Sept. 1, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 1

September 1, 2000

September 1, 2000 Volume 9 t Number 44

Inside World Youth Day 2000

Papal Mass, vigil mark culmination of international event

...Page 5

Bishops urge advancing of common good

Local News Rev. Dr. Fred Dobens dies at age 65 ...Page 6

Servite priest prays for healing of body, soul

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

Labor Day statement focuses on globalization, immigrants WASHINGTON (CNS) — Today’s good times of economic prosperity “can mask the growing gap between rich and poor,’’ the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Domestic Policy Committee warned in a message for Labor Day 2000.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles said the jubilee year observance of the U.S. holiday, celebrated Sept. 4 this year, “is a good time to reflect on the progress and problems of the American economy and how it can serve all of God’s children.”

Among the issues raised in his two-page message were: — The need for a “Catholic conversation on economic globalization,” especially about “who it lifts up and who it leaves behind.”

— The responsibility of Catholic voters to “raise the ethical and moral questions surrounding the dignity of work and the rights of workers” during the 2000 campaign.

— The obligation to seriously consider “a general amnesty for those workers who come to the U.S. fleeing oppression and destitution and who

Photo By Frank Bradley

In celebration of giving A family-style celebration honoring Sister Loretto John Meehan included naming a bridge in her honor. The Catholic sister, pictured at left, served for three decades in the western mountains. See stories, pages 8-9.

make significant contributions to our society.’’

The cardinal said immigrant workers deserve “the dignity and honor afforded all people.”

“Many of these workers, regard-

less of their immigration status, have contributed greatly to the overall economy,” he said. “In exchange for their willingness to work

See Labor Day, page 14

Priests’ Retirement and Benefits Collection thanks those giving the best years of their lives

By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor Decades apart in age and years of priestly service, Fathers Joseph Kelleher and Christopher Davis nonetheless share a common bond — as servants of God who bring Christ to the faithful of western North Carolina.

Priests of the Diocese of Charlotte, the two have chosen paths that bridge a sacred union between Christ and his people through innumerable ways: the sacraments, the celebration of Mass, pastoral outreach, a helping hand.

For the priests who serve in these 46 counties, the community of

...Page 16

Every Week Entertainment ...Pages 10-11

Editorials & Columns ...Pages 12-13 “Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.”

See RETIREMENT, page 11

— Catechism of the Catholic Church Photo by Jimmy Rostar

Father Joseph Kelleher serves up some fries at Bishop McGuinness High School. The diocesan priest firmly believes in what he calls a ministry of presence.

2 The Catholic News & Herald participants at a Vatican-organized meeting in Mozambique where church leaders from Africa, Latin America and the Vatican discussed ways to end the dozens of civil conflicts around the world. Talks at the Aug. 22-28 conference in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, noted that illegal drug trafficking and interests in national resources play a role in some conflicts that may appear to be ideological, he said in an Aug. 22 telephone interview.

Ugandan VP warns against taking religion classes out of schools KAMPALA, Uganda (CNS) — Ugandan Vice President Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe, who as a girl attended Catholic schools, criticized an Education Ministry proposal to remove religious education from classrooms. “I have heard that they want to scrap the teaching of religious studies in schools. But as a staunch Catholic, I cannot allow this to happen. We should give religion priority,” she said Aug. 20 at the opening of St. Mary’s Chapel at a leading Ugandan girls’ school, Mount St. Mary’s College, Namagunga. Kazibwe is a former student of the school. The ceremony — attended

by Ugandan officials, members of the diplomatic corps and the papal nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Pierre Christophe — began with a Mass celebrated

by Bishop Matthias Ssekamaanya of Lugazi.

Military archbishop asks prayers for Kursk crew, families WASHINGTON (CNS) — The head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services has requested prayers for the crew of the sunken Russian submarine, the Kursk, and for their families. Archbishop Edwin A. O’Brien asked Catholic military personnel and families around the world to offer their weekend Mass Aug. 19-20 for the 118 Russian sailors presumed lost aboard the Kursk and for their loved ones in Russia. According to Auxiliary Bishop John J. Glynn of the Military Archdiocese, the archbishop’s message to Catholic chaplains was appended to an e-mail from the office of the Chief of Chaplains at the Pentagon to U.S. mili-

CNS photo by Valerie O’Sullivan

Monks hold texts from early monastery In County Kerry, Ireland, monks hold up old texts on Innisfallen Island, where ruins of a sixth-century abbey are found. Early Celtic Christian spirituality is engaging modern believers in the United States.

California to honor Cesar Chavez with paid holiday LOS ANGELES (CNS) — California has become the first state to honor the late Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers with an official state holiday. “Cesar Chavez brought hope and inspiration to tens of thousands of farmworkers, some of the hardest working people on the planet earth,” said California Gov. Gray Davis. He made the comments Aug. 18 in Los Angeles as he signed a bill establishing March 31 as an annual holiday to honor Chavez, a lifelong Catholic who was a legendary labor leader and human rights advocate.

Manifold issues make wars hard to resolve, says Vatican official MAPUTO, Mozambique (CNS) — Some current conflicts are more difficult to resolve than past wars because they involve economic, not just political issues, said Bishop Diarmuid Martin, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Bishop Martin was among more than 60

Episcopal September 1, 2000 Volume 9 • Number 44

Publisher: Most Reverend William G. Curlin Editor: Joann S. Keane Associate Editor: Jimmy Rostar Staff Writer: Alesha M. Price Production Associate: Julie Radcliffe Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Jane Glodowski Freelance Production Associate: Fred Stewart Jr. 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.

September 1, 2000

The World in

c a l e n-

Bishop William G. Curlin will take part in the following events: September 6 - 7 p.m.

Mass and installation of Father John T. Putnam as pastor of Sacred Heart, Salisbury September 10 - 6 p.m.

Mass and listening session with laborers in poultry industry St. John, North Wilkesboro September 12 Priests’ meeting, Introduction to Hispanic culture and language Catholic Conference Center, Hickory September 18 - 7 p.m.

Confirmation Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro September 19 - 10 a.m.

Presbyteral council meeting Pastoral Center, Charlotte

tary chaplains worldwide. The e-mail also sought prayers for victims of the Kursk disaster.

South Korean official says North willing to invite cardinal SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) — Seoul’s retired Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul “can soon visit” North Korea, a South Korean government official said upon returning from Pyongyang. Culture and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won told media Aug. 14 in Seoul that North Korean government officials responded positively to the possibility of a visit by the two South Korean Catholic prelates, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

Park, a Catholic, and 46 heads of South Korean news media visited North Korea Aug. 5-12, upon the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Union honors Cardinal O’Connor’s commitment to workers NEW YORK (CNS) — New York’s largest union of health care

Diocesan

plan -

vision, is having its annual “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” party to raise funds in support of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The party begins at 5 p.m. this evening and lasts until 10 p.m. at the St. Matthew Church Ministry Center, 8015 Ballantyne Pkwy., with dinner and music provided by the Celtic Folkers and entertainment by area Irish dancers. For ticket and other information, call Mike Callinan at (704) 8419195, Tim Lawson at (704) 522-9728 or Gene McCarthy at (803) 831-8381.

FOREST CITY — The Health Council of Immaculate Conception Church, 1024 W. Main St, is sponsoring its “Unity Fiesta” today from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

The event includes health screenings, Polish and Mexican foods, homemade ice cream and games and prizes for children.

Proceeds will benefit the church fund.

For more information, call Claire Feldmeth, parish nurse coordinator, at (828)

workers has produced a 12-page booklet to honor the memory of the late Cardinal John J. O’Connor of New York and his commitment to workers.

The booklet, which hails the cardinal as the “patron saint of working people,” was produced by New York’s Health and Human Service Union, which is Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union. It notes that Cardinal O’Connor, who died in May of cancer, stressed his “bone-deep” commitment to working people, the labor movement and the poor in his annual Labor Day Masses at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and in many of his speeches and writings.

Vatican document stresses Catholic Church’s unique identity VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Addressing what it called common misuses of the phrase “sister churches” in ecumenical dialogue, the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation issued a document stressing the Catholic Church’s unique identity as “mother” of all local churches. The document said clarification was necessary because an ambiguous use of the phrase, putting the Catholic Church on equal footing with other churches, had become “prevalent in contemporary writings on ecumenism.” The four-page document, accompanied by a letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was signed June 30 and distributed to the heads of bishops’ conferences. Catholic News Service obtained a copy of the letter and the document Aug. 23. The document said the expression “sister churches” could only be properly used as a way of describing the relationship between local Catholic churches, like “the church of Rome,” and non-Catholic churches.

245-4017.

21 BELMONT — Catherine’s House, 402 Mercy Dr., hosts its First Millennium Open House today at 2 p.m. The open house will showcase many of the new programs, offer tours of the facility and present the Mercy Sister Barbara Sullivan Volunteer of the Year Award to Mercy Sister Maureen Dees.

Catherine’s House provides transitional housing for women and children who are homeless. For further details, call (704) 825-9599.

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

September 1, 2000

In the News

The Catholic News & Herald 3

Balancing act: Popes to be beatified were very Several shop owners said they’ve never carried prayer cards of him and that no one’s ever asked for one, either.

At the tomb of John XXIII on the lower level of St. Peter’s Basilica, a crowd of about 40 people waited in line to kneel and pray. Flowers had been laid before his tomb, a practice that has been going on since his death in 1963.

On the other side of Rome, at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, the tomb of Pius IX was under lock and key in August, as workmen tried to solve a mildew problem.

