Sept. 23, 2005

September 23, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Year of the Eucharist

Mystery of the Mass, Part 26; eucharistic adoration list

| Page 7

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI SEPTEMBER 23, 2005

Keeping a nation ‘under God’

Look for Eucharistic Congress coverage in our next issue!

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

St. Matthew Church celebrates 19th year with parish festival by

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON — The Knights of Columbus and other parties in a lawsuit filed over the Pledge of Allegiance have appealed a federal judge’s ruling that the pledge cannot be recited in public schools because of its reference to God. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton of Sacramento, Calif., said Sept. 14 that under a previous ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found the practice unconstitutional, the current case is legally resolved already.

In the previous case, the Supreme Court ruled in June that Dr. Michael Newdow lacked the legal standing to sue See PLEDGE, page 4

no. 43

Tending the garden of faith

Knights, other groups appeal new ruling on Pledge of Allegiance by

vOLUME 12

KAREN A. EVANS staff writer

Photo by Karen A. Evans

Joey and Gracie Linus explore the Grandparent Garden at St. Matthew Church Sept. 17. The garden was dedicated by Msgr.

John McSweeney, pastor, during the Festival of Faith, which celebrated the church’s 19th anniversary.

CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church in southeast Charlotte celebrated its 19th anniversary and the feast of its patron in grand style Sept. 17.

The Festival of Faith celebration opened with morning Mass celebrated by Msgr. John McSweeney, pastor, followed by a eucharistic procession in honor of the Year of the Eucharist. Father Carmen Malacari, parochial vicar, concelebrated the Mass.

“Today is a celebration of our eucharistic faith,” said Msgr. McSweeney. “We also celebrate our diversity of cultures.”

Later that morning, Msgr.

McSweeney dedicated the See FESTIVAL, page 5

FIGHTING FOR LIFE

His final hours

Catholics rallying for pro-life issues

Before his death, pope prayed to ‘go to the house of the Father’

by

Life Chains to be held around Diocese of Charlotte and show their support for life, hundreds of parishes in dioceses around the country are participating in Life Chains. In the Diocese of Charlotte, parishes will be standing along property lines of their respective churches, on city sidewalks and with other church groups in their towns. People will hold

KEVIN E. MURRAY

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

editor

CHARLOTTE — Catholics will once again be standing up for life across the Diocese of Charlotte and the United States.

The U.S. Catholic Church observes October as Respect Life Month, with Respect Life Sunday falling on Oct. 2.

To help kick-off the month

Poster Courtesy of CNS

The cover of the 2005-2006 Respect Life Program from the U.S. bishops.

See LIFE, page 9

VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II’s last words before his death were “Let me go to the house of the Father,” according to the Vatican’s official account of his final hours.

The pope murmured the phrase in Polish “with a very weak voice and mumbled words” to those gathered at his bedside six hours before he died April 2, the Vatican said.

The detailed chronology was contained in a special 223page supplement to the “Acta Apostolica Sedis,” the official record of Vatican documents and acts, released Sept. 19.

Most of the account deals with previously published information about the pope’s deteriorating medical condition, the actions taken at his death, the arrangements for his See POPE, page 13

Triumph of the Cross

Culture Watch

Perspectives

Many gather for annual conference in Arden

Books on pope’s theological vision; JPII movie in works

Katrina’s blessings; the blame game; marrying a relative

| Page 6

| Pages 10-11

| Pages 14-15

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

September 23, 2005

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

Maryknoll nun completes prison term for SOA trespass conviction MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) — Maryknoll Sister Lelia Mattingly said her now-completed six-month prison term for trespassing last November at the home of the former School of the Americas deepened her faith and strengthened her resolve to work for the closure of the training facility for Latin American military.

Now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the school at Fort Benning, Ga., is the site of an annual protest by demonstrators who say some of the worst violators of human rights in Latin America have been trained there.

The U.S. Department of Defense, which runs the school, says its curriculum teaches Latin American military personnel democratic principles and respect for human rights.

Sister Mattingly was one of 15 protesters arrested and charged with trespassing at last year’s demonstration,

De-shrouding the mystery

Diocesan planner CNS photo by Paula Doyle, The Tidings

Isabel Piczek, a Los Angeles liturgical artist whose artwork is displayed at the Vatican, was a featured presenter at the International Shroud of Turin Conference in Dallas Sept. 8-11.

Artist says shroud’s image left on cloth at moment of LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Worldrenowned Los Angeles liturgical artist Isabel Piczek earned accolades for her breakthrough theory “opening new doors of research” at the International Shroud of Turin Conference in Dallas Sept. 8-11.

The conference drew 160 scientists, artists and physicians from around the world to share the latest research on the shroud, believed by many to portray a full-length image of the crucified Christ.

A Catholic and theoretical physicist, Piczek believes the image was left on the shroud at the moment of Christ’s resurrection.

Using a statue she created as a visual aid that measures one-third the actual size of the man depicted on the shroud, Piczek presented her explanation of the image’s “concealed bas-relief effect.”

She theorizes the image of the shroud was transported onto a straight and taut linen above and below the man’s hovering body.

“One of the puzzling mysteries of the shroud is that the image transported to an absolutely straight, taut surface is not flat. It is semi-three-dimensional, very much the same as a bas-relief is in art,” explained Piczek.

“In art, the bas-relief image always curves out of a straight background that radically eliminates the rest of the space behind the bas-relief,” she said.

Refuting theories that the figure on the shroud was painted, Piczek said the

image’s strong foreshortening of the body combined with the lack of a continuous film of a paint medium on the cloth’s surface are “decisive arguments” that the shroud is not a painting.

According to Piczek, the foreshortening of the legs, reflecting the reclined figure’s elevated knees, excludes the possibility of a contact image of any kind.

“An unknown system obeying laws different from optics created the image with strangely similar visual results,” she said.

Piczek said she arrived at her theory during the creation of the shroud statue a month before.

Piczek, who holds degrees in art and particle physics, thinks this new explanation of how the image appeared warrants greater investigation of the nonimage area of the shroud. Such research could yield scientific clues to the “unknown information field” that caused the projection, according to her.

During the conference, botany expert Alan Whanger indicated that pollen and flowers on the shroud reveal plants native to Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.

Other conference presenters discussed their analysis of the shroud’s human bloodstains as well as biblical references to the shroud and an explanation of the cloth’s “lost years” before it resurfaced in France in the 13th century.

ASHEVILLE VICARIATE ASHEVILLE — Catholic Social Services invites you to our second annual Fiesta Tamale, Oct. 1, 2-6 p.m. at 50 Orange St. Join us for authentic Mexican food, activities and music. Please call (828) 255-0146 for further information.

CHARLOTTE VICARIATE CHARLOTTE — The Semi-Annual Rosary Rally will take place at Saint Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. The rally will include recitation of the rosary, a eucharistic procession and Benediction. For more information, contact Tina Witt at (704) 846-7361.

CHARLOTTE — St. Vincent de Paul, 6828 Old Reid Rd. will be dedicating The Blessed Teresa of Calcutta pro-life memorial on Oct. 16. The dedication will follow the 11:30 a.m.

Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter J. Jugis.

A reception in the family center follows the dedication. For more information, call the church office at (704) 554-7088.

CHARLOTTE — TGIF on Wednesday is a support group for separated or divorced women and men. All are welcome to join us for encouragement and discussion with others making similar journeys at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. in the New Life Center, Room 114. If you have any questions, call Bonnie Motuz at (704) 543-8998.

CHARLOTTE — The Young Adult Faith Reflection group meets at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Rd., the first and third Mondays of each month. The group will read “The Faith Explained,” 3rd edition, by Leo J.

which drew a record 16,000 participants.

This year’s demonstration is set for Nov. 18-20.

After her release, she was greeted by a cheering group of more than 100 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York Sept. 12.

The Maryknoll nun, who served her sentence at Danbury Federal Correctional Facility in Danbury, Conn., said in a statement she was not planning to cross the line again at Fort Benning.

But because of what she called “continuing reports from Latin America of abuses” by military personnel trained at the Georgia facility and “because of the continuing degradation of U.S. foreign policies which have led us into an immoral, illegal, pre-emptive war on the people of Iraq,” she said, “my conscience may lead me to challenge this drive to power and control of others’ natural resources.”

Trese and a chapter will be covered every meeting. For more information, call Jordan (704) 737-1964 or Ryan at (704) 377-1328.

CHARLOTTE — The Vietnamese Cursillo of Charlotte School of Leaders meets the second Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd. For more information, contact Nam Le at (704) 549-1525.

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

CHARLOTTE — The Ancient Order of Hibernians, Sons of Erin Mecklenburg County Division, the oldest and largest order of Irish Catholic men, is seeking Irish Catholic men to join them for meetings, community activities and social events. Contact Tim Lawson at (704) 522-9728 or e-mail ncaoh@aol.com for more information including meeting times and location.

