May 10, 2002

The Catholic News & Herald 1

May 10, 2002

May 10, 2002 Volume 11 t Number 33

Inside

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

Sewing ministry weaves lives together

St. Leo student’s essay on faith reaps award

...Page 4

First Communion: a photo essay

...Pages 8-9

Books affirm joys and challenges of married life

...Page 10

Local News Vineyard of Hope: Catholic Social Services takes new venue for fundraiser

...Page 14

Bridges for women span many lives of faith

...Page 16

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

St. Eugene Church Sewing Ministry member Cris Cicotello embroiders a name on the funeral pall, which contains about 370 names of deceased St. Eugene parishioners.

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent ASHEVILLE — Mary Mukosiej stitches Robert Thorne’s name on the white cloth. When Thorne’s widow, Shirley, arrives, Mukosiej makes room for her at the table and helps her embroider part of Robert’s name.

His friends and relatives will certainly remember St. Eugene Church parishioner Robert Thorne, who died April 15, but the church’s funeral pall will keep his name alive for the parish. St. Eugene Church was founded in 1959, and the pall — the cloth that drapes coffins during funeral Masses — now contains about 370 names, all of the parish’s deceased members. This pall also covers the table holding the ash-filled urns at memorial Masses.

Every couple of months, sewingministry members Mukosiej, Cris Cicotello, Sabine Dieringer, Karen Poehlein and Rosey Eily meet in a room in the parish center after Sunday Mass to add the names of the most recently deceased.

They begin their meetings with a prayer that says, in part, “We ask your blessing on us as we stitch this remembrance of the members of the family of St. Eugene who have passed from this life to the next. Bless our hands that they may be steady and sure. Bless our hearts that they be filled with love and patience. Bless our time together as we grow in your gentle care.”

Cicotello brought the ministry to St. Eugene from her former parish, the Church of the Ascension, in Virginia Beach, Va. Father Francis T. Cancro, St.

See Sewing, page 15

Bishops’ official tells attorneys light must shine on abuse cases

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 12-13

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.

— Psalms 27: 4

and future credibility of the church as

By Catholic News Service moral teacher.”

ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) — The The text of Msgr. Fay’s April 28 general secretary of the U.S. bishremarks to the anops’ conference told nual attorneys’ meetdiocesan attor neys ing, which was closed that he doesn’t think to reporters, was rethe current crisis in leased several days the church over the later by the U.S. Conhandling of sex abuse ference of Catholic cases will pass until Bishops. “every stone that is Msgr. Fay said hiding some secret the trauma to those has been overturned.” in the church as been The official, exacerbated by how Msgr. William P. Fay, the media has retold a national gatherported on it. ing of diocesan attor— Msgr. William P. Fay neys that “the greatOne media failure has been the use est crisis the church of a “one size fits all” in this country has approach, he said. Many stories about faced” has perhaps traumatized every-

The fact that priests could abuse children “has shaken the faith of all of us in the goodness of the priesthood.”

one.

He also reported on the U.S. cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican in April and on steps the American bishops are likely to take, beginning with their June general meeting in Dallas.

Among possible steps is establishment of a national office for the protection of children.

The fact that priests could abuse children “has shaken the faith of all of us in the goodness of the priesthood,” Msgr. Fay said. And that some bishops reassigned these priests to places where they could abuse children again, he said, “called into question the ability of the bishops to fulfill their Godgiven responsibility as shepherds and left many wondering about the present

See Msgr. Fay, page 7

2 The Catholic News & Herald Kava, group member and parish priest.

Father Kava, a 36-year-old Pole, is nurturing singers, musicians, actors and puppeteers who are starting to travel throughout Uzbekistan, visiting some of the 3,000 people with Catholic roots.

Msgr. George Higgins, America’s ‘labor priest,’ dead at 86 WASHINGTON (CNS) — Msgr.

George G. Higgins, America’s foremost labor priest for half a century, died after a long illness May 1 in his childhood home town of La Grange, Ill. He was 86. He was hospitalized with a severe infection Jan. 19, just hours after delivering the keynote talk for an adult day of education on social justice at his boyhood parish, St. Francis Xavier, in La Grange. Despite emergency surgery to save his life, he never recovered from the multiple complications. Chicago Cardinal Francis E George was to celebrate the funeral Mass at 2 p.m. May 7 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. A memorial Mass was scheduled for 8 p.m.

May 6 at St. Francis Xavier Church in La Grange. In Washington, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick announced he would celebrate a special memorial Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at noon May 4.

Tornado rips through Maryland community, destroys Catholic school LA PLATA, Md. (CNS) — When Father Matthew Siekierski, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in La Plata, was returning home April 28 and could not see the parish school in the dark, he thought to himself, “Where is my school?” Then he saw most of it — lying on the ground.

Earlier that evening, around 7 p.m., a deadly tornado ripped through southern Maryland, leaving a trail of destruction in the town of La Plata. It killed three people, injured dozens of others and left Sacred Heart’s Archbishop Neale Elementary School seriously damaged. Many of the school’s walls were torn from the building, and roofing and other debris were scattered throughout the classrooms. The twister slammed against the school and then hit its child-care center, leveling it to the ground. Now the center’s stairs lead to a mound of rubble.

Report links oil

CNS photo from Reuters

Italians reach out to crucifix in annual procession Italians reach out to touch a large crucifix as it is carried in procession in the city of Monreale in Sicily May 4. Sicily is the scene of spectacular religious processions during the spring.

Hip-hop puppets: Uzbek Catholics evangelize in nontraditional ways FERGHANA, Uzbekistan (CNS) — Ferghana, renowned for nurturing conservative Islam amid some of Central Asia’s richest farmland, is a place where a scarfless woman is a rarity and religious men center their lives around the area’s several dozen mosques. But tucked away in a residential neighborhood next to a wheezing, Soviet-built factory is a modest whitewashed home that attracts a decidedly Bohemian crowd. Here, several times a week as night approaches, it is possible to sight women in pants and men with earrings, telltale signs of local Catholics. Young Catholic converts head to a rehearsal of their Christian hip-hop group in the makeshift recording studio that doubles as an office for Franciscan Father Pyotr

Episcopal

May 10, 2002 Volume 11 • Number 33 Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Sherill Beason 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.

May 10, 2002

The World in

c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: May 19 — Pentecost Sunday 12:30 p.m. confirmation St. Patrick, Charlotte May 20 — 7 p.m.

Confirmation St. Leo the Great, Winston-Salem May 21 — 7 p.m.

Confirmation Immaculate Heart of Mary, High Point May 22 — 7 p.m.

Confirmation St. Dorothy, Lincolnton May 23 — 7 p.m.

Confirmation Immaculate Conception, Forest City

development in Sudan to destruction, displacement OTTAWA (CNS) — A report linking oil development in the western Upper Nile region of Sudan to mass displacements of civilians, bombings and burning of civilian homes has been released by the international humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders. The 34page report also highlighted what it calls “the appalling effects” of oil exploration near civilian populations. Talisman Energy Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, is a partner in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co., one of two large oil consortiums operating in the western Upper Nile.

Canadian churches and nongovernmental organizations, noting that a federal government report in the late 1990s said Talisman’s presence in Sudan was exacerbating the lengthy civil war, repeatedly

Diocesan

plan -

solation Church, 2301 Statesville Ave. Those interested in learning more about the SFO and the Franciscan way of life are invited to attend. For more information please call Skyler Mood, SFO, at (704) 545-8133.

2 HIGH POINT — Bishop William G. Curlin will be the celebrant and homilist at a Mass in honor of the Feast of Corpus Christi this afternoon at 3 p.m. at Maryfield Chapel, 1315 Greensboro Rd. There will be a procession of the Blessed Sacrament and blessing of the sick after Mass. For further information, call Maryfield at (336) 886-2444.

2 SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., will be celebrating a charismatic and healing Mass today at 4 p.m. Prayer and worship with prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner will follow the Mass. Father John Putnam,

have called on the oil company to pull out of the region.

