be seriously considered, whether in the Senate or in the House.

“When you are told that this bill has no chance to be heard on the floor of the legislature, don’t listen,” he told the group. “Continue to demand that this bill be heard, that it be heard in this legislature, and not only be heard, but that it be passed.

“We are here now to say we want a moratorium, and on that issue ... we will not compromise, we will not retreat a single inch. We want and we will have a moratorium now.”

Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Clarification In the March 16 issue of The Catholic News & Herald, an article on the permanent diaconate ordination of Rev. Mr. Jerry La Pointe included the information that he was the first deacon to be ordained at St. Margaret Church in Maggie Valley. In 1982 at St. Margaret Church, John Hanic, Ronald Marechi and John Schneider were ordained as deacons in the transitional diaconate, a step in preparation for the priesthood.

Dr. Barney Offerman, foreground, and Bob Beck write letters to North Carolina lawmakers in the Legislative Building of the N.C. General Assembly.

The parishioners of St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte were among more than 200 who came to Raleigh April 17 to lobby for a moratorium on the death penalty.

April 27, 2001

Around the Dio-

Thomasville Catholics count blessings in ‘new’

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor THOMASVILLE — For the faith community of Our Lady of the Highways Catholic Church, April 21 was indeed a day of blessings.

The afternoon sun shone on the parish church in Thomasville. Parishioners flocked into the newly refurbished sanctuary while a group of Hispanic dancers practiced a native dance honoring Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the adjacent parking lot.

Bishop William G. Curlin presided at the bilingual Mass that day. He blessed a church building that, thanks to a renovation project, now has doubled worship space, a new cry room, a sacristy and a reconciliation room.

Freshly laid carpet throughout the church pads the feet of the multicultural parish community. New windows depicting images of saints and biblical scenes filter the outside sunlight upon packed pews. New marble surrounds the altar and tabernacle area.

The renovation project took less than

five months, thanks to the generosity of local contributors and the spirit of a faith community bonding to see a job to its completion.

Bishop Curlin noted the parish in Thomasville now has an even more glorious place to worship God. But more importantly, he said, the congregation must realize that it has a greater task at hand.

“We come here to nourish our souls, to pray together, to acknowledge our failures in reconciliation, to celebrate together the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,” but in order to realize the importance of Easter each day, the faithful must take their love for Christ into the world, Bishop Curlin said.

“In a spiritual way, we have a great mission that we are supposed to accomplish in this world,” he said. “In these days of Easter, we are leading up to the great feast of Pentecost. Jesus is asking all of us to witness him in the world; we are supposed to bring Christ into a world that needs him so badly.”

“You have a beautiful church here,” the bishop said. “The sacrifice you’ve made to do this is proof of how much you love

Jesus, but you and I know that if we leave Jesus here, we fail. Let the beauty of what you have done here fill your home and your whole community.”

Raquel Cudd, who translated the bishop’s homily into Spanish for the blossoming Hispanic community in attendance, said the multicultural parish emphasizes the truest sense of a faith family.

“The American community has just welcomed us with open arms,” she noted, adding that when she first came to the parish, there were but a handful of Hispanic parishioners. Now, two Masses are celebrated in Spanish each weekend in addition to the Masses in English.

“We do things together, try to have faith formation together; we sing together,” said Cudd. “It is a lot of fun, and you get to know a lot of other people from different cultures.”

Construction on Our Lady of the Highways Church began in 1953, and the first service was celebrated on Good Friday, April 16, 1954. Past ad-

The Catholic News & Herald 9

ditions to the parish campus include a parish center and a rectory.

Ministry to the Hispanic community continues to be one of the parish’s most vibrant forms of outreach.

And on April 21, as the bishop of the diocese celebrated a Mass and people gathered to watch the dancers perform afterward, a multicultural multitude celebrated the faith.

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Thomas Fitzpatrick, pastor, stood outside the church after the April 21 Mass, looking up at the façade. “The amazing part of this church is the architecture,” he said. “It looks like a Spanish mission, and there wasn’t a Hispanic in sight when the church was built. Now, half our parish is Spanish.

It was a prophecy. It’s wonderful.”

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

Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Bishop William G. Curlin applauded the Thomasville parish’s dedication and faith. He urged the congregation to bring Christ to the world, thus celebrating Easter each day.

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

Book examines where medical science and faith intersect

Reviewed By Carole Norris Greene Catholic News Service World-renowned physician and psychiatrist Frederic Flach examines where medical science and faith intersect and how our attitudes and behavior influence our

FAITH, HEALING & MIRACLES, by Frederic Flach. Hatherleigh PressNorton (New York, 2000). 230 pp., $22.95.

mental and physical health in “Faith, Healing and Miracles.”

Flach asks why it is that people of faith seem to do better when recovering from or living with an illness. “This seems particularly true for those whose faith rests in a personal God,” he says, “and when their faith is commingled with the recognition that God more often acts through natural means than by means of miracles.”