The common wisdom about the pairing of these two “blesseds” is that it’s a balancing act, an effort by the Vatican to move forward two sainthood causes that individually might provoke political opposition in the church.

For many, John XXIII is still seen as the guiding light and Pius IX is remembered as a holdout against modernity.

Ironically, however, Pope John favored Pope Pius’ sainthood cause and considered him a truly holy man, according to Pope John’s former secretary, Archbishop Loris Capovilla.

In 1961, in fact, Pope John spoke at a general audience about the possibility of seeing Pope Pius canonized one day.

If Pius IX was known in some circles as the last “pope king” of the 19th century, John XXIII is still remembered by many as the most human

But that risked being overshadowed by yet another contrast between the two papacies. Jewish organizations have recently criticized the Vatican for promoting the cause of Pius IX, who, in what is viewed as a supreme act of religious intolerance, in 1858 approved the seizure of a baptized Italian Jewish boy from his parents and arranged for his forced education in the church.

A century later, John XXIII met with U.S. Jews at the Vatican and told them: “I am your brother. ...

We are all sons of the same Father.”

For the church, sainthood goes beyond personality traits and papal policies. When these two popes are beatified Sept. 3, perhaps Pope John Paul II will offer some insight into how such different figures can both be deemed universal models of holiness.

By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A new chapter in saint-making history will be written Sept. 3 when Popes John XXIII and Pius IX are beatified in a single ceremony.

The joint beatification marks an intersection in the lives of two very different figures, and the contrast was apparent as Rome prepared to host hundreds of thousands for the outdoor liturgy.

At religious shops near the Va t i c a n , p h o tos and prayer cards of John XXIII were being snapped up, and bookstores filled whole display tables with new volumes and videos on “Papa Giovanni,” the pontiff who convened the Second Vatican Council and set in motion a series of modern church reforms.

“Everybody asks for him. He’s the most popular pope of all,” said Amelia Astrologo, who runs a religious souvenir store in the shadow of St. Peter’s Square.

Two Italian TV specials were being prepared to honor Pope John, highlighting his humble beginnings, his sense of humor and his social conscience.

Pius IX, on the other hand, remained uncelebrated in Italy, despite his impending step toward sainthood.

Best known for trying to hold on to temporal power, for overseeing the proclamation of papal infallibility and for castigating modern thinking with his “Syllabus of Errors,” he has not enjoyed widespread popular devotion.

of pontiffs to reign in the 20th century. During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, he seemed to be the voice of the people when he pleaded for superpower peace. When Time magazine named him “Man of the Year” at the end of that year, it said his “warmth, simplicity and charm” had won the hearts of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world.

Pope Pius reigned for almost 32 years, the longest pontificate since the days of St. Peter, spanning a period of intense church-state tension in Italy.

Pope John, elected at age 77, ruled for less than five years. He was chosen as a transitional pope, yet he ended up recasting the church’s relationship with the modern world. It wasn’t just Vatican II, but the way Pope John exercised his authority — as he put it, he wanted to be known as a “good shepherd” defending truth and goodness.

He was the first to break free of the Vatican city-state in a systematic way, making more than 140 trips to jails, orphanages, churches and schools. He wrote groundbreaking encyclicals, including “Mater et Magistra” on Christianity and social progress and “Pacem in Terris” on the need for global peace and justice.

He let it be known that the church was not afraid of science or its discoveries, and he sparked an ecumenical revival by reaching out to separated Christian churches.

After Pope John died during Vatican II, some participants wanted to proclaim him a saint by acclamation, thus giving the world a sign that the church did not consider him a “dreamer.” That idea was shot down by the Roman Curia, and Pope John’s sainthood cause slipped into the Vatican’s painstakingly slow process of verification and documentation.

In linking the beatification of the two popes, Pope John Paul may want to highlight a certain continuity between the First Vatican Council, which was called by Pope Pius, and Vatican II.

of Grief ” tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. in the St. Gabriel Church Ministry Center, 3016 Providence Rd. For further details, call the church office at (704) 364-5431.

CHARLOTTE — The 50+ Club of St. John Neumann Church, 8451 Idlewild Rd., is having its monthly meeting this morning at 11 a.m. with lunch and a program presented by the members. A love offering is also being taken from the attendants. For more information, call Gloria Silipigni at (704) 821-1343.

14 GREENSBORO — Rev. Timothy J. Patterson, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and founder of the Servant Leadership School of Greensboro, is presenting “Servant Leadership: Christian Vision for the Third Millennium” at the Franciscan Center, 233 N. Greene St. A love offering is being taken at this lunchtime session held from 12:10-1 p.m., and for further information, call the center at (336) 273-2554.

16 CHARLOTTE — The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Sons of Erin Di-

September 4 CLEMMONS — There is a charismatic Mass being held at Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., tonight at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call the church office at (336) 778-0600.

8 HOT SPRINGS — “A Spiritual Retreat for a Creative Mind” is a women’s retreat being led by Mercy Sister Soledad Aguilo, artist and educator, and being held at the Jesuit House of Prayer, 289 NW Hwy. 25/70, today through Sept. 10. For more information, call Mercy Sister Peggy Verstege, director, at (828) 622-7366.

10 CHARLOTTE — The St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., cancer support group invites all to attend a special Mass at 5:30 p.m. for the sick and their families and friends with the sacrament of anointing of the sick being administered after Mass.

For more details, call Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283 or Bob Poffenbarger Sr. at (704) 553-7000.

CHARLOTTE — There is a charis-

matic Mass being held at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, at 4 p.m. with prayer teams available at 3 p.m. and a potluck dinner at 5 p.m. in the St. Patrick School cafeteria. Also, a series of teachings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is being offered beginning today before the charismatic Mass at 3 p.m. For more information about the Mass or the classes, call Josie Backus at (704) 527-4676.

11 CHARLOTTE — Churches in the Charlotte area are having their September cancer support group meetings for survivors, family and friends on the following days because of the Labor Day weekend: St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., tonight at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the ministry center, St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the office building and St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. in the activity center in classroom 5. For more information, call these contacts: St. Vincent - Betty

Childers at (704) 554-0733, St. Matthew - Marilyn Borrelli at (704) 542-2283 and St. Gabriel - Eileen Cordell at (704) 352-5047, Ext. 217.

For further information, call Bob Poffenbarger, Sr., coordinator, at (704) 553-7000.

CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., is hosting a LIMEX Information Session tonight at 7 p.m. for anyone interested in the program. The Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program or LIMEX in New Orleans offers a master’s of religious education or a master’s of pastoral studies to students in partnership with a sponsoring diocese. For more information, call Julie Platte at (704) 847-8047 or Connie Milligan at (704) 535-4197.

13 CHARLOTTE — For those in bereavement ministry or those who are experiencing grief in their own lives, Janice Olive from Hospice of Charlotte is presenting “Bereavement Education: Stages and Tasks

The joint beatification marks an intersection in the lives of two very different figures, and the contrast was apparent as Rome prepared to host hundreds of thousands for the outdoor liturgy.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

September 1, 2000

Charlotte City Council votes in favor of moratorium resolution CHARLOTTE — In front of an emotional crowd of hundreds, the Charlotte City Council on Aug. 28 voted 8-3 in favor of endorsing a moratorium on capital punishment in North Carolina.

Charlotte became the seventh town in North Carolina to approve a resolution asking the state government for a moratorium, or suspension, of the death penalty to allow for intense study of the issue and time to address alleged injustices therein.

More than 200 people flooded the council chamber to attend the meeting, at which people on both sides of the issue spoke about or applauded their stance. Speakers included clergy, concerned citizens and family members of murder victims.

“Innocent people have been sentenced to die in North Carolina,” said James Fergeson, a member of the Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now (CCMN) and president of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers. “We know that race is a factor in the death penalty. ... No one who believes in fairness could allow such a system to go on.”

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, who has steadfastly opposed the city council’s involvement in a debate he says has no place within the city council’s jurisdiction, vetoed the council’s decision. Because of the veto, the council will vote on the issue again — at its next meeting Sept. 5. Seven votes will be needed to override the veto.

“With all respect to all those involved, I think this is a poorly written resolution,” McCrory said. “I do not think it belongs on the Charlotte City Council’s agenda. I believe if you want to deal with this issue, ask the two gubernatorial candidates where they stand, ask your state legislators where they

stand, make this an issue in the November election — because those are the decision makers in this process, and you have every right to do just that.”

Among the arguments voiced by those in favor of the moratorium resolution, however, was that a city council is a first step in reaching lawmakers at the state level on an issue that affects local citizens.

In an Aug. 25 letter to McCrory, Bishop William G. Curlin urged the mayor and city council to support the moratorium resolution.

“I have served in ministry for over forty-three years and have been witness to many tragedies in human life,” Bishop Curlin wrote. “I have comforted many families who have borne the tragic killing of a loved one. However, I have also witnessed the tragedy of those who have been put to death though innocent of a crime. One such death alone calls for a careful study of the penal system that can lead to executions of possible innocent people.”

Like the death penalty itself, the moratorium issue is making headlines nationwide as scrutiny of capital punishment grows. Ted Frazer, chair of CCMN, voiced hope that the city council debate will help shed light on an imperfect institution and that the government will allow time to study such a vital issue.

“This issue is trying to create fewer victims, not more victims,” Frazer said.

“We’re talking about human life in this state, and we’re talking about shaping a society in a positive way that is more fair than what we have now.”

Associate Editor Jimmy Rostar and Stephen Dear of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty contributed to this story.

