Aug. 17, 2001

The Catholic News & Herald 1

August 17, 2001

August 17, 2001 Volume 10 t Number 42

Inside Bishop Curlin addresses stem-cell issue

... Page 7

Teens learn to live as faithful servants

... Page 12

Local News Secular Franciscans shine at annual gathering

... Page 9

ESL program bridges communities, cultures

... Page 18

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 14-15

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 16-17

“So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

— Matthew 24: 44

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

Diocese has opportunity to “welcome the stranger”

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed with an opportunity to respond compassionately to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ recent pastoral letter on immigrants and refugees, a Refugee Resettlement official said.

“Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity” is the November 2000 statement by the bishops encouraging Catholics to welcome immigrants and refugees into their church communities. The letter calls on all members of the church to work together with “simple, grace-filled kindness and concern” on behalf of newcomers to this country.

Beth Downing, coordinator of the Parish and Community Resources for Refugees Program (PCRRP) in the Diocese of Charlotte, said the bishops’ pastoral underlines their prayers for a truly universal church.

“The statement is intended to help the Catholic community embrace all newcomers from diverse backgrounds, especially refugees, into the life of the church,” said Downing, whose program is part of the Refugee Resettlement Office of Catholic Social Services in the Diocese of Charlotte.

“This statement of the U.S. Catholic bishops actively acknowledges the changing face of the church in the United States and urges all parishes to join together to become a welcom-

See Welcome, page 10

Photo

by Joanita

M. Nellenbach

Retreatants gather for Mass among beech trees on Kephart Prong in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during a nature retreat co-led by Father Terry Hyland, pictured foreground. See story page 4.

Catholic leaders respond to Bush ‘tradeoff’ in stem-cell research announcement

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — The “trade-off” on embryonic stem-cell research announced Aug. 9 by President Bush is “morally unacceptable” and may be unworkable, according to the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of GalvestonHouston said he prayed Bush would “return to a principled stand against treating some human lives as nothing more than objects to be manipulated and destroyed for research purposes.”

In a nationally televised address from his vacation home in Crawford, Texas, Bush said he would authorize federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research involving only the 60 or so ex-

isting stem-cell lines already developed by scientists, because in those cases “the life-and-death decision has already been made.”

“This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem-cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life,” the president added.

Bush also announced his strong opposition to human cloning, his support for “aggressive federal funding of research on umbilical cord, placenta, adult and animal stem cells” and his plans to establish a president’s council on stem-cell research headed by Leon Kass, a biomedical ethicist from the University of Chicago.

Bishop Fiorenza said that with Bush’s

decision, “the federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for possible benefit to others.”

“However such a decision is hedged about with qualifications, it allows our nation’s research enterprise to cultivate a disrespect for human life,” he added.

The USCCB leader also said that because some researchers and “their allies in Congress” already have rejected limits such as those set by Bush, “the president’s policy may therefore prove to be as unworkable as it is morally wrong, ultimately serving only those whose goal is unlimited embryo research.”

Some Catholic commentators found rea-

See Stem Cell, page 7

2 The Catholic News & Herald WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) — As investigators continued their arson inquiry into a fire that damaged the rectory and parish offices, members of the Church of the Holy Child in Wilmington attended Masses elsewhere. Their pastor, Father James Kirk, was recovering at the rectory of Christ Our King Church from burns he suffered to his hands while escaping the early-morning fire July 20.

Although the Holy Child church building itself was not burned, it had some smoke damage, so weekend Masses were being celebrated temporarily in the performing arts center of nearby St. Edmond’s Academy. A double-wide trailer was moved onto the parish parking lot to serve as temporary offices.

Debate over human cloning hits new peak WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. debate over human cloning reached a new peak Aug. 7 when three scientists defended their plans to begin producing cloned babies at a symposium convened by the National Academy of Sciences.

The symposium took place a week after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all cloning of human embryos, whether to produce babies or to destroy the embryos in order to use their stem cells for experiments or medical treatments. The bill still had to come before the Senate. Most scientists at the symposium opposed making cloned humans. Rudolf Jaenisch, a biology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, called it too dangerous to try cloning humans at the current state of scientific knowledge.

“At present there is no way to predict whether a given clone will develop into a normal or abnormal individual,” he said, citing the high failure rates so far in the cloning of other mammals.

Indonesian mudslide result of environmental abuse, bishop says JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) — The early August mudslide and floods that killed more than 100 people in western Indonesia teach hard lessons on the effects of environmental abuse, said the local bishop. Bishop Anicetus Bongsu Sinaga of Sibolga said that what happened in north Sumatra was a con-

CNS photo from Reuters

Woman prays at A-bomb dome in Hiroshima Toshie Kanda offers a prayer on the 56th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing at Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6. More than 100,000 people were killed when the United States dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and on Nagasaki Aug. 9. The bombings led to the Japanese surrender in World War II. As temperatures soar, air-conditioned school opened to homeless LAWRENCE, Kan. (CNS) — The weather outside is frightful — but it’s due to the heat, not a winter storm.

Homeless people in Lawrence may have felt like it was Christmas in July, however, when St. John the Evangelist Church opened its school gymnasium so that they could escape the sweltering heat and get a good night’s sleep at least through mid-August. Parishioners strung blue Christmas lights around the gym door as an added touch of hospitality, and a handwritten sign reading “Welcome” was taped to the gym door.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Charles Polifka, pastor of St. John and prime mover behind opening the temporary shelter, said it was “just the right thing to do.”

Delaware rectory fire labeled arson; parish adapts

Episcopal August 17, 2001 Volume 10 • Number 42

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Acting Editor: Jimmy Rostar Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick 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.

August 17, 2001

The World in

c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events:

August 18 — 11 a.m.

Groundbreaking for St. Francis Springs Prayer Center Stoneville/Wentworth border, N.C. August 25 — 4:30 p.m.

Principal celebrant and homilist 10th anniversary Mass for Redemptorist Priests Redemptorist Retreat House Long Branch, N.J. September 1 — 11 a.m.

Confirmation Our Lady of the Americas, Biscoe September 7 — 7:30 a.m.

Mass for Knights and Dames of Malta St. Patrick, Charlotte September 8 — 4 p.m.

Celebrant and homilist at closing liturgy Power Rally 2001 Fort Mill, S.C.

sequence of cutting trees. “This tragedy is a lesson for us to be more careful in treating nature,” the bishop told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. In the coming weeks, the bishop added, the life of people there would be more difficult because the harvest they depend on also was destroyed.

CRS official praises Pakistani decision on Afghan refugees WASHINGTON (CNS) — A Catholic Relief Services official praised a decision by Pakistan to register Afghan refugees. “This is a very important development because now the refugees will be able to receive emergency aid,” said James John, deputy director of CRS’ Pakistan program. More than 150,000 Afghan refugees reside in squalid camps in Pakistan, after fleeing years of war and drought in their homeland. Pakistan began registering refugees Aug. 6 through the U.N. High Commissioner for Refu-

Diocesan

plan -

regularly scheduled cancer support group meetings for survivors, family and friends on the following days: St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., tonight and every first Monday at 7 p.m. in the ministry center library and St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., on Sept. 4 and every first Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the office building conference room. For more information, call: St. Matthew - Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283 and St. Gabriel - Eileen Correll at (704) 3625047, Ext. 217.

3 CLEMMONS — Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., will be celebrating a charismatic Mass with Father John Putnam tonight at 7:30 p.m. The sacrament of reconciliation will be given at 7 p.m., and the laying on of hands will take place after Mass.

The next Mass will be celebrated on Oct. 10. For more information, call

gees and has offered to assist those refugees who wish to return to Afghanistan, John told Catholic News Service.

Nuncio visits clergy on Philippine island, site of beheadings ISABELA, Philippines (CNS) — The apostolic nuncio to the Philippines visited the clergy of a troubled southern island where 10 men were beheaded by Muslim extremists. Archbishop Antonio Franco gathered the clergy of Isabela prelature Aug. 7 in nearby Zamboanga City to express his concern for the priests, who have been without a bishop for six months, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The prelature is on Basilan island, 550 miles southeast of Manila. The nuncio said the priests were under a lot of stress, especially after Abu Sayyaf rebels attacked Basilan Aug. 2. The group abducted some 30 Christians, including eight children. At least 10 men, including a lay minister, were beheaded.

Missouri governor limits state funding on abortion, cell research JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (CNS) — An executive order by Missouri Gov. Bob Holden will prevent statefunded science research grants from being used for abortions, stem-cell research, human cloning or other medical procedures that harm a fetus.

The order releases about $21.5 million from Missouri’s portion of the national tobacco settlement to fund life sciences research grants. Funds may not subsidize the following: research involving embryonic stem cells or human cloning; referrals for abortions; use of tissue from aborted fetuses; or the development of abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486. A bill similar to the executive order drew wide support in the Missouri General Assembly, but the assembly failed to vote on it before adjournment.

(336) 778-0600 or Jim Passero at (336) 998-7503.

Ongoing CONCORD — The summer hours for the religious gifts and book shop at St. James Church, 251 Union St., are as follows: Sun. after 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses, Wed. from 9 a.m.-noon and Sat. after the 5 p.m.

Mass. For more information, contact Mary Moore at (704) 720-0600.

KERNERSVILLE — All are invited for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which takes place every Friday at Holy Cross Church, 616 S. Cherry St., from 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Anyone interested in spending a hour with the Blessed Sacrament as a monitor, call J.D. Hamacher at (336) 993-7650.

Upcoming WINSTON-SALEM — Marriage Encounter Weekends are designed for couples to get away from jobs, kids, chores and phones for 44 hours and focus only on each other. The next Marriage Encounter will be taking place Sept. 28-30 at the Holiday Inn in Winston-Salem. Registration closes

August 17, 2001

Judge awards $315 million damages to former hostage’s family WASHINGTON (CNS) — A federal judge has awarded the survivors of the late Father Lawrence Martin Jenco $314.6 million in damages from Iran for the 18 months he was held hostage in Lebanon in the mid1980s. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in an Aug. 2 ruling awarded $300 million in punitive damages and $14.6 million in compensatory damages to the survivors of the Servite priest. Father Jenco, who died of cancer in 1996, was held as a hostage for 564 days beginning in January 1985. He was abducted in Beirut while serving as program director of Catholic Relief Services there. He was one of dozens of Westerners taken hostage in the Middle East by terrorist groups associated with the Iranian government during the 1980s.

National Catholic office for young adult ministry established WASHINGTON (CNS) — Young adult ministry in the U.S. Catholic Church is taking a big step forward with the establishment of a permanent national office. Michelle Miller, a former campus minister who worked most recently in the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth, is the first executive director of the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association. Although the association has existed since 1982, its headquarters moved “all over the country,” depending on where its president or secretary lived, Miller said. But thanks to a $65,000 grant from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and funds from the association, the national office will be based in Washington or the Virginia suburbs.

North Korea considers allowing priests to minister in country VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Authorities in North Korea have discussed allowing the return of Catholic priests to minister to the country’s few thousand faithful, said Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news service. A South Korean Catholic delegation from the Archdiocese of Seoul met with government authorities and representatives of North Korea’s state-controlled Catholic association in late July, Fides said Aug. 4. Among the today from 10-11:15 a.m. in room E of the ministry center at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd. With advanced notification, activities for the memory-impaired are also being provided. For more information about the support group or the non-profit Shining Stars Adult Day Respite Program for the memory-impaired, which meets every Monday and Wednesday and beginning on Sept. 13, on a third day offered at Sardis Presbyterian Church, call Suzanne Bach at (704) 376-4135.

September 2 SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., will be celebrating a charismatic and healing Mass today at 4 p.m. Prayer and worship with prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner will follow the Mass. Father John Putnam, pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

3 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area will be having their

The Catholic News & Herald 3

The World in

CNS photo from Reuters

Girl cools off in Washington fountain Katie Turner, 11, of Lawrence, Kan., cools off in fountains near the Washington Monument as the nation’s capital hit a record heat index Aug. 9. Hot and humid air smothered most of the United States in early August. proposals discussed was providing for a permanent presence of South Korean priests, who would serve in the North in three-month rotations. Fides called the encounter and talks “positive signs.”