He begins with what is known about miracles — both exceptions to the natural order we read about in the Old and New Testaments and in accounts of Lourdes, France, and “ordinary miracles,” coincidences that change our lives for the better and may be attributed to God’s providence at work. Miracles, Flach believes, “demonstrate Jesus’ compassion for the vulnerabilities of human kind, our susceptibility to disease, the inevitability of death — and so stir our own compassion and abilities to heal one another.”

Flach contends that how we experience feelings of helplessness is a powerful determinant of health. He cites four personality types which research finds to be associated with health or illness: — Type 1 has an increased risk of cancer. These people have strong needs to be close to another person emotionally, or to pursue some goal that is permanently beyond their reach. When they fail they feel “worthless, hopeless, depressed, and helpless — an assortment of physically dangerous feelings that they try their best

April 27, 2001

Read-

to conceal,” says Flach.

— Type 2 people, who have an increased vulnerability to heart attacks or strokes, show an intense need to distance themselves from disturbing persons or situations. But they cannot. “This results in an ongoing state of irritation and anger, a feeling of being trapped, and again, helplessness,” observes Flach.

— Type 3 has a better survival rate.

Flach says, “They seem to be people with conflicting desires. They want closeness, but are afraid of it ... although they may experience anxiety or episodes of aggressiveness, they ... do not appear to be at increased risk of physical disease.”

—“Type 4 people actually enjoy an increased survival rate.

They have a healthy sense of self-confidence and autonomy, and they regard others as having the right to be the same way. They are in touch with their emotions and know how to express them effectively. They like themselves. They like other people. They learn from experience.”

Flach postulates that type 1 suffers from the common malady of idolatry.

Temple worship, decried in the Old Testament, is not likely to be commonplace today, but other idols — “rock groups, movie stars, wealth, corporate power, sex, activities, politicians, even ... very worthwhile enterprises ... may be more valued than one’s relationship with God,” he writes. “All these idols, being earthbound, are capable of generating severe frustration and disappointment, providing, in the end, a spiritual emptiness that renders us more susceptible to disease.”

Studies further showed that therapy could help individuals move toward a type 4 personality, restoring a their sense of command over life and experiencing reduced helplessness.

Flach writes, “It’s safe to assume that the treated patients gained a certain level of faith — although faith isn’t mentioned as such — and if they did, we still don’t know in what or whom they believe.” He asks, “Could similar results have been obtained if these subjects had been directed to participate in 25 hours of prayer?”

Word to Life

April 29, Third Sunday of Easter Cycle C Readings: 1) Acts 5:27b-32, 40b-41 Psalm 30:2, 4-6 2) Revelation 5:11-14 3) Gospel: John 21:1-19

By BEVERLY CORZINE Catholic News Service How many times have you watched young parents become ecstatic when their toddlers take those first steps or point correctly to nose, eyes or toes?

In our family we had a game that came to be known as “How much do you love me?” This game came along somewhere after those first cautious, uncertain steps. The game starts with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma or Grandpa asking one of the little ones: “Do you love me?”

The answer comes with a heartshattering smile, a giggle and a vigorous nod of the head. The next question follows: “How much do you love me — this much?” The questioner holds his or her hands out as if measuring dimensions of a small fish in the air. The toddler giggles again and nods yes.

The questioner repeats the question, extending the dimensions even farther. After another gale of laughter, the ultimate question comes: “How much do you love me?” The adult questioner’s arms now spread as far as possible apart awaiting the game’s finale. With tiny arms stretched to their maximum breadth, the little one says, “Love you this much!” and races

into the loving arms of the questioner.

Both dissolve in laughter and hugs of pure joy.

In today’s Gospel the question, “Do you love me?” creates a haunting conversation between Simon Peter and Jesus. At first the scene appears to be a familiar one. Some of the disciples are out on the lake, fishing without success.

They then encounter Jesus as they near the shore.

He calls them “children” and suggests they fish over the other side of the boat. In his haste to get on shore to see Jesus, Simon Peter jumps out of the boat into the water. Nets bulging with fish, these astonished men find themselves sharing a meal with the risen Lord.

After the meal Jesus questions the man who denied him in his darkest hour. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Jesus asks not once, not twice, but three times.

Simon Peter answers three times in return from the depth of his soul, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.”

Jesus then predicts that Simon Peter will “stretch out his hands,” demonstrating his love before he is enfolded in an eternal embrace.

QUESTION: Since Jesus forgave Peter after his denial and not only accepted him, but made him and his faith the cornerstone of the church, can you see any reason he would not forgive your darkest sins?