GREENSBORO VICARIATE GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Council of Catholic Women will start its 2005-2006 fiscal year with a luncheon Sept. 28, at Cardinal Country Club, 4108 Windlestraw Ln. The speaker will be Rosemary Plybon, ”The Good Morning Show” anchor for WFMY News 2.

For more information, contact Carmen Wood (336) 545-9266.

GREENSBORO — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians of Guilford County will meet Oct. 6 in St. Pius X Church’s Kloster Center, 2210 North Elm St. A representative from Legal Aid will speak at 7 p.m. At the meeting, plans will be finalized for the Irish Feis Dinner Dance, to be held Oct. 29. For more information, call Mary Giff at (336) 855-7014.

SEPTEMBER 23, 2005 Volume 14 • Number 43

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Karen A. Evans Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising MANAGER: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Deborah Hiles 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

The Catholic News & Herald 3

September 23, 2005

FROM THE VATICAN

Papal envoy says U.S. must not be abandoned during Katrina Many people had been shocked by the discovery of poverty in the country — a poverty, he said, that in some places was “shameful in rich America.”

He said members of the church had a duty to not abandon those in need in the United States.

“It is not only our ‘communio’ with members of our church and our human solidarity: There is more” that impels people to reach out to the United States at this time, he said.

He said Catholic Charities had made $6 million available for relief efforts from the very beginning of the disaster, but he suggested more was needed. He said his visit to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, La., Biloxi, Miss., and other places “awakened renewed attention” to the need for additional humanitarian assistance.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican spokesman denied reports that

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “The United States must not be abandoned” as it continues to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and begins to grapple with the poverty revealed by the disaster, said a special papal envoy.

Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” said after a four-day visit to affected areas in Louisiana and Mississippi that he was afraid “the superpower may isolate itself and stay isolated” in the wake of the natural disaster.

As a sign of his personal solidarity, Pope Benedict XVI sent Archbishop Cordes to the United States Sept. 10-14 to meet with victims of the hurricane and with church and government officials.

While he had seen “terrible scenes” during his visit he had also witnessed “gestures of great humanity,” the archbishop said Sept. 17

HICKORY VICARIATE

ing Mass the first Sunday of each month at 4 p.m. Prayer and worship with prayer teams will be available at 3 p.m., and a potluck dinner will follow the Mass. Father John Putnam, pastor, will be the celebrant. For further information, call Bill Owens at (704) 639-9837.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN VICARIATE

MORGANTON — The Cursillo Movement of the Diocese of Charlotte is hosting a diocesanwide Grand Ultreya at Steel Creek Park and Campgrounds, 7081 NC 181 N., Oct. 1 at 11:30 a.m., with Mass at 12 p.m. A covered-dish lunch will follow. Other events will include music, witnessing and hiking nature trails until 3:30 p.m. For directions and more information, call Mary Hennie at (704) 637-6064 or e-mail mjhennie@msn.com.

NEWTON — The Brother Francis Secular Franciscan Fraternity will be celebrating the death of St. Francis of Assisi Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph Church, 720 W. 13th St., All are invited to come for the Transitus service and the reception afterwards in the Family Center. For more information, call (828) 466-1664.

HICKORY — Father Robert Ferris leads a Lectionary Bible Study at St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St., Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the parlor. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

This study prepares participants for the following Sunday’s Mass by reading and studying the liturgical readings for the next week. For more information on this study, contact Kathy Succop at (828) 327-2341 or stalscoordinator@ charter.net.

SALISBURY VICARIATE MOORESVILLE — St. Therese Church, 217 Brawley School Rd., will host the Personal Foundation Program with Rosemary Santillo, a professional life and business coach. The free sessions will take place Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 and 19. Attend all sessions or just come for one that sparks your interest. To register, call the faith formation office at (704) 664-7762 or e-mail dconklin@sainttherese.net. For more information about Rosemary Santillo and her programs, visit Coaching at Reflection Rock at www. reflectionrock.com.

SALISBURY — Sacred Heart Church, 128 N. Fulton St., celebrates a Charismatic and Heal-

Episcopal

calendar

the Vatican Secretariat of State has attempted to help hide a Croatian general accused of war crimes.

Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the U.N. international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, told a London newspaper she believes Gen. Ante Gotovina is hiding in a Franciscan monastery in Croatia.

In an interview published Sept. 20 in The Daily Telegraph, she said she had met with Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, Vatican foreign minister, in July seeking the Vatican’s help in discovering which of roughly 80 monasteries in Croatia was sheltering the general.

“They said they have no intelligence and I don’t believe that,” she told the Telegraph. “I think that the Catholic Church has the most advanced intelligence services.”

“Msgr. Lajolo said to me, ‘Let me know in which monastery Gotovina is hiding.’ I said, if I knew, I would not be here in Rome,” the prosecutor said.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Sept. 20, “The Secretariat

of State is not an organ of the Holy See that can collaborate institutionally with tribunals.”

He said Archbishop Lajolo asked del Ponte to explain why she believed the general was hiding in a monastery and to provide some indication of which monastery it might be so that he could contact local church authorities.

Previous investigations of rumors that the general was hiding in a church building “had a negative outcome,” Navarro-Valls said.

The spokesman said that as of Sept.

20 del Ponte had provided the Vatican with no further details about her suspicions.

Gotovina was indicted in 2001 on charges that he was the commanding officer responsible for atrocities committed in 1995 as Croatian forces attempted to reclaim control of the Krajina region.

Some 150 Serb civilians were killed and more than 150,000 were displaced.

Katrina’s wrath

MAGGIE VALLEY -- The Smoky Mountain Vicariate Eucharistic Assembly will take place Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Living Waters Reflection Center, 103 Living Waters Lane. Augustinian Father Frank Doyle will present “Lift up your hearts; see who you are, and become what you see,” followed by a bilingual liturgy and lunch. The assembly is free and open to the public. To register, call (828) 926-3833 or email LWCRC@ main.nc.us.

FRANKLIN — Respect Life meets the first Wednesday of every month after the 5:30 p.m. Mass in the Family Life Center at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 299 Maple St. All those interested in promoting the sanctity of human life are invited to attend. For more information, contact Julie Tastinger at (828) 349-9813 or jatastinger@aol.com.

WINSTON-SALEM VICARIATE KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church, 616 S. Cherry St., hosts a Senior Coffee House the first and third Mondays of each month, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Salesian Hall in the Child Development Building. Call the church office at (336) 996-5109 ext. 12 for directions or information.

Is your parish or school sponsoring a free event open to the general public? Please submit notices for the Diocesan Planner at least 15 days prior to the event date in writing to Karen A. Evans at kaevans@ charlottediocese.org or fax to (704) Bishop Peter J. Jugis370-3382. will participate in the following events:

Sept. 30 — 1:45 p.m. Mass Teacher In-service Day Charlotte Catholic High School Oct. 1 — 9 a.m.

Catechist Enrichment Day, Southern Region St. Matthew Church, Charlotte Oct. 1 — 5 p.m.

50th Anniversary Celebration St. Stephen Church, Elkin

Vatican denies it is hiding Croatian general accused of war

Oct. 2 — 11 a.m.

Diaconate Ordination, Agostino Fernandez, O.S.B. Belmont Abbey, Belmont Oct. 2-7 Priests’ Retreat Maggie Valley Oct. 9 — 9 a.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation

CNS photo by Frank J. Methe, Clarion Herald

New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes surveys the destruction at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Slidell, La., Sept. 17. After the roof collapsed the church was flooded by the storm surge created by Hurricane Katrina. The parish elementary school also suffered severe flooding.

$3 million in missions money pledged to hurricane-affected dioceses WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Home Missions received approval Sept. 14 from the bishops’ Administrative Committee to spend more than $3 million from its reserve funds to dioceses dealing with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

The funds will be spent in both mission and nonmission dioceses — a situation that required approval of the Administrative Committee, which handles the business affairs of the U.S. bishops in

between their general meetings.

Grants will be made to dioceses affected by the hurricane as well as to other dioceses incurring substantial costs in offering relief to hurricane refugees. The grants will be made “in the most equitable way possible,” according to a U.S. bishops’ announcement Sept. 19.

The funds would be used either for immediate relief for people, or for lessening the damage done to diocesan or parish infrastructure and to ministry programs.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

O, say, can you sing?

School performance promotes National Anthem HUNTERSVILLE — “The StarSpangled Banner” never sounded so good.

Students, teachers and staff of St. Mark School in Huntersville gathered in the school’s courtyard to sing the song Sept. 14. The performance — attended by parents, Huntersville Mayor Kim Phillips and members of the city council, police and fire departments — celebrated the launch of “The National Anthem Project: Restoring America’s Voice.”

The multiyear educational campaign is to encourage Americans to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” while spotlighting the important role music education plays in giving Americans a patriotic voice.