Cardinal defends council’s reversal on payout to Geoghan victims BOSTON (CNS) — Cardinal Bernard F. Law May 5 acknowledged “the disappointment, the anger, and even the sense of fresh betrayal” arising from a decision by the Archdiocese of Boston’s Finance Council to back out of a multimillion dollar settlement with victims of former priest John J. Geoghan. The cardinal said the archdiocese would continue to work for “a just and equitable solution” for all victims of clergy sex abuse. He talked about the rejected settlement during his regular Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. He said the Finance Council, which under canon law was required to approve the $15 million to $30 million payment to settle claims by 86 of Geoghan’s victims, had rejected the settlement out of a “laudable concern” that the payment would “negatively affect the response which the archdiocese can later give to the other victims.”

Residents see progress since Los Angeles riots, but say more needed LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Parishioners at Nativity Church in Los Angeles’ South Central community remember all too well the riots 10 years ago that engulfed their neighborhoods for several days after a jury acquitted four white police officers in the brutal beating of black motorist Rodney King. “The immediate danger to the church was from the fires.

We had fires all around us on three sides,” Father David Herrera, then pastor of Nativity Church, recalled in an interview with The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He said the parishioners, who brought water hoses to the parish, were heroic in their efforts to save the church. “It really is truly a blessing from the Lord that we were spared,” he added.

Indonesian archbishop asks paper to stop coverage of ‘bleeding host’ ENDE, Indonesia (CNS) — The archbishop of Ende in eastern Indonesia has asked a local Catholic daily to refrain from reporting that a consecrated host pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

Upcoming ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Oratory Religion Camp will hold two separate one-week sessions in Kings Mountain State Park July 7-13 and July 14-20.

Youth under 12 who will be entering grades 2-6 in Sept. can apply for consideration. Those 16 and older wishing to volunteer as counselors can write for a staff application. For more information and applications, write to: The Oratory Religion Camp, P.O. Box 11586, Rock Hill, S.C. 29731-1586.

Please submit notices of events for the Diocesan Planner at least 15 days prior to the publication date.

May 10, 2002

U.S. nuns raise issues of power, openness in talks at Vatican VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A toplevel delegation of American nuns raised the U.S. clerical sex abuse scandal — including “issues of power” and openness — in regularly scheduled talks with Vatican offices, the group’s leader said. Though they demonstrated a divergence of positions, the talks were respectful and warm, said Sister Kathleen Pruitt, a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace and president of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious. “There was discussion. Was there absolute understanding? In a two-hour meeting, it’s hard to say we know exactly what was done. But we were respectfully heard,” Sister Pruitt told Catholic News Service May 4 at the end of a week of Vatican meetings.

Pope welcomes, encourages new recruits for Swiss Guard VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II welcomed 28 new recruits for the Swiss Guard, telling them their new job was an opportunity to deepen their faith and attachment to the church. Speaking before their swearing-in, the pope told the recruits always to see their service “as ‘soldiers of the pope’ as a mission that the Lord himself entrusts to you.” “Be attentive to one another, (both) for support in daily work and for mutual enrichment, always remembering that there is more joy in giving than receiving,” he said.

Research at Holy Cross leads to new chemical patent WORCESTER, Mass. (CNS) — Researchers from the chemistry department at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester have patented a new process that can be used to manufacture such pharmaceuticals as ibuprofen and Valium. A Holy Cross chemistry professor, with assistance from a student, created a clean, environmentally better alternative for the many applications of what’s called Friedel-Crafts Reaction. It is an important chemical process that has changed little since Victorian times. The new process was published as U.S. Patent No. 6,362,375 earlier this year. The principal inventor is Martin A. Walker, a former Breakfield at (704) 370-3220 or Marlo Wallace at (704) 370-3228.

25 MAGGIE VALLEY — Franciscan Father John Quigley will be facilitating “The Trinity’s Invitation to Full Life” at Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center, 103 Living Waters Lane, this week through May 31.

Participants will look at the spiritual, emotional and intellectual aspects of the Holy Trinity’s role in people lives.

For further details, call the center at (828) 926-3833 or e-mail lwcrc@main. nc.us.

26 HENDERSONVILLE — The St. Francis of the Hills Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order will meet today from 3-5 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 208 7th Ave. West.

Visitors and inquirers are welcome, so for more information, call Helen Gillogly, SFO, at (828) 883-9645.

June 2 CHARLOTTE — The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order will be gathering today at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Con-

The Catholic News & Herald 3

The World in

CNS photo from Reuters

Swiss Guard sworn in at Vatican ceremony A new recruit to the elite Swiss Guard is sworn in during a Vatican ceremony. The pope welcomed 28 men to the guard May 6, which marks the day in 1527 when nearly 150 guards died defending Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome.

Holy Cross chemistry professor now at the State University of New York in Potsdam. He was assisted by Patrick Birmingham, a 1998 graduate of Holy Cross, as part of the college’s undergraduate research program. Birmingham is now at Loyola University Medical School in Illinois.

Philippine archbishop condemns deadly attack on church festival MANILA (CNS) — The president of the Philippine bishops’ conference condemned a May 1 grenade attack that killed seven people and injured 127 others at a church festival. Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato called on other religious leaders to denounce “the

dastardly act of the basest kind,” noting the “untold suffering” it has brought innocent families, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. While police blamed a teenager for the attack, the archbishop noted the unclear reports of the role of “terrorists” in the blast. Police reports said an unnamed teen threw a grenade that exploded in a gymnasium at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Cotabato City, 540 miles southeast of Manila. Parishioners were celebrating the parish’s feast day May 1 with other villagers and guests, including Muslims, when the blast occurred.

TV ad highlights research on possible abortion-breast cancer link

May 12 CHARLOTTE — A charismatic Mass will be held at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, this afternoon at 4 p.m. with prayer teams at 3 p.m. and a potluck dinner at 5 p.m. in the school cafeteria. For further information, contact Josie Backus at (704) 527-4676.

18 GASTONIA — St. Michael Church will be sponsoring its first annual invitational golf tournament today at Cramer Mountain Country Club. The captain’s choice event; which will include lunch, golf, cart, prizes and a reception; will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. For further information, call (704) 867-1212.

19 CHARLOTTE — A Byzantine Catholic liturgy will be celebrated this afternoon at 5836 Kinglet Lane. Byzantine Catholics and anyone interested in the Byzantine Catholic rite are welcomed to attend. For further details, call Olga at (704) 948-6471.

20 ASHEVILLE — The St. Martin

de Porres Pro-Chapter of the Dominican Laity meets tonight and every third Monday at 7 p.m. in St. Justin’s Center at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, 97 Haywood St. Inquirers are welcome. For more information, contact Beverly Reid, OPL, at (828) 253-6676.

20 CHARLOTTE — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 1 Mecklenburg County-St. Brigid, an Irish-Catholic social and charitable inter-parish group, will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd. Anyone interested in their Irish-Catholic roots, call Jeanmarie Schuler at (704) 554-0720 for further information.

22 GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Council of Catholic Women is having its annual May luncheon today at Sedgefield Country Club at 11:30 a.m. A fashion show with the theme “Clothes You Love to Live In,” raffle and the board installation will be taking place at the luncheon.

This year’s charity is the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center. For further

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A TV ad with the message that abortion could increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer by at least 50 percent has started to air in California as part of a statewide pro-life ad campaign. “Nobody told me that 40 years of research and 28 medical studies have shown a significant link between abortion and breast cancer,” the ad says. “People don’t know anything about this, and more so in California,” Dana Serrano, executive director of the Women’s Resource Network-California, told The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The network has begun airing the ad in San Diego, and hopes to have it shown in Los Angeles and other California cities by September. The group is working to raise $7 million to carry out the ad campaign.

Two film retreats to be held in July BOSTON (CNS) — Two “National Film Retreats” will be held in July, one July 12-14 on the campus of Marymount University in Arlington, Va., and the other July 26-28 at the Center for Spirituality in Orange, Calif. The retreats, sponsored by the Partnership for Spirituality and Film, were announced by the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Boston, which is run by the Daughters of St. Paul. Under the retreat’s format, participants view four feature films in their entirety; this is followed by reflection, conversation, and opportunities for prayer, liturgy and sharing insights about the movies. The theme of this year’s retreats is hope. Given the Sept.

11 terror attacks, “we want to focus on what the world of cinematic storytelling can offer us as we journey toward the future in trust,” said a statement from Frank Frost, a founder and director of the film retreat. There is a limit of 30 participants at each retreat. For details, call: (617) 522-8911 or visit the Web site: www.nationalfilmretreat.org.