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of April 29 - May 5, 2001 Third Sunday of Easter, Acts 5:27-32, 40-41, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:119; Monday (Pope Pius V), Acts 6:8-15, John 6:22-29; Tuesday (St. Joseph the Worker), Acts 7:51-8:1, John 6:30-35; Wednesday (St. Athanasius), Acts 8:1-8, John 6:35-40; Thursday (Sts. Philip and James), 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 14:6-14; Friday, Acts 9:1-20, John 6:52-59; Saturday, Acts 9:31-42, John 6:60-69 Readings for the week of May 6 - 12, 2001 Fourth Sunday of Easter, Acts 13:14, 43-52, Revelation 7:9, 14-17, John 10:27-30; Monday, Acts 11:1-18, John 10:1-10; Tuesday, Acts 11:19-26, John 10:22-30; Wednesday, Acts 12:24-13:5, John 12:44-50; Thursday, Acts 13:13-25, John 13:16-20; Friday, Acts 13:26-33, John 14:1-6; Saturday (Sts. Nereus and Archilleus, St. Pancras), Acts 13:44-52, John 14:7-14

April 27, 2001

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

“Bamboozled” (2000) Ambitious satire in which an African-American television writer (Damon Wayans) creates a comedy featuring black-faced minstrels to make a statement about the stereotypical imagery of blacks in mass media, but his plan backfires when the show meets with overwhelming success. Taking on racism in network television, writerdirector Spike Lee’s indulgent film begins promisingly, but loses potency with an overly elaborate and melodramatic narrative. Briefly intense violence, theme of racism, sexual references and recurring rough language with some profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV — adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. (New Line) “Billy Elliot” (2000) Stirring tale about a coal miner’s young son (Jamie Bell) who rises above the tough macho culture that surrounds him to follow his dream of becoming a ballet dancer. Though debut director Stephen Daldry’s coming-of-age story is by the numbers, effective character development, an engaging narrative and well-placed dance sequences create a pleasurable experience. Some homosexual innuendo and fleeting profanity with recurring rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. (Universal) “Bounce” (2000) Flat romantic drama in which an arrogant ad exec (Ben Affleck) falls in love with the woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) whose husband he gave his seat to in a plane that crashed, leaving her widowed. Writer-director Don Roos’ sophomore effort plods predictably along with grating soap-opera-like dialogue and bland performances. A couple of implied sexual encounters, alcohol abuse and fleeting profanity, crass words and an instance of rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Miramax) “Cleopatra” (1963) Lumbering Hollywood epic of suds along the Nile as Egypt’s queen (Elizabeth Taylor) makes a conquest of Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison), then after his assassination ensnares his avenger, Mark Antony (Richard Burton), but both commit suicide when cornered by the legions of Octavius (Roddy McDowall). Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz manages to hold interest

Entertainfor the first hour, chiefly in Harrison’s portrayal of a man consumed by his ambitions, but the next three seem interminable as the gassy love story bogs down in tedium and the visual spectacle wears thin, save for the sea battle at Actium. Stylized violence, sexual situations and much sexual innuendo. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Fox) “The Legend of Bagger Vance” (2000) Mythic tale of a mysterious caddie (Will Smith) who helps a dispirited World War I veteran (Matt Damon) regain his confidence to play golf in a championship tournament run by the vet’s Southern belle ex-girlfriend (Charlize Theron). As directed by Robert Redford, the underdog tale’s classy visuals and an appealing cast produce a soothing, fantasy-like tale of one man’s rediscovered integrity thanks to a mystical ally. Brief sexual situations, a suicide and minimal profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (DreamWorks) “Men of Honor” (2000) Fact-based drama about a sharecropper’s son (Cuba Gooding Jr.) determined to become the first AfricanAmerican master chief Navy diver despite a vicious instructor (Robert De Niro) and racist attitudes of fellow seamen and those in command. While the diver’s story is stirring, even inspirational, George Tillman Jr.’s heavyhanded direction backed by swelling patriotic music reduces a complex struggle to simplistic terms. Some intense peril, drunkenness, frequent profanity and much rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. (Fox) “Space Cowboys” (2000) Enjoyable action-adventure flick about four retired Air Force pilots (Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland) sent into space 40 years past their prime because only their technical knowledge can stop a malfunctioning Russian satellite from smashing into Earth. While the narrative’s plausibility is questionable, director Eastwood’s casually paced film maintains interest with colorful characters, impressive visual effects and slight intrigue as well as an unexpected conclusion.

Brief menace with intermittent crass language and some profanity. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II — adults and adolescents.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Warner Home Video) “What’s Cooking” (2000) Warmhearted comedy that follows the Thanksgiving dinners of four Los Angeles families (including Alfre Woodard, Maury Chaykin, Joan Chen and Kyra Sedgwick) as they cope with situations ranging from parental

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CNS photo from Paramount Pictures

Publicity photo of actor Paul Hogan in movie ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Paul Hogan stars in the movie “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.” The U.S Catholic Conference classification is A-II — adults and adolescents.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. dismay over a daughter’s gay lifestyle, to teen-age violence, to infidelity.

Highlighting the ethnically diverse aspects of Angeleno families, director Gurinder Chadha’s film contrasts dynamic families — African-American, Latino, Jewish and Asian — while connecting them through turkey and love in an often humorous and touching manner. Brief menace, a lesbian relationship, fleeting rear nudity and intermittent crass language with an instance of rough language. The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG13 — parents are strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate

for children under 13. (Trimark)

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

April 27, 2001

Editorials & Col-

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope: Christians, like women at tomb, must tell that Christ lives

By CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians must follow the example of the women who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb and go out to tell the world that Christ lives, Pope John Paul II said.