The campaign, sponsored by The

National Association for Music Education, is the result of a Harris Interactive survey indicating two out of three U.S. adults do not know all the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and many more did not know which song was the national anthem or why it was written.

The performance at St. Mark School was directed by Heidi Hickox, general and choral music teacher, and Brian Joyce, band teacher. The event included a remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001, and the history of the national anthem.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on The National Anthem Project, visit www. thenationalanthemproject.org.

Courtesy Photos

Above: Heidi Hickox, music teacher at St. Mark School in Huntersville, leads students, teachers and staff in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in the school courtyard Sept. 14. The performance celebrated The National Anthem Project.

Below: A giant American flag is suspended over the courtyard from a fire truck’s ladder during the performance.

September 23, 2005

Knights, others appeal Pledge ruling PLEDGE, from page 1

his daughter’s California school district over the practice of reciting the pledge.

The high court declined to decide whether the words “under God” made it unconstitutional to recite the pledge in public schools.

Five of the justices rejected the case because Newdow did not have legal custody of his daughter; he said he was challenging the pledge on her behalf. Her mother, Sandra L. Banning, who has primary custody, opposed the legal effort.

Three of the eight justices who ruled on the case said they thought Newdow did have legal standing to sue, but they joined the other five in rejecting the case because they believed the pledge is constitutional.

The new lawsuit was again filed by Newdow, a physician and an attorney who represented himself before the Supreme Court last March, but this time with the participation of other students who live in four Sacramento-area school districts.

Karlton’s Sept. 14 decision said that because the Supreme Court did not reverse the 9th Circuit ruling in favor of Newdow’s original claim that decision

prevails and the practice of reciting the pledge is unconstitutional.

Karlton did not issue a restraining order to stop the schools from saying the pledge while appeals proceed, but said he would consider motions requesting such an order. A 9th Circuit ruling would only apply to states within that jurisdiction, comprised of nine Western states and the Pacific territories.

On Sept. 19, the Becket Fund, a religious liberty law firm that represents the Knights of Columbus and 10 students who want to defend the practice of reciting the pledge, issued a statement saying an appeal had been filed.

The Knights of Columbus fraternal organization was a part of the successful 1954 effort to persuade Congress to add the words “under God” to the pledge.

When Newdow filed his new lawsuit, the organization was given permission to join the case as a defendant.

In a Sept. 15 statement, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said, “If freedom of religion in America means anything at all, it means that it’s just as constitutional to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, complete with the words ‘under God,’ as it is to read aloud the Declaration of Independence. They both express the same truth: that our fundamental rights come from God, our creator and not from government.”

September 23, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 5

FROM THE COVER

Fun, faith celebrated at St. Matthew Church FESTIVAL, from page 1

Photo by Karen A. Evans

A young girl enjoys the inflatable slide at St. Matthew Church’s Festival of Faith Sept. 17. The festival featured vendors, music, dancers and games.

our growing diversity as a multicultural parish,” said Mercy Sister Jeanne Marie Kienast, pastoral associate.

“This is a wonderful unifier for our parish.”

Msgr. McSweeney also noted that people of all ages were involved in the festival as both participants and volunteers.

In addition to honoring grandparents and entertaining children, adults and teenagers worked at the rides, vendor and game booths.

The festival of faith has been celebrated every other year since 2001, the parish’s 15th anniversary.

Since the announcement of its founding on Sept. 21, 1986, St. Matthew Church has grown to become the largest Catholic church in the Diocese of Charlotte, with more than 18,000 registered parishioners.

Grandparent Garden, a meditation area between the church and the school honoring the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren. Among the paving bricks are 843 engraved bricks ordered by families of St. Matthew Church and School.

“The Grandparent Garden is dedicated to the vocation of grandparenting,” said Msgr. McSweeney.

Each engraved brick carries a personal message and the names of the grandparents in whose honor or memory the brick was purchased.

Still a work in progress, the garden will include benches, a picnic table and landscaping. It will feature statues of St. Anne and St. Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus.

Following the morning’s spiritual events, the festival kicked into high gear with about 300 people attending a carnival featuring vendors, Irish dancers, music, games and inflatable rides for the children.

“This is a day when we celebrate who we are as a faith community and

Contact Staff Writer Karen A. Evans by calling (704) 370-3354 or e-mail kaevans@charlottediocese.org.

Photo by Karen A. Evans

Parents help their young daughter negotiate the balance beam at St. Matthew Church Sept. 17. The biannual Festival of Faith celebrates the founding of the church, as well as the church’s growing multicultural community. This year, a eucharistic procession honored the Year of the Eucharist, which ends next month.

6 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

‘Triumph of the

September 23, 2005

A gathering of catechists

Photo by Deacon Gerald Potkay

Photo by Carole McGrotty

Father Matthew Kauth, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin, talks to teenagers about sin during the fourth annual “Triumph of the Cross” conference at St. Barnabas Church in Arden Sept. 9-10.

Many gather for fourth annual conference at St. Barnabas Church by

CAROLE McGROTTY correspondent

ARDEN — A Christian author, a college professor of literature, a Catholic high school teacher and several priests were among the workshop leaders discussing faith, prayer and Catholicism at a recent conference in Arden.

Nearly 150 people, including many teenagers, attended the fourth annual “Triumph of the Cross: Building Catholic Families, Building a Catholic Culture” conference held at St. Barnabas Church in Arden Sept. 9-10.

“The triumph of his cross is the giving of grace,” said Father Roger Arnsparger, pastor of St. Barnabas Church, during his homily at Mass.

Regina Doman, author of several books for teens, gave the keynote speech on “The Genius of Catholic Womanhood” as well as a workshop on writing Catholic fiction.

“As Catholic writers, we need to at least acknowledge that evil is out there,” she said. “It is difficult to do it in a way that you are not exposing people to sin.”

“Why We Have Sin: A Talk for Young People” was the workshop topic of Father Matthew Kauth, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin.

“We have sin because we do it,” said Father Kauth. “Evil is the absence of a good that should be present. Adam and Eve knew what was good but didn’t know the absence of God.” God offers himself to us but he won’t force himself on us, said Father Kauth.

“God gives us just enough grace to

make us want him,” said Father Kauth.

“On your part, you have to want more.”

Lack of integrity is one of the main “Pitfalls for Catholic Teens,” according to Jennifer Gordon, a teacher at Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tenn.

“Because you’re Catholic, you belong entirely to Christ,” she told her teen audience. “Is there a piece of you that you’re holding back? ... You have to strive for a real world the way God meant for things to be.”

Growth as a Christian is all about time, and devoting more time to prayer is essential, said Scott Richert, executive editor of “Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture,” during his workshop, “Pray Without Ceasing: Reintegrating the Home and the Parish.”

Richert encouraged participants to learn short prayers by rote and to expand the time they already devote to prayer.

“Prayer will resurface when we need it,” he said.

Other workshop topics included moral living, celebrity conversions and Islam in America.

The conference also featured a concert of sacred choral music by a choir comprised of parishioners from St. Barnabas Church and St. Eugene Church, St. Joan of Arc Church and the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville.

The music also will be performed at the diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Charlotte Sept. 23.

Participants gather for “Lighting the Fires of Faith XI” at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville Sept. 10. More than 200 people attended the annual enrichment and education event, sponsored by the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. The bilingual event was a part of the ongoing training for catechists, youth ministers, RCIA teams and adult education leaders.

September 23, 2005

year of the eucharist

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

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

Saturdays, 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

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

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

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

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

otherwise posted) until 6:30 p.m.

Burnsville Sacred Heart Church Wednesdays, 10:30-11:45 a.m., followed by Mass at 12 p.m.

Charlotte Our Lady of the Assumption Church first Fridays, following 7 p.m. Mass for one hour

St. Gabriel Church perpetual adoration

St. Matthew Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Saturday, in chapel

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

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

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

until 10:30 a.m.

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

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

Sundays, 8-9 a.m.

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

Gastonia St. Michael Church eve of first Friday, 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. Friday Greensboro St. Benedict Church first Fridays, 12:15-8 p.m.

St. Paul the Apostle Church first Fridays, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

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

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

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

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

Kannapolis St. Joseph Church Thursdays, 4-7 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m.

Kernersville Holy Cross Church Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 7 p.m.

King Good Shepherd Church Fridays, 6-7 p.m.

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

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

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

parishioners, 6-8 p.m.

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

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

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

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

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

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

10-11 a.m.

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

until 6 p.m.

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

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

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

Swannanoa St. Margaret Mary Church first Fridays following 12 p.m. Mass until 5 p.m.

Sylva St. Mary Church first Saturday following the 9 a.m. Mass

until 3 p.m.

Thomasville Our Lady of the Highways Church first Fridays, 12-7 p.m.

Tryon St. John the Baptist Church Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30 p.m.; first Fridays

9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Waynesville St. John the Evangelist Church first Fridays following 9 a.m. Mass until 4:30

To include your church in this list, please call (704) 370-3354.

