June 28, 2002

The Catholic News & Herald 1

June 28, 2002

Bishops’ Meeting Coverage

Jesus said to his apostles: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

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Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

Clergy discuss priestly spirituality at convocation

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent ASHEVILLE — Benedictine Father Noah Casey spoke of accepting who you are so that you can form healthy relationships and be authentic before God and the world.

He addressed 85 Catholic clergymen at the “Convocation of Priests 2002: The Spirituality of the Priesthood” at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort June 10-13 in Asheville. The Diocese of Charlotte holds the convocation every two years, with one-day colloquiums in alternate years.

“We were pleased with the number of men who were able to attend — over half the priests in the diocese,” said Father Wilbur Thomas, vicar for priests and pastor of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, who helped plan the event. “It was a good mixture of religious and diocesan priests with great insights from Noah and the guys’ response to him. We dealt with issues that are important to us. That’s what the convocation is about. The main purpose of the convocation is to bind us together as a presbyterate.”

“For me personally, it’s been very advantageous because I just got into the diocese,” said Redemptorist Father Alvaro Riquelme of St. Joseph Church in Kannapolis. “I came in February. It gave me the opportunity to meet the priests I’ll be working with and to have some fellowship with them.”

Father Casey of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana writes on the spirituality of the priesthood and helped draft “The Basic Plan for the See CONVOCATION,

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Used books open new chapters of hope

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent ASHEVILLE — Hundreds of paperback books filled tables along the walls in the hallways of St. Joan of Arc Church’s parish center. Parishioners browsed June 14-16, taking home reading treasures while giving the gifts of help and hope to Asheville-area AIDS patients.

It was the fifth annual Caring Hearts Book Sale.

This year’s event kicked off May 4 with a “Night to Remember,” a luau at the church.

The kickoff raised money for the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP), a nonprofit organization that helps HIV/AIDS victims and educates the community about the disease. For the next few weeks, parishioners brought in loads of used paperbacks to stock the sale.

Twelve St. Joan of Arc parishioners founded Caring Hearts AIDS Ministry (CHAM) in 1994. Since then, more than 100 parishioners, ranging in age from teens to people in their 90s, have participated in the work. And there’s plenty of work to do.

CHAM’s outreach includes donating money to the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Dorothy Day AIDS ministry to help patients pay household bills. Once a month, CHAM volunteers help Loving Care Food Resources pack boxes for distribution to those with AIDS, and CHAM also sponsors “Tuna Sundays.” St. Joan of Arc parishioners donate canned tuna (high in protein and easily digestible) to Loving Care to go into those food

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Brenda Thomas stocks up on books at the Caring Hearts Book Sale, held annually at St. Joan of Arc Church. boxes.

Caring Hearts volunteers also are WNCAP “buddies,” helping patients get to doctors’ appointments, cleaning their houses, taking care of pets, taking AIDS patients out for lunches and movies and visiting the homebound and those in hospice.

The ministry participates in World AIDS Day inter-

Third-graders correspond with overseas soldiers

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faith services and has made an eight-panel AIDS quilt, which memorializes those who have died of AIDS. One of the panels was chosen for the 2002 Caring Hearts quilt calendar.

The organization also sponsors healing Masses for anyone who is ill from any disease.

vOLUME 11

no. 38

LIMEX graduates honored at Mass, first class sponsored by diocese

By ALESHA M. PRICE Staff Writer HICKORY — Cam Tracy, a parishioner at St. Michael Church in Gastonia, feels that she has grown spiritually and emotionally, as well as academically, through earning a master’s degree in pastoral studies with a concentration in spirituality. What makes her graduate program different from others is that it is a distance-learning program requiring the students to apply what they are learning to their own lives and in their various ministries.

Tracy and 22 others are members the first class to graduate from the Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program (LIMEX) since 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 were honored with a Mass, celebrated by Bishop William G. Curlin, and a reception June 23 at the Catholic Conference Center.

The bishop told the group that they must constantly reflect on God’s presence and strive for continuing education. “You have sacrificed so much of your time and energy through the LIMEX program, but you are just beginning,” said the bishop.

“Though you have graduated, you have to update yourselves constantly. Go further, study more about theology and delve more into Scriptures.

You have to advance your See LIMEX,

Youth conference helps ‘Set Free’ students

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Woman religious sees trials, difficulties as blessings from God

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2 The Catholic News & Herald Latin American youths denied visas to World Youth Day, officials say QUITO, Ecuador (CNS) — Many Latin American youths intending to attend World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto are being denied Canadian visas. The Ecuadorian bishops’ conference reported that about 60 percent of the requests for visas have been rejected by the Canada’s Embassy in Quito and its Consulate in Guayaquil. Reasons cited by the embassy include general lack of economic means, lack of economic resources to cover travel expenses and lack of a traveling record, according to Ecuador’s World Youth Day commission. “What kind of traveling record can young boys and girls have in Ecuador, even among the middle class?” asked Manuel Sarria, a youth minister leading a group of Ecuadorian youngsters from Guayaquil. “Many of these kids have made tremendous efforts to pay their trip to Toronto, and none of them are trying to hide they are not wealthy people. All they want is to see the pope,” Sarria said.

Family preservation is key to containing AIDS, says African doctor WASHINGTON (CNS) — The key to containing AIDS in Africa is by strengthening the family, said an African doctor who specializes in the disease. Dr. Elizabeth Musaba-Mphele, who operates an AIDS education center in rural Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, said the rise in the AIDS crisis mirrored a breakdown in the family structure. “We have a virtual breakdown of the family unit in southern Africa,” Musaba told Catholic New Service in Washington.

Musaba operates the Empilisweni Woodlands Center for AIDS Prevention in one of the poorest sections of South Africa.

The center serves 21 villages and reaches between 400 to 600 people each month.

The name of the center comes from a local dialect and means “healing place,” she said.

‘God Squad’ hears call to follow Tiger Woods ROOSEVELT, N.Y. (CNS) — When 26-year-old Tiger Woods walked the course for the final two rounds of the U.S. Open golf championship on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park,

CNS photo from Reuters

Nuns celebrate Germany’s World Cup semifinal win Sisters Gerarda, Sylvia, Sigolena and Gertrudis celebrate as they watch Germany’s victory over South Korea in the World Cup soccer semifinals June 25. The nuns cheered on the team while watching the game on TV in a meeting room at their convent in Bad Adelholzen in southern Bavaria.

Thousands gather to renew faith at Atlanta Eucharistic Congress COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (CNS) — Catholics must “perceive in depth” that the Eucharist is the person of Jesus Christ “among us,” Cardinal Jozef Tomko told thousands of Catholics gathered for the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Eucharistic Congress. “The Eucharist is not something.

The Eucharist is somebody. It is a person,” said the cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. “It is a person and what a person! The Eucharist is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became man and became bread for our lives. ...

Jesus Christ is truly present in our midst.”

When Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes to feed the large crowd, he revealed himself as the “living bread” whose flesh and blood would be real food and drink, the cardinal said.

Episcopal June 28, 2002 Volume 11 • Number 38 Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Sherill Beason 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $18 per year for all other subscribers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

June 28, 2002

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Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: July 8-11 Bishops’ provincial meeting Charleston, S.C. July 13 — 6 p.m.

50th anniversary Mass Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro July 16 — 5:30 p.m.

Catholic Social Services dinner Catholic Conference Center, Hickory July 27 — 11 a.m.

Ordination to the transitional diaconate St. Patrick, Charlotte

he was shadowed by the “God Squad.”

Msgr. Thomas Hartman, one half of the “God Squad” and director of television and radio for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, carried the scorecard for Woods June 15 at the Farmingdale course. During the final round June 16, the squad’s other half, Rabbi Marc Gellman, carried the scorecard for the golfing sensation.

Woods, of course, took home the trophy, becoming the first golfer in 30 years to win the Masters tournament and the U.S. Open in the same year. He is halfway toward his goal of becoming the first golfer to win the Grand Slam in the same year.

For the priest and the rabbi’s part, they were thrilled to be on hand. “I jumped up and down in excitement,” Msgr. Hartman said, upon hearing the news he and Rabbi Gellman were invited to participate by David Fay, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association. The organization spon-

Diocesan

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Gabriel from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and every Tuesday and Thursday at Sardis Presbyterian Church from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., call Suzanne Bach at (704) 3764135.

17 BELMONT — Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 N. Main St., will be hosting a Port-a-Pit Chicken fundraiser today during lunch and dinner from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and from 4-7:30 p.m. Meal will include one-half of a chicken, baked beans, Cole slaw and a roll provided by Port-a Pit Chicken of Statesville. Participants may eat in or carry out with drive-thru service available, and orders of eight or more can take advantage of delivery service. Proceeds will benefit the parish nursing program. For further details, call Jennifer Church at (704) 651-9605 or the church office at (704) 825-5277 17 JEFFERSON — A series of pre-

sors the U.S. Open.

Liturgy not place for theatrics, say speakers at Jesuit conference ROME (CNS) — Liturgy is a communal form of prayer and not a showplace for the creativity or the piety of any participant, whether celebrant or member of the congregation, said speakers at an international conference in Rome. Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels of MechelenBrussels told the June 17-22 conference the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council rightfully emphasized the importance of the active participation of everyone at a liturgy. But many attempts to involve people and make the liturgy more relevant have ended up being more a celebration of the creativity of planners and celebrants than of faith in Christ and his saving work, the cardinal said. The International Meeting on Jesuit Liturgy brought together 122 Jesuits from 44 countries as well as Vatican officials and other Catholic and Anglican experts on liturgy.

Religious women under 50 gather to assess past, look to future CHICAGO (CNS) — Sister Kristin Matthes sees a new interest in religious life, not a decline. It is an exciting time to be a member of a religious community because it is a period of redefinition, said Sister Matthes, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. She shared her excitement at a June 13-15 conference for women religious at Loyola University in Chicago. More than 500 people attended the conference, called “Gathering Voices for the Future.” “The conference is a vehicle to gather women religious, particularly those under 50,” Sister Matthes told The Catholic New World, newspaper of the Chicago Archdiocese. “We need to be more visible and redefine and understand who we are and what we’re about.” She said the conference offered an opportunity for younger religious women from different congregations to connect with their peers and present their ideas and concerns.

sentations; sponsored by CSS Elder Ministry and facilitated by Richard Von Stamwitz, a national certified gerontological counselor; are being continued throughout the diocese. Today’s presentation will be given at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 326 Main St., from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Brown bag lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. The topic, “Creative Aging/Making a Difference in Later Life,” will be presented in two sessions and will focus on taking an “observe-judge-act” approach to faith, society and aging issues with reflections, prayers and exercises. For pre-registration and other information, call Sandra Breakfield at (704) 370-3220 or Marlo Wallace at (704) 370-3228.

19 CHARLOTTE — Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF), a weekly support group for separated and divorced women, meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the St. Matthew Church parish center, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy., with its monthly potluck dinner with a guest speaker from the community. TGIF

June 28, 2002

Ruling ending executions of retarded people hailed as a good step WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded people is an important breakthrough, say death penalty opponents, but some cautioned that the opinion does not mean the court has shifted against capital punishment. The court ruled 6-3 June 20 that executing people who are mentally retarded violates the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said the fact that a growing number of states have banned such executions is an indication that society’s moral standards have shifted sufficiently to reflect that in law. “It is not so much the number of these states that is significant, but the consistency of the direction of change,” Stevens wrote.

He noted that even in states where it is legal to execute retarded people, the practice is rare. Eighteen of the 38 states with the death penalty ban such executions. Another 12 states have no capital punishment law. “The practice, therefore, has become truly unusual,” he wrote, “and it is fair to say that a national consensus has developed against it.”

Making the rounds: Papal stamps have moved the mail for 150 years VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Because even the plainest of Vatican postage stamps can be a collector’s item, something really unusual was needed to mark the 150th anniversary of papal stamps. So, in mid-June, the Vatican released its first-ever round stamp, reproducing a round print of Rome’s Palazzo Madama, the former headquarters of the post office of the Papal States and current seat of the Italian Senate. The Vatican joined only a handful of countries — most notably New Zealand, which has issued six “Round Kiwi” stamps since 1988 — in printing what is largely recognized as a paper-wasting, difficult-to-detach stamp. However, the Vatican does not expect anyone to punch out the p.m. in the school cafeteria. For further information, contact Josie Backus at (704) 527-4676.

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

15 CHARLOTTE — A support group meeting for caregivers of family and friends suffering from Alzheimer’s/ dementia will be held today and July 22 from 10-11:30 a.m. in room E of the ministry center at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., and July 16 at Providence United Methodist Church. With advanced notification, activities for the memory-impaired can be provided. For more information about the support group or the Shining Stars Adult Day Respite Program for the memory-impaired, which meets every Monday and Wednesday at St.

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CNS photo courtesy of Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office

Vatican issues first round postage stamp A sheetlet of Vatican postage stamps, including a new round stamp, depicts various scenes of 19th-century Rome. The stamps were issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Vatican pre-paid postage stamp. In philatelic catalogues, an envelope with an original 1852 Vatican stamp is valued at $50,000 today. commemorative round stamp, which is set into a larger design on a rectangular sheet of stamp paper known in philatelic circles as a sheetlet. Still, it is valid postage and could get a thick letter from the Vatican to North America by priority post. The Vatican also is marking the anniversary with three regular-format stamps of varying denominations.

Catholic residents impacted by suicide bombing in Jerusalem JERUSALEM (CNS) — Aeid Eid, an Arab-Catholic resident of Jerusalem, was walking his daughter, Yara, 13, to school June 18 when he heard an explosion. “We couldn’t believe it was a bomb but a few moments later Rosean, my wife, called to say she heard ambulances,” said Eid, a resident

of the Muslim neighborhood of Beit Safafa. Twenty people were killed and 70 wounded in the bombing, which took place at a bus stop on a main thoroughfare outside Beit Safafa. Like other Israelis, the Eids switched on the radio to hear the news. Family members began calling to make sure they were all OK. The father and daughter this year have narrowly missed several other suicide bombings, including one which occurred near the girl’s school.