Survey finds most U.S. Christians oppose genetic modification WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although most American Christians believe humans should use their knowledge to improve the lives of others, the majority opposes the genetic modification of food and animals, according to a new survey. The Zogby International poll was conducted in midJuly for the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, and was released July 26 during a panel discussion on “Genetically Modifying Food: Playing God or Doing God’s Work?” Asked about their own religious, ethical or moral views on whether man should move genes from one species or organism to another, 57 percent of Protestants and 52 percent of Catholics said they were opposed to such manipulation. Jews

were the only religious group in which a majority supported such biotechnology, with 55 percent in favor and 35 percent opposed. Among Muslims, 46 percent opposed genetic engineering.

Marian devotions tied to national identities in Latin America WASHINGTON (CNS) — When Alberto Garcia Aspe scored the winning goal that put Mexico into the finals of the Latin American soccer championship in Colombia, he pulled the front of his national team jersey over his head and ran around the field celebrating. Beneath the green jersey was a T-shirt emblazoned with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The incident in late July highlights how this Marian image underlies Mexican identity. The situation is similar in the other heavily Catholic Latin American countries where Mary, under different titles, is a symbol of one’s nationality as well as the spiritual mother of believers.

The tradition is being transplanted in the United States as Hispanic immigrants see

August 19 CHARLOTTE — The men’s Cursillo closing will take place at 4:45 p.m. this afternoon at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy. The women’s Cursillo closing will take place Sept.

23 at 4:30 p.m., also at St. Matthew.

For more information, call Aliceann Coon at (704) 540-8696 or Dan Hines at (704) 544-6665.

20 MOORESVILLE — Rev. Mr. Bruce Simpson will speak on healing at St. Therese Church, 217 Brawley School Rd., tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Holy Spirit Prayer Group. Rev. Mr. Simpson has worked with evangelization and other aspects of ministry for many years in the Diocese of Orlando, Fla., and has spoken to several groups in various areas around the country. For further information, call (704) 664-3992.

22 CHARLOTTE — All families who have suffered a loss are invited to attend the monthly memorial Mass at St.

Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, that will be taking place tonight at 7:30 p.m. Call the church office at (704) 334-2283 with the name(s) of loved ones so they may be remembered during the Mass.

22 GUILFORD COUNTY — The Ancient Order of Hibernians Guilford County Division is looking for more Irish Catholic men to join them for meetings, educational seminars and social events. Contact Michael Slane at (336) 665-9264 for time and location of tonight’s monthly meeting.

24 MAGGIE VALLEY — A retreat for singles will be taking place at Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center, 103 Living Waters Lane, beginning today through Aug. 26. The weekend gathering, entitled “Blessed Are the Single Herated,” is being presented

by Augustinian Father Terry Hyland, Tommy Barnhart and Lee Accettullo.

Topics such as the spirituality of single life, community and relationships and other related themes will be discussed. For further details, call (828)

her as a needed link to their home countries and cultures. Many dioceses and parishes with significant Hispanic populations are encouraging devotions to Mary under her many titles to promote the differences among Hispanics within their overall unity in the faith.

NCCW to hold 50th annual convention in September WASHINGTON (CNS) — More than 1,500 women are expected to attend the upcoming National Council of Catholic Women’s 50th annual convention Sept. 27-30 in Nashville, Tenn. The theme of the four-day event, “NCCW Servant Leadership: Making a Difference Every Day,” aims to recognize the many ways members of the organization improve the lives of women and families through projects at the church, community and global levels. Mercy Sister Sharon Euart, former associate general secretary for the U.S. bishops’ national conference in Washington, will be the keynote speaker, discussing the current role of women in the church and society.

During the convention, Corinne “Lindy” Boggs, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See in 1998-2001, will receive the NCCW 2001 Distinguished Service Award.

Pope meets with Arafat, calls for end to violence on both sides CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) — As violence continued to escalate in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Pope John Paul II met privately Aug. 2 with Yasser Arafat, president of the Palestinian Authority. The 25-minute meeting was held at the pope’s summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. Arafat was in Rome for talks with Italian government leaders, urging them to use their influence within the European Union to garner support for a plan to send international observers to the Middle East to monitor ongoing violations of the mid-June cease fire. Nemer Hammad, the Palestinian representative in Rome, told reporters Pope John Paul had made it clear he supported the idea of sending observers to the region.

926-3833.

26 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area will be hosting ultreyas and school of leaders on the following dates and times: St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd., from 1:15-3 p.m. with a family potluck and St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy., from 1:30-3:00 p.m. today with childcare and a family potluck. For more information, call Dan Hines at (704) 544-6665 or Aliceann Coon at (704) 540-8696.

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

27 CHARLOTTE — A support group meeting for caregivers of family and friends suffering from Alzheimer’s/ dementia will be held

4 The Catholic News & Herald

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Nature retreat in N.C. mountains celebrates God’s service by using the blessing from the Rite of Baptism to bless a punch bowl of water. Now we were invited to approach the bowl, kneel, dip our fingers into the water seven times and touch our foreheads, praying as the Cherokee had prayed all those years ago in their stream: first, to be cleansed of whatever kept us from God; second, to be cleansed of whatever kept us from others; and five times for whatever we needed.

Next day was “Air Day.” “God’s Spirit is as real as the air that we breathe,” Father Terry said. “Today, where we’re going for Eucharist, we go up an incline, and your breathing will become more labored. Be aware of that. We take breathing for granted until it’s challenged. It’s the same with our spiritual life. I don’t know about you, but my prayer life is weakest when everything is going well.

I’m much more aware of my need for God when my life is challenged.”

“Recall how many breaths you have taken since the doctor slapped you when you were born, and how many breaths you will take before you die, and be thankful for the gift of breath,” Sister Fran said.

We went to a stream called Kephart Prong. We walked about a quarter-mile along the railroad bed of a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps logging operation.

The railroad ties are gone and, scattered among the trees that have reclaimed the area, a stone chimney, a couple of stone gateposts, an arched rock wall that was once part of a church, are all that remain of the logging camp.

Father Terry set up a little table beside the stream at a spot where the tops of beech trees as tall as skyscrapers met over the water. We gathered on the bank or on wide flat rocks in the stream to participate. As we gave the Precious Blood to each other, Father Terry began to sing; we all joined in: “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

I can feel his mighty power and his grace.

I can feel the brush of angels’ wings.

I see glory on each face.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”

We sang it over and over. Inspire means to breathe in, and this was an inspired song for “Air Day” and for this place, the favorite for many of us.

On “Fire Day,” we went to Heintooga Overlook for Mass and meditation. The most moving service was in the evening, in a glade above St. Margaret Church, which is on the hill overlooking Living Waters. There, a fire had been built in an aluminum can atop a pile of fieldstones.

Each of us received two sparklers, the kind that kids set off on the Fourth of July.

We took turns lighting one of our sparklers and telling about a person who had been a spark in our lives. The stories were compelling, as people told of parents, spouses, friends who had been especially meaningful to them.

Bob Maxwell said that was one of the things he liked best about the retreat. “It was so personal,” he said. “People were so revealing about sharing the person who had influenced them.”

With the second sparkler we named a person that we hoped to spark when we returned home.

Our last day was “Earth Day” with its theme that the earth is full of the goodness of God. “If we could recognize that the earth is blessed, it would make a difference in our lives,” Father Terry said. “When others see the good acts we do and give thanks for us, we are living the Gospel. Good acts keep us grounded.

Think today about how we are called to be earthy, humble, rooted, grounded, salt of the earth, light of the world.”

Freeman had offered to teach us to carve soapstone. Sister Lynda Snyder, a Sister of Notre Dame from Toledo, Ohio, carved a bear into a piece of the soft stone. “Besides hiking, that was one of the things that really got me in touch with the earth,” she said. “It was almost sacramental — handling the earth and making

something from the earth.”

And that evening we went to Waterrock Knob (elevation 6,292 feet) on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the sun set over the mountains. It was cloudy, and we saw only the red outline of the sun behind the clouds, but that glorious mountain vista was enough. And as Freeman told us, “Cherokees believe that you should put your soul on the highest mountain top; then it won’t be dragged down by earthly things.”

There was plenty of time throughout

August 17, 2001

the retreat to meditate on mountaintops for the soul.

“I liked the flexibility of the schedule,” said Sister Bernice Knapek, a Sister of St. Mary of Namur from Fort Worth, Texas.

“If you felt you needed some time off, you could take it. And the three facilitators were so different, but they really complemented each other. Freeman gave me a greater appreciation of the Indians. Fran had that wonderful smile and that ability to bring people together through sharing.

Father Terry’s talks were very down to earth. Sometimes we think spirituality is ‘out there,’ but it’s how we live our lives.

Through his stories of his lived experiences, he taught us much.”

“I just loved it all,” said Sister Joanita Koors, a Franciscan from North Vernon,

Continued next Page

Photos by Joanita M. Nellenbach

Freeman Owle, Cherokee storyteller and co-facilitator of the retreat, tells Cherokee legends at evening at Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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of the retreat’s goals is to come alive in our senses. Sometimes we’re so focused on our own agenda that we miss the touch of the Lord. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

“We call ourselves a ‘fast-food’ society. Really savor as you eat lunch today by a stream or under a tree. Bite into a peach and let the juice drip down your chin. If we see life as zestful and tasty, it makes a real difference in our attitude. The sounds of nature are gentle and pleasing. Keep silence in the woods so you can hear the gentle sounds and savor the goodness of the Lord around you.”

Bob Maxwell, on retreat with his wife, Liz, was inspired to listen and to see God revealed everywhere. “Within myself, and this is something I want to extend far beyond the retreat, is the desire to talk less and listen more, to

several nature retreats held each year at Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center.

Each morning, through prayer and reflection, our facilitators — Augustinian Father Terry Hyland, director of the reflection center; Sister of Charity Fran Grady, artist and spiritual director; and Freeman Owle, storyteller, instructor on Cherokee spirituality and culture, and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee — helped us focus on the day’s theme. Then, taking the sack lunches we had packed in the retreat center’s kitchen, we would carpool to the day’s place in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“Wisdom,” Father Terry told us on the first morning, “is the ability to see as God sees. And God saw that creation was good — very good. One

Freeman Owle, who has been carving in stone and wood since boyhood, adds details to a stone carving that finally included a turtle, kingfisher, snake, frog, and other swamp creatures.

Sister Beverly Fichler, O.S.F., lights a sparkler during the evening service on “Fire Day.” After lighting their sparklers, each person told of someone who had been a “spark” in their lives.

Editor’s note: Smoky Mountain Vicariate correspondent Joanita Nellenbach recently attended a nature retreat hosted by Living Waters Catholic Reflection Center, an institution of the Diocese of Charlotte currently operated by Augustinian clergy.

The following is her account of the experience.

By JOANITA M. NELLENBACH Correspondent MAGGIE VALLEY — “Creation Day” was the beginning. Now, on “Earth Day,” we looked out across creation, row after row of mountain ridges, from deep blue nearest us to pale, pearly gray at the edge of our vision.

For five days, 25 of us had reveled in creation — the cold water of mountain streams, fresh air, fire’s warmth, earth in our hands and beneath our feet — during “Drink the Living Water,” one of

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not wait for the great revelation. We don’t need a revelation. We get it from thousands of sources.”

On “Creation Day,” Freeman told the Cherokee legend of how the buzzard created the mountains and the valleys: The first buzzard was very large, and as he flew over the land, his wings dipped to earth to make valleys; as the wings rose, they created mountains.

Freeman had advised us: “Take off your shoes and put your feet in a stream. You cannot find God unless you find yourself. Rest; be at peace. If you can do that for 15 minutes, you will feel like you have slept for three hours. Man is the only creature that has the ability to separate himself from nature. We should not do that.”

That first morning, we went to Smokemont Campground. There, by the headwaters of the Oconaluftee River, we had Mass at a picnic table.

Masses at these remote locations were highlights for many of the retreatants.

“What I liked best was having the Mass outdoors and then being able to walk somewhere and reflect on what was going on instead of having to get into a car and drive somewhere,” said Betty Dunne, who was making the retreat with her husband, Joe. The next day, “Water Day,” we went to Deep Creek to meditate on the cleansing and refreshment that water brings. But first we stopped at a 300acre piece of land that the Cherokee have recently purchased. It was land on which they had lived for 9,000 years before the Removal, known as the “Trail of Tears,” in which more than 16,000 Cherokee were forced to march to Oklahoma in 1838.