Photo by Alesha M. Price

LIMEX participants discuss program At a LIMEX gathering session at St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, from left to right, Jay Mazaleski, a member of the North Wilkesboro learning group; Marianist Father Bernard Lee, Ph.D., professor of theology at Loyola University in New Orleans; Linda Schlensker, a facilitator for the Asheville area group; Peg Ruble, diocesan Central Regional Coordinator of Faith Formation and a facilitator for the North Wilkesboro group; and Clarence Fox, a facilitator for the North Wilkesboro group, look at a recent LIMEX graduation picture. Father Lee, former director of the LIMEX program, was the featured speaker, along with Bishop William G. Curlin, at the gathering session on Aug. 27. The Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program, or LIMEX, offers a master’s of religious education or a master’s of pastoral studies to students in partnership with a sponsoring diocese. In the Diocese of Charlotte, there are currently five learning groups with certified facilitators, with Joanna Case and Connie Milligan serving as the diocesan LIMEX liaisons.

September 1, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 5

In the News

Papal Mass, vigil mark culmination of World Youth Day

By John Thavis Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — Joining 2 million young people on the outskirts of Rome, Pope John Paul II closed a week of World Youth Day festivities with a call to change the world by embracing the Gospel.

Buoyed by an enthusiastic crowd that was far bigger than expected, the 80-year-old pontiff joked, laughed, shed a few tears and even sang an impromptu prayer as he presided over a celebratory vigil Aug. 19 and the concluding Mass Aug. 20.

The young people suffered through heat that at times reached above 100 degrees but, like the pope, seemed to enjoy every minute.

The two events on an 800-acre tract of university hillside marked the culmination of Holy Year 2000’s biggest and longest encounter. Young people from 160 nations made pilgrimages through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, confessed their sins in the dust of an ancient Roman racetrack, attended religious talks by dozens of bishops, and marched in a Way of the Cross down the streets of the Eternal City.

“From what I witnessed, it was a positive experience for everyone. For our kids to gather with kids from 160 countries, to interact, share faith and show love for the Holy Father, was a source of inspiration and revitalization,” said Paul Kotlowski, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Kotlowski and a diocesan group of 19 teens traveled to Rome, along with several parish groups. “Ultimately, it was important for us to come together and recognize our power as a united young Church and to experience church that is bigger than our own diocese and our country.”

The pope played host, welcoming the youths in rousing ceremonies Aug. 15 and sending them home at the end of the week with an invitation to accept Christ and change their societies with his spirit of sacrifice.

“Our society desperately needs this sign, and young people need it even more so, tempted as they often are by the illusion of an easy and comfortable life, by drugs and pleasure-seeking, only

CNS photo by Nancy Wiechec

As confetti falls around him, Pope John Paul II rides into St. Peter’s Square Aug. 15 to begin World Youth Day celebrations. A Swiss Guard keeps an eye on the young people reaching out for the pope. to find themselves in a spiral of despair, meaninglessness and violence. It is urgent to change direction and to turn to Christ,” he said in his closing sermon.

In a speech that he jokingly described as “too long,” the pope spoke about the faith and feelings of doubt that all people experience, especially in a society marked by injustice, war and attacks on life.

To long cheers from his audience, the pope praised their resolve to build a better world, one in which “you will not let yourselves be made into tools of violence and destruction.”

“You will not resign yourself to a world where other human beings die of hunger, remain illiterate and have no work. You will defend life at every moment of its development,” he said.

In opening ceremonies Aug. 15, split between the basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Peter, the pope said the journey of faith is “part of everything that happens in our lives,” and he pointed to his own youth and his priestly vocation as an example.

Outstripping all predictions, more than 700,000 people turned out for the opening events, including 400,000 people at St. Peter’s — the largest as-

semblage ever at the Vatican.

From the front of St. Peter’s Basilica, lines stretched for nearly a mile as Vatican officials desperately tried to move 8,000 people an hour through the Holy Door, a highlight of the jubilee pilgrimage. The rush prompted church officials to designate a second, temporary “holy door” in the basilica.

“To walk where the early martyrs and Paul and Peter walked, to go through the holy doors, was powerful.

Every day was full of profound grace,” said Kotlowski.

Participants waited hours to pass through the doors at St. Peter’s. A pilgrimage to St. Peter’s is one way to earn a jubilee indulgence — a remission of

the temporal punishment for sin that has been forgiven in confession.

Rome’s Circus Maximus, a racetrack during the early Christian era, was transformed into a giant open-air confessional for hundreds of thousands of youths. Priests conversant in 30 languages worked nonstop in two-hour shifts and said they were surprised at the heavy turnout.

On Aug. 18, some 300 youths from strife-torn nations led 500,000 others in a torch lit Way of the Cross through the streets of ancient Rome to the Colosseum, where prayers were offered for victims of violence — including those killed in World War II, criminals put to death by capital punishment and pastors slain in service to the church, like the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

“It was powerful to hear witnesses from countries torn by internal war, conflict or poverty and to experience Catholic Christian solidarity because of our one baptism with people who are so much more challenged by life,” said Kotlowski.

Canada’s young participants were spotlighted in two ways: when the pope invited some of them to stay at his summer residence with him, and when he announced that the next World Youth Day would take place in Toronto in 2002.

Contributing to this story were Benedicta Cipolla and John Norton in Rome.

Staff Writer Alesha M. Price contributed to this story

6 The Catholic News & Herald

People in the

Rev. Dr. Frederick Dobens, deacon at St. Gabriel Church, dies at age 65 director of development for campus CHARLOTTE — The Rev. Dr. ministry.

Frederick Dobens, 65, of Charlotte Rev. Dr. Dobens is survived by his died Thursday evening, August wife, Muchie, of the home; son Max, 24, 2000, at the Carolinas Medical his wife Jacky and their two sons, Center.

Aiden and Sean; and son Christopher, Born in Manchester, N.H., he all of New York City; and a sister, Judy was the son of the late Eleanor Holt Andrews of Springfield, Mass. and Frank Dobens. After graduating Funeral services took place on from Pinkerton Academy, he earned a Monday, August 28, 2000, at 11 a.m. bachelor’s degree from Indiana State at St. Gabriel Catholic University.

Church, 3016 ProviHe received his dence Road, with the doctorate of theology Most Reverend Wilfrom the Pittsburgh liam G. Curlin, D.D., Theological Seminary.

Bishop of Charlotte, He served with the U.S. presiding the Mass of Army’s 2nd Armor DiChristian Burial. vision from 1954-1955.

The family reRev. Dr. Dobens ceived friends on Sunhad dedicated his life day, August 27, at the to education, spending church. more than 30 years in The family has a variety of adminisasked that in lieu of trative and educational flowers you honor the roles at Rutgers University, Colgate Uni- Rev. Dr. Frederick Dobens Rev. Dr. Dobens with a donation to the Ameriversity, Siena Heights can Heart Association, College, St. Joseph’s 1229 Greenwood Cliff, University and BelSuite 109, Charlotte, NC 28204, or to mont Abbey College. the American Cancer Society, 500 East He remained active in the national Morehead St., Suite 211, Charlotte, fraternity, Pi Lambda Phi, holding sevNC 28202. eral offices over the years.

In 1978, Dr. Dobens was ordained a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church and had served in St. Gabriel Church since 1993, after relocating here with his wife, Muchie, of 38 years.

He served as principal of St. Gabriel Catholic School from 1994 to 1999, when he retired.

Since then, he had been working for the Diocese of Charlotte as a

September 1, 2000

Sister Mary Carmel Fitzpatrick dies at age BELMONT — Sister Mary Carshe served as a Sister visitor and as a mel Fitzpatrick, RSM, 91, died Sunday, pre-admission nurse. In 1975, Sister Aug. 20, 2000, at Marian Center at SaCarmel took over as an infirmarian in cred Heart Convent, Belmont. She was Marian Hall, Belmont. received as a Sister of Mercy on FebSister Carmel was quite well ruary 2, 1930, and was in her 61st year known by the nursing students she as a Sister of Mercy. supervised for her strict The wake service interpretation of “hoswas held at 7 p.m., Tuespital corners,” her comday, Aug. 22, 2000, in mitment to perfection the Cardinal Gibbons in delivering medicaChapel at Sacred Heart tions properly and her Convent, Belmont. Visikindness to the indigent tation followed the wake. and poor who were ill.

A Mass of Christian Her efforts at organizaburial was held Wednestion were paramount day, Aug. 23, 2000, at the and her penchant for Cardinal Gibbons Chanote writing and labelpel, with burial at the ing was both highly Belmont Abbey Cemdeveloped and apprecietery. ated.

Sister Mary Carmel Sister Mary Carmel In spite of her Fitzpatrick, RSM was born Sept. 22, 1908, physical infirmity of rein Rochester, N.Y. Her cent years, Sister Carmbirth name was Mary el’s incredible memory Elizabeth Fitzpatrick; she took the ranks close to legendary status. Until name Sister Mary Carmel upon enterrecently, she was capable of recalling ing the religious order of the Sisters the most obscure dates with ease. of Mercy on February 12, 1938.