“My friends and I don’t go to the mall to hang out. Usually we just stay home and sometimes we visit each other. I don’t feel safe, especially when I want to have fun,” she said.

Vatican confirms pope to visit Guatemala, Mexico after Toronto stop

July 7 CHARLOTTE — The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order will be gathering today 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 Mood, SFO, at (704) 545-8133.

7 SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., will be celebrating a charismatic and healing Mass today at 4 p.m. Prayer and worship with prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner will follow the Mass. Father John Putnam, pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

10 CHARLOTTE — Because of the July 4th holiday, the Happy Timers of St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Rd., will be having a meeting with a luncheon and program at 1 p.m. today in the parish

activity center. Next month’s meeting will be held on the regularly scheduled date of Aug. 7. All adults age 55 and older are welcome. For more information, call Charles Nesto at (704) 3980879.

10 CHARLOTTE — The 50+ Club of St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., will be conducting a meeting this morning at 11 a.m. in the parish center with lunch and entertainment from Bob Jackson singing country-western tunes. Donations are being accepted during the meeting. For more information, call Bobbe Conlin at (704) 643-1376 or Gloria Silipigni at (704) 821-1343.

11 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area will be hosting ultreyas on the following dates and times: St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., from 7-8 p.m. tonight for adults only with shared snacks; St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd., from 1:15-2 p.m. July 21 with a potluck/Ultreya gathering at 1:15 p.m. with food served at 1:30 p.m. and St.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican confirmed that Pope John Paul II will make planned stops in Guatemala and Mexico following a July 2329 visit to Toronto for World Youth Day. The trip schedule, released at the Vatican June 18, reflects one slight scaling back of the 82-year-old pontiff ’s planned activities: A beatification service in Mexico Aug. 1 — the pope’s final day in North America — will be a Liturgy of the Word ceremony, not a Mass. After arriving in Canada July 23, the pope will spend more than half of his time resting at a Basilian-owned retreat center on Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe, about 90 miles north of Toronto. His appearances at World Youth Day, expected to attract hundreds of thousands of young people, include a welcoming ceremony, a vigil and a closing Mass. In Guatemala July 29-30 and in Mexico July 30-Aug. 1, the pope’s activities are limited to canonization and beatification liturgies, with the exception of arrival and departure ceremonies.

New stem-cell research could affect cloning debate WASHINGTON (CNS) — The stalled congressional debate on whether to adopt a cloning moratorium Notice something new with this edition of The Catholic News & Herald? It’s our new front-page design.

This new look is more than cosmetic; it provides more options for our readers and gives The Catholic News & Herald more flexibility with the newspaper design while we maximize news on page one.

Later this year, we will roll out a full newspaper makeover.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of our new look.

org

Joann S. Keane Editor jskeane@charlottediocese.

Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy., from 1:30-3 p.m. July 28 with childcare and a family potluck. For more information, call Dan Hines at (704) 544-6665.

13 CHARLOTTE — The Vietnamese Cursillo community will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight and every second Saturday of the month for a school of leaders at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd. For further information, call Ky Do at (704) 5329094.

13 RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina State Board of the Ancient Order of Hibernians will meet at the Clarion Hotel in downtown Raleigh.

All Hibernians are invited to attend.

For more information, contact Jack Crosson at (919) 217-0451 or e-mail Tim Lawson at NCAOH@aol.com.

14 CHARLOTTE — A charismatic Mass will be held at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, this afternoon at 4 p.m. with prayer teams at 3 p.m. and a potluck dinner at 5

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June 28, 2002

Around the Di-

LIMEX, from page 1 education and keep developing and furthering your relationship with God so that you don’t lose sight of him.”

Father James Hawker, diocesan vicar for education and pastor of St. Luke Church in Charlotte, concelebrated the Mass along with Father Anthony Marcaccio, vice chancellor and pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. Father Hawker expressed his admiration of the students and his gratitude to all who have helped the graduates through their four years of study and sacrifice. He made a special mention of the late Joanna Case, who worked to bring LIMEX to the diocese and served as the LIMEX liaison until her death in 2001.

The LIMEX program offers master’s degrees and non-credit, continuing education certificates in religious education and pastoral studies from Loyola University of New Orleans.

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. Since the diocese does not offer a master’s level program in those areas, people who wish to continue their educations can take advantage of LIMEX. “Students meet approximately once a week for 10 weeks and do three courses a year. A learning group is formed with students who are going to focus on different types of materials,” explained Connie Milligan, director of religious education at St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte and the interim LIMEX liaison. “Students commit to the learning process early on and do the preparation work before they come to class and meet for three hours during that period. This is unique in that the student becomes a part of a learning group, and a sense of community is formed.”

The students gather with a Loyolatrained facilitator and discuss what they have read for the class and have videos and audiotapes as supplements to their own study. Each class can require from one 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.

Tracy, who also completed facilitator training and will be serving on her parish council, said that she appreciates

Photo by Alesha M. Price

Pictured from left to right at the LIMEX graduation Mass June 23 are Connie Milligan, interim LIMEX liaison and director of religious education at St. John Neumann; Father James Hawker, diocesan vicar for education and pastor of St. Luke Church in Charlotte and Peg Ruble, central regional faith formation coordinator and LIMEX facilitator. The gathering, held at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, was in honor of the 2002 LIMEX graduates. the program because of the way they learn the material by integrating it into their ministries. They gain practical information that will be applicable to their current and future work.

“The process has been a real catalyst for my own spiritual growth, and (I have enjoyed) learning about myself, the richness of the Catholic tradition and the Catholic faith,” said Tracy. “Our subjective human experience is so important.

It’s not just the doctrine that we’re being fed; it’s takes our human experience and the doctrine and blends them together.

It is so wonderful to take what I learned and apply it as a minister. I learned how to be a better minister, and ministry is who you are and who you become.”

Mike Stout from St. Barnabas Church in Arden feels that the interaction in their sharing groups was most beneficial to him especially because he earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies with a concentration in small Christian communities. He ended the two-year diocesan lay ministry program and wanted to learn more, and LIMEX provided that for him.

“I really appreciated working with my fellow students. (With the) LIMEX program, you do the readings with videos, but it is not one-sided. You have time to talk about what you studied and how it speaks to you, and you get to hear from other students and how it impacts them,” said Stout. “You have the opportunity to dialogue about your faith, talk about Scripture and the church’s teachings. You can talk to one another and have the opportunity for growth.”

Currently, two learning groups are

halfway through the program in Wilkesboro and Charlotte, and additional groups will be beginning in the next six months in Charlotte, Western N.C. and Greensboro.

For further information about the LIMEX program, call Connie Milligan at (704) 364-3344 or visit the Web site at www.loyno.edu/lim.

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

The 2002 LIMEX graduates are as follows: From the Arden learning group with Linda Schlensker of Mars Hill as the facilitator: Tiffany Gallozzi of Hendersonville, Elizabeth Girton of Asheville, Barbara McGrattan of Weaverville, Ann McKeown of Maggie Valley, Joanita Nellenbach of Clyde, Lucy Nordlund of Hendersonville, Mark Silar of Asheville and Ann Stowe of Asheville; From the Asheville learning group with Mary Ann Poli of Asheville as the facilitator: Mary Ann DeMeify of Fairview, Linda Elrod of Asheville, Gloria Schweizer of Webster and Mike Stout of Arden; From the Clemmons learning group with Clarence Fox of Davidson and Connie Milligan of Charlotte as facilitators: Alberta Hairston of Greensboro, Joanna Jackson of Mocksville, Pat Millar of Winston-Salem, Peggy Schumacher of King and Sheri Wilson of Winston-Salem; From the Charlotte learning group with Bryna Bozart-Barnes of Charlotte and Roger Hull of China Grove as facilitators: Richard Hanners of Charlotte, Sandy Holland of Gastonia, Lois Lyons of Waxhaw, Paula Pueschel of Monroe, Cam Tracy of Gastonia and Julie Which-

June 28, 2002

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Third-graders correspond with overseas

By KEVIN E. MURRAY Associate Editor CHARLOTTE — A few Catholic students made new pen pals toward the end of their school year.

Jennifer Mitra’s third-grade class at Our Lady of the Assumption School wrote letters of friendship and gratitude to five servicemen currently serving in Afghanistan. The men, U.S. Air Force intelligence officers, were quick to write back to their newfound friends.

“The kids absolutely loved the idea of writing letters, and they were excited that I knew someone over there (in Afghanistan),” said Mitra.

That someone was her cousin’s husband, who had recently been shipped out as a part of Operation: Enduring Freedom to fight the war on terrorism. Since the couple was married less than a year, Mitra offered to have her class send letters of encouragement to her cousin-in-law.

“We thought it would be a neat way to cheer him up,” said Mitra.

“Capt. John” (his last name is not used at the request of the military) eagerly sent back the names of four of his friends — men under his command — when his wife told him of the idea.

The entire school had participated in Operation Valentine during Catholic Schools Week. Each student sent a valentine to anonymous solider overseas, but Mitra said her class felt privileged to write letters to specific soldiers.

“They knew to whom they were sending the letters,” said Mitra. “It was exciting for them to have a name.”

It took about the entire month of April for the young students to write their letters, said Mitra, as each child wrote a letter to each of the five servicemen. The children wrote about what they were learning in school, what the weather was like, pets they owned and hobbies they enjoyed.

“I asked how they were doing and told them about my science project,” said third-grader Kayla Lemke.

“I asked if they were OK and if any of them were injured, and asked when they were coming home,” said fellow student Natalia Sztandarowski.

“All of the students’ letters were very touching and from the heart.

They thanked the soldiers for keeping us safe and said they were praying for them,” said Mitra.

While crafting their letters, the students put the names of the servicemen on their class prayer board.

“Parents were amazed at the work of the kids,” said Mitra. “Many said they were praying for John and his fellow servicemen from home.”

When the letters and photographs arrived a month later from Afghanistan, the students were thrilled. Each of the five servicemen took the time to write back to every student and answer all of his or her questions.

“When they got the responses, that boosted them higher than anything else could have,” said Mitra.

“They felt so special.”

“I would like to say thank you for all of your letters and support,” wrote Captain John to the students. “It might seem like a small thing to you, but it

Photo by Kevin E. Murray

Students in Jennifer Mitra’s third-grade class at Our Lady of the Assumption School corresponded with with U.S. Air Force servicemen stationed in Afghanistan as a part of Operation: Enduring Freedom. really means a lot to myself and all of the other soldiers, sailors and airmen deployed all over the world.”

“I thought it was really nice,” said Sztandarowksi. “We wrote to someone far away, and they took the time to write back.”

“I was wondering if they would write back,” said student Steven Trombello. “I felt shocked (when the letters arrived). It was pretty nice.”

“The soldier thanked me for writing and hoped I had a great summer,” said Lemke.

The servicemen also discussed in their letters the importance of their jobs in Afghanistan.

“We’re over here so you can have a better life and not have to worry about the bad guys causing trouble,” wrote Captain John.

Although Capt. John won’t be in Afghanistan next year, Mitra plans to have her new class send letters to servicemen due to the positive impact it had on her current students. Every time Mitra erased the servicemen’s names from the prayer board for summer recess, a student would write them back in.

“I think the students are still praying for them on their own,” she said.

Contact Associate Editor Kevin E. Murray by calling (704) 370-3334, or email kemurray@charlottediocese.org.

6 The Catholic News & Herald Bill Moyers to receive Humanitas Prize’s first Kieser Award LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Television journalist Bill Moyers has been named the first recipient of the Kieser Award, named after Father Ellwood Kieser, the Paulist priest who founded the Humanitas Prizes. Moyers will receive the special Humanitas Prize at a June 25 luncheon. During his career, Moyers has won three Humanitas Prizes, plus more than 30 Emmy Awards and the Charles Frankel Prize, now the National Humanities Medal. He “represents the very best that television offers its viewers,” said Paulist Father Frank Desiderio in a June 13 statement. “Bill Moyers has based his career on providing intelligent, informative programs that serve as a benchmark for television journalism.” The Kieser Award is given to a person or group whose work has helped to promote a greater appreciation for the dignity of each member of the human family, and challenged others to examine the role they play in the search for meaning, freedom and love.

Pope gave scholarship to Sept. 11 orphan, money to care for victims VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II’s charitable donations in recent months have included a scholarship for an orphan of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and $50,000 for medical care of the terrorist victims in New York. In an annual report released June 18, the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” the Vatican’s coordinating agency for charitable donations, also said that in 2001 the pope gave about $6.2 million in disaster relief and development projects. Citing privacy concerns, a council official told Catholic News Service he could not release details about the scholarship donation or the Sept. 11 orphan who received it. He said it was not a large amount of money, but was meant as a sign of the pope’s closeness to the United States in its moment of suffering.

Soap for Hope program collects thousands of bars for Haitian poor WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) — Most Americans take the soap in their soap dish for granted, knowing when it melts away a new one will appear. But in Haiti, a bar of soap can save a life.

That’s why Margot Zarella founded Soap for Hope for a country where poor hygiene and a lack of health care cause the spread of serious disease. Zarella, a Catholic, was inspired by a talk by the

People in the

CNS photo by Paul Finch, Catholic Sun

Students plant principal at end of reading challenge Students dump soil on principal Andrea Polcaro of Blessed Sacrament School in Syracuse, N.Y., June 17. The event marked the successful close of her reading challenge, during which students read more than 30,000 books in the school year. Top readers in each class got the honor of pouring dirt over Polcaro’s head as she sat in an acrylic box.

