June 24, 2005

June 24, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Year of the Eucharist

Mystery of the Mass, Part 19; Eucharistic adoration list

| Page 7

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI June 24, 2005

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Helping hands, healing hearts Assisting refugees is sign of authentic faith, pope says

See REFUGEES, page 17

no. 35

U.S. bishops discuss issues, approve documents Clergy sexual abuse again a major item at bishops’ Chicago meeting

by JERRY FILTEAU catholic news service CHICAGO — As they have been at every U.S. Catholic bishops’ meeting since June 2002, clergy sexual abuse of minors and the protection of children from such abuse were a significant part of the June 16-18 meeting in Chicago of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Major items on this June’s agenda were approval of revisions of the 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and the related

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI offered a special prayer for the world’s refugees, and said helping them was a sign of authentic faith for Christians.

The pope made the remarks at a blessing June 19 to several thousand people gathered in St. Peter’s Square. World Refugee Day was celebrated worldwide the following day.

The pope said the theme of this year’s refugee day, “Courage in the Face of Flight and Exile,” reminded people of the strong spirit people need when they are forced to flee their homes and their families and face a series of risks and problems.

He said the Catholic Church feels close to refugees

vOLUME 14

See USCCB, page 16

CNS photo from Reuters

A Sudanese refugee boy puts his hand out for candy during a celebration of World Refugee Day at a camp in northwest Uganda June 20, 2005. Pope Benedict XVI offered a special prayer for refugees for the occasion and said helping them was a sign of authentic faith for Christians.

Schiavo autopsy does not alter church’s pro-life stand, official says by

Stewarding the masses Poli honored with Mother Teresa by

JOANITA M. NELLENBACH correspondent

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Grace Poli (center) coaches a Dispute Settlement Center class at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville. Participants are Amanda Gaines (left), Bill Birkhead, Elaine Silvia and Les Fleischer. Poli recently won the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for her years of community service.

HENDERSONVILLE — Retirement can be a chance to kick back and take life easy.

For Grace Poli, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, it’s an opportunity to immerse herself in church and civic projects.

NANCY FRAZIER O’BRIEN

catholic news service

“I believe that we all have talents, and we’re supposed to use those talents,” she said.

“I feel that as Christians, if we believe in our faith, we’re supposed to be good stewards and share them with the larger community. We all can make a contribution, and we all do it in different ways.”

Poli’s contributions have earned her the Mother Teresa Memorial Award from the Knights of Columbus North

WA S H I N G T O N — The autopsy results on Terri Schindler Schiavo are irrelevant to the church’s stand in support of her human dignity and against removal of her feeding tube in March, a Catholic pro-life official said June 16.

“Our position was not based on predictions about her likelihood of recovery,” said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “It was based on her dignity as a human

See POLI, page 6

See SCHIAVO, page 17

Pastoral Assignments

Culture Watch

Perspectives

Bishop Jugis announces pastoral changes

Good and bad of Harry Potter; Catholic radio program anniversary

Overmedicating ourselves; examination of Schiavo autopsy

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| Pages 14-15

| Pages 18-19

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

June 24, 2005

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

Running on hope

CHICAGO (CNS) — More than 180 bishops gathered at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral June 15 to celebrate the accomplishments of Catholic Extension over the past 100 years.

“It’s a great joy for many of the bishops of the United States who are here to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Catholic Extension Society,” said Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, the group’s chancellor, prior to the Mass.

“The society was founded with a zeal to allow the church to flourish in every part of our land,” he said.

The Mass, celebrated the evening before the beginning of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ June meeting, gave Extension leaders an opportunity to thank the bishops for their support. The support of bishops, priests and lay people has allowed Catholic CNS photo by Craig Robinson

Along the highway, nearing the high point of his journey, Jonathan Williams of West Hartford, Conn., makes his way toward the Continental Divide in New Mexico June 8. The Fordham University graduate is running across America to inspire people to do something positive with themselves and for society.

Man runs across U.S., aims to inspire people to do something GALLUP, N.M. (CNS) — When Jonathan Williams arrived in Gallup June 7, he was one day shy of being one month into a run across America that he has undertaken to inspire people to do something positive with themselves and for society.

“I’m doing this to promote positive attitudes and goals,” said the 26-year-old native of West Hartford, Conn. “I want people to think outside of the box.”

Williams began his cross-country journey on Mother’s Day, May 8, from Newport Beach, Calif. He will end his run in Newport, R.I. He said he did not realize the significance of his departure date until he started running.

“My mother died of breast cancer seven years ago, and I think of her every day but didn’t realize the significance of starting the run on Mother’s Day until later,” Williams said.

He said he decided not to dedicate himself to one particular cause, but to allow people to choose a cause with which they can identify vicariously through him as he made his way across the United States.

For a year, Williams roughed out the course he would take across the United

Catholic Extension marks 100th anniversary in

States. To carry along his clothes, sleeping bag and personal belongings, he pushes a three-wheeled stroller.

Averaging 25 to 30 miles per day with breaks that last no more than two days, Williams anticipates arriving in Newport by early October.

During his breaks he relies heavily on the generosity of people to help house and feed him. Firehouses have been common spots for Williams to sleep. He has spent nights in motels paid for by strangers who became interested in his effort.

“People are inherently good, sometimes they forget just how good they are,” said Williams. “I’ve told my girlfriend many times that if people treated each other like they have treated me, the world would be an even more incredible place.”

It is this optimism that Williams said he has shared with adults and children along the way. He sees his run as a pilgrimage of hope not only for him but for others.

“I’ve broken down crying on more than one occasion because of the shear physical and emotional stress,” said Williams, but added that he told himself, “I’m not going to let this day beat me!”

Corrections

Mercy Sister Mary Timothy Warren, diocesan vicar for women religious, was incorrectly identified as a jubilarian celebrating an anniversary to the religious life in a photo caption in the June 10 issue.

In the “Wiping away the despair” story (May 27), it should have stated that Maryknoll Sister Joan Petrick, not Maryknoll Sister Joan Uhlen, spoke at St. William and Immaculate Heart of Mary churches. Also, the Somotillo Committee members of St. William and Immaculate Heart of Mary churches are Father George Kloester, Susan Haley, Mike Regner, Iowa Van Hamme, Mary Lou La Penna, Mary Colabella, Joan Otte, George and Mary Ann Schwane, and Notre Dame Sister Terry Martin. Mary Priest and Margaret Norton were very active com-

Diocesan planner CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., will host a Christian Coffeehouse July 16 at 7:30 p.m. Single and married adults are invited for an evening of contemporary Christian music, food and fellowship.

For more information, call Kathy Bartlett at (704) 400-2213.

Extension to give more than $400 million to the home missions — Catholic communities in dioceses around the country that are too poor or too small to meet all their own needs.

The organization started small, said Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala., the group’s vice chancellor. He noted that Catholic Extension, then known as the Catholic Church Extension Society, was founded by a young Canadian-born priest serving a small parish in northern Michigan.

Father Francis Clement Kelley started the group after being moved by the poverty he saw in rural and remote America. Ironically, Father Kelley was on a speaking tour trying to raise money to pay off the church he built in Lapeer, Mich., when he saw far greater needs in other areas.

Lady of Mercy School classes of 1954 through 1965 is being considered for Fall 2005. E-mail Madeleine Chartier Crawford at madeleine@harpermachinery.com or call Joyce Hartis O’Keefe at (704) 5365049 if you are interested in celebrating Charlotte Catholic High School’s 50th anniversary.

CHARLOTTE — The Cancer Support Group for survivors, family and friends meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. For more information, call Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283.

CHARLOTTE — The Young Adult Faith Reflection group meets at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., the first and third Mondays of each month. The group will read “The Faith Explained,” 3rd edition, by Leo J. Trese and a chapter will be covered every meeting. For more information call Jordan (704) 737-1964 or Ryan at (704) 377-1328.

CHARLOTTE — The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order gathers the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Consolation 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, call Skyler Harvey, SFO, at (704) 545-9133.

HUNTERSVILLE — A Mass to Honor Deceased Loved Ones will be celebrated the last Friday of each month at 7:30 p.m. St. Mark Church, 14740 Stumptown Rd. For more Pam Schneider at (704) 875-0201.

CHARLOTTE — The Happy Timers of St. Ann Church meet the first Wednesday of each month with a luncheon and program at 1 p.m. in the parish activity center, 3635 Park Rd. All adults age 55 and older are welcome. For more information, call Charles Nesto at (704) 398-0879.

CHARLOTTE — Would you like to learn more about your Catholic faith, but are unable to attend a class every week? Catholic Update meets Mondays, 5-6:15 p.m. and Tuesdays, 4:30-5:45 p.m. in the New Life Center Room 102 of St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. This is a drop-in class that will cover a new topic of interest each week. Each participant will receive a Catholic Update from St. Anthony Messenger Press to keep. Pre-registration is not necessary. Childcare is available by reservation by calling (704) 543-7677 ext. 1011.

CHARLOTTE — A reunion for Charlotte Catholic High School, O’Donoghue School and Our

HICKORY VICARIATE HENDERSONVILLE — The Widows Lunch Bunch, sponsored by Immaculate Conception Church, meets at a different restaurant on the first Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. Reservations are necessary. For more information and reservations, call Joan Keagle at (828) 693-4733.

HICKORY — A Charismatic Mass is celebrated the first Thursday of each month in Sebastian Chapel of St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. NE, at 7 p.m.

For further information, contact Joan Moran (828)327-0487.

jUNE 24, 2 005 Volume 14• Number 35

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Karen A. Evans Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Deborah Hiles 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 $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

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.

The Catholic News & Herald 3

June 24, 2005

FROM THE VATICAN

Simplified catechism to be released June 28 at Vatican around the world.

“Forty years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council and in the heart of the Year of the Eucharist, the compendium can be a precious aid for satisfying the hunger for truth felt by every human person of every age and condition,” said Navarro-Valls.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II commissioned the shorter, simpler version of the 865-page catechism, saying there seemed to be a widespread desire for “a brief compendium containing all the fundamental elements of Catholic faith and morals, formulated in a simple and clear manner.”

The late pope had said the new, shorter text would “faithfully mirror” the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” and would be “an authoritative, sure and complete synthesis.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Top Vati-

SALISBURY VICARIATE CONCORD — Father Matthew Habinger of the Natural Family Planning Outreach will celebrate all the Masses at St. James Church, 139 Manor Ave., the weekend of July 16 and 17. For information on NFP outreach, visit www.nfpoutreach.org. For general details, call Susan Chaney at (704) 720-0772 or e-mail sujo94@aol.com.

