July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 1

July 7, 2000

July 7, 2000 Volume 9 t Number 40

Inside Priests celebrate ministry at convocation

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

Revival of the Spirit

...Pages 8-9

The Third Secret

Vatican underlines theological distinctions on private revelation

...Page 7

Local News Catholic youth learn Christian leadership skills

...Page 4

...Page 16

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 12-13

“Tomorrow’s adults are the children of today. To overlook this elementary fact not only compromises the future of the child, but that of society as such.”

— Pope John Paul II, 1993

Sisters celebrate diamond and golden anniversaries

By Joann S. Keane Editor CHARLOTTE — In 1950, it is said, there were more Catholics in China than in the entire state of North Carolina. With the Catholic population of one-third of one percent constituting the entire Catholic population of the Tarheel state, that story might just be true.

For six local women to join a community of women religious at that point in time in the South is nothing short of a miracle. A miracle of mercy.

On June 24, these Sisters of Mercy celebrated 50 years as women religious. Further enhancing the celebration, a diamond jubilarian shone in their midst. Seven women — members of the Regional Mercy Community of North Carolina — celebrated anniversaries in the year of the great jubilee.

“Today, this community of the Sisters of Mercy celebrates our sisters who have declared by their lives that they belong only to God,” said Mercy Sister Rosalind Picot, regional president of the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina. One by one, Sister Rosalind called the sisters forward to renew their vows: Sister Mary Gertrude Wel-

...Page 5

Banquet teaches lessons about world hunger

Crown Jewels

Photo by Alesha M. Price

See SISTERS, page 3

Moral cautions greet human genome mapping mosomes found in human cells. The genome-mapping project, begun in 1990, involves sequencing some 3.15 billion “letters,” or chemical bases, of the DNA code.

In telephone interviews Pellegrino and Walter discussed some of the ethical concerns raised by the nearcompletion of the massive Human Genome Project.

Both advised caution in deciding how to apply the world’s new knowledge about the human genetic make-up.

Walter noted that some people have compared the mapping of the human genome to landing on the moon.

He said it is far bigger than that — “This is the Holy Grail of the human person.”

The genome mapping exemplifies “the kinds of problems we’ll be facing continuously in the future,” Pellegrino said. He said the basic question it poses

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, announces the completion of initial sequencing on the human genome at the White House.

Decoding the 3 billion chemical “letters” in human DNA is seen as a great scientific milestone.

By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The mapping of the human genome is an enormous advance in knowledge that carries “potential for good, but also enormous potential for harm,” said Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, professor of medicine and medical ethics at Georgetown University in Washington.

James J. Walter, professor of bioethics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said he was

CNS photo from Reuters

“cautiously optimistic about this enterprise,” but it poses “a number of very serious ethical questions.”

A White House press briefing was called June 26 to announce completion of what is being termed a “rough draft” — a 97-percent-completed map — of the entire human genome, all the DNA strands in the 46 chro-

See HUMAN GENOME, page 3

2 The Catholic News & Herald

July 7, 2000

National

Ruling on gay Scout leaders seen as victory for private groups

Supreme Court upholds library, computer aid to parochial schools

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling upholding the right of the Boy Scouts not to accept a homosexual Scout leader was hailed as affirming the rights of private organizations to decide their internal business.

The court ruled 5-4 that the Boy Scouts are not required under New Jersey law to permit a homosexual man to serve as a Scout leader. New Jersey’s Supreme Court had found that the Scouts were a “place” of public accommodation and therefore subject to its anti-discrimination requirement. Chief Justice William Rehnquist said although homosexuality has become more socially accepted, that “is scarcely an argument for denying First Amendment protection to those who refuse to accept these views.”“The fact that an idea may be embraced and advocated by increasing numbers of people is all the more reason to protect the First Amendment rights of those who wish to voice a different view,” Rehnquist wrote.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — In what was quickly hailed as a landmark ruling for school choice, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld use of federal funds to supply computer hardware and software and library and media materials to religiously affiliated schools. By a 6-3 decision June 28 the court reversed the judgment of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had said it was unconstitutional to include religious schools among the private schools receiving such aid in Jefferson Parish, La. The case is titled Mitchell vs. Helms. Four of the six-justice majority proposed what in effect would be a new, simpler neutrality test for the constitutionality of public aid to private schools. Two justices agreed that the Louisiana aid was constitutional but sharply opposed the other four’s view of how the court should test such cases. The three dissenters also opposed revising the neutrality test.

CNS photo by David Kamba, Catholic New World

“Field of Faith”

Dance troupe Horizontes Mexicanos leads the opening procession at the Chicago Archdiocesan “Field of Faith” Mass June 24. The celebration drew an estimated 30,000 people to Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Nebraska abortion ruling called frightening, barbaric

medical necessity.

Helen Alvare, director of planning and information for the U.S. bishops Pro-Life Secretariat, found little comfort in the suggestion by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor that laws banning partial birth abortion might be upheld if they are more specific and include health exceptions. O’Connor’s concurring opinion specifically cited laws of Kansas, Utah and Montana as avoiding “a principal defect of the Nebraska law” by including the health exception.

But Alvare told Catholic News Service that O’Connor’s suggestion would eviscerate the effectiveness of laws.

“Justice (Anthony) Kennedy said it brilliantly in his dissent,” Alvare said.

“Health exceptions can be interpreted to mean any kind of abortion you want.”

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling striking down Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth is “a frightening development,” according to the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities.

Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler said it is “inconceivable that the highest court in our land could find that our Constitution protects the brutal destruction of innocents almost fully delivered.”

A sharply divided court ruled 5-4 that Nebraska’s law infringes unconstitutionally on a woman’s right to abortion. The ruling said the state law failed to pass constitutional muster by inadequately defining which procedure was being outlawed and by not including an exception to the ban for cases of

Episcopal July 7, 2000 Volume 9 • Number 40

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

c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: July 10-14 Meeting of provincial bishops in the Carolinas and Georgia Region IV Asheville July 16 Parish 50th Anniversary Mass Our Lady of the Mountains Church, Highlands July 17-21 Seminarian retreat Catholic Conference Center, Hickory July 18 Catholic Social Services board meeting Catholic Conference Center, Hickory July 23 — 11 am Confirmation St. John, Waynesville July 29 — 12:30 pm Cofirmation Cristo Rey, Yadkinville

On the other hand, Alvare predicted some state legislatures would take O’Connor’s comments and her previous opinions on what states may do to regulate abortion as guidelines for how to craft laws that might meet her standards for constitutionality, reversing the 5-4 balance on the court.

Cardinal Keeler’s statement said the court showed “utter disdain for the moral judgment of Americans who, through their elected representatives, have voted by wide margins to stop this practice in 30 states and at the federal level.”

He said the ruling should be a wake-up call to Americans that “Roe vs. Wade continues to operate as nothing less than a license to destroy innocent human life.”

Bishop James T. McHugh of Rockville Centre, N.Y., said in a statement

Diocesan

plan -

istry Training classes are beginning in August. These classes are designed for men and women who desire to grow in competence and confidence in their faith journey and for those pursuing the permanent deaconate and those who wish to enhance their catechetical and religious teaching training. For more information, call Mercy Sister Mary Timothy Warren at (704) 370-3213.

CHARLOTTE — The Worldwide Marriage Encounter is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 8-10 and will be held at a local Holiday Inn. The marriage encounter consists of 44 hours where married couples can get away from jobs, kids and other issues to focus on each other for growth and enrichment in a married relationship. For details, call Tom and Emilie Sandin at (336) 274-4424.

Ongoing HIGH POINT — Christ the King

that the court’s opinion in Stenberg vs. Carhart addresses only Nebraska’s law and that therefore the debate will continue.

“But the atmosphere is clouded by the confusion regarding the procedures and by the strength of the proabortion forces in this nation, which deny any recognition of the humanity of the unborn child,” said Bishop McHugh, who is a member of the ProLife Activities Committee.

In Chicago, Cardinal Francis E. George said the ruling “is a victory for barbarism. It pits the court and the Constitution itself against the legal protection of children who are not wanted.”

Virgil C. Dechant, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus said in a statement that the court majority “has moved beyond Roe vs. Wade and has overridden the reasonable and demo-

Church, 1505 East Kivett Dr., celebrates two Masses in other languages every Sunday. The Spanish Mass is held at 12:30 p.m., and the Korean Mass is held at 6 p.m. For further details, call Susie Romanowski at (336) 885-8435.

WAYNESVILLE — St. John the Evangelist Church, 234 Church St., offers English as a Second Language Class every Sunday evening from 6:307:30 p.m. in the church hall. For more information, call the church office at (828) 456-6707.

WINSTON-SALEM — Natural family planning classes have been cancelled for the summer and will resume in the fall. For further details, call Tom and Mary Beth Young at (336) 922-0479.

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

Human genome, from page 1

is, “How do we use our knowledge wisely and within ethical constraints?”

Walter raised the “slippery slope” argument, saying that someone preparing to ski down a slippery slope needs to make sure there is some plateau ahead to stop on.

“The scientists will always convince us to get on the slope, saying ‘We’re going to use this for humane ends, we’re going to cure disease.’ But the same technology we use to cure disease is the technology we will use to engineer ourselves,” he said. “How do we stop at curing and not move on to engineering?”

He said those who think the genome project goes too far would argue that “there are no logical plateaus here that will stop society from moving from therapy to engineering.”

When asked if he would hold that view, he said, “I think we should go forward, but we are going to have to show that there are an awful lot of unethical roads here. This is not all a bed of roses.”

Pellegrino said because of the global availability of the human genome data on the Internet, “there needs to be some concerted effort by the human species to see that there are ethical constraints” on the use of that knowledge.

He confessed that he did not know how that would be done, however.

Within the United States, he said, he suspected that at present there would be little or no consensus on what the ethical constraints should be.

“The American impulse is, if you can do it, do it. That has to be restrained,” he said.

“Another thing to be very concerned about is commercialization,” he said, noting that there are ethical questions about ownership and patenting of genetic information.