Haitian Health Foundation’s Karen Kohl and started collecting bars of soap from classmates during her junior year in high school. She continued the soap drive when she arrived at the University of Delaware in Newark four years ago. The Haitian Health Foundation provides free bars of soap and a wash cloth to anyone who brings their child into a clinic for the routine vaccinations that can keep many diseases at bay.

This year, she solicited donations from colleges across the country through the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and set the “bar” at 20,000. At the end of May, before her graduation, the count was 23,553, with several uncounted boxes still sitting in her apartment.

Vatican official brings pope’s prayers to ground zero NEW YORK (CNS) — Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, a top Vatican official, brought the prayers of Pope John Paul II and his message of hope to ground zero June 20. The archbishop, a native of Argentina who is one of the two prin-

cipal deputies to the Vatican secretary of state, said in an interview the following day that the pope had expressed a desire to pray at the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack ever since it occurred.

“He always was thinking about whether it would be possible,” Archbishop Sandri said. But he said the other extensive travels in the pope’s schedule last year, along with the increasing difficulty of travel for him, made it appear that there would be no possibility for such a visit.

Ursuline superior marks 275th anniversary of order in New Orleans NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — Although it’s been 275 years since an adven-

June 28, 2002

turous band of 12 religious women set sail for New Orleans from France, Ursuline Mother General Colette Lignon still has the greatest admiration for her predecessors. Mother Colette has another tie to those nuns and postulants — they sailed from the Brittany port of L’Orient, not 10 kilometers from her family home. “I have always felt a kinship with that group of sisters,” she said. Mother Colette was in New Orleans this spring to help mark the anniversary of the sisters’ arrival in 1727, and to speak at graduation ceremonies at Ursuline Academy, the oldest continuously operating Catholic girls’ school in the nation. “How valiant they were,” Mother Colette told the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the New Orleans Archdiocese. “They had such faith in the love of God and wanted to share that love.”

Nun hopes 250,000 buttons will get her vocations message across SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) — A cloistered nun in a religious community in Spokane says she has come up with a way to reach 250,000 people around the world.

She plans to do this through an unlikely means: buttons. Sister Patricia Proctor of the Poor Clare Monastery came up with the button idea to tap into a common World Youth Day practice — pilgrims trading pins and buttons with each other.

She hopes that by getting traded and passed around, her 250,000 buttons will spark an interest in religious vocations, Catholic devotion and Christian fellowship. She met with a local advertising executive who came up with the button idea and the design. Its red letters on a black background say, “Spread the love.”

Below the message, in white, is her Web address: www.catholic-cards.com. The site features free electronic greeting cards and Scriptural passages on various topics.

The site plans to contain rotating advertisements for various religious communities and vocations offices.

June 28, 2002

From the

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Youth conference helps ‘Set Free’

By KATHY SCHMUGGE Correspondent CHARLESTON, S.C. — In a time when the word “freedom” is so misunderstood, Steubenville Charleston 2002, the first Franciscan University Catholic High School Youth Conference in Charleston, S.C., attempted to set the record straight for over 1,100 youth. Held at the Charleston Convention Center, youth from all over the Southeast and beyond gathered June 21-23 to be “Set Free,” the theme of this conference.

“I pray that each of you deeply experience the liberating power and healing love of our Lord Jesus Christ,” greeted Bishop Robert J. Baker, bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, who participated in the event.

The Diocese of Charlotte was well represented by a number of youth groups throughout North Carolina. St. Mark Church in Huntersville, for example, brought 75 youth to Charleston. Three years ago, only three teens went to Steubenville Atlanta from St. Mark’s youth group, but the word has spread quickly and the interest has grown exponentially.

“The only agenda at a Steubenville conference is God,” said St. Mark’s youth leader Kathleen Lewis. “There is a consistent level of spirituality and Catholic identity found at each conference. A youth leader can trust that it will be a prayerful, spiritual experience with quality music and speakers who are on fire about their faith.”

Torukpa Agbegha from Our Lady of Assumption Church in Charlotte attended the conference for the first time and was impressed by how relevant the

message was for her. “The talks related to what we as teens face in our personal lives,” she said.

One of the speakers, Franciscan Father Stan Fortuna, is a familiar face at many youth events. He incorporated his contemporary musical talent with his experience serving the poor to convey the message of being ransomed.

“PRIDE (Pathetic Reasons Interrupting Divine Experience) keeps you from taking up your cross, following the path of love and truth, which is the blood and guts of freedom,” said Father Fortuna, explaining how Christ suffered so that “we could be ransomed.” He also invited the youth to imitate Christ by giving their sufferings to God so that they could live according to their destiny.

“Jesus has been waiting. How long are you going to let him wait? He has a lot of patience; he will wait forever, but let’s make him happy and not make him wait too long,” said Father Fortuna after singing a rap song called “Everybody’s Gotta Suffer” from his new CD. The catchy tune brought the youth to their feet in an explosive applause.

Bob Rice, the Northeastern area director of LIFE TEEN and a popular speaker and singer, reinforced the words of Father Fortuna. Rice invited the youth to make that commitment to Christ and not be discouraged or distracted by the chains of anger, sex and pride that can enslave them.

“Your love of the Father does not restrict but sets you free,” he said, reminding them that God’s love never waivers no matter what a person does. “The letters above the cross, INRI, can also stand

Photo by Kathy Schmugge

Pictured are a group of youths from Our Lady of Assumption Church in Charlotte who attended the “Set Free” Steubenville Catholic High School Youth Conference in Charleston, S.C., June 21-23. for ‘I Never Regretted It.’” Beside the music, talks and skits, the conference had confession, Mass and eucharistic adoration. There was also time for the youth to process all the information and emotions that flowed through the events.

Eucharistic adoration moved Amy Taylor, director of religious education at Corpus Christi Church in Lexington, S.C. “I have gone to adoration before with a handful of people but never experienced it as a community. When you have 1,100 people silently praying at the same time, you know what you are there for and why

everyone else is there too.”

The conference seemingly left no one unchanged, and it will be the challenge of the church community to help the youth continue to make a daily commitment to their faith. Fortunately, these young people will be able to look back on the powerful memories of the conference that Lewis described as “a beautiful moment where God swept them off their feet.”

Partnerships to combat domestic violence in Western

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent WESTERN N.C. — In the last two years, the REACH offices in North Carolina’s seven westernmost counties have handled more than 3,500 domestic abuse situations. Multiplying those numbers across the nation means a majority of people in the United States know a domestic violence victim, whether they are aware of it or not.

Domestic violence is no stranger to any locale or economic class.

“A few years ago, when the North Carolina Council for Women was tracking figures per county, Mecklenburg County was number one; Haywood County was number two, which just proves what we’ve always known, that domestic violence crosses all socioeconomic boundaries,” said Julia Freeman, director of REACH of Haywood County, which provides emergency help to domestic violence victims.

The 30th Judicial District Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Alliance Inc. is trying, with help from Catholics and other faith communities, to reduce domestic violence by establishing Partnership for Peace (PFP). According to the grant application submitted to the Duke Endowment and Z. Smith Reynolds foundations, PFP’s goal is to

“build partnerships between the faith community and domestic violence programs to better understand the range of issues domestic violence victims may be experiencing, better protect them and enhance the resources available to them.”

PFP will concentrate on the seven western counties — Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain — that comprise the 30th Judicial District as well as the Diocese of Charlotte’s Smoky Mountain Vicariate.

These counties, the grant proposal noted, “are sandwiched between the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee and Georgia. They are geographically isolated ....

They share many challenges such as low tax revenues due to large amounts of federal lands, high unemployment and low wages, and cultural and socio-economic disadvantages that prevent victims of domestic violence from accessing needed services and supports.

“These counties have, perhaps more than anywhere else in the state, learned to put aside their county-borders and join together to address common problems and secure funding for expanded services.”

Z. Smith Reynolds and Duke contributed $25,000 and $15,000, respectively. The 12 parishes of the Smoky Mountain Vicariate gave $4,000, match-

ing $4,000 from the Ministry Fund of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, whose friars staff St. Margaret Church and Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center in Maggie Valley.

“We wanted to make a statement that we stand for the dignity and for the rights and safety of women and children,” said Augustinian Father Francis Doyle, St. Margaret’s pastor, chair of the Haywood County Domestic Violence Task Force and a REACH board member.

The money will fund an interfaith domestic violence coordinator and the PFP’s education and outreach activities, including a conference on faith and domestic violence issues scheduled for April 26, 2003. Patricia Gaddis, the Alliance’s former sexual assault specialist and the author of “Battered but Not Broken: Help for Abused Wives and Their Church Families” (Judson Press, 1996), will serve as the domestic violence coordinator.

Clergy from Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal churches in the judicial district will serve on PFP’s advisory committee.

Why target the churches rather than civil authorities to end such abuse?

“We have seen members of the faith community victimized by domestic violence,” according to the grant proposal.

“Because our rural Appalachian culture

greatly emphasizes church and family, we have also seen church leaders ignore or minimize family violence. These leaders discourage victims from leaving abusive partners, as preservation of the family unit is a priority.

“Other leaders do not understand the dynamics of domestic violence and try to counsel victim and perpetrator as a couple or encourage the family to ‘pray more.’ Some church leaders do not even believe domestic violence exists among their congregants. They say, ‘Well, no one ever comes to me with this problem.’

But statistics tell us that one of every three members of a church or synagogue is a victim or survivor of domestic abuse or sexual assault.

“On the other hand, our domestic violence service providers face the dilemma of how to address the spiritual and theological questions that trouble battered women of faith who do seek support and safety from their programs. They want the assistance of their local religious communities to help them better understand and deal with the religious issues of their program participants.”

Contact Correspondent Joanita M. Nellenbach by calling (828) 627-9209 or e-mail jnell@dnet.net.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

June 28, 2002

Girl gets all she CONVOCATION, wants for her 6th from page 1 Formation of Priests” for birthday: food for Ongoing the United States Conference Conference of Catholic Bishops. He spoke on theB poor “The Spheres of Priestly Ministry and MARYLYNN G. HEWITT Spirituality,” “Experiencing the Current y

Catholic News Service AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (CNS) — Chloe Langlois got everything she wanted for her 6th birthday — cans, boxes and cases of food for the poor.

“It was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” she told The Michigan Catholic, newspaper of the Detroit Archdiocese.

She had planned a circus-themed party for months, her mother, Laura Langlois, said. “It was all her idea” that the June 15 celebration be one to help others, she added.

“The response has been amazing,” she said. “We keep getting food on our doorstep that people have left after hearing about Chloe’s party.”

And, unbeknown to her mom and dad, Jim, when neighbors and friends asked about the party, Chloe told them she wanted “the big cans” of food.

Her party ended up filling 13 boxes and five bags that will go to the Robert Matchem Nutrition Center, housed at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Pontiac, and to the food pantry at St. Michael Parish, also in Pontiac.

Maria Jimenez, pastoral associate at St. Vincent de Paul, said she was “totally taken aback and we had tears in our eyes listening to this little girl telling us what she did.”

Church Environment,” “Transition in Priestly Life: Celebrating the Paschal Mystery” and “Developing Patterns for Healthy and Holy Relationships.”

He said that developing those patterns includes authentic prayer — “Pray as you can, not as you can’t”— even though the person may not have perfect order in his life. “Without intimacy with God, we live a life of drivenness, of urgency,” Father Casey said, adding that intimacy with God must be based on who one really is.

“Don’t predicate (praying) on the attitudes of those around you,” he said.

“Take where you are at that moment, and speak to God out of who you are.

It’s like cleaning the house before the housekeeper gets there: If we try to tidy everything up, we miss the moment.”

To illustrate how complicated prayer can be versus how simple it should be, Father Casey described the paralytic at Bethseda (John 5: 2-9), who explains why he can’t enter the pool.

“Jesus,” he said, “asks, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ and the man tells him how the pool works.”

Authentically accepting one’s true self is necessary to establishing and keeping healthy relationships with others. This includes self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-fulfillment, being confident and enjoying appropriate intimacy, which embraces “the web of relationships,” Father Casey said. “Avoid exclusivity. Intimacy needs to be shared with others. Sacraments, spiritual direction and Eucharist help build that watchfulness to healthy intimacy.

“Celibacy isn’t the issue; chastity (moral sexual conduct) is the issue.

What’s at stake is chastity in the whole culture — the culture of looking at sex as a gift from God that we are called to be stewards of. We must pray out of who we are. God thought it up. I doubt that he’s going to be embarrassed (by what we pray).”

Healthy relationships also depend on how well individuals take care of and respect themselves, which leads to constant renewal.

“I think priests are notorious for not treating themselves well — in the rest

Photo by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Discussing points made during a talk by Benedictine Father Noah Casey at the Convocation of Priests 2002: The Spirituality of the Priesthood”, held June 10-13, from left are Father Tien Duong, St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte; Father Joseph Dinh, Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury; Father Joseph Ayathupadam, Holy Spirit Church, Denver; Father Richard Hanson, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Charlotte; Father Bernard Manley, retired, Asheville; Monsignor Anthony Kovacic, retired, diocesan director of missionary societies. we get or don’t get, balance or lack of balance,” Father Casey said. “It’s the kind of self-respect that happens in Jesus’ encounter with Zacheus. Zacheus is just nosey. God uses Zacheus’ nosiness to bring him to new life. Jesus says, ‘Get out of that tree; I’m coming to your house for dinner.’ And what does Zacheus do? He repays everybody. He has a whole new sense of himself.”

Father William M. Evans, sacramental minister at Our Lady of the Mountains Church in Highlands and St. Jude Church in Sapphire Valley, agreed with that: “This whole business that we’re so busy that we don’t take time for ourselves. The point is that to be a good servant of others you must first serve yourself. If you do not know how to love yourself, you do not know how to love others. You burn out too quickly because you have not enjoyed your own life.”