Once there were many houses on this piece of land, so there are many graves, although we could not see them. Freeman told us that the Cherokee had buried people under their houses. We were walking on sacred land.

He told us how the Cherokee, a monotheistic people, would get up each morning and go to bathe in the nearby stream, laving water over themselves seven times as they prayed.

During his homily at Deep Creek, Father Terry talked about the power that signs have to remind us of God. Water, for instance, gives us life just as God’s Spirit gives us life. “There is something life-giving about being cleansed,” he said.

During our reflection that evening, we experienced seven-time cleansing.

Father Terry had begun the morning’s

6 The Catholic News & Herald Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians to be recognized CHARLOTTE — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians in North Carolina will be recognized as a state chapter of the national organization of the Lady Hibernians at a ceremony Aug. 18 at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte at noon. The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians consists of three divisions — Charlotte, Greensboro and Wilmington. Mary B. Dolan, national president, and Mary Paglione, national organizer, will be in Charlotte to install officers of the news state board during the ceremony. A luncheon will follow in the parish ministry center.

Priest in Guatemalan border town defends, shelters migrants TECUN UMAN, Guatemala (CNS) — The migrant people who pass through Tecun Uman, a sprawling city on the Guatemala-Mexico border, help the city survive economically, said a priest who works with the migrant population. “Public opinion is that violence is growing, but in my opinion the increased number of migrants has meant a better economic situation for the people here,” said Scalabrini Father Ademar Barilli, Brazilian founder of the five-year-old House of the Migrant in Tecun Uman. The house offers temporary shelter to migrants who pass through this Guatemalan city. It provided shelter for about 9,000 migrants last year, Father Barilli said. He estimated that 300 people are deported from Mexico to Guatemala each day.

Priest uses homemade baked goods in outreach to youths, homebound OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) — There is a smell of comfort in the air at St. Elizabeth Ann rectory in Omaha. On this day, the scent revealed Father David La Plante’s latest culinary creation — pineapple-blueberry muffins. They were meant for fellow students in a course on the “Spiritual Foundations of Christian Spirituality” the priest was taking at Creighton University. The topic was table fellowship in the Gospel of Luke. “The muffins will make it more real,” Father La Plante said as he scooped batter from a large silver bowl into muffin cups.

People in the

CNS photo courtesy Knights of Columbus

Knights meet in Toronto for annual gathering Members of the Knights of Columbus hold their annual international meeting in Toronto. The Catholic fraternal organization held its 119th convention in Canada Aug. 7-9 The bowl bears dents from his preparation of the hundreds of muffins and cookies that preceded this most recent batch. A gift from the people of St. Philip Neri Parish in Omaha 17 years ago, the bowl has become a tool for ministering to others, including parish youth groups and homebound parishioners.

Art Linkletter to receive Gabriel Personal Achievement Award DAYTON, Ohio (CNS) — Longtime television host Art Linkletter, 89, has been picked to receive the Personal Achievement Award in this year’s Gabriel Awards ceremonies, scheduled for Oct. 20 in San Antonio. Awards for Linkletter and dozens of top radio and TV programming initiatives were announced Aug. 6. The Gabriels are awarded by Unda-USA, the U.S. branch of the worldwide association for Catholic broadcasters, based in Dayton. Linkletter,

who hosted such TV shows as “House Party,” with its “Kids Say the Darndest Things” segment, and “People Are Funny,” began his career on radio in the 1940s. He crusaded against illegal drug use in the 1960s and ’70s and in recent years has campaigned for better health and health care for America’s elderly population.

Cardinal Keeler praises black nun at national shrine ceremony

August 17, 2001

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore Aug. 5 praised a 19th-century African-American nun for bucking the racial prejudices of her times by educating children of slaves.

Contemporary society needs to learn from Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, he said at a ceremony dedicating a stained-glass window in her honor at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Mother Lange in 1829 was one of the founders of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious order for women of African descent in the United States. In 1991, Cardinal Keeler formally opened the investigation that could lead to Mother Lange’s canonization.

Former Republican chairman confirmed as ambassador to Holy See WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Senate Aug. 1 confirmed former Republican National Committee chairman Jim Nicholson as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. He was sworn in at the State Department Aug. 10. Nicholson, a 63-year-old Catholic, was vice chairman of the Republican National Committee 1993-97 and chairman from 1997 until this January, when he joined the law firm of Greener and Hook in Washington. In a statement on Nicholson’s nomination in April, President Bush described him as “a proven leader who will bring a solid sense of commitment to his work with the Holy See on critical world issues.”

August 17, 2001

Stem Cell, from page 1 son to praise Bush for his new policy.

The Massachusetts Catholic Conference, public policy arm of the state’s four dioceses, said in a statement that Bush had “demonstrated the utmost in courage by refusing to compel millions of taxpayers against their conscience to promote the killing of human life for utilitarian purposes.”

“While the president’s decision to permit research funding on ... cell lines established from the previous destruction of embryos is disturbing, this does not diminish the significance of the president’s refusal to fund research involving the future destruction of embryos,” the statement added.

Joseph M. Scheidler, a Catholic who is executive director of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago, called Bush’s decision “a much-needed half-step for society, which must begin its retreat from the slippery slope of disrespect for human life. We wish, on this issue of life and death, Bush had made a full step.”

He said it was “a victory for the prolife movement that Bush would stand up to the pressure and not permit our tax money to be used in procedures that would sacrifice more human lives.” But Bush’s compromise, he added, “is still quite troubling.”

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus expressed his organization’s “deepest disappointment” at the Bush decision.

“This decision to fund such research is all the more baffling in that ethical avenues to pursue this research — avenues that all can agree upon — are available with adult stem cells,” Anderson said.

Noting that adult stem cells “are already being used successfully in human clinical trials,” he added, “In marked contrast, embryonic stem cells have never helped a single human patient.”

Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit said the debate over embryonic stemcell research reminded him of the efforts several years ago in Michigan to legalize assisted suicide.

“Scores of weak, vulnerable people were victimized at the end of their lives with claims of false mercy and compassion,” he said. “These tiny specks, these

From the stem cells are no less vulnerable. They deserve our protection, not experimentation.”

Archbishop Francis B. Schulte of New Orleans said Bush’s decision “is morally wrong and furthers the culture of death.”

“My hope is that this brief disappointment will not be a cause for despair or cynicism,” he added. “Rather, let us rededicate ourselves to the Gospel of life and to doing all we can to promote the dignity of life in all its forms.”

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said Bush “did the right thing by opposing any federally funded stem-cell research that would require the killing of new embryos” and by appointing Kass to head the president’s council.

“But Bush erred when he said human embryos ‘have at least the potential for life,”’ Donohue added. “A human embryo is a human life and if allowed to mature naturally — without human impediment — he or she will in most instances develop as a fetus, infant, child and adult.”

Laura Echevarria, director of media relations for the National Right to Life Committee, said her organization was “delighted with President Bush’s decision that prevents the federal government from becoming a party to any further killing of human embryos for medical experimentation.”

“While National Right to Life mourns the loss of life for those embryos from whom stem-cell lines have already been derived, nothing the National Right to Life Committee or President Bush can do can restore the lives of those embryos who have already died,” she added.

Father Michael D. Place, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, said that although Bush’s decision “could appear as a carefully nuanced solution to a complex issue,” it “raises significant moral concerns for our society.”

“The continued use of these cultured stem-cell lines by scientists involves complicity in the destruction of embryonic human life,” he said. “A society’s use of that which is derived from an immoral action — even for a noble end — must be a source of grave moral concern.”

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August 17, 2001

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. As U.S. Catholics we are called to “faithful citizenship,” to be involved in the formation of policies with the goal of shaping a society “respectful of human life and dignity, and more committed to justice and peace.” How our society chooses to act toward members of our human family that are most vulnerable and defenseless is a sound measure of whether or not we are reaching that goal. I write today to offer you the moral and spiritual guidance of the Church on the issue of embryonic cell research. As I am sure you are aware, this issue has been very prominent in the news recently. I pray that you will give due consideration to the teachings of the Church on this issue.

On July 31, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that bans the cloning of human embryos for any reason. I join my brother bishops in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in applauding this action. The passing of the Human Cloning Prohibition Act sends the message that our society can use technology for the benefit of all humanity, and that it must resist traveling down an ethically flawed path of treating some human lives as expendable for the benefit of others.

Last week, President Bush addressed the nation on the matter of whether embryonic stem cell research should receive federal funding and to what extent such research should be regulated. His statement follows upon months of public debate on this matter. I write to the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte, to inform you of the response of the U.S. Catholic bishops to President Bush’s statement on federal policy toward embryonic stem cell research.

The U.S. Catholic bishops have been very much involved in this public debate on stem cell research. We have stressed that while some forms of stem cell research are morally acceptable (i.e. so long as the cells are voluntarily obtained from adult tissue, placentas and umbilical cords) embryonic stem cell research is unacceptable and a morally egregious act because such research involves the killing of a living human embryo. As Catholics we believe that human life begins at conception, and that all life is sacred because we are created by the hand of God and in His image. It is this profound belief in the sanctity of life that led Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, president of the USCCB, to issue a statement calling President Bush’s decision to allow even a limited amount of embryonic stem cell research “morally unacceptable.” Even though the policy proposed by President Bush does not fund the killing of further embryos for research, any research on stem cells obtained through the past destruction of human embryos “cultivates a disrespect for human life.” I echo Bishop Fiorenza’s concern that even stem cell research on already extracted embryonic stem cells “relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the benefit of others.”

Many have called for the expansion and public funding of embryonic stem cell research because they believe that such research holds promise of medical treatment and cures for a wide range of life threatening and debilitating diseases and injuries. While we are called to compassion and called to do what is ethically permissible to alleviate the suffering of others, we are never permitted to trade one life for another — to permit the killing of those who are defenseless as a sacrifice to benefit others. It is encouraging that adult stem research holds therapeutic promise for millions of people who are ill or injured; indeed such research has already helped thousands of patients.

As Catholics we can urge our legislators to support adult stem research funding, knowing that this research has aided many, will continue to benefit many, and does not offer our society the terrible utilitarian choice of trading some lives for the hope of a better life for others. We need not compromise our faith and morals to the advancement of science. The historical and current involvement of institutions of the Catholic Church in medical research and the care of patients demonstrates that faith and science can be true partners for the advancement of society.

Many statements in the media have expressed the opinion that embryonic stem cell research ought to be encouraged because it involves the exchange of “potential” human life for the benefit of existing human life. Let me make the Church’s position perfectly clear — an embryo is a human life. A human embryo has the potential to one day be a doctor, a parent, a teacher; to one day laugh, cry, and be amazed at God’s creation. Yet there is nothing potential about the status of an embryo as a human being and its right to dignity and life. May God bless all of us.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

St. Paul the Apostle parishioner recognized for social justice “It starts with the individual and an

By DENISE KASPER individual’s own heart,” she said. “It’s Correspondent our own actions and deeds that count.

GREENSBORO — What started as It is possible to create a society and look an 11th-grade English class assignment past these differences. People are actuhas become something of a personal ally more alike than different.” vision for Greensboro resident Emily In her essay Cupito. She may she says that it’s have hit on somepartly up to parthing with her ents to expose 1,300-word pachildren to diverper, because her sity as much as essay won first possible, as soon place in the Piedas possible and as mont Interfaith often as possible.

Council’s Essay She even suggests Contest. that parents bring In her distheir children to sertation, entidifferent places of tled “A Spark of worship to expose Hope,” the risthem to other culing senior from tures and tradiWestern High tions.

School and pa“It’s neat to be rishioner of St. walking through Paul the Apostle the hallways and Church worked have friends outside off the theme of the core group of how to create a Emily Cupito ethnic backgrounds society of justice I’m used to growand understanding up with.” ing among people from difference races, Cupito said she’s saving her winreligions and ethnic origins. nings for a rainy day, maybe even col“It is possible to create a society lege expenses. She plans to attend UNC to include everyone,” said the zealous Chapel Hill, not straying too far from teen-ager, who attended elementary the family she says is her foundation. school at Our Lady of Grace in Greens-

She is very close to her three sisters, Jessica, 20, Abby, 15, and Ali, 12, and says she gets inspiration from her parents, Susan and Thomas.

“I can’t say that me and my sisters don’t fight and yell at each other,” she said. “But, my parents always treated us with respect. We just mirrored that with each other.”