South African church praises government’s approval of AIDS drug CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) — A Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference official has welcomed a government ruling directing information, call Janet Law at (336) 288-6022.

22 GUILFORD COUNTY — The Ancient Order of Hibernians Guilford County Division, the oldest and largest order of Irish Catholic men, is looking for more Irish Catholic men to join them for meetings, educational seminars and social events.

Contact Michael Slane at (336) 6659264 for time and location.

22 MAGGIE VALLEY — A series of presentations; sponsored by CSS Elder Ministry and facilitated by Richard Von Stamwitz, a national certified gerontological counselor; are continuing throughout the diocese. Today’s presentation will be given at St. Margaret Church, 1422 Soco Rd., from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Brown bag lunchtime with provided drinks will begin at 12:30 p.m. The topic, “Faithful Living in Later Life,” will be presented in two sessions and will focus on vocation and ministry in the later years. For pre-registration and other information, call Sandra

4 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

Essay affirms faith

By KEVIN E. MURRAY Associate Editor WINSTON-SALEM — Hard times don’t always lead to a lack of faith. One Catholic student wrote about that belief and was rewarded for it.

St. Leo School seventh-grader Gina Hurley won the seventh- to eighth-grade category in the Pass Ports “History Affects Today” essay contest. Gina, who incorporated her heritage and faith into her essay, was one of three first prize winners from different grade levels.

“I thought it would be a fun thing to do because I like to write,” said Gina.

“I had hoped to win but didn’t think that I would.”

Past Ports is a series of history curriculum materials produced by Madison, Wis.-based Demco. The contest, announced in a Pass Ports spring catalog, asked teachers and librarians to have students submit a 300-800word essay addressing the impact of a historical situation in their lives.

St. Leo School librarian Christine Hurley saw the announcement as the students left for spring break.

“The (April 1) deadline was shortly before we got back from break,” said Hurley. “Gina entered the contest on their Web site while we were on vacation. She was online typing away, and then she asked me if it was OK to enter.”

Demco received nearly 300 essays ranging in topics from Sept. 11 and the Holocaust to the invention of the airplane, according to Terrie Anderson, an educational consultant for Demco.

Anderson judged the essays on items such as grammar and spelling, and how the students drew and supported conclusions.

“There was remarkable writing and insight on the part of the students,” said Anderson.

Gina’s winning 500-word essay, which took no more than an hour to write, was on the Irish potato famine. “My immediate thought was to write about something that directly affected my family and the world,” she said.

Gina’s family had told stories of the their migration from Ireland to America during the infamous famine. “She felt that

it did have a big influence on her, even today,” said Hurley.

“It was because of the potato famine that both branches of my family came to the United States of America,” wrote Gina in her essay.

“Gina wrote an outstanding essay.

She did a really great job talking about the famine’s global effects down to its effects on her own personal life,” said Anderson.

Gina also wrote, “It was due to the large immigration of Irish after the potato famine that the Catholic Church became one of the largest churches in the United States ... My family is Catholic, and our religion is very important to us. It helped us ‘weather the storms’ in the past, and it still does today. ... So you see, the Irish held tight to their religion during hardship so they might overcome bad situations such as the potato famine with their faith. This unshakable faith often moved others to join the church and to join in this faith.”

Anderson called Hurley to let her know the good news shortly before the winners were posted on the Pass Ports Web site May 1.

“I knew Gina would be thrilled. I was very happy for her,” said Hurley.

“I had almost forgotten about the contest. I was so shocked,” said Gina.

Gina received a $100 savings bond, a set of “History News” history books and a hieroglyphics rubber stamp set.

Gina’s mother, as school librarian, also received a Pass Ports curriculum package on the American Revolution, which Gina’s class will be studying in the eighth grade.

Anderson said nearly 50 percent of the essasys came from Catholic schools. Two of the three first prize winners were from Catholic schools — John Shakespear of Boston Archdiocese Choir School in Cambridge, Mass., won the first prize fifth- to sixth-grade category with essay on the roots of slavery.

“The caliber in general was higher in the essays from Catholic schools, not only in mechanics but in how the students took a stand on how history had affected them,” noted Anderson.

As Gina wrote in her article, “With the Catholic religion, Catholic schools came to the United States. These schools offer a

May 10, 2002

Afternoon tea serves

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent ASHEVILLE — Tea poured from a silver pot; pastries; tiny sandwiches; juicy chocolate-dipped strawberries; and Trinitarian Sister Marie Frechette even supplied you with an elegant wide-brimmed hat — traditional tea attire.

Families and individuals gathered beneath shady trees on the lawn of the Catholic Social Services Western Regional Office (CSSWRO) May 5 for an old-fashioned afternoon tea, CSS’s opening for its annual fundraising raffle. CSS will draw the winning names at a pancake breakfast on July 13.

Raffle proceeds help finance CSS-

WRO programs. The Diocesan Support Appeal meets about 46 percent of the office’s $421,000 budget, with additional help coming from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and from service fees. CSSWRO still depends on individual and church donations for the rest of its money, said Sister Marie, CSSWRO director and counselor.

Opened in 1982, the CSSWRO offers a variety of services, including: counseling; pregnancy support; domestic and international adoption; crisis intervention; immigration; Hispanic-Latino; disaster relief; elder ministry; family life; marriage preparation; prison ministry; Respect Life; and natural family planning.

May 10, 2002

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The Catholic News & Herald 5

Couple’s lives changed by encountering Christ in

By DIANNE M.A. RIGGS Correspondent LENOIR — Forgiving your “enemies,” loving your neighbor, finding unity instead of differences and giving instead of receiving — What would it be like to encounter people living out this radical lifestyle rather than just reading, thinking or talking about it?

Thirty years ago, William J. (Bill) and Genevieve (Gen) Phillips attended a Focolare movement “Mariapolis” (“city of Mary”) event in Pennsylvania with their children and met people living this charism, revealing stories of Gospel transformation throughout the world. They attended again the next summer.

Returning home after that second year, Gen realized, “Either we walk away from this movement now, or we jump into it with two feet. There is no halfway with this challenge.”

Gen and Bill decided to attend Focolare meetings held in their New York area. Participating in the Focolare movement had a profound effect on Bill, who had taught school after college until his retirement in the early 1990s. “After 15 years teaching in New York City, I couldn’t wait to get out.”

When he became involved in the movement, everything changed. “It went from, ‘they’re driving me nuts’ to ‘you may be driving me crazy today, but I love you anyway.’ (Focolare) teaches us to see Jesus is the one that we’re working with,” said Bill. “If Jesus loves this person, who am I not to?”

The Lenoir couple, who are members of St. Francis of Assisi Church, are both cradle Catholics. They spent most of their lives in the Northeastern

United States, moving to Lenoir in the early 1990s.

Focolare (which means “hearth” or “family fireside” in Italian) began in 1943 in Trent, Italy. Its founder and current president, Chiara Lubich, spent many hours during World War II in bomb shelters with her friends reading the Gospels. As young adults, they were hungry for an ideal that would answer life’s deepest questions.

There, amid shrieking air raid sirens, they realized God to be the ideal for which they would live.

The central tenet of their group was discovered one day in Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John 17:21: “That all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” From that verse, Lubich and the other young women realized that God wanted their charism to be “unity.” They came to understand that key to this unity was Christ’s command to “love one another,” that where “two or three are gathered in my name, lo I am in the midst of them,” (Matthew 18:20).

From the second chapter of Acts, they took their cues from the early Christians and held all possessions in common. Their acts of charity and compassion, and their attempts to actually live out the Gospel message of unity and love, have attracted many people to the movement.

Focolare members range in commitment levels, including: vowed lay virgins (both women and men) and vowed married, volunteers who give a definite commitment and religious and clergy. The “Work of Mary,” as Focolare is listed with the Holy See, was formally recognized and its stat-

Photo by Dianne M.A. Riggs

Genevieve and William J. Phillips are Lenoir members of the Focolare movement, a Catholic lay movement also known as the “Work of Mary” started in Trent, Italy, in 1943 that now claims more than a million followers. utes instituted during the pontificate of Pope John XXIII. According to the Phillips, who are volunteers in the movement, there is a Focolare presence in 182 nations with about 200 centers and approximately 5 million members, including “adherents” — persons endeavoring to live out the spirituality of unity and love but having made no specific commitment. In the United States, houses of vowed members exist in Hyde Park, N.Y.; New York City; Chicago, Ill.; California; Boston, Mass.; Washington D.C.; and Texas.