CONCORD — Father Matthew Habinger will be conducting a free three-hour workshop, “God’s Plan for Human Love,” at St. James Church, 139 Manor Ave., July 16. A light luncheon will be served after the 11 a.m. Mass, followed by the workshop. The workshop will include talks by two local NFP-only physicians and a witness couple.

Childcare will also be available. For details and to RSVP, call Susan Chaney at (704) 720-0772 or email sujo94@aol.com.

SALISBURY — Our Lady Rosary Makers of Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., are making cord rosaries for the missions and the military. The group meets the first Tuesday of each month in the church office conference room, 10-11 a.m. For more information, call Cathy Yochim at (704) 636-6857 or Joan Kaczmarezyk at (704) 797-8405.

SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., celebrates a Charismatic and Healing Mass the first Sunday of each month 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, pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The shortened, simplified version of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” will be presented by Pope Benedict XVI during a June 28 liturgy at the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said national bishops’ conferences would be responsible for translating the volume into their local languages and for publishing the volume in partnership with the Vatican publishing house.

The “Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church” was drafted by a committee led by the new pope while he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

A draft of the volume, in which church teaching is presented in a question-and-answer form, was sent for comment in early 2004 to all the cardinals and the presidents of bishops’ conferences WINSTON-SALEM — All young adults, single or married, are invited to Theology on Tap, a speaker series for Catholics in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Theology on Tap is a casual forum where people gather to learn and discuss the teachings of the Catholic Church. Theology on Tap will meet July 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 7 p.m. at Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant, 644 S. Stratford Rd. For more information, e-mail ws_tontap@yahoo.com.

KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church, 616 S. Cherry St. will present the Gospel of John Catholic Scripture Study, a 30-week program whose members learn the Scriptures, and come to a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith in a setting that builds Christian fellowship. The class is forming now for Fall 2005. For more details, visit www. catholicscripturestudy.com. Please register by July 17 to Juliann Demmond at (336) 996-7136 or rjdemmond@netzero.com, or call Betsy Hoyt at (336) 996-6396.

Vatican officials say giving blood helps Christians heal the sick can officials encouraged blood donation, saying it was a powerful and practical way to carry out Christ’s command to heal the sick.

Pope Benedict XVI, addressing pilgrims from his apartment window June 12, sent special greetings to blood donors everywhere to mark World Blood Donor Day June 14.

He said Christians should find inspiration for blood donation in Christ, who “redeemed us with his blood.”

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, celebrated Mass near the Vatican June 12 with several hundred blood donation volunteers. In a sermon, he asked why people should give blood.

The answers are many, he said. For one thing, despite millions of donors each year, the world does not have enough blood to meet medical needs — especially in poorer countries.

Many give blood out of a sense of solidarity or compassion for the sick, he said. But for Christians, donating blood should have another special meaning.

“Christ gave to his disciples a specific mandate: ‘Heal the sick,’” he said.

“Beyond solidarity and natural compassion, there is this mandate of Christ, whom we obey with our innermost nature by giving blood. This is a great satisfaction, fulfilling from our hearts Christ’s command to give health,” Cardinal Lozano said.

The cardinal added that giving blood was also a concrete way for Christians to oppose what church leaders have called the “culture of death” and its values of selfish pleasure, power and domination.

The World Health Organization began sponsoring the annual blood donation awareness day in 2004. It said that 82 percent of the world’s population does not have the certainty they will receive safe blood if a transfusion is needed.

The situation is worst in impoverished countries, where most people have to rely on family replacement donations or paid donations, the WHO said.

It said more than 80 million units of blood are donated every year around the world, but only 39 percent is collected in developing countries, where 82 percent of the global population lives.

Top hat at

Is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public? Please submit notices for the Diocesan Planner at least 15 days prior to the event date in writing to Karen A. Evans at kaevans@ charlottediocese.org or fax to (704) 370-3382.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN VICARIATE WAYNESVILLE — Adult Education Classes are held the first three Wednesday evenings of each month beginning at 6:45 p.m. in the St. John the Evangelist Church Social Hall, 234 Church St. For more information, call Charles M. Luce at (828) 648-7369 or e-mail luce54@aol.com.

CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano

Pope Benedict XVI tries on a fire helmet given as a gift by Italian firefighters at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 15. The pope also spoke on a cell phone after a man in a wheelchair handed him the phone during the audience. For more, see Pope Speaks on page 18.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE

Episcopal

calendar

July 5-8 — Bishops’ Provincial Meeting, Charlotte July 17 — 11 a.m. Mass St. Bernadette Church, Linville

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

July 19 — 5:30 p.m.

Catholic Social Services Board Meeting Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

4 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

Pastoral Assignments

Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte announces the following pastoral changes, effective July 5, 2005: Appointment of Pastors

Father Fidel Melo From: Pastor, Divine Redeemer Church, Boonville To: Pastor, Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro Father Christopher Davis From: Pastor, Holy Infant Church, Reidsville To: Pastor, Divine Redeemer Church, Boonville Father Joseph Mulligan From: Pastor, St. Michael Church, Gastonia To: Pastor, St. Elizabeth Church, Boone, and Church of the Epiphany, Blowing Rock Father John Schneider From: Pastor, St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Church, Boone, and Church of the Epiphany, Blowing Rock To: Pastor, St. Eugene Church, Asheville

Appointment of Administrators

Father Tien Duong From: Parochial Vicar, St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte To: Administrator, St. Jude Church, Sapphire Valley, and Our Lady of the Mountains Church, Highlands Father James Solari To: Temporary Administrator, St. Michael Church, Gastonia

Appointment of Parochial Vicars

Father Robert Conway From: Parochial Vicar, St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte To: Parochial Vicar, St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte Father Larry LoMonoco From: Parochial Vicar, St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte To: Parochial Vicar, St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte Father James Ebright From: newly ordained To: Parochial Vicar, Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro

Other Assignments

Father William Evans From: Sacramental Minister, Our Lady of the Mountains Church, Highlands, and St. Jude Church, Sapphire Valley To: retirement, at his request Father Frank Cancro From: Pastor, St. Eugene Church, Asheville To: sabbatical, at his request Father Frank O’Rourke From: Pastor, Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro To: sabbatical, at his request

Confirming faith

Courtesy Photo by TJ Stocker

Bishop Peter J. Jugis questions confirmation candidates prior to the ceremony at Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont May 17. Phil Baucom (rear), confirmation class instructor, watches as the youths answer the bishop’s questions about the sacrament and their faith.

June 24, 2005

Making home sweet again Diocesan Housing Corporation donates $5,000 to Home Repair program GREENSBORO — Many lowincome homeowners now will be able to make much-needed repairs, thanks to a $5,000 gift to Greensboro’s new Home Repair program from the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corporation (CDCHC).

Launched by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro and other partners, the Home Repair program specializes in making much-needed repairs for lowincome homeowners, many of whom are elderly and can no longer afford to make basic repairs to their aging homes.

The CDCHC was founded in 2001 in response to the need among seniors for affordable housing. The CDCHC works within the 46-county Diocese of Charlotte in western North Carolina. Its mission is to seek housing solutions for seniors, individuals and families with low incomes and those with special needs.

In addition to seeking out opportunities to develop and manage affordable housing facilities, the CDCHC also aims to partner with other local groups who share its mission of addressing the housing needs of the most vulnerable.

“Since part of our goal is to work with nonprofits and others of good will to leaven our collective talents to improve housing, this seemed like a natural fit for the CDCHC,” said Gerard Carter, director of the CDCHC. “By providing a financial contribution to Housing Greensboro (the Home

Repair program) at this early stage in its development, it is our hope to encourage the creation of an organizational structure that will support this initiative for many years to come,” he said.

The Home Repair program is helping homeowners like “Leroy,” who’s raising his two grandchildren on an insufficient Social Security income. His longtime home had fallen into disrepair — a leaking roof, a hole in the ceiling and deteriorating insulation.

After repairs were made, his utility bill decreased from $350 per month to $81 per month.

As of May 2005, the Home Repair team had undertaken repairs on 13 homes. There are seven home repairs in process and 14 other families approved and awaiting repairs.

“We’re so grateful for the support of the CDCHC for the Home Repair ministry,” said Bob Kelley, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro, who is providing oversight of the program.

“Our waiting list of families who need home repairs is growing and this generous donation will go a long way toward helping us meet their needs,” he said.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corporation, go online at http:// www.cdchousingcorp.org

June 24, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 5

in memorium

The journeyman

Msgr. Allen, retired priest, dies at 74 Mission-spirited priest leaves indelible mark by

Born: Aug. 28, 1930 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Raised in Plattsburg, N.Y. Educated: St. Bonaventure University, 1952. Christ the King Seminary, 1956.

Ordained: May 24, 1956 at Immaculate Conception Church in Durham.

Assignments: Priest with the Missionary Fathers Apostolate as an assistant at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Newton Grove, May 1956-June 1962.

KAREN A. EVANS staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Msgr. Richard Allen, a retired diocesan priest, died June 7 in Charlotte.

A funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte with Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin and Archbishop Emeritus Francis Hurley of Anchorage, Alaska, June 10 at St. Gabriel Church. He was buried at Belmont Abbey cemetery.

Msgr. Allen, an avid traveler and licensed pilot, began and ended his 49-year career as a priest traveling and ministering to people in rural areas. Throughout his ministry, he organized and worked in many outreach programs for the youth, needy and disenfranchised.

Msgr. Allen spent his first year as a priest with the Missionary Fathers Apostolate as an assistant at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Newton Grove. In 1957, he traveled in a camper to celebrate Mass in rural areas of North Carolina, and later served at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh.

Over the next four decades, he served diligently as pastor of six parishes and vicar forane of two vicariates.

He served as a counselor at Notre Dame High School in Greensboro and as state chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.

Msgr. Allen retired in June 2000 and, with the blessing of then-Bishop William G. Curlin of Charlotte, left to become a “circuit priest” to minister to people in rural Alaska. He traveled by planes, boats, cars and even snowmobiles to the outlying areas of the state.

Although the 138,000-square mile

A QUICK LOOK

Counselor at Notre Dame High School in Greensboro, June 1962-September 1963.

Pastor of St. James Church in Concord, September 1963-June 1968.

Pastor of St. Patrick Church in Charlotte and vocations director for the Diocese of Raleigh, June 1968-January 1972.

Rector of St. Patrick Cathedral, and vocations director for the Diocese of Charlotte, January 1972-October 1976.

Courtesy Photo by Michael Dinneen, Catholic Anchor

Following his retirement from the Diocese of Charlotte July 2000, Msgr. Richard Allen ventured north to Alaska to work as a “circuit priest,” echoing his early days as a priest in North Carolina. Msgr. Allen died June 9 at the age of 74. him about his faith.”