The Priestly Life and Ministry Committee of the Diocese of Char-

lotte’s Presbyteral Council planned the convocation. Committee members are Father George M. Kloster, chair, pastor of St. William Church in Murphy and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville; Father Wilbur Thomas; Father Carl Del Giudice, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard; Father James Hawker, vicar for education and pastor of St. Luke Church in Charlotte; Father Richard Hokanson, pastor of Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont; Augustinian Father Terence Hyland of Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center in Maggie Valley; Father Matthew Kauth, parochial vicar of St. Matthew in Charlotte; Father James Solari of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.

Contact Correspondent Joanita M. Nellenbach by calling (828) 627-9209 or e-mail jnell@dnet.net.

June 28, 2002

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Special Report

A letter from Bishop Curlin

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, As you all know, this has been a trying and critical time for our church. The sexual abuse of children and young people by some priests and bishops, and the ways in which Church leaders have sometimes dealt with these terrible acts, have caused anger, confusion and pain among many in our faith community. I hope that this message may relieve some of that anger and confusion, and help begin to heal the pain.

As these abuses have occurred in past years and the revelations have come forth in recent months, the bonds of trust that should unite us as Christians have been strained. Indeed, the abuse of a child stands in complete contradiction to everything Our Lord teaches us and everything the Church is called to be. Let there now be no doubt or confusion that we clearly understand that our obligation to protect the young and our duty to prevent sexual abuse flow from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ Himself, in whose name we serve.

From the depths of my heart, as bishop of Charlotte, I express great sorrow and profound regret for the suffering of the victims of this abuse, their families and our Catholic community.

As our Holy Father has reminded us in his Address to the Cardinals of the United States and our conference officers earlier this year, the sexual abuse of children is “by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God.” My fellow bishops and I have been humbled by our deeper understanding of the terrible pain inflicted on some of our most vulnerable parishioners by some of our fellow clergy. The sinful and criminal acts of a few among us certainly diminish us all. At the same time, as St. Paul reminds us, “where sin has increased, grace has far surpassed it” [Romans 5:20].

Therefore, I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge that the Lord’s work is being done every day by thousands of dedicated lay people and faithful clergy and religious in our diocese. Their devoted and tireless service to Jesus Christ and the Church should not be lost in our righteous efforts to bring offenders to justice and prevent these terrible acts.

The bishops in the United States have been working to prevent the scourge of abuse for nearly twenty years, in part through the creation of the Ad Hoc Com-

mittee on Sexual Abuse in 1993. But as we have candidly examined the issues, most recently at our national meeting in Dallas, it has become clear to us that our response to these abuses in the past has not been equal to the task. We have failed in part by what we have done and by what we have left undone. While we have made considerable efforts in the past, the current focus on the errors and omissions of the past is appropriate. It is in examining our mistakes — painful as that process may be for all of us — that we are led to gain the wisdom we now need to heal the families of those victimized by a small number of clergy in our Church.

It is my sincere hope that with our agreement in Dallas on the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, we can now begin anew — with faith in the future and a renewed commitment to combat these abuses with our entire collective might. In sum, the Charter calls for the permanent removal from ministry of any cleric who — in the past, present or future — sexually abuses a minor. In our prayers and deliberations on this matter, we recall the words of the Holy Father that “there is no place in the priesthood or religious life for those who would harm the young.”

Through the Charter, we renew our determination to provide safety and protection for children and young people in our church ministries and institutions.

We pledge ourselves to act in a way that manifests our accountability to God’s people and to one another in this grave matter; we commit ourselves to heal the wound that the whole Church has suffered, and we acknowledge our need to be in dialogue with all Catholics, especially victims and parents, around this issue.

A full text of the Charter is contained in this issue; others may visit our diocesan Web site, www.charlottediocese.org, or the bishops’ conference Web site at www.usccb.org to obtain a copy. However, I would like to highlight the primary goals we intend to achieve through the Charter: • To Protect our Children • To Promote Healing and Reconciliation with Victims • To Guarantee an Effective Response to Allegations • To Restore Trust in the Priesthood • To Ensure Our Own Accountability With God’s help and a firm intention to resolve this crisis, we believe that the Church we love will ultimately be strengthened by this adversity. Our determination is bolstered by the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans: “Knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” [Romans 5:3-5].

I clearly understand that the words of the Charter alone cannot do it. The restoration of trust and fellowship will result from our actions, and I pledge to you actions worthy of our words. Asking a kind remembrance in your prayers and a daily remembrance in my own, I am Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend William G. Curlin

Quick look at charter to protect minors

By Catholic News Service DALLAS (CNS) — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its June 13-15 meeting in Dallas adopted a 3,500-word “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” as a binding policy for all U.S. dioceses and eparchies (dioceses of Eastern Catholic churches). Here is a brief overview of what the charter says: All dioceses will reach out to victims and their families, including provision of counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups and other social services. The bishop or his representative will meet with the victim and family members.

• Each diocese will have a “competent assistance coordinator to aid in immediate pastoral care” of alleged victims and a predominantly lay review board to assess claims and review diocesan policies and procedures.

• No more confidentiality agreements unless the victim seeks one “for grave and substantial reasons.”

• Any allegation by one who is still a minor is to be reported to civil authorities; if the claimant is no longer a minor, the diocese is to cooperate with civil authorities and encourage the claimant to report the allegation to civil authorities.

• “For even a single act of sexual abuse ... of a minor — past, present or future — the offending priest or deacon will be permanently removed from ministry.”

• If the offending priest or deacon does not request removal from the clerical state, a bishop may initiate dismissal proceedings without the offender’s consent; if dismissal is not sought for reasons such as “advanced age or infirmity,” the offender is to live a life of prayer and penance and have no assignment, and he cannot wear clerical garb, publicly present himself as a priest or celebrate Mass publicly.

• Dioceses will publish clear standards of behavior for all church personnel who work with children.

• Communications policy on sexual abuse issues is to be marked by “transparency and openness.”

• The USCCB is to form an Office for Child and Youth Protection to assist and oversee diocesan implementation of the charter and to report annually on diocesan compliance with the charter.

• An independent National Review Board is to assist and monitor the new USCCB office and review its annual report before publication.

• The USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse is to be expanded to include a bishop from each of the 14 USCCB regions.

• All dioceses are to establish “safe environment” programs to educate children, parents, employees and others on sex abuse prevention and detection.

• Diocesan and parish personnel who have contact with children are to undergo background checks; all seminarians are to be screened.

• If a cleric is moved for any reason from one diocese to another, the responsible bishop or religious superior is to notify the bishop of the new place of residence if there is anything in the cleric’s background “that would raise questions about his fitness for ministry.”

• Bishops and religious superiors are to consult on implementing the charter and meet periodically to coordinate their roles in the event of an allegation against a religious order priest.

• Church authorities will cooperate with other churches and institutions in society to work against sexual abuse of minors.

• The bishops will cooperate in a new apostolic visitation of all U.S. seminaries, with “human formation for celibate chastity” as the main focus of study.

• Sexual abuse of minors is defined in terms of church law, not civil law. A footnote to the charter describes it as covering “contacts or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used as an object of sexual gratification for the adult.”

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Special Report

June 28, 2002

Text of U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young This is especially so with regard to assisting and supporting parish communities directly affected by ministerial misconduct involving minors.

To Ensure the Accountability of Our Procedures

ARTICLE 8. To assist in the consistent application of these principles and to provide a vehicle of accountability and assistance to dioceses/eparchies in this matter, we authorize the establishment of an Office for Child and Youth Protection at our national headquarters. The tasks of this Office will include (1) assisting individual dioceses/eparchies in the implementation of “safe environment” programs (see Article 12 below), (2) assisting provinces and regions in the development of appropriate mechanisms to audit adherence to policies, and (3) producing an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards in this Charter. This public report shall include the names of those dioceses/eparchies which, in the judgment of this office, are not in compliance with the provisions and expectations of this charter. This office will have staffing sufficient to fulfill its basic purpose. Staff will consist of persons who are expert in the protection of minors; they will be appointed by the general secretary of the conference.

ARTICLE 9. The work of the Office for Child and Youth Protection will be assisted and monitored by a Review Board, including parents, appointed by the conference president and reporting directly to him. The board will approve the annual report of the implementation of this charter in each of our dioceses/eparchies, as well as any recommendations that emerge from this review, before the report is submitted to the president of the conference and published. To understand the problem more fully and to enhance the effectiveness of our future response, the National Review Board will commission a comprehensive study of the causes and context of the current crisis. The board will also commission a descriptive study, with the full cooperation of our dioceses/eparchies, of the nature and scope of the problem within the Catholic Church in the United States, including such data as statistics on perpetrators and victims.

ARTICLE 10. The membership of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse will be reconstituted to include representation from all the episcopal regions of the country.

ARTICLE 11. The president of the conference will inform the Holy See of this charter to indicate the manner in which we, the Catholic bishops, together with the entire church in the United States, intend to address this present crisis.

To Protect the Faithful in the Future

ARTICLE 12. Dioceses/eparchies will establish “safe environment” programs. They will cooperate with parents, civil authorities, educators, and community organizations to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, and others about ways to make and maintain a safe environment for children. Dioceses/eparchies will make clear to clergy and all members of the community the standards of conduct for clergy and other persons in positions of trust with regard to sexual abuse.

ARTICLE 13. Dioceses/eparchies will evaluate the background of all diocesan/eparchial and parish personnel who have regular contact with minors. Specifically, they will utilize the resources of law enforcement and other community agencies.

In addition, they will employ adequate screening and evaluative techniques in deciding the fitness of candidates for ordination (cf. National Conference of

Catholic Bishops, “Program of Priestly Formation,” 1993, no. 513).

ARTICLE 14. When a cleric is proposed for a new assignment, transfer, residence in another diocese/eparchy or diocese/eparchy in a country other than the United States, or residence in the local community of a religious institute, the sending bishop or major superior will forward and the receiving bishop or major superior will review — before assignment — an accurate and complete description of the cleric’s record, including whether there is anything in his background or service that would raise questions about his fitness for ministry (cf. National Conference of Catholic Bishops and Conference of Major Superiors of Men, “Proposed Guidelines on the Transfer or Assignment of Clergy and Religious,” 1993).

ARTICLE 15. The Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse and the Officers of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men will meet to determine how this charter will be conveyed and established in the communities of religious men in the United States.

Diocesan/eparchial bishops and major superiors of clerical institutes or their delegates will meet periodically to coordinate their roles concerning the issue of allegations made against a cleric member of a religious institute ministering in a diocese/eparchy.

ARTICLE 16. Given the extent of the problem of the sexual abuse of minors in our society, we are willing to cooperate with other churches and ecclesial communities, other religious bodies, institutions of learning, and other interested organizations in conducting research in this area.

ARTICLE 17. We pledge our complete cooperation with the apostolic visitation of our diocesan/eparchial seminaries and religious houses of formation recommended in the interdicasterial meeting with the cardinals of the United States and the conference officers in April 2002. Unlike the previous visitation, these new visits will focus on the question of human formation for celibate chastity based on the criteria found in “Pastores Dabo Vobis.” We look forward to this opportunity to strengthen our priestly formation programs so that they may provide God’s people with mature and holy priests. Dioceses/eparchies will develop systematic ongoing formation programs in keeping with the recent conference document “Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests” (2001) so as to assist priests in their living out of their vocation.

Conclusion

In the midst of this terrible crisis of sexual abuse of young people by priests and bishops and how it has been dealt with by bishops, many other issues have been raised. In this charter we focus specifically on the painful issue at hand. However, in this matter, we do wish to affirm our concern especially with regard to issues related to effective consultation of the laity and the participation of God’s people in decision making that affects their well-being.

We must increase our vigilance to prevent those few who might exploit the priesthood for their own immoral and criminal purposes from doing so. At the same time, we know that the sexual abuse of young people is not a problem inherent in the priesthood, nor are priests the only ones guilty of it. The vast majority of our priests are faithful in their ministry and happy in their vocation. Their people are enormously appreciative of the ministry provided by their priests. In the midst of trial, this remains a cause for rejoicing. We deeply regret that any of our decisions have obscured the good work of our priests, for which their people hold them in such respect.

It is within this context of the essential soundness of the priesthood and of the deep faith of our

brothers and sisters in the church that we know that we can meet and resolve this crisis for now and the future.

An essential means of dealing with the crisis is prayer for healing and reconciliation, and acts of reparation for the grave offense to God and the deep wound inflicted upon his holy people. Closely connected to prayer and acts of reparation is the call to holiness of life and the care of the diocesan/eparchial bishop to ensure that he and his priests avail themselves of the proven ways of avoiding sin and growing in holiness of life.

By what we have begun here today and by what we have stated and agreed to, — We pledge most solemnly to one another and to you, God’s people, that we will work to our utmost for the protection of children and youth.

— We pledge that we will devote to this goal the resources and personnel necessary to accomplish it.

— We pledge that we will do our best to ordain to the priesthood and put into positions of trust only those who share this commitment to protecting children and youth.

— We pledge that we will work toward healing and reconciliation for those sexually abused by clerics.

We make these pledges with a humbling sense of our own limitations, relying on the help of God and the support of his faithful priests and people to work with us to fulfill them.

Above all we believe, in the words of St. Paul as cited by Pope John Paul II in April 2002, that “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Rm 5:20). This is faith’s message. With this faith, we are confident that we will not be conquered by evil but overcome evil with good (cf. Rm 12:21).

This charter is published for the dioceses/eparchies of the United States, and we bishops commit ourselves to its immediate implementation. It is to be reviewed in two years by the conference of bishops with the advice of the National Review Board created in Article 9 to ensure its effectiveness in resolving the problems of sexual abuse of minors by priests.