The Easter season is an invitation “to imitate the faith journey of those who recognized him in the first hours after the Resurrection,” the pope said April 18 during his weekly general audience.

Pope John Paul, who returned to the Vatican from the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo just for the audience, had a small cut just under his lower lip. The Vatican provided no explanation.

The pope told an estimated 20,000 people in St. Peter’s Square that a Christian’s reaction to the empty tomb must be faith and action.

“Love sees and believes and urges one to walk toward ... Jesus, living for all centuries,” the pope said.

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion, “we, too, are reached by a mysterious traveling companion,” he said.

“Jesus approaches us along the road, accepting us where we are and asking us the essential questions which open our hearts to hope,” the pope said. “He has many things to explain to us about his destiny and our own.

Most of all, he reveals that all human existence must pass through the cross to enter into glory.”

But Christ does more than just show the disciples the path ahead, the pope said. He breaks bread with them, revealing himself to them and giving them the strength to continue their journey.

“After having recognized and contemplated the face of the risen Christ, we, too, like the disciples, are called to run to our brothers and sisters to bring everyone the great news: ‘We have seen the Lord,”’ Pope John Paul said.

The fact that the resurrection of Christ brings the resurrection of all is the good news that Christians must share with the world, especially through the way they live their lives, he said.

“This is the most beautiful gift which our brothers and sisters want from us in this Easter period,” he said.

Pope says Mideast cycle of violence must give way to negotiation

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The ever-increasing cycle of violence and reprisal in the Middle East must be broken and give way to negotiation, Pope John Paul II said. “While the light of the risen Christ brightens the whole universe, we cannot help but express solidarity with all our brothers and sisters in the Middle East who suffer in a vortex of armed violence and reprisals,” he said April 18 at the end of his weekly general audience. After Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired mortars on an Israeli settlement April 16, the Israeli government began a fierce land, air and sea attack on Palestinian security offices. The Israelis then sealed off the Gaza Strip and occupied some of the land that had been under Palestinian control. In his Easter week appeal for peace, Pope John Paul said, “The roar of weapons must be substituted with the voice of reason and conscience.”

The After-Easter Syndrome: Power for the Powerless Our real world is made of despair and hope, failure and success, defeat and victory, sin and grace, crying and laughter. Our human nature seems more inclined to despair than to hope; we are more easily susceptible to believing the worst than to count on the best.

Usually, a pessimist is a person who, when there is a choice between two evils, takes both or, to prove that darkness is real, turns out the light. The good news is that we believe in heroes’ ability to snatch victory from defeat, and Jesus proves just that with his resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection did not depend on the faith of his disciples (thank God!). If it had, it likely would never have occurred. His resurrection relied on the power of God rather than on our powerless fear. The defeated disciples, however, made the resurrection meaningful when they shared Jesus’ triumph. Jesus knew that fear was an overwhelming burden for the disciples, so he reassures them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not fear.” (Jn. 14:27) Even with this assurance, the disciples stayed away from his execution.

After His burial, they were hiding. The angel encourages them, “Fear not...He is risen.” There is no reason to fear.

We are paralyzed by fear. Our fear ranges from a vague uneasiness and anxiety about everything in general to nothing in particular. We fear specific things: disease, old age, loneliness, parenting, marriage, strangers, being hurt, punishment, germs, nightmares, bankruptcy, responsibility, death, dark, foot and mouth disease, and the list goes on.

Basically, we are afraid of what God will allow to happen to us. What if he allows the same things that happened to his own son?

The worst that could happen is death — well, the resurrection of Jesus has overcome even death. Not even death can snatch us from the Savior’s hand. His resurrection has become our personal triumph over our inability and fear.

Probably no other disciple felt the sting of Jesus’ death more than Peter. Jesus had called him the “rock,” perhaps counting on him to be steady as a rock. Peter proved not to be dependable. How do you ever again look squarely in the face of the one you have denied three times? Jesus’ love does not

Coming of Age CHRISTOPHER CARSTENS CNS Columnist who loved him for who he was.

For most men, their very deepest need is for the people they love to care about them and value them.

When you’re a teen-ager and you’re spending all your time at practice or out with your friends, your dad misses the little girl who used to be his pal. Since he doesn’t know how to hang out with you any more, he tries to relate to you like you were another guy. He gives you advice.

If you’d like to be closer with your dad, there are two suggestions I can offer.

—First, be open to nonshopping activities. It may not sound really exciting, but if he’s picking up a load of sod, you might just ride along. Maybe you’ll stop for a soda on the way home — and anyhow, the time in the truck may be the most conversation you’ll have for weeks.

—Second, when he wants to give advice, listen. You don’t need to do everything your dad suggests. He probably wouldn’t want you to. All he really hopes is that you’ll listen and occasionally say something like, “That’s a good idea, Dad. I’ll really think about that. Thanks.”

Once that’s over with, you can talk about anything that’s on your mind — with a man who loves you more deeply than you can imagine.

Guest Column FATHER JOHN AURILIA, OFM Cap. Guest Columnist fail no matter how much we fail him. Our relationship with him does not depend on our ability but on his love.