Jeanne-Margaret McNally, RSM, Sister Mary Carmel is a graduhomilist at Sister Carmel’s Diamond ate of Sacred Heart Junior College Jubilee on Aug. 8, 1999, described the and continued her studies at Mercy essence of Sister Carmel through a School of Nursing, Pittsburgh. Later, quote from Teilhard de Chardin: “that she attended the Catholic University the value and interest of life is not so of America, earning her bachelor’s much to do conspicuous things ... as to degree in nursing education in 1947. do ordinary things with the perception From 1947 through 1966, her of their enormous value.” ministry assignments included posts Sister Mary Carmel was the as a nursing arts instructor at Mercy daughter of the late John S. FitzpatHospital School of Nursing in the rick and Catherine Strobert Fitzpatnutrition, diet therapy and pharmacolrick. ogy departments. Additionally, she Memorials may be made to the served as a supervisor in the medical/ Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina, surgical department of Mercy Hospi100 Mercy Drive, Belmont, NC 28012. tal. From 1966-67, she was in charge of the girls’ dormitory at Nazareth Orphanage, Raleigh. She returned to hospital health care in 1967 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Asheville, where

September 1, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 7

From the

Test of party platforms is how they touch the person, advance common good, say U.S. bishops Global Solidarity.

The statement also exhorts Catholics to take their civic responsibilities seriously.

“Every believer is called to faithful citizenship, to become an informed, active, and responsible participant in the political process,” they note.

“As Catholics, we are not free to abandon unborn children because they are seen as unwanted or inconvenient; to turn our backs on immigrants because they lack the proper documents; to turn away from poor women and children because they lack economic or political power,” they said. “Nor can we neglect international responsibilities because the Cold War is over. ... No polls or focus groups can release us from the responsibility to speak up for the voiceless, to act in accord with our moral convictions.”

The bishops’ testimony was directed to the chairmen of each party’s platform committee: U.S. Senator Richard Durbin and Mayor Sales Belton of the Democratic Party, and Governor Thomas Thompson of the Republican Party.

A “Faithful Citizenship” packet was distributed by the USCC last fall to more than 19,000 U.S. parishes and dioceses across the country. Since then, an additional 65,000 printed copies have been distributed.

In western North Carolina, ongoing educational efforts sponsored by the Office of Justice and Peace in the Diocese of Charlotte continue.

Joan Rosenhauer, special projects coordinator for the U.S. bishops’ social development office, visited the diocese in March to speak to parishioners, priests, permanent deacons and Catholic Social Services personnel about the document.

WASHINGTON — Party platforms “should be measured by how they touch the human person,” according to testimony submitted this summer to the Democratic and Republican party platform committees by the nations’ Catholic bishops.

The testimony is the text of “Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium,” the bishops’ quadrennial political responsibility statement, which summarizes the

The statement is being widely used as a guide to an authentically Catholic and non-partisan exercise of political responsibility. Without endorsing candidates or parties, the bishops pressed Catholics to be active participants in the political process.

“The next millennium requires a new kind of politics, focused more on moral principles than on the latest polls, more on the needs of the poor and vulnerable than the contributions of the rich and powerful, more on the pursuit of the common good than the demands of special interests,” they state.

This story was submitted by the United States Catholics Conference.

church’s moral teachings on important policy issues. “Faithful Citizenship” was issued last October.

“The bishops seek the support of people of good will of every religious or political persuasion for our policy positions, since we firmly believe that they advance the common good of all,” said Msgr. Dennis M. Schnurr, general secretary of the U.S. Catholic Conference, in his letter of transmittal. “In addition, it has been our experience that our moral framework does not easily fit the categories of any political party.”

The USCC is the public policy agency of the nation’s Catholic bishops. Like other national organizations, the conference presents its public

policy positions every four years to the platform committees of the two major political parties.

Msgr. Schnurr urged the members of both parties’ platform committees to study “Faithful Citizenship” carefully as they prepared for their conventions.

The bishops use their political responsibility statement to highlight themes of Catholic social teaching that shape Catholic thinking about public policy issues.

“We believe that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death; that people are more important than things; and that the measure of every institution is whether or not it enhances the life and dignity of the human person,” they said.

The bishops explore how this teaching has been applied to specific issues under the headings of Protecting Human Life, Promoting Family Life, Pursuing Social Justice and Practicing

Jubilee Days for September 2000 September 4 Jubilee of Workers, Crafters, Builders & Tradespeople (USA) September 10 Jubilee of Teachers & Professors September 17 Jubilee of Catechists (USA) September 24 Jubilee of Senior Citizens (USA)

8 The Catholic News & Herald

Around the Di-

September 1, 2000

Sister John Meehan recognized for 30 years of service

By FRANK BRADLEY Smoky Mountain Sentinel HAYESVILLE — “What I (first) noticed about Sister John was she never talked about herself, she talked about other people,” Bishop William Curlin said Monday during a celebration honoring the Glenmary nun who has spent almost 30 years serving the people in Clay and Cherokee counties.

“Your life is your sermon,” Curlin, who is bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, said. “Thirty years of tremendous love and service you have given to people. We can only try to express our gratitude. You are the Mother Teresa of the mountains.”

“You are carved on all our souls, all our minds. We see you as the presence of Jesus. God spoke to you, and you said, “Here I am, Lord.’”

“You visited the sick, were concerned about the poor and cared about people nobody wants,” the bishop continued. “You put in our heart your heart.”

The occasion was a Mass and farewell celebration in honor of Sister Loretto John Meehan, held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hayesville. The celebration and dinner that followed lasted almost three hours with many in the church and in the community paying tribute to Sister John.

Today, Sister John is scheduled to make her departure from these mountains and return to her native New York.

“When I came to this area, I had no idea where I was going,” she said last week during a ceremony naming a bridge in her honor. “When asked ‘how did you get down here?’ I said blame it on the Holy Spirit,” she said.

Sister John’s parents were born in Ireland and immigrated to New York.

Sister John was one of four children.

She became a Glenmary nun and came to Hayesville in 1971 to work with two other nuns as part of Glenmary Nursing Service.

“She provided competent and kindly care to our patients for years and years,” Dr. Brian Mitchel said at the bridge dedication. “She has done much to bridge the gap between health care in the hospital and in the home, and to bridge the gap between generations.”

Judy Wilson, a nurse who worked with Sister John for 15 years, said John’s

Photo by Frank Bradley

Sister Loretto John Meehan has always been known for her hearty laugh. Here she shares laughs and memories with good friends. “biggest gift was her personal interaction with the patient. Her natural caring enabled her to do anything for anybody,” Wilson said. “She set an example we should all strive for in the care for others.”

During the bridge ceremony, N.C. Secretary of Transportation David McCoy said in dedicating the bridge on U.S. Highway 64 crossing over the Hiwassie River in her honor, “She has given her all as a home health nurse, as a spiritual advisor and as a friend.”

Sister John was also awarded the governor’s “Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” which was presented by Senator Bob Carpenter; she received a special blessing from Pope John Paul, which was presented by her roommate, Sister Terry, who joked, “The pope was sorry he couldn’t make it (the ceremony) but his popemobile couldn’t travel the mountains.”

She also received a letter from Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York City welcoming her return. Then Gwen Kincaid, a CNA with Good Shepherd, paid tribute to Sister John with a musical tribute to her with an emotional rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

During the church service on Monday, several hundred friends turned out to bid Sister John farewell. Most stayed for a dinner in the parish hall. Sister John was attired in a “Carolina blue suit,” one she had worn earlier for the bridge dedi-

cation. And at both celebrations, she exuded the warmth and care for others that has so endeared this New York Yankee to the hearts of the people in these parts.

This story, which originally ran in the Smoky Mountain Sentinel & Business Report on Aug. 23, is reprinted with permission.

September 1, 2000

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Around the Dio-

In celebration of giving: Sister Loretto John Meehan

By JO ANN ALBERTS Smoky Mountain Sentinel HAYESVILLE — In August Sister Loretto John Meehan will be completing a circle as she returns to Mount St. Vincent, New York, to begin a new assignment.

Anna Josephine, called Jo at home, was born in Harlem, New York, to Irish immigrants. After high school in the late ’40s, Jo entered the Sisters of Charity of New York at Mount St. Vincent, went to college there, and then on to St. Joseph School of Nursing. Upon becoming a sister, she was given the name Sister Loretto John Meehan. Her first nursing assignment was among the retired sisters of the Convent of Mary the Queen in Yonkers, N.Y. Sister John was interested in Appalachia, did her own research for a particular place in which to serve, and reported her findings to her authority. Like her parents who had left family and familiar surroundings to move into a foreign environment and culture, Sister John left the big city and moved into rural Appalachia. She arrived in Asheville, N.C., in 1971 en route to the town of Hayesville. She resided with the Glenmary Sisters in a building across from Clay Farmer’s Exchange.

In 1954, Bishop Vincent Waters had set up a parish to serve Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties, and had invited the Glenmary Home Missioners to staff it. Rev. Joseph Dean, a Glenmary priest, had become the first pastor. In 1958 Bishop Waters had asked the Glenmary Sisters of Cincinnati, Ohio, to come live and work in Hayesville. He purchased a motel where the sisters lived. A chapel was set up and the small number of local Catholics could attend Mass. In the third wing of the motel, the sisters established the Glenmary Sisters’ Home Nursing Service. Their primary mission was commitment to physical, emotional and spiritual healing while respecting the dignity of all persons, and then to work for the Church in both parish and diocese.

Every day began with a trip to Murphy for Mass at the old Providence Hospital where Ivie Funeral Home is now.

Photo by Frank Bradley

The new community center, formerly occupied by Good Shepherd Home Health, was named in Sister John’s honor. It will be used to house non-profit service organizations in Clay County.

In the early days, Sister John drove with a camper, which better suited her since she might be called on to be carpenter, plumber, cook, undertaker, supply clerk and more. She had to be resourceful to acquire needed clothing for a patient to wear to a hospital or to provide (or obtain) transportation for a very ill patient to receive more medical attention.