FOOTNOTE (1) Cf. c. 1395, 2. Notice that a sexual offense violative of 2 need not be a complete act of intercourse, nor should the term necessarily be equated with the definitions of sexual abuse or other crimes in civil law. “Sexual abuse (includes) contacts or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used as an object of sexual gratification for the adult.

A child is abused whether or not this activity involves explicit force, whether or not it involves genital or physical contact, whether or not it is initiated by the child, and whether or not there is discernible harmful outcome” (Canadian Conference of Bishops, “From Pain to Hope,” 1992, p. 20). If there is any doubt about whether a specific act fulfills this definition, the writings of recognized moral theologians should be consulted and, if necessary, the opinion of a recognized expert be obtained (“Canonical Delicts Involving Sexual Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State,” 1995, p. 6). We also note that diocesan/eparchial policies must be in accord with the civil law.

June 28, 2002

DALLAS (CNS) — Outlined below is the text of the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” approved June 14 at the bishops’ general meeting in Dallas Preamble The church in the United States is experiencing a crisis without precedent in our times. The sexual abuse of children and young people by some priests and bishops, and the ways in which we bishops addressed these crimes and sins, have caused enormous pain, anger, and confusion. Innocent victims and their families have suffered terribly. In the past, secrecy has created an atmosphere that has inhibited the healing process and, in some cases, enabled sexually abusive behavior to be repeated. As bishops, we acknowledge our mistakes and our role in that suffering, and we apologize and take responsibility for too often failing victims and our people in the past. We also take responsibility for dealing with this problem strongly, consistently, and effectively in the future. From the depths of our hearts, we bishops express great sorrow and profound regret for what the Catholic people are enduring.

We, who have been given the responsibility of shepherding God’s people, will, with God’s help and in full collaboration with our people, continue to work to restore the bonds of trust that unite us.

Words alone cannot accomplish this goal. It will begin with the actions we take here in our General Assembly and at home in our dioceses/eparchies.

The damage caused by sexual abuse of minors is devastating and long-lasting. We reach out to those who suffer, but especially to the victims of sexual abuse and their families. We apologize to them for the grave harm that has been inflicted upon them, and we offer them our help for the future. In the light of so much suffering, healing and reconciliation are beyond human capacity alone. Only God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness can lead us forward, trusting Christ’s promise: “for God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).

The loss of trust becomes even more tragic when its consequence is a loss of the faith that we have a sacred duty to foster. We make our own the words of our Holy Father: that sexual abuse of young people is “by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God” (Address to the Cardinals of the United States and Conference Officers, April 23, 2002).

The conference of bishops has been addressing the evil of sexual abuse of minors by a priest and, at its June 1992 meeting, established five principles to be followed (cf. Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Restoring Trust,” November 1993). We also need to recognize that many dioceses and eparchies did implement in a responsible and timely fashion policies and procedures that have safeguarded children and young people. Many bishops did take appropriate steps to address clergy who were guilty of sexual misconduct.

Let there now be no doubt or confusion on anyone’s part: For us, your bishops, our obligation to protect children and young people and to prevent sexual abuse flows from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ himself, in whose name we serve.

Jesus showed constant care for the vulnerable.

He inaugurated his ministry with these words of the Prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

(Lk 4:18) In Matthew 25, the Lord made this part of his commission to his apostles and disciples when he told them that whenever they showed mercy and compassion to the least ones, they showed it to him.

Jesus extended this care in a tender and urgent

Special Report way to children, rebuking his disciples for keeping them away from him: “Let the children come to me” (Mt 19:14). And he uttered the grave warning about anyone who would lead the little ones astray, saying that it would be better for such a person “to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Mt 18:6).

We hear these words of the Lord as prophetic for this moment. With a firm determination to resolve this crisis, we bishops commit ourselves to a pastoral outreach to repair the breach with those who have suffered sexual abuse and with all the people of the church. We renew our determination to provide safety and protection for children and young people in our church ministries and institutions. We pledge ourselves to act in a way that manifests our accountability to God, to his people, and to one another in this grave matter. We commit ourselves to do all we can to heal the trauma that victims/survivors and their families are suffering and the wound that the whole church is experiencing. We acknowledge our need to be in dialogue with all Catholics, especially victims and parents, around this issue. By these actions, we want to demonstrate to the wider community that we comprehend the gravity of the sexual abuse of minors.

To fulfill these goals, our dioceses/eparchies and our national conference, in a spirit of repentance and renewal, will adopt and implement policies based upon the following.

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation With Victims/ Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors

ARTICLE 1. Dioceses/eparchies will reach out to victims/survivors and their families and demonstrate a sincere commitment to their spiritual and emotional well-being. The first obligation of the church with regard to the victims is for healing and reconciliation. Where such outreach is not already in place and operative, each diocese/eparchy is to develop an outreach to every person who has been the victim of sexual abuse(1) as a minor by anyone acting in the name of the church, whether the abuse was recent or occurred many years in the past. This outreach will include provision of counseling, spiritual assistance, support groups, and other social services agreed upon by the victim and the diocese/eparchy.

In cooperation with social service agencies and other churches, support groups for victims/survivors and others affected by abuse should be fostered and encouraged in every diocese/eparchy and in local parish communities.

Through pastoral outreach to victims and their families, the diocesan/eparchial bishop or his representative will offer to meet with them, to listen with patience and compassion to their experiences and concerns, and to share the “profound sense of solidarity and concern” expressed by our Holy Father in his address to the cardinals of the United States and conference officers. This pastoral outreach by the bishop or his delegate will also be directed to faith communities in which the sexual abuse occurred.

ARTICLE 2. Dioceses/eparchies will have mechanisms in place to respond promptly to any allegation where there is reason to believe that sexual abuse of a minor has occurred. Dioceses/eparchies will have a competent assistance coordinator to aid in the immediate pastoral care of persons who claim to have been sexually abused as minors by clergy or other church personnel. Dioceses/eparchies will also have a review board, the majority of whose members will be lay persons not in the employ of the diocese/eparchy. This board will assist the diocesan/ eparchial bishop in assessing allegations and fitness for ministry, and will regularly review diocesan/ eparchial policies and procedures for dealing with sexual abuse of minors. Also, the board can act both retrospectively and prospectively on these matters and give advice on all aspects of responses required in connection with these cases. The procedures for those making a complaint will be readily available in printed form and will be the subject of periodic

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public announcements.

ARTICLE 3. Dioceses/eparchies will not enter into confidentiality agreements except for grave and substantial reasons brought forward by the victim/ survivor and noted in the text of the agreement.

To Guarantee an Effective Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors

ARTICLE 4. Dioceses/eparchies will report an allegation of sexual abuse of a person who is a minor to the public authorities. They will cooperate in their investigation in accord with the law of the jurisdiction in question.

Dioceses/eparchies will cooperate with public authorities about reporting in cases when the person is no longer a minor.

In every instance, dioceses/eparchies will advise victims of their right to make a report to public authorities and will support this right.

ARTICLE 5. We repeat the words of our Holy Father in his address to the cardinals of the United States and conference officers: “There is no place in the priesthood or religious life for those who would harm the young.”

When the preliminary investigation of a complaint (cc. 1717-1719) against a priest or deacon so indicates, the diocesan/eparchial bishop will relieve the alleged offender promptly of his ministerial duties (cf. c. 1722). The alleged offender will be referred for appropriate medical and psychological evaluation, so long as this does not interfere with the investigation by civil authorities. When the accusation has proved to be unfounded, every step possible will be taken to restore the good name of the priest or deacon.

Where sexual abuse by a priest or a deacon is admitted or is established after an appropriate investigation in accord with canon law, the following will pertain: — Diocesan/eparchial policy will provide that for even a single act of sexual abuse (see Article 1 footnote) of a minor — past, present, or future — the offending priest or deacon will be permanently removed from ministry. In keeping with the stated purpose of this charter, an offending priest or deacon will be offered professional assistance for his own healing and well-being, as well as for the purpose of prevention.

— In every case, the processes provided for in canon law must be observed, and the various provisions of canon law must be considered (cf. “Canonical Delicts Involving Sexual Misconduct and Dismissal from the Clerical State,” 1995; cf. Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, May 18, 2001). These provisions may include a request by the priest or deacon for dispensation from the obligation of holy orders and the loss of the clerical state, or a request by the bishop for dismissal from the clerical state even without the consent of the priest or deacon. For the sake of due process, the accused is to be encouraged to retain the assistance of civil and canonical counsel. When necessary, the diocese/ eparchy will supply canonical counsel to a priest or deacon.

— If the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state has not been applied (e.g., for reasons of advanced age or infirmity), the offender is to lead a life of prayer and penance. He will not be permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, to wear clerical garb, or to present himself publicly as a priest.

ARTICLE 6. While the priestly commitment to the virtue of chastity and the gift of celibacy is well known, there will be clear and well-publicized diocesan/eparchial standards of ministerial behavior and appropriate boundaries for clergy and for any other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people.

ARTICLE 7. Each diocese/eparchy will develop a communications policy that reflects a commitment to transparency and openness. Within the confines of respect for the privacy and the reputation of the individuals involved, dioceses/eparchies will deal as openly as possible with members of the community.

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

June 28, 2002

Special Report

Text of Bishop Gregory’s statement at final press

By CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE DALLAS (CNS) — Here is the text of an opening statement that Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, delivered at a press conference June 14 at the conclusion of the bishops’ meeting in Dallas.

Today the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken a profound step in a long and sorrowful journey for the entire church. With the approval of this charter, bishops agreed to bind ourselves in a mandatory charter, to protect children and minors from sexual abuse from priests and deacons; to acknowledge and reach out to victims and their families; to ensure that all priests are worthy of the trust of their people; and to ensure that bishops are answerable and that the actions they take are transparent and consistent.

Our actions today are not a panacea. The charter is not perfect. More work needs to be done. As the victim/ survivors told us, “Listening is easy.

Talk is cheap. Action is priceless.”

That is our challenge. Ultimately, that is how we will be judged.

But let there be no doubt. This charter, which we have bound ourselves to implement, is a solid foundation to build upon. It sets out the values, the culture and the mechanisms to end the scourge of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in America.

It is unprecedented in our history.

It is rigorous in its application. It is wide in its scope. And it is mandatory, once approved by the Holy See. It removes the secrecy and the uncertainty which has undermined the confidence and trust of the laity.

It eliminates the barriers to full disclosure.

And it has teeth. As of today, this charter binds all bishops to a rigorous, mandatory policy to protect children and stamp out child sexual abuse by priests and deacons in every diocese across the country.

What this charter has achieved: — A strong definition of what constitutes sexual abuse, so that such an act is not merely limited to forcible acts, nor is it limited even to physical or genital contact. Nor does a discernible harmful outcome to the child have to be proven.

It must, in all cases, however, comply with the civil law requirements of the state.

— The formal acknowledgment in the charter of our mistakes and our role in allowing sexual abuse to have occurred to the extent that it has. We take responsibility for this sad situation.

— A review of the charter in its entirety in two years by the conference of bishops, to determine what aspects, if any, need to be adjusted, based on experience in implementing it.

In specific terms, the charter mandates the following actions: — Any allegation of sexual abuse against a minor must be turned over to the civil authorities for investigation.

— Any priest, who engages in even a single act of child sexual abuse — past,

members will be lay persons, not in the employ of the diocese.

— The review board will assist the diocesan bishop to assess allegations, to make recommendations on the fitness for ministry of priests or deacons.

I will also regularly review diocesan policies and procedures for dealing with sexual abuse of minors both for past cases and for the future.

CNS photo by Bob Roller

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, listens to a reporter’s question at a press conference following the first day of the bishops’ meeting June 13 in Dallas.

present or future — will be removed from ministry and will not receive a future assignment. Furthermore, the bishop may request dispensation from the obligations of holy orders and the loss of the clerical state; or the bishop may request dismissal from the clerical state.

— In any event, if the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state (for example, for reasons of advanced age or infirmity) has not been applied, the offender is to lead a life of prayer and penance. He will not be permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to wear clerical garb, or to present himself publicly as a priest.

The sum total of those actions means that bishops will not tolerate even one act of sexual abuse of a minor.

There will be severe consequences for any act of sexual abuse. No free pass.

No second chances. No free strike. For those who think or say that this is not zero tolerance, then they have not read it carefully. We have voted to take every step possible, as bishops, within our canon laws and our powers, to eliminate any loophole that an abuser could try to use. This charter says to abusive priests or deacons, “If you abuse a child, you will be stripped of your ministry, forever. This charter says, you do not deserve to present yourself as a priest.

This charter says, if you abuse a child, you will never be given another chance, through our church, to do it again. And finally, this charter says, in concert with the Holy Father, “There is no place in the priesthood, or religious life, for anyone who would abuse a child.”

As Catholics, we do believe in forgiveness. We do believe in the power of conversion. An abuser, who recognizes the profound harm he has committed, and who has shown remorse, can indeed be forgiven for his sins. He just doesn’t get a second chance to do it again. Period.

How this charter will protect children: At the diocesan level: — Every diocese will have a review board, the majority of whose

How this charter will support victims: Among other measures: — Every diocese will have a competent assistance coordinator to aid in the immediate pastoral care of persons who claim to have been sexually abused as minors by clergy or church personnel.

— The elimination of confidentiality agreements except for grave and substantial reasons brought forward by the victim/survivor.

At the national level: — The creation of the Office for Child and Youth Protection at our national headquarters, which will consist of experts in the protection of minors, to assist individual dioceses in the implementation of “safe environment” programs. As well, the office will assist provinces and regions in the development of appropriate mechanisms to audit adherence to policies. The Office for Child and Youth Protection will publish an annual public report on the progress made in implementing the standards in this charter. This public report will also point out those dioceses, which may not be in compliance with the charter requirements.

— The creation of a national review board, including parents, appointed by the conference president and reporting directly to him.