The Catholic News & Herald 7

Ite, Missa Est

Understanding the Mystery of the Mass, Part 26 In our discussion of the Communion Rite last time, we concluded by mentioning that the “Prayer After Communion” completes the Communion Rite. Following the Communion Rite is a decidedly short and simple conclusion to the Mass called the “Concluding Rite,” consisting of relatively few parts.

Let us now examine how the Mass is ended by investigating these parts.

The ritual of the Mass allows a time and a place for announcements that are to be given after the “Prayer After Communion.” There are two specifications for these announcements: they are to be brief and necessary.

The priest then greets the faithful in the usual manner, “The Lord be with you,” with the usual response by the faithful. The celebrant then blesses the faithful with the customary sign of the cross and invocation of the Holy Trinity.

He concludes the Mass in the same manner in which it was initiated; the prayer of the Mass, the highest form of prayer known to mankind, is now completed with the Trinitarian blessing.

On solemn feasts and special occasions, there may be a more elaborate prayer over the people, which is usually begun with the instruction, “Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing.”

One final exchange remains between the deacon — or, if there is no deacon, the celebrant — and the faithful, known as the “dismissal.” The deacon (or priest) says, “Ite, missa est [Go, it is the dismissal]” in the Latin version, which is rendered as three options in the current English edition: “Go in the peace of Christ”; “The Mass is ended, go in peace”; or “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

The faithful respond one last time, “Deo gratias” [“Thanks be to God”]. The dismissal, although very subtle and concise, holds great theological importance.

It is the dismissal that gives the Mass its name: “the Mass” comes from the Latin Missa, meaning “sent” or “dismissed.”

The faithful go to Mass, not merely as an escape from the world or as a diversion from one’s Christian responsibilities, but rather that they might be sent back into the world, fortified by the grace of God. Having rendered to God the worship of the Mass and having received the fruits of redemption, the faithful can better accomplish the duties of their particular vocation in the midst of the world — to sanctify the home, the workplace, the school, the marketplace, etc.

But before the celebrant and the faithful depart, the celebrant and deacon

Guest Column Father Matthew Buettner guest columnist

reverence the altar once again with a kiss and either bow to the altar or, if the tabernacle is in the sanctuary, they genuflect to the reserved Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.

There may be a recessional hymn that accompanies the movement of the ministers from the sanctuary, but this is not necessary since the Mass is already ended.

Now what?

Immediately upon the completion of Mass, it has been recommended by the Catholic Church for centuries to remain for a time of personal thanksgiving. We are encouraged to remain quiet, kneel down and thank God for the outpouring of grace and mercy received in holy Communion.

St. José Maria Escrivá advises us, “Do not leave the church almost immediately after receiving the sacrament.

Surely you have nothing so important to attend to that you cannot give our Lord 10 minutes to say thanks .... Love is paid for with love.”

Perhaps you saw the film “The Passion of the Christ” in the theatre. What was the response of the audience to the events of the Lord’s passion, crucifixion and death?

Each of the four times I saw the film in the theatre elicited the same response from the audience: silence, stillness.

The Mass is the same powerful, dramatic, bloody sacrifice re-presented in an unbloody manner. If we had the grace to better understand the mystery of the Mass, I dare suggest that we would also discover the same reaction in our souls: silence, adoration and thanksgiving.

Next time we will finish our series “Understanding the Mystery of the Mass” with a short review and a few concluding remarks.

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

WANT PREVIOUS COLUMNS?

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

8 The Catholic News & Herald

around the diocese

September 23, 2005

Catholic Daughters Boy Scout earns Eagle welcome new members Top honors

rank in Stanley Christopher completed an individual service project — he painted the interior rooms of the youth building at First United Methodist Church in Stanley, which is the host church for Troop 49. The project helped beautify the building.

In Troop 49, Christopher has held the offices of quartermaster, historian, patrol leader, troop guide, instructor and is currently senior patrol leader. He also has earned the Arrow of Light award and two outstanding achievement awards.

STANLEY — Boy Scout Troop 49 awarded Christopher Stephen Lisi with the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts, Aug. 28.

Christopher is a parishioner of Holy Spirit Church in Denver, where he serves as an usher, altar server, Vacation Bible School volunteer and is a member of the parish youth group. He is an honor student at Highland School of Technology in Gastonia.

To receive the Eagle Scout rank,

Courtesy Photo

Six new members are received into Catholic Daughters of the Americas’ Court St. Mary, Mother of God in Sylva during a ceremony at St. Joseph Church in Bryson City Aug. 11.

Court celebrates successful first year of serving church, community

Courtesy Photo

Christopher Lisi (left) of Boy Scout Troop 49 in Stanley recently earned his Eagle Scout rank. Also pictured are Adam Cloninger, another Eagle Scout, and Steve Lisi, Chris’ father and Scoutmaster.

SYLVA — The Catholic Daughters of the Americas continues to grow in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Court St. Mary, Mother of God 2534 recently welcomed 13 new members during two ceremonies in June and August.

Seven members were received into the court (chapter) at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Sylva June 26, and six more women joined at St. Joseph Church in Bryson City Aug. 11.

Founded on June 27, 2004, with 31 women from four parishes — St. Mary, Mother of God Church; St. Joseph Church; St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin; and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Cherokee — the court quickly added six more women in July ceremonies.

Father Ray Williams, pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Church, became the court’s first chaplain.

The new court became one of 14 courts in North Carolina. To date, the courts have a total of almost 750 members.

During its first year, members of Court St. Mary, Mother of God served lunches to Habitat for Humanity volunteers, organized a 24-hour eucharistic adoration during Lent and held fundraisers and meetings with keynote speakers discussing topics including the pro-life movement, the role of the laity after Vatican II, Hispanic immigrants and living out the Beatitudes.

The court has plans to take on projects relating to the Catholic Daughters’ national Circle of Love program, which

is geared to assisting Catholic Daughters in working with the Catholic Church and community From its inception in 1903, Catholic Daughters of the Americas has grown and developed into the largest organization of Catholic women in the Americas.

Headquartered in New York with 100,000 members in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic and Mexico, Catholic Daughters of the Americas’ purpose is to help the church in its religious, charitable and educational works.

The organization, open to Catholic lay and religious women 18 years of age or older, supports Covenant House, which provides shelter and services to homeless and runaway youths; Support Our Aging Religious, a national agency that helps religious orders meet retirement needs; Holy Cross Family Ministries; the U.S. bishops’ Apostleship of the Seas; Teachers of Exceptional Children in conjunction with the National Catholic Educational Association; Morality in Media; Catholic Relief Services; and Habitat for Humanity.

It also provides scholarships and support for seminarians.

The Junior Catholic Daughters of the Americas, the national program for girls ages 6-18, was founded in 1925.

WANT MORE INFO? For more information on Catholic Daughters of the Americas, visit www. catholicdaughters.org.

September 23, 2005

fighting for life

The Catholic News & Herald 9

Life Chains to be held on Respect Life

Sunday of October,” Msgr. Fay said.

LIFE, from page 1

pro-life placards with messages such as “Abortion Kills Children” and “Jesus Forgives and Heals.”

“Life Chain allows us to give a voice to our message that life is sacred,” said Maggi Nadol, director of diocesan Respect Life Ministry. “It is often difficult for the pro-life side to visibly express our deeply held belief that God is the author of life.”

“The Respect Life program is the primary educational vehicle for the (bishops’) Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities,” said Msgr. William P. Fay, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Msgr. Fay said the U.S. bishops inaugurated the Respect Life program with a resolution they adopted in the spring of 1972. The first of what the resolution called a “week of prayer and study dedicated to the sanctity of human life and the many threats to human life in our world” was held that October.

“Begun as a ‘week of prayer and study’ focusing on contemporary threats to human life, the program expanded to a month of prayer and study, and expanded quickly again to a year-round program that begins anew each year on the first

Pro-life packets A packet of materials for the 200506 Respect Life Program of the U.S. bishops has been made available to dioceses and parishes.

Its theme, “Help build a world where human life is always loved and defended, every form of violence banished,” is derived from Pope John Paul II’s prayer to Mary on Dec. 8, 2004, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Inside the packet is a series of six papers: “Justice, Mercy and Capital Punishment”; “Pope John Paul II: Dying With Dignity”; “The Gospel of Life and Its Great Exemplar”; “Roe vs. Reason”; “Contraception and Abortion: The Underlying Link”; and “Genetic Enhancement: Custom Kids and Chimeras.”

Article authors include Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver; Capuchin Father J. Daniel Mindling, academic dean at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.; attorney Helen Alvare, an associate professor of law at Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington; and Marilyn Coors, an assistant professor of psychiatry and assistant professor of bioethics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

The packet contains a liturgy guide

Photo by Kevin E. Murray

A woman holds a pro-life placard during a Life Chain on University City Boulevard in Charlotte on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 3, 2004. The Life Chain was one of at least two dozen taking place around the Diocese of Charlotte last year. Life Chains will be held this year on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 2. with resources for Respect Life Sunday; a liturgy for Jan. 23, 2006, the day after the anniversary date of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made virtually all abortions legal nationwide; and a suggested novena and Holy Hour.