A very moving article by Father Patrick O’Donnell in the “Glenmary Challenge” in 1974 revealed one aspect of Sister John’s work. He wrote, “Most of what happens at the Glenmary Sisters’ Home Nursing Service is not startling ... but it adds up to a staggering work of charity. Occasionally, little miracles creep into the scene, like when the medical profession was ready to throw in the towel on little Carleen Medford. The sisters at Hayesville were asked to do their best with

physical therapy blended with spiritual comfort and hope. Sr. John found Carleen in a wheelchair, her head to one side, unable to move hands or feet.

‘Raise your arm, Carleen.’ “‘I can’t.’ ‘Please try,’ encouraged Sister. Sr. John dropped in daily, working patiently with the child in professional physical therapy, spiked with love. Finally, a finger would move, then a hand, an arm, and eventually a leg.

The child was excited. In three months Carleen was walking, laughing, and chattering like a magpie. ...”

In the Sisters of Charity’s Newsletter by Sister Florence Speth, a regional superior reported and visited Sister John in Hayesville in 1980. Each patient was treated as an individual with a very special dignity. I don’t believe a queen in a golden palace could be treated with more care and respect

than the nurse showed. She entered a home because of her professional skills, but more important than the medicine she brought was her own presence to the lonely old folks. The nurse “wastes time” on her patients ... and this proved to be the best medicine of all.

In 1984 hundreds of her friends and admirers turned out for a Saturday Jubilee on the Georgia Mountain Fair; many drove in from other states to pay tribute to a lady who had touched their lives in some way with her kindness and generosity. The Town Council declared it “Sr. John’s Day.” And how did she respond at the end of the picnic and day of celebration in her honor?

She danced a mountain clog solo for the crowd!

“Sister John is the best thing that has happened to Hayesville in twenty years,” said Sister Rose Mary Commerford.

The local Civitan Club named her “Citizen of the Year 1994” for her outstanding achievement and unselfish service in the betterment of our community.

In 1996 Sister John was honored with the “Nurse of the Year award in Home Health for the State of North Carolina.” In that same year, she celebrated the 25th year of her Appalachian mission.

Through the years many changes have occurred in Cherokee and Clay counties. The Glenmary Sisters’ Home Nursing Service became an agency of the Catholic Diocese of charlotte and had its name changed to Good Shepherd Home Health Agency, Inc. It has now moved under the wing of Murphy Medical Center.

This story, which originally ran in the Smoky Mountain Sentinel & Business Report on Aug. 23, is reprinted with permission.

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald Book Review

September 1, 2000

Read-

Book offers insight, profiles of courage for youth in civil rights movement

live among or marry someone because Reviewed by Carole Norris Greene of race.

Catholic News Service The book includes sidebars with It is difficult to talk about that intriguing facts and historical anecwhich is shameful. Harder still to ardotes, haunting photographs, stories, ticulate to children the incomprehenspeeches, a sible cruelty timeline, of some learning acpeople totivities for ward others kids in each whose skin chapter, and is a different the texts of color. Yet Title VII this is preof the Civil cisely what Rights Act Mar y C. of 1964 and Turck has of the Votskillfully ing Rights done in her Act of 1965. book “The We b s i t e s Civil Rights for youths, Movement f o r K i d s : “The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History civil rights A History with 21 Activities”, by Mary C. Turck. Chicago o r g a n i z a with 21 Ac- Review Press, Inc. (Chicago, 2000). 190 pp., tions, videos on the topic tivities.” $14.95. and books T h i s for further comprehenreading are also included. sive learning resource includes profiles The timeline starts in 1948 with of the courageous black and white President Harry Truman ordering leaders in the civil rights movement integration of the armed forces and who struggled to change the oppresends with the assassination of the Rev. sive laws which ordered one not to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Higheat with someone, ride the bus with someone, go to school with someone,

Weekly Scripture Readings for the week of Sept. 3 - 9, 2000 Sunday, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8, James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27, Mark 7:1-8, 1415, 21-23; Monday, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Luke 4:16-30; Tuesday, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Luke 4:31-37; Wednesday, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Luke 4:38-44; Thursday, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Luke 5:1-11; Friday (Birth of the Virgin Mary), Micah 5:1-4, Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23; Saturday (St. Peter Claver), 1 Corinthians 4:9-15, Luke 6:1-5 Readings for the week of Sept. 10 - 16, 2000 Sunday, Isaiah 35:4-7, James 2:1-5, Mark 7:31-37; Monday, 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Luke 6:6-11; Tuesday, 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Luke 6:12-19; Wednesday (St. John Chrysostom), 1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Luke 6:20-26; Thursday (Triumph of the Cross), Numbers 21:4-9, Philippians 2:6-11, John 3:13-17; Friday (Our Lady of Sorrows), 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-27, Luke 2:33-35; Saturday (Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian), 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, Luke 6:43-49

Word to Life

September 3, Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B Readings: 1) Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Psalm 15:2-5 2) James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 3) Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15,

21-23

By Beverly Corzine Catholic News Service It is a Sunday evening as my 2-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, my daughter-in-law, Laura, and I enter their living room to admire Laura’s new curio cabinet.

Standing before us is an elegant cabinet, crafted out of a rich cherry wood and stunning glass. Family treasures rest safely behind glass doors in just the right position to catch the light and spark a conversation among three generations.

Laura and I discuss the history and beauty of the objects that lie before us. Olivia punctuates our adult conversation with her own words of praise for the items that catch her sparkling brown eyes.

As I kneel down so that I can be on her eye level and affirm her choices, I am aware of the gift of this moment.

Champagne flutes, china, a special book are all there for her admiration. I look at Olivia and feel her warm little hand grasping my finger as she names the items before us and tells me they are pretty.

For a moment I am reminded of my own mother and her love of beautiful dishes and glassware. I think of her pink Depression glass

that rests in a hallowed space in my own home. I wonder what it is that seems to link generations of women and the objects of beauty they pass along down the generations.

Then Olivia’s eyes fall on Laura’s crystal Celtic cross. “Mommy’s cross. Pretty. Pretty.”

“Yes,” I say, nodding in agreement. “It’s very pretty.”

“Very pretty!” echoes back to me. Laura and I exchange an understanding smile. The moment passes.

Later when I leave, I catch a glimpse of the Celtic cross that Olivia has wisely called “Mommy’s cross.” Its message is crystal clear.

We as parents and grandparents have been entrusted with great responsibility to pass on the mystery and the good news of God’s love for us. It’s our job.

We are part of a living tradition that stretches back in time for thousands of years.

I ponder the gift of family and the importance of the sacred traditions we pass on to our children and our children’s children.

I think of Olivia, a tiny little girl with brown curly hair, who is a blessed link between my future and my past.

Question: Whether you are the first link in your family’s chain or the 15th, how are you passing your faith along to your children and grandchildren?

September 1, 2000

Entertain-

Retirement, from page 1 faith becomes an extended family. And with the annual Priests’ Retirement and Benefits Collection, scheduled in parishes for Sept. 9-10 this year, the diocesan family of faith can offer its thanks to those ministers of Christ who give the best years of their lives in priestly service.

For Father Kelleher, who has served in North Carolina since 1966, “retirement” is a relative term. Now a Winston-Salem resident, he continues an active schedule of filling in at parishes on the weekends, and his ministry to young and elderly alike brings countless smiles to many.

“On weekends, I go all over the place — not just in the Triad, but throughout the diocese,” said Father Kelleher. “Sometimes,” he adds with a chuckle, “I get calls and I have to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been booked for two months.’”

Visits to Maryfield Nursing Home in High Point keep him in touch with some of the diocese’s senior priests and residents, including Bishop Emeritus Michael J. Begley. And ongoing involvement at Bishop McGuinness High School in Winston-Salem — from celebrating Mass in the school chapel to serving fries on the cafeteria lunch line — continues a presence that he and the school community appreciate.

“To give these people a real presence and to be there for them in reality is very important,” said Father Kelleher, who remains in contact with BMHS graduates into their college years and beyond. “I hope to offer a presence that lasts long after they’re

gone from school.”

The Priests’ Retirement and Benefits Collection is designed to provide sound financial security to priests of the diocese and the 11 religious orders who serve here, as they enter their retirement years.

The collection’s goal this year is $776,000, according to Bill Weldon, chief financial officer for the Diocese of Charlotte. Two-thirds of the funds will be used for diocesan clergy, and a third for the retirement funds of the religious order priests who serve here.

The amount of the collection fac-

is Father Davis, who in July entered a pastoral assignment as administrator of Holy Infant Church in Reidsville and sacramental minister at St. Joseph of the Hills Church in Eden.

Father Davis credits Father Conrad Kimbrough, a senior priest in the diocese, for fostering his calling to converting to Catholicism — and, later, to the priesthood.

It was as the organist at St. Benedict Church in Greensboro that Father Davis — then a college student considering a future in music — had important conversations with Father Kimbrough about the Catholic faith.

After a lengthy period of prayer and consideration he converted. That led him to yet another path of discern-

“To receive the care and concern that people give in a very real and tangible way as a way of showing how they appreciate their priests is a very heartwarming thing to see.”

— Father Christopher Davis

tors in 3 percent of each parish’s annual offertory income.

Twenty-two retired diocesan priests currently benefit from the collection, which also helps provide for those 71 diocesan priests in current active ministry who will someday be eligible for retirement benefits.

Among those in active ministry

ment — one that led him to the priesthood.