Even in retirement, Msgr. Allen rarely slowed his active schedule. In addition to his ministerial schedule, he continued to lead trips to Europe, his last being in January 2005.

Msgr. Allen happily showed his friends and former parishioners his northern home, leading a group on a 10day trip there in July 2001.

In June 2003 he led a group of 22 teenagers and five chaperones from St.

Therese Church in Mooresville and St. Ann Church on a two-week mission trip through the Diocese of Anchorage.

Over the years, Msgr. Allen became known for his firm but loving guidance of his teenage parishioners, chaperoning many trips to his mountain cabin, through the Canadian wilderness and on sailing trips to the Bahamas.

Linda Diorio, a close friend of Msgr.

Allen, recalled how he reached out to her adolescent sons in 1978. Fifteen-yearold Todd was “drifting down the wrong road” following his parents’ painful divorce.

“He guided Todd away from the direction in which he was headed, and helped him to get away from drugs,” Diorio said. “My youngest son, Craig, also became close to Father Allen, who helped him through school, sponsored him for Outward Bound, and guided him along the right paths.”

“Father Allen’s contribution to the community was amazing,” Diorio said.

Pastor of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem and vicar forane of the Winston-Salem Vicariate, July 1977-July 1982.

Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury July 1982-July 1988. Vicar forane of the Albemarle Vicariate, August 1982-July 1988.

Pastor of St. Ann Church in Charlotte,

Diocese of Anchorage is significantly larger than North Carolina, the missionary spirit of the area reminded Msgr.

Allen of his early days in North Carolina.

“I average seven Masses a weekend, some said in small churches, others in homes, schools, cinder-block basements, fish canneries and even on the wing of an airplane,” he said in an October 2003 interview with The Catholic News & Herald. “The people have a strong faith and make every effort to come to church whether there is a priest there or not.

Some travel up to 100 miles for Sunday Mass.”

Msgr. Allen noted that his new ministry freed him from administrative duties.

“I concentrate on what I am asked to do, be it Sunday Mass, a funeral or hospital visits in Anchorage,” he said in 2003. “I may be asked to go to a fishing village and spend the day with a fisherman. I might not fish, just converse with

6 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

Poli honored with Mother Teresa award POLI, from page 1

Carolina state council.

The award, announced by John Harrison, Mother Teresa Award chairman for the state council, was presented by Capuchin Franciscan Father John Aurilia, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, during Mass June 18.

David Onofrio, Knights of Columbus state deputy, was on hand to announce two $250 donations to the Henderson County Council on Aging and Interfaith Assistance Ministry (IAM) on Poli’s behalf.

Annually since 1999, the state council has conferred one Mother Teresa Award in each of the Charlotte and Raleigh dioceses. In addition to a plaque, the recipients receive $500 checks to help carry on their ministries.

“The question the nominating committee asks is, ‘Do we see a bit of Mother Teresa in that person?’” Harrison explained.

Pastors nominate candidates from their parishes.

“Grace Poli’s ministry can be described in three words: service, leadership and love,” Father Aurilia said in his nomination letter.

“She is a woman of strong faith and solid Catholic values,” he said. “Her ministry has many branches; however, the root and the center is Jesus himself.”

“I feel very strongly about my faith, and I think that just about everything I do is guided by my faith,” Poli said. “When I used to go to seminars, they would say, ‘Prioritize your values.’ For me it was faith, family and work. If you believe that, you have to put it into practice.”

Poli serves as board vice president of IAM, a nondenominational crisis intervention program funded by Henderson County churches. She also has been a member of IAM’s Strategic Planning Committee and was on IAM’s “Taste of Hendersonville” fundraising committee.

She volunteers with IAM’s Faith Link, which in nonfinancial ways helps women get the social services they need.

“People who are at the poverty level feel powerless,” Poli said. “They don’t

June 24, 2005

know the system. We help them get through the system.”

She and her husband, Joe, moved to North Carolina in 1988. Grace worked for a bank, and their jobs and raising four children left little time to volunteer.

“I worked nights for nine years and my husband worked days so one of us would always be home,” Poli said.

Even so, she was active in the National Association of Bank Women and mentored some of the women at the bank.

She attended Mundelein College part time, earning her bachelor’s degree in business the year before she retired as a bank vice president in human resources.

At St. Joseph Church in Downer’s Grove, Ill., she taught third-grade religion classes and served on the parish council.

Arriving in Hendersonville, Grace joined the League of Women Voters. Joe was a member of the Knights of Columbus at Immaculate Conception Church.

“I felt if you were moving into an area, you should learn about the area and the best way was through the league,” she said. “They asked me if I would chair a committee that would look into child care.”

The result was a child care coalition.

“We brought women from agencies that dealt with young children,” Poli said. “What we did was come together on a monthly basis to exchange information about what was happening.”

“Today, our community’s children have a Child Care Resource and Referral program, the Children and Family Resource Center, the Henderson County Partnership for Children, and other services,” said Liston B. Smith, Henderson County Department of Social Services director in his letter endorsing Poli’s Mother Teresa nomination.

But that wasn’t all.

“In addition to child day care, Grace has provided leadership in addressing many other children’s needs in our community,” Smith wrote. “Grace was a founding member and chairperson for both the local Smart Start board and Kids Count initiative. Taking a special interest in neglected children, especially children placed in foster care, Grace successfully advocated for and established additional financial resources and policies/procedures protecting the rights of foster par-

ents and foster children.”

Poli has also served as chair of the Henderson County Board of Social Services and as a board member of the Henderson County Council on Aging. She completed the mediation course at the Dispute Settlement Center of Henderson County and now trains other volunteers in dispute resolution.

At Immaculate Conception Church, she’s an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist and lector. Father Aurelia wrote that, as a member of the parish council, Poli is “reshaping the structure of our parish profile as well as making our committees workable and alive. She does all of the above with love and a deep sense of humility and service.”

Grace and Joe Poli had been married 56 years when he died last December.

Grace has continued on, but now prefers

to remain behind the scenes.

“I don’t like attention,” she said. “I like to do my thing, stay in the background and let it go at that. I know what I’ve done. Someone else (God) knows what I’ve done. I don’t have to be rewarded any more than that.”

Did You Know?

— The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization, with 1.7 million members in more than 13,000 local councils, primarily in the United States.

— In 2004, Knights raised and distributed a record $135 million to charitable causes and volunteered more than 63 million hours of service.

— There are more than 13,000 knights

Long line of service

Courtesy Photo

The Abbot Vincent G. Taylor Assembly Honor Guard line the aisle of St. Benedict Church in Greensboro during a May 22 Mass honoring Msgr. Joseph Showfety’s 50th anniversary to the priesthood. Msgr.

Showfety, who once served as pastor of St. Benedict Church, retired in July 2002. He has served as friar of the assembly, comprised of fourth degree knights from several councils in Greensboro and neighboring areas, since 1994. After the Mass, the assembly gave Msgr. Showfety a certificate of appreciation for his service and dedication to the assembly.

June 24, 2005

year of the eucharist

The second movement: the consecration Understanding the Mystery of the Mass, Part 19

high priest, is heard speaking the sacred words consecrating bread and wine into his own body and blood.

As Pope John Paul II wrote in “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” “the priest says these words, or rather he puts his voice at the disposal of the One who spoke these words in the Upper Room and who desires that they should be repeated in every generation ...” (5).

This is the most solemn moment in the Mass, the greatest expression of love on earth. That is why the church instructs us that “the Eucharistic Prayer demands that all listen to it with reverence and in silence” (GIRM 78).

This second movement, the consecration, truly makes present the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the Holy Father adds in the same encyclical, “When the church celebrates the Eucharist, the memorial of her Lord’s death and resurrection, this central event of salvation becomes really present and ‘the work of our redemption is carried out.’ ...The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice” (11).

And so before the Eucharist is a banquet, it is first of all the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross. In other words, before the reception of holy Communion is the consecration, where Christ perpetuates and continues throughout time his redemptive sacrifice.

Why? What is the purpose of continually re-presenting his sacrifice if the redemption already occurred?

Above all, the sacrifice of Christ is true worship of the Father. The sacrifice of the Son gives glory and honor to the Father.

Further, you and I are the beneficiaries of his sacrifice. The fruits of the redemption must now be applied to our souls.

Finally, Jesus instructed us to, “Do this in memory of me.” And so in humble obedience, the church faithfully follows the command of the Lord to offer the sacrifice of Christ, that not only may bread and wine become his body and blood, but more importantly, that we may be consecrated to him and more and more become what we receive: the body of Christ.

Father Buettner is parochial vicar of St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton.

WANT PREVIOUS COLUMNS?

Father Buettner’s “Mystery of the Mass” series is available online at www.charlottediocese.org/mysteryofmass.html.

Guest Column Father Matthew Buettner guest columnist

In our study of the Mass, we discovered that the liturgy of the Eucharist is composed of three distinct movements: the offertory, the consecration and the reception of holy Communion. Last time, we concluded our examination of the offertory, where we have the opportunity to offer ourselves to God as our Lord offered himself to his heavenly Father.

The essence of Christianity is the reproduction of what Jesus encountered in the soul of each and every individual in the world. As our Lord accepted his suffering, crucifixion, death and the glory of the resurrection, so also every person is to offer his or her human nature as an offering to the heavenly Father. We are to die to sin in order to rise and live in grace and glory.

In the offertory, we present and offer gifts of bread and wine as well as ourselves to the Father. And in the second movement, the consecration, we unite ourselves with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the high priest and victim.

We now turn to the second movement, the consecration, to investigate how this is accomplished.

The consecration of the Mass occurs within the larger context of the prayer, known as the Canon or the Eucharistic Prayer. The Canon begins with the Preface and continues through the doxology chanted by the celebrant and concelebrants: “Through him, with him and in him ....”

The Canon, as a prayer of thanksgiving and sanctification, is the center and the summit of the entire Mass. The Canon is recited by the celebrant alone, or parts may be recited by other concelebrating priests. In either case, the priest speaks on behalf of the church, often denoted by the use of “we”: “We offer to you ...”; “We pray to you ....”

However, in the “institution narrative,” the person speaking changes although the voice remains the same. No longer does the priest speak on behalf of the church, but now Christ speaks. No longer is it “We pray to you ...,” but “This is my body.”

Here, within this prayer the Son addressed to the Father, eternity breaks into time, as the voice of Jesus Christ, the

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Adoration of the Eucharist is offered at the following churches: Andrews Holy Redeemer Church Fridays, 9-10 a.m., with confessions ending

with Benediction Arden St. Barnabas Church Sundays, 1-10 p.m.; weekdays, 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturdays, 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Asheboro St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 8:15 a.m. Mass until 1 p.m.