From its inception, Focolare has had an ecumenical reach. In the 1950s, working relationships began with Evangelicals in Germany, then with the Lutheran and Anglican churches and Orthodox traditions. Today, people from many Protestant traditions are counted as part of the movement.

Focolare has had conversation

and mutual ministry with many nonChristian traditions, including Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of tribal religions.

“As volunteers, we are willing to do what we can, where we can,” said Bill. They help as support staff for the regional Mariapolises. They also send “Word of Life” leaflets to about 30 persons who are interested in Lubich’s monthly comments on Scripture.

“We are (also) willing to host monthly meetings (in Lenoir),” said Gen. It was these kinds of meetings in New York that gave support and instruction on the spirituality of Focolare. “It was overwhelming. I saw that the meetings had tools I could use to begin this process. I want(ed) to become committed to applying the Gospel to my daily life.”

Two of the tools she expressed are: living in the present moment and, if you fall, get up and start again. Gen said being in a group is helpful because it allows sharing with others the experience of trying to live out the Gospel.

6 The Catholic News & Herald Chicago-area priest donates part of liver to parishioner CHICAGO (CNS) — When Miguel Zavala, a member of Holy Family Parish in Waukegan, needed a life-or-death liver transplant earlier this spring, his pastor, Father Gary Graf, became a “living donor,” giving him half of his liver in a risky surgery. Zavala had suffered for three years from a rare blood disorder, primary sclerosing cholangitis. It’s the same affliction that killed Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton soon after he retired. “Father Gary truly is the good shepherd,” said Kitty Shumaker, a Holy Family parishioner. “He lays down his life for his parishioners in any way he can.” For Father Graf’s part, he is doing no more than any good father would do: taking care of his family. In a letter to the parish he wrote: “Celibacy, together with being a sacrifice for the kingdom, allows me to be part of a larger family. You, all of you, become my family.”

‘Nun fund’ works to ease debt burden that is obstacle to vocation VIRGINIA DALE, Colo. (CNS) — Christine Hudson knew at age 4 she wanted to be a nun. Now, at 30, she’s still on what has been a long road to the abbey.

Various things have stood between Hudson and her vows, but none so much as the enormous debt she incurred from school loans while pursuing a career as an opera singer. Currently, Hudson is living in Virginia Dale at the Abbey of St. Walburga and teaching at St. Joseph Catholic School in Fort Collins — an 80-mile commute.

Currently, 96 percent of her salary goes directly to paying off the loans, Hudson said. Still, she estimates it will take another 10 years before she is debt-free and able to become a Benedictine Sister. But recently some friends have decided to help speed Hudson’s dream along, presenting her with a small donation they had collected.

That money now sits in a bank in a fund affectionately called “The Nun Fund.”

Residents see progress since Los Angeles riots, but say more needed LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Parishioners at Nativity Church in Los Angeles’ South Central community remember all too well the riots 10 years ago that engulfed their neighborhoods for several days after a jury acquitted four white po-

May 10, 2002

People in the

CNS photo from Reuters

Youths present fish to pope on Italian island Young men in traditional dress present a fish to Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to the south Italian island of Ischia May 5. lice officers in the brutal beating of black motorist Rodney King. “The immediate danger to the church was from the fires.

We had fires all around us on three sides,” Father David Herrera, then pastor of Nativity Church, recalled in an interview with The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He said the parishioners, who brought water hoses to the parish, were heroic in their efforts to save the church. “It really is truly a blessing from the Lord that we were spared,” he added.

Hispanics see increased voice needed in religious, civic affairs WASHINGTON (CNS) — The growing U.S. Hispanic population is bringing demands for a greater Latino voice in religious and public life, said Hispanic religious leaders at a Washington conference. Hispanics are often

discriminated against in their churches and in society, said many of the speakers.

Survey results presented at the May 3-4 conference showed that religion plays a key role in shaping Hispanic attitudes and that Hispanics want their churches to take a more active role in social and political issues.

Carmelite scholars honor Father Joachim Smet WASHINGTON (CNS) — Carmelite scholars from across America gathered at the newly remodeled research center at Whitefriars Hall in Washington in April to honor Carmelite Father Joachim Smet, whose work led to one of the largest collections on Carmelite spirituality in the world. A portrait of Father Smet, painted by Chicago artist Stephen Titra, was unveiled as part of

the April 12 prayer service and blessing in his honor. The Carmelitana Collection at Whitefriars Hall now houses more than 14,000 volumes of both rare and modern books, as well as a selection of microfilms and audiovisual material.

Ohio woman wins Thomas Merton prize for poetry LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNS) — Lanette Cadle of Bowling Green, Ohio, won $500 and first place in the 2002 Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred contest. The native Kansan and mother of two, currently a doctoral student in rhetoric and composition at Bowling Green State University, won for her poem, “Elegy for an Engineer.” It and other award winners will be published this summer in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of the International Thomas Merton Society, based at Bellarmine University in Louisville. The winning poems also can be read on the Web at www.mertonfoundation. org.

Young Catholic Palestinian sees future fade as fighting continues BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) — It was not too long ago that Sholine Botto thought she had a bright future.

Israel and the Palestinians were engaged in peace talks, and, having graduated from Bethlehem University in tourism, the 22-year-old was working with a major American airline, traveling to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv several times a week to welcome pilgrims to Bethlehem.

Now, Botto has been a prisoner in her own home, which she shares with her mother and brother, for most of the 18-month intifada. No longer able to work in her chosen profession, Botto found a job working as an administrative assistant for the Latin Patriarchate in Beit Jalla, West Bank. “I am losing my life without doing anything. I need to live my life,” she said while defying the Israeli-imposed curfew by playing cards with family outside her home.

May 10, 2002

MSGR. FAY, from page 1 abuse cases that occurred decades ago are reported as if they happened yesterday, for instance, he said.

“Anyone who has had to deal firsthand with the events of this crisis ... knows that we are dealing with a reality that is extraordinarily complex, one that cannot be reduced to sound bites or to simplistic explanations,” he said.

Msgr. Fay also criticized the news media for paying too little attention to reforms the dioceses have made.

“There is no sense that a claim of the sexual abuse of a minor today is handled completely differently by the church,” he said.

Msgr. Fay, in reporting on the cardinals’ meeting at the Vatican, said the two most concrete actions to come from the discussion were the possibility of directives from the Holy See for national standards in handling sexual abuse of minors, and visitation of U.S. seminaries by apostolic representatives of the Vatican “to ensure that the education we are giving our candidates for the priesthood is as excellent and as effective as it can be in the areas of celibacy, chastity and boundary issues.”

He said the cardinals’ meeting helped U.S. church leaders focus on their June meeting in Dallas at which the subject will be addressed.

Among things they will consider are ways of guaranteeing that every diocese is taking steps to prevent child abuse, he said. “As our Holy Father said ... there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those that would harm the young.”

From the To ensure that, the bishops “need to find the most effective ways to engage all members of the church in this effort, and they need to attend to the fact that child abuse is a much greater societal problem than has yet been admitted,” Msgr. Fay said.

“In this last regard, it is expected that the bishops will explore seriously the possibility of establishing a national office for the protection of children that will engage others in society towards the greater protection of our youth.”

Msgr. Fay encouraged the attorneys to focus on how “the present is better because we addressed the crimes of a few years ago.”

“The fact that these are trying times is no excuse to wallow in the present moment,” he said.

He noted that the bishops have aimed to break the cycle of abuse in this generation and that much of what they are doing is aimed at that goal.

“We cannot ever lose sight of the fact that our collective energies have been directed to making the church stronger and better, not just protecting the assets or managing the scandal,” he continued. “I am personally convinced that this moment will not pass from view until every stone that is hiding some secret has been overturned to let the daylight shine on that spot. Such a thing is happening now and the more it is resisted, the longer and more painful it will be.”

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Diocese reports allegation to civil authorities

By Joann S. Keane Editor CHARLOTTE — Since Bishop William G. Curlin announced a revision of the diocesan sexual misconduct policy in March, six incidents of sexual misconduct have been reported.