“During my college years at UNC Greensboro, I was trying to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life,” said Father Davis, who was ordained in 1998. “And about the only thing that really gave me a sense of peace was to really think about being a

The Catholic News & Herald 11

priest and the ministry of celebrating the sacraments and the Mass.”

Both Fathers Kelleher and Davis said that to serve the family of faith in the diocese — a family who in turn will provide for their well-being in their times of need — brings a humble sense of gratitude.

“There are many, many times during the day when I thank God for having what I have, and I ask him to bless the people who provide for me,” said Father Kelleher. “I’m grateful for that, and I hope to still be available to pray and to work for their salvation.”

“To receive the care and concern that people give in a very real and tangible way as a way of showing how they appreciate their priests is a very heartwarming thing to see,” added Father Davis. He thanked those senior priests in the diocese who worked so diligently “to persevere to make the church that we have inherited today.”

“We’re living off the fruit of their work and labor,” he said, “and it’s just very awe-inspiring.”

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

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

September 1, 2000

Editorials & Col-

The Pope Speaks

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope says World Youth Day exceeded ‘all expectations’ B John Norton y

Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II thanked God for a World Youth Day celebration he said exceeded “all human expectations” and prayed that the young people would ignite the world with God’s love.

“I will never be able to forget the enthusiasm of those young people,” he told pilgrims at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Aug. 23.

“I would have liked to have embraced them all and expressed to each one the affection which ties me to the youth of our time,” he said.

More than 2 million young people from 160 countries crowded an 800-acre field on Rome’s outskirts Aug. 19-20 for a prayer vigil with the pope and Mass with him the following morning.

It was city’s largest gathering of people in living memory.

“Flying over the area in the helicopter,” said the pope, referring to his arrival and departure from the field, “I admired from above a singular and impressive sight: an enormous human carpet of joyful people, happy to be together.”

The youths’ community and personal experience of encountering Christ during the event, he said, showed that the young people felt themselves “a living part of the church” and “a people of God in journey.”

The pope said the young people were not afraid of their own human frailties and limitations “because they count on the love and mercy of the heavenly Father, who sustains them in daily life.”

“Beyond every race and culture, they feel like brothers gathered by a single faith, by a single hope, by a single mission: to ignite the world with God’s love,” he said.

“To all the young people I would like to repeat: Be proud of the mission which the Lord has entrusted to you and carry it forward with humble and generous perseverance,” the pope said.

“Christ and his church count on you!” he said.

Pope announces 2002 World Youth Day will be in Toronto ROME (CNS) — As Pope John Paul II drew World Youth Day 2000 to a clamorous close in Rome, he announced the next site for the gathering would be in Toronto, Ontario, in 2002. “Right from now I invite the young people of the world to set out for Toronto,” the pope told a 2 millionstrong crowd that convened on a university campus on Rome’s outskirts for the climax of this year’s youth day observance. “I offer a special greeting to the Canadian delegation, who wanted to be here at this celebration to accept the task which will be theirs,” he said Aug. 20 as Canadian flags began waving furiously.

Labor Day: Then and Now When Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, workers marched in major cities to demonstrate the strength of labor organizations in their communities. In the afternoon after the parades, workers and their families enjoyed recreation together in parks and other public places.

One hundred years ago workers, especially in railroad and steel, regularly worked twelve-hour shifts six days a week. In 1880 one-sixth of American workers (1,118,000) were children under the age of 16. In 1889 alone, 22,000 railroad workers were killed or injured on the job. Because wages fluctuated with the economy, the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892 cut pay between 18 percent and 26 percent leading to the Homestead Strike that ended in bloody violence.

Only a century ago the human dignity of American workers was sacrificed to the new wave of industrialization.

A sense of solidarity and purpose gripped union members that first Labor Day with slogans like “an injury to one is an injury to all.” They were optimistic about making a difference. The issues at the time included securing the eight-hour workday, eliminating child labor, minimizing unsafe work conditions and mandating a fair wage. Labor Day 2000 finds most workers in the U.S. living a middle-class life.

The eight-hour day has become standard and child labor is outlawed. Yet, 10 million workers still receive minimum wage and vast numbers work with no health insurance. While companies cannot easily change wages according to economic highs and lows, they can employ a contingent workforce of temps, part-timers and contract labor. In today’s market system, workers see themselves as independent entrepreneurs selling their work skills to the highest bidder. Even well-educated workers recognize they will work for numerous companies before retirement and possibly change careers two or three times. The social fabric of loyalty between many workers and

Family Reflections ANDREW & TERRY LYKE Guest Columnists

At each stage thus far, there was a “letting go and letting God” factor that got us through.

There is a pattern of the Paschal Mystery at work here: bearing the cross of change, entering the tomb of anxiety and embracing the resurrection of newness in family life.

Having lived this pattern through the previous stages of family life, we anticipate the joy of watching Andréa evolve as a young adult college student.

It tempers the anxiety and gives us hope.

So, again, as with other families sending their first-borns off to school — kindergarten or college — we are learning to let go in brand new ways. We are also trusting that God is with us through every step and every stage of family life.

Andrew & Terry Lyke are coordinators of marriage ministry for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Economy of Faith GLENMARY FATHER JOHN RAUSCH Guest Columnist employers appears shredded.

But, the single greatest difference between the first Labor Day and Labor Day 2000 remains the global economy. Today that arrangement weakens the rights of workers everywhere. Corporations are free to move capital across international borders, finding countries with low wages to produce goods.

The International Labor Organization, an arm of the U.N., adopted resolutions covering five basic human rights for all workers. They include the right to organize unions and the right to bargain collectively with employers.

Today over 46 million children under 14 work in factories and fields and millions of adult workers log 70 hours a week on assembly lines. Prison labor is forced to produce for international markets and women suffer discrimination in the workplace. Many times these labor abuses translate into cheap prices for American discount stores.

Labor Day today usually signals the end of summer for American workers. For people of justice it offers a time to pause and reflect about how far labor has come and what issues remain.

Father Rausch writes, teaches and organizes in Appalachia.

Launching stages in family life As lay ministers who have worked with families for many years, our view of the various stages of family life can be skewed by theory when our experience at a stage is lacking.

For example, our only understanding about raising teens was what we had heard and seen in others, and what we scarcely remembered from our own adolescence. Now in the midst of adolescence, our family experiences give us practical wisdom into which we may apply some of the learned theory.

Frankly, we now know the “real deal” about raising teens.

We are entering a new stage of family life of which we are learning the lesson of experience — the launching stage.

Our older child, Andréa, is leaving for college.

With the similar trepidation of her first day of kindergarten, we are enrapt with this experience of launching.

As clinicians of family life, we have prepared for this stage for years. We understand its functions and purpose.

Yet there is an ever-present anxiety that gnaws in our gut. Transitioning previous family life stages have taught us something important that we will use to maneuver this phase.

Welcoming a new child into our family setting for the first time was scary. Though we were excited and well prepared, there was so much we didn’t know.

There were so many “what-ifs” to consider that we found ourselves sometimes stuck in fear. Watching Andréa board the school bus for the first time gave us pangs of fear, a sense of loss, a remorseful knowing that things will not be the same.

And so it has been for each stage we have traversed: pangs of fear, a sense of loss.

Experience tells us that standing still and bemoaning our loss are not healthy options. Our children are ever-evolving, whether we like it or not. To “get with the program,” we have had to trust in God.

September 1, 2000

Editorials & Col-

Light One Candle MSGR. THOMAS J. McSWEENEY Guest Columnist that people who lie often begin to believe their lies are truth. A sort of cognitive dissonance sets in whereby one’s mind becomes so conflicted that truth is unrecognizable. Lying also affects relationships.

Once a deception has been practiced in matters where all should be fair and open, confidence can never be completely restored. Indeed, the worst of all deceptions is to think one thing and say another. It cheats both the other and one’s self. Other sins are easier after that.

Augustine would be the first to say he knew something about sins. His mother Monica prayed for his conversion, even as he lived a rather earthy life. Yet, he struggled for years with his own search for truth.

Finding his answer in God, he then spent the rest of his life trying to live out his belief in the One Eternal Truth.

I suspect that most people aren’t ready to swear off the occasional “white lie.” But as we travel on our own search, we might reflect a little more not only on what truth is, but Who Truth is. As Augustine prayed: O Omnipotent Good, who cares for each of us as if no one else existed and for all of us as if we were all but one! Your law is truth and truth is Yourself. You made me for Yourself, and my heart is restless until it rests in You.

It is impossible to go into great detail in this column, but their opening summary of what they desire to offer mothers and fathers is itself constructive.

Their message, the bishops affirm, speaks of “accepting yourself, your beliefs and values, your questions and all you may be struggling with at the moment; of accepting and loving your child as a gift of God; and of accepting the full truth of God’s revelation about the dignity of the human person and the meaning of human sexuality.

“Within the Catholic moral vision there is no contradiction among these levels of acceptance, for truth and love are not opposed. They are inseparably joined and rooted in one person, Jesus Christ.”

God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual, says the letter, and that love is always and everywhere offered to those who are open to receiving it. St. Paul’s well-known passage is quoted that nothing can separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:39).

The bishops repeat the church’s teaching that same-sex genital behavior is objectively immoral.

Whether such activity is subjectively sinful, however, whether an individual actually sins personally in engaging in these activities, depends on several factors.

Traditionally, a grave sin must involve a serious matter, and must be done with full knowledge and deliberate consent. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses these briefly in Nos. 1856-61.)

Whether and how these conditions may be present in an individual circumstance is often extremely difficult to unravel, even for the individual involved, let alone for anyone else.