Unsure of what course of study she’ll pursue in college or what she wants to do with her life after college, she does know her life’s work will involve people.

“I do know that whatever I do I want to help other people,” she said.

August 17, 2001

boro. “I really wanted to answer the topic.”

Her efforts to answer what seems now to be an age-old question — “Can’t we all just get along?” — were not squandered. Her response apparently stirred the judges, who awarded her with a commemorative plaque and a check for $300.

Cupito, 17, said she worked long and hard on the essay — spending more than five hours on a painstaking revision. She drew from personal experience, and talking to her makes it clear that this issue hits close to her heart. Her inspiration for the essay was an experience she had as a new highschool freshman. It was the first day of gym class, and she looked around the room seeing students from all kinds of backgrounds.

“There were different dialects and accents — some I couldn’t even understand,” she said. “Eventually I began to understand their accents and get their jokes. Soon I had friends from all different countries.”

Her essay focuses on a hope to create a society where each person is an individual, responsible to love one another, she said.

August 17, 2001

Around the Di-

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Secular Franciscans shine at annual gathering

By ELLEN NEERINCX SIGMON Correspondent HICKORY — Even though the skies were overcast, the light of Christ shone brightly through the members of the Secular Franciscan Order who met at the Catholic Conference Center July 27-29 for their annual regional gathering.

Saturday began with an early morning Mass, during which John Martin, a veterinarian from Lenoir, made his profession into the order. Martin belongs to the Fraternity of Brother Francis in Hickory, but about 100 secular Franciscans representing five states watched him receive a San Damiano cross as a symbol of his mission in the world and a lighted candle to remind him that he would become an even brighter light of Christ through his profession.

Later that morning, Capuchin Father Lester Bach, author of “Catch Me a Rainbow Too,” a book used by many Franciscan groups for their formation program, spoke about the light of Christ and how it is present through-

out the Bible.

“Francis and Clare (of Assisi) saw the light,” he said. “Christ became so real for them that it was all that they needed.

“When Jesus comes among us, we begin to see in clarity because there is light,” he said. When trying to make a decision about the right thing to do, he said, one should “always ask the question, ‘Will this bring darkness or light?’”

In the evening, several people shared stories of how Jesus had blessed them through their associations with their secular Franciscan groups. Ruth Thoni, minister of the Hickory group, met her future husband, Herman Thoni, at a 1995 Franciscan convention. Both were in their 60s and had never been married.

She also talked about the support and prayers she received from Franciscans in Charlotte and all over the world when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. He died in Decem-

Photo by Ellen Neerincx Sigmon

Bill Brockhoff presents John Martin with a lighted candle during his profession to remind him that with his profession he becomes an even brighter light for Christ. Martin now belongs to the Fraternity of Brother Francis in Hickory. About 100 secular Franciscans representing five states witnessed his profession. ber 2000.

“Yes, I feel a little cheated,” she said, “but it’s this great joy of St. Francis that soothes my heart.”

John Martin spoke about Herman Thoni as well. Thoni, formerly the minister of the group, had felt the need for the Hickory group to do a re-enactment of the birth of Jesus, in the spirit of the crib at Greccio, Italy, organized by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. Martin, because he was a veterinarian, was asked to find the animals for the re-enactment.

Martin said that a few days later, a client called his office about a sick donkey.

When Martin examined the donkey, he found that it had pneumonia and was very sick and weak. When he suggested that the donkey be put on antibiotics, the client was concerned about the cost.

Martin told him that he would treat the animal free of charge, provided that, if the donkey lived, the man would bring it to participate in the reenactment. The man agreed, and Martin alerted his Franciscan group to pray about it.

“The donkey made a dramatic recovery and grew a beautiful coat,” Martin said.

He also said that a friend of his brought a

cow and some sheep, and even dressed his children as shepherds and brought them to participate in the reenactment.

“I can still see the happy faces of the children (who attended),” he said.

Larry Kertz, a candidate for profession from the Chattanooga, Tenn., Franciscan group, talked about how his association with that group had helped him overcome his fears and problems with addiction.

“They are a group of people who have modeled for me and loved me unconditionally,” he said. “I’ve learned an awful lot from my community. They’ve affirmed me.”

He also spoke about how much he had enjoyed getting to know the other Franciscans in the region that weekend.

“They radiate a serenity and peace that I want,” he said.

Martin and other members of the Hickory group announced plans for another re-enactment of the crib at Greccio at 4 p.m. on Dec. 2 at the Catholic Conference Center. They are also planning a service on Oct. 3 at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lenoir to celebrate the Transitus (the passage from earthly life to eternal life) of St. Francis.

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Welcome, from page 1 ing church,” added Cira Ponce, director of the Refugee Resettlement Office.

The PCRRP is a pilot program of the diocese’s Catholic Social Services ministry.

Downing will be involved in practical guidance for parishes in their efforts to include immigrants and refugees in their communities.

During the week of Aug. 5, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees in Washington, D.C., mailed resource kits to every parish in the United States and to Migration and Refugee Services network members to help them implement the bishops’ pastoral.

The packets include a full copy of the pastoral, brochures summarizing the statement, and information sheets for pastors, parish councils, liturgists and homilists, school and religious education leaders, social ministry leaders and other parish leaders.

The bishops’ statement borrows from Pope John Paul II’s 1999 papal document “Ecclesia in America,” in which the pontiff said the experience of the living Christ happens along the path of conversion, communion and solidarity.

“The presence of brothers and sisters from different cultures should be celebrated as a gift to the church,” the bishops’ statement says.

“The presence of so many people of so many different cultures and religions in so many different parts of the United States has challenged us as a church to a profound conversion so that we can truly become a sacrament of unity,” it says. “We reject the anti-immigration stance that has become popular in different parts of our country, and the nativism, ethnocentricity and racism that continue to reassert themselves in our communities.”

Sonia Hayden, coordinator of Volunteer Services for the Refugee Resettlement Office, said the three key points of the statement — conversion, communion and solidarity — provide a teaching moment for church leadership on the gifts one encounters in a diverse church.

Refugee Resettlement Downing added that conversion in this case is “not necessarily the conversion of non-Catholic refugees, but rather our conversion as Catholics to a more open viewpoint of others.”

She added that communion implies an accepting of newcomers and building bridges to join cultures.

Regarding solidarity, Downing said Catholics can “advocate for laws that respect human rights of immigrants and preserve unity of the refugee family,” as well as encourage such programs as social services and citizenship classes.

“When a parish welcomes refugees in the spirit of conversion, communion and solidarity, there is a greater likelihood that the acculturation process for those refugees will be less traumatic than it would be otherwise,” Hayden said. “They will feel more of a sense of belonging and connection to their new homeland.”

For Catholic Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Office, whose goal is to assist refugees in becoming selfsufficient and self-reliant, the bishops’ statement is a welcome resource in bringing that message of connection to light.

The Refugee Resettlement Office is an affiliate of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services Office. Since its establishment in 1975, the diocesan office has resettled almost 7,500 refugees of 20 different nationalities, said Ponce.

According to Migration and Refugee Services, the key difference between immigrants and refugees is that immigrants choose to leave their native countries, while refugees are compelled to do so because of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social structures or political opinion.

The Refugee Resettlement Office assists in meeting the needs of refugees both before and after they arrive.

Pre-arrival services include helping with initial housing needs, collecting furnishings and household items, providing basic food items, welcoming the refugees at the airport and translation services.

Once they arrive, refugees receive employment orientation and placement, social security registration,

health services, immigration processing, cultural and community orientation and a host of other social services.

The Refugee Resettlement Office continues to be one of the busiest refugee resettlement programs in the nation, not only by placing families in the Diocese of Charlotte but by participating in nationwide initiatives.

In response to the political and religious persecution in Sudan, for example, the Refugee Resettlement Office has been actively involved in placing 47 Sudanese here since May 1999.

Some in this group are members of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan, thousands of young men orphaned by war who fought for survival across Africa as a militant slavery campaign by the Islamic regime pursued the young Sudanese boys in their flight. About 4,000 of the Lost Boys — who once numbered closer to 12,000 before many died, returned to Sudan or simply disappeared — are now being resettled in the United States.

Bishop William G. Curlin in February joined his support with other U.S. bishops for the nation to take a stronger role in address-

August 17, 2001

ing the plight of the Sudanese. He wrote to Colin Powell, U.S. secretary of state, in midFebruary urging the Bush administration to make peace in the Sudan a priority.

Examples like this are part of what it means to welcome the stranger, Ponce said.

“A tremendous benefit of answering the call to ‘welcome the stranger’ is the increased cultural exchange and understanding between newly arriving refugees and Americans,” Ponce said. By implementing the bishops’ pastoral, “parishioners will have the opportunity to put their faith in action, to live out the gospel mandate to welcome the stranger.”

The Southeast regional training for implementation of “Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity” will be in Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 4-6. For more information, call (202) 541-5408.

For details on local efforts, call Beth Downing at (704) 370-3256 or Sonia Hayden, coordinator of Volunteer Services for the Refugee Resettlement Office, at (704) 370-3283.

August 17, 2001

Refugee Resettlement

CSS employee recognized for dedication and work

By Alesha M. Price Staff Writer CHARLOTTE — Alicia Garcia has 96 “relatives,” some of whom she interacts with almost on a daily basis. She visits their homes, ensures that their needs are being met and accompanies them on trips to the doc-

tor and on other appointments. Her co-workers and friends marvel at how she maintains relationships with all of those people. She says that even though it is her job to help, she feels as if all of them are extended family.

“I grow very close to my clients when they arrive, and it’s a great feel-

ing when you are helping someone,” said Garcia, a Catholic Social Services case manager in the diocesan Refugee Resettlement Office. “You create a bond with them. They become family members; they are no longer refugees.”

Because of her dedication, Garcia received the Outstanding Agency Employee Award from the North Carolina Refugee Office.

Each refugee resettelment office submits a nomination, and that — along with the state refugee office coordinator’s visits, observations and reports — determines the person

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recognized for his or her work with refugees. Cira Ponce, director of the diocesan CSS Refugee Resettlement Office, nominated Garcia for this year’s award. She said that Garcia “goes beyond the call of duty” with her clients.

“Alicia has been and continues to be there for her clients, and they regard her as a family member,” wrote Ponce in her nomination form. “Her commitment, energy and compassion are admirable.”

Garcia was recently recognized at the state office’s biennial conference for all refugee service providers and was shocked that she had been honored.

“During the conference, I was listening to the nomination and said to myself ‘this person sounds a lot like me.’ When they called my name, it was such a big surprise. I was speechless,” she remembered.

Immigrants to the United States from various countries meet Garcia, and she helps them to establish their lives and to settle into a new land.

She provides translations, transportation and other informative services to navigate their way through finding a residence, enrolling children in school and receiving state-required immunizations and health care. Garcia has encountered many clients with serious medical conditions including cancer, heart disease, kidney failure and other problems.

She attends additional daytime and evening medical appointments with her clients and checks that they receive proper long-term medical care for their illnesses.

Garcia says that she feels proud that her work has been recognized after nearly 30 years of working with refugees.

“My clients tell me that they appreciate my work, and that gives me such joy. I try to give them positive reinforcement and hope for the future, hope for the best.”

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

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the

Faithful Servant offers leadership schools for the Nobody’s fake here; everybody’s with us.” church and totally real. God— was Michael Smith, 17, of Asheville

By MATT DOYLE NC Catholic Staff SMITHFIELD — One of the common threads that seems to be woven into the stories about school violence in recent years is that many of the students who have been the aggressors have a history of being outcasts in their schools. Many have said they have been bullied and belittled by their peers.

What if someone, a peer for example, were able to recognize and empathize with another in that situation before it exploded into violence? What if that someone had a better understanding of what it means to be ostracized by others because they, for a fleeting moment, had been able to feel that pain?

Such empathy is part of the training given to students at a long-running institute conducted jointly by the two Catholic dioceses in North Carolina.

About 80 people from the dioceses of Raleigh and Charlotte gathered at the Short Journey Retreat Center in midJuly to take part in the Faithful Servant Leadership Institute. Led by adult chaperones, youth ministers, peer leaders and the young people themselves, the participants engaged in a week of discussions, talks, small group gatherings and other related activities.