Asheville Basilica of St. Lawrence daily, 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

Belmont Abbey Mary, Help of Christians Church daily, 5 a.m.-10 p.m.

Boone St. Elizabeth Church first Fridays 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Mass Bryson City St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 5:15 p.m. Mass (unless otherwise posted) until 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte Our Lady of the Assumption Church first Fridays, following 7 p.m. Mass for one hour St. Gabriel Church perpetual adoration St. Matthew Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Saturday, in chapel St. Peter Church first Fridays following the 12:10 p.m. Mass with Benediction at 1:30 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas Church Fridays following 12:15 p.m. Mass until 8:30 p.m.

St. Vincent de Paul Church first Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass

until 10:30 a.m.

Clemmons Holy Family Church Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. except holidays Concord St. James the Greater Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Mass at 11 a.m.

Denver Holy Spirit Church first Fridays, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday Forest City Immaculate Conception Church Thursdays, 7-8 p.m.; Fridays, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Sundays, 8-9 a.m.

Franklin St. Francis of Assisi Church first Fridays 9 a.m. until 9 a.m. Saturday; other Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Gastonia St. Michael Church eve of first Friday, 10 p.m. until 8 a.m.

Friday Greensboro St. Benedict Church first Fridays, 12:15-8 p.m.

St. Paul the Apostle Church first Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Hendersonville Immaculate Conception Church first Fridays, 9-11:30 a.m.

Hickory St. Aloysius Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

High Point Christ the King Church first Fridays: call church for time Maryfield Chapel perpetual adoration Huntersville St. Mark Church Fridays, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Jefferson St. Francis of Assisi Church Fridays, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Kannapolis St. Joseph Church Thursdays, 4-7 p.m. ending with Benediction and followed by a Spanish charismatic prayer group; Fridays, 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m., ending with Benediction and followed by bilingual Mass Kernersville Holy Cross Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 7 p.m.

Lenoir St. Francis of Assisi Church Saturdays, 4:15-5:15 p.m.

Lexington Our Lady of the Rosary Church Fridays following morning Mass until 5 p.m.; Benediction following 11 a.m. Mass Sundays Lincolnton St. Dorothy Church Fridays, 6-7 p.m.

Linville St. Bernadette Church Fridays following 11 a.m. Mass Marion Our Lady of the Angels Church first Fridays, 8:30-11:30 a.m. followed by Benediction and Mass. For Spanishspeaking parishioners, 6-8 p.m.

Mocksville St. Francis of Assisi Church first Fridays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; Wednesdays,

6-7 p.m.; children’s adoration last Fridays

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Monroe Our Lady of Lourdes Church Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.-12 a.m. Sunday Mooresville St. Therese Church first Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:45 p.m.

Morganton St. Charles Borromeo Fridays following 6 p.m. Mass until 7 p.m.

Mt. Airy Holy Angels Church Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Thursdays,

10-11 a.m.

Newton St. Joseph Church first Fridays following 12:10 p.m. Mass

until 6 p.m.

Salisbury Sacred Heart Church Thursdays, 7-8 p.m.; Sundays 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Spruce Pine St. Lucien Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Statesville St. Philip the Apostle Church first Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Swannanoa St. Mary Church firstplease Fridays following p.m. Mass until 5 To include yourMargaret church in this list, call12(704) 370-3354.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

June 24, 2005

living the faith

Sisters of Mercy gather at institute chapter

Jubiliarian spirit

Four Sisters of Mercy celebrate 195 years of combined service CHARLOTTE — Four Sisters of Mercy who have given a combined 195 years of service publicly renewed their vows recently.

More than 250 women religious, associates, family and friends gathered during a Mass honoring the sisters and their anniversaries to the religious life at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte June 11.

Renewing their vows were Mercy Sisters Mary Emmanuel Blasi, Mary Matthew Snow, Mary Rosalind Picôt and Joanne Agnes Kuhlmann.

Mercy Sister Mary Emmanuel Blasi Mercy Sister Mary Emmanuel Blasi celebrated 70 years as a Sister of Mercy.

The platinum jubilarian, born Catherine Florence Blasi in Brooklyn, N.Y., entered the Sisters of Mercy on Aug. 14, 1934.

Sister Blasi taught at St. Patrick School in Charlotte and Sacred Heart School in Salisbury. In 1938 she was assigned to an orphanage’s dietary department.

Until her retirement, she remained in one kitchen or another. From the dietary departments of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, St. Leo’s Boarding School and Sacred Heart Junior College in Belmont to serving as director of the dietary department at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, Sister Blasi nourished both bodies and souls.

She also managed the coffee shop and volunteered as a sister visitor at Mercy Hospital while serving as local superior of Mercy Hospital Convent.

She later served as local superior of the Belmont motherhouse from 1974 to 1976, and also began a prayer ministry.

Involved in the charismatic renewal movement, Sister Blasi attended monthly charismatic Masses in the diocese and was actively involved in a weekly prayer group.

She also undertook a month-long mission to Juarez, Mexico, to help distribute food and clothing to needy families.

“The best thing about my trip was the peace I found in understanding how you can live without all the comforts of life and be at peace and enjoy every moment of life,” she said. “Each day was a new challenge.”

Mercy Sister Mary Matthew Snow Mercy Sister Mary Matthew Snow celebrated 50 years as a Sister of Mercy.

Born in Maine as Sylvia Snow, she credits her mother and grandmother with instilling in her strong Christian principles.

After entering the Sisters of Mercy in 1954, Sister Snow said she was influenced by the humility, compassion and humor of Mother Maura Buchheit, thenmother superior.

As a member of Mercy Institute, Sister Snow emphasized her passion for the Sisters of Mercy’s mission and service to the poor, sick and uneducated, primarily through her teaching. In teaching science, Sister Snow sought to create an atmosphere for learning, help students be more aware of the world around them and understand their unique roles in God’s world.

Courtesy Photo

Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin stands with (from left) Mercy Sister Rosalind Picôt, golden jubilarian; Mercy Sister Joanne Agnes Kuhlmann, silver jubilarian; Mercy Sister Mary Emmanuel Blasi, platinum jubilarian; and Mercy Sister Mary Matthew Snow, golden jubilarian during a celebration honoring the sisters’ anniversaries to the religious life at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte June 11.

“Education is a continuous life process,” she said. “We’re always learning something new.”

For 50 years, Sister Snow has regaled her religious community with her widespread and somewhat unusual talents.

Known for her penchant for writing and for adventures, Sister Snow is proficient at snowmobiling, hot-air ballooning, hiking and snowshoeing.

What has kept her a Sister of Mercy for 50 years?

“I entered to search for God. I stay for the same reason — I keep finding God in so many different ways, events and people,” she said. “There have been sudden revelations and an evolving process, filled with God’s grace. And it’s all so exciting and fulfilling that I eagerly await whatever is next.”

Mercy Sister Mary Rosalind Picôt Mercy Sister Mary Rosalind Picôt celebrated 50 years as a Sister of Mercy.

She was born Mary Rose Picôt in Wilmington Sept. 18, 1933.

Attending St. Mary’s Catholic School in Wilmington, which was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Picôt felt an attraction to religious life.

After considering another religious order and serving as a medical missionary, she instead was received into the Sisters of Mercy in 1955.

As a young sister, she admired and strove to emulate the qualities of Mother Mary Benignus Hoban.

“She was so real, down-to-earth, joyful, holy and had a keen sense of humor,” said Sister Picôt.

The motto Sister Picôt chose as a postulant, “In te, domine, speravi,” translates as “In you, oh Lord, have I hoped.”

Unknown to Sister Picôt at the time, it was the same motto Mother Benignus had chosen.

Sister Picôt spent many years eduating Catholic youths, and enjoyed teaching and serving as principal at Charlotte Catholic High School.

She served in educational administration at Sacred Heart College and spent eight years as vice president and eight years as president of the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina.

Mercy Sister Joanne Agnes Kuhlmann Mercy Sister Joanne Agnes Kuhlmann celebrated 25 years as a Sister of Mercy.

Born in Hartford, Conn., Sister Kuhlmann was active in Catholic youth activities and developed a deep faith while growing up.

After college, she became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps. She encountered the Sisters of Mercy at Pope Air Force base outside Fayetteville during a liturgical workshop sponsored by the Diocese of Charlotte.

SILVER SPRINGS, Md. — More than 300 members of the Sisters of Mercy are currently gathered to elect new leadership and determine how they can best respond to changing needs of the world.

The sisters are holding the meeting, called an “institute chapter,” at the Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, June 20-30.

Throughout the chapter, Sisters of Mercy from North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Guam and the Philippines will probe questions of identity, governance, new membership, and forms of commitment.

Decisions are part of a multiyear planning process involving 4,630 sisters; 2,615 lay associates; and thousands of coworkers in reconfiguring the 25 regional communities that comprise the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

In addition to electing the institute president and leadership team, the sisters will develop interim legislation that will lead to changes in their constitution, a document by which religious congregations govern themselves.

While in Laredo, the sisters plan to visit various neighborhoods June 24 to meet and learn from women whose lives are limited by economic and social factors.

Shortly thereafter, she began exploring a call to the religious life and in 1979 resigned her commission.

“I chose the Sisters of Mercy because of the vow of service,” she said.

Of her many assignments, her current one as nurse case manager with Franciscan Home Care is her favorite.

“I feel that I am treated with dignity and respect and have the time to minister to my patients,” she said.

Looking toward the future, Sister Kuhlmann hopes to write a book on the history of her religious community from 1931 to 1991.

WANT MORE INFO?

For more information on the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Regional Community of North Carolina, visit www.mercync.org

June 24, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 9

living the faith

A lasting legacy

Sister Dennis Eileen honored for lifetime of community by

SUSAN deGUZMAN correspondent

WINSTON-SALEM — The church overflowed with admirers of Sister of St. Joseph Dennis Eileen at a special Mass of thanksgiving at St. Leo the Great Church June 12.

Sister Eileen, now retiring at 88 years of age, was honored for her impact on the community. The extent of her life’s work was captured in an article of a local newspaper on her last day as pastoral minister at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center June 3.

“The fact that an old nun ... is on the front page of the paper, that is God’s grace working in my life,” revealed Sister Eileen, who has ministered to the sick since 1983.

Regina King, admissions supervisor at the hospital, praised Sister Eileen’s “undying dedication and overwhelming commitment,” and described her as “feisty, compassionate, witty, loving, fragile yet strong and, to many of us, she is our saint.”

Sister Eileen is grateful for the opportunity to help people.

“Of all the blessings God has given me, his greatest is (the opportunity) to visit the sick and the needy,” she said.

For those who are dying, she said, “I love to help somebody get a peace and

calm before they are called, and to be there for the family.”