There is, sometimes, a great sense of irony and humor in our powerless fear and our courage to overcome fear.

We experience confusion, to say the least. I remember a young priest who was delivering his first-pastorate sermon.

Excited and wishing to make a good impression, he became confused about a scriptural event. “Consider the scene where the Master fed five people with 5,000 loaves and 2,000 fishes.” A visitor nodded his head in a vigorous “NO.” Wishing to correct the error, the young preacher began his next Sunday’s sermon with the words “Consider the scene where the Master fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes.”

He pointed to the visitor and emphasized, “You couldn’t do that, brother!” “Oh, yes, I could,” said the man, “I could if I had what was left over last Sunday!”

The message of Easter morning is that we are not condemned to live a defeated life. God is willing to roll away the stones that have seemed to seal our destiny. It is true that we have limitations and imperfections. So what? What we cannot do, the cross and the resurrection will: “Giving power to the powerless.”

Capuchin Father John Aurilia is pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville.

Dad and the Little Girl Who Used To Be His Pal They wouldn’t ever admit it, but for most dads there was a best time ever in his relationship with you, his daughter. Unfortunately, it was when you were 8 or 9.

Most dads, secretly, would like that little girl relationship back.

It’s impossible. You’re growing up.

This isn’t easy for dads. Men don’t know how to hang out with their daughters. For example, women go shopping together for the companionship, filling the spaces in their conversations by looking at an occasional pair of shoes. For women, shopping is hanging out.

Men want to go to one store, look at three shirts, buy one and get home in time to watch a game or work on a project in the basement — which is how most guys define hanging out.

Another source of tension is that men equate giving advice with expressing love. They show they love you by telling you how you could improve your homework, your driving and your social life.

Teen-age daughters find this really annoying. They hear it this way: “My dad doesn’t trust me to live my own life. He feels he has to be in charge of everything.”

Dad’s advice-giving isn’t about trust. It is simply how men relate.

Listen to your dad with his friends. If you pay attention, you’re sure to hear him giving advice, telling his friend what he needs to get for his computer, how he ought to have his car fixed up or what team he ought to back in the upcoming playoffs.

This is a guy way of showing that he cares.

Men aren’t good at sharing their stories, their personal experiences. That’s how many women show closeness.

Many men do the same thing by giving advice. They can’t stop themselves. It’s a reflex.

Here’s a secret, something nobody may ever have told you: Most adult men are quite lonely. A lot of us grew up not knowing how to get close to people. That’s why, when you were a kid, he had so much fun with you.

You were somebody he could feel close to, somebody

April 27, 2001

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle Msgr. Jim Lisante Guest Columnist

an outstanding job of showing well-intentioned people struggling to surmount differences and past misunderstandings.

At the heart of both Gregory Allen Howard’s personal journey and the film’s storyline is a simple message.

It may be too much to expect that people of different colors and cultures can completely understand each other, as good as that would be. But we can travel the road to that goal through mutual respect. “You don’t have to love me,” Greg said, “but I demand your respect” based on our existence as children of God. The movie (available on video and DVD) should be watched as a family. It will, inevitably, lead to the kinds of discussion that result in new perspectives and new hope.

Gregory Allen Howard, a winner of this year’s Christopher Award for films, turned a negative reality into a positive good. “Remember the Titans” reveals a vision for a possible future built on mutual respect, understanding and, yes, love - if we choose to make it so.

See it and be moved by hope.

Msgr. Jim Lisante is the director of the Christophers

temple marked the dividing line between the former covenants God established with the human family through Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses, and the new and eternal covenant now accomplished through the sacrifice of the Son of God. This interpretation also fits with the other cataclysmic events you mention (earthquakes, broken rocks, tombs opening and bodies rising), all of which are traditional biblical signs of the final cosmic event in human history, the coming of the Lord in his majesty. (See the similar language in, for example, Isaiah 13:9 and 34:4, Daniel 12 and Joel 2:10.)

Another common interpretation is that tearing the curtain signifies that the death of the Lord marks an uninterrupted access to God, in fact an even greater and more immediate access to the heavenly throne than was possible before.

This would underlie the declaration in the Letter to the Hebrews that the blood of Jesus has opened for us “a new and living path” into the divine presence (10:19-20).

Another suggestion is based on the fact that, among other purposes, the temple curtains marked the limits beyond which only Jews, not gentiles, might pass. It has been proposed, therefore, that the rending of the temple curtain symbolized in some way God’s judgment on those Jews who rejected Christ or that there is no longer in God’s eyes a distinction between Jew and gentile.

Whatever the specific interpretation, the underlying theme in all of them is that, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a new age, a new time of salvation, has dawned for the human race.

Not Love, But Respect Gregory Allen Howard is a great man. A big man with a powerful presence, you can see that he must have been a formidable football player in his high school and college years. But his physical size only begins to express the scope of the man. For Greg Howard has a heart which has borne pain, yet risen to amazing heights by transforming the sadness into hope. Mr. Allen is a screenwriter, whose film “Remember the Titans,” addresses the suffering and sadness of racism.