In accordance with diocesan policy, the most recent, an allegation of sexual abuse, was turned over to civil authorities on May 6.

The alleged incident occurred nearly 40 years ago, and the priest involved has been deceased for more than two decades. The diocese retains confidentiality of incident locations, as well as the names of the alleged victims and perpetrators.

In the past two months, the diocese reported that five alleged incidents involving priests have been turned over to civil authorities in the North Carolina counties in which the alleged abuses occurred.

A sixth case, involved a religious order priest serving in the diocese. He was removed from active ministry by the provencial of his religious order.

While a religious order operates autonomously, religious-order priests working in a parish or other diocesan institution are accountable under diocesan policies.

Last month, during a meeting via

conference call, Bishop William G. Curlin joined his brother bishops of the Atlanta province, which includes Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, in a joint statement collectively backing a “zero-tolerance” policy on priests who have a “confirmed or proven” allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor child.

The bishops defined such a policy as a commitment that the church and its institutions will be a safe environment for children, and that no priest will remain in any ministry where he can be a danger to them.

In addition to Bishop Curlin, those who participated in the conference call were Archbishop John F. Donoghue of Altanta, Ga.; and bishops Robert J. Baker of Charleston; J. Kevin Boland of Savannah; and F. Joseph Gossman of Raleigh. They addressed proposals involving accountability, the reporting of allegations and reassignment to ministry.

The bishops made it clear that their recommendation includes all past, present and future cases involving proven cases of sexual abuse with minors in any area of priestly ministry.

“We must remind ourselves that these problems did not occur overnight, and therefore, cannot be solved overnight,” said Bishop Curlin.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Just as spring brings new life, the month of May brings new life in formation, as children across the diocese, after significant preparation, receive the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time.

On May 4, first communicants at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Charlotte took their faith to a new level as they received the sacrament during a special Mass.

Around the Di-

F

May 10, 2002

IRST HOLY

May 10, 2002

Around the Di-

Y COMMUNION Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.� Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them and blessed them.

-- Mark 10:14,16

Photos by Joann S. Keane

The Catholic News & Herald 9

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

Books affirm joys and challenges of married

Reviewed by Daniel Lizarraga Catholic News Service “I Like Being Married” and “Daddyhood” are two new books affirming marriage and family. Michael Leach and Therese J. Borchard, who together edited the collection “I Like Being Catholic,” have teamed up again to edit “I Like Being Married,” a collection of stories and quotes from married couples, both celebrities and ordinary people, on what married life means to them and ways that love is manifested in the lives of two people who have joined together.

The selections include not just romantic correspondence and recollections of special shared moments but also stories of challenges that are a very real part of married life.

One example is a story written by parents of a child with severe special needs. The couple shares how they have struggled and supported each other through this experience.

While not a spiritual book per se, many of the selections speak of the divine as an integral aspect of a successful marriage. There are quotes on love and relationships from the Bible and other religious texts as well as from vowed celibates such as Jesuit Fathers Teilhard de Chardin and Pedro Arrupe. These reflections contain universal elements of love and commitment that are embodied in married life.

“I Like Being Married” is not a recipe book for a successful marriage; neither is it a research study.

Rather, it is an inspiring collection of personal journeys that reflect the mysterious and enjoyable dimensions of living a lifelong commitment with a spouse.

Modern-day society would be well served with more such anthologies highlighting the very positive and very real treasure of married love.

Similarly, Daniel W. Driscoll’s “Daddyhood” is a collection of the author’s re-

May 10, 2002

Read-

flections on modern life as a parent of four young children. Subtitled “This Changes Everything!” (indeed it does!), the book is not limited to readership by fathers since the stories and reflections will be appreciated by moms and grandparents (as well as those who know families with young children).

Each chapter of Driscoll’s book begins with a quote by a famous person that captures the moral of the story and ends with a prayer composed by the author. The quote may be accurate and/or humorous but the prayer is always meaningful and places the particular experience in the context of one’s relationship with God and a personal interpretation of what God is trying to convey through the event.

Readers will smile and be touched by the simple and ordinary moments of children in which the author is able to see an extraordinary occurrence reminding him of God’s infinite love of all of God’s children. He provides a personal glimpse of family life and family dynamics in a manner of anticipation of the joy-filled surprises of each day.

Perhaps the thought of raising four children can be overwhelming for many of today’s parents of smaller-sized families.

However, the gracefilled stories in “Daddyhood” will inspire both daddies and mommies to take time in the midst of their busy schedules to savor the precious moments of the blessings of their children. In this way, they also will come to recognize the vital role they play in the lives of their children by providing the initial experience of God’s love and desire for them to become the wonderful person God intends them to become.

Word to Life

Sunday Scripture Readings: May 12, 2002

Cycle A Readings: May 12, Seventh Sunday of Easter 1) Acts 1:12-14 Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8a 2) 1 Peter 4:13-16 3) Gospel: John 17:1-11a

By JEFF HENSLEY Catholic News Service I’ve just put the newspaper to bed, electronically sending it to our printer 80 miles away. I’ve been handling press relations, while struggling to get coverage of the Vatican/U.S. summit on priest/clerical abuse out to the people of our diocese, along with a letter from our bishop explaining our efforts to protect children and other vulnerable persons.

I struggle through and turn finally, very late and very tired, to my piece of writing, reflecting on the Scriptures for this week. And what do I find?

—A word of comfort from the Psalms: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?”

—A call to incessant prayer in Acts, after Jesus’ ascension into heaven (and preparatory to the outpouring of God’s Spirit at Pentecost): “Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer.”

—A message to take courage, to strengthen my resolve in the assur-

ance of God’s consolation in 1 Peter: “Rejoice instead in the measure that you share Christ’s sufferings. When his glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly. Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God’s Spirit in its glory has come to rest on you.”

—And finally, word that we have not been abandoned, and that the One who has called us into his service and his fellowship is advocating for us still: “For these I pray — not for the world but for these you have given me, for they are really yours.”

Weary though I am, I find in Scripture, in a specific set of Scriptures that I am forced to turn to by my commitments, all the encouragement and rationale I need, and all the encouragement that the Spirit of Christ can offer me.

Why do we (myself, first of all) not turn to God for our comfort in times of difficulty? He really is capable of providing all we need. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

QUESTION: Have you neglected prayer and Scripture reading in your busyness?

Have you thought to commit to daily time in God’s word as a counter to an overscheduled life?

SCRIPTURE TO ILLUSTRATE: “Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks” (Psalm 27:8a).

Weekly Scripture Scripture for the week of May 12 - May 18 Sunday (The Ascension of the Lord), Acts 1:12-14, 1 Peter 4:13-16, John 17:1-11; Monday, Acts 19:1-8, John 16:29-33; Tuesday (St. Matthias), Acts 1:15-17, 20-26, John 15:9-17; Wednesday (St. Isidore), Acts 20:28-38, John 17:11-19; Thursday, Acts 22:30; 23:6-11, John 17:20-26; Friday, Acts 25:13-21, John 21:15-19; Saturday (St. John I), Acts 28:16-20, 30-31, John 21:20-25 Scripture for the week of May 19 - May 25 Sunday (Pentecost Sunday), Acts 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, John 20:1923; Monday (St. Bernardine of Siena), James 3:13-18, Mark 9:14-29; Tuesday, James 4:1-10, Mark 9:30-37; Wednesday, James 4:13-17, Mark 9:38-40; Thursday, James 5:1-6, Mark 9:41-50; Friday, James 5:9-12, Mark 10:1-12; Saturday (St. Bede), James 5:13-20, Mark 10:13-16

May 10, 2002

“Les

By Anne Navarro Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) — An ambitious period piece, “Les Destinees” (Wellspring Media) follows a dynastic family involved in the porcelain business through the sweeping changes of World War I and the shift from artisanship to industrial manufacturing.

Yet director Olivier Assayas overindulges by stretching the film unnecessarily to the three-hour mark.

The initial expectation is that these subtly drawn characters will somehow become the audience’s intimate friends as more is revealed about them.

However, this is not quite the result as, by the third act, the film pushes the audience’s patience, making the viewer care less rather than more.

Set at the beginning of the 20th century among the bourgeois Protestant families of the Limoges region who have made their fortunes in cognac and fine porcelain, the film explores the passion and confusion stirred by sexuality, religion and the desire for material objects.