As the bishops significantly note, our sexual orientation, heterosexual or homosexual, is only one component of our self-identity. “Our total personhood,” they note, “is more encompassing

See Dietzen, page 14

Dietzen, from page 13

White Lies White lie, n. a minor or harmless lie. Who hasn’t at some time found an excuse for fibbing? Either the truth would embarrass the other person or be too inconvenient for ourselves, so we lie. From “Tell him I’m not here!” to “Honestly, you look thinner in that dress!” — harmless, face-saving lies. No big thing.

No big thing unless you read St. Augustine (354430 A.D.), Bishop of Hippo, Doctor of the Church and one of the most intriguing and influential Christian writers of all time.

He makes the case that even the slightest intention to mislead others in their pursuit of truth is a sin. His stand is unequivocal — whenever you tell a lie, you violate your sacred obligation to the truth.

You cannot be a liar and still pretend to serve God who is himself truth. But what about those times when we are just silent and keep the truth to ourselves? Silence is vague. Somebody can take from your silence whatever they want. That isn’t lying, is it? Well, to Augustine it is.

Many of us would probably quibble, saying that we cannot be held responsible for the way someone interprets our silence. We might argue that it would be the same as a listener getting a different meaning than we intended because a word we use has more than one meaning.

The crux of the matter is our intention: neither silence nor vagueness protects us from lying if we intend to deceive our listener. Oh, by the way, should our deception fail, we are still lying because that was what we were trying to do. According to Augustine, even if we speak the truth but know that for some reason it won’t be believed and that is what you want, you have lied.

Wow! You would have to be a saint to live up to that standard!

But if we see a lie, the intention to deceive, as a betrayal of our shared search for truth, Augustine’s arguments are understandable. Lying is a barrier to that search.

Studies in the dynamics of communication show

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN CNS Columnist Parents of Homosexual Children Q. We have four grown children, all raised Catholic with a Catholic education, and we enjoy a good, loving relationship with all of them.

Today, the two who are, and have been, the most gentle and caring, and most spiritual, are self-proclaimed homosexuals. Both of them, one son and one daughter, claim to have known from an early age they were different. As their mother, I believe this is true.

I don’t know the details of their personal lives, but does my church tell me that if these two are not able to abstain they are going to hell? How can God, who gave them such beautiful gifts and strong human urges reject them?

I have always sought and loved a God who is compassionate and merciful, a God we cannot understand or know everything about. Have I been wrong?

A. No, you are not wrong. You are thinking and hoping and fearing in the same way as many thousands of other parents in the same circumstances, including Catholics like yourselves.

One of the most caring and helpful documents ever issued by the bishops of the United States was titled “Always Our Children.” First published in September l997 and intended primarily for parents of homosexuals, it considers, as gently and as honestly as possible, many crucial points for families of homosexuals.

The Catholic News & Herald 13

The Bottom Line ANTOINNETTE BOSCO CNS Columnist Why people like being Catholic Being Catholic means being part of a family which has given us “a way of seeing,” a new book titled “I Like Being Catholic” (Doubleday) shows through the words of scores of people — famous and not famous, clergy and laity.

The book’s authors are Michael Leach and Therese Borchard (Doubleday). Borchard, summarizing the conviction of so many others, writes: “My faith opens my eyes to the good and the beautiful in everything around me. Everything that I enjoy in an average day is pregnant with the goodness of God.” Some of the testimony is a sheer, soaring love story, like this by journalist Brian Doyle: “I like being Catholic because Catholicism is about light. Because all of Christ’s message can be boiled down to a single word: ‘love.’ Because I need to believe in a future driven by love and in a life after this life defined wholly by love. Because divinity is everywhere and in everything, and Catholic saints above all others have articulated this with passion and poetry. Because more than any other faith, it is about hope beyond sense.”

And a Maryland postal worker, Quentin Cupp, affirms: “I like being Catholic because you are forgiven for everything. You can start all over again.”

The authors have assembled an incredible array of affirmations about being Catholic from people living and dead: Martin Scorsese, Maria Shriver, Babe Ruth, Knute Rockne, Bob Newhart, Flannery O’Connor, Father Andrew Greeley and Gary Cooper. Read these, and you know we are relatives, family. “The bloodstream of every Catholic — liberal, conservative or confused — traces back to the same pool of blood at the foot of a cross,” writes Leach.

The power of this book is that it helps us remember who we are because of our baptism, which connected us with something magnificent. As life hands us confusion, blows, boredom, temptation, whatever, we sometimes walk away from the “noble family” we belong to, to use the words of the famed convert Clare Booth Luce.

A priest once told me that when a couple came to him saying they wanted a divorce, he would say: “Once you two loved each other so much you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together. Can you remember that? Can you regain that beautiful time?” I feel that if people who have put the Catholic Church aside would read this book, they would remember the original love story they had in their life and perhaps yearn to find it again.

In a final essay about tomorrow’s Catholics, Leach sees “signs of new life everywhere” among the young. The church they shape may look different in some ways, but, he affirms, “there is nothing to fear.... The center is Christ, and it is he who draws all things together and makes them new. To be Catholic is to appreciate change and to see the face of Christ in everyone.”

The new century of Catholicism, he writes, “may be more filled with faith, hope and charity than any before it.”

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

Labor Day, from page 1 right to choose whether to organize in difficult jobs with little pay and few and join unions or other associations benefits, they are often mistreated and to promote and defend their dignity,” abused.’’

Cardinal Mahony said.

Commenting on the prosperity of “The church has long stood and our times, Cardinal Mahony said, “Just continues to stand with workers beneath the surface of economic prosand their unions in the struggle for perity lies the reality of what our bishjustice, decent wages and a meaningops have described as three economies ful voice in economic living side-by-side. life.”

“A first economy Cardinal Mahony finds many people said the U.S. bishops’ prospering in this new conference is “explorinformation age and ing ways to encourglobal marketplace,” age a Catholic converhe said. sation on economic “A second econglobalization framed omy includes people by our traditions and who are doing well by values.” some measure, but are The conversation squeezed by declining would include busiincomes, struggle to ness and labor leaders, afford health care, and economists and theoworry about the cost logians, “those who of a college education shape globalization or Catholic schools for -- Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and those touched by their children.” it,” he said.

In the third econ“We must join together — workomy, he said, there are “a substantial ers and employers, entrepreneurs number of people who are left behind and union leaders, tradespeople and and cannot escape poverty.” policy-makers — to build a society “For Christians, these realities that respects each person and their represent not just troubling statistics, work,” the cardinal said. but the struggles of brothers and sis“This is our continuing chalters, members of one human family,” lenge and our necessary work as we Cardinal Mahony said. begin this new millennium.”

“The values of our faith call us to shape economic policies that The full text of the Labor Day stateprotect human dignity, promote ment is available on the Web at www. strong families and create vibrant nccbuscc.org/sdwp/laborday2000.htm. communities.”

Rapid globalization of finance, trade and work — which can cause “both economic growth and economic dislocation” — present a real challenge today, the cardinal said.

“Retraining of dislocated workers to allow them to engage in the developing technologies should be a top priority,” he said.

“At the same time, workers, particularly those in the growing service industry, must be assured of their

“The values of our faith call us to shape economic policies that protect human dignity, promote strong families and create vibrant communities.”

ClassiEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Childcare Needed: New to Winston-Salem. In need of babysitter for 2 children while Mom (and Dad) in labor. Any day now! One time, on-call commitment for that special person/couple. Call Peggy or Steve Morse at (336)794-0007.

Director of Adult Catholic Enrichment/Order of Christian Initiation: Holy Family Catholic Church of Marietta seeks a full-time salaried Director for Adult Catholic Enrichment (ACE) and the Order of Christian Initiation (OCI) programs.

Applicants should have leadership experience in ACE/OCI areas and/or have religious education degreed background suitable to develop high quality programs and volunteer assistance in the community. Must be practicing Catholic. If interested, please submit resume and cover letter to Ret Siefferman, Director of Religious Education at Holy Family Catholic Church, 3401 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta, GA 30068. Fax (770) 578-0475. Inquire at (770) 973-7400, ext. 21 with questions.

Director of Music: Full-time position as Director of Music for growing parish of 650 families who love to sing! Responsibilities include: Liturgy preparation and planning; playing for 5 weekend masses, holy days, funerals. Weddings negotiated; directing and developing adult mixed choir; organizing and directing children’s choir; attend

September 1, 2000

In the

conferences and workshops for continued education and renewal; and attend weekly parish staff meetings. Competitive salary and benefits. Experience a plus, but musical accompaniment skills (piano & organ) a must. Send resume to Search Committee, Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., Salisbury, NC 28144, or fax to 704-647-0126.

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

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

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

Director of Music Ministry: Holy Infant Catholic Church is in search of a full-time Director of Music.

Located in Durham, North Carolina, a dynamic and growing area of the country near Research Triangle Park, this Vatican II parish consists of 900 households that are committed to ongoing liturgical re-

than sexual orientation. Human beings see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”

Sometimes, according to the letter, the best approach may be a “wait and see” attitude, while you try to maintain a trusting relationship and provide various kinds of support, information and encouragement.

The bishops’ message includes numerous suggestions and insights which, in my experience, have proven helpful to parents of homosexual children. It is available from the U.S. Catholic Conference Publication and Promotion Service. Phone 800-235-8722. Ask for “Always Our Children,” Publication 5-131.

A free brochure answering questions Catholics ask about receiving the holy Eucharist is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Father John Dietzen, Box 325, Peoria, IL 61651.