— The national review board will oversee the work of the protection office.

— The board will approve the annual report of how this charter is implemented in each of our dioceses.

It will also make recommendations to dioceses for compliance.

— The board will also commission a descriptive study and an historical study of the nature and scope of the problem within the Catholic Church in the United States, including statistics on perpetrators and victims.

— A few minutes ago I announced the names of several members of that national review board who have kindly agreed to serve. Gov. Frank Keating (R-Okla.), Bob Bennett, a partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager and Flom, LLP, and Illinois Appellate

Court Justice Anne Burke. The nucleus of the board, in turn, will develop a fuller roster of members and present that to me as the president.

And finally, to the issue of the accountability of bishops: — This charter ensures that bishops will be consistently answerable to civil authorities through the immediate referral of allegations and the full cooperation with those civil authorities in investigations.

— Through the creation of diocesan review boards, every diocesan bishop must engage the board in decisions affecting assessment, issues surrounding fitness to ministry and are answerable to the board for how they handle all aspects of sexual abuse cases within the diocese.

— At the national level, the creation of the National Office for Child and Youth Protection and the national review board, bishops must account for their actions or any failure to act or to comply with the charter.

— And, to the Catholic laity, we bishops will be answerable to you for what we do or what we fail to do, to protect your children. Answerability begins with openness. This will be accomplished through involving the review boards and by the publishing of an annual report which will tell it like it is.

— This charter removes the shroud of secrecy which has undermined your trust in us. We intend to earn back that trust by our actions.

By the overwhelming vote of 239 to 13, bishops have sent a clear message that they are strongly behind the charter and that they are committed to its implementation in fact and in spirit.

I am very proud of my fellow bishops for their hard work, their openness, and their dedication to the principles of justice, fairness and compassion. The discussions, as you witnessed, were spirited, deeply felt, and honorably debated.

Finally, my heart is with our children, who are truly a gift from God and whose trust and innocence we vow to protect.

And the deep feelings remain in our hearts, for those whose lives have been so tragically affected by the sins, the crimes and the omissions, of those acting in the name of the church. Your pain will not be forgotten and your experiences, which you have so eloquently shared with us at this conference, will serve to guide us as we share in your journey to justice.

June 28, 2002

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Around the Di-

Medical mission becomes spiritual, life-altering

By KEVIN E. MURRAY Associate Editor DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — The trip only lasted a week, but its impact will last a lifetime.

Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jefferson, and Rev. Mr. Mark Nash of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte joined a medical mission to the Dominican Republic April 13-April 20. They were part of a team of 18 doctors, nurses, translators and general volunteers from North Carolina, Florida and Texas to visit the small island country.

In addition to working as chaplains, Father Lawlor served as a translator for the medical staff while Rev. Mr. Nash, a former Navy Corpsman, assisted in various capacities at the mission clinic in Guayabal, a small mountain town in the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana.

“It was my first experience in a third world country,” said Rev. Mr. Nash. “It was almost like stepping back in time.”

With an estimated 7.8 million inhabitants, many of whom are Catholic, the Dominican Republic is the second largest nation in the Caribbean, according to the Dominican Republic’s U.S. Embassy Web site.

“I’ve been to Mexico and Guatemala, so I’m kind of used to seeing this kind of stark poverty,” said Father Lawlor.

Father Lawlor and Rev. Mr. Nash stayed with a local family in “one of the more modern homes,” said Rev. Mr. Nash, “meaning it had electricity and occasional running water.”

“The people we served were very poor in the material sense, but they

Courtesy Photo

Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jefferson, sings along with the schoolchildren of Guayabal in the Dominican Republic. Father Lawlor and Rev. Mr. Nash of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte joined a mission team of 18 doctors, nurses, translators and general volunteers from North Carolina, Florida and Texas in the Dominican Republic April 13-April 20. taught me a lot in the ways of peacefulness, patience, faith and hospitality,” said Father Lawlor. “I know that I received much more than I gave.”

The missionaries were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the Dominicans. “They gave you all they had. You felt like you were a part of their family,” said Dr. Nick Passero, a family practitioner and member of Holy Family Church in Clemmons.

“It’s his (Nick’s) sixth mission trip and his second to the Dominican Republic,” said Father Lawlor. “He sees it as a way of giving something back.”

“You get to share your faith with them

(the Dominicans),” said Passero. “When you share the Gospel with them, it impacts them, but it impacts you more.”

The patients came from miles around to the clinic, which was setup in a former disco. Many patients walked or rode burrows for hours, only to have to wait in line to be seen by a doctor.

“They came to the clinic in their best Sunday clothes, sat for hours, and none complained,” said Rev. Mr. Nash.

The mission group also set up a one-day clinic in the nearby town of La Segual.

“The town was as primitive as it gets.

The houses were made of sticks with dirt floors and had no water or electricity,” said Rev. Mr. Nash. “It was the first time a medical group had visited the town. The people were delighted to have us there.”

Within a four-day period, the missionaries saw over 400 patients, many who had serious medical conditions requiring immediate attention.

“There were some people we could do nothing for,” said Rev. Mr. Nash.

“You just prayed for them and with them and told them that God loved them.”

In addition to administering sacraments such as anointing of the sick to the seriously ill and the dying, Father Lawlor and Rev. Mr. Nash baptized a young mother’s baby suffering from malnutrition and parasites, which could

be felt moving within the baby’s stomach.

“That child was basically saved from dying,” said Passero. “She’s going to be fine.”

The Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana is a sister diocese of the Diocese of Orlando. Ursuline Sister Bernadette Mackay, who runs the diocese Mission Office, regularly organizes medical and surgical missions to the Dominican Republic.

“Sister Bernadette is like the Mother Teresa of the Dominican Republic,” said Passero, who explained her philosophy that nothing is given away — Dominicans must pay one peso or offer work to be seen at the clinic.

“They’re a poor but proud people.

Having them work or pay for the services helps preserve their dignity, and helps them to help themselves,” said Passero.

Passero helped assemble this year’s group of 12 volunteers from North Carolina. He invited Father Lawlor because of his ability to speak Spanish. Father Stan Kobel of St. Thomas Aquinas Church went last year but was unable to go this year; he asked his staff, and Rev. Mr. Nash — coincidentally from the Diocese of Orlando — eagerly accepted.

“Everyone on that team was a divine appointment. God wanted each one of them to be there,” said Passero, indicating each person brought unique talents to the mission.

Through Passero’s initiative, Holy Family Church helped sponsor the North Carolina volunteers as an outreach project. “When I brought this before the church, I didn’t know how it would be perceived. I was overwhelmed by their response,” he said.

The trip and the people they helped left lasting impressions on both Father Lawlor and Rev. Mr. Nash.

“Serving the poor and the sick helps to keep things in perspective and reminds us of how much we have to be thankful for,” said Father Lawlor.

“You come back with a different appreciation for life,” said Rev. Mr. Nash. “You see people who are struggling, but you also see such love in their hearts. I can’t wait to go back.”

“Everyone I’ve talked to (on the mission) wants to go back,” said Passero.

Rev. Mr. Nash said his experience in the Dominican Republic called him to be even more involved — and get others involved — with those in need here in the Diocese of Charlotte.

“Christ challenges us to help the poor,” he said.

“I believe that many people would get a great spiritual boost from this type of trip,” said Father Lawlor.

“You feel more comfortable sharing your faith when you come home,” said Passero. “You’ll realize how important your faith is and how much you want to share it.”

Contact Associate Editor Kevin E. Murray by calling (704) 370-3334 or email kemurray@charlottediocese.org.

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

Bishop brings Gospel’s lessons to modern life

Reviewed by FATHER JAMES MASSA Catholic News Service If the 16th-century Council of Trent succeeded in making bishops better pastors to their flocks, the Second Vatican Council had as one of its primary objectives making them better teachers. Nearly 40 years after the commencement of Vatican II, many bishops have given “pride of place” to their role as preachers of the Gospel. The current bishop of Youngstown, Ohio, Thomas J. Tobin, brings to this episcopal function not only an elegant writing style, but also a creative imagination for bridging the truths of faith with lived experience.

“Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life,” Bishop Tobin’s collection of short monographs, demonstrates the power of the Catholic Gospel to make sense of modern life. Comprised of columns written for the Catholic Exponent, the newspaper of the Diocese of Youngstown, the book is an extended conversation between a shepherd and his flock.

Like the Good Shepherd of the Gospel, this bishop “knows” his sheep and advises them in a manner that blends realism and evangelical hope. He offers wise counsel to young couples planning their wedding celebrations, urging them to “resist social pressure and strive for simplicity.” To working parents who suffer with chronic fatigue he makes a compelling case for rest, recreation and prayerful solitude. In an open letter to college students he holds out the value of diversity with respect to persons and ideas, while also inviting adherence to those unchangeable truths that guide moral decision-making in these relativistic times.

In order to address today’s moral and spiritual problems as a Catholic teacher, one needs a sense of irony. The chasm that exists today between contemporary realities and Catholic ideals is

June 28, 2002

Read-

enough to weary the most ardent saint.

Yet for Bishop Tobin, core Catholic convictions are rooted not in human wisdom but in the divine plan that often gets revealed in ironic ways. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,” St. Paul warns us. History is on God’s watch, and while Catholics may not always appreciate the church’s stance on issues like the death penalty, divorce and the practice of ordaining only men to the priesthood, they have reason to trust that Catholic wisdom ultimately prevails over any one of its rivals.

The author of these mediations is “without a doubt” about the urgency of sharing authoritative Catholic teaching, and yet he does so with warmth and gentle humor. As an adviser to Catholics United for the Faith — which serves as the book’s publisher — Bishop Tobin views obedience to such teaching not as a threat to moral or intellectual freedom, but as the truest condition for their exercise.

Drawing on a favorite image of Pope John Paul II, he insists that faith and reason belong to one another “like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”

Near the end of a chapter that treats the theme of “sacrifice,” the author invites the reader to make of his or her life a total act of self-giving after the pattern of the Good Shepherd and all who minister in his name. All of the faithful — priests, religious, and laity — are called “to offer something precious to God,” namely, the gift of their very own selves in service to their brothers and sisters in faith. Without a doubt, the current bishop of Youngstown has done just that in sharing with us his graceful and wise counsel.

Word to Life

Sunday Scripture Readings: June 30, 2002 Cycle A Readings: June 30, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1) 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a Psalm 89:2-3, 16-19 2) Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 3) Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42

By BEVERLY CORZINE Catholic News Service One winter morning I awoke to the sound of wind rattling loose windows and making a sorrowful sound that can only be experienced on the windswept Colorado prairie. I was an only and often-lonely child in a world of adults, watching the light, sifting snow accumulate in the interior corners of my windowsill. As this particular day progressed, I realized that the storm I was observing was unlike any I had witnessed in my young life.

My mother and grandfather carried in load after load of snow-covered firewood, coal and canned goods from the cellar. “God only knows when I’ll be able to get out to the barn to feed again,” said my grandfather, closing the kitchen door behind him. I remember scraping frost from the windowpane and trying to catch a glimpse of him fighting his way through swirling snow on his way to the barn and henhouse.

After what seemed hours to me, he burst through the kitchen door, cursing all snowstorms present and past

while at the same time thanking God for being able to find the house in the blizzard that now raged against every living thing in its path.

After supper that evening we sat close to the gigantic brown heating stove. My mother had just begun the next chapter of the book she was reading to us when above the shrieking storm we heard a muffled knocking. I watched my mother and grandfather exchange perplexed looks. My mother resumed her reading. Then the knocking started again, this time at our front door.

I peered around his long legs as my grandfather opened the door. “In the name of God,” he shouted over the wind, “come in here and get warm!”

Outside our front door in the sea of snow huddled a clump of people that turned out to be two snowbound couples and their exhausted, hungry children and young baby. I could not believe my good fortune. Children my own age had arrived and a baby besides. I would have playmates for more than a week until the thaw began. Life was good indeed.

Years later I understood that my grandfather really was welcoming our guests in the name of God. He and my mother would have extended the same life-saving hospitality to people in need on a warm spring day as they had during the winter of the deadly blizzard.

Weekly Scripture Scripture for the week of June 30 - July 6 Sunday (Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), 2 Kings 4:8-11; 14-16, Romans 6:3-4, 8-11, Matthew 10:37-42; Monday (Bl. Junipero Serra), Amos 2:6-10, 13-16, Matthew 8:18-22; Tuesday, Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12, Matthew 8:2327; Wednesday, Ephesians 2:19-22, John 20:24-29; Thursday (St. Elizabeth of Portugal), Amos 7:10-17, Matthew 9:1-8; Friday (St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria), Amos 8:4-6, 9-12, Matthew 9:9-13; Saturday, Amos 9:11-15, Matthew 9:14-17 Scripture for the week of July 7 - July 13 Sunday (Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), Zechariah 9:9-10, Romans 8:9, 11-13, Matthew 11:25-30; Monday, Hosea 2:16, 17b-18, 21-22, Matthew 9:1826; Tuesday, Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13, Matthew 9:32-38; Wednesday, Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12, Matthew 10:1-7; Thursday (St. Benedict), Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9, Matthew 10:7-15; Friday, Hosea 14:2-10, Matthew 10:16-23; Saturday (St. Henry), Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 10:24-33

June 28, 2002

Movie Capsules

By Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office for Film and Broadcasting.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” (Paramount Classics) Pleasing historical comedy that has Napoleon Bonaparte (Ian Holm), exiled on St. Helena, sneak off, leaving a double (Holm again) in his place to reclaim the throne of France, but upon his arrival in Paris he discovers the sentiments for the emperor have changed and ends up falling in love with a poor widow (Iben Hjejle). Holm’s superb performance makes the slender what-if premise in director Alan Taylor’s film enjoyable, although the opportunities for humor are mostly squandered. An implied live-in relationship and fleeting crass language. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

“Juwanna Mann” (Warner Bros.)