The film’s three anchors are Jean Barnery (Charles Berling), a former Protestant minister who reluctantly guides the family business through sweeping changes; his first wife, Nathalie (Isabelle Huppert); and his second and more supportive wife, Pauline (Emmanuelle Beart).

Jean, however, is the driving force that fuels the film’s more complex underpinnings. He begins as a man of

Entertain-

God, then indulges in an idyllic, carefree life in the Swiss mountains with Pauline by his side, and ultimately, after taking over the family business, becomes an artist and a man of substance. And his two wives, Nathalie, with her strict moral temperament, and Pauline, exuding an earthy sexuality difficult to miss, represent the two opposite poles of his nature, which wage a constant struggle within him.

A visual feast with lush cinematography and outstanding attention to detail, “Les Destinees” sumptuously re-creates the past. The changing costumes throughout the years and the natural-looking aging makeup confirm the quality of the production, as do the fine performances from the large ensemble cast. But the film’s slow tempo is a challenge as Assayas is unable to maintain the same level of interest throughout the 180 minutes.

Due to a sexual encounter and an extramarital affair, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is AIII — adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Navarro is on the staff of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Film and Broadcasting.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

CNS photo from Sony Pictures Classics

Scene from Sony Classics’ “Nine Queens” Leticia Bredice, Tomas Fonzi and Ricardo Darin star in the movie “Nine Queens” by Sony Pictures Classics. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-IV — adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope, at audience, prays for success of U.N. meetingB Cindy on children Wooden y

May 10, 2002

Editorials & Col-

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II asked for prayers that the U.N. special session on children would lead to real strides in protecting the “precious, but also vulnerable treasure” of the world’s children.

Speaking May 8 at his weekly general audience, the pope said the U.N. meeting beginning the same day in New York should lead to international action to relieve the effects on children of “wars, poverty, exploitation and abuse of every kind.”

In his main talk at the audience, transferred indoors at the last minute because of a heavy rain, Pope John Paul spoke about Psalm 51, known as the “Miserere” from its opening phrase, “Have mercy on me.”

The pope said it was “the most beloved, sung and meditated upon of the penitential psalms, a hymn raised to the merciful God by a repentant sinner.”

The psalm, he said, is a stark acknowledgment not only of a human being’s tendency to sin, but of the evil one personally has committed.

“It is an experience which involves freedom and responsibility and leads to the admission of having broken a bond” with God, the pope said.

Quoting Origen, an early Christian theologian, Pope John Paul said there are many people who “after having sinned are absolutely tranquil and give no thought to their sin.”

But one who loves God and is aware of being loved by God “is tormented by remorse” after sinning and pleads with God for forgiveness as the writer of the psalm does.

The psalm also shows that “the confession of one’s sin and the awareness of one’s misery do not lead to terror or the nightmare of being judged, but rather to hope for purification, liberation and being a new creation,” the pope said.

“The power of God’s love surpasses that of sin,” he said.

The May 8 audience also appeared to have sealed a new papal practice; as he has done since Easter, the pope ended his audience remarks to his fellow Poles by singing a Polish folk song.

Touched by God: Stories of the saints I’ve always been a big fan of the saints. I was introduced to them as a child by the nuns. While my friends talked about Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, I’d tell stories of St. Francis or Kateri Tekakwitha.

To me there was something fascinating about people who seemed to have a special connection to God. I think that, in a way, I may have been envious, wanting to know what it felt like to have something miraculous happen to you. Certainly, the miracles and visions that saints were said to have experienced struck me as far better than movie magic or whatever else was appealing or intriguing.

I’ve never stopped reading about the saints. Whenever a new book comes out, giving new insights or information about saints, I am fascinated.

Bert Ghezzi, an author and father of seven, tells me he has the same reaction. In fact, he is so attracted to these spiritual giants we call saints that he embarked on a journey to get to know them better. With the help of a friend who has a library of books detailing the lives of some 2,000 saints, some famous, some obscure, Ghezzi began to see these amazing people in a new light.

“These saints, canonized by the church, worked miracles, but they were not canonized for these wonders.

I don’t believe miracles make anyone holy,” said Ghezzi.

“What makes one holy is the presence of the Spirit in their lives, their love, their faithfulness. I found these people were saints because they lived extraordinary lives for God”; God “touched their lives.”

Ghezzi decided to focus on a number of saints known as mystics, writing about them as “ordinary people” with blemishes and weaknesses, yet as profound lovers of God and people, so much so that when they put their love into action, miracles flowed. His stories are now in a book titled “Mystics & Miracles, True Stories of Lives Touched by God” (Loyola Press).

As for who is a mystic, Ghezzi answers simply: They are people with a “special closeness to God. They get rid of all the clutter in their hearts to make more room for God.”

Spirituality for Today FATHER JOHN CATOIR CNS Columnist

on his love for me than on my love for him. At baptism we are bound to the Trinity for life, on good days and bad. Our true hope is always in him, not in the men who carry his message.

In this time of crisis in the church, many of us have confused feelings ranging from outrage and fear to sadness and frustration. Remember that feelings are not facts, however justified they may be. The fact is that you and I are never alone or abandoned. Our union with God is secure because it always depends more on his love for us than on our feelings for him or his church.

He is always purifying the church, holding us to his heart. Don’t be afraid of this scandal. It will pass. We have lived with scandals ever since Judas betrayed the Lord, and we will live through this one. We will come out of it a better church.

Jesus promised to be with us all days, even until the end of the world.

The Bottom Line ANTOINNETTE BOSCO CNS Columnist

Ask this man what he hopes a reader will learn from his book and he quickly answers, enigmatically, “If [the saints] can do it, why can’t I?” He adds, “I feel too many of us keep saints at a distance, on a pedestal. Subconsciously we may believe they’re genetically different from ‘poor old me,’ who’s ‘full of sin.’ But it’s not ‘them and me.’ The church gives us these souls to honor, but they’re just like us except that they consistently decided to follow Christ, and I don’t.”

As for why miracles happen, Ghezzi believes that “God seems to work extraordinary things to attract attention to the truth.” Long a leader in the charismatic movement, Ghezzi underscores the Holy Spirit as the one behind the miraculous in this world.

“If we really want to be like the mystics, we won’t look for miracles. Nor will we chase after spiritual experiences,” says Ghezzi. “Rather, we will let God’s Holy Spirit touch our lives.”

Our feelings about God and the church at a time of scandal Did you know that there are more than 110 million unchurched people in America? With all these scandals, that number is increasing daily.

Cynicism is the last refuge of the disenchanted idealist. Unfortunately, it only leads to unhappiness. I am hopeful that you will reject it and try to keep your spirits high because Jesus came to bring joy. The devil does all he can to disrupt our peace and joy, and we must not let him.

Divine revelation helps us to see that Jesus is the answer to all problems. In the Book of Isaiah we read: “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder, what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts no one will open. On him shall hang all the glory of his family.”

The key of the House of David is the symbol of authority given to Jesus, who has come to lead us home to the kingdom of joy. He gives us clarity about the meaning and destiny of human existence. He feeds our spirit with joyful anticipation.

There are many baptized Christians who feel distant from God and his church. They have suffered because of the sins of a few and have become alienated.

The Lord wants them to put their trust in him, not in men. He also wants them to put their feelings aside and realize that intimacy with God does not depend on cozy feelings.

Jesus was never closer to God than when he was being crucified by the sinful clergymen of his time. He asked the Father to forgive them in spite of his feelings.

I remember a time in 1954 when I was in the Army doing guard duty on Christmas Eve. I was cold and tired as I heard the sounds of hymns being sung at the post chapel. I was alone and feeling sorry for myself. As I tried to unite in spirit with those at Midnight Mass, I still felt a million miles away. I had doubts about my faith and strangely seemed to lose my feeling for God and the church. I was both angry and confused.

What I learned upon reflection later was that intimacy with God does not depend on my feelings at any given moment. Union with God always depends more

May 10, 2002

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle MSGR. JIM LISANTE Guest Columnist

lic trust. Happily, he voiced a deep concern and compassion for the victims of this sinful behavior.