Questions may be sent to Father Dietzen at the same address, or e-mail: jjdietzen@ aol.com.

See Review, from page 10 lights in between include school integrations, lynchings, boycotts, lunch counter sit-ins, landmark court decisions, police dogs “tearing human flesh,” the Birmingham church bombing that left four little girls dead, assassinations and voter registrations.

Young people will read about high school student Claudette Colvin, who was arrested on March 2, 1955, and jailed for refusing to go to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Ala. She was more than willing to allow her case to test segregation laws, but her lawyers determined that she was too young and vulnerable to bear the burden of the challenge. Then, on Dec. 1, 1955, a softspoken, 42-year-old seamstress who had studied nonviolence tactics and was a leader in the local NAACP took her seat on the bus and refused to give it up. While Rosa Parks knew Colvin, writes Turck, she couldn’t have known it at the time that “her challenge would change the country forever.”

The hands-on projects devised to help children appreciate the

civil rights movement and what they themselves can do today to influence current civil rights issues include: — Organizing a walk to raise money for an organization that is working for justice today.

— Conducting a workshop to learn about nonviolence.

— Enacting a play to re-create the drama of a lunch counter sit-in in the early 1960s in the South.

— Writing a freedom ride journal.

— Sharing a freedom feast with friends.

Turck dedicates her book to the “the people of Cabrini Green, among whom I lived and ... learned from 1967 to 1973, ... and (to) the sister, brothers, priests, and parish of St. Dominic.” She stresses that the civil rights movement “is not a part of history, but a part of present-day political reality.”

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

Payment: Ads may be pre-paid or billed. For information, call (704) 370-3332. newal. Holy Infant Parish embraces its call to be hospitable, inclusive and Christ-centered. This position works closely with the Pastor and a collaborative and supportive staff. Requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field although a master’s degree is preferred. Must have music performance skill (e.g. piano, voice); choral directing; cantor training; knowledge of Catholic rites and rituals. Available no later than November 1, 2000. Salary commensurate with education and experience. Benefits package included. Send resume to: DOMM Search Committee, Holy Infant Catholic Church, 5000 Southpark Dr., Durham, NC 27713. Fax 919/544-1799. References required at time of application for consideration for this position.

House Cleaners Needed: $12 per hour. Are the kids back in school? Do you want to set your own schedule? Work 9-30 hours per week. Monday - Friday.

Call Maid in Heaven. (704) 904-8326.

Teaching Assistants: St. Patrick’s School in Charlotte is accepting applications for part-time teaching assistants. Available immediately. Please contact school principal, Mrs. Angela Montague, (704) 333-

3174 for interview.

Thanks to St. Rita of Cascia for a favor received.

P.M. PRAYERS & INTENTIONS

September 1, 2000

In the

Vatican condemns use of embryos for stem-cell research as immoral,

By John Norton Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Calling it immoral and unnecessary, the Vatican condemned the production and use of human embryos for stemcell research, despite its humanitarian aims.

In a seven-page statement released Aug. 24, the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life encouraged adult stemcell research, which does not pose ethical problems and which has seen recent published successes.

The Vatican’s statement followed an Aug. 23 decision by the U.S. government to release federal funds f o r e m b r yo n i c stem-cell research projects. In mid August, England’s chief medical officer recommended allowing scientists to obtain stem cells by cloning human embryos, a process known as “therapeutic cloning.”

Stem cells are basic undifferentiated cells that replicate repeatedly, producing cells that can form various body tissues. Because of the cells’ ability to generate different body tissues,

scientists believe they hold promise in treating various diseases, especially the degenerative diseases of age.

The Vatican statement said the production and use of embryos to harvest stem cells amounts to viewing a human life — the embryo — as “a simple accumulation of cells” rather than a subject with rights.

“As a ‘human individual,’ it has a right to its own life; and, therefore, any intervention which is not for the good of that embryo is a detrimental act to that right,” the statement said.

The process of removing the stem cells “seriously and irreparably damages the human embryo, cutting its development short,” t h e s t at e m e n t said, making it “a seriously immoral act, and therefore, gravely prohibited.”

Citing the same ethical concerns, the statement explicitly condemned “therapeutic cloning,” by which embryos are produced for stem-cell harvesting.

Other common sources of embryonic stem cells are embryos left over

“As a ‘human individual,’ it has a right to its own life; and, therefore, any intervention which is not for the good of that embryo is a detrimental act to that right.”

from “in vitro” fertilization and frozen embryos originally created for use by infertile couples.

The Vatican said it was immoral for scientists to use embryonic stem cells even if the scientists were not involved in removing the cells from the embryo. Doing so involves “a close material cooperation in the production and manipulation of human embryos,” it said.

Speaking on Vatican Radio Aug. 24, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, criticized the U.S. government’s decision to fund embryonic stem-cell research and said it represented “a yielding to the pressures of the industries that want to commercialize human material.”

He said existing U.S. laws that prohibit federal funds for research involving the destruction of human embryos were “a hypocrisy.”

“When frozen embryos are collected (for stem cells), they are destroyed by these researchers. They, too are human embryos,” he said.

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Pastoral care training sessions scheduled CHARLOTTE — Those currently involved in volunteerism or those who would like to become involved in the ministry will have the opportunity to attend free training sessions in pastoral care for the elderly in October. The program, sponsored by Catholic Social Services, Elder Ministry, St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte and St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, is designed to train volunteers to provide pastoral care to the homebound and elderly men and women living in retirement facilities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and memory-impaired facilities.

Throughout the four-week training in two-hour sessions from 7-9 p.m., volunteers will be able to learn about parish ministry from B.J. Dengler, pastoral coordinator; Eucharistic ministry from Monsignor John McSweeney, pastor of St. Matthew Church; senior sensitivity and confidentiality from Bernadette Ford, a local gerontologist; and compliance and consistency from Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast, pastoral associate at St. Matthew Church.

The training sessions will be held at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd., in the ministry center every Monday beginning October 9. For more information about the required registration, call (704) 364-5431.

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

September 1, 2000

Living the

Servite priests prays for healing of body, soul with terminal diseases. They came on crutches, and they came with canes.

They had heard about this Servite priest who has been celebrating healing Masses all over the world for decades.

He did not disappoint in Hendersonville.

He described the curing of a Down syndrome child in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He also talked about once blessing a blind girl in Northern Ireland, who then regained her sight.

These are the stories that brought the crowd of believers to Immaculate Conception.

The day before, Father Rookey had filled the pews at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlotte. He also packed St. Matthew Catholic Church in Charlotte on Monday.

“They come looking for healing — either physical or spiritual,” said Jim Hrechko, Father Rookey’s assistant.

“And they stay until the bitter end.”

In Hendersonville, the service began at 6:30 p.m. with Father Rookey leading the Servite Rosary, the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Then he celebrated Mass, followed by witness testimonies to healings and finally the laying on of hands. The gathering did not wind down until 11 p.m.

Through it all, Father Rookey kept the evening fresh with his humorous wit and his humble appeal to the Lord.

During the Seven Sorrows of Mary, he said, “My mother and father had 13 sorrows, and I was one of the worst ones, I’m afraid.”

Photo by Joey Reistroffer

Father Peter Mary Rookey blesses a pilgrim during a healing Mass Aug. 23 at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville. Father Rookey, a Servite priest, celebrated three healing Masses in the diocese recently. He is popular throughout the world for a healing ministry he brings to many.

One woman leaned over and said, “You can tell he thoroughly enjoys what he’s doing.”

Father Rookey brings people closer to God. “It was an enlightening experience,” Neil Boland described the healing Mass. “It shows the power of the Lord.”

Beatrice Ferrenger, who is being treated for cancer, agreed. “I’ve been to several healing Masses. This one, by far, is the best. It inspired me. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”

Rev. Mr. Patrick Crosby said Fa-

By JOEY REISTROFFER Correspondent HENDERSONVILLE — A wheelchair-bound woman suffering from lupus was brought up to the altar at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church last Wednesday night. After a special blessing by Servite Father Peter Mary Rookey, she stood up, took a few tentative steps, then walked back down the aisle, pushing her wheelchair.

Only the Lord knows whether she was cured, but Father Rookey’s healing Mass in Hendersonville Aug. 23 certainly bolstered her faith.

About 1,000 people from Tennessee to Florida flocked to see Father Rookey in the North Carolina hill country on Wednesday. They came with aches and pains. They came

ther Rookey’s healing Mass “was awesome.” He was close by when Father Rookey laid hands on the woman with lupus. “He kept touching her legs and asked if she could feel warmth in her legs. Finally he asked if she wanted to get up, and she said yes,” Rev. Mr. Crosby said.

Father Rookey, however, takes no credit. He gives it to the Lord. “The spirit was powerful tonight,” he said.

“The spirit does all the work, not me.

I’m almost 84 (years old.)”

Yet for almost five hours, Father Rookey blessed people seeking healing and anointed them with oil.

Once blessed, many in the crowd fell backward in what Father Rookey called a “resting of the spirit.”

In this state, he said, they are fully conscious, intimately touched by the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and experience great peace and restfulness.

“Many times there can be a physical healing,” Father Rookey explained, “but many times a healing won’t take place until later. Let Jesus be your guest tonight. Let Him work His work in you.”

Then he urged the people at Immaculate Conception to “be humble like a little child” and have courage, saying “Courage, thy faith has made ye whole.”

Perhaps courage, faith in the Lord and a humble spirit made the woman with lupus whole.

Only God knows for sure, and miracles do happen in His name.