“We hope that these materials will also be useful in your efforts to foster greater respect for life,” said Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, chair-

man of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a letter accompanying the packet.

Catholic News Service contributed to this story.

WANT TO GO? Life Chains are being held Sunday, Oct. 2. Participants should arrive 30 minutes before scheduled start time. Life Chains include:

lotte, 9201 University City Blvd.: 1-2 p.m.

HENDERSONVILLE Along Greenville Highway from Stoney Mountain Road to railroad tracks: 2:303:30p.m.

CHARLOTTE St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Vincent de Paul Church and others at Charlotte Pregnancy Care Center, 1311 E. Morehead: 2-3 p.m.

HUNTERSVILLE St. Mark Church, 14740 Stumptown Rd. (joined by St. Therese Church, Mooresville): 2-3 p.m.

Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 4207 Shamrock Dr.: 1-2 p.m.

MONROE Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 725 Deese St.: 3-4 p.m.

St. Ann Church, 3635 Park Rd.: 2-3 p.m.

St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd.: 2-3 p.m.

St. John Neumann, 8451 Idlewild Rd.: 1:30-2:30 p.m.

St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Parkway: 2-3 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas Church at UNC-Char-

Editor’s Note: Packets cost $5 each plus shipping and handling. Orders may be placed by calling: (866) 582-0943, or by sending a fax to: (301) 779-8596.

SALISBURY Sacred Heart Church at square at Main Street and Innes Street: 1-2 p.m.

WINSTON-SALEM Hanes Mall Boulevard, west of Stratford Road: 2:30-3:30p.m.

For possible Life Chain events in your area, please contact your parish or, for other Charlotte-area Life Chains, call

1 0 The Catholic News & Herald

September 23, 2005

Culture Watch

Books explore theological vision of the new pope reviewed by RACHELLE LINNER catholic news service

“Let God’s Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI” is a lovely book that serves two purposes.

It is a fine introduction to the pope’s personal and professional life. And the selection of beautifully written (yet relatively short) excerpts from his writings can be fruitfully used for personal meditation and reflection.

Robert Moynihan, founder and editor of the monthly magazine Inside the Vatican, has compiled illustrative quotes that reveal the clarity of the pope’s thinking and let us glimpse the solidity of his luminous faith.

The selections are grouped into three

themes — his faith, today’s world and the Christian pilgrim — which, taken together, are a lucid expression of the pope’s urgency for “a new curiosity about Christianity, a desire to understand what it really is.”

He says, “The essential is not that Christ announced certain ideas — something that he in fact did, of course — but that I become a Christian in the measure to which I believe in this event: God entered the world and acted.”

A 75-page essay on “The Man and His Life” draws on the more than 20 interviews that Moynihan conducted with then-Cardinal Ratzinger when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “where he labored to protect the wonder and beauty of God from being encrusted and hidden under theologies of relativism, atheist Marxism and secularism.”

There are, of course, different ways of understanding the controversies of those years, which is why so much of the literature about Cardinal Ratzinger is ideological in tone. Of those many ways of looking at those times, this book gives preference to the new pope’s self-understanding; the result is a vivid spiritual portrait of “a simple, humble worker in God’s vineyard,” a pastor who grieves for a world marked by the absence of God. “The Thought of Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger” is a reprint of a 1988 book that examined Cardinal Ratzinger’s personal theological writings, as opposed to those decisions rendered through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

WORD TO LIFE

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

The book opens with an overview of the history and characteristics of Bavarian Catholicism, important because of its decisive formative effect on the future Pope Benedict. In discrete chapters, Dominican Father Aidan Nichols explains the context and content of Cardinal Ratzinger’s theological ideas, from the earliest academic work on ecclesiology (a study of the nature of church in St. Augustine) to his writings on the Second Vatican Council, the creed, eschatology, liturgy and ecumenism.

It is understandable that publishers would respond to the interest in Pope Benedict XVI by reprinting older books.

It is also evident that part of this interest is, appropriately, in Joseph Ratzinger the theologian because it was in his role as a theological adviser at the Second Vatican Council that he first came to public prominence.

Moreover, his understanding of the vocation of the theologian influenced his actions at the congregation and will no doubt shape his papacy.

All of this would bode well for a book like this. Unfortunately, “The Thought of Benedict XVI” is not helpful for the general reader. The text assumes a working knowledge of theology and church history, and the author, a professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology, assumes a high level of conceptual sophistication.

Had he stopped now and then to take a metaphoric breath, a nonprofessional reader could have been included more fully in the conversation.

Still, the book is worth the effort because it affords an understanding of the new pope’s intellectual influences.

Father Nichols’ chapter on the pope’s liturgical theology is a reminder that doctrine is not an end in itself but a vehicle that brings us to the doorway of worship and adoration.

Linner, a librarian and writer, earned a master of theological studies degree from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.

Sunday Scripture Readings: OCT. 2, 2005

Oct. 2, Twentyseventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A Readings: 1) Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalms 80:9, 12, 15-16, 19-20 2) Philippians 4:6-9 3) Matthew 21:33-43

13-14,

Prayerful persistence leads to peace by

SHARON K. PERKINS catholic news service

About a year ago our family was faced with a move across several states — a daunting task, given that we never had moved farther than across town.

We had several months to consolidate our belongings, pack them up and get them loaded onto a moving van, and I planned everything carefully so that the van would arrive at our Ohio home the same time we did. I even lined up volunteers to begin unloading boxes as soon as we parked in the driveway.

Once in Ohio, I welcomed the volunteer workers and awaited the arrival of the moving van. After an hour of waiting on the curb, I called the moving company, only to learn that the van had broken down en route and would not be repaired for several days.

All my meticulous planning came to naught as our family spent three days

in a local hotel without any furnishings or supplies.

I was reminded, like Isaiah’s vine grower or the landowner in Matthew’s Gospel, that there are times when no amount of careful, controlled endeavor can guarantee the desired outcome.

The unexpected, unpleasant event can and will happen, and when it happens despite one’s best efforts, it is easy to feel persecuted or even tempted to give up entirely.

Worry and anxiety didn’t make the moving van arrive any sooner. Persistent hope, rather, kept us steadfast and peaceful until our belongings were recovered and we were able to move in.

In today’s readings, God resolves to “give up” on Israel — the vineyard he planted — because it has not responded to his covenant as hoped. Nevertheless, a way is found, and the vineyard is spared: The rejected stone becomes the cornerstone, and the land bears fruit because of God’s own persistence.

Paul speaks of this same kind of persistence when he encourages the Philippians: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

When our foolproof plans and best efforts fail, God’s remedy of prayerful persistence leads us from discouragement and despair to the “peace that passes all understanding.”

Questions: When have you experienced the defeat of your own careful plans, and how did you respond? In what situation in your life do you currently need the graces of persistence and peace?

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE Scripture for the week of September 25 - October 1 Sunday (Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time), Ezekiel 18:25-28, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32; Monday (Sts. Cosmas and Damian), Zechariah 8:1-8, Luke 9:46-50; Tuesday (St. Vincent de Paul), Zachariah 8:20-23, Luke 9:51-56; Wednesday (St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, St. Wenceslaus), Nehemiah 2:1-8, Luke 9:57-62; Thursday (Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael), Revelation 12:7-12, John 1:47-51; Friday (St. Jerome), Baruch 1:15-22, Luke 10:13-16; Saturday (St. Therese of the Child Jesus), Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29, Luke 10:17-24.

Scripture for the week of October 2 - October 8 Sunday (Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time), Isaiah 5:1-7,Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43; Monday, Jonah 1:1-2:1, 11, Jonah 2:2-5, 8, Luke 10:25-37; Tuesday (St. Francis of Assisi), Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 10:38-42; Wednesday, Jonah 4:1-11, Luke 11:1-4; Thursday (St. Bruno, Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher), Malachi 3:13-20, Luke 11:5-13; Friday (Our Lady of the Rosary), Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2, Luke 11:15-26; Saturday, Joel 4:12-21, Luke 11:27-28.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

September 23, 2005

CNS photo from Five Mile River Films Ltd.

Jasper Harris portrays a young Karol Wojtyla in the TV movie “Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II,” to be broadcast on ABC.

Director says TV movie hopes to capture essence of Pope John Paul II

by RUTA TUMENAITE catholic news service

VILNIUS, Lithuania — In the lobby of the Lithuanian Film Studio stood a group of fully dressed cardinals, some of them complaining in Russian about the prolonged wait.

In another area, Mehmet Ali Agca — not the real one — sat in a mock prison cell, where he was about to be filmed meeting with the pope he tried to assassinate.