“The goal is to learn leadership skills in a Catholic Christian setting,” said Mike Hagarty, youth ministry consultant for the Diocese of Raleigh. “It is important to see that leadership is learnable and these young people have chosen to learn leadership skills in this setting.”

Hagarty said the fact that Catholic Christian leadership can be learned is obviated by the fact that so many teenagers have decided to return to the program as peer leaders. “They put their skills into practice to be a model of leadership for other young people.”

Leo Moreda, youth minister at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Raleigh, said the teenagers learn skills they can carry into the church. “(They) are given the skills and (we) let

them take those back to the parish.”

But the walls between the church community and the secular world are not real, and in this case it is hoped they are nonexistent. Kathleen Lewis, youth minister at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, said when the institute is over, the teenagers have “a heightened sense of their baptismal call to leadership in the church and the world at large.”

Moreda said they could use the same skills they lean at the institute in their everyday lives. “A lot of it is leadership you can utilize in a secular setting,” said Moreda. “[S]tudent governments or youth councils have different goals by similar roles.”

One of the important sessions in the institute puts the teenagers and the adult chaperones in the situation of being the outcast. While the situation is not real, leaders believe the role playing helps the teenagers — and the adults who must also go through the process — better understand what teenagers feel when they are cutoff from the mainstream in their schools.

Lewis said the development of future sensitivity to such situations is “part of our expectation.” She said the exercises used to demonstrate the pain of being ostracized teach the teenagers how easy it is to “succumb to the roles that someone has placed on them.”

Lewis said the participants learn quickly that if a person is cut off from a group, taunted and teased and placed in a particular role, it does not take long for that person to “begin to act the way that is expected of them.”

She said it is hoped by being caught briefly in that trap, teenagers at the Faithful Servant Leadership Institute can help

others escape the situation. At least, they will be able to better identify with those who suffer such devastating stereotyping and help to “challenge the label the kid wears.”

Josh Moore, 17, one of the several members of Blessed Sacrament Church in Burlington to attend the session, added weight to the idea that the teenagers can learn from being exposed to difficult situations. He said the experience teaches teenagers skills that improve the ability to get along in diverse groups.

Michael Smith, 17, of Asheville, returned to Short Journey as a peer leader.

The St. Barnabas Church member said last year’s experience “changed my life.” Smith offered a concrete example. He is now a participant in Mass at his parish, something that came as a result of the interest in guitar playing he developed at the institute last year.

Smith said the experience of the institute gave teenagers the chance to be more open in a group setting. “Nobody’s fake here; everybody’s totally real. God was with us.”

He said the institute helped him alter his listening skills and with the important

August 17, 2001

act of making eye contact with another.

“When someone is talking, I’m all ears.”

Meredith Maher of St. Francis in Raleigh said her decision to return as a peer leader was based on the fact that “I had such an awesome experience last year.” Maher said that Faithful Servant is “a good leadership experience for us.”

She said she valued the experience of meeting all the people from around the state and “seeing how their faith grows over the week — your faith grows too.”

Maher added the experience has helped her in personal situations. She said she believed she has been able to overcome some basic shyness in her personality and has been more open to the people in her life, particularly at Sanderson High School in Wake County.

Lewis echoed a statement offered at many events that bring together young people from far flung sections of the state. She said they learn they are part of a larger church.

Lewis explained that many of the young Catholics in North Carolina live in settings where most of their fellow students in public schools are not Catholic.

The only contact they have with other Catholics is in church settings, and often because of size, those opportunities are limited.

The native of Charleston, S.C., said it was her experience that it is important for a young Catholic to understand they are part of the larger church and that there are others experiencing similar situations. Having the opportunity to gather at places like Short Journey Center gives the teenagers a new perspective on what it is like to Catholic in the South in the new millennium.

August 17, 2001

By REV. MR. GERALD POTKAY Correspondent ARDEN — For most permanent deacons traveling to Arden on Aug. 4, it was a 30-minute to 3 1/2-hour ride through the mist and sprinklings of threatening rain, as they drove through the mountains where the sky kisses the earth.

This is one of three opportunities for the deacons to fulfill their obligation and responsibility to grow in the faith and love of Christ. They gather regularly for spiritual renewal and camaraderie afforded through the brotherhood of the diaconate. The ongoing-education classes and presenters are arranged by Rev. Mr. Art Kingsley, who is a permanent deacon at St. Barnabas Church in Arden.

The classes are scheduled for the first Saturdays of February, August and November of each year. Each deacon attends based upon topic, location and other obligations that may interfere with a certain class.

The day started with Mass offered by Father Roger Arnsparger, pastor. Father Arnsparger welcomed his parishioners and the travelers who were able to make it in time for the eucharistic celebration.

After the Mass, the deacons and wives all congregated in the church hall to renew old acquaintances and meet new friends over coffee and donuts. Shortly thereafter, all assembled in the main conference room for morning prayer led by the newly ordained Rev. Mr. Michael Zboyovski.

Morning prayer is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, which all priests, deacons and religious are required to say each day.

By faithfully reciting the Liturgy of the Hours every day, one completes the entire Psalter (Book of Psalms) within a four-week cycle. The Psalter is a liturgical book consisting of

Around the Di-

The Catholic News & Herald 13

Diocesan deacons and wives gather for development, psalms and biblical canticles used in divine worship and upon which the day’s class was based.

The presenter for this class was Father David Valtierra. Father Valtierra was ordained in September of 1976 into a community of priests and lay brothers, the Oratorians, founded

by St. Philip Neri in 16th-century Rome. He lives in congregation at the Oratory located in Rock Hill, S.C. There, along with other duties, he gives seminars and classes on the Psalms.

According to Father Valtierra, the message of the Psalms is the message of a covenantal relationship between Yahweh and his chosen people. The timeframe expressed in the Psalms is past, present and future all at once.

Each Psalm touches those human experiences that all people have or will have experienced before they pass on to eternal life.

Giving an example of an old softdrink commercial in which nothing is said, but pictured is a boy being smothered by the love of a puppy, Father Valtierra explained that this is the expression of pure joy supposedly related to the product. This same type of experience is gleaned from the Psalms, which artfully and spiritually move the reader from basic human experiences to the image of God himself. Yet, in the midst of looking at the Lord, there

Photo by Rev. Mr. Gerald Potkay

Pictured from left to right are Reverend Mr. Thomas Kak, Emily Ann Kak, Reverend Mr. Vince Shaw and Reverend Mr. Gordon Forester. is but one prerequisite: “One must be honest about one’s own spirituality.”

Otherwise, one can never connect through the Psalms.

Father Valtierra indicates the each Psalm “invites us to go into areas we have never yet ventured,” the area depending upon whether the Psalm is one of lament, thanksgiving or praise. Each Psalm works on several

images and on several different levels of thought simultaneously.

The Psalms are a resource, a songbook. They are expressions of a shared memory of the people of God on their journey through faith. As a community prayer book, they should be sung in community.

Judith Johnson of St. Charles Borromeo and wife of Rev. Mr. James Johnson in Morganton said, “I have studied the Psalms before. This is a new and different approach with a lot more depth to it.”

Rev. Mr. Philip Killian of St. Benedict in Greensboro told of how this presentation “gives a better insight to understanding of the Psalms — that we are all human and that God is working through all of our emotions. I can see this now that it has been pointed out.”

Eileen Rohan of Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro and wife of Rev. Mr. Tim Rohan indicated that she can now see how the Psalms “water the feet with a peaceful loving relationship with God, giving us ev-

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

New literary work explores development

Reviewed by Jan Kilby Catholic News Service Many people know that technology has transformed their lives, but few have developed a theology of technology. Richard R. Gaillardetz is one who has.

In “Transforming Our Days: Spirituality, Community and Liturgy in a Tech-

TRANSFORMING OUR DAYS: SPIRITUALITY, COMMUNITY AND LITURGY IN A TECHNOLOGICAL CULTURE, by Richard R. Gaillardetz.

Crossroad Publishing Company (New York, 2000). 158 pp. $15.95. nological Culture,” Gaillardetz, a Catholic theologian, examines technology’s influence on life and faith.

Gaillardetz, who will hold the MurrayBacik Endowed Chair in Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo beginning this fall, describes in his book’s preface his growing awareness of technology’s harm. This realization occurred when he recognized his family’s increasing dependence on TVs, VCRs and computers.

Though he says he and his wife were committed to their vocation as parents of four children, he made a surprising discovery: ‘Something precious in our lives seemed to be seeping out of our family life.’”

He suggests that faith can help provide the proper perspective on technology. He bases his views on Catholicism and on the work of Albert Borgmann, a Catholic and a University of Montana philosophy professor and writer on technology and culture.

Borgmann calls for “a transformed dailiness” or more awareness of the spirituality of daily life.

Technology, Gaillardetz says, promises to eliminate routine tasks considered “boring, insignificant and burdensome.”

The problem he sees is that in performing such tasks we receive “grace and blessings.’

He agrees with Borgmann who asserts that “technological devices” can produce experiences that are less meaningful than “focal” experiences. For example, he says, central heating creates a warm home, but a fireplace brings people together in a more enjoyable

August 17, 2001

Read-

way.

The author then describes how the virtual reality created by computers can result in a “culture of simulation” that is “no replacement for interpersonal, human engagement.”

Gaillardetz believes that the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity and the theology of grace call for a preservation of focal practices. He says the Trinitarian concept of God as a “pulsing, divine movement toward us in love” shows us the need for relationships. He writes that “grace is not so much a divine substance as it is a quality of relation in which the presence of God emerges as we attend to the world around us and receive it as a gift.”

Gaillardetz describes the impact of technology on communal spirituality. He questions the “privatization of spirituality.”

He suggests that “immersion in a Christian community ... schools us in practices and attitudes that allow us to recover the sacred dimensions of our daily lives.” Liturgy, he says, is the “paradigmatic focal practice of the Christian life.” He suggests that people in a culture dominated by technology and consumerism may be less able to experience it fully.

Gaillardetz acknowledges that technology can assist people in fulfilling their biblical role as stewards of the earth. He also says that the creativity required to develop technology is evidence of divine inspiration.

He simply urges readers to evaluate their use of it.

He says, “We need a ‘lifestyle’ discernment, not a discernment about the goodness or badness of a particular device.” By doing so, he says, people can achieve “the salvation of humankind that embraces the personal, social, political, and economic spheres of human existence.” This is especially critical now, he says, “because one of the characteristics of modern society is the effective anesthetization of humanity to the felt need for any salvation at all.”

“Transforming Our Days” is thoughtprovoking, well written, and timely. The author makes complex ideas clear, interesting and readable.

Kilby is a free-lance writer in San Antonio.

Word to Life

August 26, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C Readings: 1) Isaiah 66:18-21 Psalm 117:1-2 2) Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 3) Gospel: Luke 13:22-30

By Jean Denton Catholic News Service Jesus’ image of the entrance to heaven being a “narrow door” makes me think he was directing his remarks at people of privilege — those having either material wealth, intellectual gifts or the opportunity to eat and drink in his company. Hey, just like middle-class American Christians!

It also makes me think that some people were born in the narrow doorway and struggle there for a lifetime, but with God and his kingdom close at hand encouraging them in with minute, periodic tugs of a sort of divine crowbar. These are the impoverished, the oppressed, the sick who know God because they live on the edge of life and must look to him every day for salvation. On their final day they’ll just pop through.

But what of the ones standing in the wide doorway where God’s generosity constantly oozes out and greases the skids of their lives? What a wonderful (and practically painless) way this is into the kingdom.

Jesus’ message, however, indicates these are one-way doors — the wide one flowing out of the kingdom, but the narrow one being the way to get in. “Try,” he says, emphasizing that this is some-

thing that requires some effort, “to come in through the narrow door.”

I recently met a couple who followed this radical idea. Steve and his wife have taken their privileges to the narrow doorway to share with those who struggle.

After a middle-class upbringing and a university education, they chose to move to a crowded urban neighborhood where they rented a house which they opened to the city’s poor as a hospitality house. Now, while rearing their own family, they provide coffee and bread in the mornings and a soup kitchen every noon. Rooms are available to those who need shelter.

Steve admits that going to the narrow door isn’t an easy choice.

“There’s always the temptation to just look out for ourselves and our nuclear family, to be concerned for our own wants and needs,” he said. “Our culture pushes people very much in that direction.”