Sister Eileen never turned down a patient’s request for a visit. Many nonCatholic patients asked for her, according to Jane Litzinger, a chaplain supervisor of the Pastoral Care Center at the hospital. In order to ensure a visit from Sister Eileen, some patients would falsely designate themselves as Catholic on the admissions list.

On occasions that Litzinger would fill in for Sister Eileen, she would sometimes be politely turned away by patients who felt there was no substitute.

Sister Eileen believed her sensitivity allowed patients to connect with her.

“When I begin, I don’t know what I’m going to say,” she said. “The Holy Spirit inspires me. ... I say whatever the Lord moves me to say at the moment.”

Raised by her grandparents in Philadelphia, Sister Eileen’s interest in religious life was stirred by one of her teachers, a Sister of St. Joseph. Sister Eileen joined the convent in 1934.

She served as a teacher for several years before being asked to serve as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at the hospital. Later, she devoted herself to full-time work as a hospital chaplain.

She also served as a volunteer and board member of AIDS Care Service for more than 10 years.

Photo by Susan deGuzman

Sister of St. Joseph Dennis Eileen greets Beth and Paul Hoeing, parishioners of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem, at a parish reception for Sister Eileen’s retirement June 12.

Sister Eileen is retiring to her congregation’s motherhouse in Philadelphia.

“We are very confident that you will take Christ with you to Philadelphia,” said Father Thomas Kessler pastor of St. Leo the Great Church, during his homily. “We are so grateful to you and to almighty God for his work through you.

You speak with your actions and you

have done that well.”

Following Mass, Father Kessler presented Sister Eileen with several gifts from the parish.

“Father didn’t prepare me for this,” she told the congregation. “I want you to know ... I’ll hold you in my heart and my prayers and, until God calls me, I’ll pray for you.”

Have faith, will travel

Photo by Carole McGrotty

Father Frank Cancro reacts as Asheville Catholic School students spell out his name during a farewell Mass for the priest.

Sabbatical will take priest through Asian culture by

CAROLE McGROTTY correspondent

ASHEVILLE — For many students at Asheville Catholic School, Father Frank Cancro is the only priest they have known in any personal capacity.

That is about to change. The pastor of St. Eugene Church is going on a yearlong sabbatical, effective July 5, that will take him throughout Asia.

During his homily at a farewell Mass May 31, Father Cancro told the students gathered that they carry the “gift of faith” and that it “will sustain you through all the good-byes and hellos, our beginning and our end.”

“The love you feel in your heart never goes away,” he said.

Each school family designed a small piece of cloth; the patches and a picture of the students were sewn into a quilt that

was presented along with gift bags.

In thanking the students, Father Cancro noted he could see “a lot of chocolate in these gift bags that will sustain me over the first two months in Asia, where chocolate is difficult to obtain.”

Father Cancro plans to study the monastic life, visit Maryknoll missionaries and explore the Catholic faith in several Asian countries, including Cambodia, China, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines, where he will do course work.

He plans to celebrate Christmas and Mass on an island in Micronesia that has a small Catholic community but no priest, electricity nor running water.

In Vietnam, Father Cancro will teach English at a university. In Cambodia, he will visit a Maryknoll orphanage that cares for children maimed by land mines.

Upon his return, Father Cancro hopes to write articles about his experiences.

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Bedlam at ‘Bentley’

in our schools

June 24, 2005

‘Just thinkin’ about tomorrow’

Courtesy Photo

Eighth-graders at St. Michael School in Gastonia perform “Treasure at Bentley Inn” at the school May 26. The play, a mystery-comedy, had the audience roaring with laughter as a young man, played by student Parker Holland, writes a news article about a treasure map hidden at the Bentley Inn run by his girlfriend, played by Hannah Meeler. Hoping the article would boost business, the inn is soon packed with an array of characters, including swindlers, gangsters and little old ladies all frantically searching for the hidden treasure.

Courtesy Photo by Maria Leahy

Oliver Warbucks, played by Joe Mankowski, and Grace Farrell, played by Lucia Leahy, ponder Annie’s fate during “Annie Jr.,” a play performed by the Drama Club at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School in Charlotte.

Comprised of about 60 sixth- and seventh-graders led by parent Rosemary Nocella Franz and other parent volunteers, the Drama Club performed for the school May 6, for the public May 7 and for rising fifth-graders in the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools system May 10. Eighth-graders and students from Charlotte Catholic High School also assisted in the production set in Depression-era New York about an orphan determined to find her parents. In a series of adventures, Annie befriends President Franklin Roosevelt and finds a new family in billionaire Warbucks, his personal secretary Farrell and a loveable dog named Sandy.

June 24, 2005

Principal characters

The Catholic News & Herald 11

in our schools Youthful service

Courtesy Photos

Above: First-grader Sullivan “Sully” Alvis, as “acting principal,” pins bir thday ribbons on two fourth-grade students at St. Ann School in Charlotte May 11.

Sully and second-grader Caitlin Brewer (right), who served as acting principal May 24, were the recipients of their parents’ winning bids for “Principal of the Day” during St. Ann School’s annual musical and silent auction April 23.

Courtesy Photo

The pre-kindergarten class at Asheville Catholic School is all smiles while helping serve food, tea and gifts during the school’s Mother’s Day Tea Party May 6.

Pre-K students end year with party, diplomas by

CAROLE McGROTTY correspondent

ASHEVILLE — Between serving tea and collecting diplomas, May was a busy month for the pre-kindergarten class at Asheville Catholic School.

The students helped make the Mother’s Day Tea Party May 6 a special day by preparing desserts, setting up tables and decorating with flower arrangements. Girls with aprons and boys in white shirts and black ties then served their parents and grandparents, sang songs and presented gifts of decorated

tote bags and flowers.

The pre-kindergarteners proudly marched into the school auditorium May 27 for their diplomas, presented by their teacher Jennifer Palmer.

The students sang songs before each told his or her favorite part of the school year. Highlights included field trips to the pumpkin patch and zoo, planting a garden and singing to the homeless.

The students’ eighth-grade Big Buddies then spoke about what made their Little Buddies special.

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

in our schools

Students chosen for local chamber leadership program HIGH POINT — Seventh-graders Robert Garland, Kenneth Kennedy and Jennifer Lindh at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point have been selected by the High Point Chamber of Commerce to participate this summer in its Teen Leadership program.

Teen Leadership is a weeklong community awareness program for rising eighth-grade students in public and private middle schools and home schools in the High Point area. Its goal is for students to increase their awareness of and concern for their community, improve their leadership skills and learn about career options.

June 24, 2005

Kelly in Kernersville

Each day’s program will be at a different location to give students a taste of various business settings and career possibilities. Past locations have included The Millis Regional Health Education Center, Guildford County Courthouse, FOX8-TV, the High Point Enterprise newspaper, Open Door Ministries, Thomas Built Buses and the Piedmont Centre Business Park.

Students interested in participating in Teen Leadership had to fill out applications and obtain written recommendations.

Story time with Schraeder

Courtesy Photo

Motivational speaker and author Matthew Kelly signs copies of his latest book, “The Rhythm of Life,” for students at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville in April. Kelly was the featured guest speaker at the 2005 Partners in Hope event, benefiting Catholic Social Service’s Piedmont Triad Office in Winston-Salem, April 20. His topic was “Become the Best-Version-of-Yourself.”

Courtesy Photo

Second-graders read to Principal Georgette Schraeder at St. Leo the Great School in Winston-Salem May 26. Every year in May, Schraeder spends reading time with the second-graders and they in turn promise to continue reading throughout their summer break in preparation for third grade.

June 24, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 13

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Forming ministers

Homecoming

Courtesy Photo Photo by Carole McGrotty

Deacon Alejandro Ayala assists Father Wilbur Thomas, pastor of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, during a Mass May 14. It was Deacon Ayala’s first time assisting at his home parish since being ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Peter J. Jugis at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa., April 3.

The transitional diaconate is the final step before ordination to the priesthood.

Seminarians serve one year as transitional deacons before they are eligible to be ordained as priests.

Born in Argentina, Deacon Ayala was a parishioner of and was employed at the basilica before entering St. Vincent Seminary, where he is in his third year. Ayala also recently served a pastoral internship at St. Barnabas Church in Arden.

Standing (from left) are Mike Wilson, Lynn Rogers, Jim Dudley, Susan Krasniewski and Pat White, graduates of the LIMEX program at a celebratory dinner in Charlotte April 7. Seated are LIMEX facilitators Ann Rowe and Julie Platte.

Five graduate from ministry extension by

KEVIN E. MURRAY editor

CHARLOTTE — Five people from the Diocese of Charlotte recently took big steps in their ministry formation.

Mike Wilson, Lynn Rogers, Jim Dudley, Susan Krasniewski and Pat White graduated from Loyola Institute of Ministry Extension (LIMEX) program at Loyola University in New Orleans, La., in May. The Loyola program offers master’s degrees and non-credit, continuing education certificates in religious education and pastoral studies from Loyola University. The Diocese of Charlotte began sponsoring the opportunity for higher education in 1998. Prior to that, the Oratory in Rock Hill, S.C., was the sponsoring agency for students in the diocese.

The graduates and their facilitators, Ann Rowe and Julie Platte, gathered for a celebratory dinner in Charlotte April 7.

“After many years of hard work, they have accomplished their task and the Diocese of Charlotte has five new lay people with theological training who can help in the church’s mission at various levels,” said Frank Villaronga, director of diocesan evangelization and ministry formation for the Diocese of Charlotte.

“Some are working in the churches and can bring what they have learned to their day-to-day efforts,” he said.

Founded in 1983, the 36-hour program offers a total of 12 classes for the non-traditional student, a person who works a full-time job or has a family and cannot attend classes on a college campus.

The students gather with a Loyolatrained facilitator to discuss what they have read for the class, and watch videos and listen to audiotapes as supplements to their own study. Each class can require up to four papers with up to 20 hours of preparation per week.

The 10 core courses consist of subjects such as practical theology, pastoral leadership and organization, church, sacraments and ethics, and other classes.

The two focus classes include youth ministry, Hispanic ministry, religious education and other areas of concentration.

“The students meet in learning groups, so they can be challenged and challenge others as they focus on practical theology,” said Villaronga. “They integrate the material into their lives and into the complex world around them.”

Villaronga said LIMEX learning groups can be formed anywhere there is interest. Currently, additional groups are being formed throughout the Diocese of Charlotte.

Want More Information?

For further information about the Loyola program, contact Frank Villaronga at (704) 370-3274.

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

June 24, 2005

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

Examining the good and bad of Three books on Harry Potter and Gospel messages reviewed by

JEAN GONZALEZ

catholic news service

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling will hit stores July 16, but not everyone is wild about Harry.