Such scenes could be encountered all around Vilnius for almost a month until Sept. 13, when Five Mile River Films Ltd. finished shooting major scenes of the new TV movie, “Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II,” for broadcast on ABC. The filming was to be completed in Rome, and a 90-minute-long movie was scheduled to reach the international market by mid-November.

“Having only 90 minutes to tell the story of such a huge character in history, we had to take a point of view, which is pope as a human being,” said executive producer Lorenzo Minoli.

“What struck me was how this man has been always very coherent to his ideas and beliefs,” he said. “This is the most important thing with the title that I wanted, that was his teaching: Have no fear of belief, have no fear of God, have no fear of — period. And have no fear of death.”

Minoli, who produced the “Jesus” miniseries, said the idea of “Have No Fear” was conceived in April, when the world was witnessing the incredible outpouring of homage to Pope John Paul as he was dying.

“I arrived in Rome half an hour before the bells started to ring, announcing the pope’s death. The day after he died, I walked at midnight in St. Peter’s Square and was shocked to see so many young people of different roots — you could see punks and very well-dressed-up kids — all together, all there,” said Minoli.

“He touched the hearts of people

who had almost nothing to do with belief because of his presence, and I would say because of the way he died,” said Minoli.

“He died with dignity; he gave to the sick and dying people and elderly the dignity of being sick and of being old. And I think this is very much in the spirit of what our faith is about.”

Minoli, an Italian who was raised a Catholic and went to Catholic schools, said for the role of Pope John Paul he chose a non-Catholic, German-born actor Thomas Kretschmann, who has had roles in such movies as “The Pianist.”

“I wanted a very good actor who could play the part from the young pope till the old pope. The fact that he doesn’t have a Catholic tradition is even better, because he has to learn and find a common denominator, which then becomes really the essence of the message — Thomas is doing it fantastically,” he said.

Minoli said Kretschmann hired a dialect coach in order to sound Polish.

“I was telling him: You are a German, you have an accent as thick as I have, so nobody really cares whether your accent is really Polish or German, but no, he wanted to be true to the part,” Minoli said with a smile.

He said Lithuania “was very similar to Poland, architecturally speaking.” But he also said he found the country was “a very special place — there is a very strong sense of spirituality floating in the air. People like to have fun, but there is a very clear boundary, and it’s really unique.”

Minoli said it had been challenging to capture the essence of the pope so close to his death. But he said he and fellow producer Judd Parkin hired Jesuit Father James Martin, associate editor of America magazine, as a consultant.

“I’m crazy”, Minoli said, laughing, but added that the movie was “a point of view of somebody who has been touched deeply by him and wants to make a homage to him in my own way.”

1 2 The Catholic News & Herald

September 23, 2005

in our schools

Visit to the Vatican

Student leaders

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

Students, parents and chaperones from Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville stand outside the Vatican during their 12-day summer trip to Italy.

During the trip, organized by history department chair Michael Streich, the students experienced a high level of commentary and experience while touring the Vatican and the Colosseum in Rome, learning about St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, viewing artwork by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in Florence and visiting Venice and the island of Capri.

Eighth-grade students at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem pledge their support, as leaders of the student body, to Sandra McMonagle, principal; Sister Geri Rogers, assistant principal; and Lisa Kelsey, eighth-grade teacher, during Mass at Our Lady of Mercy Church Sept. 2. The pledged support includes being exemplary role models to younger students (especially their kindergarten buddies) and practicing a strong work ethic. Conventual Franciscan Father Bill Robinson, pastor, conducted the commissioning and celebrated the Mass.

Young

Another school trip to Europe took place in July. The high school’s summer foreign trips focus on both educational value and fun, and provide out-of-classroom experiences for the students.

Felipe Villalon, past grand knight of Knights of Columbus Council 10504, presents the 2005-06 Canice Conners Scholarship to Conner Brannan, an eighth-grader at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem. The $500 scholarship is sponsored by Council 10504 and given yearly to a Catholic school student actively involved in his or her school and parish.

Courtesy Photo

Classifieds EMPLOYMENT COMMUNITY GROUP HOME MANAGER (adults): Live in (7 days on/7 days off). Prepare/ serve meals, transportation, recreation, cleaning, medical treatments, work goals. Requirements: HS/ GED and group home and MR/DD experience. Apply in person: Holy Angels, Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 7 pm, 6600 Wilkinson Blvd, Belmont, NC. info@holyangelsnc.org

SERVICES CAREGIVER: Catholic caregiver available for private work with elderly, Charlotte area. Female, NS/ND, experienced, cheerful, patient, polite, dis-

creet. Local references. Rivanna (704) 529-2943.

EMERALD HOME REMODELING: NC Licensed General Contractor. Kitchens, Baths, Additions, Handyman services, etc. All size jobs completed. (704) 684-0301(T); (704) 719-0808(C) for free consultation.

FOR RENT VACATION CABIN: Lake Lure. Mountain views! Fantastic fall foliage! 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, fully furnished. Reasonable rates. Call for details, (828) 299-3714.

Classified ads bring results! Over 125,000 readers! Over 49,000 homes!

Rates: $.70/word per issue ($14 minimum per issue) Deadline: 12 noon Wednesday, 9 days before publication How to order: Ads may be E-mailed to ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org, faxed to (704) 370-3382 or mailed to: Cindi Feerick, The Catholic News & Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203.

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

September 23, 2005

from the cover

CNS photo from Reuters

Then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger uses incense to bless the casket of Pope John Paul II during his funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 8. Cardinal Ratzinger was elected pope April 19. A detailed chronology of Pope John Paul’s final hours was released by the Vatican Sept. 19.

Pope John Paul II’s final hours revealed by Vatican POPE, from page 1

the Polish language, the Holy Father asked: ‘Let me go to the house of the Father,’” it said.

Sister Tobiana Sobodka, a member of the Handmaidens of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who headed the team of Polish nuns in the papal household, heard the pope say the phrase, according to the pope’s personal physician, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, who was quoted in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica.

The Vatican’s chronology said the pope went into a coma that evening at 7 p.m. Medical monitoring equipment tracked the steady loss of vital functions.

“Following a Polish tradition, a small lit candle illuminated the semidarkness of the room, where the pope was passing away,” it said.

At 8 p.m. a Mass marking the feast

funeral and his final testament.

The volume also contained more than 150 pages of condolence messages and testimonials that arrived from political and religious leaders around the world.

Final hours In recounting the pope’s final days and hours, the chronology described the pontiff’s poignant appearance on Easter, March 27, when he was recovering from a tracheotomy to relieve breathing problems.

“The pope tried to read the words of the apostolic blessing without success and, in silence, with the right hand he blessed the city and the world,” it said.

At his last public appearance at his apartment window March 30, he gave a blessing but was unable to speak to a “stunned and sorrowful” crowd in St. Peter’s Square, it said.

“This was the last public ‘station’ of his painful Via Crucis,” it said.

The next day, March 31, the pope

had a crisis: He was stricken by a “violent shaking chill” as he was being taken to Mass at 11 a.m., the chronology said.

His temperature quickly rose to more than 103 degrees, and he went into septic shock with cardiocirculatory collapse, caused by a urinary infection.

The Vatican promptly took steps to arrange “all the necessary therapeutic steps and cardiorespiratory assistance,” it said. The chronology said church officials respected the pope’s “explicit desire” to remain in his residence and not be taken to the hospital, underlining that sufficient medical facilities had been set up in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

When Mass was celebrated at the pope’s bedside that evening, the pontiff followed it with half-closed eyes. He was able to weakly raise his right arm twice, when the bread and wine were consecrated.

After receiving the anointing of the sick that evening from Latin-rite Cardinal Marian Jaworski of Lviv, Ukraine, a longtime friend of the pontiff, the pope received Communion and asked to celebrate a “eucharistic hour” of meditation and prayer.

At 6 a.m. April 1 the pope, “conscious and serene,” celebrated Mass, the account said. At 7:15 he listened to the recitation of the Way of the Cross and made the sign of the cross at each station.

As the prayers continued throughout the day, the pope’s medical situation worsened, with gradual circulatory, respiratory and kidney failure, it said.

“The patient, with visible participation, shared in the continual prayers of those who were assisting him,” it said.

‘Sleep in the Lord’ On April 2, by the time of the morning Mass, the pope had begun to lose consciousness. In the late morning, after receiving for the last time the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the pope’s temperature rose rapidly.

“Toward 3:30 p.m., with a very weak voice and mumbled words, in

The Catholic News & Herald 13

of Divine Mercy was celebrated at the pope’s bedside, the chronology said. The feast, instituted by Pope John Paul, is celebrated the Sunday after Easter.

Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope’s longtime Polish secretary, celebrated the Mass.

“Polish religious songs accompanied the Mass and blended with those of the young people and the multitude of faithful, who were gathered in prayer in St. Peter’s Square,” the chronology said.