Weak comedy in which a cocky professional basketball player (Miguel A. Nunez) is thrown out of the NBA for his repeated obnoxious antics on court, so he pretends to be a woman to play for the women’s league, where he develops a romantic crush on a fellow teammate (Vivica A. Fox). As directed by Jesse Vaughan, the film feebly inserts a message about teamwork, but the stale jokes don’t score and the sappy ending can’t compensate for the sexually suggestive poses, clothing and language. Several crude expressions and language and brief rear nudity. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association

Entertainof America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Lilo and Stitch” (Disney) Sassy animated comedy in which a lonely orphaned Hawaiian girl (voiced

by Daveigh Chase) who lives with her older sister and guardian (voiced by Tia Carrere) adopts what she thinks is a dog (voiced by Christopher Michael Sanders), but turns out to be an alien genetic experiment gone wrong whose only instinct is to destroy. Lessons on the importance of family and caring about others are lightly woven into writer-director Chris Sanders’ bold story with offbeat characters, but the cheeky dialogue, rambunctious behavior and discussion of genetics seems inappropriate for the younger set at which the film is aimed. Several scary moments and some slightly irreverent expressions.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

“Minority Report” (20th Century Fox) Engrossing murder mystery set in 2054, when future crimes can be detected before they are committed, in which a pre-crime police detective (Tom Cruise) is accused of an imminent murder and, in attempting to prove his innocence, discovers a flaw in the system. Seeped in futuristic atmospherics, director Steven Spielberg combines thrilling action sequences with a thought-provoking narrative which confronts the issue of personal freedom versus national safety as well as the value of each human life. Recurring stylized sci-fi violence, brief substance abuse, fleeting sexual situations, occasional profanity and an instance of rough language. The U.S. Conference of

The Catholic News & Herald 15

CNS photo from Walt Disney Pictures

Scene from Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Hawaiian sisters Lilo and Nani, with their pet Stitch, catch a wave in a scene from Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is P G-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Catholic Bishops classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Sunshine State” (Sony Classics) Tale of two women, one of whom has never left the small Florida island she grew up on (Edie Falco) and the other who is returning for the first time in 25 years (Angela Bassett), who are confronting the past and preparing for the future as real estate developers swoop down to buy out the island’s beachfront property.

Flawed yet moving, writer-director John Sayles’ slice-of-life drama moves at an unhurried pace as it tackles racism and the inevitable changes brought with socalled progress in a very human portrait of two women at a crossroads. An implied sexual encounter, an attempted suicide and some crass language and profanity with an instance of rough language. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops clas-

sification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents are strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Do not abuse dominion over creation, pope tells weekly audience B J N y ohn

June 28, 2002

Editorials & Col-

orton

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II said human beings are endowed by God with nearly divine dignity but too often abuse their stewardship over creation by damaging the environment and treating each other unjustly.

Speaking to pilgrims at his weekly general audience June 26, the pope said Christ asks his followers to exercise “their royal dominion over creation in justice, freedom and selfless love.”

The pope illustrated his message with Psalm 8, which he called a hymn “giving thanks for the sublime dignity bestowed upon man.” He recalled that Pope Paul VI quoted the psalm’s text in July 1969 as U.S. astronauts left for the first moon landing.

“The entire spectrum of creatures,” Pope John Paul said, “is entrusted to the fragile and often egoistic hands of man in order that he preserves its harmony and beauty; uses, not abuses it; and makes its secrets emerge and develops its potential.”

The psalm text says God made humans “little less than angels,” a phrase the pope said also could be translated from the original Hebrew as “little less than a god.”

Despite humanity’s moments of grandeur, the pope said, stewardship over creation “can be misunderstood and deformed by egoistic man, who is often shown to be more of a crazy tyrant than a wise and intelligent governor.”

“History documents the evil that human freedom spreads in the world with environmental disasters and with the most clamorous social injustices,” he said.

The pope said Christ, a king who came “not to be served but to serve,” provides the ultimate example of how humans should treat each other and creation.

“In this christological light, Psalm 8 reveals all the power of its message and hope, inviting us to exercise our sovereignty over creation not in domination but in love,” he said.

The trouble with forbidden fruit My oldest son, now almost 20, approached his 17th birthday with a sense of triumph.

Over me, naturally.

“You know, Mom, when I turn 17 I can go to Rrated movies,” he crowed, and added before I could say what he knew I was going to say, “If I pay for them with my own money.”

True enough. He had a car. He had a job. He could do that.

About four months later he finally got around to it — and thought the movie was really lousy, by the way.

My middle son recently journeyed through the same birthday and made the same claim in the same triumphant tone of voice. And a couple of months later, he’s still not made it either.

It’s funny how that works, isn’t it?

If it’s forbidden, there’s nothing more attractive.

Once it’s permitted, who cares?

I guess that’s why they call it forbidden fruit. It looks luscious from a distance, but up close, who knows for sure? Maybe, or maybe not.

Life is funny that way. What we’re not able to do seems so much more fun than what we can do. The goals we haven’t reached seem so much more exciting than the boring place we’re in right now.

You’ve probably experienced both sides of this.

Nothing seemed more exciting than being able to drive on your own — until three months later when you’d had your fill of driving to the grocery store for Mom or taking your brother to soccer practice.

I vividly remember being in fourth grade and thinking that the eighth grade girls were the most glamorous, mature beings on planet Earth, scarcely able to imagine that one day I, too, would be in their number. But, no sooner than I knew it, I was in ninth grade, and eighthgraders looked like pipsqueaks, while seniors were our idols; we couldn’t imagine that we ever thought being in eighth grade was cool, even for a second.

Don’t worry. Adults experience this too. They’re always looking at other people’s lives with envy or imagining

Working Matters JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Guest Columnist

other texts and journaling on the questions provided in the course syllabus to prepare us for the three-hour class. Then, there was a paper or papers to write at the end of the course and which were sent to a LIMEX grader.

We had nine core courses, plus two courses in our focus areas: religious education, small Christian communities, spirituality, ecology, or marketplace ministry. We met four times during Core Course 10, spending most of our time writing the 35 to 40 page final paper.

My focus courses in marketplace ministry were “Spirituality and the Theology of Work” and “Ministry in the Marketplace.”

People ask me: What are you going to do with your degree?

Writing for The Catholic News & Herald — ministering to people’s right and need to know what is going on their faith community, the Diocese of Charlotte — became a ministry for me. LIMEX helps me perform that ministry because I know more about Catholicism than I did before I started the program.

Which is not to say that I know everything.

As the bishop said, I have to keep learning. The 12 disciples learned a lot from Jesus, and they thought they were going to be the privileged few who got the goodies. Jesus put on a towel and washed their feet,

Coming of Age AMY WELBORN CNS Columnist

that they’ll be happy when the weekend comes, or vacation comes, or they get a new job, or they retire.

And before they know it, they “are” retired, with only one final — really final — goal in front of them, and a lifetime of thinking about the other side of the fence and its greener grass behind them.

It’s exciting and fun to work toward goals. The anticipation of the future is what keeps us going. But the sometimes less-than-shiny reality of a goal that’s met can depress us.

Don’t let it. Learn a lesson from it instead — maybe a couple of lessons.

First, it’s really important to live in the present. A wise person once said to me that if you spend your life wishing for the good things in the future, you’ll end up wishing your life away.

Second, knowing this about life might help you make tough moral decisions. After all, most of our difficult choices are difficult because what’s on the other side is so enticing.

If you’re faced with that kind of choice, it might help you to remember all the times in the past you’ve finally been allowed to pick some formerly forbidden fruit and found it tasted not sweet but rather ordinary instead, and maybe not worth the trouble it took to pick it in the first place.

LIMEX means ministry I’m not throwing in the towel. I’ve been given a towel.

Like all graduating students, I’ve received a diploma. But, like all LIMEX graduates, I got something more — that towel.

The diploma states that I’ve been awarded a “degree of master of pastoral studies” from Loyola University New Orleans.

On June 23, we 23 graduates from the Diocese of Charlotte were honored at a Mass and reception at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. In his homily, Bishop William G. Curlin said that the diploma was not the end; we must continue our education, go further. That’s what the towel — printed with a picture of Jesus washing a disciple’s feet — is for; it reminds me to do more than bask in the diploma glow.

I admit that when I signed up for LIMEX (Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program), I ignored the word “ministry.” I wanted to write on church-related issues, so I needed to update my catholic knowledge.

Just reading a lot of books seemed too random, and I couldn’t take off for a few years to study theology on campus.

LIMEX seemed the perfect program. I’d keep my news editor job, go to class once a week and in a few years, I’d be stuffed with new knowledge.

Course No. 1 was “Introduction to Practical Theology.” Practical theology? The answer came in the course book’s first chapter. (LIMEX’s course books are the texts of what would be lectures if I were sitting in a classroom at a campus.)

Many consider ministry as for the ordained and others working for the church. However, the course book said that, “The whole church, designated pastoral ministers and all the baptized, are called to carry out the mission of Christ, proclaiming, enacting and ushering in the reign of God in all relationships throughout the earth.

Every week, our eight-member group and our facilitator met in Asheville. Each student had spent six to 10 hours reading a course-book chapter plus

June 28, 2002

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle MSGR. JIM LISANTE Guest Columnist

the most noted trials in recent times. He followed the case of Claus von Bulow, accused of the attempted murder of his wife, Sunny. He chronicled the tragic circumstances of the Menendez brothers’ killing of their parents. He brought some sense of insight into the circus of O. J. Simpson’s trial. Recently he has looked at the case of Michael Skakel, the Kennedy relative accused of murdering a young neighbor in the 1970s.

As a guest on a recent edition of the television program Christopher Closeup, Dunne talked about his book, “Justice: Crimes, Trials and Punishments,” and its attempt to both explain and challenge our criminal justice system. I asked him why he is so insistent on devoting himself to the exhausting and frustrating world of these trials. His answer gave great insight into the man. “My daughter never received justice. Her death was, in itself, completely senseless. A sense of fairly accomplished justice would not bring her back. But it would give us a sense that all had been done to see that the crime was not accomplished without consequence. But when justice is not done, the hurt becomes even more lacerating.”

And so he writes and speaks and tries to see that, in the end, justice will prevail.

At The Christophers, we say that every life can make a difference for the good. Dominick Dunne, a wounded but hopeful soul, believes that. He has resplendent triangle around the eye are found in Masonic tradition. The eye was common, however, in art forms of that period as a symbol for the all-knowing and allpresent divinity. Its appearance on the seal apparently originated with the artist Pierre du Simitiere, for whom no link with Freemasonry has been found.

Similarly, people in the 18th century had a widespread interest in Egypt and ancient Egyptian lore. In the Library Company in Philadelphia at the time was a volume called “Pyramidographia.” It contained a drawing of the “first pyramid,” which did not come to a complete point, and had an entrance on the ground level.

This work would have been available to Francis Hopkinson and William Barton, members of the design team, who were major contributors for this part of the seal design. These, rather than Masonic sources, seem to explain the presence of the symbols on the great seal.

The Latin phrase “annuit coeptis” on the reverse side of the seal means: (God, or divine providence, symbolized by the eye) has favored our undertakings; “novus ordo saeclorum” means: a new order of the ages. Both have their origin in works of the pre-Christian Latin poet Virgil.

The more familiar “E Plutibus Unum” (one out of many) apparently also originated in Virgil or possibly another Latin poet, Horace. In any event, there is no evidence of a direct Masonic connection.

The great seal, in its present form, was placed on the $1 bill in 1935, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

For those interested, a major detailed history of the background and design of the great seal of the United States, “The Eagle and the Shield,” is published by the Department of State. It is available at all Federal Depository libraries.

A free brochure answering questions Catholics ask about annulments is available by sending a stamped, selfaddressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 325, Peoria, IL 61651.

Dominick Dunne: Giving back In 1982, author Dominick Dunne, the father of two sons and a daughter, received the phone call every parent dreads. The call informed him that his daughter, Dominique, had been strangled by her jealous boyfriend.

She was on life support and in a coma from which she would never recover. Dominick left New York immediately for her bedside in Los Angeles.

Dominique was only 22, an up-and-coming actress enjoying success after the release of the popular film “Poltergeist.” The Dunne family stayed with her until the end. Then, family members turned their attention to the trial of her killer, John Sweeney. A possessive boyfriend, he had been unable to deal with the breakup of their relationship. If he couldn’t have Dominique, no one would.

The trial should have been a simple affair, but it wasn’t. Sweeney’s defense attorney decided the best way to win was to destroy the reputation of the victim. When Sweeney was given a relatively light sentence for his vile crime, Dominick Dunne determined that he would shine a light on how often people literally “get away with murder.”

Dunne had already had a long and successful career in Hollywood, and had also written a number of best-selling novels. All that changed after the trial.

Dunne decided that from this point on he would write non-fiction, and his focus would be criminal justice.

In 1984, he was invited by Vanity Fair magazine to write of his experience at the trial of his daughter’s murderer. The resulting piece, “Justice: A Father’s Account of the Trial of his Daughter’s Killer,” was a stunning eye-opener for many readers.

The loss of a child is always an awful reality for parents. Death by murder is a particularly burdensome cross, and many parents turn inward to protect themselves from the pain. But Dunne determined that he would use his skill and the inspiration of the justice denied his daughter to challenge America to create a more just, balanced and fair-minded society.

Dunne became a constant presence at some of

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

The Dollar Bill and the Masons Q. Is it true that the seeing eye on the $1 bill is a Masonic symbol, put there by several Masons, including George Washington (whose picture is on the other side), who was a Mason?

We have been told that other parts of the dollar bill, including the Latin mottos, come from Masonic beliefs. Is this true? (California) A. The two major symbols on the “back” side of the dollar bill are the obverse (eagle) and reverse (pyramid) sides of the great seal of the United States, created originally in 1782.