Three new books offer insight about the young wizard’s tales: two for and one against. The “pro” books will have Potter fans racing for highlighters to underline insightful passages, tips on talking to children about the books and keys to symbols in the series. The single “con” book could be boiled down to: “Read

Deuteronomy 18.”

“Looking for God in Harry Potter”

by John Granger asks on the cover, “Is there Christian meaning hidden in the best-selling books?” His answer is “Yes.” Granger is the “Harry Potter Professor” at Barnes and Noble University, a free, online offering of courses and reading groups where he has taught a course on using the series in children’s literature classes. He guides readers seeking the spiritual messages in the books and uses Bible passages to back up his notions.

Granger sees in the Potter books such Gospel values as the ultimate triumph of love over evil, loyalty, friendship and the good or bad consequences individual choices have on an entire community.

Granger finds it significant that Potter uses incantational, not invocational, magic.

“Incantational magic is about harmonizing with God’s word by imitation,” Granger explains. “Invocational magic is about calling in evil spirits for power or advantage — always a tragic mistake.”

It is invocational magic that is contrary to Scripture, he says. Thus, concern that the books might lay a foundation for occult practices is “misplaced” because Potter magic is not “demonic.”

Potter fans will love the insight Granger has about the Potter symbols and scenarios, especially the chapter on the historical and spiritual significance of alchemy. Throughout the book are highlight-worthy passages.

Don’t put that highlighter away if you grab Mary Margaret Keaton’s “Imagining Faith with Kids,” subtitled “Unearthing Seeds of the Gospel in Children’s Stories from Peter Rabbit to Harry Potter.” Keaton looks at how the mes-

sages of Gospel stories, fables and literary classics can enrich children’s lives.

Keaton suggests ways parents and catechists can look for “seeds of Gospel messages” within stories and spark conversations with children about those messages.

In one example, Keaton parallels “The Little Engine That Could” to the parable of the good Samaritan.

Keaton says that parents who discuss with children the seeds of the Gospel in the Potter books will find more in the series than just the comfort that “at least Johnny’s reading a book.”

Steve Wohlberg’s “Hour of the Witch: Harry Potter, Wicca Witchcraft and the Bible” tries to warn readers of the sinful and even devilish nature of the Potter series. Wohlberg, director of Endtime Insights radio and television ministry, admits he never liked what he calls the idea behind the novels — glorifying witchcraft.

Wohlberg’s basic conclusions are that the Potter series is bad because it might inspire readers to learn more about Wicca, which is bad, and Harry Potter makes sorcery look good and cool, even though the Bible states sorcery is bad.

Wohlberg points to Deuteronomy 18 as a biblical passage in which sorcery is seen as evil.

The author goes so far as to imply that perhaps the devil inspired Rowling — unbeknownst to her — to write the Potter series and to get it published.

He says parents turn a blind eye to that notion because “at least Johnny’s reading.” Wohlberg’s interesting proposition is delivered in a condescending, singleminded, doom-and-gloom tone.

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: July 3, 2005

July 3, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle A Readings: 1) Zechariah 9:9-10 Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 2) Romans 8:9, 11-13 3) Matthew 11:25-30

In God, there is truth, guidance, wisdom

by DAN LUBY catholic news service

For years, my regular meeting with my spiritual director followed a frustrating and troubling pattern. I would walk into his office anxious and confused.

After an hour’s conversation — with me talking and him mostly listening — I would leave feeling buoyant and hopeful.

Soon, however, the old fears and uncertainties would return, undermining my confidence. I began to wonder if my director was equal to the task of helping me.

Patiently, compassionately, he listened to my stories. Over and over, he gently invited me to go deeper, to address issues closer to my core.

How was I dealing with failure?

Were my expectations of others realistic? How might I let go of the impulse to judge everything? What was I scared of?

For a long time I talked all around the tough issues he encouraged me to consider. Slowly, though, my friend’s wisdom began to sink in: I would never have the contentment and calm I longed for unless I began to confront these foundational concerns.

Without embracing the discipline of a more radical honesty, that is, without exploring the deeper truths of my life, I would always be anxious and distracted from what matters by things that don’t.

It was painful sometimes, facing facts I’d never wanted to see, acknowledging flaws and limitations I’d pretended not to have. But in my companion’s good and wise company, I have gradually begun to take baby steps toward a more peaceful and trusting faith.

When Jesus promises us, in Sunday’s Gospel, to ease our burdens and give us rest, he is not saying that discipleship will be painless, that anxiety and sorrow won’t be felt.

He is promising to walk with us as we carry our crosses; to guide our steps, even when we stumble; to give us his strength and his peace, confident that if we accept his yoke he will do the heavy lifting.

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE Scripture for the week of June 26 - July 2 Sunday (Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16, Romans 6:3-4, 8-11, Matthew 10:37-42; Monday (St. Cyril of Alexandria), Genesis 18:16-33, Matthew 8:18-22; Tuesday (St. Irenaeus), Genesis 19:15-29, Matthew 8:23-27; Wednesday (Sts. Peter and Paul), Acts 12:111, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16:13-19; Thursday (First Martyrs of the Roman Church), Genesis 22:1-19, Matthew 9:1-8; Friday (Bl. Junipero Serra), Genesis 23:1-4,19; 24:1-8, 62-67, Matthew 9:9-13; Saturday, Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29, Matthew 9:14-17.

Scripture for the week of July 3- July 9 Sunday (Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9, 11-13, Matthew 11:25-30; Monday (St. Elizabeth of Portugal), Genesis 28:10-22, Matthew 9:18-26; Tuesday (St. Anthony Zaccaria), Genesis 32:23-33, Matthew 9:32-38; Wednesday (St. Maria Goretti), Genesis 41:55-57, 42:5-7, 17-24, Matthew 10:1-7; Thursday, Genesis 44:18-21,23-29, 45:1-5, Matthew 10:7-15; Friday, Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30, Matthew 10:16-23; Saturday (St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions), Genesis 49:29-33, 50:15-24, Matthew 10:24-33.

The Catholic News & Herald 15

June 24, 2005

On air

Weekly Catholic radio program marks fifth anniversary by

CHRIS SCAPERLANDA catholic news service

WASHINGTON — Catholic Radio Weekly is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

The weekly program, produced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign, is carried by two major Catholic radio networks — Relevant Radio and Ave Maria Radio — that serve more than 30 stations.

It is used in the radio ministries of 27 archdioceses and dioceses and broadcast by 25 independent religious and secular stations, and is also available weekly via the campaign’s Web site.

The show was created in response to a 1997 survey of the U.S. bishops. The bishops were asked to describe the kinds of media that they believed would be most effective in reaching the Catholics in their dioceses.

An overwhelming 78 percent of the bishops responded that they believed radio to be an effective and economical way to reach into the lives of the people in their community, according to Patricia Ryan Garcia, executive producer of the program and director of the communication campaign’s office of distribution.

She explained that a summit was held to analyze the survey and “was the genesis for the show.”

According to Garcia, who has been working on the program since it first aired in 2000, there is no formula for the way in which a station might use the show.

“They can use the show in its entirety or they might simply use bits and pieces of it. We structure the show in such a way that it can meet whatever needs a particular station might have,” Garcia said in an interview with Catholic News Service.

Co-host Carole Lehan, an accomplished actress and voice-over talent, is performing arts director at Glenelg Country School in Howard County, Md. She is also program director for the Cappies, an awards program for high school theatrical productions.

Johnny Holliday, the program’s other host, began his broadcasting career as a rock ’n’ roll disc jockey in Cleveland. He has been the announcer for the University of Maryland basketball and football teams since 1979, and his daily sports reports have been heard on ABC Radio for more than 20 years.

The aim of the show is to give its listening audience a better sense that

they are part of the Catholic Church in the United States, and it informs people about happenings in the bishops’ conference.

“Our target audience is the average Catholic in the pew who isn’t aware” of the larger church, said Garcia.

“People tend to identify with their parish and diocese but often don’t understand themselves as a part of the American church as a whole,” she said.

“Our goal is to help make people more aware of the larger movement they are a part of.”

Frank Morock, director of communications for the Diocese of Raleigh, is writer-producer of Catholic Radio Weekly.

The program includes interviews with bishops and USCCB staff on current issues they are addressing and covers other stories of interest to Catholics.

Regular features are provided by several USCCB departments.

Other features include Paulist Father Larry Rice’s “Facts of Faith” and Franciscan Father Greg Friedman’s “Sunday Soundbites.”

Catholic Radio Weekly has won numerous awards including an award of merit from the 2005 Religion Communicators Council’s DeRose-Hinkhouse competition and a 2001 Communicator Crystal Award for special programming immediately following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Catholic Radio Weekly’s wide distribution may soon become even wider.

“We hear a lot from people who want Catholic radio in their area,” explained Garcia.

“The United States is set to release a new round of low-power FMs (stations),” she said. “This is an opportunity for them to take the initiative and start stations.”

Low-power FM stations can be operated with as low as one watt of power to a maximum of 100 watts, making them accessible for community groups to run.

They can be heard anywhere from a few blocks away to a few miles away.

The success of Catholic Radio Weekly — it started with 12 diocesan subscribers its first year — has launched other programs such as “Lino at Large” — targeted at young adult listeners — and “Tu Companero Catolico” — a Spanish-language show.

WANT TO LISTEN? Catholic Radio Weekly is available

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

U.S. bishops discuss USCCB, from page 1

saying that when the Vatican publishes its expected norms on the admission of homosexually oriented men to the seminary or priesthood, U.S. seminaries will follow those policies.

The statement on Catholic schools urges more efforts to make Catholic schools available to all Catholic children and, especially in poor rural and inner-city areas, to non-Catholics whose parents seek the quality of education and values that Catholic schools can offer.

The mission statement reminds Catholics that everyone is called by baptism to participate in the mission of spreading the Gospel to all nations. It especially urges those engaged in teaching and formation of Catholics to expand the missionary awareness and involvement of Catholic men, women and children in U.S. Catholic parishes and schools.

Episcopal commitment The “Statement of Episcopal Commitment,” adopted by a 223-4 vote, deals with the difficulty that by church law, bishops, who are ultimately accountable only to the Holy See and not the bishops’ conference on virtually all church matters, could not be subjected to the child protection charter and norms in the same way priests and deacons are. It commits the bishops to report to the papal nuncio any allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a bishop and to work and reflect with one another to promote full implementation of the charter in every diocese.

The bishops elevated their Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse to a standing committee and renamed it the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Its chairman will be elected by the bishops and will be an automatic member of the USCCB Administrative Committee, but unlike any other committee of that kind, its membership is to include one bishop from each of the 14 USCCB regions — at least double the size of other standing conference committees.