Based on the integration of a Virginia High School football team in the late 1960’s, the film demonstrates how, in the end, our humanity makes us more similar than we often admit. But writing this stunning script was not just an intellectual exercise for Greg Howard.

As an African-American in a culture which still highlights the differences among people, Greg Howard knew, first-hand, the challenges of bigotry.

In a recent interview at The Christophers, Greg shared experiences of his life in California. He recounted how, time and time again, he was stopped while driving. He’d done nothing wrong, broken no laws, driven with care. But he was a black man driving through a white neighborhood and that was reason enough to be stopped, investigated, and (in his view) harassed just for being. His story is not unique. We hear it too often.

Now, Greg Howard had a choice, to close in and become embittered, or to be more positive. He chose the latter. He moved from Los Angeles back to Virginia, settling in Alexandria. He went there because he found it to be a truly integrated community. It’s a place of balance and respect for the wonderful differences among peoples and races. There he wrote the script for “Remember the Titans.” This film, which stars Denzel Washington and Will Patton, is an unusual look at racism. There are no simply good or bad characters.

Instead, it holds up a mirror of America, full of nuances and shades of gray. Two coaches, one black, one white, must work together to integrate their respective football teams into a unit. They accomplish the task from mutual positions of moral goodness. The movie does

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

Q. Three of the evangelists, in their narrative of Christ’s passion and death, report that when he died, among other natural phenomena (darkened sky, earthquake, dead rising), the veil of the temple was torn. There are also other sources for this happening.

What is the church’s teaching on the significance of this tearing of the temple veil? (Florida) A. The Catholic Church has no official teachings about these verses. It is worth noting that the church has official interpretations for relatively few Bible passages.

Interpretations of Scripture emerge mainly through biblical scholarship, which in turn is based on studies of the history, languages, comparison of texts, customs and so on of the people involved, all viewed in the context of Christian faith and revelation.

The 60-foot high curtain, between what was called the holy place and the holy of holies, was one of the sacred treasures of the Jewish temple. Josephus the historian tells us it was woven with “lavish richness.”

All three synoptic Gospels (Mt 27:51; Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45) report the tearing of this veil as one of the wondrous events immediately following the death of our Lord.

Perhaps the most common and most obvious explanation of this event is that it symbolized the break with the past accomplished by the death of Jesus.

The rending of this sacred feature of the Jerusalem

The Catholic News & Herald 13

The Bottom Line ANTOINETTE BOSCO CNS Columnist Facing a Parent’s Death: An Emotional Roller-Coaster Time During the past year and a half I’ve been on the phone nearly every day with my older sister Rosemary to discuss the daily condition of our 92-year-old mother, now needing 24-hour-a-day care and in a nursing home.

We went through a couple of scary times, like when she fell and broke her hip and shattered her femur bone, and when she had a slight seizure, caused, said the medical people, by a growth in her brain.

I always expected the day would come when my seven brothers and sisters and I would have to face the fact that Mom won’t live forever. After all, we already had buried our father, back in 1985, when he died of congestive heart failure at age 83. We could look back at the decades they lived, and thank God for giving them so many years, really good ones, in fact, with excellent health and strong children.

What came as a surprise to me and my sister was the way Mom’s physical breakdown put us on a strange path, one full of past memories and future concerns. Seeing Mom, sitting in a chair, not remembering if she went to Mass that day or who I was when I called, throws me into a vision of my own future. I have learned that my way of life, as I now live it, will change — and that is a frightening thought because not one of us knows just what that change will be.

I was having a conversation recently with Barbara Bartocci. She has been widowed twice, and now both her parents have died. Her words were so on target: “Losing a parent — at any age — is a profound loss. It is such a primal connection, that of parent and child. No matter what your age, no matter what the circumstances of your rearing, no matter how loving or how lethal your relationship, it’s impossible to completely ignore the people who gave you life.”

Bartocci found that few people would discuss their feelings about losing their parents.

She had a hard time finding friends and acquaintances who could help her with her grieving after she became what she calls, “an adult orphan.”

She said, “I had to feel my way, as if walking through an unfamiliar forest.”

Little by little she discovered others who had gone through the loss of parents, and she eventually put all these stories together in a book she titled, “Nobody’s Child Anymore, Grieving, Caring and Comforting When Parents Die” (Sorin Books). I picked it up because I was curious about what many have experienced in facing that final parental loss.

One woman felt sadness that there was now no one left who remembered her childhood.

Some found that they were angry as well as sad, usually because there were some yet unresolved issues that would remain forever in that uncomfortable place.

At this moment my mother has rebounded and is doing well. We feel this is a gift of special time from God to help us prepare for the journey she, like all of us, will one day have to take.

I will remember, as Barbara Bartocci put it, that our parents, so much a part of us, never really

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

April 27, 2001

Around the Dio-

Catholic poet shares gift in verse

the words, and she put it into poetic expression.” Billings said that Mazaleski read the poem aloud at the last coffeehouse, with her permission.

Mazaleski says that she would like it if people from other churches would attend the coffeehouses, and that she would even like to travel to other places to share her poetry. “I just want people to know there is so much love out there,” she says. “God is not something to be feared.”