Walter warned that while the genome map may greatly accelerate All Have Unique Personalities: Discover the Form of Prayer Best Suited to You” at the Franciscan Center for the noontime dinner and discussion session today from 12:10-1 p.m. at 233 North Greene St. For details about the love offering needed for lunch and other information, call the center at (336) 273-2554.

23 ARDEN — All cursillistas in the Western part of the diocese are invited to take part in an ultreya at St. Barnabas Church, 109 Crescent Hill Dr., at 2 p.m. For more information, call Tommy Barnhart at (336) 766-0377 or e-mail tbarnhar@bellsouth.net.

HENDERSONVILLE — The St. Francis of the Hills Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order meets today from 3-5 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 208 7th Ave. West, in the office wing. Visitors and inquirers are welcome, so for more information, call Pat Cowan at (828) 884-4246.

Upcoming CHARLOTTE — Diocesan Lay Min-

The Catholic News & Herald 3

In the discovery of the genetic factors of a disease, it does not mean that a cure will be found right away, or even in 50 or 100 years.

He said he would support genetic therapy in principle “as long as it is safe and effective,” but he warned that any such procedures are likely to be “enormously expensive, at least in our lifetime.”

That raises questions of accessibility and social justice — compounded by the fact that already some 75 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured medically, he said.

Walter also warned that there is a major difference ethically between somatic gene therapy and germ line therapy, in which the egg or sperm is genetically altered to prevent transmission of a genetic defect to the offspring.

He asked how one corrects a mistake “if you mess up at the germ line.”

In addition, he said, “our ability to change genes is moving us into an arena that will blur the line between therapy and enhancement.”

He noted that some parents are already using growth hormones on teen-age children because being short is regarded as a defect.

He said when Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born in 1978, he and other ethicists immediately questioned whether the procedure’s use for heterosexual married couples with fertility problems would be extended to other areas such as lesbian couples having children, or use of surrogate wombs for women who did not want a pregnancy to interrupt their career, or using frozen sperm of a dead family member to produce a child.

Just as those things happened with in vitro fertilization, he predicted that “very quickly” the use of genetic knowledge will cross moral boundaries.

“Because we cannot negotiate our moral differences, we turn (the decision) over to every person, saying it’s your choice,” he said. t

July 9 CHARLOTTE — St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, is celebrating a charismatic Mass today at 4 p.m. with prayer teams available at 3 p.m. and a potluck dinner at 5 p.m. For more information, call Josie at (704) 527-4676.

10 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area are having their July cancer support group meetings on the following days because of the Independence Day holiday weekend: St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., tonight at 7 p.m., St. Matthew Church, 8012 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., on July 11 at 7 p.m. and St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., on July 12 at 7 p.m. For more information, call these contacts: St. Vincent - Betty Childers at (704) 5540733, St. Matthew - Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283 and St. Gabriel - Eileen Cordell at (704) 352-5047, Ext. 217. For further information, call Bob Poffenbarger, Sr., coordinator, at (704)

Sr. Donovan

Sr. McNally

Sr. Godurn

Sr. Solari

Photos by Joann S. Keane

July 7, 2000

Sr. Boulus

Sr. Weldon

Sr. Martinez

Mercy Sisters, from page 1

don, celebrating 60 years; and Sisters Mary Michel Boulus, Mary Gerard Donovan, Mary Julia Godwin, Mary Mark Martinez, Jeanne-Margaret McNally and Mary Agnes Solari, marking 50 years as Sisters of Mercy.

A moment was taken to pay tribute to two sisters, who were planning to be here but called away unexpectedly, said Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast, pastoral associate at St. Matthew parish. Sister Veronica Shumacher died in December leaving us with a legacy in health care ministry, especially in Western North Carolina. The second, Sister Mary Barbara Sullivan died in February. Known for her outstanding educational leadership, [Sister] Barbara expanded her concerns to the elderly for affordable housing and for younger women with children who were homeless. “We know those women are with us today,” said Sister Jeanne Marie.

Close to 750 — friends, family members and sisters in community — came to St. Gabriel Church for a late-morning Mass in honor of the jubilarians. The celebration was moved from their Belmont

motherhouse chapel to accommodate all those wishing to pay tribute to the women who have touched so many lives in so many different ways.

Roots of the Sisters of Mercy are deep in North Carolina; their contributions dot the diocesan landscape. It is virtually impossible to find a community within the 46-county Diocese of Charlotte not counted as recipient of at least one of their ministries.

“Over the past 50 years, this particular class has contributed to the growth and vitality of the church, particularly to the quality of Catholic education both here in North Carolina and on the island of Guam,” said Sister Jeanne Marie. “The roll call of these women could easily read as a who’s who in education, social work or health care.”

“In the wisdom of God, we have been blessed with amazingly gifted women,” said Sister Jeanne Marie. t

553-7000.

12 CHARLOTTE — The 50+ Club of St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., is meeting this morning at 11 a.m. in the parish center. Bingo is featured today with a small love offering required for those wanting lunch.

For more information, call Gloria Silipigni at (704) 821-1343.

CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., is offering free classes for the public on various topics throughout the summer. Father Matthew Leonard, parochial vicar, is facilitating the following classes in July, all held from 7:30-8:45 p.m. in the parish ministry center: “The Spirit of John” - July 12, “Unity in the Holy Spirit” July 19 and “Fruit in the Spirit” - July 26. For more information, call the church office at (704) 364-5431.

14 CHARLOTTE — UNC Charlotte’s Office of International Programs is looking for volunteers to host visitors from Japan as they take part in an intensive study program.

Volunteers are needed to host the fol-

lowing students for these dates: Japanese bankers for this weekend and Japanese English teachers from Aug 4-19. If you have an interest in making international friends and would like to help the guests learn more about American culture and lifestyle, call Kathy Ballard, home stay coordinator, at (704) 663-5861 or Mark Beam at (704) 547-2597.

15 CHARLOTTE — “Christians in Career Transition” is a ministry devoted to helping people in career crises. The group meets every first and third Monday from 7-9 p.m. in the office area of St. Matthew Church parish center, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. There are two Saturday sessions taking place today and July 22 on “interview skills to get the job.” For further information, call Rev. Mr. Jim Hamrlik at (704) 542-6459.

18 GREENSBORO — Franciscan Father Louis Canino, director of the Franciscan Center, is presenting “We

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

4 The Catholic News & Herald

July 7, 2000

Around the Di-

St. Paul the Apostle Church breaks ground for

By Susan deGuzman Correspondent GREENSBORO — It was on Pentecost Sunday, June 10, that St. Paul the Apostle parishioners in Greensboro broke ground for their new Family Life Center. Father Jim O’Neill, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales and pastor of the parish, remarked, “It is appropriate that the birth of this new building coincides with Pentecost, the birth of the church.”

The new structure will be two stories, with 22,800 square feet. Father O’Neill explained that, “The building will bring us together for prayer, education, faith formation and socializing.”

Tom Valentino, a parishioner who has been involved with the building plans, said that growth in the parish has really boomed in the past 10 years, doubling to the current approximate 2,000 families currently registered.

Each year, Valentino added, a couple hundred additional families have been joining.

The ceremony took place following the 11:30 a.m. Mass.

Kenneth Shahbaz, who was involved in the past two building projects for the church, elaborated that the structure will consist of about 10,000 square feet for a gymnasium, and the rest will be for rooms for classes, meetings and offices. The gymnasium will be designed to serve as a multipurpose room with a drop ceiling, acoustics and special flooring to accommodate Mass, other religious activities and social events.

The classroom portion of the building was originally designed as a one-story structure. However, in light of the growth rate of the parish, the idea was proposed of making this portion two-story, matching the roof to that of the gymnasium, and “roughing-in” the second floor at a future date. In the long run, such a plan would cost less than to rebuild for an addition later on.

As previous pastoral council chairperson and architect for the building, Joe Anatrella explained that this addition was part of the master plan designed 25 years ago when the church

was first built. The sanctuary had been added in 1993. Current construction should be complete by the fall of 2001, he said.

Some of the activities for which the building will be used include more options for adult education, boys and girls basketball teams and open play, adult leagues for basketball and volleyball and Boy and Girl Scouting.

Following the introductions of key individuals who worked on the building committee, the group processed out of the church through a celebratory arch to the building site. Father O’Neill prayed, “Bless all those who have worked or contributed to provide all that we need to prepare for this. ...

Today may we rejoice in a work just begun and may you, oh God, through your Holy Spirit, the giver of life, give success to all of our efforts. ...”

The pastor then lifted his shovel and commenced digging the first bit of earth. About 20 people with shovels — large, small, metal and plastic — also took turns participating in this symbolic ceremony. t

Photo by Susan deGuzman

Father Jim O’Neill, OSFS, is pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro. The parish broke ground on Pentecost Sunday for a new family life center.

Catholic youth gather to learn lessons in Christian leadership skills to be Jesus to one another and to the

By MATT DOYLE world.

NC Catholic They had gathered because they SMITHFIELD — The 60 or so were either already in leadership roles young people were urged to “step foror had been identified as possessing ward to create a lifestyle of holiness leadership qualities. The and grace.” They came training was to hone the from the Dioceses of Raleigh and Charlotte “We have lived like skills and give them a Christian perspective. to spend a week together They were strangat Short Journey Center. holy people. We are ers who grew close in a They wanted to improve God’s Church.” week. In group discustheir leadership skills — Paul Kotlowski, Charsion several noted how in a Christian environlotte’s director of they had met for the first ment. On June 22 they youth ministry time, yet they immediwere sorting through ately felt welcomed and what they had learned in accepted. They expressed the great the program called “Faithful Servant.” freedom they found in knowing they Paul Kotlowski, diocesan director were not being judged. for youth ministry in the Diocese of For Colleen Lindstrand of St. Charlotte, cajoled, coaxed and led the James Church in Hamlet, the gatheryoung people to reflect on what they ing went deeper. Because she lives in a had experienced together. His ultimate small, rural community, she often feels goal was to make them realize their alone in her faith, particularly in her week together was all part of learning

high school.

“I feel blessed,” she said, “to be with a group of Catholic youth.” She said they shared the same values and that eased her concern of feeling like “an outsider.”