Also on the clergy sexual abuse issue, the bishops committed themselves to spending up to $1 million from a reserve fund to help pay for a study of the causes

June 24, 2005

from the cover

and context of that abuse over the past half-century. The study is expected to cost between $2 million and $5 million, and the bishops’ financial commitment is expected to help generate additional funds from foundations and philanthropists to pay for the entire study.

On another financial matter the bishops who head dioceses rejected a request by their Committee on Budget and Finance to increase their diocesan assessment by 4 percent next year to cover onefourth of an expected 2006 conference budget deficit of more than $2 million.

Only the 193 bishops who head dioceses can vote on assessments. While 86 bishops present and voting approved the proposed increase, the 80 who voted against it defeated it, since passage required at least two-thirds approval.

Other items With a new English translation due soon for the latest official Roman Missal in Latin, the English Committee on Liturgy asked the bishops to approve a series of current U.S. adaptations in the Mass, in use for more than 30 years, in order to obtain the necessary prior Vatican permission for their continued use before the new translation of the main Latin text is submitted for approval.

Following up on a request by the late Pope John Paul II, the bishops decided that each diocese in the country should establish an annual day of prayer specifically for priestly vocations.

In preparation for a probable debate and vote this fall on a document on lay ecclesial ministry, the bishops heard presentations on various aspects of that issue.

With more than 30,000 lay people now employed in U.S. Catholic parishes as lay ecclesial ministers, working in the name of the church under the authority of its ordained ministers, questions about the role of such lay ministers and their relation to the ordained have come increasingly to the fore in recent years.

In another look toward their fall meeting in Washington, the bishops approved a proposal that their Committee on Domestic Policy, in collaboration with other committees, will develop an updated statement on growing church opposition to use of the death penalty.

“Essential Norms” implementing the charter legislatively. Both documents were approved by respective votes of 229-3 and 228-4.

As a legislative text the norms still need Vatican approval. But Vatican rejection seemed quite unlikely since the final version approved by the bishops had only four minor variations from the draft jointly developed by U.S. and Vatican officials.

The revised charter and norms are to take effect for five years.

While several other abuse-related items were also on the bishops’ agenda, the bishops, including Bishop Peter J. Jugis, also took time to approve other documents and projects, vote on financial matters and discuss the growing phenomenon of lay ecclesial ministry.

Various demonstrators picketed and held press conferences during the bishops’ conference. Among them were leaders of clergy sex abuse victim groups, abortion opponents, gay rights advocates, women’s ordination advocates, and members of Voice of the Faithful and other groups who have been calling for greater openness and accountability by church officials.

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Tasks accomplished Documents the bishops approved during the meeting included a new Program of Priestly Formation, a statement in support of Catholic schools, a statement on missions and a statement committing themselves to mutual support and correction in implementing the child protection charter. All were adopted by overwhelming margins.

The new Program of Priestly Formation will replace the 1992 edition of that program if the Vatican approves it. It sets norms for seminary admissions and seminary formation.

Reflecting the increased awareness of child sexual abuse, the new program for the first time explicitly orders the rejection of any seminary applicant and expulsion of any seminarian who has molested a child or shows inclinations to do so.

It also devotes extra attention to ensuring that seminarians are well-rounded human beings as an integral part of achieving their mature commitment to chaste celibacy.

For the first time it explicitly addresses questions of sexual orientation,

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June 24, 2005

from the cover

Schiavo autopsy does not alter church’s pro-life SCHIAVO, from page 1

person.”

Schiavo, 41, died March 31, nearly two weeks after her nutrition and hydration tube was removed following a contentious seven-year battle between her husband and her parents. She had been in what doctors described as a persistent vegetative state since 1990, when her brain was deprived of oxygen after her heart stopped.

Dr. Jon R. Thogmartin, medical examiner for Pinellas and Pasco counties in Florida, said June 15 that Schiavo’s autopsy showed that the brain damage she suffered in 1990 was irreversible.

“No amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss

of neurons,” he said.

Thogmartin said Schiavo died of “marked dehydration,” not starvation, but that the underlying cause for her collapse 15 years ago could not be determined.

“The only diagnosis that I know for sure is that her brain went without oxygen,” he added. “Why? That is undetermined.”

Critical analysis Doerflinger said some of the conclusions in the autopsy seemed “off base,” such as the determination that there was no evidence that Schiavo had an eating disorder before her collapse and the assumption that the shriveling of her brain indicated massive brain damage.

When any person is deprived of water for two weeks, his or her brain is likely to shrink, he said.

Doerflinger also said there is “no established degree of brain damage” that cannot be reversed. “There are people walking around whose cerebral cortexes have been largely destroyed,” he said.

Dr. Paul McHugh, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics, also criticized the autopsy report, saying it was part of the “typical misleading about doctoring and medicine” that is becoming common.

“I’m not contending that she did or did not have PVS (persistent vegetative state),” he said June 17. “Either way, that doesn’t excuse killing her.”

Writing in the June issue of Commentary, McHugh recalled his work “in caring for patients like Terri Schiavo with neuro-psychiatric disorders,” specifically a patient who “gave little evidence of

awareness” 13 years after a botched brain operation.

One day, however, the patient responded correctly and in a full sentence to a scientific question posed by McHugh.

“Somehow, deep inside that body and damaged brain, he was there — and our job was to help him,” McHugh wrote.

“If we had ever had misgivings before, we would never again doubt the value of caring for people like him. And we didn’t give a fig that his EEG was grossly abnormal.”

Similarly, Terri Schiavo “was alive,” McHugh said in an interview. “That’s all I as a doctor care about.”

He criticized the mind-set that says, “You’re worthy if you’re productive, and if you’re not productive, you’re not worthy of life.”

“I’m not going to judge if a patient is worthy,” he said. “I’m here to benefit the lives of patients.”

Loss of compassion The Schindler family said in a statement that the autopsy report “confirms that Terri was not terminal ... that Terri had a strong heart and that Terri was brutally dehydrated to death.”

“The moral shame of what happened is not erased because of Terri’s level of disability,” the Schindlers added. “No one would say that ‘blind people’ or ‘brain-injured’ people should be put to death. That would be an irresponsible and heartless position to take.

“Tragically, that is what happened to Terri. As a society, it seems that we have lost our compassion for the disabled.”

Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, who visited Schiavo hours before her death, said in a statement that she “did not die from an atrophied brain.”

“She died from an atrophy of compassion on the part of her estranged husband and those who helped him to have her deliberately killed,” he said.

WANT MORE INFO? Read Father Pavone’s column regarding Terri Schiavo on page 18.

The Catholic News & Herald 17

Pope says to assist REFUGEES, from page 1

and tries to help them spiritually and materially. People who find themselves far from their homelands should be made to feel that “the church is a country where no one is foreign,” he said.

The pope said that for Christians, there is xan essential connection between participation in the Eucharist and charitable acts, including service to refugees.

“Charity work, in fact, is a criterion that confirms the authenticity of our liturgical celebrations,” he said, citing Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter on the current eucharistic year.

Pope Benedict said that with participation in the Eucharist, Catholics should naturally take greater interest in the poor and try to build a more just society.

“Those who nourish themselves with the faith of Christ at the eucharistic table assimilate his same style of life, which is the style of attentive service, especially to the weakest and the most disadvantaged,” he said.

The pope entrusted the care of all refugees to Mary, recalling that she was a refugee, along with Joseph and the newborn Jesus, under persecution.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the global number of refugees fell 4 percent in 2004 to 9.2 million, the lowest total in almost a quarter of a century. It was the fourth straight year of decline in the number of refugees, largely a result of voluntary repatriation in countries like Afghanistan.

At the same time, the numbers of internally displaced and stateless people and others “of concern” to the U.N. agency increased to 19.2 million from 17 million over the course of the past year.

1 8 The Catholic News & Herald

June 24, 2005

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Atrophy of compassion An examination of body and soul is needed in Schiavo The autopsy says that Terri was beyond repair or rehabilitation. But that does not mean we are supposed to throw her away, like we throw away a car that is beyond repair.

Again, there is no problem accepting this medical conclusion. But morally speaking, our compassion is not beyond repair. We can build a society that respects and protects all our brothers and sisters, recognizing that their value does not come from how well they function, perform or produce.

I will never forget my hours with Terri, both before and after her feeding tube was removed. She responded to me, and she responded to others who visited her. She laughed, she tried to speak, she returned her parents’ kisses, she followed us with her eyes, she closed her eyes when I prayed with her and opened them when we were finished.

Medical examiners can offer their conclusions because of what they saw, but none of that changes what we saw.

But both we and the medical examiners were looking in from the outside. Any honest medical expert will admit that there is so much about the human brain we still don’t know. What Terri experienced on the inside is a mystery that only she and God know.

The challenge at this moment is simply this: Whatever she experienced, to whatever extent she was damaged, and even if she were totally unresponsive, Terri was one of us. She was our sister, she was a child of God, she was fully in possession of her human rights, and nothing can ever justify what was done to her.

Terri Schiavo was murdered because she was deprived of food and water.

We’ve done the examination on her body.

Maybe it’s time for an examination of our souls.

Father Pavone is national director of Priests for Life.

Guest Column FATHER FRANK PAVONE guest columnist

not, but the autopsy does not answer that question.

What the exam does tell us, however, is that Terri died from dehydration. Of course, we knew that already. She wasn’t given any water the last two weeks of her life, and we know why.

Michael, and those acting in concert with him, insisted on that and got the courts to enforce their wishes. We don’t know if Michael was responsible for Terri’s injury, but we do know he was responsible for her death.

The autopsy goes on to say that Terri’s brain was “profoundly atrophied” and only half the normal size. Fine. If that’s what the experts tell us, there is no problem believing them. But what does that mean, that she was only half-human, only half a person, or that she had only half the rights that the rest of us have?

That is the conclusion that we must never accept. That is a conclusion that does not come from an autopsy, but from a callous disregard for human life.

Terri did not die from atrophy of the brain. She died from an atrophy of compassion. Too many people, starting with Michael, were unwilling to accept the fact that profoundly injured people require profound compassion and care. Even if this autopsyreport showed that Terri was ten times more damaged than she was, our moral obligation to respect and protect her life would not change at all.

We don’t have to pass a test to qualify for our human rights. An autopsy is a measure of physical damage, not of human rights.

The autopsy says Terri was blind.

That is not the morally relevant point.

The point is that we are blind — blind all too often to the fact that even the disabled and the severely injured have the same dignity and worth as the rest of us, and show forth the image and glory of God, even in their brokenness.

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At audience, pope speaks of God’s gaze, dons fire chief’s helmet, chats on mobile

by CINDY WOODEN catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — With thousands of soggy pilgrims and tourists awaiting his teaching, Pope Benedict opened his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 15 with a prayer that “the weather improves.”