Your question has been raised often, because several elements of the seal, the eye with the radiant triangle around it, for example, were said to have Masonic origins. It seems unlikely, however, that this is so. Many details interpreted to have Masonic origins were added in later revisions of the seal.

First, of the 14 men who participated in designing the seal, only one, Benjamin Franklin, was definitely a Freemason. Two, including John Adams, were definitely not.

No firm evidence exists that any of the others were connected to the Masons. George Washington was a Mason, but was not involved directly in the design of the great seal.

It is true that the pyramid, the eye above it and the

The Catholic News & Herald 17

Family Reflections ANDREW & TERRI LYKE Guest Columnists Memories shape experiences It’s time again for our annual father-son Lake Michigan perch fishing trip in South Haven, Mich. This has been an annual excursion for the last four years. Though we don’t have to travel 118 miles for Lake Michigan yellow perch, the trip to South Haven is worth the distance. It reenacts memorable bonding experiences between father and son.

Author James Carroll said, “Memory is the human faculty that gives shape to experience.

Memory provides the narrative structure by which we uncover meaning. Memory is the source of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Memory imparts compassion.” This annual event is simply a way of remembering special family moments while adding new chapters to our family memoirs.

The first time Marty and I (Andrew) boarded the Captain Nichols fishing boat our family was vacationing in the South Haven area. Marty was twelve and an avid fisherman who had tried his luck at just about every dock and bank in the area. His begging to go out on a boat had eventually wore me down. Indifferent to fishing, I relented to taking my son the next morning for a few hours on the Captain Nichols, if for no other reason than to end Marty’s incessant begging. It turned out to be a wonderful, fun, bonding experience for the two of us — and a pretty good catch.

The following year we convinced the ladies, Terri and our daughter Andréa, to go with us.

Again Marty and I had a wonderful time. The ladies — well, let’s say that it was a one-time experience for them.

Tomorrow morning Marty, my 12-year-old nephew Austin and I will embark on our predawn trek northward to South Haven to revisit the setting of graced moments on the Captain Nichols.

James Carroll said, “Memory makes visible what is otherwise unseen. Thus memory is the fountain of biblical belief. For, as the form of the Scriptures themselves attest, God leaves traces of history that can be recognized as such only after the fact.”

We have learned not to expect too much other than good time together, and to get a little closer to each other and little closer to God. There have been times when we had large catches; there have been times when we caught little more than some sun on our faces. Perhaps we will have new experiences that will add to our memory banks — our body of evidence that God lives in South Haven, on the Captain Nichols, on Lake Michigan, in the catching of yellow perch-sacred memories!

Questions for Reflection: a. What recurring family event provides sacred memories? b. Do you recognize traces of God in your family history? c. Is there a place and/or a time that you remember a bonding experience with a family member? Retrace through your memories and discover God.

1 8 The Catholic News & Herald

June 28, 2002

Around the Di-

Father Clarke dies at age 72 CHILDS, Md. — Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Gerald R. Clarke, a Catholic priest who served in the Diocese of Charlotte, died of heart failure complicated by diabetes Friday, June 14, 2002 at Annecy Hall in Childs, Md. Father Clarke was born Dec. 28, 1929 in Summer Point, N.J., to the late Roy W. and Joan Mannix Clarke.

He was educated Catholic schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and received a bachelor’s in Spanish from Niagara University in Niagara, N.Y., in 1953, a masters in Spanish from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1958 and a doctorate in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1968.

He entered the Oblates in July 1947 and was ordained to the priesthood June 8, 1957, in St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Del. He served as a high school and college Spanish teacher in various schools in Pennsylvania but had always wanted to work in South American missions. After many years of requesting, Father Clarke was assigned as associate pastor of Parroquia Immaculada Concepcion in Montevideo, Uruguay from 1988 to 1989.

Within a year of his arrival, he contracted a disease that damaged his heart and he

had to return to the United States.

He spent the next 10 years in the Diocese of Charlotte and became an advocate for the rights of migrant workers. From 1989 to 1990, he served as chaplain to Hispanics at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, N.C., and then spent seven years as the founding pastor of Our Lady of the Americas Church in Biscoe, N.C. From 1997 to 1999, he was associate pastor at Holy Cross Church in Kernersville, N.C. Father Clarke spent his remaining years at Annecy Hall at De Sales Centre, an assisted living retirement facility, in Childs, Md. This year, Father Clarke was celebrating his 45th anniversary of ordination and had planned to celebrate Mass of Thanksgiving with his former parishioners at Our Lady of the Americas Church in Biscoe June 9.

Father Clarke has no surviving family members. Interment was to take place in the Oblate Cemetery located on the grounds of the De Sales Centre. The Oblates request that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to: Oblate Retirement Fund, 2200 2200 Kentmere Parkway Wilmington, Del. 19806

C l a s s i fi e d s com EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES DIRECTOR OF FAITH FORMATION: Holy Redeemer Parish, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The candidate must be a practicing Catholic and possess at least a bachelor’s degree in theology or religious education; will have responsibility for parish Faith Formation program for grades K-5, sacramental preparation, RCIA, adult education, and other programs and events relating to these areas; will work closely with Youth/Young Adult Minister. Knowledge of Spanish helpful. Please send resume to: Faith Formation Search Committee, Holy Redeemer Church, PO Box 510, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949.

MUSIC DIRECTOR: Part-time. Sacred Heart Church in Savannah is seeking a qualified musician to plan and oversee its liturgical music programs, and to direct its choirs at Masses on weekends and Holy Days and for other special celebrations. Requirements: Strong educational and/or experiential musical background, choral directing experience, knowledge of Catholic liturgy and liturgical music, strong leadership and communication skills. Direct inquiries or send resume to Rev. Francis Higgins, Pastor, Sacred Heart Church, 1707 Bull St., Savannah, GA 31401.

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC MINISTRY: Full-time position,1500-family Catholic parish near Charlotte. Responsible for five weekend liturgies plus holy days, weddings, and funerals. Adult choir, contemporary choir, cantors, instrumentalists, and handbell choirs. Rogers electronic organ, Yamaha upright piano, and Clavinova digital pianos, twooctave set of Malmark handbells. Ideal candidate is a practicing Catholic with music degree and experience, music performance skill (organ/piano/ voice), choral and cantor skills, knowledge of Catholic liturgical music. Salary commensurate with experience. Full benefits. Send resumes to Music Search, Saint Therese Parish, 217 Brawley School Road, Mooresville, NC 28117. Phone: (704) 664-3992; Fax: (704) 660-6321; email: jbarnes@sainttherese.net

MUSIC MINISTER: For Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, a growing 1300-family parish in Greenville, NC. Primary responsibility: planning and coordination of the music ministry as a means to facilitate active congregational participation within the liturgical life of our parish. Proficient skills in adult and children choral development and conducting; keyboard excellence with organ experience preferred; cantor and vocal development. Strong knowledge of Catholic liturgy and proven ability to work within various liturgical styles for weekend, holy day, school and youth masses. Demonstrable interpersonal and organizational skills.

Music degree preferred. Salary commensurate with education and experience. Benefit package included.

University setting with School of Music, K-8 parish school, vibrant community, coastal amenities. Position available July 1, 2002. Submit resume to Music Ministry Search Committee, St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 2700 East 4th Street, Greenville, NC 27858.

Fax:(252)752-1499, e-mail: nps@vol.com.

DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Master’s or undergraduate degree in theology or religious studies required. Teaching experience a plus. 1,300-family parish. Salary range $30-35K. Projected start date July 2002. Resume and cover letter to: The Cathedral of St. Patrick, Attn: Cindy Woodlief, Education Commission Chairman, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte, NC 28203; or fax (704)377-6403; or e-mail cindy_woodlief@msn.

PRINCIPAL: Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School (Greenville, SC) seeks Principal for the 20022003 school year, grades K-5 to 8. Minimum qualifications: master’s in school administration, five years’ teaching experience, eligible for South Carolina Principal’s certificate, and practicing Catholic. Submit resume by mail, fax, or e-mail to: OLR Selection Committee, P O Box 8396, Greenville, SC 29604; fax (864)277-5969; jhschrank@charter.net

Courtesy Photo

Woman honored for dedication and community Father Edward Sheridan, pastor of St. Aloysius Church in Hickory, holds up the 2002 Mother Teresa Memorial Award presented June 15 to Kay Cuzzone. The award, created by the Knights of Columbus of North Carolina, is presented to a Catholic man or woman who exhibits humility and dedication to the Catholic Church, community and family.

Nominations were submitted by pastors around the dioceses.

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Rates: $.50/word per issue ($10 minimum per issue) Deadline: 12 noon Wednesday, 9 days before publication How to order: Ads may be E-mailed to ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org, faxed to (704) 370-3382 or mailed to: Cindi Feerick, The Catholic News & Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.

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

TEACHER: Full-Time Middle School Science/Math Teacher needed at Immaculate Heart of Mary School for the 2002 - 2003 academic year. Send resume and cover letter: Attn: Principal, IHM School, 605 Barbee Ave., High Point, NC, 27262 TEACHERS: Energetic teachers needed. St. Michael’s School in Gastonia, NC is accepting applications for a certified 5th grade teacher, and a certified middle school language arts or math teacher. Come be a part of a 60-year tradition teaching in a small, caring environment. Contact our office at (704)8654382 for an application and more information.

TEACHERS: Our Lady of Grace School, Greensboro, is presently accepting applications for Middle School Language Arts and Grade One teaching positions. Please call the school office to receive a teacher application at (336)275-1522. All interested applicants must have a teaching certificate or be in the process of becoming certified.

YOUTH MINISTER: Full-time. Experience required. Responsibilities include middle/high school groups and Confirmation. BA in Religious Ed. or Theology a plus. Send resume/salary requirements to: YM Search Committee, St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., Charlotte, NC 28210 by July 26, 2002.

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June 28, 2002

The Catholic News & Herald 19

2 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Living the

June 28, 2002

Woman religious sees trials, difficulties as blessings from of her students but was ever-conscious of

By ALESHA M. PRICE her calling.

Staff Writer “I had a principal, a woman religious, CHARLOTTE — Dominican Sister who saw something in me and gave me Bernardita Dandoy’s fondest memories encouragement. I would stay during some happened in the Philippines during the weekends and would observe the sisters in hottest months of the year. In the midst the convent. I was very impressed,” said of drought and nearly unbearable temSister Bernardita. “I guess I already had it peratures, her devoutly religious family in me, but I was searching if it was for me. would invite friends and neighbors to their I wanted to enjoy my house on the feast of St. life, but it is all in God’s Joseph in March to celtime. You cannot resist ebrate the family strucwhen the call is there.” ture in honor of the She decided to join Holy Family. In May, the Dominican sisters Mary would be their in 1980 but with some focus as they prayed reservations. She felt group rosaries daily. that her decision was “I was influenced prompted by God’s call by my environment to her, so she would even as a kid; I learned adjust to religious life. my prayers,” said Sister Acceptance and adBernardita. “I developed justment became the a love of praying the foundation of her life in rosary, and in May, I many instances. brought flowers to the After teaching elstatue of Mary.” ementary school for so She was the second Dominican Sister many years, she had to oldest of nine children shift to educating high Bernardita Dandoy growing up on her faschool students during ther’s farm in Mindher years of formation, anao, the southernmost which were outlined island in the Philipwith a strict schedule of household chores pines. She walked over an hour to elemenand school. She found that there were matary school until she began attending jor differences between children and teens. the nearby Catholic school staffed by the Secondary education was difficult, but she Dominican sisters. She enjoyed her high grew to appreciate the tenacity and chalschool experience and developed an interlenge of older children. est in the women religious.

Sister Bernardita professed her final “I met the sisters during my first year vows in 1988 and was sent to New Jersey of high school, and they were very present to teach kindergarten. She was like a fish in our town. I admired how they trained us out of the water that surrounds her home. in our classes. We prayed the rosary every During the harsh winters, shoveling snow day in school,” she said. was a task that she had never had to underAfter graduation in 1968, she wanted take. “I was homesick at first. I didn’t think to continue her education in a Catholic I would make it through the first year, but setting, so she enrolled in Notre Dame I received the support of our sisters. I was College in her country. Her admiration new to the community, and they tried to for teaching prompted her to major in help me,” she said. elementary education, and she graduated Several years later, she asked for a from college in 1973. transfer and was assigned to Rome in Although she was a teacher for seven 1995. She wondered what she would do years before entering the convent, the sisand found out that she would be assisting terhood appealed to her in a specific way. another woman religious in preparing and She immersed herself into teaching and serving meals for priests and seminarians. reveled in the “simplicity and honesty”

She described her job preparing salad and fruit for the Oblate Fathers as her simplest assignment but one that “came from God.” “This is the life of a religious. Because of your vow of obedience, you accept whatever assignment you are given. We were told at formation that our assignments came from God,” said Sister Bernardita of her almost three years in Italy.

“Everything is not for me; it is for God, and I looked at it as my mission to serve God through the simple work that I was assigned.”

She taught at St. Anthony of Padua School after being sent back to the United States. A year later, she was assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte to become Dominican Sister Anastacia Pagulayan’s assistant in the faith formation program. Working with children has always been Sister Bernardita’s first love, and she is happy with her latest assignment. She coordinates the second-grade teaching program,

which includes Communion preparation, and also teaches pre-kindergarteners four days a week. “(The parishioners at) St. Thomas are warm, and I really feel welcomed.

We (she and Sister Anastacia) have to really help one another because we are only two. I am grateful that she worked in administration, and she is always there to guide,” said Sister Bernardita. “I have enjoyed growing as a religious and all of the opportunity it gives you. I never dreamed of coming to the United States. If I hadn’t been a woman religious, I wouldn’t have come here.”

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