She reads a poem about her feelings for God. “Thank you Lord for making me matter

I am one sheep amongst your flock not even one of brilliant mind or one of great virtue nor am I a scholar of your teachings

Yet I know that I am counted that I am always watched And though I am but one sheep blending into the rest

You appreciate my differences And it matters not my years wasted wandering selfishly As now I am in the fold And I matter” The next poetry reading by Leigh Mazaleski will take place on Friday, May 18 at 8 p.m. in the basement of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton.

(Note: The poetic verses quoted in this article are taken from longer poems written by Leigh Mazaleski, except for the last poem, which appears in its entirety.

The names of the poems, in the order in which they appear in the article, are as follows: “Until the Bus is Gone,” “Mommy Knows,” “A Wife’s Prayer,” “The Laundry’s Calling,” “My Guatemalan Friend,” “She Knows Not Why” and “Grand Praise from a Simple Heart.” These excerpts were printed with permission of

Continued on NEXT PAGE

Photo by Ellen Neerincx Sigmon

Leigh Mazaleski, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton, says poetry helps express her feelings. She shares her works at regular readings in the parish basement.

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April 27, 2001

FROM previous

By ELLEN NEERINCX SIGMON Correspondent MORGANTON — She sits in a director’s chair in a candle-lit corner of the church basement that has been transformed into a coffeehouse. About 30 friends and parishioners sit around small tables or relax on soft couches, and they listen as she shares her gift with them.

She is Leigh Mazaleski, a new Catholic, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Church, a mother of four, a self-employed speech pathologist and a poet.

Around the DioShe became a Catholic on Easter a year ago. “I’m still on a honeymoon with this church,” she says. “I love this church.”

Her poetry comes to her at times in her life when she feels like she needs to express her feelings. “Ten years ago my brother died, and I wrote a lot,” she tells her audience. Then again, a year-and-a-half ago, when her feelings for her family and her faith started to overflow, “these words just started coming to me. I went to Father Ken (Whittington), and he told me he thought it was a gift.”

Father Whittington, pastor at St.

Charles Borromeo, encouraged her to share her poems with others, and the coffeehouses were born.

She writes about many different topics, but mostly about her love for her children, her husband and her faith.

One poem, part of which appears below, describes her feelings as she greets her son when he gets off the school bus at the end of the day.

“You know that they all watch as I greet you You contain your enthusiasm

The Catholic News & Herald 15

while mine escapes my heart” Another poem tells about a 2-yearold’s feelings for Mommy. (Mazaleski has twin girls, age 2 1/2, and two boys, ages 5 and 6.)

“She knows all three foods I will eat She gets my favorite cup when I beg If I can’t be her kitchen helper then let me attach myself to her leg” She teases her husband because he has brought a newspaper to her poetry reading, but then reads poems she has written for him.

“Please walk between this humble soul and the man I still adore Help him see through the layers of stress and feel the love within my core” She jokes with her audience, and tells them how she has let other things slip since these poems have started coming to her. “Our house is a lot messier now,” she says. She reads a poem in which she is trying to decide what to do with an unexpected free hour, and ends it with this verse.

“And while I ponder, running out of time I spend precious minutes constructing this rhyme.”

She reads a poem inspired by her new neighbors from Guatemala.

“I know not your words yet the beauty of your way transcends how my eyes have opened since you arrived my Guatemalan friend” She reads a poem about people who are good to others, yet have faith missing from their lives.

“Every day she goes to work treats those she meets as a friend They always remember her smile Yet she goes home to greet emptiness once again And she knows not why” Jan Billings, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo, has been to all of the poetry readings. She became a Catholic herself two years ago at Easter. “She (Mazaleski) wrote a poem for me — my spiritual journey into the Catholic Church,” she said. “I gave her

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

Pope says human need for God can be almost physical B Cindy Wooden y

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The human desire to be with God is not just a wish, but a need that can be as physical as the need for food and water, Pope John Paul II said.

When the biblical Psalm writer tells God, “for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts,” he helps readers “understand how essential and deep is the need for God,” the pope said April 25 at his weekly general audience.

In St. Peter’s Square under a warm spring sun, the pope asked pilgrims to picture the setting of Psalm 62: “It is dawn, the sun is rising in the clear sky of the Holy Land and the speaker begins his day by going to the temple to seek the light of God. “He needs that encounter with the Lord in an almost instinctive, one could say physical way,” the pope said.

“Just as arid land is dead until it is irrigated by rain,” he said, so too “the faithful yearn for God, to be filled by him in order to exist in communion with him.”

The hunger for God is satisfied by listening to his word and receiving his body in the Eucharist, the pope said.

“Through the mystical food of communion with God, ‘the soul clings’ to him, as the psalmist says,” the pope said.

“It is not by chance that he speaks of an embrace, of a clinging that is almost physical.”

Even in the darkest night and in the midst of danger and difficulty, the one who is in communion with God feels protected, he said.