The day had begun with a major downpour, but by the end of the audience, the sun had broken through the thick black clouds, leading the pope to thank God for “the sign of his kindness, for which we had hoped.”

In his audience talk, Pope Benedict focused on Psalm 123, a prayer recited in times of persecution and difficulty, but one that is filled with trust that the Lord will rescue those who love him.

The psalm, the pope said, focuses on “an exchange of gazes: The faithful (one) lifts his eyes to the Lord and expects a divine reaction, a gesture of love and benevolent gaze.”

Keeping one’s eyes fixed on the Lord, he said, is a common biblical expression for the trust the poor, the oppressed and the righteous have in God. “The supplicant expects that the divine hands will take action because they work for justice, destroying evil,” he said. “The just await God’s gaze, which will reveal all his tenderness and goodness.”

Due to the rain, the Swiss Guards covered up their uniforms with dark blue rain gear. The guards’ matching blue caps were bland compared to the new hat the pope received at the end of the audience; Italian firefighters gave him a silver chief’s helmet.

With a practiced hand, a firefighter flicked open the chinstrap, and Pope Benedict put the helmet on his head.

The pope, having spoken to more than 20,000 people, also spoke to someone on a mobile phone.

A middle-aged man in a wheelchair, who was among dozens of people led up to the pope at the end of the audience, handed Pope Benedict a mobile phone

The autopsy of Terri Schiavo has been released to the public, bringing attention once again to this sad and tragic case, and re-igniting so many of the debates surrounding her life and death.

Does the autopsy shed any light on this tragedy? Does it change anything?

The autopsy, of course, is a medical document about Terri’s physical condition. It is filled with complicated medical terms and statistics. In and of itself, it tells us simply the details found upon examining Terri’s body.

An autopsy is not a crystal ball either into the past or the future. Nor is it a moral evaluation of the worth of a human life.

The big temptation is to stretch the autopsy beyond its purposes and somehow get it to do more than it can do.

Some, indeed, wonder whether this au-

The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI

and asked him to talk. The pope did so.

Officials at the Vatican press office could provide no information about who was on the other end of the phone or what Pope Benedict said.

ANSA, the Italian news agency, reported that the call was made to a nun who was sick.

ANSA later interviewed the cell phone owner, Emilio Testa, and the 44-year-old nun with cancer, Sister Maria Cristina, a member of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist in Angri, Italy.

“When I heard his voice I could not believe it was Pope Ratzinger,” the nun said. “I thought it was a dream, but instead it was real.

“He asked me how I was, he told me to stay calm and that he would pray for me,” she said. “The most surprising thing was that he remembered my name.

He kept calling me Sister Maria Cristina, almost like we already knew each other.”

Testa told ANSA: “I knew how badly Sister Maria Cristina wanted to see the pope, but her health would not permit it. So when I saw the pontiff, I did not think twice. I got close, kissed his hand and, without pausing, asked him to pray for Sister Maria Cristina and perhaps say hello to her on the phone.

“The pontiff immediately said ‘yes,’ took my cell phone and, smiling, began to speak to her,” Testa said.

“When it was all over, I started bawling like a baby. I realized that something extraordinary had just happened,” he said. “I was happy because I knew that with that call Sister Maria Cristina’s heart filled with joy.”

topsy was, from the beginning, a political tool worked out by the euthanasia advocates to advance their agenda regarding Terri. Whether or not that is the case, the autopsy will certainly be used by such advocates to further de-humanize Terri and rob her of her claim for care and protection.

But let’s presume that those who conducted this exam did so objectively and honestly. What, then, do we learn?

For one thing, the autopsy shows that all the media reports that so confidently asserted that Terri collapsed because of “an eating disorder” or “a heart attack” should not have been so confident. In short, the autopsy does not provide a basis for those claims, and leaves the cause of her initial collapse in 1990 a mystery.

Was Michael Schiavo at all responsible for her collapse? He claims he was

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June 24, 2005

Are we overmedicating ourselves?

Alternatives abound to heal sacred Television advertising of drugs for everything that ails us has gone to extremes. Almost everybody, it seems, is taking a drug for some ailment, at least until the next report comes out telling us that this particular drug is not good for people.

I know I’m going to get criticized for writing about this subject because people are sensitive about their need for medications, including those taken to “prevent” possible medical problems.

I stay away from medications, and I know the roots of this decision. It has to do with my being a pre-med student several decades ago at the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., and hearing a lecture by an osteopath.

I interpreted what he said along these lines — that the human body was made to stay healthy and heal itself. Most important was to make sure that one kept the body in balance so that all the internal organs could function as they were meant to.

If something happened to upset this balance, like a fall, an accident or even poor posture, improper eating, drinking or other bad habits, then the organs could go awry. The body could also be damaged by a germ, a sudden change in temperature or a genetic disorder.

Bishop’s pastoral letter appreciated link between abortion and premature birth (“Another tragic effect of Roe v.

Wade,” May 27).

Although this newest study is very much in the news these days, readers may be interested to know that there are 40 other studies worldwide showing the same thing — that even one abortion increases your risk of a premature baby in future pregnancies.

For example, in 1993 and 1998, Australian researcher Judith Lumley reported in peer-reviewed journals that prior induced abortions elevated the risk of extremely premature (28 weeks or less) deliveries.

While Lumley found that one abortion increases the risk of extremely premature babies by 55 percent, the newer French study shows the risk being increased to 70 percent, strong support for something pro-life physicians and researchers have been recognizing for more than a decade.

Any baby who is born prematurely faces a number of risks and hardships.

For the baby born at 28 weeks gestation or younger, research shows the risk of cerebral palsy is increased by 38 times.

As Ruse mentioned, there is also a risk of death.

Sadly, the risk of an extremely premature birth goes up steeply with increased abortion. Dr. Byron Calhoun, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, authored research in 2003 showing an 800 percent increase in extremely prema-

Worldwide studies prove abortion risks

The Bottom Line ANTOINETTE BOSCO CNS Columnist In other words, staying well wasn’t a given, but we all had pretty good odds that we could live a healthy life if we maintained a belief that we had been given a body meant to stay well and worked at this.

Given my very strong Catholic beliefs, I saw this lecture as something of a good sermon, affirming what I had come to believe — that God takes care of us.

Already I had been impressed with reading somewhere that Jesus was the divine physician.

In the decades of my life, I have never forgotten the words of the osteopathic physician who insisted that the human body was made to heal itself. Many years later, I worked at a university and attended some yoga classes given by a young Catholic priest from India.

Letters to the Thank you Bishop Jugis for your pastoral letter, “Calling for an end to the death penalty” (May 6).

I have heard Catholics who claim that the teaching of the church “does not exclude recourse to the death penalty,” ignoring that the church also proclaims that it is opposed to such lethal force in a modern society that has the sufficient resources (non-lethal means) to protect the innocent from harm.

As you remind us, this also gives the violent offender the opportunity for repentance and redemption, which is the saving work in which Jesus calls us all to take part. God bless you for shedding a light of truth on this fundamental Catholic pro-life teaching.

— Linda Flynn Charlotte

The author is psychiatrist and volunteer with Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for healing after abortion.

Thank you for the guest editorial

by Cathy Cleaver Ruse, which highlighted the recent French study on the

He turned out to be a terrific teacher, explaining that people need to be in control of their bodies if they want to be totally integrated persons, spiritually and physically.

He said we needed to surrender ourselves to the spiritual side of life and to God, and this could be done in conjunction with yoga, which combines breathing control with control of muscular development. He ended each class by having us lie flat on our backs, with our palms lifted to heaven.

Then he encouraged us to let all our thoughts drain out of our bodies as he was talking. This was a way of suggesting the idea of surrendering ourselves totally to the nonphysical world. In other words, we were now in a state where we could really pray, really reach out to God. Those exercises taught me how to line up my spine, putting my body back in balance, as the osteopath in my college years had taught me was essential.

God does indeed take care of the bodies he gave us, and they are indeed amazing. As poet Walt Whitman said, “If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.” Bravo to the Creator!

ture births after four abortions, confirming a massive German study in 1998 with similar results (800 percent increase after three or more abortions).

— Martha Shuping, M.D. Winston-Salem

Vatican Radio officials should accept

Regarding “Two top Vatican Radio officials convicted of polluting the environment,” (May 27), the Catholic Church has always taken “be fruitful, multiply and subdue the earth” quite literally without too much consideration of the implications to God’s creation.

One thing that the church cannot be accused of is being “environmentalist” or “green,” not even at a time of severe threats to God’s holy creation.

When the Vatican was recently found guilty of polluting the environment with electromagnetic waves from its radio towers, it had an opportunity to show good example by at least honoring the spirit of Italian environmental law.

But no, the Vatican chose to resist and appeal the case.

The Vatican would do well to admit guilt and pay the penalty, even if Cardinal Roberto Tucci has to go to jail for 10 days. Doing so would provide the world with a better example of stewardship.

— Kenneth Schammel Newland

Walking to the Promised The Human FATHER EUGENE HEMRICK cns columnist

Life-changing events One moment can bring about conversion, improvement It’s mystifying how one event can change an entire life!

A recent article on Pope Benedict XVI in Commonweal magazine told how he once was a young, progressive theologian who considered the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas “too closed in on itself, too impersonal and ready-made.”

He preferred St. Augustine’s personalism in all its passion and depth, and embraced a theology that “had the courage to ask new questions and a spirituality that was doing away with what was dusty and obsolete.”

But student unrest at the University of Tubingen in 1968 caused the future pope to do an about-face in some regards and to become in the minds of many the poster child for conservative reaction in theology and church politics.

Pope Benedict XVI isn’t the only person to change his life because of an extraordinary event or development. All of us have experienced life-changing events.

The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks are a good example of this. Before then we were conscious of security, but afterward we were inundated by security concerns. The events of Sept. 11 altered the worldview of many.

Before Pearl Harbor, America was a peace-loving country that successfully had overcome the Depression. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the United States became the most powerful military force in the world.

The word “event” means a coming or a happening. Life-changing events can arrive or happen at any time in one’s life.

For example, a father takes his son to a seemingly ordinary ballgame. To his son, this suddenly becomes anything but ordinary. Exuberant crowds, cheering players and a home run that sails out of the ballpark suddenly inspire him to become a major league player.

One event, and a life is transformed.

Events are the soul of life. One thing to remember is that events don’t always occur simply by happenstance but often are knowingly and willingly created.

I wonder what would happen if we were more aggressive or proactive in creating events that really make a difference to people. What if parents were more assertive in planning memorable events in their children’s lives? Not that

June 24, 2005

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