However, he pointed out an opposite attraction: “Living with the poor every day — in our house — is putting ourselves in a position to open our eyes and our ears to see and hear what God sees and hears.”

Sounds like the kingdom of God to me.

QUESTIONS: What material and spiritual privileges have you received through God’s generosity? What keeps you from going to the narrow door?

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of August 19-25 Sunday, Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10, Hebrews 12:1-4, Luke 12:49-53; Monday (St. Bernard of Clairvaux), Judges 2:11-19, Matthew 19:16-22; Tuesday (St. Pius X), Judges 6:11-24a, Matthew 19:23-30; Wednesday (The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Judges 9:6-15, Matthew 20:1-16a; Thursday (St. Rose of Lima), Judges 11:29-39a, Matthew 22:1-14; Friday (St. Bartholomew), Revelation 21:9b-14, John 1:45-51; Saturday (St. Louis, St. Joseph of Calasanz), Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17, Matthew 23:1-12 Readings for the week of August 26-September 1 Sunday, Isaiah 66:18-21, Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13, Luke 13:22-30; Monday (St. Monica), 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5, 8b-10, Matthew 23: 13-22; Tuesday (St. Augustine), 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 23:23-26; Wednesday (The Martyrdom of John the Baptist), 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, Mark 6:17-29; Thursday, 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13, Matthew 24:42-51; Friday, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Mat-

August 17, 2001

Entertain-

Video reviews B C N S y

atholic

ews

ervice

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

“The Brothers” (2001) Bland relationship drama about four young African-American men (including Morris Chestnut and D.L. Hughley) who face their individual issues about commitment and honesty after one of the quartet gets engaged. Director Gary Hardwick’s male perspective on dating and marriage lacks energy and uses cliched dialogue to state the obvious. Several intense sexual situations and crass references, fleeting violence and sporadic rough language with some profanity. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-IV — adults with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. (Columbia TriStar) “The Brothers McMullen” (1995) Sturdy but flawed comic drama set in New York City where three brothers (Jack Mulcahy, Mike McGlone and Edward Burns) share their muddlements over love, sex, relationships and commitment from the perspective of their Irish-Catholic upbringing. Also written and directed by Burns, the low-budget picture succeeds best in portraying the close family bond helping the brothers face individual moral quagmires as best they can without benefit of ties to parish or sacraments. Sexual situations occasioning much discussion of morality with sporadic profanity and rough language. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-IV — adults with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

(Fox) “Grey Gardens” (1976) Documentary about two women, an aging mother and a middle-aged daughter,

once wealthy but who now live as recluses in a crumbling mansion in an exclusive community which wants them out. Directed by Albert and David Maysles, the often moving, often troubling portrait of rugged individualism invades their privacy but presents them as noble and heroic women who refuse to compromise their ideals to the standards of society.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG13 — parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Portrait Films) “Pollock” (2000) Powerful portrait of modern artist Jackson Pollock (Ed Harris), his tumultuous relationship with wife Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden) and his rise and fall from fame. Harris’ directorial debut is an appropriately restrained work that grasps the troubled life of an artistic icon, although the finely wrought performances are hindered by a somewhat lagging narrative pace. A brief sexual encounter, an extramarital affair, alcohol abuse, some profanity and intermittent rough language.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted.

(Columbia TriStar) “The Secret Garden” (1993) Winning dramatization of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children’s classic about a little Victorian orphan girl (Kate Maberly) who comes to live in her uncle’s remote manor on the English moors where she uncovers the mystery of a locked garden, transforms her sickly cousin (Heydon Prowse) and wins the friendship of a local country lad (Andrew Knott). Directed by Agnieszka Holland, the appealing tale of three lonely children discovering the wonder and joy of life in tending a long-neglected garden is vividly told through evocative visuals ranging from the forbidding gloom of the manor to the enchanting beauty of the natural world outside. A rich experience for all members of the family. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G — general audiences. (Warner Home Video)

The Catholic News & Herald 15

‘Planet of the Apes’ star helps Boston priest who helped him

CNS Photo from 20th Century Fox

Mark Wahlberg as Leo leads a rebellion against tyrannical primates in “Planet of the Apes.” Closer to home, the actor is helping a priest rebuild a gym at St. Edward Parish in Brockton.

By Stacie N. Galang Catholic News Service BOSTON (CNS) — When the hit movie “Planet of the Apes” premiered in Boston, star Mark Wahlberg invited his former parish priest, who helped steer the actor from the streets.

Father James Flavin left the premiere with a six-figure pledge from Wahlberg to help rebuild the gymnasium at St. Edward Parish in Brockton, where Father Flavin serves as pastor.

The relationship between the movie star and the priest dates back to when Wahlberg was a troubled youth.

Father Flavin befriended Wahlberg while serving as pastor at St. William’s in Boston’s Dorchester section.

“He was kind of a street thug and he got himself together. He was always getting in fights at every basketball game,” Father Flavin said of Wahlberg.

But it was Wahlberg’s participation in a Catholic Youth Organization basketball league that helped steer the youth in the right direction, Father Flavin said.

Wahlberg’s story is the story of a kid with troubles who made good, the priest told The Pilot, newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese.

The exact figure of the donation could not be made public, Father Flavin said, because of the contract bidding process. But it did exceed six figures, he said.

The priest recalled how Wahlberg as a youth would regularly drive past St. William, always in a different car, waving and beeping.

It’s been a while since Father Flavin visited Wahlberg in jail. Through the years, the two continued their relationship.

Father Flavin described Wahlberg as being a very mature adult who at-

tends Mass every Sunday.

“He’s very proud of being Catholic,” Father Flavin said. “The church really helped him to set a foundation.”

For the July 26 premiere, Wahlberg arranged for members of community organizations from the Boston area to attend.

In an upstairs theater, young moviegoers awaited Wahlberg, who greeted the audience to choruses of “We love you, Mark.”

James Romikitis, 13, of St. Augustine Parish in South Boston attended the screening with friends from the Boys and Girls Club of South Boston.

“He (Wahlberg) came up to us and shook our hands,” Romikitis said. “He gave a shout out to the Boys and Girls Club.”

Romikitis gave the movie good reviews, although he said the ending went a little overboard.

Father Flavin said Wahlberg is expected to be on hand for the ribboncutting ceremony for the new gymnasium in the fall.

“I’m as a proud of him as the kids from St. William’s who became bricklayers,” Father Flavin said. “Mark now has the means to help a lot people.”

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

August 17, 2001

Editorials & Col-

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

God protects weak, watches over those who trust in him, pope says

By John Norton Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — God watches over all the events of human history, protecting the weak and encouraging all people to hope in him, Pope John Paul II said.

“The loving faithfulness of God, like a cloak, wraps around us, warms us and protects us, offering us serenity and giving a sure foundation for our faith and our hope,” he said Aug. 8 at his weekly general audience.

Speaking to thousands of people in the Vatican’s audience hall, the pope continued his series of talks on the Psalms, focusing on Psalm 33, which he called a “catechesis” on God’s constant care for his creation.

The psalm, he said, teaches that God is the Lord of human history and that his plan for humanity often faces opposition from “the plans of earthly powers.”

“When human plans try to offer alternatives, they introduce injustice, evil and violence” into the world, he said.

“And despite their transitory and apparent success,” he said, in the end their plans are destined to fail.

“The psalmist reminds us that from heaven, his transcendent dwelling place, God follows all the itineraries of humanity, even those which are foolish and absurd, and he intuits the secrets of the human heart,” the pope said.

The psalm tells the powerful not to fool themselves into relying on their armies, he said, and it calls on the oppressed and the poor “to hope in the Lord who will not let them fall into the abyss of destruction.”

Psalm 33, Pope John Paul said, “is an appeal to faith in a God who is not indifferent to the arrogance of the powerful and who is close when humanity is weak, raising up and sustaining those who have faith, who trust in him and who offer their prayers and praise to him.”

Pope prays for motorists during summer vacation time CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) — With millions of people on the highways driving to or from vacation destinations, Pope John Paul II prayed that people would drive carefully and be helpful to other motorists. Reciting the Angelus Aug. 5 at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the pope offered special greetings to those “who are on the roads leaving for or returning from their holidays.” The pope said, “I pray to the Lord that such massive movements (of people and cars) will take place without great trouble thanks to the contribution and prudence of everyone.”

Teaching Young Ones to Pray With schools opening, parents and children are getting focused once more on studying and learning. When my children were young, this was also the time when we put some attention on how to supplement the religious instruction they would get in CCD classes. Most of the time, we were determined to say the rosary as often as possible.

My devotion to the rosary began many years before I was a mother. I was fortunate to have been a student at the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., in the days when Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton was a frequent visitor there.

He had a mission to get families praying every day, specifically saying the rosary.

Father Peyton actually was based at my college, coming back there after trips he would take to various places, often Hollywood. He would tell us stories about stars who were devout Catholics, and we were, indeed, impressed.

This summer, the Vatican Congregation for Sainthood Causes formally opened the cause of possible canonization of this priest, who never stopped saying, “The family that prays together, stays together.”

The announcement came from Bishop Sean O’Malley of Fall River, Mass., who sought formal approval by the Vatican for this cause because Father Peyton is buried in Easton, a town within his diocese. Reading of this brought back many memories.

As Bishop O’Malley was reported to have put it, Father Peyton “encouraged millions of families around the world to pray daily, especially the rosary, to strengthen families and to achieve world peace. He knew that with prayer all things became possible.”

I talk to parents of youngsters today who say they want to get their children to pray more, but too many activities and interests distract them, crowding out prayer time.

While they grew up saying the family rosary, it’s hard to pray this way in their homes today. So what are the alternatives?

Some priests have told me that they encourage parents to bring their children to the church when nothing is going on so that they can show them sacred items and images, explaining what they are and why they’re there. They say

Letters to the Editor Send your letters to the editor to The Catholic News & Herald, Letters to the Editor, 1123 S. Church Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28203, or e-mail with “Letters to the Editor” in the subject line to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. Letters may be edited for clarity, space and grammar. Opinions expressed in letters and columns do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper or its publisher.

attempt to impose its pagan mores on the resistance community in Jewish society. As he refused to go along with the obligatory pagan ritual, Eleazar explained himself, saying: “I prefer to behave as people expect of someone my age, so I can give a good example for the young generation.”

Let me confess that both sisters offered me hospitality years ago when I visited Des Moines and Dubuque, and that their now-deceased brother, Father Ron Hennessey, MM, was instrumental in helping me arrange my current ministry here in Guatemala. Also, as she and hundreds of others were doing the Great Peace March from California to Washington in the late 1980s, I visited with then-73year-old Sister Dorothy in her pup tent somewhere along US Route 30 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The Hennesseys are very ordinary people giving an extraordinary witness worthy of becoming the norm for elderly Catholics of the Charlotte Diocese.

Father Bernard A. Survil Guatemala

The Bottom Line Antoinette Bosco CNS Columnist

storytelling is a very important form of active prayer for youngsters, where characters do good for others, and that good published material abounds to help parents teach children to pray.

It is especially important for children to understand that prayer is a two-way street — them talking to God and God talking back. To hear him, they have to listen.

One book I recommend to many parents, published by Sorin Books, is “Children Praying, Why and How to Pray With Your Children,” by Joan Bel Geddes. It brings together important insights on spirituality and child development.

The author underscores her conviction that “prayer should be at the level where a person really is. As the Quakers say, it must ‘speak to our condition’ if it is not going to be irrelevant and useless. So instead of having children listen to and mouth words someone else has composed, children should be shown how to do their own praying, how to reach way down inside themselves and way out beyond themselves” so that they can increase their self-understanding, as well as their understanding of other people and of the whole world.

No matter how families teach children about praying today, one thing has not changed: the truth that Father Peyton devoted his life to, that prayer strengthens families.

Stem-cell research a momentous life issue Editor’s note: The writer submitted the following letter before President Bush’s decision last week on stem-cell research.

Dear Editor, President Bush will soon make a momentous life decision about using taxpayer funds for the use of human embryos in stem-cell research. Misinformation abounds from celebrities to senators. Stem cells from adults are actually better, but for some strange reason the media have virtually ignored this important fact; thus, the general public is being misled.

Stem cells for medical research may be obtained without killing human embryos. They can be taken from adult blood, bone marrow, fat and also from placentas and umbilical cords, according to the National Right to Life News, June 2001.