Christelle Geisler of St. Aloysisus Church in Hickory said she has always been strong in her faith, but the week had been good for her. “It excites me to know there are others (Catholic youth) out there.”

Kotlowski told them they were “identifying the gracious presence of God.” Now he suggested it was time to understand what it meant to be holy.

Holy, he said, was to feel and rec-

ognize the person of Jesus in their lives. Kotlowski suggested that the good qualities they identifying in one another and in the group as a whole was in fact the young people being “Jesus for each other.”

“We have lived like holy people,” he told them. “We are God’s Church.”

More is needed, however, than just to recognize their own goodness. Kotlowski told them they must now take that into the world.

He reminded them of their responsibility to continue to learn about such things as Catholic social teaching

See FAITHFUL SERVANT, page 14

July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 5

Around the Di-

Priests celebrate ministry at

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor ASHEVILE — For Father Wilbur Thomas, a veteran priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, a sense of fellowship with his brother priests continues to be vital in his ministry.

At a convocation in Asheville, Father Thomas joined with priests serving in the Diocese of Charlotte to celebrate their call to priestly ministry while learning more about each other.

The gathering was the first such meeting of priests in this diocese since 1985. For the more than 140 priests who now minister in these 46 counties, the event gave an opportunity to affirm the gifts they bring to the spirituality and ministry in this diocese, and to develop a deeper sense of the brotherhood that exists in priestly life.

“Isolation can easily creep in if you don’t feel part of something bigger,” said Father Thomas, diocesan vicar for priests, who was instrumental in planning the gathering. “We can say that we are a fraternity of priests, but we need to actually be in the presence of each other. Then, we appreciate more who we are.”

As vicar for priests, Father Thomas strives to keep his finger on the pulse of the priesthood here. And as is the case in his own experience, he said his brother priests yearn for that same feeling of fraternity.

“One of the major needs in the presbyterate of this diocese is a strong sense of community,” said Father Thomas. “Many of us are in parishes by ourselves, so having this opportunity to be together and share ideas helps us to get to know one another.”

Priests ordained to serve in the Charlotte Diocese and those of religious orders who minister here attended the convocation in Asheville from June 19-23. Prayer, presentations,

Photo by Joann S. Keane

Bishop William G. Curlin presided at several Masses during the priests’ convocation in Asheville June 19-23. The theme of the gathering was “Celebrating the Priesthood in Our Diocese.” discussions and Mass highlighted each day.

Participants ranged from the newly ordained preparing for their first assignments to retired priests who traveled from other states to attend.

Conventual Franciscan Father Canice Connors, a priest of a religious community serving in the diocese who has been a pastor in Winston-Salem, led sessions on important issues in priestly life. The issues dealt with a range of topics, from collaboration in ministry to the priest’s relationship with the bishop.

Father Connors now serves as superior of the Immaculate Province of the Conventual Franciscans, based in Rensselaer, N.Y. He is a popular retreat leader and priests’ convocations facilitator.

Members of the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee, a subcommittee of the diocesan presbyteral council, also facilitated. And Chuck Taft, director of music and liturgy at St. Eugene Church in Asheville, assisted with the Masses and music of the week.

Bishop William G. Curlin presided at a liturgy that honored priests celebrating 25 years or more of service this year. A half-dozen retiring or senior priests were also recognized.

During his homily at the closing liturgy June 23, Bishop Curlin shared stories from his four-decades-plus of priesthood and urged his audience to recommit themselves to one another as brothers in Christ.

“I pray that if one thing comes out of this (convocation), it would be a new beginning in our relationship with one another, and that we would build upon it,” he said. “Look at each

other — not past each other, or around each other — and realize that, in God’s divine providence, we were all brought here into the priesthood in this church of the Lord to work together in building the body of Christ.

“Let us be light for each other.”

Almost 70 men currently serve in active parish ministry as diocesan priests, while another 15 or so are retired, on leave or in the military.

Since the Diocese of Charlotte was established in 1972, a number of priests from religious orders have also played key roles in the building up of a missionary territory. Today, 13 congregations of religious priests are represented at parishes and missions throughout the diocese.

For Father George Kloster, who is pastor of the diocese’s westernmost churches, the gathering was valuable on a number of levels.

“This was a very good experience, and it certainly did help us to appreciate the common priesthood that we share,” said Father Kloster, pastor of St. William Church in Murphy and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hayesville. He also chairs the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee.

“This convocation focused both on the priesthood as an institution and on the priest as a person,” he said. “This is a far-flung diocese, and having everybody in the same place to discuss the issues we’re facing certainly does help to do some bonding.” t Contact Associate Editor Jimmy Rostar by calling (704) 370-3334 or e-mail jtrostar@charlottediocese.org.

Editor Joann Keane contributed to this story.

Advertise here! Call (704) 370-3332

People in the

Cuban-Americans react to Elian’s return to Cuba

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CNS) — Cuban-Americans across Florida reacted to Elian Gonzalez’s return to Cuba with disappointment but said they also hope that they will eventually understand God’s hand in the seven-month ordeal.

The 6-year-old Cuban refugee, along with his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, returned to Cuba June 28 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider his Miami relatives’ appeal to keep the child here. “I am very depressed right now, and I have cried a lot today,” said Laura Santos, a vice president and general manager at four Telemundo media outlets in central Florida and a member of St. James Cathedral in Orlando. “I see this as a victory for a very evil dictator, and a defeat for democracy. ... If this was (God’s) will, then I accept that, even though it is

Indian archbishop dies in car accident in Poland VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, died in a car crash in Poland June 20. He was 70 years old. According to a statement from the Indian bishops’ conference, the archbishop died instantly when the car he was in swerved off the road to avoid a cyclist. He was traveling to Warsaw from Krakow, where he had visited the shrine of the Black Madonna. The conference’s vice president, Archbishop Mar Basileos of Trivandrum, said in the statement, “We have lost an extraordinary leader in him who gave leadership not only to the Catholic community in India but to all the Christians in the country.”

Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, told Catholic News Service that “for India, (the archbishop’s death) is a very heavy loss.”

Winner of U.S. Catholic Award calls 2000 ‘year of the Latino’ CHICAGO (CNS) — Calling 2000 “the year of the Latino,” theologian Jeanette Rodriguez-Holguin applauded efforts to recognize the gifts and talents of Latinos, but challenged church leaders to hear and honor the

often unheard voices of Latina women and to invest in Hispanic youths. “I believe in this community,” RodriguezHolguin said June 19, accepting this year’s U.S. Catholic Award in Chicago.

“I believe this community has a contribution to make, both to church and to society. I believe it is a community that really reflects ‘el rostro de Dios,’ the face of God.” Rodriguez-Holguin was honored with the annual award from the editors of U.S. Catholic magazine for groundbreaking work focusing on the grass-roots theology of Latina women. She has collected their stories and retold them in her two books, “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment Among MexicanAmerican Women” and “Stories We Live/Cuentos Que Vivimos.”

N.Y. Auxiliary Bishop Austin B. Vaughan dies NEW YORK (CNS) — New York Auxiliary Bishop Austin B. Vaughan died June 25 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers after a series of illnesses and after suffering a severe heart attack 10 days earlier. Bishop Vaughan, 72, was widely known for his frequent arrests while protesting abortion since the late 1980s. He also was the focus of national attention in 1988 after he told New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Catholic, that he “seriously risks going to hell”

July 7, 2000

Archbishop Flores freed; alleged captor surrenders SAN ANTONIO (CNS) — Archbishop Patrick F. Flores of San Antonio was freed before dusk June 28 after being held hostage for nine hours in his own chancery building. Archbishop Flores, 70, walked out under his own power from the chancery building at about 7 p.m.

CDT, about nine hours after he was allegedly accosted by Nelson Escolero. About 20 minutes after the archbishop appeared, Escolero, 40, surrendered to police without incident. Escolero was charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, with a $1 million bond set for each count. Archbishop Flores’ secretary, Myrtle Sanchez, had also been held hostage for about two hours. Much of the tension centered on the hostage-taker’s claim that he for his position on legal abortion. That same year, Bishop Vaughan made a public announcement of his intention to drop out of the Democratic party because of its stance on abortion.

Gorbachev hails late Vatican official’s dialogue with communists VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev praised the late Cardinal Agostino Casaroli for his role in drawing back the Iron Curtain and called the former Vatican diplomat a “man of dialogue.”

Speaking through an interpreter June 27 at a news conference marking the release of Cardinal Casaroli’s mem-

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Paris - London October 19 - 26 très cool

CNS file photo

had a grenade. The device was later determined to be a fake. According to police, Escolero, a native of El Salvador who is a legal resident of the United States, was upset over his possible deportation for driving with a suspended license.

oirs, “The Martyrdom of Patience: The Holy See and Communist Countries (1963-89),” Gorbachev said he was struck by the Vatican diplomat’s “great vision and great openness.”

Gorbachev, whose own policy of “perestroika” during his 1985-1991 term as president of the Soviet Union helped bring an end to the Cold War, said, “Cardinal Casaroli made the first steps toward a new Europe.”

July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 7

From the

Vatican underlines theological distinctions on private

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the publication of the third secret of Fatima, the Vatican’s doctrinal officials took care to explain that such private revelations can be a spiritual help to Catholics, but are in no way matters of faith.

Unlike its statements on dogma, the church does not have an “official definition or official interpretation” of the Fatima visions, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said at a Vatican press conference June 26.

Cardinal Ratzinger’s 12-page commentary on “The Message of Fatima” applied several theological distinctions to a subject that has prompted decades of popular conjecture.

He said the text of the third secret of Fatima “will probably prove disappointing or surprising after all the speculation it has stirred.”

“No great mystery is revealed; nor is the future unveiled,” he wrote.

That is as it should be, he went on to explain, because the church believes that God’s “public” revelation was completed in the Old and New Testament, fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Cardinal Ratzinger said there was need for some “basic clarification” about how events like the Fatima visions are to be included in the life of the church. One key point, he said, is that such private revelations are not supposed to complete the Gospel, but help people live it.