The pope begged for divine grace in this great crisis. The Holy Father also used this sad occasion as an encouragement not only to priests, but also for all to search for holiness. He wisely reminded us that being a person of true holiness isn’t a once-and-for-always attainment. It needs to be worked on each day. Just as a wedding ceremony doesn’t automatically guarantee that a married person will remain eternally faithful to his or her vows, so no priest is automatically holy because he is ordained. For all, it takes an ongoing recommitment to seeking the good, the spiritual, and the holy.

Finally, John Paul II suggested that from this painful reality, the Church must experience a “reawakening.” I’d like to continue this discussion in a forthcoming “Light One Candle.” At that time, I’ll get down to some practical ideas about how we might accomplish that “re-awakening.” How do we take the darkness of these sins and turn it into a candle of shining brightness?

ing of the Passion according to St. Matthew, the word “revolutionaries” was substituted for “thieves,” referring to the two men crucified with Christ (27:38). In my Bible the word is “bandits.” Why the change? (Pennsylvania) A. You, and several others who wrote to me asking the same question, were certainly alert.

A full response would be too involved for this column.

A brief explanation might be interesting, however, and help one realize that words in these translations are not chosen arbitrarily.

It is true that many Bibles traditionally call these men “thieves” or “bandits.” Other names, however, like “insurgents” (original New American Bible) and “revolutionaries” (revised New American Bible) are now common and probably a more accurate translation.

The description of Barabbas in the four Gospels is significant for a response to your question.

Two of the Gospels, Mark and Luke, describe Barabbas as one who was in prison for taking part in an insurrection, a rebellion, during which a murder was committed. John calls him a “lestes,” a Greek word that means a thief or a renegade, a rebel.

This designation of Barabbas has been seen, for example, as showing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, who denounced Jesus as an alleged political criminal but now seek the release of a real enemy of the Romans.

Several verses later, Mark (15:27) and Matthew (27:38) both refer to the two men crucified with Jesus by that same Greek word.

Based on the connection of John’s word “lestes” with insurrection and murder in the other two Gospels, it seems appropriate to identify the two men on the cross as revolutionaries or insurrectionists, rather than simply thieves.

The New American Bible is a translation of Scripture from the original languages, authorized by the bishops of the United States in 1970 and revised in 1986. It is the English translation used in most Catholic American parishes and is the one you heard on Passion Sunday.

The scandals: Beyond the shock and sorrow For several months now, the Catholic Church has been buffeted by focus on priestly scandals involving pedophilia, the abuse of minors. It has to be faced head on, and the way to begin is to try to find a way to make it better.

You can’t get better, of course, until you start to admit a problem, and that’s what the Church must do right now: admit it has a problem — first, in harboring priests who would even do something like that to a child; and second, in failing to act to permanently remove a true pedophile from ministry and children. We can’t get better as a Church until we admit that we’ve done wrong.

Having said that, it’s also vital that this crisis be put in perspective. Even one child abused is too many.

There is no excuse at all for a priest taking advantage of his privileged position to hurt or exploit minors. But in condemning those bad actions of some priests, we must never forget what the overwhelming majority of priests are about: true good.

Even severe critics of the Church admit that sexual molesters of children might include three or four percent of all priests. And that’s awful. But it also means that at least 96 or 97 percent of priests have never and would never harm a child. In the midst of all this focus on the few, we need to remember the good of the many. I know of no priest who is not demoralized by the recent stories of scandal. We choose this vocation with hope and joy.

We feel called to ennoble the world by service to God’s people. When you love that vocation as most of my brothers and I do, your heart breaks to see it compromised by the actions of some.

Few priests are as passionate about dedication to the priesthood as is Pope John Paul II. He has spoken of the scandals in clear and unmistakable language. Among his insights is the acknowledgement that as priests, we are all afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers. He talked about the “mystery of evil,” wondering what could possibly make otherwise good people do such awful things.

He admitted that now there is a “dark cloud of suspicion” over all priests, because some have so badly violated pub-

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

Communion more than once a day?

Q. At one time a priest told us we could receive Communion more than once a day, for example at a morning wedding and then an evening Mass. Now we are told we can receive only once. Which is true? (Illinois) A. The rule allowing Communion only once a day was relaxed years ago. The Code of Canon Law (917) provides that anyone who has received the Eucharist may receive it again on the same day, but only during a eucharistic celebration (Mass).

In l984 the Vatican commission for interpreting canon law ruled that, even at Mass, Communion should be received no more than twice. That is the policy today.

The church knows from experience that some people are tempted to treat sacred things, even Mass and Communion, in a superstitious manner. I once knew a woman who proudly claimed she attended 11 Masses, at least the “essential parts,” every Sunday.

To prevent people from collecting Communions this way was one reason for the stricter once-a-day rule in the past. Today’s broader policy trusts that fuller awareness of the meaning of the Eucharist will discourage abuse and at the same time prompt people to receive Communion whenever it is appropriate, even more than once a day.

Thieves or revolutionaries?

Q. This past Passion (Palm) Sunday, in the read-

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Family Reflections ANDREW & TERRI LYKE Guest Columnists Relaying messages of hope and spirit for the future Family announcements can make for great creativity. Think of the many stories you’ve heard about how someone proposed marriage or announced a pregnancy. People can go to great lengths and creativity to make the announcement a memorable occasion. Once in a while, that creativity is born of spontaneity.

Don and Alena Boucree of St. Peter Claver Church in New Orleans gave birth to their fourth child yesterday morning. The pregnancy was unplanned and unexpected. Don took the news of the pregnancy with all smiles. Alena had some reservations about the idea of another child — at first.

Baby Leah arrived a few weeks earlier than expected. Her parents, siblings and some family friends who had anticipated her arrival got the news of her conception in a creative, spontaneous way.

They were all at a Chinese restaurant. As each read aloud the fortune from his or her fortune cookie, Don pretended to read from his cookie, “Mommy will have a baby.” The general response from their three children, whose ages range from 14 to 7, was “yeah, right!” Their disbelief persisted as they continued to read each fortune from their cookies. When it was Alena’s turn, the fortune she pretended to read was “Daddy’s right!”

Once it sunk in after a momentary pause, the kids all rallied around their parents, elated with great jubilation. The spontaneous joy from the kids erased Alena’s minor ambivalence and marked the beginning of her joyous anticipation.

Baby Leah’s birth may have been yesterday morning. However, the celebration of her life began months ago. The wonderfully clever announcement of her coming was her initiation into their circle of love.

She enters this life into a family in which love is no stranger. Months before her birth, she had the love of parents who love each other, and siblings who’d gladly move over to make room for her in their circle of love. She is also received by a faith community that promises to stand by her for a lifetime. Baby Leah enters this life naked and underweight, fragile and totally dependent. Yet, she starts life with the riches of the Kingdom of God in her grasp.

Congratulations, Alena and Don! Welcome to the world, Leah!

Questions for Reflection: * What story of a creative family announcement can you recall? * When has the anticipation of a child’s birth drawn you closer as a family? * How has the support of family, friends and church been a source of strength for you?

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

May 10, 2002

Around the Di-

CSS to raise awareness and funds with Vineyard of

By ALESHA M. PRICE Staff Writer CHARLOTTE — People will have the opportunity to sample wines, bid on auction items and help Catholic Social Services Charlotte Regional Office (CSS) in the process. Vineyard of Hope will be held May 16 at the Gateway Village Promenade from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The idea behind the wine-tasting and auction is multi-layered — a CSS fundraising effort, a time for fellowship and a way to inform people about CSS. “We wanted to try a fresh approach to the annual dinner in terms of the program and getting new people involved,” said Ann Kilkelly, director of development for CSS, who has been working for the diocese a little over a year. “We are looking to continue this as an annual event.”

The name comes from the winetasting portion of the event and the work of CSS in the community. “Hope speaks about what CSS does in people’s lives whether it is someone who comes for counseling, adoption or any kind of help that they can’t get anywhere else,”

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said Kilkelly. “CSS responds to people’s needs, and the bottom line is helping people.”

The evening will include wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and a silent and live auction.

People will have the opportunity to hear a description of the wines before tasting, view auction items before bidding and hear live jazz music. Mike Collins of Charlotte Talks, a National Public Radio show, will be the emcee, and George Erdle, wine consultant, has been working with the CSS event subcommittee to provide information about the wines to be sampled.