An embryo is a tiny baby — all the features it will ever have are present at the time of conception and the life process has begun. Nothing is added except nourishment. Every human being starts as an embryo; therefore, discarding one or using it in stem-cell research results in an abortion.

Who will decide which of these humans will live or die?

Euthanasia historically follows abortion. Who will be next?

President Bush needs to hear “the other side of the story.” Call the White House Comment Line at (202) 4561111 or write: The President, The White House, Washington, D.C. 20500 Mary Jane Harmon Charlotte Nun photo sparks respect for elderly Dear Editor, Contemplating a photo of Iowa Franciscan Sisters Dorothy and Gwen Hennessey about to be sentenced to six months in prison for demonstrating to close the Fort Benning, Georgia, “School of the Americas” (The Catholic News & Herald, Aug. 3), I spent early morning meditation time with the Old Testament Books of the Maccabees.

The case of elderly Eleazar (2 Mac 6:18-31) provides an instructive parallel. Then it was the Syrian empire’s

August 17, 2001

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle MSGR. JIM LISANTE Guest Columnist

Often, in a parish, you meet folks who haven’t been near a church in years. They come to baptize their child. Or for the child’s preparation for first Communion or confirmation. For some, it’s the first time they’ve been in touch since they got married. For others, who weren’t married in the church, the last point of contact may be even longer. I know that some priests have serious and understandable reservations about families that want to celebrate the sacraments for their children but who have not had — and probably will never have — an ongoing relationship with the church.

Other priests see it differently. They reason that rejecting a family’s desire for a child to be welcomed to the sacraments is a sure way to make them former members of the church — permanently.

Then there are the families with loved ones who have died, people who began life as Catholics, but wandered. This is not a battle between the bereaved in need of comfort and a hardhearted hierarchy. Rather, we have a family which seeks to honor the dead and a shepherd who seeks to protect the dignity of the sacraments. There are no bad guys here.

Only people with a decidedly different vision of the proper role of the church.

less tolerant attitude she would have amalgamated with her pagan neighbors and in so doing lost all that she was to contribute to the world.” The ideas behind the ban (the command to totally destroy the enemy) “cannot be accepted as the word of God for the modern Christian, but they may well have been so for Israel in the sense that they must be understood in the light of God’s purpose” and what was needed to accomplish it (The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. 2, p. 458).

Two points are significant. When Israel is commanded to totally “destroy” the enemy (e.g. Deut 7:2 and 20:17), the Hebrew verb, here translated as destroy, is especially used in relation to a holy war.

Objects or persons under the “ban” must be wholly consumed as a holocaust to God. Their destruction, something similar to sacrifice, in effect dedicates them to the deity. While this devastation is morally reprehensible to us, it is radically something other than an act of wanton vengeance or cruelty when viewed in that context.

From the aspect of God’s purpose for the people and land of Israel, an interesting distinction is made that doesn’t appear in your question. If a distant enemy nation, which threatens to corrupt the relation between Israel and Yahweh, refuses to make peace, every male is killed; women and children are taken as booty, but not to be slain (Deut 20:12-14).

If, however, enemy cities occupy land given to Israel for its inheritance, Hebrew militants are to save alive “nothing that breathes” (Deut 20:16). Israel’s sense of God’s supreme lordship over all people and creation makes their compliance with his law, as they understand it, an act of religious obedience.

We have here another element of a holy war; everything offensive and contemptuous to Yahweh (including women who had contributed to building up the pagan Midianite population) was to be destroyed.

But the unmarried girls taken captive could now bear children for the conquering people of Israel.

I agree, this violates all our concepts of morality, for individuals or nations. The insights I point out, however, are not insignificant and for a long time

Hard Decisions All Around There’s no doubt that life can be complicated, if not downright messy. That certainly applies to the spiritual and moral decisions we are called on to make. You have to make them, just as I do, just as bishops and celebrities do — which brings me to these thoughts.

Like many people, I have long enjoyed Anthony Quinn’s films, from “Zorba the Greek” to “Shoes of the Fisherman.” So, a while back, I was glad to meet him. He was rather quiet, respectful, hardly the larger-than-life character he often portrayed. With him was his wife, Kathy Benven. She had been his personal assistant. They fell in love and had children. Faith was important to her and she wanted to marry in the Catholic Church. Quinn’s first wife had died and he and his second wife had married civilly, so the possibility existed. But he also had a reputation for well-publicized affairs. And Anthony Quinn had a history of disliking what he viewed as pretense in the official Church.

Born a Catholic, he wandered a wide spiritual road.

When he died not long ago, his wife wanted final services at the cathedral in Providence, R.I. That diocese has an extraordinarily kind and pastoral shepherd, Bishop Robert Mulvee, who faced a sensitive situation, one many face in parish life. When someone has not been active in his or her religion, who has even spoken critically about aspects of the faith, is it right to grant a Mass of Christian Burial?

I happened to be visiting Bishop Mulvee about that time and he told me that he had no objection to a priest being present at the burial. But he was unsure of the wisdom of a large funeral Mass at the cathedral on behalf of someone who seemed disinclined to either receive the sacraments or be otherwise involved in the life of the church. Here is a diocese that wants to respect the deceased and his family, but also wants the sacraments to be celebrated by those who honor them; a diocese that sees a funeral Mass celebrated in the cathedral as a public statement of honor which the deceased may not even have sought.

This situation raises the issue of the church’s sacramental life. Is it open to all, even those who seem to have left their religious identities behind? Or should comforting the grieving survivors take precedence?

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist

Does the Bible Countenance Genocide?

Q. Detractors of the Bible sometimes point to Chapter 31 of the Book of Numbers, where God orders the elimination of an entire people. When the soldiers construe the command to mean only males, Moses, at God’s command, dispatches them to slay the women and children, too, with one exception: The virgins you may keep for yourselves.

Bible mockers point out that it was our God who first invented genocide. How can we justify the killing of both innocent and guilty? How about those soldiers keeping girls as sex slaves, and all with the Lord’s blessing? (Illinois) A. First of all, we obviously cannot, from a Christian, or even later Jewish, perspective theologically justify these wholesale slaughters. Without attempting to do that, however, we can acknowledge that, from the Hebrew outlook of those times, there was more to this practice than meets the eye.

Through a centuries-long series of complicated ethnic and religious experiences, these “holy wars” were seen (even to some degree in Christian understanding) as a way God used human instruments to establish and confirm Israel as the people and land chosen to play a major role in the history of his salvation of the world.

Tribes and cultures whose religions and military ambitions created an obstacle to that purpose were to be eliminated. “If Israel had been dominated by any

The Catholic News & Herald 17

Economy of Faith GLENMARY FATHER JOHN RAUSCH Guest Columnist Discovering Mercy For All When Rose Pentecost grew up in Wisconsin, she seldom thought about the death penalty. Wisconsin abolished capital punishment in 1863 and today numbers among only 12 states without it. But, over the years with the employment moves of her husband, she lived in states where frequent death penalty cases made headlines.

Still, capital punishment remained remote involving nobody she knew. Then, in her later 60s, a death penalty case grabbed her attention. Volunteering for office work at St. Agnes Parish, Springfield, Mo., she learned that a 20-year-old and a former parishioner, Jessica Clark, murdered another woman. Jessica graduated from the parish grade school and attended some time at the Catholic high school. Although Rose did not personally know Jessica or her family, she learned about Jessica’s background and identified with her.

“This girl was very large and had never been accepted by the kids at either school,” she remarked.

“This hit closer to home because I grew up a big girl.”

She began attending the trial with her friend, Doris, who knew first hand the many hurts these cases bring with her own son in prison on a DUI that involved someone’s death. Faithfully Rose sat in the Greene County Courthouse each day for over two weeks, praying with Doris and other parishioners for life without parole instead of the death penalty. Finally the verdict came like an answer to her prayers: seconddegree murder with the possibility of parole.

Over the next several years, Rose joined Doris and other parishioners in prayer vigils before executions in Missouri. Then, in 1998 an horrific crime shocked Springfield. A mother, her three children and her unborn child were murdered by an estranged boyfriend and father of the unborn.

“Now I had to really decide if my feelings were always against the death penalty or just case by case,” Rose reflected. The case contained the complexity of knotted twine. Drugs, lack of education, low selfesteem, abuse as a child, HIV and AIDS all wound themselves through the story of Richard DeLong, the confessed killer. For nearly three weeks Rose attended court, even on Saturdays.

“Someone asked me why I wanted to attend these trials,” she said. “I was still trying to understand how these things could happen.” One day as she sat alone in the courtroom without Doris or other parishioners, a Southern Baptist minister took the stand. Rev. Ron Houston, a local pastor, had visited DeLong in jail nearly every week for two and a half years. “Forgiveness and grace were the epithets of my visits,” he said.

He appealed to the jury not for exoneration but mercy.

“If this defendant cannot receive grace, then grace will not be available to any of us because God’s grace is for all.”

Though addressed to the jury, the logic of the minister’s words pierced Rose’s soul. “I then thought of grace as forgiveness, and I knew I had what I was looking for,” she said. “I am now against the death penalty in all cases.”

Richard DeLong is now serving life in prison without possibility of parole in a maximum-security prison in Missouri. Murderers cannot go free. Yet Rose insists, “If they are guilty, they need all of their natural life to make peace with God and others. This can only be done with life in prison without parole.”

1 8 The Catholic News & Herald

ESL program bridges language

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor CHARLOTTE — Around two tables in an east Charlotte apartment, women from Africa and Southeast Asia are learning about pronouns in English. Smiles replace frowns as the women make their way down the pages.

On this afternoon, the women’s linguistic grasp of “he,” “she” and “they” is the latest small victory in a struggle to assimilate as strangers in a strange land. These women are refu-

gees — Africans from Sudan, Somalia, and Liberia, and a Montagnard from Vietnam who came here fleeing from their native lands.

The women are among a group of 82 currently participating in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program sponsored by the Refugee Resettlement Office of the Diocese of Charlotte’s Catholic Social Services.

The language program is part of the cultural and community services provided or co-sponsored by the Refugee Resettlement Office to newcomers

Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Gloria Trumpower, an ESL teacher, works with women from Africa and Vietnam during a recent class in Charlotte.

ClassiEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Campus Ministry Intern: Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C. The Diocese of Charlotte seeks Catholics who are committed to their faith and are seeking education and training in ministry.

In this 3-year program, intern will work with local parish and Catholic students, staff and faculty to develop campus ministry program at Appalachian State University. Compensation includes housing, health insurance, $2,000 yearly tuition grant, and $800 monthly stipend. Requirements: bachelor’s degree, strong organizational skills, excellent communication skills, ability to take initiative and assume leadership. Send cover letter, resume, three letters of reference to: Colleen McDermott, Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 S. Church Street, Charlotte, N.C. 28203.

Caregiver: Seeking dependable caregiver to assist elderly with non-medical care in their homes. Parttime and full-time. Top hourly fees. VISITING ANGELS. (704) 442-8881.

Director of Faith Formation: Growing parish of 1,000 families seeks enthusiastic and knowledgeable Catholic as full time Faith Formation Director. Minimum of B.A. in related field of study and Parish/Faith Formation experience. Position requires strong leadership, organizational, interpersonal, and basic computer skills. Responsibilities include, but not limited to: Pre-K through 5th Grade Faith Formation, R.C.I.A., V.B.S., Adult Ed. Salary and benefits commensurate with experience. Start immediately. Send resume and three (3) references to: DFF Search, Attn: Wally Haarsgaard, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, 605 Barbee Ave., High Point, N.C., 27262. Visit our website at www.ihmchurch.org.

Director, Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO): Murphy, N.C. The Office of Justice and Peace, part of Catholic Social Services, seeks person with economic development and non-profit experience. Will maintain current OEO programs and develop new programs, collaborating

August 17, 2001

Refugee Resettlement

with community partners to promote the economic well-being of individuals and communities in western N.C. Required: excellent communication skills, ability to travel regionally, BA/BS in relevant field (master’s preferred). Willing to work within the tradition and mission of service of the Diocese of Charlotte to implement Catholic Social Teaching’s vision on economic justice and human dignity. Fulltime (25-33K, depending on education/experience).

Send by 8/24 resume with cover letter to Office of Justice and Peace, CSS, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203 or as MSWord e-mail attachment to justicepeace@charlottediocese.org. Projected start date: 10/01/01. More detailed position description available upon request.