“The authority of private revelations is essentially different from that of the definitive public revelation. The latter demands faith,” he said.

He quoted Pope Benedict XIV’s classic statement on private revelations: “An assent of Catholic faith is not due to revelations approved in this

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger talks to journalists about the so-called third secret of Fatima during a press conference at the Vatican June 26.

The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith said the secret is a symbolic prophecy of the church’s 20th-century struggles with evil political systems and its ultimate triumph. way; it is not even possible.”

Instead, Cardinal Ratzinger said, a private revelation considered genuine by the church may be accepted by the faithful with prudence. Because it can help them understand the Gospel, it should “not be discarded.”

“It is a help which is offered, but which one is not obliged to use,” he said.

Cardinal Ratzinger said that prophetic elements in visions such as those at Fatima should be understood in the biblical sense of prophecy, not of predicting the future but of explaining “the will of God for the present,” in order to show the right path for the future.

He listed three basic forms of perception or vision in such private revelations: sensory experience, interior perception and spiritual vision.

At Fatima, he said, the visions were clearly of the second type, an inner

CNS photo from Reuters

vision that for the visionary “has the force of a presence.”

“Interior vision does not mean fantasy. ... It means rather that the soul is touched by something real, even if beyond the senses,” the cardinal said.

He said children are perhaps more open to such visions because “their interior powers of perception are still not impaired.”

Cardinal Ratzinger said it was a misconception to think that the Fatima visions, including that of hell, were like a “film preview” of events to come.

That would be a limitation of human

freedom, he said, and “the whole point of the vision is to bring freedom onto the scene and to steer freedom in a positive direction.”

The importance of these visions was in their symbolic meaning as a whole, he said.

In offering his own comments on the Fatima visions, Cardinal Ratzinger was not as specific as other Vatican officials have been in interpreting the vision of a bishop in white struggling up a hill amid corpses of slain martyrs, who then falls dead after being shot by soldiers.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, said it was believed the vision referred to Pope John Paul II, who fell wounded in an assassination attempt in 1981, and to a “war” waged by atheistic systems against the church.

In his commentary, Cardinal Ratzinger connected the third secret with the suffering of the church in various wars and persecutions of the 20th century, and suggested that the figure of the “bishop in white” might represent a “convergence” of several 20th-century pontiffs who helped the church ward off the dangers.

In any case, Cardinal Ratzinger told reporters, the church has no intention of imposing an official interpretation of the Fatima vision. t

Mass Times phone number, Web site report jump in usage WASHINGTON (CNS) — A toll-free number and a Web site giving information on Sunday Mass times at churches across the United States reported a jump in usage from 1998 to 1999.

The toll-free number, (800) 6277846, received 100,000 phone calls, up from 66,000 in 1998. In addition, 120,000 “hits” were recorded on the www.masstimes.org Web site.

Close to 22,500 U.S. parishes, missions and other Mass sites are included in the Mass Times database, an increase over the past year from 80 percent of the country to 99 percent.

An announcement from the U.S. Catholic Conference Department of Communications credited a Catholic News Service article and promotion of the toll-free number to diocesan directors of information with the upsurge in phone calls.

The phone number and the Web site are a joint effort of the Catholic Communication Campaign and the 1-800 Mass Times Trust.

The recorded information on the toll-free number, which began in 1994,

is now supplemented by a live-operator option reachable by calling (305) 382-5758. Callers who have difficulty with touch-tone phone options or are not hooked up to the Internet can talk to an operator in either English or Spanish.

The Web site now includes information about Masses by city, Mass in languages other than English, various religious devotions and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, as well as wheelchair accessibility. It also highlights Masses in or near places such as campgrounds, national and state parks, retreat houses, and air, bus or train terminals. t

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Tent Re-

July 7, 2000

Excerpts Father James E. Goode, OFM — “Through our communion with Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, we enter into a living communion with all believers ... the Eucharist — the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation — is the living and lasting center around which the entire community of the Church gathers. ...”

— “... How blessed are we that God dispatched his Son, put him down on earth to walk up a hill called Calvary, to hang on a cross and shed some blood for you and me, so that we might have a right to the Tree of Life and be free from our burdens of sin. ...”

Pictured left, Obakunle Akinlana and Rita Colón make music for the Saturday crowd. Above, Willis Joseph calls the Sunday congregation to worship on the djembe drum, which originated in Guinea, West Africa.

Photos by Alesha M. Price

— “Jesus calls on us as descendants of slaves, Africans and African-Americans and people of all colors and creeds to begin to be disciples anew ... and to create a world without prejudice and discrimination, to see everyone created in the image and likeness of God.” — “At the end of the jubilee year, let us keep the doors of our churches open so that freedom, justice and liberation; healing and mercy; the motherless, fatherless and abandoned; the left-out and leftover; heavy-burdened and weary; and people of every color and creed might come in ... and find peace and happiness in the body and blood of Christ.”

Clockwise from left, Charles Knight and the Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir raise their hands in praise. The Pinn Memorial Baptist Choir, below, lend their voices in song. Left, Nanette Lide anoints the crowd with a cow tail used all over Africa in religious ceremonies dipped in holy water.

— “You need to do more than just come to church on Sunday, but ... go out everyday and proclaim ‘Jesus is the Bread of Life, come to the table of the Lord and have your spirit revived.’”

— “We gather today to celebrate our faith, to celebrate our belief in a loving, living and life-nourishing God and our gift in being black, Catholic and Christian. ... We celebrate being Eucharistic people, for we are proud of our heritage and are proud to be a people of the Word of God, and we boldly stand to say ‘we love the Lord.’”

July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Tent Re-

Spirits revived at weekend gathering

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer CHARLOTTE — From under the large, yellow and white-striped tent on the edge of uptown Charlotte, one could watch the cars slow to a crawl as they looked at the massive structure sitting in the middle of a usually empty field. People rolled down their car windows to hear the preaching and singing coming from the direction of the tent, and from a distance, watch the crowd stand in praise with arms raised and palms outstretched.

Some passers-by joined in, while some remained in the background of the lively event, sponsored by the African-American Affairs Ministry of Charlotte and Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte. The tent revival, “Revival of the Spirit 2000: From Everlasting to Everlasting, God is Still God,” was three years in the making and finally came to fruition the weekend of June 23.

“The purpose of the revival was to breakdown some of the misconceptions that black non-Catholic brothers and sisters have about black Catholic worship and Catholicism in general,” explained Rev. Mr. Curtiss Todd, vice chancellor and vicar for the African American Affairs Ministry, who served as weekend master of ceremonies. “As the theme suggests, we wanted to truly have a ‘revival of the spirit’ because we believe, with the state that society is in at this time, especially in the AfricanAmerican community, we certainly need to go back to our tradition of spiritually based healing and spirituality of the mind and body.”

Approximately 1,200 people, with a nearly full attendance of 500 people for the liturgy on Sunday, gathered under the tent for a weekend of preaching, praise, worship and fellowship.

Franciscan Father James E. Goode, Ph.D., served as the weekend revivalist and preacher, as he charmed the crowd with his stirring words of inspiration and hope.

Father Goode is president of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, president of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life and the Guardian of St. Claire Friary. He founded the National Day of Prayer for the African-American Family and preached at the first revival 25 years ago.

Photo by Alesha M. Price

Franciscan Father James E. Goode prays the Eucharistic prayer with Father Mauricio W. West, Rev. Mr. Curtiss Todd and Capuchin Father Jude Duffy at the tent revival on June 23-25.

Attendants braved the soaring weekend temperatures and listened as Father Goode, a nationally known Black Catholic evangelist, belted out his favorite hymn “Blessed Assurance” with his rich baritone voice. He led the crowd in song throughout the weekend.

On Friday evening, Father Goode opened the revival with crowd interaction and the laying on of hands at the end of his sermon.

As he led the people in singing “Jesus Lifted Me,” a much-needed breeze, stirred by the giant fans placed around the perimeter, blew through the tent, ruffling his brown Franciscan robe and the kente cloth stole draped around his neck.

“If we allow the spirit of God to move us and use us as he used our ancestors, then the Diocese of Charlotte is in for great blessings,” said Father Goode. “The spirit of the Lord has brought us together tonight that everyone of every race, creed and color can gather under the big tent to wor-

DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE

Italy Sept. 25-Oct. 3, 2000

with Rev. Mr. Curtiss Todd Featuring the canonization ceremony in St. Peter’s Square of Mother Katherine Drexel and Mother Josephine Bakhita.

For registration package, please call Joann Keane, (704) 370-3336 or visit www.charlottediocese.org/travel

ship the Lord.”

Father Goode reminded the crowd that if they have a dedication and commitment to Jesus that their lives will remain on the right path.

“We can’t stay in low places if we are connected to God because we are forever reaching up to him. I know somebody that hears our cries, heals our hurts, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and his name is Jesus, our Savior, our all, our Lord. ...

I invite you all to become acquainted with this great Savior that brings us peace and joy. ...”

The same spirit drifted throughout the weekend into Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, vendors with religious goods and Afro-centric clothing and foods prepared and sold

by Our Lady of Consolation Church members, young and old. People feasted on chicken wings, croaker plates, grilled corn and snowballs while they listened to Sister Ayaba Bey tell stories and sing songs, watched the Kabaka

Dancers and Drummers perform and listened to Obakunle Akinlana tell African folktales.

“Father Goode is very spiritually motivated and is definitely a chosen person whose spirit is moving a lot of people,” said Andre K. Andrews, a tenor in the Pinn Memorial Baptist Church Choir of Philadelphia, special guests of the Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir of Our Lady of Consolation Church.

“I have never heard a Catholic priest like him. He reminded us that even though we are of different denominations, we are all going for the same goal of being in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

On Sunday, Father Mauricio West, vicar general and chancellor, presided over the Mass, with Capuchin Father Jude Duffy, pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church, and Capuchin Father Martin Schratz, parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, concelebrating and Rev. Mr. Todd serving as deacon.

Father Goode ended the weekend on Sunday with another rousing sermon centered on the feast day of the Body and Blood of Christ.