Dr. Bill Rice, co-chair of the subcommittee and chair of the CSS advisory board, said that the wine tasting and auction will serve as a new venue for gaining friends and financial support. The board is looking for innovative ways to attract supporters and let the public know about CSS. “We’re really trying to build fellowship. CSS has been very busy, and resources are limited. So, we are looking for new ways to raise money,” said Rice. “We are hoping to reach young

people who are untapped with this kind of an event held uptown. We are trying to reach out to the young adult community because there has been such as influx of young Catholics to the diocese who don’t know what CSS does.”

Bea Staub, co-chair of the subcommittee, is very familiar with CSS. She and her husband, Pat, adopted their two children, Dylan, 6, and Danielle, 8, from Russia through the CSS International Adoption Program.

“My husband and I were blessed with two wonderful children, and we are in debt to CSS for life and would do anything to help them,” said the auction coordinator. “CSS is the best kept secret; they do so much with limited staff and resources. We are here to create an awareness and spread the word about the wonderful things they

have done.”

Auction items will include a 1971 convertible Mercedes from Ron Shue Imports, a weeklong family trip to Beaver Creek, Colo., a golfer’s dream weekend, sports memorabilia and other donated items. “We are in awe of the generosity of the donors,” said Staub.

Geri King, director of the CSS Charlotte Regional Office, said that they are looking forward to a great time when they can enjoy friends on behalf of the agency.

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

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May 10, 2002

SEWING, from page 1 Eugene’s pastor, liked the idea; implementing it took more than a year.

Parishioner Mary Hazinski, volunteering to sew the pall, went to a funeral home to measure a casket. Her husband, David, an engineer, designed the 11-foot-by-17-foot pall so that it would fit a coffin and hang evenly.

The center panel, which covers the top of the coffin, is a thick, white fabric.

The side panels, where the names are inscribed, are of a soft, open-weave cloth.

“It had to be something that was easy to embroider on, but cross-stitch material is too stiff,” Cicotello said.

Initially, about 20 women volunteered to embroider the names, which were all preserved in a book at the church. “When we first started, we didn’t have individuals (outside the ministry) to stitch; we had a team that stitched,” Cicotello said. “It was very hard. We actually had people, who were experienced stitchers, who said, ‘I can’t do this.’ It was amazingly difficult.

“It was hard because of it not being a traditional stitch, it’s not a crossstitch — and it’s a solemn responsibility. No one wanted to make a mistake.

We checked and double-checked spellings. And there was the time pressure for each person to finish her 17 or 23 names by the end of the month,” she said.

For four months, four different women took the panels home each month. Those who had the long, side panels stitched 23 names; those with the end panels embroidered 17 names.

A red cross separates each name from the one beside it.

Then Hazinski sewed the panels to a white, flannel lining. Father Cancro blessed the pall during a commissioning ceremony.

Around the DiEven those who have no names are not forgotten. One corner panel, dedicated to all stillborn and unborn children, contains a simple black outline of the Mary and the Christ Child.

A red cross represents the mother’s heart. However, if a child has been named and then dies, his or her name appears with those of other deceased parishioners.

Any friend or relative can help embroider the name of a deceased St. Eugene parishioner. A sewing-ministry member helps with the stitches. On the same Sunday that Robert Thorne’s name took its place on the pall, Ann Hunt, Tobey Livingstone and their sister-in-law, Barbara Reid, added the name of Ann and Tobey’s father,

Philip Reid — one of the original parishioners.

Reid, 87, died at sunrise on Easter Sunday. “He said he wanted to spend Easter with Jesus,” Barbara Reid said.

“It meant a lot to me that Daddy will be remembered; this church meant a lot to him,” Hunt said after embroidering part of her father’s name.

“When I started doing this,” Mukosiej said, “I was thinking, ‘This is something that will be remembered.’”

That’s important to Mukosiej, who does not know where her mother is buried. Born in Poland, Mukosiej and her family were deported to Russia during World War II. Her mother died in a Russian hospital and was buried in a mass grave.

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Cicotello hopes to eventually dedicate one of the pall’s corner panels to all parishioners’ family members who were not St. Eugene parishioners.

“When we started this, I don’t think any of us knew how much this would affect us,” Cicotello said. “Of all the ministries that I have ever done, and do, if someone said, ‘You have to give up all your ministries and can only keep one,’ this is the one I would keep. You saw the families that were here today. They tell their stories. It’s very healing, and that’s what church is about. Even if you don’t remember the person, you remember the name, and that is remembering the person.”

Contact Correspondent Joanita M.

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

May 10, 2002

Living the

Bridges for Women span many lives of

By REV. MR. GERALD POTKAY Correspondent GREENSBORO — Twenty-four women from St. Paul the Apostle Church gathered to celebrate Mass and share in a modest breakfast, fellowship, talk and meditation May 4. Pattie Disney, Vicki Schaller, Pam Johnson, Mary Anne Baumgartner and Sue Perez were a part of the core group that brought “Bridges for Women” into reality.

“After members of this core group attended an Ignatius-style retreat in Atlanta, we became excited about the faith and needed a way to enhance our faith journey,” said Disney.

Bridges for Women is a way of accomplishing this mission.

The name “Bridges for Women” came from the belief that humancrafted bridges are awesome, but that the most magnificent bridge of all is the one not crafted by human hands — Mary, who fully cooperated in the Incarnation and continues to bridge the gap between humanity and her divine son, Jesus.

Meeting quarterly and always on the first Saturday of the month, the women’s evangelization efforts began Nov. 3, 2001. There are always two speakers at the meetings — one who gives the faith-filled viewpoint of the younger women; the other who offers the experiences, knowledge and faith of the older women.

Because the month of May is traditionally the month of the rosary, and the entire month is dedicated to the Mary, she was the topic for the May 4 meeting.

Oblate Father Anthony Gilborges, parochial vicar of St. Paul the Apostle Church, started the meeting with Mass. Afterward, Johnson gave the welcome and introduced the first speaker, Susan Raybold.

A Greensboro native, Raybold attended Our Lady of Grace School and received a bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

A member of St. Paul the Apostle Church for the last 13 years, Raybold is an active catechist and has contributed her expertise to high school level faith formation classes for nine years.

Raybold explained how her friendship with Mary grew through the faith and devotion of her own mother who always prayed the rosary. Raybold

Photo by Rev. Mr. Gerald Potkay

Susan Raybold stands beside a portrait of the Virgin Mary while speaking to a group of over 20 women at the “Bridges for Women” meeting at St. Paul the Apostle Church May 4. referred to the Annunciation found in St. Luke’s Gospel to show that Mary’s role as a woman was one filled with risk and danger from the time she gave her “fiat” to God. “At a time when women had no rights and were aware of the possibility of stoning just for being pregnant before marriage, Mary was faced with these challenges and all of the other physical and emotional changes women go through,” said Raybold.

Mary, said Raybold, is the silent example who confirmed everything she did through God. “Even as Mary took care of Jesus and encouraged him at the wedding feast of Cana, she enabled me to get through the trials of my own life by sharing them with her and with Jesus,” said Raybold.

Raybold said the rosary is a tool to help get through life’s trials. “Meditation on the mysteries and envisioning Mary wrapping her mantle around me totally changed my life,” she told the group.

“Of course we honor Mary. But remember that she is named in the Apostles’ Creed,” said Raybold. “There is a definite bond between Mary, Jesus

and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can’t have one without the others.”

The second speaker was Libby Lennon, a mother of six, a St. Paul the Apostle parishioner for 28 years and an Associate of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God at Maryfield. Len-

non spoke of Mary through her own experiences.

“Mary was a young girl who lived an ordinary life extraordinarily,” she said.

Lennon also noted, “Prayer is the gate used to gain entrance to God. My life has been steered by prayer, especially the rosary.”

“Mothers are the saints of God,” added Lennon. “You are all important.

We can help each other. We must live one day at a time as we walk with God and with Mary.”

Robin Conklin, a new member of Bridges for Woman, said that she realized how Mary affects her everyday life. “I relate to Mary. I look to her. The rosary is very important in my life,” she said.

Kate Smith, who attended her first meeting, said, “The Holy Spirit is truly working today. I can’t live without the rosary. It has helped me get through many situations. It is my whole life.

Mary has been my strength all along.”

Contact Correspondent Rev. Mr. Gerald Potkay by calling (336) 427-8218, or e-mail gpotkay@triad.rr.com.