“At 9:37 p.m., John Paul II went to sleep in the Lord,” it said.

The account confirmed that an electrocardiogram was administered for more than 20 minutes before the declaration of death, to verify the cessation of heart activity.

Final good-byes The supplement’s brief introduction in Latin made a point of underlining the fact that a great multitude, especially young people, made their way to St. Peter’s Square as the pope lay dying, “as if to sit with him” and show their affection.

The condolences and testimonials published in the volume were written messages received by the College of Cardinals, the Vatican Secretariat of State or the papal chamberlain. There were messages from representatives of 162 countries, including many world leaders. Others expressing admiration for the late pope included Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

No message from the U.S. government appeared in the book.

In a televised message April 2, U.S. President George W. Bush said of the pope’s death: “The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home.”

1 4 The Catholic News & Herald

September 23, 2005

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

The blessings of Tragedy can be a wake-up call for us all beautiful smile and some suffering on their faces. They told me that they were coming from New Orleans.

“Our house and personal belongings are gone,” they said. “However, the good news is that we were able to be saved, we still have the best that any human being can have ... we have our precious lives, we have God, and we have one another.”

This is how a breakthrough becomes a redeeming moment rather than a despairing curse. The blessings of Katrina are defined by love.

A definition of love that won a nationwide newspaper contest read: “Love is the doorway through which the human soul passes from selfishness to service and from solitude to kinship with all humankind.”

The horror and pain of 9/11 and Katrina will not fade away quickly, but the wake-up call had an immediate and dramatic effect on all of us. The reality is that we cannot control all the events, but we can and we should prioritize God in our lives.

Did you know that in a 90-year span, the average person spends 22 years working, 21 years sleeping, nine years watching TV, seven years eating, seven years on the telephone, seven years playing, seven years dressing, three years traveling, three years on the computer, two years waiting for somebody, one year drinking, one year tying shoes and one year in church?

Church hardly made the list; we probably can do better. Here are some suggestions: 1. Start each day with a prayer and with this question: “What good can I do today?” Consider your spouse, your child, a co-worker, a subordinate, a boss, a relative and so on.

2. Look for ways to do that good thing.

It can be simply offering to get a coworker a cup of coffee or complimenting a colleague for a job well done.

3. Do something nice for someone you dislike or for someone who dislikes you. This is difficult to do, but it definitely has a positive effect in your life.

4. Identify the so-called “nobodies” in your daily life and do something that will make them feel like “somebody.” Example: An executive took the person who cleaned the floors in the building to lunch.

5. Go to church this Sunday to get the strength to do all of the above.

Dear Katrina, thank you for your blessings, but, please, do not come back.

Capuchin Father Aurilia is pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville.

Guest Column FATHER JOHN AURILIA, OFM Cap guest columnist

We don’t like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and we never will; however, both tragedies have blessings, death, success and defeat. I wish to focus on the blessings.

When the infamous 9/11 came, the people immediately said: “We have been hit!” I didn’t have a chance to witness that horror, except through the TV, because that morning I was flying comfortably from Newark, N.J., to Greenville, S.C., and while I was enjoying the flight unaware of the tragedy taking place, New York, Washington and Pennsylvania were experiencing death and horror.

When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, people were saying: “New Orleans is gone!” In both tragedies, we experienced some extraordinary sense of community, we all felt close to one another and we did the impossible to help the victims, without knowing their names or background or race or religion.

Why is that? Do we have to go through tragedies to experience loving care? Can we care for and love one another every day without tragedies?

I consider those tragic events as breakthroughs of nature and history. The breakthroughs continue or pop up throughout our lives — the point is how to make the breakthrough a failure or a success, a learning experience or a nightmare.

The word “breakthrough” is actually a compound of “break” and “through.”

As far as I know, the two words were first hyphenated and were first used to describe a military advance of decisive importance.

The Bible is filled with breakthroughs. The Book of Exodus tells us how God broke through a man, Moses, who, in a fit of temper, had killed one of his own. The story ends with God speaking to Moses from the bush: “I have seen the affliction of my people, I have heard their cry, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them; and you are the one who will do it.”

Perhaps, as you read this, you may be the one God has sent to be the good news for those who may not see the good news in the aftermath of 9/11 and Katrina. In all the stories recorded in the Old and New Testaments, describing natural and human calamities, there is something indescribable; there is always darkness and light. There is always a voice, coming as it were from the other side, yet somehow from the inside.

I met a loving couple on Sept. 11, 2005. They were coming to worship and to commemorate the fourth anniversary of 9/11. I welcomed them and I saw a

When can you marry a relative?

Q. Please explain for our family which relatives are forbidden to marry and how this is figured. Two cousins on my father’s side, I think they are called second cousins, want to be married. Is that possible? (Ohio)

A. Your question deals with the impediment to marriage that in church and civil law is called consanguinity — literally, common blood.

There are two kinds of consanguinity. One is the direct line, meaning the relationship between an individual and his or her parents or grandparents. This kind of relationship is a serious impediment to marriage. In the church as well as in most cultures, no permission (dispensation) for marriage between two such persons is possible.

The other type of consanguinity, which applies to your question, is indirect, or collateral. This is the relationship between brothers and sisters, first cousins and other relatives To be specific, in the collateral line there are as many degrees of relationship as there are persons in both lines together, not counting the common ancestor (Canon 108). Brother and sister are related to the second degree, niece and uncle to the third, first cousins to the fourth and so on.

This method of determining degrees of collateral relationship are generally employed also in civil law.

According to Catholic Church law a collateral relationship up to and including fourth degree is an impediment to marriage (Canon 1091).

Can people related in this way marry each other? It depends.

As with the direct line, no dispensation can be given by the church for a marriage

Question Corner FATHER JOHN DIETZEN cns columnist

between brother and sister. In other cases, however, the church, through the bishop, can (and fairly often does) dispense for a serious enough reason.

Marriage between first cousins is more prevalent in some other parts of the world than it is in our own. In these cultures dispensations by the church for such marriages are not uncommon. In the United States most state laws prohibit first-cousin marriages.

Church and civil laws forbidding marriage within certain degrees of consanguinity are based on obvious social and health reasons. While a few ancient cultures apparently allowed some marriages between brothers and sisters, and even it seems between parent and child, marriage of individuals closely related were forbidden by every major code of law with which we are familiar, including those which predate Jewish law of the Old Testament.

From your description it sounds as if the relationship you ask about would not be within the degree forbidden by church law. But you, or they, need to talk with a parish priest or other counselor to be sure where they stand.

Questions may be sent to Father John Dietzen, Box 5515, Peoria, IL 61612, or e-mail: jjdietzen@aol.com.

The Catholic News & Herald 15

September 23, 2005

The blame game

Best resolution is to take responsibility We’ve all been watching the “blame game” these past few weeks.

A large-scale “blame game” erupted in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. Directly after the storm, Louisiana officials blamed the federal government for not sending in relief fast enough; conversely, the federal government blamed Louisiana for not giving the green light to troops or relief, or declaring a state of emergency early enough.

The rest of us, watching one of the biggest finger-pointing matches of the century, didn’t know who was in the right.

None of us is immune from becoming a contestant of this sort in daily life.

Three days before a group presentation in one of my sophomore-year English classes, the four of us discovered that only one actually had done the work assigned.

None of us culprits wanted to come clean and say that we’d been too busy with other things; all of us wanted to cover up our own blunders and lay the blame on somebody else.

That blame turned into fingerpointing, which morphed into an all-out fight. It was then that we realized we were so far down the rabbit hole that it

was almost impossible to see the truth of the matter.

It was time to own up and say where we went wrong.

It’s easy to play the blame game.

All you have to bring is an excuse and an outstretched finger. You can play it if you’re guilty — or even if you’re innocent. You can play as an uninvolved bystander armed with the barest of facts.

And when people play a full-on, noholds-barred version, the truth is shoved into obscurity in favor of something that’s less than justice and more than unfair.

I think the only way to win at the blame game is to break the rules completely and play the responsibility card.

Responsibility, wrongly portrayed as toil and drudgery, is really one of the only things that differentiates leaders who can handle crazy situations successfully from individuals who can’t rise above the blame game.

It’s understandable that taking responsibility for one’s actions isn’t everyone’s favorite option.

But the blame game isn’t the “way out” that I used to think it was. It isn’t concerned with fixing the problem; it sweeps issues under the rug and tries to

Coming of Age KAREN DIETLEIN cns columnist

shove cleaning supplies into somebody else’s hand — somebody who is often innocent of the whole thing.

Nobody stood up in Louisiana during that first week and took responsibility for what went wrong. As a result, the losers were the residents of New Orleans.

Things are getting better, but that’s because people are starting to step up to the plate, admit where they went wrong and turn their eyes toward concrete solutions.

Responsibility isn’t glamorous or easy, but nobody is as qualified to fix mistakes as the person who made them.