“Today, we gather as Eucharistic people around the table of the Lord at the table of the Eucharist to celebrate our communion and union with God,” said Father Goode. “We are here to proclaim with joy and a firm faith that God is Communion — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and he calls us to share in that same Communion.”

“I would like to see this become an annual event that will grow with people attending from all over the diocese of all nationalities and various faiths,” commented Rev. Mr. Todd on the possibility of future revivals.

“People came in from off the street who we reached, and we had people stop by to ask what was going on and if they could participate. I recognized their faces during the weekend. One of our goals was to reach out to the community, and I believe we achieved that goal.” t Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail amprice@charlottediocese.org.

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Read-

Word to Life

July 9, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B Readings: 1) Ezekiel 2:2-5 Psalm 123:1-4 2) 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 3) Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

By Beverly Corzine Catholic News Service All three readings this Sunday deal with some of the consequences in store for one who is chosen to proclaim “Thus says the Lord God!” Embedded somewhere within his message, Ezekiel tells us that it was only the “spirit” entering him that gave him the strength to get on his feet and receive the message he was to deliver.

After begging three times to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed, which is seemingly ignored by the Lord, St. Paul writes to the community at Corinth that his weaknesses and persecutions have, paradoxically, become his strengths through Christ.

The Gospel reading presents us with the jarring truth that many of the people who probably had known Jesus the longest were astonished by his message and began to take “offense at him.”

The picture is a human one. We can imagine someone saying, “Isn’t this the guy that built cabinets for my wife two summers ago?” More-

over, Jesus himself is “amazed at their lack of faith” and utters one of the most familiar quotes in the Bible: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and his own house.”

Who are the prophets who move in and out of our lives each day? I am not talking about people who are distanced from us like Dr. King and Mother Teresa. I am talking about someone each of us knows who is really a truth-teller whether we want to admit it or not.

Who are the prophets we have ridiculed — people we now realize were speaking the truth all along?

Whom do we ourselves scorn, not because they are wrong, but because deep down we know they are right?

On the other hand, we might be the people chosen to be the prophets or the truth-tellers in our own villages. Ironies exist where prophets are concerned. Some of us don’t want to deliver the message, some of us don’t want to hear the message, but in the words of Ezekiel, “I am sending you.... Whether they heed or resist — for they are a rebellious house — they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

Question: What is the message that the Lord has entrusted each of us to deliver?

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of July 9 - 15, 2000 Sunday, Ezekiel 2:2-5, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Mark 6:1-6; Monday, Hosea 2:16-18, 21-22, Matthew 9:18-26; Tuesday (St. Benedict), Proverbs 2:1-9, Matthew 9:32-38; Wednesday, Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12, Matthew 10:1-7; Thursday (St. Henry), Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9, Matthew 10:7-15; Friday, Hosea 14:2-10, Matthew 10:16-23; Saturday (St. Bonaventure), Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 10:24-33 Readings for the week of July 16 - 22, 2000 Sunday, Amos 7;12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Matthew 6:7-13; Monday, Isaiah 1:10-17, Matthew 10:34-11:1; Tuesday (St. Camillus de Lellis), Isaiah 7:1-9, Matthew 11:20-24; Wednesday, Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16, Matthew 11:25-27; Thursday, Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19, Matthew 11:28-30; Friday (St. Lawrence of Brindisi), Isaiah 38:1-8, 21-22, Matthew 12:1-8; Saturday (St. Mary Magdalene), Micah 2:1-5, John 20:1-2, 11-18

July 7, 2000

July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 11

Entertain-

Franzak’s “Saints”

Catholic musician Tom Franzak performs at the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s religious education conference in April. His latest CD “Saints”’ is a musical look at the lives of nine saints plus Dorothy Day and Archbishop Oscar Romero.

CNS photo by Mike Nelson, The Tidings

CD of pope’s personal prayers to include famous musicians

By Benedicta Cipolla Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — Commuters weary of listening to the radio on the way to work will soon be able to pop in a CD of Pope John Paul II’s prayers instead.

But the soon-to-be-released CD collection of the pope’s personal prayers also will include names from many Top 40 stations’ playlists.

Among those lending their voices to the recordings, produced by Maxx International, Inc. and expected in stores in September on Columbia Records, are teenage crooner Britney Spears, “boy band” ‘N Sync, Canadian hitmeister Celine Dion and country music star Vince Gill.

Also scheduled to appear are actors Jennifer Love Hewitt, Brooke Shields and Dennis Franz, while Spanish and Italian versions of the CDs will boast native talent like Latin pop sensation Enrique Iglesias and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo.

R&B singer-songwriter Robert Kelly, better known as R. Kelly, will serve as the album’s producer in addition to providing musical backing to the prayers and a full-length song titled

“World Voices.”

Maxx International founder Rick Garson said his original plan was to publish the prayers in book form in several languages, but he then decided to “take it a step further and make it into a spoken-word CD.” “Everybody thought I was a little crazy,” he told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview June 23.

Garson obtained the rights to the prayers and the pope’s voice from the Vatican with the help of Father Nunzio Spinelli of the Rogationists’ Romebased publishing house.

Still at the negotiations stage are a two-hour TV special, a Hallmarklicensed greeting card collection and a “pope phone line” in Latin America, where callers can hear recordings of either the pope’s voice or a celebrity’s reciting the prayers.

“As we all know, this pope loves the arts and music and children. And what better way to get the message out, and to introduce Catholicism and spirituality to young people and to, let’s say, a new audience, (than) through entertainers — not the traditional way, but a

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July 7, 2000

Editorials & Col-

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope urges earthly purification in preparation for heaven

By Benedicta Cipolla Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II urged the faithful to purify themselves on earth in preparation for heaven and the full glory of the Trinity.

“Even now, weighed down as we are at times by sin and suffering, we still catch glimpses of the splendor that awaits us in heaven,” the pope said June 28 at his weekly general audience, continuing a series of teachings on the Trinity.

“But if we are to reach the heavenly Jerusalem, we have to be purified on our earthly journey,” he told an estimated 30,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The liturgy, he said, offers a “taste of that light, that contemplation of perfect love.”

Comparing the church to a “pilgrim in a foreign land,” the pope said earthly lives were a journey “to our true home, the heavenly Jerusalem.”

“Beyond the frontier of history,” he said, “the luminous and full epiphany of the Trinity awaits us.”

In heaven, while above all we will meet the Father, he said, “in the center of that city will also rise up the Lamb, Christ, to whom the church is tied with a nuptial bond.”

“The Holy Spirit pushes us toward that city,” said the pope.

“It is the Holy Spirit who sustains the chosen people’s dialogue of love with Christ,” he said.

In the heavenly Jerusalem, said the pope, “we shall finally see the full glory of the Trinity, when every tear will be wiped away.”

Pope urges end to anti-Christian violence in India, Indonesia

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Appealing for an end to anti-Christian violence in Indonesia and India, Pope John Paul II called on people to strive for interreligious harmony. “I dare to hope that those who enact (violence) or instigate it understand that we cannot kill and destroy in the name of religion, nor manipulate religion to serve personal interests,” the pope said June 28 following his weekly general audience. “I ask those in power to take firm action so that the situation improves; I ask all people to lay down hatred and to work tirelessly for the re-establishment of religious harmony, in reciprocal respect and love,” he said to some 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Send Letters to the Editor to: Joann S. Keane The Catholic News & Herald 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203 or e-mail: jskeane@charlottediocese.org.

Selling the family home The day my father, had he lived, would have been 98 years old — June 1, 2000 — we had to close the deal on selling our family home. My sister Rosemary and I, the oldest siblings in our family of eight, found ourselves sharing memories of this home that our Dad bought nearly 60 years ago, feeling a bit depressed even as we knew we had no choice but to sell.

It happens to a lot of families. A parent dies, and the remaining parent, aging, needs full-time care.

The major asset, the family home, must be sold to pay for medical care and a nursing home. Our mom, nearly 92, unable to care for herself, is well cared for in a home literally a block from our family house. She says she’s happy we found a buyer.

On the surface, all is well. But deeper down, in the heart, all is not so blissful. Rosemary and I keep remembering how excited Dad was the day we moved into our two-family city house, across the street from Lincoln Park in Albany, N.Y. Almost in unison we said, “Do you remember how his eyes were shining, and how he walked from room to room, so excited that he had finally achieved his dream of having his very own house for his family?”

We were budding teen-agers, not old enough, perhaps, to really understand what owning a house meant to someone who had come to America from Italy at age 16 without a penny, all alone.

We shared a room when we were kids, but Rosemary and I have shared so much more. I think the expression “soul sisters” was created to describe our relationship.

This house was our father’s dream, and he always wanted to share those dreams with us. I think the one that affected us most was his love of music. He recognized Rosemary’s great talent for music and right away found a teacher for her, who to this day remains her friend. Rosemary shared her gift with me, teaching me the joy of opera, symphonies, concertos. And as we thought of Dad’s birthday and the

On the Light Side Dan Morris CNS Columnist

You know the question that really haunts me is, “Why can’t my parish fund-raising committee find marketing geniuses like this?”

Actually, that’s the back-up question. What I am really curious about is what the next table of Hollywood wannabees is going to think up. We have already bellied-up big time to the spectacle of a total knucklehead, fake millionaire choosing a bride from a giggling bevy of intellect-challenged young women.

The heroes who sit for hours behind a camera to film beautiful animals for us to marvel at on the Discovery Channel must be shaking their heads. Maybe they should let a few of them loose on “Survivor’s” island. Talk about yet another ratings boost.

I wonder if the producers would be willing to pay the Discovery Channel folks the $1 million if only a mamma lion was left at the end. She’d get my vote.

Comments are welcome. Write Dan Morris at 441 Church St., San Francisco, CA 94114; or e-mail: cnsuncle@yahoo.com.

The Bottom Line ANTOINNETTE BOSCO CNS Columnist

pending closing on the house, we felt the happy/sad paradox we all encounter at times in our life: remembering how happy we made Dad with our music in our house, a house that would now belong to others.