“The fear dissolves, the embrace is not a clinging to a void but to God himself, our hand entwines with the power of God’s right hand,” the pope said.

In the Easter season, Pope John Paul said, Christians know “the thirst and hunger that push us toward God” are satisfied through the risen Christ’s gifts of the Holy Spirit and of the sacraments, he said.

Living the

Marriage guides deacon’s life, shapes ministry

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer CHARLOTTE — Rev. Mr. Nicholas and Irene Fadero have passed the golden anniversary mark. Their nearly 53-year-old marriage has stood the test of time, and through it all, the high school sweethearts remain the other’s best friend and partner in spiritual development. In fact, their marriage serves as a guide and basis for Rev. Mr. Fadero’s marriage preparation ministry. Long before serving others in the name of matrimonial vows, Rev. Mr. Fadero grew up in a time of economic uncertainty, war and a way of life unknown to those of newer generations.

He met his future wife in the halls of their high school in Phillipsburg, N. J., and the two lived in a world now seen mostly in movies. They grew up during the Depression and World War II eras and witnessed a time when they had to be careful with every aspect of life.

“They were tough times with rations on gas, butter, sugar, etc. We didn’t splurge on anything, and we didn’t know we were poor because everyone else was,” said Rev. Mr. Fadero, remembering a time when students walked everywhere in groups and when many young teens held adult jobs to help support the family and to have pocket money.

Rev. Mr. Fadero himself held several after-school jobs as a delivery truck driver, mechanic and silkscreen printer all before the age of 18. He watched his friends signing up for a war across the ocean, and he wanted to follow suit. However, his father, who wanted his son to finish high school, stopped him.

April 27, 2001

Fadero, father of six and grandfather of five. “All of the kids came back to Charlotte, and now, we live within 10 minutes of each other.”

It was in West Virginia where Rev. Mr. Fadero decided to become a permanent deacon and was ordained in 1985. “I wanted to be more involved in my ministry than I had been. Without my wife’s cooperation, it would have been difficult,” said Rev. Mr. Fadero, who studied while his wife drove them to the classes. “My wife didn’t miss one day of class and was with me every step of the way.”

“The maturity level was much difThe couple moved back to Charferent at that time during the Depreslotte in 1993 and began attending St. sion. Responsibilities were present at Patrick Cathedral, where Rev. Mr. an early age. I started working at age Fadero is a permanent deacon today.

11, and Irene and I were married when While praying for a ministry, the I was 20,” said Rev. Mr. Fadero, who church bulletin provided the answer. had become acquainted with his wife A couple involved with marriage enduring their courtship walks, talks and counter wanted to start the Retroubus rides. vaille program, one which aids couples The couple settled in a house built to heal problems in their marriages.

by Rev. Mr. Fadero and began their Rev. Mr. Fadero and his wife became lives together and continued to develinvolved immediately. op their spirituality as one. Before they “Because of the divorce rate and were married, they attended novena my experience of beone night a week, one ing married and raisof their “dates” at Mrs. ing a family, I thought Fadero’s request. “She I had some things to was a devout Catholic share,” said Rev. Mr. and was a good influFadero. ence at the right time Mrs. Fadero addin my life. Before that ed, “Every marriage is time, I could have gone different, and we would either way as far as my tell them to do their religious life was conbest, no matter what cerned.” their problems were.

While his spiritual We tried to share what life was developing bewe knew.” fore and after his marThroughout their riage, at the same time, involvement with Rehis professional life was trouvaille, they calcualso taking off. After lated that over 3,000 a stint in Michigan at people called to ask the General Motors Rev. Mr. Nicholas Fadero about the program, Institute, he came back home and received an “I wanted to be more and over 600 couples were helped. Rev. Mr. associate’s degree in business administra- involved in my min- Fadero still works tion. He began work- istry than I had been. with marriage prepaing for Riegel Paper Without my wife’s co- ration and tells the couples that cooperain the early stages of what would become operation, it would have tion, commitment and data processing and been difficult,” said Rev. a good sense of humor are key in helping a moved on to the cost Mr. Fadero, who studied marriage to survive. department and was “It (our marriage) promoted to assistant while his wife drove them controller and, later in to the classes. “My wife has been a trial. You have arguments, but his life, to vice-president of finance and didn’t miss one day of God has kept us toregional controller. class and was with me gether. Prayer is very important,” said Mrs. The family moved every step of the way.”

Fadero. “The permato North Carolina for – Rev. Mr. Nicholas nent diaconate has aidthe first time in 1963 and joined St. Gabriel Fadero ed in all aspects of our lives because it makes Church in Charlotte you inclined to do the when the congregaright things in life, and tion only consisted of the Church is on our nearly 125 families. minds all the time.”

Continuing the church work he had performed in New Jersey, Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Rev. Mr. Fadero became involved with Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail the parish council, Eucharistic minisamprice@charlottediocese.org. try, teaching religion class and other aspects of parish life. After 13 years, the family moved to West Virginia again because of work.

“The three older children stayed in Charlotte, and the three younger ones came with us. We kept the house in Charlotte, and at one time or another, all of them lived in it,” said Rev. Mr.