Director of Religious Education: Suburban Charlotte parish of 500 families. Major responsibilities include: oversight of faith formation program K-6, youth ministry, and adult education programs. Applicant must be a practicing Catholic with good organizational skills and the ability to engage children, youth and their parents. Salary and benefits commensurate with experience and dependent on DRE or CRE credentials. Position may be 1 FT position or would consider 2 PT (1 FF K-6 and 1 YM 6-12).

Contact: Search Committee, Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 N. Main St., Belmont, N.C. 28012.

Housekeeper needed: 2 full days, cleaning, light laundry and ironing. Must have own transportation.

English not necessary. Southpark area. Excellent pay.

Please call (704) 540-8004.

Parish Music Minister: St. Joseph, Kannapolis, seeking dedicated, spiritual leader for music ministry program. Would like to have music teacher/ instructor with church experience and music degree.

Knowledge and familiarity with choral and instrumental programs desirable. Beginning hours, parttime (5-10 hours per week). Send resume and salary requirements to: St. Joseph Catholic Church, Attn: Music Ministry Position, 108 St. Joseph St., Kannapolis, N.C. 28203. For information, (704) 932-4607 or fax: (704) 932-0566.

Youth and Young Adult Ministry Director: Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity, 720 Telfair Street, PO Box 2446, August, Ga. 30903. www.themostholytrinity.org. (706) 722-4944. Fulltime position to direct and develop middle/high school and young adult ministries that are relational,

to this country. About 75 percent of adult refugees served by the diocesan office pursue formal English language training in their first year here, said Cira Ponce, director of the Refugee Resettlement Office.

In addition to the ESL classes at three sites in town, the Refugee Office connects refugees with tutors as well.

“Since the Refugee Resettlement Office’s inception in the 1970s, thousands of refugees have benefited from the office’s ESL classes,” said Beth Downing, coordinator of the refugee office’s Parish and Community Resources for Refugees Program.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the diocesan Foundation, the Refugee Office is embarking on expanding the ESL program. With the grant funding, classes are now taught five days a week instead of three.

“Knowing that an exceptional ESL program is key in helping its refugee clients become self-sufficient, the Refugee Resettlement Office aims to improve upon this already successful tool,” said Downing. “Grant monies received from the Foundation ... will be instrumental in achieving this.”

In addition to expanding the number of classes, the grant has also enabled the program to begin a new, accelerated curriculum aimed at preparing the refugees for life beyond the classroom.

“This revised and restructured ESL curriculum will focus intensely on the basic survival English needed by refugees as they acclimate to work environments and the Charlotte com-

Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Luz Vickers and Cira Ponce accept a $5,000 grant from the diocesan Foundation from Gina Rhodes, diocesan director of planned giving. munity as a whole,” said Luz Vickers, supervisor of the ESL program.

The grant will also enable the program to expand its recruiting of volunteer tutors.

The refugee office serves as a conduit between the refugee population, other service agencies and the local community. The office’s mission is to provide quality services and a compassionate support system that empowers clients to become selfsufficient, self-reliant and productive members of society.

“By improving refugees’ English language skills, the program increases the likelihood that they will obtain early employment, upgrade their job, and have better access to community resources,” said Ponce.

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

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August 17, 2001

Around the Di-

The Catholic News & Herald 19

Leadership training seminar Second-annual tent revival to be offered in Asheville reaches out to community

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor ASHEVILLE — Leadership skills and leadership in action will be the focus of the diocesan Education Vicariate’s Leadership Training for Lay Ministers Sept. 29 and Oct. 13 in Asheville, education officials recently announced.

The training seminars are for lay leaders involved in any of the diocese’s educational ministries, as well as in other of the many leadership opportunities that exist across the diocese’s western counties.

Business and diocesan leaders serve as trainers during the sessions, offering their areas of experience and expertise in matters of leadership, communication and collaboration.

“This program is designed to assist those in leadership in parishes and other entities to be more effective in their roles and responsibilities,” said Father James Hawker, vicar for education in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Developed from national guidelines on pastoral leadership training, the diocesan program debuted in Charlotte in November 2000, with a second session in March 2001.

“Originally, our invitations went out to people the Education Vicariate would deal with on a regular basis — faith formation leaders, youth ministers, campus ministers, people in the schools and in the RCIA,” said Colleen McDermott, diocesan director of campus and young adult ministries and coordinator of the leadership training seminar.

When music ministers, parish council members and other parish leaders heard about the program, however, interest soon mushroomed, McDermott said.

“When you think about who needs leadership skills, it makes perfect sense to come to this if you’re in a leadership

role and you haven’t had these types of opportunities in the past,” she said.

The Asheville seminar was planned after McDermott met with pastors and faith formation leaders at a recent vicariate meeting. After needs were discussed, the program was tailored to the western region of the diocese.

The Asheville program will be divided into two parts. The Sept. 29 session will focus on defining what skills are needed to be an effective leader.

Topics will include becoming a leader who cares and makes a difference; organizing for success; and developing an action plan for applying leadership skills to ministry.

The Oct. 13 session will include discussions on how to communicate with compassion and collaborate with consideration. Seminar leaders will give an overview of basic communicating and collaborating skills, including practicing those skills in various exercises.

Each session is from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will be hosted at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Still in its infancy stages, the training program will continue to be expanded over time to include all regions of the diocese.

“One of the keys to having it in Asheville is the commitment that we made to ensure that whatever we offer is made available throughout the diocese,” Father Hawker said. “We want to be sensitive to that.”

McDermott said the Diocese of Charlotte’s variety contributes to the need for such programs to be hosted at and tailored to different sites.

“We are an incredibly diverse diocese,” she said. “It is important to know what people’s needs might be

By ALESHA M. PRICE Staff Writer CHARLOTTE —The big tent will go up again on the corner of Statesville and Oaklawn Avenues. The African American Affairs Ministry of the Diocese of Charlotte is sponsoring “Revival of the Spirit 2001: Climbin’ a Higher Mountain!” an old-fashioned tent revival reminiscent of the old days of outdoor preaching Aug. 24-26.

Because of the widespread popularity of the community-based event, the diocesan ministry decided to sponsor another event similar to one held last year.

Rev. Mr. Curtiss Todd, vicar for African-American Affairs Ministry and vice-chancellor of the diocese, said that the turnout was such that people had begun asking about subsequent revivals even immediately following the first revival. Over 1,200 people attended the weekend with over 500 gathering for the liturgy last year. One of those groups requesting to be a part of this year’s weekend of preaching, praise and fellowship was the Pinn Memorial Baptist Church Gospel Choir from Philadelphia, Pa., who sang at last summer’s gathering.

That spirit of oneness that the Baptist choir members felt is one of the motivating factors behind the tent revival. Not only is its purpose an opportunity for Catholics to worship in the traditions and customs of their heritage, but it is also an opportunity for people of other faith traditions to be exposed to Catholicism and to dialogue with each other.

“It is a marvelous means of evangelization to welcome our nonCatholic brothers and sisters in joining us in praising the Lord and asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our ef-

fort to respond to the prayer of Jesus that all may be one,” said Bishop William G. Curlin.

At this month’s event, along with the choir from Philadelphia, the Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir from Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church in Charlotte will also be kicking off the weekend on Aug. 24 with music at 6:30 p.m. The revival leader, Father John T. Judie from the Diocese of Louisville, Ky., will begin preaching at 7:30 p.m.

On Aug. 25 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., a health fair featuring medical professionals and medical screenings will take place. At 5:30 p.m., a gospel concert featuring the Pinn Memorial Bapist Church Gospel Choir will begin with preaching from Father Judie at 7:30 p.m.

The closing liturgy will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 26., with music from both choirs.

Bishop Curlin said that the spirit of evangelization that was felt at the National Gathering of Black Catholic Women, hosted by the diocese and held in Charlotte last month, will continue with the upcoming tent revival.

“The tent revival and the national gathering are evidence of the marvelous multicultural growth that the diocese is presently experiencing. The theme of the tent revival — ‘Climbin’ a Higher Mountain’ — is one appropriate for the future of the Diocese of Charlotte,” said the bishop. “I ask the faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte for their prayers and support for the celebration. I am confident that the tent revival will enrich our diocesan family with innumerable blessings from the Lord.”

All are invited to attend, and for more information, call Rev. Mr. Curtiss

2 0 The Catholic News & Herald

Living the

Deacon grows in faith as years

came to me that I should pray directly to the Holy Trinity. With all of the shelling and motor and arms fire, a feeling of peace came over me, and I knew I would make it back.”

Rev. Mr. Mack did return home from overseas and continued his civilian life in Endicott, N.Y., where he grew up during an era when bread was 6 cents a loaf and where he earned 19 cents an hour selling food and beverages at Grover’s Pig Stand, a barbecue drive-in restaurant. After his discharge from the Army, he worked at IBM, where his father had also worked. This was the beginning of a 42-year career with the company and a 55-year marriage to the woman he met while working.

Helen was working as an industrial nurse at IBM in the first aid department, and Rev. Mr. Mack came in a few times and received medical attention from the young nurse. “Every time he came in, my heart skipped a beat, but I didn’t say anything to him. And, he would sit down quietly when he did come in,” remembered Mrs. Mack.

Despite their lack of conversation in the beginning, the overabundance of love led them to marriage, and they began their family of six children in the town where they both grew up. Rev. Mr. Mack learned more about IBM through company-provided classes and earned his associate degree in business technology at a local community college. Mrs. Mack tried to adjust to life at home while her husband was away. “It was almost like being a single parent because he was away so much.

It was difficult at that time. The children and I missed him especially at dinnertime.” Howev-

er, the Mack bunch found time to take yearly

By Alesha M. Price road trips around the country and camped in Staff Writer places like Canada, North Carolina and the CHARLOTTE — Psalm 23 has alNew England states. ways inspired Rev. Mr. Joe Mack. The He and his wife attended church faithwords have comforted him through fully with their family, but it was not until perilous and desperate times in his later when their grandson was living with life. As a young man who had barely them for a while that they began to explore even seen what life had to offer, he their faith life more deeply. “We had to go was in midst of war and death. World to first Communion War II supplied class with our oldest many opportunigrandson, and we ties for him to realized that someexperience the efthing was missing. fects of war on There weren’t any its participants. formal ‘ministries’ at Throughout his that time, and we retime with the alized that there was Army, he derived more than just goan almost unexing to church. We plainable sense became involved of peace from the with Bible study biblical text and and a teen seminar through constant class.” prayer These early “The first real ministries paved test of my faith the way for Rev. came when I was Mr. Mack’s later in the Army. I involvement with watched men dyRev. Mr. Joe & Helen Mack the permanent diaing, and I walked conate. After being through that ‘valtransferred to Charley of the shadow lotte to help begin of death’ many the IBM division in 1979, the Macks felt times,” recalled Rev. Mr. Mack, who that the Holy Spirit was guiding them. “We fought in several key battles of the war felt that God was calling us both. Charlotte including the Battle of the Bulge and reminded me of Rochester, N.Y., because of received several accolades for his service. the trees and flowers,” said Mrs. Mack.

“I began with intercessory prayer, and it

August 17, 2001

They moved to an area of East Charlotte, where there was no church at the time. The Catholic community had been gathering in Idlewild Country Club and Cokesbury Methodist Church while St. John Neumann Church was being built.

The couple remembers the Catholic church in its early stages.

“We remember driving past it when we were first looking for it and turning around to see a small sign that said ‘Catholic Church.’ We drove up the driveway to see a pile of bricks where the church would be,” said Rev. Mr. Mack.

They watched the small church grow while they became involved with the diocese’s first permanent diaconate class. “She was with me all of the way. We did a lot of studying together.”

After being ordained in 1983, the couple became involved in RCIA, where Mrs. Mack was the director for 16 years, and they began the baptismal preparation program at the new parish.

Rev. Mr. Mack says that he is just as active now than he ever was with visits to the sick and shut-in, baptismal preparation, chaplaincy with the St. John Neumann Council 7343 Knights of Columbus and other church duties. The now-retired professional, grandfather of 15 and greatgrandfather of three, says that his ministry has brought he and his wife closer together on a spiritual level and has opened up a new area for them.

“We learned to pray aloud and read Scripture together. The permanent diaconate has helped me help him in his work and has aided me in understanding when he has to be about the Lord’s work,” said Mrs. Mack.