It took several months to find a buyer. But the man buying it is a father. He wants the house for his son, who will be attending a pharmacy college about a half mile away. They have told our family that they love the house and plan to do some major, beautifying work on it.

When we heard this, Rosemary and I felt our depression somewhat subsided. Could it be just a coincidence that it is another father buying this house that our Dad so loved? Could it also be a coincidence that the transfer of the house occurred on our Dad’s birthday? We don’t think so.

We think Dad had a hand in this. We think he had something to do with seeing to it that his house would not be trashed in any way, that it would be occupied by people who care for it, as he did.

It’s the end of an era when the family house is no longer there. But that’s life, a journey, where we’re always moving on, but carrying our memories with us.

The secrets of the “Survivor” I have been mulling and stewing and snacking over the phenomenon of the “Survivor” television series and how its ratings are probably going to eclipse “I Love Lucy” reruns over time. Everyone is talking about this thing.

I think we can all agree that — other than perhaps the last episodes of “Cheers” and “Seinfeld” — this is one of the greatest marketing successes in pop-culture history. OK, the O.J. Simpson trial is in there too, but you know what I mean.

We all know the winner is ultimately going to run for governor of California and win. This will be preceded, however, by books by and about him or her; Nike endorsements; appearances on “Tonight” and “Letterman,” and, of course, making the cover of Time.

For the three of you who might not have seen or heard of “Survivor,” it is a series based on 16 total strangers — who become two teams (called tribes) of eight each — being dropped on a deserted island and forced to survive on their own (with the help of plane drops of supplies like garlic and hunting knives) at the same time they are pitted against the other team and, of course, one another, because one person is eliminated by vote each week until only one person “survives,” and he or she will win $1 million.

Simple, eh?

How do they think up this stuff ? I can only imagine a table of Hollywood wannabees sitting around sharing adult beverages, and one of them says, “What do you think of making a show that is a cross between ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Gilligan’s Island’?”

“Not enough sex,” slurs one of them.

“You’re right. Let’s add in ‘Days of Our Lives’ and infocommercials for the ‘Ab Tightener.”’

I have written the producers and asked if the winner, or even the runner-up, might make a guest appearance at our parish men’s club fund-raiser. So far I have not heard back despite the fact I did promise all the grub (or grubs if they prefer) the person could gobble and slurp.

July 7, 2000

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle FATHER THOMAS J. McSWEENEY Guest Columnist The Cardinal Rule Many of us in New York and elsewhere have our personal Cardinal John O’Connor stories which we have treasured since his death.

I had been in my new job as the head of The Christophers just two days when I looked out the window of my office in Manhattan, and there he was walking unhurriedly along East 48th Street. He smiled broadly as two passers-by reached out to him and struck up a conversation. The Archbishop of New York was doing what he liked most — being out and about the neighborhood of his beloved Saint Patrick’s.

As the pair moved on, the Cardinal stood facing Christopher headquarters, took a quick look at his watch, and seemed to be considering an impromptu visit. As soon as he started to navigate the traffic, I sprinted down three flights in time to greet him at the door. “So, you must be the new guy, McSweeney is it? Welcome to the center of the universe!”

His greeting was warm and generous. Before I could speak, he arched his eyebrow and began looking at me intently. “Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! This will never do!” he intoned.

“Excuse me, your Eminence, is something wrong?” I started checking for whatever might be askew.

“Well,” he declared, “Father Keller, the distinguished founder of The Christophers, always struck us poor kids from Philadelphia as the definitive clerical dandy because he had a starched hankie planted the word of God transmitted to us in human language under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then those Scriptures are without error. Properly interpreted then, there can be no contradiction between these Scriptures and any authoritative teaching of the church, which by definition we believe would be inspired by that same Spirit.

Since the holy Scriptures are written under the direction of the Holy Spirit, we believe that they must also be read and interpreted under the Spirit’s guidance. Three criteria generally are indicated to guarantee that kind of interpretation.

First, the interpretation must reflect the unity and content of the whole of the Bible.

Second, it must be in accord, in harmony, with the living tradition of the whole church, as the Holy Spirit inspires and supports it down through the centuries.

And third, the interpretation must respect what is called the “analogy of faith,” the coherence and harmony that must exist between the different teachings of the faith. Again, one Christian teaching cannot contradict another teaching, or one of them, at least, must be wrong.

Something the same can be said for other truths about which someone may object, “Where do you find that in the Bible?” If it does not contradict what is in the Bible, and if it generally fulfills those criteria for interpretation — In other words, if it is coherent with other teachings of faith, consistent with the living tradition of Christianity and does not conflict with the content and unity of the Bible — a particular teaching may be accepted without violating the normative function sacred Scripture holds in the Christian religion.

As you must be aware, this has happened frequently in the history of Christianity. The explanation of the place of Scripture in the church may be found a bit more fully in the Vatican II constitution mentioned above (especially Sections 12 and 21) and in the article on sacred Scripture in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

in the breast pocket of his immaculately pressed suit coat — very impressive! Where’s yours?!” Then, without losing a beat, his broad smile reappeared with a hearty guffaw.

If you never heard the Cardinal laugh, you were denied one of his most winning qualities. But as easily as he had just ‘broken the ice,’ his demeanor became serious.

He stepped closer and touched my arm. Lowering his voice, he spoke in those deliberate, measured phrases. “Tom, in truth, I envy you. You get to do something publicly as a Christopher that I don’t get to do in the pulpit of the cathedral. You get to speak in the trenches, in the marketplace! And like the true missionary that Keller was, you don’t start by arguing dogma or doctrine, but rather with the good you see in people no matter what their religious background.

At Saint Pat’s I must carve out and teach the Catholic position. The Christopher mandate is to get into the thick of things and mix it up. I envy you!”

I was speechless. When I started to mumble something erudite about the difference between the pre-evangelistic work of missionaries versus the evangelization of the baptized, the Cardinal interrupted me, “By the way, where are you saying Mass?”

“Well, your Eminence, I’ve contacted the pastor up at St...”

“Oh, that won’t work,” he broke in, “you’ll be joining us at Saint Patrick’s. I’m sure Monsignor Dalla Villa, the rector, will be in touch with you soon.”

And with that, he shook my hand, turned toward the curb and shot back, “And forget the hankie!”

Cardinal O’Connor did indeed have a particular pulpit from which to speak. Yet, he always treated each person he met as a unique, valued individual. I have no doubt that Father Keller himself would have recognized the Cardinal as another “Christopher,” a true Christ-bearer.

Father Thomas J. McSweeney is director of The Christophers.

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

How is the Bible normative for Catholics?

Q. Your column some time ago said that the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, are “normative” for Christian belief. What does that mean?

Catholics, and I think other Christians also, accept certain truths or doctrines that are not found stated in the Bible, for example the assumption and the immaculate conception. If that is true, how can you say the Bible is the “norm” for our religion?

A. The Constitution on Divine Revelation, promulgated at Vatican Council II, affirmed that the church has always, and will always, regard the Scriptures, along with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith.

“All the preaching of the church,” it continues, “must be nourished and ruled by sacred Scripture.”

The Bible, in other words, is a controlling presence in our understanding and reception of God’s revelation, what God wished to teach in these writings for our salvation (“Dei Verbum,” 21).

This is what is meant by the Scriptures being normative for Christian belief. Putting it in a somewhat shorthand way, it means that no truly Christian teaching can contradict the Bible, which is not the same, however, as saying that every authentic Christian belief must be found in the Bible.

If the Scriptures are, as we believe them to be,

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Economy of Faith Father John S. Rausch Guest Column Rising gas prices raise awareness As gas prices rise from $1.50 closer to $2.00 a gallon, consumers with large fuel tanks reel from the shock of a $50 fill-up. No matter that gas at $1.50 a gallon equals half the price Europeans pay, and today’s price adjusted for inflation rivals that of the early 1970s, the unexpected jump sparks a rethinking in consumers on a tight budget. Owners of sports utility vehicles and light trucks exempt from certain fuel-efficiency standards wonder if they need all that power or utility when their vehicle gets only ten to 15 miles per gallon. From market theory the price hike should nudge consumers to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Yet, from a theological perspective, the spiraling cost offers people of faith an opportunity to assess their responsibility toward the environment and their stewardship of the world’s resources.

Burning oil produces greenhouse gases, and scientists paint a grim picture from our current patterns of consumption. During most of the Twentieth Century, the earth was warming at a rate of one degree Fahrenheit per century, but since 1980, that rate accelerated to four degrees per century. With a hotter atmosphere comes more violent weather.

El Ninos become more severe, while the earth’s glaciers retreat at accelerated rates. Last year two uninhabited western Pacific islands were submerged beneath rising sea levels.

Reactions to these findings range from denial to urgency. The Global Climate Coalition composed of major oil and energy companies dismiss global warming as a threat. To them the science proves inconclusive. Yet, last December the chief meteorologist of the United Kingdom and the head of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration declared jointly the climate situation to be critical. They urged immediate reduction in the use of coal and oil throughout the world.

Some environmentalists believe a switch away from oil and coal to renewable and high-efficiency energy sources will require little decline in our standard of living. An economy based on hydrogen, fuel cells, natural gas, solar and wind could supply our energy needs and gradually become competitive to oil and coal through mass markets and mass production. The federal government which subsidizes fossil fuels by $20 billion annually could begin favoring clean energy sources, and thus, provide incentives for energy companies to develop climate-friendly technologies. While any switch in an energy source requires capital investment up front, long-term renewable energy will cost less for the future.

In December 1995 a fire destroyed the main plant at Malden Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

CEO Aaron Feuerstein attracted national attention when he declared he would rebuild the plant on the old site, promising his 1,400 workers future employment. He gave workers idled by the fire a $275 holiday bonus, extended their health benefits for 90 days plus met their payroll for over a month.

When Feuerstein rebuilt, he installed a highefficiency natural gas turbine to provide low-cost electricity and steam to the new plant. By us-

RISING GAS PRICES, page 14

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

Rising gas prices, from page ing occupancy sensors and more efficient lighting in the warehouse, he reduced energy consumption for lighting by 96 percent. Malden Mills’ $350,000 energy bill shrank to under $35,000. On balance, the company cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by 30,000 tons.