Taking charge of patching up the blunders we actually make always gets the boat back on course quicker than laying blame on someone else. People also look up to and admire people big enough to admit where they went wrong.

As for my group, we finally decided to admit that we hadn’t done the work.

As a result, we were able to commit ourselves to hard work over the next few days and got an A on the project instead of the F we would have received if we’d just kept on playing the blame game.

Nuns gone fishing Much-deserved break leads to day on water It was something you don’t see every day — eight nuns in full habits on three little boats, fishing.

People in other boats went past and then circled around to get another look.

The security guards at the nearby power plant, seeing people in flowing robes and fearing terrorism, came rushing down to the river bank with binoculars. They looked, then paused and looked again.

One speedboat pulling several girls on an inner tube went past us and then circled around to pass again. A little girl called out “Hi sisters!” and raised her hands in a wave. She shot right off the back of the inner tube into the water. The nuns screeched with laughter.

These nuns get only one day per year off. They are Missionaries of Charity, members of the religious order started by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The sisters work at various houses in Washington, including a homeless shelter, a home for single mothers and an after-school drop-in center in poorer neighborhoods of our nation’s capital.

One of the families in our parish adopted two children through their order and got to know the sisters.

Although they all looked similar in their white saris with blue trimmed veils, they were a diverse group. They came from all over the world: Kenya, India, Venezuela, Argentina and the

Parish Diary FATHER PETER J. DALY cns columnist

United States. They had been raised in various faiths. Some had been raised as Catholics, others as Hindus or Protestant Christians.

One sister was raised as a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore and became a Catholic under the influence of the Josephite Fathers. She was probably the only African American in her neighborhood ever to enter the convent. Her mother never left her AME church, and Mother Teresa became her friend.

Once a year these nuns get a day off.

This year they decided to do what people in our part of the world love to do on days off: go fishing.

They had a few conditions. They wanted live bait. They wanted to do the fishing themselves.

My secretary organized the event.

She got three men of our parish with boats to take them out. They are frequent volunteers and fishing buddies. One of

them got a huge bucket of squirmy land shrimp for bait.

The bait worked. The sisters caught more than 200 fish, but we suggested they throw back the little ones.

In the end, we kept 153 fish because that is the number the disciples caught when they followed the instructions of the Lord on where to fish after the resurrection.

The sisters didn’t just fish. They went riding up and own the river in the three boats. A couple of the power boats were pretty fast. The nuns seemed to like to push them up to full throttle, veils flapping in the wind.

Back at the parish center the sisters proved adept at cleaning fish. They wasted nothing, even leaving the heads on, which in India they evidently like to eat.

At the end of the day the sisters spent an hour in prayer in our parish chapel. I stayed with them for adoration and Benediction. Our chapel had a strange smell of fish the next day.

It was only one day out on the water, but it seemed like a long vacation. It was the combination of natural beauty, human goodness and grace-filled laughter that made the day truly “re-creating.”

We can’t wait for the nuns to have another day off next year. Like the disciples, we’re going fishing.

Soccer players, big and small, get top billing at papal audience The Pope Speaks POPE BENEDICT XVI

by CINDY WOODEN catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — The leaders of Europe’s professional soccer association and 500 pint-sized soccer players from Italy and 16 East European countries got top billing at Pope Benedict XVI’s Sept.

21 general audience.

The Union of European Football Associations was giving its support to a project of the Italian soccer federation and the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” the Vatican’s charity coordinator, to provide balls, shirts, shoes and other soccer equipment to schools and orphanages in Eastern Europe.

Pope Benedict told them, “Your presence gives me an opportunity to underline the importance of sport, a discipline that when practiced with respect for the rules becomes an educational tool and a vehicle of important human and spiritual values.”

The pope said he hoped the initiative for Eastern Europe would help people see that sports could contribute to building solidarity and respect among peoples.

At the end of the audience, three of the under-12 soccer players gave gifts to the pope: a bouquet of yellow and white flowers, an equipment bag and a soccer ball.

Before and after the audience, several sections of St. Peter’s Square were cleared for the children to play soccer.

In his main audience talk, the pope offered his reflections on Psalm 132, particularly God’s promise to King David that if his people kept God’s covenant and decrees he would bless them, sustain them and send them a savior.

What God has promised, the pope said, “is the result of God and human beings freely entering into a relationship

Write a Letter to the Editor The Catholic News & Herald welcomes letters from readers. We ask that letters be originals of 250 words or less, pertain to recent newspaper content or Catholic issues, and be in good taste.

To be considered for publication, each letter must include the name, address and daytime phone number of the writer for purpose of verification. Letters may be condensed due to space limitations and edited for clarity, style and factual accuracy.

The Catholic News & Herald does not publish poetry, form letter or petitions. Items submitted to The Catholic News & Herald become the property of the newspaper and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

Send letters to Letters to the Editor, The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, N.C. 28237, or e-mail catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

September 23, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 16

PARISH PROFILE

St. Ann Church serves small, enthusiastic community ST. ANN CHURCH 3635 Park Road Charlotte, N.C. 28209 (704) 523-4641 Vicariate: Charlotte Pastor: Father Conrad Hoover Parochial Vicar: Father Joseph Dinh Permanent Deacon: Deacon George Szalony Number of households: 700

Father Conrad Hoover

CHARLOTTE — Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Raleigh established St. Ann Church in August 1955, installing then-Msgr. (later Bishop) Michael J. Begley as pastor. With nearly a halfdozen Catholic churches having been constructed in Charlotte, a Catholic presence already had taken root firmly in the Mecklenburg County seat.

With property purchased on the corner of Park Road and Hillside Avenue, Msgr. Begley and parishioners began tending to their new spiritual home. A house on the property became the rectory, and a duplex on parish grounds served as a catechetical center, with Sisters of the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart offering faith formation classes.

In 1956, the duplex was converted into a convent for the sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pa., who had arrived to open a parochial school. After holding Mass in the nearby Park Road School auditorium for a year, Msgr.

Begley began celebrating Mass in the school building when construction was completed in September 1956. The school opened its doors to 296 children in its first year.

As parish growth continued to coincide with the influx of Catholics to the Charlotte area, plans were developed

Photo by Karen A. Evans

For the past 50 years, St. Ann Church in south Charlotte has provided a spiritual home for a diverse array of Catholic families. The parish celebrated its golden anniversary Aug. 13-14, 2005. to build a new church. With the building project complete in 1960, St. Ann School gained space for three classrooms and a library. Later additions to the school further increased the number of classrooms.

In 1957, the future fourth bishop of Charlotte, Peter J. Jugis, was baptized by then-Msgr. Begley at St. Ann Church and later served as priest-in-residence during the summer of 1983.

In 1961, Bishop Waters directed Msgr. Begley to begin the mission of St. Vincent de Paul to serve the everincreasing number of Catholics in south Charlotte. On July 9, 1965, Bishop Waters proclaimed St. Vincent de Paul Church a parish in its own right.

St. Ann Church continued to expand over the next few decades, both in membership and property. An adjacent lot was purchased during Msgr. Anthony Kovacic’s pastorate, 1972-79, and renovation work in the church and school building took place while Msgr. Francis Smith

served as pastor into the early 1980s.

Msgr. Richard Allen served as pastor of St. Ann Church from July 1988 until his retirement in July 2000. In 1993, the parish built an activity center, which serves both the parish and the school. A

strong focus on outreach work highlighted pastoral life at St. Ann Church, with Msgr. Allen leading missionary projects for the needy of Kentucky and Jamaica.

In July 2000, Father Conrad Hoover assumed the pastorate of St. Ann Church.

Under his direction, the interior of the church was remodeled and a capital campaign has begun for construction of a new church. The parish hopes to have the new church completed in time for Christmas 2007.

About 810 Charlotte Catholics became parishioners of St. Ann Church when the parish was founded in 1955.

Five decades later, more than 700 families — under the spiritual direction of Father Hoover; Father Joseph Dinh, parochial vicar; Permanent Deacon George Szalony; and Sister of St. Joseph Judy Monahan, pastoral associate — continue to build up this thriving community.

Father Hoover said the mission of St. Ann Church is “to nurture and strengthen our own spirituality through the Scriptures and the Catholic tradition.”

“We invite all to receive God’s love in Christ as we journey to become Christ, giving ourselves in compassionate service to all people,” he said.

St. Ann Church prides itself on the diversity of its membership. Two years ago, the only bilingual Spanish and English Mass was initiated at the church.

Last summer, St. Ann Church celebrated its golden anniversary with Masses, a dinner dance and breakfast Aug. 13-14, 2005.

“We are privileged to be part of a parish which has been at the center of the life of the Diocese of Charlotte since its beginning,” said Father Hoover. “We are no longer among the largest, but we are filled with the spirit of compassion and hope.”

Staff Writer Karen A. Evans contributed to this story.