Catholic social teachings emphasize the rights and responsibilities of each person.

Everyone has a right to a decent environment and a responsibility to protect it.

Aaron Feuerstein, a businessman, creatively saw his responsibility to his workers and the environment. Today people of faith, urged by market forces, can also hear their call to responsibility every time they fill up at the pump.

Glenmary Father John S. Rausch writes, teaches and organizes in Appalachia.

ClassiEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Accounting Assistant, Part-time: Catholic High School seeks person with accounting experience who works well with others to work part-time in the Business Office. Responsibilities include processing tuition receivables and vendor payables. Provides assistance to Business Manager in reconciling and managing monthly accounts.

Good organizational and analytical skills required.

Mon-Fri, 8 am - 12 pm. Send letter of application and resume by 7/28 to: BMHS Employee Search, 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. EOE. Accounting Clerk: Payroll/General Ledger. The Diocese of Charlotte is accepting applications for a full-time accounting clerk. Responsibilities primarily include processing and entering payroll and general ledger transactions for the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools system. Applicants must be proficient with Excel and have two years of relevant experience. EOE. Please forward resume and salary history by July 14, 2000 to: Controller, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203-4003.

Administrative Assistant: Part-time. Approximately 12-20 hours per week. Non-smoker with good communications, phone, computer skills.

Prefer financial background. Resume and references to Hook Financial Group, 4801 E. Independence Blvd., Box 601, Charlotte NC 28212.

Administrative Support Person: The Diocesan Office of Justice and Peace has an opening for a part-time administrative support person (4 hours, 3 days/week). Functions include: clerical, database management, excel spreadsheets; internet research and related skills; coordinating meeting arrangements; and bulk mailing. Must be proficient in Windows 98 and Office 97 and possess organizational and communications skills. Submit a onepage resume by July 26th to: Office of Justice and Peace, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte NC 28203.

Assistant Secretary: Asheville Catholic School.

Attendance/First Aid Office. M-F, full time. CPR and First Aid certification required. Call (828)2527896 for information. EOE. Cosmetologists/Barbers: Full-time and parttime. Charlotte area upscale salon seeking warmhearted, skilled stylists and barbers. Convenient south Charlotte location. $12 per hour + tips.

Please call (704) 341-4260.

Counselor: Part-time. St. Pius X Catholic School, Greensboro. Practicing Catholic with master’s in counseling and guidance. NC certification required. Experience preferred. Benefits included.

Send resume to: C. Usischon, 2200 N. Elm St., Greensboro, NC 27408 or Fax (336)273-0199.

Custodian, Full-time: Begin work immediately.

Asheville Catholic School. Call Randy Penland, Maintenance Supervisor at (828)252-7896. EOE. Director of Adult Catholic Enrichment/Order of Christian Initiation: Holy Family Catholic Church of Marietta seeks a full-time salaried Director for Adult Catholic Enrichment (ACE) and the Order of Christian Initiation (OCI) programs.

Applicants should have leadership experience in ACE/OCI areas and/or have religious education degreed background suitable to develop high quality programs and volunteer assistance in the community. Must be practicing Catholic. If interested,

July 7, 2000

In the

Faithful Servant, from page 4 that offers guidelines for implementing the Gospel in everyday life. Kotlowski said that Christian leadership — such as they learned in Faithful Servant — coupled with Catholic social teaching equaled world transformation.

The world, he said, was filled with both scary events and wondrous opportunities. Christian leadership means “we are part of the solution. It is our calling.”

Jeanie Campbell traveled five hours from her home parish at St. Barnabas in Arden. She said she discovered there was “more than one kind of leader; a leader needed to be well-rounded.” Closer to home, Cory McManus of Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, said he had

please submit resume and cover letter to Theresa Johnson, Director of Religious Education at Holy Family Catholic Church, 3401 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta, GA 30068. Fax (770) 578-0475. Inquire at (770) 973-7400, ext. 21 with questions.

Director of Religious Education: Holy Family Catholic Church in Marietta seeks a full-time salaried Director for its Religious Education programs.

Practical leadership experience in the continuing development of a full range of primary, secondary, young adult and adult based Religious Education programs is essential. The ability to encourage a spirit of volunteerism to meet broad community needs is a must. Should be competent in managing all educational levels and administrative staff functions.

Must have bachelors and/or advanced degree in education and/or religious training. Must be practicing Catholic. Holy Family’s Religious Education programs serve a multi-cultural community. Fluency in Spanish or equivalent background experience would be a useful asset. If interested, please submit resume and cover letter to Theresa Johnson, Director of Religious Education, Holy Family Catholic Church, 3401 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta, GA 30068. Fax (770) 578-0475. Inquire at (770)973-7400, ext. 21 with questions.

Director, Office of Justice and Peace, Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Charlotte: Director to supervise staff and administer program areas including: CCHD, CRS/ORB, Office of Economic Opportunity, social justice formation and education, and public policy activities. The director serves on the CSS management team while maintaining working relationships with other diocesan offices and with parishes. Knowledge of Catholic social teaching, as well as the ability to articulate and apply it, is essential. Experience at diocesan level as well as a graduate degree in related field preferred. Send resumes by July 26th to: Office of Justice and Peace, CSS, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.

Junior Accountant: The Diocese of Charlotte is accepting applications for a junior accountant. This position is primarily responsible for the monthly general journal entries, cash receipts, and month-end reporting for Catholic Social Services. Applicants must be proficient with Excel and have an associate’s degree with a concentration in Accounting or 5 years of relevant experience. EOE. Please forward resume and salary history by July 14, 2000 to: Controller, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte NC 28203-4003.

Music Ministry Director: Full-time position for a growing 1100-family parish near Charlotte. Responsible for 4 weekend liturgies plus holy days, weddings and funerals. Adult and children’s choirs, cantors, instrumentalists, new contemporary choir, and handbell choir. Rogers electronic organ, Yamaha upright piano, two-octave set of Malmark handbells.

Ideal candidate is practicing Catholic with music degree, experience, music performance skills (organ/ piano/voice), choral and cantor skills, knowledge of Catholic liturgical music. Salary commensurate with experience. Full benefits. Send/fax resume to Music Search, Saint Therese Parish, 217 Brawley School Rd., Mooresville, NC 28117. Phone (704)664-3992; Fax: (704)660-6321.

Music Ministry Director: St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, VA seeks professional with bachelor’s degree (or above) in music; in-depth knowledge of Roman Catholic liturgy; and vocal, piano, organ skills. Should be pastoral individual with appreciation of broad range of music styles. Full-time position with benefits; salary dependent upon experience.

Complete job description posted at www.bedeva.org.

Application deadline: July 15. Send resume, references, salary history to: Attn: DMM Search Committee, St. Bede Catholic Church, 10 Harrison Avenue,

attended to meeting to “learn how to serve my community as a leader.”

While learning to be an effective leader is vital, there is also the need for humility. That fact was emphasized in the motto of Bishop Joseph Gossman of Raleigh: “To serve not be served.” t Matt Doyle is assistant editor of NC Catholic, newspaper for the Diocese of Raleigh.

Photo by Matt Doyle, NC Catholic

“I feel blessed to be with a group of Catholic youth,” said Colleen Lindstrand, left, of St. James Church in Hamlet.

Classified ads bring results! Over 115,000 readers! Over 45,000 homes!

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

Payment: Ads may be pre-paid or billed. For information, call (704) 370-3332.

Williamsburg, VA 23185. stboffice@bedeva.org Parish Secretary/Receptionist: St. John Neumann.

9am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Secretarial skills and experience, computer-literate, personable.

Salary negotiable. Benefits. Contact Fr. Thom Meehan, (704)536-6520 or send resume and references: St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Road, Charlotte, NC 28277. Fax: (704)536-3147.

Regional Consultant: The Diocese Office of Faith Formation seeks an interim part-time Regional Consultant for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate for FY 2000-2001. We seek an individual with 3-5 years’ experience of coordinating parish programs and great ability to work with people. The part-time salary for this person is $12,000-$14,000. Preference will be given to persons with some background in the field of Catechetics and Adult Faith Formation.

Please send two letters of recommendation to: Dr. Cris Villapando, Office of Faith Formation, 1123 S. Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203-4003. For more information call (704) 370-3246.

Teacher: Asheville Catholic School seeks dynamic pre-K teacher. Must hold or be eligible for NC license.

Call (828) 252-7896. EOE. Teachers, Library/Media Specialist: Charlotte Catholic High School has the following openings beginning August 2000: full-time teaching positions for Religion, Drama, English, Math, Spanish, and full-time Library/Media Specialist. Must have NC Certification. Also, part-time Guidance Secretary is needed. Call (704)543-1127 for application.

Teachers: Sacred Heart School (PreK-8) in Salisbury has the following teacher openings beginning in August: PE, Spanish, 5th Grade, and Middle School Language Arts. NC certification required. Call Kathleen Miller at (704)633-2841.

Teachers: St. Patrick’s School in Charlotte is accepting applications for part-time Music teacher and part-time Spanish teacher. Please contact school principal, Mrs. Angela Montague, (704) 333-3174 for interview. NC certification required.

Teachers and Guidance Counselor: Immaculate Heart of Mary School has openings for the following positions for the 2000-2001 school year: Part-time Guidance Counselor; Middle School Science Teacher; and Grade 5 Teacher. Interested certified teachers may contact Margene Wilkins, principal, at 605 Barbee Avenue, High Point, NC 27262; call 336-887-2613; or fax 336-884-1849.

Youth Coordinator: St. John Neumann Church seeks part-time Coordinator of Youth Programs to work with parent/youth teams to plan, implement, oversee youth programs; grades 9-12. Call (704)535-4197. Send resume to St. John Neumann Church, Connie Milligan, 8451 Idlewild Road, Charlotte, NC 28227 or fax(704)536-3147.

Youth Minister: Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, NC is seeking a full-time Youth Minister to coordinate all youth activities and programs. Applicants should have a degree in Religious Education or related field and three years’ experience in Youth Ministry. Salary commensurate with experience and education. Send resume to Tom Johnson, Our Lady of Grace Church, 2205 West Market St., Greensboro, NC 27403.

Youth Minister: 25 hours per week; salaried. Located 45 minutes north of Charlotte. Practicing Catholic, experienced with youth. Responsible for 9th-12th graders; coordinate social and service activities, and recruit and train other young adults to work with teens. Must be willing to accommodate flexible week including nights and weekends.

Submit resume by July 31st: Martha Drennan, 217 Brawley School Rd., Mooresville NC 28117.

Information: (704)664-7762.

Personalized Candy Bars. For ALL Occasions.

CHERUBS-N-CHOCOLATE. To request a catalog, please visit web site at www.Cherubs-NChocolatebyDeb.com or call (919)689-9925.

Teachers: Full-time. St. Pius X Catholic School, Greensboro, has openings for 2000-2001 school year: Spanish, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, Middle School Religion, Middle School Language Arts. Must be practicing Catholic with NC certification in field.

Experience preferred. Benefits included. Send resume to C. Usischon, 2200 N. Elm St., Greensboro, NC 27408 or fax: (336)273-0199.

Teachers: St. Michael’s School in Gastonia, NC is currently seeking dynamic teachers for the following positions: Full-time Middle School Language Arts/ Social Studies; Full-time Kindergarten; and part-time Art teacher. NC Certification required. Please call Joseph Puceta at (704)865-4382 for more information.

Teachers: Math, P.E. for 2000-2001 at St. Leo School, 333 Springdale Ave., Winston-Salem, NC 27104. NC Certification required (or in process). Call 336-748-8252 for application and information. Submit resume to Georgette Schraeder, Principal.

FOR SALE

July 7, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Around the Di-

OLC youth head south for regional

the archdiocese.

By Alesha M. Price This year’s theme reflected the Staff Writer jubilee spirit of the new millennium CHARLOTTE — The Youth in — “Sign Me Up for the Christian JubiAction group from Our Lady of Conlee” — a song popular among various solation Church in Charlotte traveled African-American denominations. to Cajun Country to spice up their “Our name has been put on the spiritual lives. role, and we are preparing ourselves New Orleans, an area of the counfor when Jesus comes,” said Nanette try with a large concentration of AfLide, Youth in Action rican-American Catholics, was this year’s host “...It (the conference) youth minister, reciting the song’s words. site for Unity Explo“Because there are sion 2000 held from has given me a different so few black Catholics June 15-18, sponsored perspective and this area, and the by the Office for Black strengthened my beliefs in kids have so few opCatholics and the Office as a black Catholic.” portunities to share of Religious Education — Jermaine Dennis their faith with other of the Archdiocese of young black Catholics, New Orleans. this served as a way T w e n t y yo u n g for them to rejoice in adults and nine chaperwho they are and to take part in the ones joined approximately 1,200 youth workshops which were about leaderand adults from Arkansas, Mississippi, ship and pulled from our history,” Alabama, Florida, Texas and other continued Lide. “The workshops were states for a conference geared toward enlightening and informational, and African-American Catholics. we are planning our Youth Mass in The conference was established September to be inclusive of the spirit in 1989 and was originally created by we received at this retreat.”

African-American Catholic lay people Adults, teens and children atin Dallas, Texas, who wanted to have tended sessions designed with their a conference in the Southern region age group in mind. The youth were that would be accessible and wholly able to take part in African and liturgienriching for their spiritual lives, said cal dance and drumming workshops, Richard Cheri, the New Orleans Unity youth mass choir and other sessions Explosion chair and the associate disuch as “YM2K — Youth Ministry in rector for parish youth catechesis in

grieco

Courtesy photo

Leslie Johnson, youth minister, and Jalilah James lay hands on Cirsten Nimmons, center, during the Youth Plenary Session at the Unity Explosion 2000 Conference in New Orleans. the Year 2000” and “Get Some R & R: Relevance in Religion.” The young men and women had their own separate breakout sessions and were exposed to gender-specific, spiritually based training and instruction.

Cirsten Nimmons, 16, said she enjoyed the conference, which was

a life-altering experience for her. “I learned the truth about being Catholic and what it really means to be a black Catholic. It changed my whole attitude and was a wake-up call for me; even though I am young, I am the future for the upcoming youth. I need to ‘get ready and get right for God.’” The conference was also inspiring for eighteen-year-old Jermaine Dennis who said he felt the spirit of Jesus all around him. “I feel as if a burden has been lifted off me and as if I can understand the point of the whole conference. It has given me a different perspective and strengthened my beliefs as a black Catholic. With the help of the Lord, I can overcome any obstacles and be stronger for him.”

Several African-American Catholic speakers from New Orleans and around the country and local students served as facilitators and session leaders, including Dr. Diana L. Hayes, associate professor of theology at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and the first African-American woman to receive an S.T.D. degree, doctor of sacred theology, and Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, professor of church history at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana and author of “The History of Black Catholics in the United States.” t Contact Staff Writer Alesha M. Price by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail amprice@charlottediocese.org.

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

July 7, 2000

Living the

Banquet teaches lessons about world

By Joanita M. Nellenbach Correspondent BREVARD — The lucky few got a complete dinner, a few others ate less and most had nearly nothing. No, this wasn’t the scene in some third-world country. This was a hunger banquet at Sacred Heart Church.

Tiffany Gallozzi, parish director of music and youth, came up with the idea after reading materials that accompanied the church’s Operation Rice Bowl materials for Lent this year.

She wanted to make a point: that most of the world’s population subsists on starvation rations and that even in America, people go hungry every night.

Operation Rice Bowl is a Lenten sacrificial giving program sponsored

by Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid and development agency of U.S. Catholics.

Gallozzi had done some research and learned from UNICEF that one in four families in the United States skips meals because they can’t afford food.

She also learned that the five richest people in the world have assets totaling $1 trillion, the amount of assets of the five poorest countries in the world.

“I was originally going to do a refugee camp and the Community Life Committee agreed to help me,” Gallozzi said, “but then they ... thought a hunger banquet would be better.”

The committee cooked and served the food and cleaned up after the event, which was held in the church hall.

Some 35 youth-group members and their families participated. As they arrived at the church hall, each person drew a colored ticket from a bag. Gallozzi wanted to emphasize that food is not evenly allocated among the world’s population.

Five people, symbolizing 10 percent of the world’s population, drew white tickets, which represented the first world. Gallozzi welcomed each

hunger banquet to make a connection to the world community.

“I wanted them to learn, first, that no matter how bad off they think they are, they’re not in a portion of the world that’s scrapping for existence,” she said.

The message did get across, to children and their parents. Mary Sweat and her three sons were at the banquet.

Mary sat on the floor; her son Elliot was one of the fortunate five who sat at the first-world table.

“Being in a room where others had and you had none — it really makes

Gallozzi had done some research and learned from UNICEF that one in four families in the United States skips meals because they can’t afford food. She also learned that the five richest people in the world have assets totaling $1 trillion, the amount of assets of the five poorest countries in the world. of these five warmly and escorted them to a table set with a tablecloth, china, glassware, silver and a candle.

The first-world people were served first. They could have as much as they wanted of a dinner of meat loaf, green beans, steamed carrots, rice, rolls, juice and fresh fruit.

Another 13 people, 30 percent of the attendees, drew yellow tickets, representing the second world. No one escorted them to their tables. Gallozzi

Cardinal links deacon’s service of charity, Word

MORAGA, Calif. (CNS) — The service of charity and ministry of the Word are intimately linked in “the unique and inestimably valuable ministry of the deacon in today’s church,” Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles told a record national gathering of 920 deacons and wives.“It is in the service of the deacon that the whole church’s service in charity is sacramentalized,” said Cardinal Mahony, one of the keynoters at the June 21-25 Third Tri-Annual National Catholic Diaconate Conference in Moraga. Cardinal Mahony challenged deacons to serve the whole local church and not let their ministry be tied too much to one parish.

He also suggested that the ministry of married deacons may call for “greater attention to the ways in which the grace of the sacrament of marriage might affect and enrich our understanding of holy orders.”

Since the diaconate was restored as a permanent, distinct ministry in the church in the late 1960s, U.S. dioceses have ordained some 13,000 deacons — about half the total worldwide. t

you think,” Mary said. “You don’t think about it when you’re at your own table.”

Elliot gave his mother a strawberry, and she wanted to share it with those in her third-world group, but, she said, “I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t have anything to cut it up with.” After the dinner, she gave it to one of the children in her group.

Gallozzi statistics had included information about the number of people fed at the soup kitchen in Brevard.

Mary had known about the kitchen but said she hadn’t realized that so many people in her own community were hungry.

“It made me more aware,” Mary said of the banquet. “You see people on TV who are starving, but that’s far away.” t

simply told them, “It’s nice to see you.

Sit over there.” They had to go to the kitchen service window to get one small serving (no seconds) of meatloaf, rice, green beans and water. They ate from paper plates and used plastic utensils.

The other 17 attendees, the 60 percent who represented the third world, drew pink tickets. “I turned a cup over in a (Styrofoam) bowl, put a paper towel on top of that, and said, ‘Here. Sit over there,’” Gallozzi said.

“Over there” was the floor in a corner of the room. These people had to serve themselves from a pot; their fingers were their only utensils.

Gallozzi had her hunger statistics distributed to each table, and the diners had to read them aloud during the meal. “I didn’t want them to socialize,” she said. “I wanted them to focus on what we were doing.”

Another aspect was that six of the white and yellow tickets had chaliceand-host stickers on their backs. These tickets allowed the holders to give food to help those in need. Four of the pink tickets also had stickers; two of them could automatically get help, while the other two had to beg if they wanted more food than they had originally dished up from the pot.

Two of the third-world people who had received extra food did share what they had with their companions.

“The reason I used the Eucharist symbol was to connect to the fact that we are the Body of Christ and that that’s what Eucharist is for, and that if we believe that’s what it’s for, we need to reach out,” Gallozzi said.

Gallozzi said that while her youthgroup members are involved as lectors, ushers and greeters, she wanted the